Chapter 270: Neji Succeeds, Purging the Hyuga
Hiashi Hyuga was, in fact, prepared for this day. After all, he could also feel that war was approaching, and Uchiha Douhuan would absolutely not tolerate the existence of a major ninja clan that he couldn't completely control in his rear when the war arrived.
After all, their Hyuga clan had a prior record of rebellion. Moreover, in the Hyuga's current situation, if it weren't for the relationship between Uchiha Douhuan and Neji suppressing things from above, the other main family branches would probably have already started to attack him, because his two daughters, despite the young clan leader already being decided, had still not been branded with the Caged Bird Seal.
Under such circumstances, some of the more talented members of the branch families had also been restless recently. After all, if none of them had the qualification to be the main family, why could Hinata still avoid being branded with the Caged Bird Seal at the age of 14! Was it just because they were the clan head's daughters?
Speaking of which, Hiashi Hyuga was also ashamed. The pressure in this regard had been borne by Neji, the young clan leader, for the past two years. After all, he was Hinata's and Hanabi's father. No matter what he said, he lacked a bit of confidence, and he also didn't have the ability to run a one-man show in the Hyuga clan.
And now, with Uchiha Douhuan having almost explicitly stated it, Hiashi Hyuga felt that it wasn't a bad thing to just hand over the position to Neji. He also knew he wasn't cut out to be a clan head. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been helpless about his younger brother's death back then. What's more, Uchiha Douhuan had now given him the position of a border commander as compensation.
Thinking of this, Hiashi Hyuga no longer hesitated and immediately said, "Lord Hokage need not worry. National affairs must of course come before family affairs. For Lord Hokage to be willing to entrust me with such a great responsibility is an honor for me and for the Hyuga clan. As for the clan's affairs, Neji has already grown up. I think it's time to give him more responsibilities."
"It would be for the best if Clan Head Hiashi thinks so," Uchiha Douhuan nodded.
"I wonder if Lord Hokage could grace us with his presence at Neji's clan head succession ceremony in a few days?" Hiashi Hyuga said.
"Naturally. Neji is my disciple. At such an important moment in his life, I must of course be present," Uchiha Douhuan said.
...
After Hiashi Hyuga left, a figure slowly walked out from a shadowy corner of the Hokage's office.
"Fifth, you should know what kind of impact your disciple becoming the clan head will have on the Hyuga, right?" Senju Tobirama said, stepping out from the shadows.
Looking at the person who had walked out of this corner, Uchiha Douhuan was also speechless for a moment. He finally knew where Danzō's habit of liking to hide in that corner of this office came from. You must know that this corner, after Uchiha Douhuan took office, had been used as a place to pile up miscellaneous items for a long time. But Senju Tobirama had actually cleared out this space and liked to come over and lurk when there was nothing to do in the war council.
"Second Hokage, next time, please don't stay there when you have nothing to do," Uchiha Douhuan first reminded him helplessly, and then said, "What impact can Neji becoming the clan head have? The current Neji is already the strongest of the Hyuga. Not to mention the advanced equipment from Konoha's Ninja Tool Research Institute on him, just in terms of his Gentle Fist art, he is the most talented person to have appeared in the Hyuga clan since the Warring States period. Whether it's his improvement on their Hyuga clan's Eight Trigrams Steps, or the staff techniques he developed in combination with the Gentle Fist, they have all never appeared in the Hyuga clan before. If he doesn't become the clan head, who will?"
"But he used to be a member of a branch family with a Caged Bird Seal on his head. If he becomes the clan head, the Hyuga clan will surely be in turmoil," Senju Tobirama said. "If your disciple has learned your methods, then the final result will probably be the complete abolition of the Caged Bird Seal system."
"Isn't that a good thing?" Uchiha Douhuan shrugged. "If Neji hadn't become my disciple, his talent would probably have been buried by this Caged Bird Seal. From the Warring States to now, for so many years, how many geniuses like Neji do you think the Hyuga have had buried by the Caged Bird Seal, Second Hokage? You must know, as far as I know, the Hyuga, in terms of bloodline, are the same sage bloodline as you Senju and us Uchiha."
"But not every branch family member is a genius like your disciple. And basically everyone in the Hyuga can awaken the Byakugan at a certain age. Without the Caged Bird Seal, the ordinary members of the Hyuga clan will be coveted by the entire ninja world," Senju Tobirama reminded.
"Second Hokage, I think your thinking is still stuck in the Warring States period," Uchiha Douhuan said. "I don't deny that the Caged Bird Seal can protect those branch family members who don't have enough talent. In the conditions of the Warring States period, without the protection of the Caged Bird Seal, the Hyuga would probably have been wiped out long ago. However, now is the era of ninja villages. The village's wars don't just involve the Hyuga clan. I think the village is sufficient to undertake the function of protecting our Hyuga clan comrades."
"And, didn't the Second Hokage always feel that our Uchiha clan couldn't integrate into the village because of our arrogance? Don't you think, Second Hokage, that the Caged Bird Seal is also an obstacle to the Hyuga clan fully integrating into the village?"
Upon hearing Uchiha Douhuan's words, Senju Tobirama also fell silent. He certainly knew that the Hyuga clan, with the existence of the Caged Bird Seal, had never fully integrated into the village since its founding. Although the Caged Bird Seal technique guaranteed the stable inheritance of the Hyuga clan to a certain extent, it also artificially created two opposing classes. The Hyuga main family rarely went out, and the branch family were natural slaves. Under such circumstances, how could one speak of integrating into the village?
Senju Tobirama had not paid much attention to this problem before. After all, compared to the Uchiha who produced a super-powerful lunatic every so often, a ninja clan like the Hyuga that crippled itself did not require him to worry too much. And with the Caged Bird Seal, he didn't need to worry about a strategic-level Kekkei Genkai like the Byakugan falling into the hands of other villages. Therefore, Senju Tobirama had always had a laissez-faire attitude towards the Hyuga clan. His energy had always been focused on guarding against the Uchiha.
"Haven't you thought that if the Byakugan falls into the hands of other villages..."
"If such a thing happens, then it will be the dereliction of duty of me, the Fifth Hokage, or a future Hokage!" Uchiha Douhuan said decisively.
Senju Tobirama took a deep look at Uchiha Douhuan. After a while, he laughed self-deprecatingly, "It seems that I, a person who grew up in the Warring States period, am indeed a bit outdated."
...
Hiashi Hyuga brought the news back to the clan. At the clan meeting, he announced that Neji would officially inherit the position of clan head in a few days, and that he himself would become the commander of a new garrison for the village. This immediately caused an uproar within the Hyuga clan.
"Hiashi, it's certainly a good thing that you can become the village's garrison commander. However, Neji is still so young. Isn't it a bit too hasty for you to let him succeed the position of clan head? I think it's better to take it slowly, let Neji gradually come into contact with the clan head's affairs, and then formally succeed after a few years," a main family elder of the Hyuga said at this time.
"Too hasty? I don't think so," Hiashi Hyuga shook his head and then said. "These past few years, Neji has been helping me handle some of the family's affairs. In handling the things a clan head needs to do, Neji is already very proficient."
"But, Hiashi, don't forget the family's rules," at this time, the successor of the main family branch that had been taken down for forcing Hiashi Hyuga's hand before also spoke up.
"Rules? Elder, perhaps you could remind me," Neji, who was sitting below Hiashi Hyuga, suddenly turned his head to look at the other, his gaze like a knife, scrutinizing him. At this moment, he had not activated his Byakugan, but the Great Elder of the Hyuga still felt as if there were thorns on his back under this gaze.
Neji's gaze directly pushed back the idea this fellow had of proposing to brand Hinata and Hanabi with the Caged Bird Seal.
"Elder, what rule is it that you need to specifically bring up?" Seeing the other fall silent, Neji continued to press.
"Uh... Hiashi, Neji, you also know that before the family's clan head succeeds, he must get married. This has been the rule for many years," this elder, who was being stared at by Neji, wracked his brains and finally came up with this reason on the spot.
"Is that so? The family has such a rule?" Hyuga Neji turned his head to look at Hiashi Hyuga and asked.
"Uh, strictly speaking, yes. This rule is written in the clan regulations. But whether it was me or my father, when we succeeded as clan head, we were already in our twenties, married, and had children, so no one specifically brought it up," Hiashi Hyuga recalled for a moment, then nodded. "But this is easy to handle. Just arrange the engagement before you formally succeed as clan head."
"Then I'll have to trouble you, Uncle, to send an engagement gift to Tenten's house in a few days," hearing this news, Neji also had a bit of a headache. In the face of the things he wanted to do, he didn't want to break such an insignificant rule and cause trouble, so he said to Hiashi Hyuga.
"Tenten?" At this time, several elders looked at me and I looked at you, their eyes as if asking each other, which branch family's girl named Hyuga Tenten was so lucky to be noticed by the young clan leader?
After the few of them exchanged information with confused looks of "it's not me," a main family elder finally asked, "I wonder which family's young lady the young clan leader has taken a fancy to?"
"The only daughter of the owner of the largest ninja tool retailer in the village, Tenten's Ninja Tool Shop, and the current deputy director of Konoha's Scientific Ninja Tool Research Center," Neji said.
"Uh, Young Clan Leader, I'm afraid that won't do. The spouse of the clan head can only be chosen from within the family. This is also a family rule," an elder of the Hyuga said, steeling himself.
"But these past few years, for my and his sake, Tenten has provided our Hyuga clan with a lot of convenience in obtaining the new inventions of the Ninja Tool Research Institute," Neji said. "And with her talent in this area, it's not impossible for her to be in charge of Konoha's Ninja Tool Research Institute in the future. You should be aware of how much importance Teacher attaches to this and the Konoha Medical Academy, these two new departments. If I marry her, our Hyuga clan can also achieve greater development in the future."
Neji patiently laid out Tenten's status, trying to persuade these elders from the perspective of benefits.
"Young Clan Leader, I'm afraid that won't do. For our Hyuga clan, the purity of the main family's bloodline is the most important thing," an elder insisted.
"It's all family rules, is it," Neji also sneered upon hearing this. "In that case, then I think the Hyuga's ancestral teachings should be changed."
"Young Clan Leader, please be careful with your words," an elder immediately said upon hearing Neji's words.
"Is there anything wrong with what I said?" Neji sighed. He had originally wanted to resolve some of the family's historical issues through peaceful means as much as possible, but these elders did not seem to intend to give him this face, so Neji also planned to flip the table directly.
As the one in the Hyuga clan who was in direct contact with Uchiha Douhuan, Neji understood better than anyone that in the near future, there would be a huge change in the entire ninja world. However, the people of their Hyuga clan now seemed to still intend to cling to the rules of the former Warring States period.
Also a great clan in the village, also a young clan leader, why doesn't Sasuke have so many old undying folks holding him back?
Neji sighed inwardly, and then his eyes also became firm.
"Forget it, Uncle. No need to go and propose," Neji said slowly.
"That's more like it, Young Clan Leader. Our Hyuga clan has been able to be passed down from the Warring States period until now because of these rules passed down by our ancestors," a main family elder was overjoyed upon hearing Neji say so, thinking that Neji was about to give in.
"After I become the clan head, I will personally go and propose," Neji said. "As for this period, I remember that in a few days, it will be the annual day for the family to uniformly brand the children of the branch families with the Caged Bird Seal, right? Let's stop this matter for now."
"What does the Young Clan Leader mean by this? The ceremony of branding the branch family with the Caged Bird Seal is the most important matter of the family. Even the succession of the clan head's position has to make way for this ceremony," an elder said at this time.
"Is that so?" Neji slowly stood up, looking down at this group of kneeling Hyuga elders. "I think this matter can be postponed for a few days. After all, after I become the clan head, the first thing I want to do is to cancel the Caged Bird Seal system. I have experienced the taste of having the Caged Bird Seal removed. It's still quite painful. If possible, I think it's not necessary to let those children of the branch families experience this feeling again."
"Hyuga Neji! Do you know what you are saying?" At this time, the Great Elder, who had been giving in all this time, finally couldn't hold back and roared angrily, "The Caged Bird Seal is the foundation of our Hyuga clan's existence to this day! To allow you to have the Caged Bird Seal removed and become the young clan leader is already an act of extraordinary grace from the family, out of respect for the Hokage! How dare you shake the foundation of the family?"
"The foundation of the family?" Neji, upon hearing this, couldn't help but laugh out loud.
(End of chapter)
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