The idea was sound.
Unfortunately, he was still far too weak.
He couldn't yet break through the dimensional barriers in one go. If he tried to force it, it wouldn't be the dimensional limits that shattered—it would be himself.
Therefore, the most pressing task now was to use the Breathing Art of the Sage Path to construct an entirely new form of energy connected to time itself.
One that could devour, and eventually replace, chakra as his primary power source.
With this, he would set foot on the path that leads to breaking through dimensions.
The day he shatters the dimensional boundary... perhaps then, surpassing this world and catching up to the gods of the Ōtsutsuki would no longer be out of reach...
...
After repeated failures to capture the Rule of Time, Uchiha Kirin's understanding of spacetime—and his mastery of sealing techniques—had become increasingly refined.
In the time and space where his main body resided, he used the best materials available at hand:
—Chakra metal refined in the factories of Hoshigakure Shinobi, blessed by the Mountain God,
—A dense heavy metal extracted from a stellar core,
—and a small fragment of the Star Core he'd kept in reserve just in case.
Following the projection schematics from Karasuki, he used the Five Elemental Cycle to smelt the materials under a blazing sun, forging a silver-white cube with both high durability and energy affinity.
"There's still some gap between this and the original power module…"
One of his Limbo clones sighed with some disappointment. After all, the resources available in the shinobi world paled in comparison to what the Ōtsutsuki possessed.
Producing metals capable of building a true Karasuki wasn't impossible, but the time cost was too steep for him to bear.
Urashiki's rod and basket had outstanding durability as combat tools—far surpassing the materials used in Karasuki—but it was unclear whether they could properly contain and restrain spacetime energy.
But considering Urashiki had to carry a separate charger for Karasuki, it was clear his basket wasn't up to the task in that regard.
Kirin did know of a material whose properties far surpassed those used in Karasuki's construction—
His own bones.
Refined through the Sword-Nurturing Art and Indestructible Body, then fused with the Rule of Gold and integrated into the Breathing Art, his bones had been tempered by countless energies and were undoubtedly among the finest materials in existence.
But the process was too time-consuming and laborious. He couldn't afford to destroy his own foundation just to craft an auxiliary tool.
Thus, the silver-white replica cube was the optimal solution.
A Limbo clone in the current timeline first inscribed the cube with appropriate runes using the Mystic Magnetic Seal, then placed it successively within the sun and the Dragon Vein to absorb energy.
After repeated experiments, failures, and reforgings, Uchiha Kirin finally boosted the performance of his replica to over 80% of the original.
It could do everything a power module should—absorb energy, release it, and even freeze spacetime with ease.
That meant it was time to repair the original power module…
...
In the past timeline, a Limbo clone also activated the Five Elemental Cycle to toss the damaged module into a colorful vortex, dissolving all the inscribed runes,
melting the deformed metal, and reforging it from scratch.
During reshaping, he used the Mystic Magnetic Seal, directly carving new seals inside the metal with chakra black rods to establish a mental link with himself.
The repair was complete. According to Karasuki's diagnostics, the restored module now performed at 120% of its original capacity!
Uchiha Kirin reforged the silver cube once more—this time pushing even the replica's efficiency past 90%!
After submerging both modules in the Dragon Vein for some time, they were fully charged with what could be called "spacetime energy".
In other words, Uchiha Kirin could now return to the future at any moment.
Yet strangely, he no longer felt any anxiety about it. His focus had shifted to something else entirely.
He wanted to attempt constructing a brand-new form of power based on spacetime energy!
Using his mastery over spatial rules and combining it with Ice Release and Magnet Release, he built multiple sealing barriers.
Then, using gravity, he channeled spacetime energy from both modules into the core of the formation.
Whether in the past or future, every Limbo clone—including the main body—was attempting this feat.
Finally, a strange crystal took shape in Uchiha Kirin's hand. It seemed invisible, yet reflected the stars of the cosmos.
"A crystal of time? No... it's a spacetime crystal!"
In truth, even Kirin himself could only see it—he couldn't touch it.
Only by using gravity and spatial rules to form a thin membrane around his body could he physically interact with the object.
Since he couldn't absorb it directly, he unleashed Heaven-Reversing Devour, using the power of his inner world to swallow the crystal whole.
After trapping it inside his pocket dimension, he activated the Breathing Art of the Sage Path, forcibly absorbing and integrating the "spacetime crystal" into his body.
"Fortunately, the power of the world itself seems to be of a higher energy tier than the spacetime crystal."
Success.
At that moment, Uchiha Kirin felt the strange, cold energy spreading through his body. It allowed his inner world to finally function independently and gave him the sensation of being peeled away from some colossal, higher construct.
His very existence was evolving—this wasn't just an increase in power. It was a step forward in dimensional hierarchy.
The world around him felt unfamiliar, dull. He could now see the changes that would occur one or two seconds into the future with just his naked eye.
His perception of time had become multidimensional.
And now that he had taken this step, producing more spacetime crystals would no longer be difficult.
His six Limbo clones and main body began channeling all their chakra into forming more spacetime crystals and then absorbing them back into themselves.
At last, he refined his entire power system from chakra into pure spacetime crystals.
"I'm… running out of chakra?!"
Due to the massive gap in dimensional energy tiers, the conversion rate from chakra to spacetime crystal was nearly one in several billion.
Even with Uchiha Kirin's absurd chakra reserves, he now found himself strained.
But the power of this new energy was terrifying.
He had no doubt—
Just a few spacetime crystals' worth of energy, focused at his fingertip, would be enough to obliterate a massive star.
...
Meanwhile, the Uchiha Kirins of both past and future were, with every breath, continuously drawing this energy from the flow of spacetime using the Breathing Art of the Sage Path.
"It's time to capture the Rule of Time!"
A Limbo clone launched a powerful strike. This time, the Rule of Time he observed was no longer vague, but clearly visible.
The Rule of Time could no longer slip through his body unimpeded—it was directly sealed within a container forged from spacetime crystals.
Success!
Hundreds of chains wrapped around the spacetime energy, firmly binding the Rule of Time within the Limbo clone's body.
"It's time to return to the future!"
The clone attached the power module to Little Turtle and activated it.
A beam of white light enveloped him completely—launching him into a tunnel of time.
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