Our Journey, the Sea of Stars

By the seashore, Upon the jagged rocks.

Swish, swish, swish—

Uchiha Itachi continuously hurled kunai at Sora, the blades colliding in mid-air to strike from bizarre, unpredictable angles.

Simultaneously, his hands blurred through a series of seals, and a barrage of small fireballs erupted from his mouth.

Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!

The assault was airtight; even an average Chunin would have been sent into a frantic scramble against such an onslaught.

Uchiha Sora did not move.

Just as the attacks were about to graze the hem of his clothes...

Deep crimson ripples of chakra surged around his body like waves across a lake, carrying a destructive, scorching heat.

The kunai and fireballs disintegrated inch by inch within the chakra shockwave, falling away as scattered debris.

Uchiha Itachi had never expected his attacks to injure his teacher, but this method of neutralization was still beyond his comprehension.

Bang!!

Suddenly, Uchiha Sora vanished from his line of sight, replaced by a sharp, agonizing pain erupting in his back.

Crack—

The first sound to reach his ears was the snapping of bone.

"Cough..."

Uchiha Itachi spat out a mouthful of dark blood, his torso feeling as though it were pinned beneath a mountain, rendering him unable to move.

Terrifying chakra washed over his heart again and again like a torrential flood.

For the first time...

He felt he was so close to death!

Uchiha Sora stepped onto his back, looking down and speaking slowly.

"You need to understand one thing."

"Dojutsu, ninjutsu, and technique are merely means for the weak to overcome the strong."

"When the gap in strength between two parties reaches a certain point, these things are nothing but futile gestures."

"Itachi, I am not the teacher you perceive; I will not play house with you like Shisui does."

"The moment I declared the spar had begun, you should have been running, not launching an attack against me."

Uchiha Itachi gritted his teeth, forcing himself not to cry out in pain.

After a long while, just as he felt he was on the verge of losing consciousness, the terrifying chakra pressing down on him receded like a retreating tide.

Uchiha Itachi finally regained control over his limbs, wiping the blood from his nose and mouth, his eyes still wide with lingering shock.

Just now...

The teacher truly had killing intent toward me!

He had once tried to grasp the meaning of life by throwing himself off a cliff; he did not fear death...

Or so he had thought.

But he could not accept dying so casually in a mere spar!

"Are you pondering the meaning of life, or what constitutes a valuable death?"

Uchiha Itachi struggled to lift his head, catching sight of Sora's clothes fluttering in the wind; his fractured bones made it impossible to look directly into those eyes.

"You have no right to ponder such questions, and neither do I."

"The ninja world, Konoha, even your father and Shisui—they are always trying to make you think, to make you understand how this world operates."

Uchiha Sora crouched down, reaching out to grip Itachi's jaw, his eyes as calm as still water.

"From this moment on, forget those boring things."

"Just remember the pain in your body."

Whoosh!

Crimson chakra surged into Uchiha Itachi's body, forcibly snapping his bones back into place.

Accompanying it was the excruciating agony of being burned by fire.

"AAAAAAHHHHHH!!!"

Uchiha Itachi could no longer hold back, letting out a heart-wrenching scream.

"Does it hurt?"

Uchiha Sora's burning palm kneaded his face, continuing, "But let me tell you, compared to the pain of losing someone important, this level of agony can be called gentle."

"Someone must always bear the pain; if you cannot, then this burden will fall upon Sasuke."

Itachi's eyes suddenly cleared, his teeth gritted in endurance.

"No... I can... I can..."

It was unknown how much time had passed when Uchiha Itachi touched his face, the intense heat having faded, leaving behind several distinct burn scars.

His first thought was not of his own disfigurement, but a worry that his current appearance might frighten Sasuke.

Uchiha Sora stood upright, looking down at the gasping Itachi: "Let me be clear, I will not view you as a successor; you are merely a tool for me to protect the Uchiha, to protect Sasuke."

"I need you to do one thing."

"If you cannot accept this fate, I will heal the wounds on your face, and you may return."

"You can continue your peaceful life, and I guarantee I will treat you no differently than the other clansmen; I don't mind protecting one extra person."

Uchiha Itachi steadied his breathing and looked up at Sora: "Is it... something only I can do?"

"You are the most suitable, but not the only one."

After a long silence, Uchiha Itachi asked: "If I must hide my true identity... it will be a long-term infiltration mission, won't it?"

It would be a long time... without seeing Sasuke...

A strange smile curled the corners of Uchiha Sora's mouth as he delivered the final blow: "In the future I have foreseen, if you do not do this, it is Sasuke who will suffer all of this."

"Master, I am willing!"

"Very well, look into my eyes."

Grabbing his hair, Uchiha Sora's eyes flashed crimson, and a chilling ocular power poured incessantly into Itachi's mind.

The dizzying, splitting sensation left Uchiha Itachi reeling for a long time.

"I have placed a Transcription Seal in your mind to assist with your initial investigations. When the conditions are met, the information within the seal will naturally reveal itself to you."

"I will have someone send you to Konoha. Your mission is to infiltrate the Konoha Orphanage and find an opportunity to join Root. As for the specifics, I trust you have the judgment to handle it."

"Keep an eye on a man named Yakushi Kabuto, and try your best not to kill him."

"Your target... is Shimura Danzō?"

Uchiha Sora shook his head: "His end is already set in stone; keeping him alive is merely making use of a piece of trash."

"When you meet that person, the information in the seal will tell you what to do."

"This is the trial I bestow upon you, Itachi."

"Go back home once. If you die, this will be the last time you see them."

"I understand..."

--

Swish—

Shisui appeared at Uchiha Sora's side, watching Itachi limp toward his home, his eyes filled with heartache.

"Sora... actually, let me..."

"To deal with that snake, he is the most suitable person. They will get along very well."

Uchiha Sora interrupted Shisui, saying: "Don't think you can just sit idle; what we have to do is even more dangerous."

"And of course... much more interesting."

Uchiha Sora had already inquired with the platform whether he could bring other personnel when accepting a loan.

The platform's reply was that it was permitted.

However, any borrowed power exceeding the scope of the lender would be counted as the lender's personal action, and such transactions would not be protected by the platform.

Not being protected by the platform meant that if the person from the world with ghosts borrowed Uchiha Sora's power, Uchiha Sora and that person would be in a lending relationship protected by the platform.

Uchiha Sora could not harm that person without reason, and if Uchiha Sora encountered an irresistible natural disaster, he could withdraw without injury and unilaterally end the transaction.

But if Uchiha Sora brought Shisui along, Shisui would not enjoy these related protections, and his travel costs would have to be borne by Uchiha Sora.

The so-called platform...

It is like a product of some rule, following the principles of a fixed formula.

Setting aside other factors, what Uchiha Sora values most is its ability to communicate with other dimensions.

If...

He could upgrade from a mere user to something akin to a subsidiary, capable of independently posting and accepting lending missions...

Then the development path of the Uchiha clan would no longer need to be confined to the Ninja World.

It might even... be unrestricted by this universe occupied by the Otsutsuki!