Chapter 127 : Chapter 127
Although the Hyuga Clan had become wealthier, this wealth was vastly different from the situation of other Ninja Clans.
Their wealth was only relative to the past.
Because with the significant growth in the Village's fiscal revenue, the benefits provided by Konoha to Ninjas had also greatly increased, which in turn improved the income of the Hyuga Clan's Ninjas, making them stronger than before.
However, this increase was merely a passive side effect of the cake growing larger; while they were indeed better off than before, they could not compare at all to the gains of other Ninja Clans.
And humans are precisely the kind of creatures that love to compare.
"Worry not about scarcity, but about inequality"—this situation is the same everywhere.
Watching the members of other Ninja Clans make a fortune under the leadership of Hokage-sama, seeing their personal wealth inflate one by one, while they themselves remained stagnant, would naturally breed dissatisfaction in anyone's heart.
Their dissatisfaction would naturally be directed at the Hyuga Main House.
Because it was not Konoha that was suppressing them and preventing them from moving forward, but rather the Hyuga Main House, which had always made conservative decisions.
"If things continue like this, I fear many clansmen will slip out of our control."
The Hyuga Clan Head spoke helplessly: "And everyone is well aware of the consequences of losing control."
The Hyuga Main House was able to enjoy its current lifestyle entirely due to the vast number of the Branch Family.
But strictly speaking, the Hyuga Main House's control over the Branch Family was actually quite weak.
Yes, with the existence of the Caged Bird Seal, it was actually very easy for the Main House to control the Branch Family.
But forceful control is destined not to last long.
Therefore, besides the Caged Bird Seal, the reason the Branch Family followed the Main House was mainly because it was more advantageous for them.
Like the future Hyuga Neji, those who felt that the Caged Bird Seal was a shackle, trapping their talent, were, after all, in the minority.
For the majority of mediocre Hyuga clansmen, the existence of the Caged Bird Seal was the foundation that allowed them to move freely in the outside world.
Otherwise, without the Caged Bird Seal, given the capabilities of the Byakugan, the moment the Hyuga Clan appeared in the outside world, they would immediately attract hunting by other Ninja Villages.
Plus, as a clan, the gathered strength of the Hyuga was also beneficial to the members of the Branch Family.
With these foundations and consensus in place, the Main House could rule the Branch Family for a long time.
But once the day came when these foundations and consensus no longer existed, and the Main House stood in opposition to the Branch Family, then the Main House's rule would be easily dismantled.
A system like the Hyuga's is simply too easy to dismantle.
Because with the existence of Konoha externally, the Main House did not have absolute control over the Branch Family.
The Main House did not have the power to control everything about the Branch Family, let alone the power to decide their life or death.
As long as a Hyuga Branch Family Ninja was willing, they could completely decide to leave the Hyuga Clan and integrate into the outside world.
The Main House couldn't even execute them for it.
Because, nominally, these Hyuga Branch Family Ninjas were also part of Konoha.
If you, the Hyuga Main House, wanted to take private action against a Konoha Ninja without authorization, or even privately execute a Konoha Ninja, what were you trying to do?
Such things could be done secretly in private, but once the frequency increased, or if the Konoha higher-ups decided to intervene, then problems would inevitably arise.
Furthermore, once those Hyuga clansmen went to the outside world to reproduce and left the Hyuga Clan, the Hyuga Main House wouldn't even be able to brand them with the Caged Bird Seal.
After all, these people had already chosen to leave the Hyuga Clan; on what grounds could the Hyuga Main House interfere?
The Hyuga Clan was currently facing this very tricky situation.
Because of the persistent suppression by the Hyuga Main House, the Ninjas of the Hyuga Clan had not joined the process of Konoha's reforms, leading to widespread dissatisfaction among many Branch Family Ninjas.
This dissatisfaction might only be a few complaints for now, but once it continued to evolve, the outcome would be hard to predict.
Moreover, if the clansmen's complaints could be temporarily ignored, then another situation emerging made them even more alarmed.
"The Hyuga Clan is about to be squeezed out of Konoha's power structure."
An elder of the Hyuga Clan said in a deep voice, his expression looking very serious at this moment: "This is a very dangerous situation."
With Minamikawa Yuu taking office, he had opened up many areas of Konoha in one go, allowing the vast majority of Ninjas to participate.
This made the power game, which was originally handled by only a few people, broader in scope.
This was both a difference in philosophy and a necessity of reality.
After all, as Konoha began to reform, the affairs that the entire Konoha needed to manage were growing rapidly, expanding from the original purely military field to all aspects.
If the original Konoha was similar to a mercenary group, only responsible for military-related affairs, then the current Konoha was equivalent to a national government, with its functions and required responsibilities greatly increased.
Precisely because of the expansion of Konoha's power, coupled with Minamikawa Yuu's willingness to share power, many people were able to participate.
Nowadays, the various Ninja Clans within Konoha either had people serving in relevant departments of Konoha or had influence in the education system.
Clans like the Senju Clan and the Uchiha Clan had even greater influence in all aspects, having practically developed to their peak.
Even those weak Ninja Clans could at least secure a position as an Advisor.
Although an Advisor did not have substantial power, they could organize councils, periodically question the Konoha higher-ups, and had the right to know without the right to make decisions.
They also had voting rights on some public affairs, which could be considered a decent status.
But even this status of Advisor had not been obtained by the Hyuga Clan.
All in all, in this Konoha reform, the Hyuga Clan could almost be said to have gained nothing; not only did they not gain much substantial benefit, but they also did not gain any power or influence.
For the Hyuga Clan, this was actually a quite dangerous omen.
In the large collective of Konoha, whether or not one had power made a significant difference.
Those with power could manipulate those without power at will; this rule had been proven over many years in the past.
It was precisely because the Hyuga Clan felt the crisis that they convened this council.
"Regardless, the Hyuga Clan must change."
The Hyuga Clan Head spoke: "The suppression of the clansmen must be relaxed, at least it cannot continue like this, otherwise everyone will have grievances."
"The Hyuga cannot continue to remain closed off, otherwise, as more and more large clans like the Uzumaki Clan appear, the Hyuga will become less and less important to the Village."
In the past, the only clans within Konoha that could firmly suppress the Hyuga were the Uchiha and the Senju.
But now, there was an additional Uzumaki.
If things continued this way, I fear the Hyuga Clan would sooner or later become marginalized figures within Konoha.
By then, I fear the Hyuga would be in danger.
"We must also build a good relationship with Hokage-sama."
An elder spoke: "At least we must secure an Advisor position for the Hyuga."