Orochimaru sneered, "See? What a pragmatic Hyuga clan leader! He could have simply used the Caged Bird to teach Neji a lesson."
"Why use your farewell letter to dissolve Neji's hatred instead?"
"My guess is that he didn't want to stifle Neji's talent! He wanted Neji to grow into a proper little—dog for the Hyuga Clan!"
Orochimaru had meant to say enforcer, but in the end, he chose dog, a deeply insulting word, to describe the enormous gulf between the Hyuga Clan's main and branch families.
Hizashi remained silent.
The others—Pakura, Pakura, and Toroi—listened nearby.
They had all heard something of the conflict between the Hyuga Clan's main and branch families.
The Hyuga Clan's kekkei genkai was extremely versatile. If the Sharingan was a tactical-level kekkei genkai...
Then the Byakugan was a strategic-level one.
The fact that the Cloud Village had been willing to start a Ninja World War to obtain the Byakugan spoke volumes about its strategic value.
At full focus, the Byakugan's range could reach ten kilometers.
What did that mean?
In war, having the Byakugan naturally gave you a God's-eye view.
If you still got ambushed or lost battles with that advantage, you really deserved a court-martial.
And transplanting a Byakugan wasn't as demanding as transplanting a Sharingan, nor did it come with severe side effects.
Ao of the Mist Village was proof enough. Dig it out, pop it in, and it was ready to use.
The Byakugan didn't drain chakra the way the Sharingan did.
Its awakening rate was very high. As long as someone's bloodline wasn't too mixed, they were born with the Byakugan.
Because of its strategic military value, every nation's military wanted a pair of Byakugan.
So, during that period, everyone in the Hyuga Clan feared for their safety. Eventually, they devised the