This winter was longer than expected—and colder than in previous years.
Some clans that had obtained large amounts of Konoha's resources and benefits enjoyed a prosperous New Year, while others had no choice but to tighten their belts.
Hyuga Clan compound.
Today should have been the day Hyuga Hiashi visited Hinata and checked on the results of her training.
But he was in no mood for it at all.
Under the dim candlelight, Hyuga Hiashi's face looked especially grim.
Life for the Hyuga Clan in Konoha was becoming increasingly difficult.
Whether it was industries, benefits, or positions, the Hyuga Clan received none of them.
Even in meetings concerning high-level decisions, the Hyuga Clan was gradually losing its right to speak.
If this continued, the Hyuga Clan would become a marginal clan in Konoha.
As the head of the Hyuga Clan, Hyuga Hiashi absolutely did not want to see that happen.
Before he had succeeded as clan head, the Hyuga Clan had still been Konoha's second-greatest clan—a flourishing family that had always had the chance to surpass the Uchiha Clan and become Konoha's foremost noble house. Yet after he took office, the Hyuga Clan had plummeted from its once-important position to barely scraping by.
No matter what role he, as clan head, had played in all this, he would become a sinner of the entire Hyuga Clan!
But...
Whenever he thought of those stubborn, decaying elders, Hyuga Hiashi felt an endless sense of powerlessness.
Even though the Hyuga Clan had already fallen to this state, those elders, whose minds seemed to have been left behind by the times, still refused to yield.
Hyuga Hiashi had done his utmost to fight for change, but in the end, all he had achieved was sparing Hizashi's child from the Caged Bird Seal.
As for