Besides wiping out the Senju and Uchiha clans and suppressing Konoha's powerful shinobi, the Third Hokage had also kept the village's major ninja clans in check. The most obvious example was his suppression of the Hyuga clan, who possessed the Byakugan.
In the year 51 of Konoha, the Hidden Cloud Village came to Konoha under the pretext of peace talks. In the middle of the night, they broke into the Hyuga compound and kidnapped Hinata, the Hyuga clan's young heiress. Hinata's father, Hiashi, arrived soon after and killed the kidnapper.
But instead of feeling guilty, the Hidden Cloud turned the accusation around. Threatening to tear up the treaty and resume the war, they demanded that Konoha give them an explanation.
The ridiculous thing was that the dignified Third Hokage of Konoha, Hiruzen Sarutobi—known as the "Professor of Ninjutsu"—actually gave in.
And all because he didn't want Konoha to go to war with the Hidden Cloud again. That excuse was bullshit.
There had been three ninja wars in just a few decades, and conflicts between the nations were constant. Under the Third Hokage's leadership, Konoha alone had launched two major wars. Was he really afraid of war?
The evidence was conclusive, yet he did nothing about it. Instead, he wanted someone from the Hyuga clan to pay with their life.
At the end of the day, it was all political maneuvering.
Perhaps the Hyuga clan's prestige had grown too much, and he wanted to undermine it to make his rule easier.
If Hiashi's twin brother, Hizashi, hadn't volunteered to step forward, the Hyuga clan's leader would have been forced to die. The clan's reputation would have taken an even greater blow.
Why hadn't a single member of the major clans come to the Third Hokage's aid when Orochimaru and his forces