What?
Hyūga Aoi's pupils contracted sharply as she recognized the katana, and she blurted out, "Seven Deadly Sins?!"
When Hiruzen Sarutobi had gathered nearly all of Konoha's shinobi to attempt to draw out the 'Seven Deadly Sins' swords, she was among them, though she only managed to shake 'Lust'.
But hadn't the 'Seven Deadly Sins' always been personally sealed and kept in Konoha's most restricted area by the Third Hokage?
How could one suddenly appear here?
And actively fly into Neji Hyūga's hand?
If she remembered correctly, the name of that katana was...
"Wrath"?
Neji Hyūga lowered his head, looking at the katana that seemed to possess a consciousness of its own. He instantly understood the reason for its appearance here.
"If the divine were omniscient, it would not stand idly by this injustice that has lasted for thousands of years, yet it has, so it is not omniscient."
"If the divine were omnipotent, it could easily eradicate all injustice and suffering in the world, yet it has not, so it is not omnipotent."
"If this is the entity that the world calls 'God'..."
He gripped the katana named "Wrath," his tone abruptly becoming cold and resolute: "Then, either it is blind, it is deaf, or it is rotten to the core!"
"In that case, we don't need it!"
"All the pain inflicted upon me, all the suffering, all the injustice, all the despair—I will personally repay it tenfold, a hundredfold!"
"Even death will not escape this suffering!"
As his voice fell, he firmly grasped the scabbard of the katana above his head with one hand, and his other hand gripped the katana's hilt without hesitation!
Clang!
A clear, chilling sound of the blade ringing out!
As the katana was drawn inch by inch, the weapon seemed to truly come alive.
The obscure runes on the tsuba (handguard) seemed to ignite. The long, narrow blade flowed with a molten-gold, scorching light, raising a blast of burning heat!
Golden flames surged from the gap between the scabbard and the blade, coiling around Neji Hyūga's gripping arm, burning fiercely!
Under the scorching heat of the flames, the flesh of his hand carbonized, peeled away, and vanished at a visible rate, quickly revealing the stark white finger bones beneath!
But Neji Hyūga appeared to feel no pain whatsoever, still gripping it tightly.
He held the burning scabbard horizontally before him in one hand, and the blade, which was also wreathed in golden flames, in his other skeletal hand, the tip pointed downward, forming a crucifix shape before him.
The book of Romans says, "Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, 'Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.'"
This passage advises people not to take revenge driven by Wrath, for the wicked will eventually be punished. If "the Lord" has not brought retribution, it is either because the evil is not yet at its extreme, or the time has not yet come.
Conversely, the sin of "Wrath" in the Seven Deadly Sins is essentially the refusal to acknowledge and the stripping away of God's power to judge and forgive, turning one's rage into active retaliation.
Through violence, one uses one's own standard of judgment to determine good and evil, and metes out retribution and punishment for the "good" and "evil" of others!
"All consumed by the fire of Karma, repaying their long-standing debt, bordering on becoming beasts."
As if conducting a solemn judgment, following the guidance of 'Wrath', Neji Hyūga pronounced with gravity: "Be consumed and cleansed by the fire of Karma..."
"Wrath."
BOOM!!
The moment the word fell, an incredibly searing aura surged violently from the ground pointed at by the fiery crucifix blade!
A pillar of pure golden flame instantly shot into the sky, piercing through the rocks and soil above without resistance and straight into the heavens!
This domain of golden flame spread rapidly, extending across the entire Hyūga Clan Compound!
Everywhere it passed—walls, ground, air—everything seemed to be plated with a flowing golden brilliance, yet nothing was physically burned.
It was as if the purpose of this flame was not destruction, but...
—Purification.
At this moment, in the dark, damp dungeon of the Hyūga Clan, Tetsu Hyūga, Iroha Hyūga, and the still-injured Takashi Hyūga were on high alert.
Before them, the corpse that once belonged to Haruto Hyūga was undergoing an extremely horrifying and bizarre transformation.
Crack! Crack!
A pale, bony mask grew on its face. Its body writhed and stood up like a marionette, adopting physiologically impossible poses, emanating a cold, resentful aura.
A newly born 'Hollow' was emerging!
"Are you ready, Tetsu?" Iroha Hyūga's voice was low. He quickly formed hand signs, preparing to cast a sealing jutsu he was not yet proficient in.
"Yes," the taciturn Tetsu Hyūga nodded slightly. "I just don't know if our amateur sealing jutsu will work..."
They had anticipated before the operation that the massive deaths of Main House members and those loyal to them might lead to the birth of 'Hollows'.
A 'Hollow,' driven by instinct upon birth, unconsciously targets the people it hated in life.
This was the main reason the Branch House had not completely exterminated the unrelated women and children of the Main House.
If the number of 'Hollows' was too great, or if a terrifying existence similar to the "Evil Eye" was born, the consequences would severely damage not only the Branch House but Konoha itself.
"Kill!!"
The nascent 'Hollow' fully solidified. Driven by instinctive hatred, it fixed its gaze on the three shinobi, letting out a shriek filled with resentment and fury.
A massive bony mask covered most of its face, revealing only a constantly opening and closing hollow mouth. Its distorted limbs were about to pounce on the three!
Iroha Hyūga, Tetsu Hyūga, and Takashi Hyūga hardened their expressions, preparing to meet it with ninjutsu and sealing jutsus.
But in that very instant!
A wave of heat surged in without warning. The air seemed to ignite, becoming intensely hot.
The three shinobi felt their vision filled with golden light, facing a magnificent wall composed purely of golden flames, extending infinitely upwards, downwards, left, and right!
This wall of flame passed silently over the newly born 'Hollow,' and then effortlessly swept over the prepared Iroha Hyūga, Tetsu Hyūga, and Takashi Hyūga!
Boom!
Both the savage 'Hollow' and the three Hyūga shinobi were instantly enveloped in these rootless golden flames!
"What is this thing?!"
Takashi Hyūga's face immediately changed color. He instinctively dove to the ground, trying to extinguish the flames on his body.
But the next second, what he felt was not the searing pain of burning, but a sensation of scrutiny that seemed to originate from the depths of his soul.
A gentle yet powerful warmth surged through his entire body. The wounds he had sustained previously began to heal and scab over at a visible rate!
Iroha Hyūga and Tetsu Hyūga felt the same change, their expressions bewildered as they watched the golden flames burning on their bodies.
However, the 'Hollow's' experience was the exact opposite of theirs.
"Aaaah!!!"
The 'Hollow' enveloped in golden flames let out a screech so distorted and shrill that it felt like it was composed of countless souls crying out, layered with pain and terror!
Its body, which was formed of spiritual energy, emitted a sizzling sound under the golden flame's scorching, like a red-hot iron pressed against flesh!
It twisted and rolled frantically on the ground, trying to put out the flames on its body, but the golden fire clung to every inch of its body like a persistent parasite, burning ever fiercer!
As a bloodless 'Hollow,' the fuel for this golden flame was clearly not flesh and blood.
It was the soul!
No, more accurately, it was the "evil" carried within the soul.
This was the ability of 'Seven Deadly Sins: Wrath': the wielder sets the standard for "good" and "evil," and administers the fire of Karma to heal the body or scorch the soul.
The intensity of the body's healing and the soul's scorching, as well as the number and range of people being judged "good" or "evil," depended on the strength of Neji Hyūga and 'Wrath.'
Neji Hyūga used "whether one oppressed the Branch House" as the standard for judging "whether one was evil."
The 'Hollow,' formed by the pain, hatred, unwillingness, and despair of Haruto Hyūga and the other former Main House members in life, became the perfect tinder for this flame, relentlessly burned and purified.
Soon, the 'Hollow's' screaming became increasingly sharp, and then increasingly faint. Its form gradually became transparent and blurry in the flames.
Finally, it turned into an irregular, pitch-black sphere. Inside, several faces could be seen churning, struggling in endless pain and silent screams.
Iroha Hyūga, Tetsu Hyūga, and Takashi Hyūga clearly saw the distorted, pain-ridden faces of Haruto Hyūga and the others. The next moment, the sphere was carried by the golden flames and flew away into the distance.
In the dungeon, only the burning golden flames slowly extinguished, leaving the three Hyūga shinobi basking in the warm afterglow.
"What exactly is this?"
Iroha Hyūga's expression was one of bewildered surprise. He looked in the direction the black sphere had flown: "That way is..."
"Hiashi Hyūga's residence!" Tetsu Hyūga said in a voice of shock and awe. "Is that Neji Hyūga?!"
Simultaneously, in other corners of the Hyūga Clan Compound.
The corpses of the Main House members, which had been moved and sealed off by the Branch House members, were also undergoing the same bizarre and terrifying transformation under the Branch House members' grave and fearful gazes.
Pale, bony masks grew and spread from the faces of the corpses. Limbs twitched and stretched unnaturally, emitting a cold, resentful aura, transforming into hideous 'Hollows.'
However, just as this transformation process was halfway complete, and even some 'Hollows' had fully solidified, letting out screams of hatred and about to attack the people nearby.
BOOM!!
Endless golden flames emerged out of thin air, instantly engulfing the 'Hollows' that were either transforming or already fully formed!
"Aahhh!!"
"Roar!!"
Shrill, piercing screams unlike human voices erupted instantly in various locations, filled with pain and terror, as if souls were being thrown into a scorching furnace.
Under the horrified stares of the Branch House members, the grotesque 'Hollows' twisted and struggled frantically in the golden flames.
Eventually, these 'Hollows' were completely burned away, transforming into small, fist-sized, irregular black spheres.
As if drawn by some invisible force, they turned into streaks of light, ignoring all obstacles, and flew toward the direction of Hiashi Hyūga's residence!
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