He paused here and looked at the black box placed in front of them. Dense characters were carved on its surface, and under the lamplight it showed a dark gold sheen that left no doubt about its value.
"The writing on this box is the same ancient script as the one on the stone tablet," Jiraiya said in a low voice. "Several of the words here have already been deciphered."
Objects that carried this kind of script, whether ancient books or relics, always bore heavy history, marked by fate and extinction. Jiraiya looked at the ancient characters on the box and slowly spoke the words, sounding like both prophecy and curse.
"Any blood of gods must end by the sword."
As soon as he finished speaking, a heartbeat sound came from inside the box, causing everyone's pupils to shrink. Listening carefully, they could even make out that there were seven distinct heartbeats.
"This..." Kakashi Hatake swallowed hard, staring at the black box. What on earth had he brought back from the Underground Palace?
Why was there a heartbeat sound?
Jiraiya raised his hand and pressed the mechanism at the center of the black box. A series of complex mechanical clicks sounded as it opened.
With a series of clacks, the box unfolded to both sides, and dark light reflected from within. Seven blades of different shapes, covered in intricate patterns, appeared before everyone's eyes.
These seven weapons were stored in the same box, buried underground for thousands of years, yet at the moment they emerged, they still shone with cold light. Their exaggerated yet restrained sharpness hinted that beneath their crafted beauty, they were lethal weapons of slaughter.
Most importantly, "Are they alive?"
One of the Konoha Jonin members murmured in a daze. Yes, the feeling these seven blades gave them was that they were alive.
The seven differently shaped blades lay quietly in the box, but everyone present could clearly feel as if they were being watched by something. Or rather, they were being examined, their bodies and even the depths of their souls.
"You are thinking correctly," Jiraiya said softly as his gaze swept over them. "I know it sounds unbelievable, but these seven blades are indeed alive."
"They are called the Seven Deadly Sins."
"Pride, Envy, Wrath, Sloth, Greed, Gluttony, and Lust."
Jiraiya pointed to each blade one by one. Greed, ring pommel saber. Pride, eight sided sword. Wrath, tachi. Envy, wakizashi. Sloth, broad greatsword. Gluttony, horse cutting blade. Lust, short dagger.
It was the first time many of them had seen the shapes of some of these weapons. Ninja tools in the Ninja World were strange by nature, so this alone did not surprise them.
What truly shocked them was Jiraiya's next sentence.
"Try it," Jiraiya said in a deep voice. "Draw them."
"Only those who gain their recognition are qualified to wield them."
"Pull them out."
"Only those who gain their recognition are qualified to own and use them."
Inside the tent, the air seemed to slow after Jiraiya said this, each breath turning heavy. Someone spoke with a dry voice and asked if that meant the weapons chose their owners rather than the other way around. Jiraiya replied that this was correct, explaining that they had souls and were alive in a sense.
He added that every word spoken and every action taken might already be under their watch. Jiraiya nodded and could not help but sigh that he could not imagine how powerful the smith who forged the seven blades must have been. As those words fell, many people felt their bodies stiffen as if unseen eyes were measuring them.
Granting life to cold weapons went beyond understanding, and no master smith in the Ninja World could compare to such skill. Even the former Kusanagi Sword already stood at the peak of Ninja Tool craftsmanship, so weapons with souls had to be even more terrifying. Thinking of this, the faint sense of seven heartbeats pressed on everyone's nerves, and their own hearts began to race.
A system notice chimed, stating that the lies were judged as false glory and empty fame, causing emotional fluctuations in Jiraiya, Kakashi Hatake, Ryuji Hyuga, and others, reaching a level of longing and granting 3000 Reality Points. The display showed Remaining Reality Points at 10235. Ryuji Hyuga watched calmly, not surprised to see his name appear.
This was exactly the effect he wanted. What began as seven weapons embedded with Ninjutsu and Chakra had later been enhanced again at the cost of points. The choice was not easy, but he needed the owners of this set of Seven Deadly Sins to spread the name of the so called Yunshiki Otsutsuki.
As his lies increased, the daily gain in points grew, and he understood the need for the continued growth of Akatsuki. The seven blades could not fade into obscurity or end up like the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, becoming little more than background figures later on. Because of this, Ryuji Hyuga decided to run an experiment.
Growth. He wanted to give the seven blades the ability to grow stronger under certain conditions. From the souls he had collected, he chose seven special ones and sealed them into the blades, letting them choose their owners based on their own nature, much like how Root operated.
They were similar to the "Silian Tongzi" in Hidan's hands, able to absorb the souls of the slain, though most of those souls would still belong to Ryuji Hyuga. The key difference between the Seven Deadly Sins and "Silian Tongzi" was that the absorbed souls would not feed back to the wielder but would strengthen the soul within the blade. The wielder also had to offer their own mental energy to nurture the blade, shaping a unique ability.
Each blade would fit its owner best, and each one had an unknown limit and future. Even Ryuji Hyuga did not know their exact abilities, or whether he himself could draw them. He felt genuine anticipation, finding joy in the uncertainty.
Hidan alone had brought him 3000 points, and the dozen people present brought another 3000. With more than nine thousand before, he should have had over fifteen thousand in total. Now he had just over ten thousand, meaning he had placed five thousand points on the future.
"Who goes first?" Jiraiya asked, breaking the silence.
They looked at one another and saw the same eagerness in each other's eyes. An impatient Jonin from the Akimichi Clan stepped forward, taking a deep breath as he fixed his gaze on the blade called "Gluttony." Jiraiya nodded, agreeing with the choice, and many felt the same since the name suited the Akimichi Clan member well.
He gripped the handle of the massive blade, muscles swelling as he tried to pull it free. With his strength, he could have torn a person's head off, yet the sword did not move at all. His face flushed red as he strained harder, but the blade remained fixed in its case.
The crowd stared in disbelief, and a Yamanaka Clan Jonin even asked if he was joking with them. Angrily, Si Dong cursed and formed seals to use Baika no Jutsu, yet the sword still did not respond. Power that could have lifted the entire case vanished as if swallowed.
When someone laughed behind him, Si Dong lost his momentum and turned back, face red as he snapped at them to try it themselves. A Nara Clan Jonin volunteered, choosing not Gluttony but the blade called "Sloth." The broad greatsword looked even heavier, yet when he applied slight force, it gave a faint sound.
Eyes widened, but soon he let go. When asked why he stopped, he stepped back and said plainly that it had rejected him. Jiraiya understood and admitted that he had also failed to draw "Lust," not even managing to make it budge.
The Nara Clan Jonin frowned and noted that the names were not simple labels. He joked that given Jiraiya's habits, Lust should have suited him best, only to get smacked on the head before he could finish. Laughing, he went on to try the other blades, as did the stubborn Si Dong.
The results were the same. Only when Si Dong tried "Wrath" did the blade show a brief tremor before falling silent again. At least this proved that the blades demanded alignment with their names, not the other way around.
The repeated failures did not cool their desire but stirred their fighting spirit. One by one, others stepped forward, yet the best they received were faint mocking hums before silence returned. Faces twisted with frustration, and even Kakashi Hatake secretly tried "Sloth" and "Lust," drawing an obvious hum from Lust before failing, earning him strange looks and a dark expression.
Failure washed over the tent, draining the earlier excitement and replacing it with deeper awe. The seven blades stood quietly in their cases, cold light flowing along their edges as if they were silently mocking the crowd. It felt like an unspoken question hung in the air, asking whether they were worthy at all.
Everyone fell silent. Jiraiya frowned, his mood sinking, since he had meant to boost morale before their action. These people were all elite, standing at the top of Konoha and even the Ninja world, yet none were recognized.