The moment Uchiha Iori pushed open the door, he heard a low, mournful sobbing.
He looked over curiously and saw a few people whose styles seemed completely out of place sitting together at a table.
There were three of them.
One was a huge man wearing unusual armor;
another was a huge man wearing a tank top and a cape;
and the last was a man dressed and groomed like a European gentleman from the early twentieth century.
Unlike the lively drinking and revelry on the other side of the room, the three sat in a corner, looking gloomy and dejected as they continued to sob. It was hard not to be curious.
Uchiha Iori couldn't help walking a few steps closer, hoping to hear what they were talking about.
The armored giant choked back a sob. "You know, when I first transmigrated, I thought my story was going to be about conquering the world in the Middle Ages."
His voice was low, tinged with helplessness and despair. "Because I had the memories of my past life, and this life had given me an extraordinary physique, it was easy to raise an army once I came of age and establish a base of my own."
"After repelling the nobles' attacks a few times, I thought the time was right and led my army on the counteroffensive."
"Everything was going smoothly until I brought my troops to the castle of the biggest lord in my region."
"Then..." His voice trembled, and his eyes reddened. "Then..."
As Uchiha Iori listened to the story, it seemed strangely familiar, as though he'd heard something similar somewhere before.
The person beside him pressed, "And then? What happened?"
"The castle grew legs and stood up. That damn thing wasn't a castle—it was a mech. This world is a Knight World in the Warhammer 40,000 universe." The giant broke down in tears as he spoke.
Iori nearly lost it.
Someone had actually transmigrated to that hellhole called Warhammer 40,000. Surviving without immediately getting corrupted by the Four Chaos Gods was a miracle.
"Then how did you survive? That was a Knight Titan!"
Iori asked curiously. From what he'd heard, the man was at most as strong as an unarmored Space Marine. There was no way he could dismantle a mech with his bare hands, and even running away sounded iffy.
The Space Marine wiped away his tears. "Oh, the Blood Angels saved me. I transmigrated because of a deal between Alaya and the Emperor. My mission was complete once I met the Emperor and lived to tell the tale."
"I wasn't targeted by the Four Chaos Gods because Alaya and the Emperor protected me. I'm an Apothecary with the Blood Angels now."
Uchiha Iori's eyes lit up.
"Hey, could you get your hands on materials about genetic technology, as well as high-yield crops and agricultural construction? Beginner-level stuff would be fine."
"The agricultural technology in my world is about on par with that of an ancient Eastern society. I couldn't use anything too advanced anyway."
"If there's anything you need, you can tell me too. I'll see if I can help."
"Oh, right. I go by Uchiha Iori now. Just call me Iori. What should I call you?"
Warhammer 40,000 was a space opera, but it was still a far-future world.
Genetic technology went without saying; the emergence of the Primaris Space Marines proved as much. Materials on agricultural machinery would certainly help Iori's plans immensely.
After all, the Naruto world was, strictly speaking, no different from an ancient agrarian society.
By the time Naruto was an adult, computers had appeared, but technological development was extremely uneven.
"Are you Japanese?" the three asked in unison.
"No, I'm Chinese. I just transmigrated to the Naruto world, and until I can go back, I don't really want to think about the past."
Iori waved his hand, a trace of pain showing on his face.
"Got it. I was Chinese in my past life too, and so were they." The Space Marine nodded, a glimmer of understanding in his eyes.
"My name is Jonathan Joestar now. Just call me JoJo. Getting you materials on agriculture and primitive machinery shouldn't be a problem, but genetic technology is mainly controlled by the Adeptus Mechanicus."
"What exactly do you need? I'll see if I can come up with a solution."
JoJo and the others understood the reason without needing him to explain further.
They had all given up their old names too.
Uchiha Iori thought for a moment, then said, "I don't know if you've seen Naruto, but in it, the Sage's bloodline was split into several parts. I want to complete my genes and return to my roots."
He'd originally been counting on Orochimaru or Hiruko, but now a more reliable path had opened up before him.
"I'll pass my memories to you. Each round of genetic fusion takes about three years to stabilize."
"You don't need to help me with anything. If you really feel you owe me, then come help out in the Warhammer universe once you're strong enough."
JoJo passed the relevant memories to Uchiha Iori. It was a simple gesture for him, and a way to build a good relationship.
"And what should I call you two? Which worlds did you end up in?" Uchiha Iori sat down and turned to the other two.
"Bai Wenyao. The Hǎihǔ world—not that Bai family," the man in the tank top said miserably.
"Julian Carlos. Lovecraft's world—or, to put it another way, the Cthulhu Mythos," the European gentleman said in despair.
Iori sucked in a breath. Man, these guys had drawn some terrible lots. What kind of messed-up worlds were those?
The four of them started chatting. None of them were happy with their circumstances, but by comparison, Uchiha Iori had it best.
At least his world was relatively normal, and he already had a clear plan and vision for the future.
After chatting for a while, Iori was the first to take his leave.
He'd come to meet the Heroic Spirits, but he'd happened to run into fellow transmigrators instead.
Since it would be difficult for them to meet in their respective universes, they had no conflicting interests. Instead, he'd even received a gift.
"Yo, you're finally here. Done talking with your fellow countrymen?"
Cú Chulainn said with a smile, holding up his wine glass.
"They didn't seem comfortable at our gathering, so they went over to the other side."
"We finished talking. JoJo helped me out a lot."
Uchiha Iori pointed to the others. "Could you introduce me to them?"
There were seven Heroic Spirits at the gathering. Besides Cú Chulainn, Diarmuid, and Emiya Shirou, Uchiha Iori hadn't been able to identify the rest.
"Sure."
Cú Chulainn pointed to a man dressed in the style of Japan's Edo period. "This is a swordsman who shares your name: Miyamoto Iori."
Miyamoto Iori gave a simple nod in greeting.
Then he pointed to the young man beside Miyamoto Iori. "This is Miyamoto Iori's friend, Yamato Takeru."
Yamato Takeru was busy eating. He looked up to greet Iori, then went right back to his food. Between bites, he said, "The white rice here is delicious. It's even better than the rice at Iori's house."
Cú Chulainn then pointed to a man and a woman on the other side.
"That's the Norse hero Siegfried. The one beside him is the Greek princess Medea."
The white-haired man raised his glass in greeting to Uchiha Iori.
The purple-haired girl smiled innocently and greeted Uchiha Iori too.
"My name is Uchiha Iori. It's a pleasure to meet you all."
Uchiha Iori smiled and joined their company.
The banquet continued. After everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, they left one by one, until only Emiya Shirou and Uchiha Iori remained.
"Why didn't you ask me to copy any Noble Phantasms this time?" Emiya Shirou asked curiously.
"I wouldn't want to spoil the fun. We've got plenty of time, don't we?"
Uchiha Iori was certainly tempted, but he knew better than to push his luck.
Though the Heroic Spirits at the banquet were all easygoing, if word got around that he was a party pooper, he probably wouldn't be invited to future gatherings.
"I'm heading back too. See you next time." After passing on the method for using Rho Aias to Uchiha Iori, Emiya Shirou left.
After committing the Noble Phantasm's information to memory, Uchiha Iori returned to the Ninja World, ready to face the Iwagakure Ninja attack.