If Xia Yan's earlier proposal had merely been an appropriate weakening of Konoha's clan shinobi system,
then now, it could absolutely be called an open declaration of war against that system!
And he had not minced his words, either. He had told them outright, "In the future, only elected representatives will be able to attend meetings like this, not clan heads!"
What did that mean?
It meant the clan-based model would be completely replaced by a model based on shinobi rank!
At that moment, only the clan heads who had followed Xia Yan all along remained calm. Everyone else was completely stunned by the news.
The heads of the smaller clans stared at him in disbelief, their eyes truly filled with confusion.
Not only them-even Shōma Senju nearly rose to his feet.
But he still remembered that the man sitting in the Hokage's seat was the actual leader of the Senju Clan. He still remembered that he had to trust the man he had personally chosen.
Especially when he noticed the Hyuga and the Uchiha-apart from Uchiha Fugaku and his group-as well as the Inuzuka Clan, the Ino-Shika-Cho, and the Aburame.
Once he saw that none of them seemed concerned about Xia Yan's proposal and were still sitting quietly, he forced himself to calm down.
The fact that these clans showed no reaction meant they knew something, or that they could find benefits for themselves in Xia Yan's policies.
With that thought, Shōma Senju took a deep breath and obediently fell silent.
He absolutely could not speak up. As a member of the Senju Clan, anything he said would be a blow to Xia Yan.
If even his own clan did not trust its Hokage, the consequences would be unimaginable. Xia Yan would probably turn on his own clan afterward.