A Sage's Pursuit of Power

Hiashi Hyūga had been deeply anxious for a long time.

As one of the first clans to align themselves with Aoba, Hiashi harbored a faint hope that Aoba would eventually change his mind.

After all, Aoba Kamikawa wasn't a solitary figure. He had a family, disciples, and would likely have children in the future. If he wanted, he could create an unprecedented ninja clan of his own.

But he hadn't.

After a long period of observation, Hiashi came to a definitive conclusion: Aoba truly had no interest in founding his own clan.

He genuinely wanted to create a new era.

The Hyūga Clan's position in Konoha was extremely delicate.

After the Uchiha Clan's destruction, they had naturally inherited the title of Konoha's premier ninja clan.

But in reality, Hiashi knew all too well just how fragile their so-called status as the "first clan" was.

In addition to their lack of top-tier combat power, the internal issues of the Hyūga Clan were far worse than those of the Uchiha.

Despite the Uchiha's internal conflicts, their disputes mostly stemmed from differing external strategies. In other words, the Uchiha all still recognized themselves as part of the same clan.

But the Hyūga...

Hiashi often dared not dwell too deeply on it. The façade of harmony between the Main House and the Branch House masked a volcano of unresolved resentment.

By now, the Caged Bird Seal had become an intractable knot.

Hiashi had wanted to abolish the Caged Bird Seal for a long time. Such a decision would undoubtedly gain the support of the Branch House, but it would also mean breaking ties with the Main House.

At worst, it could lead to the clan's division. Most critically, the Third Hokage had been firmly opposed to abolishing the Caged Bird Seal during his tenure.

From the Third's perspective, the Byakugan was of immense strategic value, and he couldn't risk such a weapon falling into enemy hands.

Caught between these considerations, Hiashi had never been able to make a decision.

As time passed, the issue became even more unsolvable. Resentment had deepened to an irreconcilable extent.

To be honest, Hiashi had experienced countless nightmares about this. In his dreams, for some unknown reason, the Caged Bird Seal had been removed.

And as soon as it was lifted, the Branch House turned on the Main House without hesitation.

Though the Main House had superior individual strength, the Branch House's sheer numbers overwhelmed them. The Main House was wiped out in a mob attack.

Every time he woke from such nightmares, Hiashi was filled with resolve to move forward with abolishing the seal. Yet, he had no idea how to do so.

As a member of the Main House, abolishing the Caged Bird Seal would mean betraying his own class. Throughout history, very few people had truly transcended their own class. Hiashi clearly wasn't one of them.

After much inner turmoil, he ultimately turned to Aoba Kamikawa.

The dinner was, once again, a private affair with just the two of them. This personal setting demonstrated how much Hiashi valued Aoba, especially since he had learned that Aoba disliked dining with strangers.

However, this time, the ones serving tea were not ordinary attendants but Hinata Hyūga and Neji Hyūga.

"Aoba-sama, your recent defeat of the Raikage and the Cloud Village army has shaken the ninja world. Some are even calling you the strongest ninja of the era."

"The strongest? They're still lying to themselves. Whether it's Madara Uchiha or Black Zetsu, the existence of such figures is something all the great villages should already know about. But they continue to pretend none of it has ever happened."

"Heh, this is one of those moments when I have to quote you, Aoba-sama: 'You can never wake someone who is pretending to sleep.' Still, I imagine this kind of thing doesn't bother you much, does it?"

"It holds some value, but not much."

Hiashi placed a cup of finely brewed tea in front of Aoba.

"The village has been changing so rapidly lately that we old-timers are struggling to keep up."

"Change signifies vitality. It shows that Konoha is thriving and growing."

"Even so, we relics of the old era can't help but feel uneasy. Aoba-sama, as a friend, I must ask you this: what should we ninja clans do? Where do we go from here?"

Hiashi finally voiced the question that had been weighing heavily on his mind. He had no choice, as he could clearly sense the decline of the Hyūga Clan's status.

This decline wasn't due to another faction rising to suppress them but rather because their role was diminishing.

The Hyūga Clan's greatest asset was the Byakugan, whose strength lay in reconnaissance.

But now, Konoha's research institute had developed various tools to assist sensory perception. While these tools didn't match the Byakugan's capabilities, they were sufficient for most ninja.

Today, nearly every Konoha ninja could achieve the sensory level of a traditional perception squad. This alone had drastically reduced the Hyūga Clan's significance.

They still had Gentle Fist, of course, but no one understood its limitations better than Hiashi.

Back when ninja clans and civilian ninja were separated, civilian ninja lacked access to ninjutsu, so Gentle Fist was seen as an elegant and elite form of taijutsu that many envied.

But now, with Konoha's Advanced Ninja Academy spreading vast amounts of ninjutsu to civilian ninja, they no longer had the time or energy to care about niche arts like Gentle Fist.

The most obvious sign of a clan's decline is when people stop paying attention to them altogether.

That's right, nowadays in Konoha, very few people paid attention to the Hyūga Clan. They still existed, but their presence had faded into obscurity.

This phenomenon filled Hiashi Hyūga with fear. He knew what needed to be done, but he couldn't accomplish it on his own.

"In my opinion, ninja clans will not disappear. But in the future, they won't rely on bloodlines and secret techniques to sustain themselves.

Since the Warring States Period, the ninja world has been led by the great clans. Strictly speaking, the history of the ninja clans is the history of the ninja world.

But starting now, that's no longer the case. I have no intention of eradicating the ninja clans entirely, because they are a part of history. But if you cannot keep up with the times, you'll have no one to blame but yourselves."

Hiashi felt bitter; he understood Aoba's point perfectly. The problem was that he didn't know how to keep up with the times, or rather, he knew what needed to be done, but he couldn't bring himself to do it.

After a long silence, Hiashi finally made up his mind.

"Neji, Hinata, step forward."

Aoba glanced at the two children and immediately understood what Hiashi intended.

"Aoba-sama, I hope you can take these two children as your disciples. Don't be too quick to refuse, this is their token of apprenticeship."

Hiashi produced a scroll and placed it in front of Aoba. Boldly written on it were the words, "The True Essence of Gentle Fist."

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Currently on Chapter 275 - Heaven's Net