Chapter 125: The Dilemma of the Hyuga Clan
Within Konoha, the ancestral grounds of the Hyuga Clan seemed as though they had remained unchanged.
Over the past few years, under Kei's rule, Konoha had undergone tremendous change. New things had appeared everywhere. Brand new buildings had risen one after another, new roads had been laid down, and many emerging industries had developed, driving the growth of the entire village.
In this great wave of development, the various Ninja Clans of Konoha had all gained enormous benefits and, in general, had become much wealthier.
Those who actively aligned themselves with Kei gained even more power and influence.
Among the many Ninja Clans in Konoha, the Uchiha and Senju had benefited the most.
Under Kei's arrangements, the former not only controlled the Konoha Military Police Force, but also held numerous positions in the Ministry of Transportation and the Ministry of Defense. Their clansmen occupied key posts in various departments and possessed both status and wealth.
The Senju Clan had likewise gained immense benefits. Members of the Senju could be seen everywhere throughout Konoha's education and medical systems, and the advantages they enjoyed were no less than those of the Uchiha.
After the Uchiha and Senju came the Sarutobi Clan and the Ino Shika Cho clans.
Beyond that, the clans from which figures like Danzo Shimura and Homura Mitokado came had also received considerable benefits under their influence.
This was also the period in which Konoha's cohesion had reached its highest point.
Because under Kei's leadership, Konoha's pie had grown much larger, and all the major Ninja Clans had received tangible benefits.
Even civilian Ninjas and ordinary villagers had received substantial dividends amid Konoha's rise.
Civilian Ninjas benefited from the reformed education system, receiving a major tilt in Konoha's resources and far better educational opportunities. After graduation, their treatment was vastly better than in the past.
Even ordinary civilians inside Konoha had plenty of jobs available to them because of the village's industrial growth.
These days, villagers in Konoha could easily find high paying work, while local prices remained low, making their standard of living among the highest in the entire Ninja World.
But no matter how broadly the benefits were distributed, there would always be those left behind.
In Konoha, it was difficult to say who had gained the most under Kei's reforms.
But if one asked who had gained the least, everyone would certainly have the same answer.
That would be the Hyuga Clan.
Even among the Ninja Clans known for strict rules and stubborn traditions, the Hyuga were considered among the most inflexible.
It could not be helped. That clan had always been like this, as though nothing had changed from ancient times until now.
Within the clan, they relied on the Caged Bird Seal to maintain internal rule and prevent the leakage of the Byakugan.
With the Caged Bird Seal in place, the Hyuga Branch Family did not need to worry about their Byakugan being stolen, while the Hyuga Main House enjoyed superior status without doing anything, supported by the labor of the Branch Family.
Normally, the Branch Family fought on the battlefield, while the Main House only needed to remain within the ancestral grounds and enjoy the results.
The fruits of the Branch Family's labor would ultimately be attributed to them, allowing them to share in the glory.
They even had their own justifications for this.
After all, the strategic value of the Byakugan was unquestionable, and from any perspective, it could not be allowed to leak.
If members of the Hyuga Main House were sent to the battlefield and something happened, causing the Byakugan to fall into outside hands, who could shoulder that responsibility?
Even Konoha's high ranking officials, for the sake of stability, would not casually send members of the Hyuga Main House to war.
Under normal circumstances, the Hyuga Clan's system could be considered extremely stable.
With the Caged Bird Seal stabilizing the internal structure and the Byakugan's unmatched strategic capability, it was enough to maintain the clan's survival.
But being too stable was sometimes another way of saying too conservative.
While Yuu was leading Konoha's reforms and the other Ninja Clans were actively participating, the Hyuga Clan remained uninvolved because of the Main House's conservatism.
This was only natural.
The Hyuga Main House enjoyed the honor of the entire clan and the support of the Branch Family. They could reap benefits without doing anything.
Naturally, they leaned toward conservatism and preferred that the world remain exactly as it was.
And since the power of the Hyuga Clan was held entirely in the hands of the Main House, that led to an inevitable result.
Because of the Hyuga Clan's conservatism, they missed many opportunities.
When Kei required all school aged children from the Ninja Clans to enroll in the Ninja Academy, the Hyuga did not openly refuse, but they complied on the surface while resisting in secret.
When Konoha began its large scale construction projects, the Hyuga did not participate, nor were they even willing to invest.
When Konoha began to expand outward and gradually absorb the entire Land of Fire, the Hyuga still did not participate, merely watching coldly from the sidelines within Konoha.
In every major event, the Hyuga Clan behaved like an invisible presence, always looking on from the outside and never involving themselves.
Like a cold, hard stone.
But such extreme conservatism had also brought a result.
The comprehensive backwardness of the Hyuga Clan.
After all, while total conservatism could avoid losses, it also meant there would be no gains to speak of.
If you do not participate and do not even sit at the table, why would anyone include you when the pie is divided?
Now, seeing the various Ninja Clans enjoy the dividends and grow stronger one after another, the Hyuga had finally begun to grow anxious.
So on this day, with the arrival of the Uzumaki Clan, the Hyuga could bear it no longer and formally convened a clan meeting to discuss the matter.
"A gold mine has been discovered again in the southern part of the Land of Fire. It is said that the Inuzuka Clan, who discovered it, was rewarded with three years of mining rights."
"The Yamanaka Clan's flower shop business is growing bigger and bigger. Their stores have already spread across the entire Land of Fire. It is said they are currently negotiating with Hokage sama to establish Yamanaka Floriculture together with the village, with both sides holding half the shares."
"The Nara Clan's medicine business has grown even larger. It is said that the Nara contributed all of their family's medicine formulas, and the Konoha Pharmaceutical Group established with the village has reaped enormous profits throughout the Land of Fire. Their annual share alone is equivalent to more than ten years of our Hyuga Clan's income."
"Even members of the Hatake family have been invited to serve as instructors at the Intermediate Academy, specifically teaching the Hatake Clan's sword arts."
"That child from their family is also exceptionally talented. It is said he is now as famous as Orochimaru and the others, and Hokage sama personally bestowed upon him the title of Konoha White Fang."
"The hearts of the clansmen below are already wavering. It is no longer possible to suppress them the way we did before."
Inside the great hall, the clan head and the elders were discussing the current situation, their emotions extremely complicated.
To say they felt no envy whatsoever toward the benefits the other Ninja Clans in Konoha were receiving would be a blatant lie.
Most of Konoha's Ninja Clans had only mediocre strength.
Before this, aside from the Uchiha and Senju, who could firmly suppress the Hyuga, only the Sarutobi Clan was somewhat worthy of the Hyuga Clan's notice.
As for the other Ninja Clans, even families like the Ino Shika Cho were considered second rate in the Hyuga Clan's eyes. That was all.
But now, with Konoha's rapid development, the other Ninja Clans were rising one after another.
Under Konoha's financial reforms, most of the Ninja Clans had already made their fortunes, and their resources were becoming increasingly abundant.
For a Ninja Clan, having more money meant having stronger combat power, at least to a certain extent.
After all, the training of a Ninja depends not only on talent, but also on investment.
Given the same talent, the side that invests more will naturally achieve greater results.
Not to mention that Konoha's education system was also undergoing sweeping reform.
The many courses taught at the Intermediate Academy were already superior to the Hyuga Clan's own methods of training.
After all, though the Hyuga were a great clan, what they excelled at was always the same limited set of skills.
Whether it was Rotation or the so called Gentle Fist, in the end it all came down to relying on the Byakugan to dominate others.
Among those techniques, Rotation had even been classified by the Hyuga as a forbidden art, with only the Main House being allowed to learn it.
This entire system had remained unchanged for who knew how many years.
And the Hyuga Main House had no intention of improving it. As long as it was usable, that was enough for them.
But the Ninja Academy was different.
The academy gathered the essence of various Ninja Clans, and the courses taught there were truly practical and effective.
Moreover, as time passed, the number of courses continued to increase.
In the past two years, even Sunagakure's Puppet Jutsu and Poison Jutsu had been added, and specialists from Sunagakure had been specifically invited to teach them.
One side was open and progressive, constantly iterating and improving.
The other side was closed and stagnant, remaining the same no matter how many years passed.
Which system was superior hardly needed to be said.
Nowadays, many Ninjas trained through the Intermediate Academy, even those from civilian backgrounds, already showed signs of becoming more outstanding than the Ninjas of the Hyuga Clan.
As Konoha's educational system continued to expand, the knowledge monopoly once held by clan Ninjas over civilian Ninjas had already been broken.
In the foreseeable future, clan Ninjas would at most retain only an advantage in resources. In other areas, they would hold little else.
As for even that resource advantage, Kei was also preparing to promote a Scholarship Program to provide support and rewards for outstanding Ninjas within the academy.
This was the dilemma currently facing the Hyuga Clan.
In terms of resources, they were already falling behind the other Ninja Clans.
Whether in financial strength or political influence, they lagged far behind.
In terms of combat power, the Ninjas within their clan were also beginning to fall behind the times, and judging from the current trend, sooner or later they would be overtaken completely.
By that calculation, the once grand Hyuga Clan, aside from their pair of Byakugan, no longer had many advantages left.
"The clansmen below are already deeply dissatisfied."
The head of the Hyuga Clan spoke helplessly.
"Most of the people from the other Ninja Clans have participated in Konoha's industrialization and become more or less wealthy, while our clansmen still remain almost exactly as they were before."
In truth, strictly speaking, as Konoha's reforms progressed, the Hyuga Clan had also become wealthier.
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