Sorting the Spoils and Arriving in the Land of Wind

Uchiha Iori awoke in the Hall of Heroes to find Emiya Shirou watching him with an eager expression.

"Is it over? How did it go? Was Sakura saved?" Emiya Shirou asked anxiously.

"I have fulfilled my duty," Iori replied with a smile.

"If you ever need my help in the future, just say the word," Emiya Shirou said, the anxiety in his eyes gradually fading as he spoke to Iori.

Unlike the Holy Grail War, there was no wish to serve as a prize; if Iori were to summon a Heroic Spirit on his own, the target might not respond or might not be willing to obey.

Emiya Shirou's promise meant that if he were summoned by Iori, he would do his utmost to assist.

"Haha, I'll keep that in mind. I won't stand on ceremony," Iori said happily; this was a powerful card to hold.

"Then I shall take my leave. Your harvest must be quite substantial," Emiya Shirou said before departing.

Iori watched Emiya Shirou leave, a sense of longing for Sakura surfacing in his heart.

He closed his eyes and began to summarize his gains.

[Hundreds of A-rank and B-rank Noble Phantasms that cannot be fully released, though only their durability and sharpness are worth mentioning.]

[Gate of Babylon: A key-shaped sword that connects to the "Treasury of the King," known as Bab-ilu.]

[Enuma Elish: The sword of rupture, possessing the power to cleave the world.]

[Excalibur: A divine construct, the Holy Sword of the Planet; a single swing can crush a city.]

[Avalon: The scabbard's ability is immortality, possessing the power to heal the holder's wounds and halt aging. Releasing its true name grants the "Absolute Defense," protecting the holder from all interference.]

The Noble Phantasms that could not be released could only serve as the foundation for his sword-making or as templates to be fired as projectiles.

In Iori's hands, the Gate of Babylon could connect to an ownerless space, allowing him to freely retrieve and fire items, effectively granting him a powerful spatial storage.

Because their ranks were too high, Enuma Elish and Avalon were difficult to use normally; using them would cost him his life force.

Excalibur, however, was a new trump card; a single strike would be enough to slay a Tailed Beast.

"As expected, there is always a supply drop before a great battle," Iori said with satisfaction.

"I still need to consider how much of my power to reveal later. The existence of Shimura Danzō and Root is truly disgusting."

"Hiruzen Sarutobi is also a threat. If I display power that is too great, I might end up like Hatake Sakumo back in the day."

"I might even get to enjoy the same treatment as Hatake Sakumo," Iori stroked his chin, pondering the matter repeatedly.

He could only hope they would be sensible enough not to seek their own deaths.

Deciding to hold back his strength for now, Uchiha Iori returned to the Ninja World.

"Hold on, reinforcements will be here soon!" a Konoha ninja shouted, his voice laced with tension.

Their squad had been completely surrounded by Sunagakure Ninja, and the situation was precarious.

Following the departure of Orochimaru and Tsunade, Konoha had lost its high-level combatants to anchor the line, and the front had been pushed back step by step, with the enemy now approaching the borders of the Land of Fire.

"Stop struggling. You won't have any reinforcements; this entire area has been surrounded by us."

A Sunagakure Ninja sneered, putting pressure on the Konoha ninjas. Although the Sunagakure Ninja had gained the advantage, Konoha had split into small squads under Orochimaru's decisive command, hiding in the shadows.

The Sunagakure Ninja had to be cautious, sweeping step by step to clear every potential threat.

To prevent further complications, the Sunagakure Ninja were searching with all their might for the whereabouts of Orochimaru and Tsunade, determined to capture or kill them to eliminate future trouble.

Otherwise, once they recovered from their injuries, the advantage gained by the Sunagakure Ninja would be difficult to maintain.

"Water Release: Wild Water Wave!" "Lightning Release: Earth Flash!"

Two Konoha ninjas joined forces, attempting to repel the enemy with a combined attack.

"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"

Three Sunagakure Ninja combined their efforts; the Wind Release pushed the Wild Water Wave back, while the Lightning Release struck everyone simultaneously.

After a brief paralysis, the Sunagakure Ninja were the first to recover. "It's over. Don't be afraid; I will spare your lives."

As the Sunagakure Ninja spoke, he formed hand seals. "Wind Release: Kamaitachi."

A tornado rose beneath the Konoha ninjas, lifting them into mid-air. The chakra contained within the wind acted like countless sharp blades, continuously slicing their bodies until innumerable wounds appeared upon them.

When the tornado subsided, the Konoha ninjas fell to the ground like tattered rags, kicking up a cloud of dust.

The wind blades had left them covered in wounds, and they collapsed on the ground, having lost the ability to resist.

The Sunagakure Ninja stepped forward, preparing to stop their bleeding before taking them back to camp for interrogation.

A barrage of weapons flew through the air; several Chunin were caught off guard and pierced through, dying on the spot.

Only two Jonin managed to react just in time to avoid vital points, though they were still wounded.

"Not bad, actually dodging a shot from the Gate of Babylon," a cold voice echoed across the battlefield.

Uchiha Iori appeared abruptly in the center of the fray.

He toyed with the Bab-ilu in his hand in a leisurely manner, scanning the unconscious Konoha ninjas.

Confirming there were no acquaintances and that no one was awake, he was in no rush to act, intending instead to test out his newly acquired toys.

"Are you... an Uchiha? Is this the legendary Uchiha-Style Shurikenjutsu?" A Sunagakure Ninja widened his eyes, staring at Iori in disbelief.

On one hand, no powerful members of the Uchiha clan had appeared on the Land of Wind front, making it highly likely that he was reinforcements from Konoha.

On the other hand, this projectile weapon attack was far too bizarre; current shurikenjutsu in the Ninja World still relied primarily on shuriken and kunai.

Iori did not answer, instead snapping his fingers. "The next round will be twice as much."

In an instant, sixteen golden ripples appeared above Iori's head, with various weapons poking their heads out from within.

The sharp blades glinted with a cold luster, appearing even more blinding under the sunlight.

Whoosh!

"Earth Release: Earth Style Wall!" Two Sunagakure Ninjas joined forces to raise a thick earthen wall from the ground.

The power of their chakra made the wall appear indestructible, and they felt their hearts settle slightly.

The blades then descended like raindrops. Iori's expression remained calm; a mere earthen wall was as fragile as tofu in the face of a Noble Phantasm.

Just as Iori expected, the wall served almost no purpose; it was pierced instantly, and the Sunagakure Ninjas inside were caught off guard and pinned to the ground.

"How is this possible? It didn't have any effect at all," one Sunagakure Ninja muttered in terror.

Although they had prepared for the Earth Style Wall to be pierced, the fact that it failed to function almost entirely caught them off guard.

"Stop struggling. You should know that stepping over an ant without crushing it requires a very difficult amount of force to control," Iori said calmly, turning to walk toward the Konoha ninjas.

Bending down, he checked everyone's injuries. Just as he had judged before, the wounds were not life-threatening and could be easily healed using Pain Breaker.

"I hope... that a world can exist where one does not hurt others, nor be hurt by them... PainBreaker!"

A soft radiance scattered from the top of the staff onto the group, their wounds healing continuously as their breathing stabilized.

"Uh... are you... are you a jonin sent by the village to reinforce us?" The first to wake was the veteran chunin leading the team. Upon opening his eyes, the first thing he saw was the iconic Sharingan of the Uchiha clan.

Feeling slightly relieved, he looked at the surrounding situation and discovered that the enemies were either dead or pinned to the ground, unable to move.

His nearby comrades had not died, and the wounds on their bodies were healing. He finally let out a sigh of relief and said, "Thank you very much for your support. Where are your companions? I will take you to find Lord Orochimaru."