Speculations About the Hyuga

Destroying the Uzumaki Clan and killing Kagami Uchiha with such ease was beyond any ordinary ninja.

Mito Uzumaki could not help suspecting that Madara Uchiha was still alive. But how was that possible?

Hashirama Senju had killed Madara Uchiha back then. On that point, Mito had no reason to doubt him.

Perhaps someone was working behind the scenes in the Shinobi World, someone who bore Konoha a great deal of malice.

Things were manageable while she was still around. Once she was gone, though, no one would be left to stop them. That was one reason Mito worked so tirelessly to train Uchiha Yi.

"I'm curious about some things that happened in the past. Studying history brings wisdom. Only by understanding the history of the Warring States Period can we appreciate how precious today's peace is." Uchiha Yi had always thought Hashirama Senju had a screw loose, but that did not stop him from being a great man.

During the Warring States Period, the clans had been locked in constant war. Children younger than Yi was now had already picked up weapons and killed.

The Shinobi World War still existed in this era, and in some ways it was an escalation of the fighting between clans. But ordinary days were fairly peaceful, and children did not have to kill or be killed.

Compared with the Warring States Period, the age of Ninja Villages was much better.

As for why they had adopted One Country, One Village instead of uniting military and political rule, that was a limitation of the times.

Even Yi had to admit that most ninja were unsuited to governing a country. One Country, One Village was a compromise with the times. People had only so much time and energy. Would those ninja really be better off learning to govern?

In Yi's view, none of these arrangements was set in stone. The question was whether people were willing to change them.

Even if Konoha wanted to change now and continue reforming the world, it lacked the strength. That would have to wait for Yi in the future.

"Studying history brings wisdom?" Mito nodded thoughtfully. Yi seemed to be growing more impressive by the day.

"The Senju Clan and the Hyuga Clan worked together quite often back then. Even so, neither the Senju nor the Uzumaki understood the Byakugan very well," Mito patiently explained.

Orochimaru enjoyed hearing Mito recount old secrets. Her accounts sometimes rang truer than the records he found himself. He could not help asking, "Is it because of the Caged Bird Seal? That should be a kind of Sealing Jutsu too. Is it really that hard to break?"

He had never studied the Caged Bird Seal, but surely there was a way to undo any Cursed Seal. Mito was a master of Sealing Jutsu in their time. Could she break it?

Mito shot Orochimaru an exasperated look. "The Hyuga Clan's affairs are complicated. Tobirama studied the Byakugan too, and even asked me to help with the Caged Bird Seal. After looking into it briefly, I found it was almost impossible to break. It acts on the soul."

"Even their souls are bound? Why would they do that? Aren't members of the Branch Family their kin too?" Nawaki and the others shuddered.

"To keep outsiders from obtaining the Byakugan, I'd say," Yi explained quietly. "The Byakugan has enormous strategic value. It lets you see over great distances, which is incredibly useful. And from what I've heard, it puts little strain on its user. Our Sharingan is different. If transplanted into someone else, it places a huge burden on them. They might even die when it drains their Chakra.

"So we don't need a Cursed Seal like the Caged Bird Seal. Besides, if someone stole one of our Sharingan and we found out, we'd usually hunt them down and never stop until one of us was dead."

"That makes sense, but why divide the clan into a Main Family and a Branch Family? If the point is to protect the Byakugan, why not put the Caged Bird Seal on everyone?" Jiraiya rubbed his chin. His words earned him eye rolls from quite a few people.

Mito shook her head helplessly. She was fond of Jiraiya, but he was far too naive. Some of his ideas reminded her of Hashirama, yet his political judgment was sorely lacking.

In that respect, he fell short of both Tsunade and Orochimaru.

She turned to Yi, expectation flickering in her eyes. "What do you think, Yi?"

"Everyone has their own selfish desires. Perhaps that was the original purpose of the Caged Bird Seal, but as time passes, someone is bound to want to rule over others and make them serve their interests.

"It's the same with clans, villages, and even countries. Power can easily corrupt people." Yi hesitated before saying it.

He did not know whether those words would reach Hiruzen Sarutobi. But he could not lie to Mito.

Some things were better left understood than said aloud.

Konoha had only been founded a few decades ago, and problems were already beginning to appear, weren't they?

If the Senju Clan had not disbanded, and the Third Hokage had also been a Senju, the Hokage's position would eventually have belonged to the Senju alone. One day, everyone might have turned against both the clan and the Hokage. Then Konoha and the Senju Clan could both have fallen.

"Very good, Yi. I knew I was right about you!" Mito nodded with satisfaction. She had thought Yi might hold back, but he had spoken plainly and taken the point further.

All the care she had given him had been worth it. Perhaps the Uchiha really would produce a Hokage someday.

"That's because you've taught me so well, Granny Mito!" Yi hurried to give her all the credit.

"Heh." Mito smiled without agreeing or disagreeing. "The Hyuga Clan could never place the Caged Bird Seal on everyone. That technique from back then could probably be used only with an unsealed Byakugan. You might call it the Hyuga Clan's trump card.

"But the technique has severe aftereffects. Before the village was founded, it could protect the clan when they faced a threat they couldn't handle. Once Konoha was established, however, the situation changed dramatically."

Everyone fell silent. Members of the Main Family would not go to the battlefield unless they had no other choice.

The chances of using that technique had fallen sharply, and the Main Family was becoming less and less important. If things continued this way, tensions between the Main Family and the Branch Family would only grow.

But even the Hokage could not resolve such a matter, much less any of them.