The battle had turned out to be easier than Itachi had expected. The spatial seals had played a fundamental role throughout the entire confrontation. Obito's most powerful card, his ability to become intangible and disappear into another dimension, had been nullified, and his other abilities weren't enough to contend with Itachi and Shisui.
In reality, Itachi hadn't participated as actively in the direct attack against Obito. He preferred to remain in the background, inflicting measured, calculated damage, and above all, gaining time for Minato. The Hokage was the one who needed more room to analyze the enemy's movements, find the exact moment, and execute his counterattack with surgical precision.
Shisui, on the other hand, had confronted Obito more directly, maintaining an exchange of swift blows that forced the masked man to reveal himself and become exposed. However, Shisui also didn't activate any of his main trump cards: neither his supreme-level Genjutsu nor the fearsome Susanoo.
Itachi understood it clearly. Manipulating space was manipulating an extra dimension of this world. It couldn't be seen or touched, but it was there. It could be opened, folded, sealed. And with enough mastery, it could become the ultimate defense or the ultimate attack.
As he watched the remains of that confrontation, Itachi couldn't help but reflect on the next steps. He had several projects in mind that he hadn't yet had time to test:
Spatial cuts capable of tearing not flesh but the very air, leaving invisible and mortal wounds.
Spatial restrictions to block any kind of movement, even the intangibility of an enemy like Obito.
Defensive folds capable of encapsulating someone in a prison of compressed space, impenetrable from inside and out.
But there was a more important, and most ambitious, point of all: the connection between space and time.
Another point, and the most important one that he hadn't had time to test yet, was the direct link that Itachi knew existed between space and time, either due to Einstein's relativity that ties time to space or due to how spatial warping accelerates time in the case of matter.
Next project: creating a jutsu that could deform and alter time and space... there was something in the anime about some ruins, he would have to ask Renji if he could investigate for him...
"Next project…" he murmured while putting away some scrolls. "Creating a jutsu that allows me to alter time and space…"
That idea lingered in his mind like a distant bell. For now, he had to focus on another matter. Itachi got up and thought of someone who could help him with the more technical part of all this.
"Anyway," he said in a low voice. "It's time to go see Renji..."
A New Purpose
Renji had been transformed, in just a few years, into a complete theoretical ninja. He was a brilliant boy with an uncommon analytical mind. Although he didn't have Itachi's innate talent for battle, he had developed an extraordinary ability to create new jutsus, design complex theories, and decently control most of the chakra natures.
When Itachi found him in his workshop, heavily funded by Uchiha gold, Renji was surrounded by scrolls, open rolls, and tools. There were diagrams on the walls, notes written in a hurried hand, and strange symbols that only he seemed to understand.
"Renji," Itachi said in a serious tone. "I have a task for you."
The young man looked up, a bit nervously. He was used to Itachi assigning him experiments, but there was something in his tone that sounded different.
"A task?" he repeated. "What kind of task?"
"It's long-term," Itachi replied, handing him a sealed scroll. "One hundred percent confidential. No one else must know."
Renji took it carefully, as if it weighed more than it seemed. Itachi continued: "You'll have all the budget you need. Materials, scrolls, assistants… whatever you ask for. But this research has to proceed in secret."
The boy nodded solemnly. Itachi then slowly unrolled the scroll. Inside were several complex drawings and schematics. A main design occupied the center, surrounded by notes and secondary diagrams.
Renji gasped. "This… what is this?"
"A design," Itachi explained. "Just an idea, a sketch of what could be."
The central drawing clearly showed the shape of a spacecraft. There were detailed oxygen tanks, airtight compartments, and thrusters diagrammed with chakra runes inside. On the edges were drawings of seal circles, each with notes on how to transform energy.
"A ship...?" Renji murmured. "Do you mean that...?"
"Exactly," Itachi interrupted. "A vehicle capable of leaving this planet."
Renji swallowed. The concept was too big, too bold. "Why a ship?" he asked. "With your power, you could just..."
"Yes," Itachi said, guessing the question. "I could try to travel into space on my own, using chakra, protecting my body with barriers. But I couldn't last more than a few minutes. The lack of oxygen, the pressure, the vacuum… they would eventually force me to return."
His eyes shone with a strange gleam. "I want more. I want to travel to other planets. Not just leave this world for an instant, but to explore other places, to discover what lies beyond."
Renji was stunned. He ran a hand through his hair, not knowing how to respond. "This is… too much. How do you plan to...?"
"That's why you're here," Itachi said, with a slight smile. He pointed to one of the side diagrams. "Look, I've thought about thrusters that run on compressed chakra, but it's not enough. What I need is a system that can transform solar energy into chakra… or even better, into natural energy. That would give the ship autonomy."
Renji studied the diagram carefully. "Transforming sunlight into chakra?" he repeated, muttering. "It would be like how plants grow with sunlight… but made of seals… seals that absorb the waves and convert them into usable energy..." He was already getting lost in thought, jotting things down in his notebook.
Itachi watched him in silence for a moment. He had chosen well: Renji had that spark, that ability to turn a crazy idea into a real project. Itachi could do it too, but it was important to know how to delegate.
"You have time," Itachi added finally. "It's not something that will happen overnight. But start with the research and building the things you can, because we may have to improve several things along the way. I want to know how close we can get to transforming pure energy into chakra as well."
Renji looked up and met his gaze. "Understood. I promise I'll make as much progress as I can."
Itachi nodded. In his mind, the image of unknown planets glowed like a distant but achievable dream. It wasn't just about power, or glory, but about breaking the final chains of a universe that seemed too small for what he wanted to discover.
A Rumor Spreads
The entire village seemed to hum with rumors. In every corner, in the markets and in the hallways of homes, people spoke in low voices, although everyone already knew the story.
"They say a masked ninja attacked just as the Hokage's wife was about to give birth," a shopkeeper would murmur while arranging her vegetables. "If it weren't for Fugaku Uchiha, who knows what would have happened."
Customers nodded solemnly. Many had never seen the clan leader unleash such power with their own eyes, but those who were close by described it with trembling voices: a giant of bluish chakra, a supernatural armor that had protected Kushina like an impenetrable wall.
"And then Minato arrived," another neighbor would add, almost proudly. "He was the one who finished containing the intruder. They always say the Fourth is fast, but that night he proved why they call him the greatest."
What surprised many was the unexpected union of figures who, until that moment, seemed to walk on separate paths. No one had imagined seeing Fugaku and the Hokage fighting for the same cause, shoulder to shoulder, protecting the same thing.
However, not all murmurs were about the battle. Soon, conversations turned to the other big news: the birth of Naruto Uzumaki.
"A healthy baby boy, with his mother's energy," the neighbors would say, smiling in hushed tones. "Minato already seemed unstoppable, but now he has even more reasons to protect this village."
Some wondered if the child would inherit his father's strength or his mother's temperament. Others, more dreamy, assured that with such a lineage, he was destined for great things.
The village, despite the initial fear from the attack, breathed an air of renewed hope.