Fantasy Greatsword: Balmung's Fall

It was a long, silver-white sword with exquisite patterns carved into the hilt and a cross-shaped ornament embedded in the center, the blade radiating a terrifying amount of chakra.

"You should feel honored to die beneath this holy dragon-slaying sword, Balmung."

Uchiha Iori raised the longsword with both hands, a massive magical reaction surging from the blue gem set in the hilt.

"Quick, stop him! Don't let him unleash that attack!"

Although Rasa and Ebizo were still unaware that the Noble Phantasm Iori had fabricated was a mere construct, the chakra reaction and the "World of Swords" Iori had boasted about earlier made it obvious to anyone with a brain that he was preparing a grand technique.

Taking advantage of the moment Iori focused on liberating his Noble Phantasm and the rain of swords ceased, the Sunagakure Ninja launched their ninjutsu in unison, hoping to interrupt his attack.

"Forbidden Technique: Gold Dust Tornado!"

The Sunagakure Ninja combined their efforts in Wind Release, merging it with Rasa's gold dust to form a deadly tornado.

Rasa manipulated the gold dust, controlling the trajectory of the vortex; the high-speed rotation of the metallic sand was enough to shred anything in its path.

In this critical moment, Rasa finally broke through his own limits, successfully gaining full control over the Gold Dust Tornado.

Rasa pushed the tornado toward Uchiha Iori, the gale pulverizing everything it touched into fragments.

Iori watched the tornado rapidly closing in, yet he showed no expression, merely gazing calmly at the raging wind.

He solemnly proclaimed the arrival of his enemies' doom:

"The evil dragon shall eventually fall,"

"The light and shadow that sever all things."

"The world, now, has reached the hour of sunset."

"Strike you down—Balmung!"

Iori twisted the hilt, and True Ether from the Age of Gods was released.

He swung the sword down, carving out a semi-circular wave of twilight-colored sword energy.

The sword energy tore through the world, and the space within Iori's Unlimited Blade Works trembled violently, as if it were about to be shattered by the sheer force of the strike.

"What is this? How could it be so powerful?"

The sword energy effortlessly swept away the Gold Dust Tornado, leveling everything in its path.

Rasa, Ebizo, and the others attempted to use ninjutsu to block the energy, but it was clearly like a mantis trying to stop a carriage; all the Sunagakure Ninja were torn apart by the strike. Even those at the Kage level were fragile and powerless in the face of such a natural disaster.

[As expected, most of them are just glass cannons. If these were powerhouses from worlds like One Piece or physical specialists like the Raikage, they might have at least left behind a whole corpse.]

Uchiha Iori lowered Balmung, and the holy sword shattered into particles of light, merging back into Unlimited Blade Works.

Dismissing the reality marble, Iori sat down hard on the ground, gasping for air.

"D-damn it... I forgot that this thing actually has physical requirements for its user."

Iori had momentarily overlooked that the wielders of this holy sword in the past were either dragon-kin bathed in dragon blood or demigods born of divine lineage.

Beyond the chakra consumption, the physical burden was astonishingly high; once a Noble Phantasm reached A-rank, the requirements for its liberation became terrifying.

[It seems I need to put genetic modification on the agenda as soon as possible. Once I finish off the Land of Wind, I can head back to the village.] Iori thought while catching his breath.

Currently, Iori's mental energy was overflowing, but his physique could no longer keep up with the growth of his power—a result of the imbalance between the physical and mental energy that comprised chakra.

This lopsided attribute distribution had limited his chakra ceiling; after all, even if the ratio became 9:1, there still had to be a "1" to work with.

[Once I return to the village and defeat Fugaku to become the clan head, I can use the clan's resources to build myself a laboratory.]

[I'll apply the technology provided by my good brother from the Warhammer World. I originally planned to supplement the Uchiha genes first, but it seems I must obtain Hashirama Cells to complete the fusion of Senju and Uchiha DNA.]

Thinking of this, Iori once again thanked his good brother from the Warhammer World; although he couldn't come to the Ninja World, he had been a massive help.

[If I hadn't already established a relationship with Tsunade, this would be hard to pull off before becoming Hokage—I'd have to do it in secret and kill anyone who found out.]

[Now it's much more convenient. As long as I talk it over with Tsunade, the Konoha higher-ups won't be able to stop me.]

[Danzo might even have to explain why he secretly restarted his experiments after the Wood Release project was shut down.]

Iori stood up and took a Military Ration Pill from his ninja pouch.

[I'll ask Medea later if she has any Type-Moon style mana-replenishment potions and see if they can be adapted for the Ninja World. The effect of these Military Ration Pills is mediocre; they're only good for emergencies.]

He looked at his perpetually empty mana pool and couldn't help but scratch his head—he was truly tapped out, not a drop left to squeeze.

[Hmm, maybe I can research mana-replenishment methods with the Hokage, hehehe.]

After all, Type-Moon originated from adult games, and their methods of "mana replenishment" were increasingly lewd. Iori planned to use a critical approach to slowly test them in the Ninja World—things like fluid exchange, fluid exchange, and more fluid exchange.

After resting for a while, Iori's stamina slowly recovered, and he began to head in the direction where Orochimaru's team was stationed.

Tsunade fighting Chiyo was a reserved match, and with the amulet Iori had given her, the chance of a disaster was very low.

Orochimaru's injuries hadn't fully healed, and since he was facing a monster as thick-skinned as a Tailed Beast, he might not be able to suppress it easily.

Although he had sent Shisui to deal with the Ketsuryūgan user, Shisui might not be able to secure a quick victory if he wasn't allowed to use his Mangekyo.

If the remaining ninjas were to clash head-on with the Sunagakure Ninja, the losses would likely be substantial.

[After all, camaraderie is one of life's greatest bonds—having shouldered rifles together, visited brothels together, peeked through windows together, and split spoils together. Whether I can rise to the top quickly depends on how many people I can pull into my camp with this move.]

Iori walked while contemplating the post-war situation.

Although he couldn't snatch the Fourth Hokage title from Minato Namikaze, the Night of the Nine-Tails was fast approaching. Minato would soon realize that, compared to the village and his child, he loved his wife more.

He would seize the opportunity that day to eliminate Danzo, save Minato and Kushina Uzumaki, and then persuade him to resign in disgrace to protect his wife.

At that point, no one would be left to compete with him. If the Third Hokage was sensible, all would be well; if not, he would have no choice but to send him to reunite with Danzo.

Although their successive deaths might arouse suspicion, as long as there was no concrete evidence, it would simply be an accident.

Iori slowly began to accelerate; his stamina and chakra had recovered by nearly half as he started sprinting in the direction of the One-Tail Jinchuriki.

In the distance, he could already see the massive chakra being exuded by the One-Tail.

Balmung

Rank: A+

A cursed holy sword that achieved the feat of dragon-slaying, simultaneously possessing the attributes of its prototype, the demonic sword Gram.

It can transform its properties into that of a demonic sword or a holy sword depending on the user.

The blue jewel on the hilt stores and preserves the magical energy of the Age of Gods (True Ether), which, when released, unleashes a twilight-colored sword aura.

Deals additional damage to those who carry dragon blood.