"But with how many people would be using the card… we'd be making an enormous amount of money just by existing," she said, her expression blank as the full implications settled in. "Doing nothing but keeping their wealth safe."
She blinked, snapping out of her thoughts, and turned to look directly at Itachi.
"What else from your past life do you wish to recreate?" she asked, eyes gleaming with excitement.
Itachi didn't disappoint. One by one, he began pulling out copies from his storage ring—each one a marvel from the world he left behind. A prototype of a bike. A car. A model train. A clunky, old-fashioned telephone. Even electricity-powered inventions like a light bulb. The list went on.
He explained each item in detail, laying out their purpose and function. His mother listened closely, her gaze sharp as she absorbed every word. Though she was an Immortal Sovereign and capable of grasping complex knowledge almost instantly, even she needed a moment to process the foreign concepts. After all, the mindset of a cultivator was still deeply ingrained—rooted in Qi and energy, not wires and gears.
Still, as they studied the designs together, she began to understand. And the spark in her eyes only grew brighter.
"First things first should be this card," she said lightly, her eyes scanning the prototype. "Creating a vault to store goods from across the 99 heavens won't be simple."
To that, Itachi nodded with a faint smile. "We just have to get them to pay for upgraded space."
He leaned forward, eyes gleaming with thought. "Why don't we create different tiers of cards? Each one crafted from different quality materials, with unique benefits and higher limits on how much wealth they can store. We can even build a bank—something they'd have to visit to access their money."
He paused, then added calmly, "And we set limits on how much they can withdraw or transfer out. That alone would give us complete control over the economy."
"I don't think they'd be okay with that last part," she said with a frown. "What kind of fool would store their money in a bank that won't let them withdraw it all at once?"
"In my past life… they did," Itachi replied calmly. "Banks there had systems that limited access, yet people still trusted them. Some even handed out loans, and there was something else—something called a credit card."
The two went on, discussing every angle of the idea. For the entire day, they delved into the economics, the structure, the potential impact.
By the next morning, their minds were aligned, and they began working on the first version of the debit card.
But Itachi was never one to focus on just one project—he worked on many things at once. One of his first priorities was the remodeling of the buildings. He dedicated serious thought to finding the ideal materials, not just for durability, but for comfort, energy efficiency, and long-term sustainability..
He even went so far as to establish an entire company centered around architectural reform, with their first task being to build their headquarters in a prominent location sure to attract attention. The sleek design alone would make people stop and stare.
The list of projects Itachi was juggling only continued to grow. In his mind, any Earth-born protagonist who transmigrated into another world and failed to use Earth's knowledge to its fullest was nothing short of a fool. He refused to make the same mistake.
For example, he didn't know everything about atoms, chemistry, or even structural engineering—but that just meant he needed to learn. So, while creating new companies and restructuring clans, he also took the time to study, poring over information and experimenting until he understood it all.
Earth was a place that, despite lacking chakra, Qi, or any mystical energy, had developed technologies that bordered on terrifying. Itachi often reflected on how far humanity had come using only science. Before his death in that world, he remembered hearing about scientists who had successfully implanted false memories into lab rats by targeting genetically modified neurons. Just the concept alone had chilled him back then.
One particularly fascinating detail was the way genes could influence the mind. Take heart transplants, for example—there were real reports of recipients adopting the traits of the donor. Some would develop new food preferences, altered personalities, or strange instincts that weren't theirs to begin with.
In the cultivation world, this concept was taken even further. Here, genes weren't just vessels for traits—they could carry memories themselves. Entire lifetimes of knowledge, emotion, and instinct could be passed down, hidden in the smallest strands of one's bloodline. And now, Itachi was determined to explore that potential.
"My lord, the 99 Heavens appear to have birthed a genius—one whose talent is truly without equal."
Outside the 99 Heavens, in a world governed by a completely different Dao, a middle-aged man knelt respectfully before a young man sipping tea. The world around them was silent, still, as if even time itself dared not intrude upon their presence.
"What talent could a backwater world like that possibly produce?" the young man asked with mild curiosity. He appeared youthful—barely in his early twenties—but that was a lie told by appearance. In truth, he had lived for over 500 billion years, a span so incomprehensibly vast that even the stars themselves had faded and been reborn countless times under his watch.
To put that into perspective, Itachi's original universe had only been around for 13 billion years before his death. By comparison, that entire universe was nothing but an infant, barely out of the womb, in this young man's eyes.
"Well… a freak," the middle-aged man replied, his voice steady. "Do you remember the immortal once known as the Pregnant Immortal?"
The young man's eyes narrowed slightly as the memory surfaced. Of course, he remembered her—an oddity among oddities. From the moment she was a mere mortal, she had carried a child for thousands of years. That alone was enough to draw attention, but it was her staggering growth in both cultivation and combat power that had truly made her noteworthy. She had once been placed on a short list of those worthy of watching, though she was hardly the first such talent he had seen in his long existence.
"Well," the middle-aged man continued with a slow breath, "she's given birth."
That made the young man pause, his grip on the teacup stilling.
"And her combat power has soared. She's now an Early Immortal Sovereign… but even at that stage, she has become the strongest person within the 99 Heavens."
The words struck deeper than the middle-aged man expected, as the young man's eyes widened in genuine surprise.
Why was he so shocked? Simple. Even outside the 99 Heavens, finding someone capable of skipping Mid and Late stages to contend with Peak Immortal Sovereigns was incredibly rare. And this wasn't just about holding their ground—this woman could defeat them.
What made it all the more staggering was that the 99 Heavens were not weak. They housed their own monsters, prodigies who could battle multiple peak-stage Immortal Sovereigns at once. For her to rise above even those talents was nothing short of extraordinary.
"All of the 99 Heavens joined hands to destroy the Uchiha clan," the middle-aged man continued, voice laced with awe. "And she only looked at them… That one glance trapped them in an illusion so deep they either turned on each other or collapsed without even understanding what happened."
The young man's brows twitched, another wave of surprise flickering through his eyes.
He had heard rumors of the Pregnant Immortal's illusion powers. They said anyone who met her gaze would find themselves instantly trapped in an illusion—one so seamless, they wouldn't even realize it. He'd once considered studying those eyes, intrigued by the potential behind such a rare power, but he never truly cared to try and get them. By the time he realized that those eyes might be truly powerful, it was the she had already grown too strong, strong enough to stand at the pinnacle of the 99 Heavens.
Back then, he didn't think much of her abilities. Sure, eye contact could trap an enemy in an illusion. And yes, her eyes let her copy most techniques she witnessed. But that wasn't impressive in his eyes. Plenty of ocular techniques existed throughout the countless worlds that could do the same, many of them even more versatile or destructive.
For example, the Eyes of Truth. Eyes that allowed the user to rewrite reality itself, deciding what truth even meant. With them, one could see through all lies, pierce illusions, and glimpse the very foundation of existence. The list of their capabilities was staggering. Compared to that, what did her eyes amount to? And those weren't even the most powerful eyes that existed beyond the 99 Heavens.
"Why did they all unite?" he asked with a frown, his voice low with curiosity. The powers under the 99 Heavens weren't fools. They knew to avoid looking her in the eye. And yet… they still fell under her illusion?
"Well… her son. She birthed a true freak." The middle-aged man took a deep breath, steadying himself before recounting everything that had occurred from the moment of Itachi's birth. And as the tale unfolded, the young man found himself stunned once again.
How could he not be? At the moment Itachi was born, the heavens themselves responded. A phenomenon erupted—one unlike anything ever recorded. The five elements, along with Yin and Yang, surged across the skies. They didn't just gather; they merged, creating a titanic formation that spanned the entire expanse of the heavens.
From that fusion, something remarkable happened. New elements were born.
Wood, storm, steam, lava, ice—the list went on and on.. The natural laws of the world trembled as if reshaped by the boy's arrival.
All of the elements—fire, water, earth, wind, lightning—alongside Yin and Yang, were forcibly drawn together, merging into a single, swirling black orb. That orb pulsed with an overwhelming pressure, before it erupted and reshaped itself into a towering black warrior.
The warrior was massive, a pair of enormous wings stretched from its back, and its face was hidden behind a fearsome tengu mask. It radiated a presence that silenced the heavens.
That guardian didn't just stand watch—it slaughtered. Millions died in a single day.
Countless forces descended upon the newborn, hoping to capture him and refine him into a pill, eager to steal the fortune of a genius before he could grow. But every one of them was cut down. Their bodies were consumed, their energy harvested to keep the black warrior anchored in the world, protecting Itachi until his mother recovered her strength after childbirth.
Three peak Immortal Sovereigns perished that day—each felled in a single blow. The guardian warrior was simply too overwhelming. Anything that touched it was instantly nullified, erased from existence, and then absorbed to further empower its already terrifying form.
Striking it was suicide. Even getting near it meant risking complete erasure. Its presence bent reality itself. Speed didn't describe its movement—space and time crumbled in its path, allowing the warrior to ignore both distance. It simply was, and it moved when it willed.
And when Itachi's mother finally recovered her strength, the warrior dissolved into her body—merging with her essence and surging her power to an even greater peak.
"Things didn't stop there. From the moment he was born, the boy began learning at an unnatural pace… By the age of three, Itachi had already created a cultivation art that eclipsed anything within the 99 heavens. A technique so powerful, it forced every major power to unite—setting aside ancient grudges and rivalries—just to face the threat," the middle-aged man said, his voice quiet as he studied the expression of the one before him.
The young man, usually composed beyond measure, sat in silence, too stunned to speak. "I see…" was all he could manage after a long pause.
Normally, news of this magnitude should've reached him the moment it happened. But with the chaos the heavens had endured lately, he understood. Communication between this world and the 99 heavens had grown tangled and erratic. Even the simplest updates were now a struggle to relay.
The 99 Heavens were something they had long set their sights on devouring. By swallowing more realms, their own world would grow in strength, its foundations expanding, and the very limits of their power cap would increase. In essence, they were cultivating their heavens, feeding it other realms to make it evolve.
For years, they had sent agents into the 99 Heavens, silently collecting information, manipulating events from the shadows. Their goal had always been to weaken the heavens from within, to suppress them before the final moment came—before the devouring.
But now, with the Pregnant Immortal's sudden surge in power… that plan was no longer so simple. Her strength had become a massive, unforeseen obstacle.
"We can't swallow their heavens through the peaceful route anymore… have our forces prepare for war," the young man said with a deep frown.
They were already at war with three other worlds. Opening another front now was far from ideal, but with the Pregnant Immortal's current strength, there was no way she hadn't already sensed their plans. Time was no longer a luxury they could afford.
They needed to act quickly—before Itachi had a chance to grow any further. The longer they waited, the stronger he would become, especially with the kind of pressure and hardship a war would bring. That alone could accelerate his growth at an unpredictable rate.
Yes, the 99 Heavens were considered a small world, but that didn't mean it would be easy. In fact, due to how cultivators drew power from their heavens, they would be in a weakened state upon entering this new heaven.
The 99 Heavens would instinctively reject invaders, stripping them of their Dao and preventing them from recovering any Qi they expended. But even with that handicap, the invaders had the advantage—superior techniques, advanced weapons, and refined strategy. If they moved fast enough, they could overwhelm the 99 Heavens before resistance could fully form.