The Hyuga Clan's Situation / The Next Uchiha Clan Head

The most interesting thing is that this vote was conducted anonymously throughout the entire process.

After learning the entire procedure, Uchiha Shingen exclaimed in admiration, "They really know how to play the game!"

The election for Hokage is much more complicated than the Hokage election itself.

Hokage only gets one round of voting.

As the election campaign officially began, Uchiha Shingen's workload increased.

As a prominent figure representing the Uchiha Clan, he was required to accompany Uchiha Fugaku on his travels, giving speeches and visiting various ninja clans.

When he learned that he had this task, although he was inwardly sullen, he still smiled outwardly.

There's no way around it; it can't be shown on one's face. This is the proper demeanor of an adult.

Our first stop is Hyuga Clan.

Because of the expansion of the Police Force, the relationship between the Uchiha Clan and Hyuga Clan had already grown rapidly. Furthermore, Uchiha Shingen's special trip outside the village at the personal request of the Hyuga Main Family Roshi earned him the goodwill of many Hyuga Clan ninjas, which further strengthened the relationship between the two clans.

As a result, when Uchiha Fugaku took Uchiha Shingen to visit the Hyuga Clan, they received a very high level of hospitality.

Almost all the main members of the Hyuga Clan Main Family Jonin family.

"Fugaku, we know why you've come." Hyuga Hiashi, the Hyuga Clan head of the Hyuga clan, spoke politely, "But please understand our predicament. To be honest, because our clan has a slightly larger number of members, the other four clans are all watching us. We can't decide how the votes will be distributed right now."

Perhaps fearing that Uchiha Fugaku might misunderstand, he added, "Of course, our clan is quite familiar with Fugaku 'Fugaku character, and we certainly won't shortchange him on his votes."

"Hiashi, you're too kind," Uchiha Fugaku said with a smile. "Actually, whether I get selected or not is secondary. My main goal is to broaden the horizons of the young people in the clan and help them get closer to everyone."

The Hyuga Clan present immediately turned their gazes to Uchiha Shingen.

Uchiha Shingen gave a perfectly polite smile.

Was Uchiha Fugaku secretly writing at home again? He felt there was something off about that question.

"Oh? So, Fugaku is planning to have Shingen take over the reins from Hyuga Hiashi?" Uchiha Shingen looked at Shingen Uchiha with great interest.

Many members of the Hyuga Clan are quite familiar with this young Uchiha Clan.

During the battle in the Land of Whirlpools, he saved the lives of many Hyuga Clan members and had a good relationship with some of the clan's ninjas.

He also performed brilliantly on the battlefield of the Land of Hot Water.

Meanwhile, Hyuga Ziji had a very positive opinion of him, so the Hyuga Clan ninjas who held Hyuga Ziji in high esteem also had a very good impression of him.

As the youngest Kage Level in Leaf Village, the Hyuga Clan leadership highly values this young man.

When confronted with Hyuga Hiashi's question, Uchiha Fugaku did not deny it, but simply waved his hand with a smile, saying, "It's still early, still early, no rush, I can hold on for a few more years."

"The Uchiha Clan Hyuga Hiashi only feel envy.

Uchiha Fugaku's true strength has become known to everyone since he entered the competition as a candidate. Apart from marveling at how cunning he was, people also feel that the Uchiha Clan is truly blessed with natural talent for being ninjas.

Now, everyone refers to the Uchiha Clan as the Three Kage. However, the Uchiha Clan's image has changed drastically, and their reputation in the village is completely different from before. When people talk about this, they don't speak ill of them; instead, they feel at ease.

With several powerful individuals in the village potentially reaching the Kage Level, how could they not be at ease?

This is a remarkable achievement in Leaf Village's history.

The last one with this configuration was the Senju of the Forest when the village was founded.

Chapter Ten: The Plight of the Hyuga Clan

After some superficial pleasantries, Uchiha Fugaku got down to business.

"Hiashi, on behalf of the Uchiha Clan, I sincerely invite the Hyuga Clan to jointly lead the Police Force with the Uchiha Clan. What do you say?"

"Fugaku, this is a big deal." Hyuga Hiashi didn't give a direct answer, and he controlled his expression very well.

But Uchiha Shingen knew that Hyuga Hiashi very interested.

I'm absolutely smitten!

Black Zetsu is a villain, but a villain with principles.

When it comes to teaching, they truly put their heart into it and have a strong sense of professional ethics.

At this moment, even without activating his Sharingan, Hyuga Hiashi Uchiha Shingen experienced in that instant.

He actually understood Hyuga Hiashi very well; Hyuga Clan was no easy task.

The system of dividing the family into separate branches and the Main Family are entirely worthy of the praise, "I thank your whole family."

To make up for the resentment of the split family, the Main Family must ensure that the split family and the Main Family are at the same level in terms of material living standards and spiritual resources. To do this, it takes money, a lot of money.

It's not just because there are many people in the Hyuga Clan.

In terms of training, not all Ninjutsu is expensive.

For example, the various Eight Gates Escape Techniques, if you don't need to pay money to buy the techniques, don't actually cost much. Just make sure your body gets enough nutrition; there's no extra expense needed to support normal cultivation.

The same applies to Genjutsu; eating well and sleeping well are more important than anything else.

Even bloodline Ninjutsu and a bunch of Yin-Yang Release techniques are the same as long as they fall into this category.

Leaving aside those in the middle, the most expensive things are high-level Taijutsu and Nintaijutsu, especially Nintaijutsu.

Nintaijutsu is classified under Taijutsu, and like Taijutsu, its minimum level can be very low, but once it reaches a high level, it can be very high.

The so-called Nintaijutsu is the use of Chakra to strengthen a certain part of the body or a weapon, allowing for attacks without the need for Hand Seals. Strengthening weapons goes without saying, Jonin can do it.

But anything involving the body carries three risks: high risk, high investment, and high difficulty.

If you don't have the ability to cope with the above three highs, for the sake of your life and your wallet, please don't gamble.

The Hyuga Clan's Gentle Fist, despite having "fist" in its name, is not Taijutsu); it is a pure Nintaijutsu, a very advanced one.

Uchiha Shingen knew just how extraordinary the Hyuga Clan Gentle Fist could be, and he also knew how troublesome it was to master that level of Gentle Fist.

He had once witnessed a master from the Hyuga Clan "freely" open the Gate of Death for their opponent, causing the opponent to explode and die.

I've also seen cars that seem to be turning Rotation, sweeping from one end to the other like a sword saint's storm, then taking a dumpling to replenish their energy before rolling back again.

Hyuga Clan very strong. Although he can't reach the level of piloting a Gundam in terms of high-end power, he is definitely not weak.

The reputation of this ninja clan has declined significantly in recent decades, which is directly related to its severe cash flow shortage. The Hyuga Clan has a lot of real estate but little net income, and its main source of income is housing rentals.

The Uchiha Clan, who held sole control of the Police Force, a military institution, used this power to operate a vast network of businesses, with the majority of their income coming from Explosive Tag and loans.

The Uchiha Clan had no friends in Leaf Village, and aside from a series of deeper factors, their monopolization of power was also a crucial reason.

Actually, the Uchiha Clan's cash flow wasn't originally this good. Its asset structure was similar to the Hyuga Clan's, with a lot of fixed assets. However, after Uchiha Shingen returned from the Hidden Mist Village battlefield, he gained a voice in front of the higher-ups. At that time, he began to talk to several elders about business transformation and moving towards a lighter asset model.

He also took the opportunity to thoroughly criticize his family's long-standing asset structure and financial investment model.

Lending money at exorbitant interest rates? And then foreclosing on houses when people can't repay? Are you some kind of shady gang?!

Why have so many fixed assets? Maintenance is free, isn't it?

In the two or three years following the war, Uchiha Shingen caused quite a stir within the clan.

The elders of the Uchiha Clan, like the elders of all ninja clans, were stubborn and believed that tradition was good and great.

However, they also have their advantages, namely, their high tolerance for outstanding young people in their eyes, and to a certain extent, they are even capable of doing things like, "I'll go through all the trouble to prove you wrong."

The current Uchiha Clan is the top figure in the financial world of the Land of Fire.

Financial leasing, short-term financing, ultra-short-term financing, medium-term notes, collective notes, regional pooled financing, and perpetual bonds—the whole industry is booming.

Traditional high-interest loan sharking is long gone.

The elderly people's attitude changed from "You won't shed a tear until you see the coffin" to "Holy crap."

The arms business remained largely unchanged, but fixed assets shrank significantly. All non-high-quality assets were disposed of, reducing the family's annual asset maintenance costs by at least half.

Despite being only three years old, the Uchiha Clan's cash flow is currently incredibly good.

They used to secretly embezzle public funds, but now they don't do it at all; they don't care anymore, and they've even covered up the old holes.

The "protection money" in the commercial district is still in effect, but it only applies to those special places. The Uchiha Clan know exactly what these people do, and if they don't collect some money, these monsters will jump up and down.

It was precisely because of this confidence that the Uchiha Clan opened up the Police Force.

The fact that the clan members were aware of the current state of affairs within the clan, and thus only felt somewhat confused rather than reacting violently to the Police Force's open approach, is understandable.

All of this led to the current situation, meaning the Uchiha Clan definitely had cards to play.

Fugaku Uchiha was well aware of Hiashi Hyuga's dilemma.

Being the head of the Uchiha Clan was no more Hyuga Clan than being the head of the Hyuga clan.

"Hiashi, we are both clan leaders, so let me speak frankly with you," he said. "It's not enough to rely solely on the goodwill of others; we are, after all, a ninja clan."

When he said this, Uchiha Fugaku also felt a little wistful.

Years ago, didn't he think the same way?

"I... no, our clan will open up the Police Force, but this opening is not without limits. In fact, there are only so many positions available. If the team gets too big, it will be difficult to manage."

"Oh, Fugaku, please explain in detail."

"Yes, saying we'll jointly manage it isn't a joke. This deep cooperation is comprehensive, of course. My clan's channels outside the village will also be provided to the Hyuga Clan."

"Really?" Hyuga Hiashi's eyes lit up.

The rest of the Hyuga Clan members all perked up their ears.

"Indeed, a lone tree cannot support a forest, Hiashi." Uchiha Fugaku's words were full of meaning.

"It won't come to that, Fugaku." Hyuga Hiashi's expression changed.

Similar to the Uchiha Clan, the Hyuga Clan is also not part of that circle.

It's not that there are no people in the decision-making level, but rather that they are completely outside the circle.

On the surface, Hyuga Clan seems much stronger than Nara Clan, but that's not actually the case.

The Ino-Shika-Cho, centered around the Nara Clan, is an alliance whose total number of ninjas and Jonin is no less than that of the Hyuga Clan.

Nara Clan's close relationship with the Hokage Building gives him considerable influence in the medical department, allowing the Nara Clan to directly utilize the Leaf Village Medical Department's distribution channels to conduct pharmaceutical business throughout the Land of Fire.

All three groups share resources and are thriving in their development.

In contrast, the Hyuga Clan is in decline.

The pursuit of becoming a ninja clan trusted by the Hokage is essentially an attempt to change this situation.

As the old saying goes, the development of the ninja clan requires manpower, financial resources, and Ninjutsu— all are indispensable.

The Hyuga Clan has no shortage of manpower and Ninjutsu, but it is desperately short of financial resources. The branch Main Family system forces it to maintain an equal distribution, and so it truly becomes "equal."

The Uchiha Clan lacked nothing, and even when suppressed by the Hokage, they still produced many talented individuals.

When Uchiha Shisui rose to fame, the Uchiha Clan was in a very different situation; they were almost being suppressed by the Hokage.

Chapter Eleven: The Next Uchiha Clan Head

Hyuga Hiashi Uchiha Fugaku's meaning.

All the Hyuga Clan members here understood Uchiha Fugaku's meaning; they not only understood it, but also agreed with it. However, this was a separate matter from whether the Hyuga Clan wanted to be tied to the Uchiha Clan.

"Hiashi, it's good that you understand." Uchiha Fugaku knew the pressure the other was under, and he wasn't impatient. "No matter what, both our families rely on Dōjutsu for their reputation. If we don't help each other, we'll truly become a laughingstock to outsiders."

"Of course." Hyuga Hiashi nodded, then mentally organized his thoughts. "Fugaku, may I ask another question? This time, the Uchiha Clan will invite more than just the Hyuga Clan, right?"

"Of course." Uchiha Fugaku nodded. "Our two families alone might not be able to stop so many tigers, leopards, and wolves."

"Tigers, leopards, jackals..." Hyuga Hiashi's gaze changed. "Three Kage Level Uchiha Clan, what kind of tigers, leopards, jackals would dare to lay a hand on them?"

"The Uchiha Clan has limited manpower, and there will always be areas they can't cover. To borrow a phrase from a young person, a thousand-mile dike can be destroyed by an ant hole."

"Why go to such lengths?" Hyuga Hiashi shook his head. "That's too harsh, too much."

"Hiashi Uchiha Shingen suddenly spoke up.

Everyone looked over.

Uchiha Fugaku did not stop him.

He didn't recognize it, but he just felt that Uchiha Shingen would at least speak more tactfully when talking to the Hyuga Clan.

"Shingen- kun," Hyuga Hiashi said formally, "Please enlighten me."

"I wouldn't dare, but I just thought of something," Uchiha Shingen asked, "Does the Hyuga Clan still have the ability to open someone's fatal pressure point?"