Chapter 126 : Chapter 126 The Plight of the Hyuga Clan
In Konoha, within the ancestral lands of the Hyuga Clan, everything seemed to have remained unchanged.
Over the past few years, under the rule of Minamikawa Yuu, Konoha had undergone significant changes, with new things appearing everywhere.
Brand-new buildings rose one after another, new roads were constructed, and many emerging industries developed, driving the growth of the entire Konoha.
In this wave of great development, the various Ninja Clans of Konoha gained immense benefits and generally became much wealthier.
Those who actively aligned themselves with Minamikawa Yuu gained even more power and influence.
Among the many Ninja Clans in Konoha, the Uchiha Clan and the Senju Clan gained the most benefits upon careful calculation.
Under Minamikawa Yuu's arrangement, the former not only led the Konoha Military Police Force but also held numerous positions in the Ministry of Transportation and the Ministry of Defense; their clansmen held key positions in various departments, possessing both high status and wealth.
The Senju Clan also gained massive benefits, with members of the Senju Clan seen everywhere within Konoha's education and medical systems, receiving benefits no less than those of the Uchiha Clan.
Following the Uchiha and Senju were the Sarutobi and the Ino-Shika-Cho Clans.
Additionally, the Ninja Clans from which individuals like Shimura Danzo and Mitokado Homura hailed also gained significant benefits under their influence.
This was also the time when Konoha's cohesion was at its highest.
Because under the leadership of Minamikawa Yuu, the pie of Konoha had grown much larger, and all the major Ninja Clans received tangible benefits.
Even civilian Ninjas and ordinary Konoha villagers received substantial dividends amidst the backdrop of Konoha's rise.
Civilian Ninjas benefited from the reform of the education system, receiving a large tilt of Konoha's resources and better educational opportunities, with post-graduation treatment far superior to the past.
Even ordinary civilians within Konoha had plenty of job positions available due to the development of Konoha's industry.
Nowadays, villagers in Konoha could easily find well-paying jobs, while local prices remained low, making their standard of living among the highest in the entire Ninja World.
But no matter how widespread the benefits were, there were always those who slipped through the cracks.
In Konoha, it was hard to say who gained the most under Minamikawa Yuu's reforms.
But if one were to ask who gained the least, everyone certainly had a public answer.
That would be the Hyuga Clan of Konoha.
Even among the Ninja Clans with strict rules and stubborn reputations, the Hyuga Clan was considered one of the most obstinate.
It couldn't be helped; this Ninja Clan had always been this way, appearing as if nothing had changed from ancient times to the present.
Within the clan, to prevent the leakage of the Hyuga Clan's Byakugan, they relied on the Caged Bird Seal to maintain the clan's rule.
With the Caged Bird Seal, the Hyuga Branch Family had no need to worry about their Byakugan being stolen, while the Hyuga Main House enjoyed a superior status without doing anything, supported by the Branch Family.
Usually, the Hyuga Branch Family fought on the battlefield, while the Hyuga Main House only needed to sit in the ancestral land and enjoy the results.
The fruits of the Branch Family's labor would ultimately be credited to them, allowing them to share in the glory.
They even had their own justifications for this.
After all, the strategic role of the Byakugan was unquestionable, and from any perspective, it should not be leaked.
If members of the Hyuga Main House were sent to the battlefield and something happened, leading to the leakage of the Byakugan, who could bear the blame?
Even the high-ranking officials of Konoha, for the sake of maintaining stability, would not send members of the Hyuga Main House to the battlefield.
Under normal circumstances, the Hyuga Clan's system was considered extremely stable.
With the Caged Bird Seal stabilizing the internal structure and the unparalleled strategic capability of the Byakugan, it was enough for the Hyuga Clan to maintain its existence.
But being too stable was sometimes synonymous with being conservative.
While Minamikawa Yuu led Konoha's reforms and other Ninja Clans actively participated, the Hyuga Clan did not join in due to the conservatism of the Main House.
This was only human nature.
The Hyuga Main House enjoyed the honor of the entire Hyuga and the support of the Branch Family, gaining benefits without doing anything.
Naturally, they leaned towards conservatism, preferring the world to remain unchanged forever.
And the power of the Hyuga Clan was held in the hands of the Hyuga Main House.
Thus, this led to an inevitable outcome.
Because of the Hyuga Clan's conservatism, they missed many opportunities.
When Minamikawa Yuu required all school-aged members of Ninja Clans to enroll in the Ninja Academy, the Hyuga Clan did not refuse openly but feigned compliance while secretly defying him.
When Konoha began its massive construction, the Hyuga Clan did not participate, and they weren't even willing to invest.
When Konoha began to expand outward and encroach upon the entire Land of Fire, the Hyuga Clan still didn't participate, merely watching coldly from the sidelines within Konoha.
Throughout various major events, the Hyuga Clan was like an invisible person, always looking on coldly and never participating.
Like a cold and hard stone.
But such extreme conservatism also brought a result.
That was 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 don't participate and aren't even at the table, how could others consider you when dividing the pie?
Now, seeing the various Ninja Clans enjoying the dividends and growing stronger, the people of the Hyuga Clan began to grow anxious.
So on this day, with the arrival of the Uzumaki Clan, the Hyuga Clan could finally bear it no longer and began to hold a clan meeting to formally discuss matters.
"A gold mine has been discovered in the southern part of the Land of Fire again. It's 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 larger and larger, with shops already spread across the entire Land of Fire. It's said they are currently discussing with Hokage-sama to cooperate with the Village to open Yamanaka Floriculture, each holding half the shares."
"The Nara Clan's medicine business has grown even bigger. It's said that the Nara Clan contributed all their family's medicine formulas, and the Konoha Pharmaceutical Group, established with the Village, has profited immensely throughout the Land of Fire. Their annual share of the profits can equal over a decade of our Hyuga's income."
"Even members of the Hatake Family were invited to become instructors at the Intermediate Academy, responsible for teaching the Hatake Family's sword arts."
"That child of theirs is also very outstanding. It's said he is as famous as Orochimaru and the others, and was personally bestowed the title of White Fang of Konoha by Hokage-sama."
"The hearts of the clansmen below are now wavering. It's no longer feasible to try and suppress them as before."
Inside the great hall, the head of the Hyuga Clan and the elders were discussing, their moods complex regarding the current situation.
To say they weren't envious at all of the benefits other Ninja Clans in Konoha were receiving would be a pure lie.
The strength of most Ninja Clans in Konoha was just so-so.
Before this, besides the Uchiha and Senju Clans who could firmly suppress the Hyuga, only the Sarutobi Clan was somewhat worthy of the Hyuga Clan's notice.
As for other Ninja Clans, even families like the Ino-Shika-Cho were considered second-rate by the Hyuga; they were just that and nothing more.
But now, with the development of Konoha, other Ninja Clans were developing rapidly one by one.
Under Konoha's financial reforms, most Ninja Clans had basically struck it rich, and their hands were becoming more comfortable.
For Ninja Clans, having comfortable finances meant an increase in combat power to some extent.
After all, the cultivation of a Ninja, besides their own talent, ultimately depends on investment.
Given the same talent, the side with higher investment will surely achieve greater success.
Not to mention that Konoha's education system is also undergoing reforms now.
The many courses taught within the Intermediate Academy are more outstanding than the training within the Hyuga Clan.
After all, although the Hyuga is a great clan, what they are good at is just that same set of skills over and over.
Whether it's Rotation or the so-called Gentle Fist, it's essentially just bullying others by relying on the Byakugan.
Among them, Rotation was even classified as a Forbidden Technique by the Hyuga, with only the Hyuga Main House eligible to learn it.
This set of skills hasn't changed for who knows how many years.
And the Hyuga Main House has no intention of improving it; as long as it's enough to use, it's fine.
But the Ninja Academy is not like that.
The Ninja Academy gathers the essence of various Ninja Clans, and the courses taught there are genuine and practical.
And as time passes, the courses there tend to increase continuously.
In the past two years, Puppet Jutsu and Poison Jutsu from Sunagakure have been added, and corresponding experts were specifically invited from Sunagakure Village.
One side is open and progressive, constantly iterating, while the other side is stagnant and closed off, remaining unchanged no matter how much time passes.
It goes without saying which of the two systems is superior.
Nowadays, many Ninjas trained through the Intermediate Academy, even those from civilian backgrounds, show a trend of becoming more excellent than the Ninjas of the Hyuga Clan.
As Konoha's education system continues to expand, the knowledge monopoly between clan Ninjas and civilian Ninjas has been broken.
In the foreseeable future, clan Ninjas will at most only maintain a resource advantage over civilian Ninjas; not much else will remain.
As for the resource advantage, Minamikawa Yuu is also preparing to promote a Scholarship Program to provide support and rewards to outstanding Ninjas within the academy.
This is the dilemma currently facing the Hyuga Clan.
In terms of resources, they are already inferior to other Ninja Clans.
Both in financial power and influence, they are far behind.
In terms of Ninja combat power, the Ninjas in their clan also show a trend of falling behind the times, and according to the current situation, they will be surpassed sooner or later.
Calculating it this way, the grand Hyuga Clan, aside from that pair of Byakugan, actually has few advantages left.
"The clansmen are already very dissatisfied."
The Hyuga Clan Head spoke helplessly: "Most people from other Ninja Clans are involved in the process of Konoha's industrialization and have become more or less wealthy, while our clansmen remain just as they were in the past."
Actually, strictly speaking, as Konoha's reforms progressed, the Hyuga Clan had also become wealthier.