The Difficult Hyuga Clan

Should he view the other party as a candidate for Hokage, as one of the Sannin, or as an elder to Minato?

Orochimaru was not entirely sure, because for him, these three identities held different meanings, and for Li Ke, they likely held different meanings as well.

Since the other party would contemplate the kinds of questions only a Hokage would consider, he must have also pondered the issues of this world and the problems of the village.

He was not like Anko, who was just an ordinary brat by his side.

"Murata Qingtan..."

Orochimaru did not speak further, instead closing his eyes to contemplate the attitude he should adopt when facing the other party.

Regardless, he would have to wait until the peace treaty with the Mist was signed.

Yet, the mere thought of Konoha Village simply letting the Mist take back everything they had earned made Orochimaru's hand clench tightly once more.

This was something he could not accept, and something he found most impossible to accept. His teacher had trampled upon his efforts, just as he had trampled upon the efforts of others.

"Teacher..."

While he was lost in these thoughts, Li Ke had already met with the two clan heads.

The Uchiha Clan Head was not difficult to find, but the head of the Hyuga Clan was another matter. Because a Byakugan had been lost on the Mist Battlefield, the power of the Hyuga main branch had almost entirely retreated, leaving only a large number of branch family ninjas.

Thus, what Li Ke saw now was a large group of Hyuga branch members protecting Hiashi Hyuga.

Yes, it was not Hiashi Hyuga and Fugaku Uchiha going to see Li Ke and Minato Namikaze together; rather, it was Minato Namikaze, Fugaku Uchiha, and Li Ke going to see Hiashi Hyuga.

"Hard to get an audience with, aren't they?"

Li Ke crossed his arms and spoke to Minato Namikaze and Fugaku Uchiha at his side.

"This isn't an unreasonable request; Hiashi-san has no other choice."

Fugaku Uchiha spoke very earnestly.

"The Byakugan is not like our Sharingan. Outsiders who use our Sharingan suffer constant chakra drain; unless they have a powerful physique and sufficient chakra, it only becomes a burden. But the Byakugan is different. Anyone can use it, so it is no issue for Hiashi-san to be cautious."

At this point, he could not help but reveal an expression of admiration.

"The Hyuga Clan's resolve and strategy to use the Caged Bird to protect their clansmen and ensure their bloodline does not leak out is truly a stroke of genius, and it greatly increases the cohesion of the clan..."

When Li Ke heard this, he truly felt that Fugaku Uchiha's chakra was filled with envy and longing, as if the Caged Bird were genuinely something wonderful.

Then, he saw Minato Namikaze nod as well.

"Indeed, the Hyuga Clan is very united, and the Caged Bird is truly a brilliant seal for preventing the loss of power."

Li Ke: "..."

He sensed their chakra and discovered that Minato Namikaze was speaking from the heart!

No, man, you too!

Although Li Ke complained in his heart, he understood the reason.

Because the ninja system was not much better than the Caged Bird. After having eaten the "shit" of the ninja system, eating the "shit" of the Caged Bird was not much of a problem for the Hyuga.

Moreover, the Hyuga Clan really did take care of everything.

Once you were branded with the Caged Bird and became a member of the branch family, money, housing, food, ninja tools, and spouses were no longer concerns. Even if you did not work as a ninja, there were allowances and hidden benefits.

The most common task Hiashi Hyuga and the other elders performed was not fighting for power, but matchmaking.

That's right, the most important job of the Hyuga Clan head and elders was finding wives for the clan members. And it wasn't forced pairing; it was based on the willingness of both parties.

If you didn't want to marry someone within the clan, you could marry an outsider. If you didn't have the money, the clan would even pay for it, provided that if the child possessed a Byakugan, they would return to the clan.

Once a Byakugan was lost to the outside world, the elders, the clan head, and the village would all step in to recover it, preventing a second Byakugan family from competing for the Hyuga's ecological niche or leveling the playing field against Konoha Village.

This was exactly what Li Ke had observed in Konoha Village, as any Hyuga ninja could easily become a patrol leader or the absolute tactical core of a squad.

His first teammate had been from the Hyuga branch; the man's greatest wish was to become a Chunin, find a nice girl in the Hyuga clan to marry, and then work as a manager in one of the clan's shops. Aside from complaining that the Caged Bird on his forehead was ugly, he didn't have many other thoughts about it.

They had relied on his Byakugan to kill countless enemies, but unfortunately, this Byakugan-wielding teammate died in a chaotic battle.

As for the main branch young masters bullying others, he didn't know what happened behind closed doors, but it certainly didn't happen out in the open.

When it came down to it, the ninja clans of the Ninja World were not the clans as understood by the people of the Celestial Empire. Even a clan head like Hiashi Hyuga had to go to the front lines to kill people himself. Under such circumstances, treating one's clansmen and those around them poorly was simply asking for death.

However...

This thing is still an inhumane atrocity.

Looking at the covered foreheads of the Hyuga branch members, Li Ke thought to himself.

If it only served to automatically destroy the Byakugan upon death, it wouldn't be much of an issue, but unfortunately, this thing truly had the function of punishing and killing people.

That was a different matter entirely.

Yet, even Senju Tobirama did not think there was anything excessive about it.

"Compared to freedom, the most important thing is that the clan's power does not leak out. Besides, the Hyuga Clan's benefits and treatment are very good. Qingtan, you are being too harsh. Rashly interfering in the affairs of other clans will lead to many problems."

Senju Tobirama began to dissuade him, as in his view, Li Ke was likely to take action against the Hyuga Clan.

Li Ke knew what Senju Tobirama meant; it was nothing more than a worry that he would use his power to force the Hyuga Clan to undo the Caged Bird.

Although he could indeed do that, he would not use such methods.

"Even if I wanted to change all of this, I wouldn't resort to a coup. I would ensure that the upper echelons of Konoha consist only of ninjas who would never leak secrets, tighten security protocols for the leadership, and vigorously promote members of the Hyuga Clan, only to have them weeded out by those very security regulations. When that happens, the Hyuga Clan will naturally be forced to change. Of course, one could also have a Hokage take someone destined for the branch family as his wife, creating a loophole for the Caged Bird."

He revealed a smile.

"After all, we are all comrades in the same village."

He generally left the bodies intact.

Unless they didn't know what was good for them.