Chapter 330 - Internal Conflict
Hiashi Hyuga was currently sitting in his office with a grim expression on his face. Recently, things have been going downhill for him.
First, the clan elders half-forced him to attack the Uzumaki clan, and to make things even worse, the plan failed miserably, and somehow the elders decided that it was his fault.
Honestly, the only reason he decided to avoid conflict with the Uzumaki was that Yuna's words about her ability to activate the Hyuga's curse seal whenever she wanted to. No matter how often Hiashi told himself that Yuna was just bluffing, he simply couldn't get Yuna's threat out of his head.
Anyway, despite not wanting to exert pressure on the Uzumaki clan, he didn't even doubt for a second that the Hyuga clan would fail so spectacularly.
The Hyuga clan was one of Konoha's first clans. Hiashi was confident that they could rally enough other clans to pressure the Uzumaki clan with roots that deep.
However, those supposedly deep roots were utterly rotten. Not a single clan agreed to help the Hyuga clan.
'Those bastards, we have been allies for such a long time; how can they just reject me like that?'
Hiashi was about to descend into a fit of rage when he took a deep breath to calm himself down.
'Damnit, it's not like they don't see us as their allies anymore; it's just that they are not willing to have a conflict with the Uzumaki clan, which they consider their ally as well.'
Hiashi took another deep breath and sagged on his chair.
'Haaa~ This is the Hyuga clan's loss. Whether it is military power, economic power, or political influence, we have lost.'
Hiashi's mind has been fighting his pride for a long time now. Although some doubts started appearing in his mind after the chunin exam almost three years ago, his pride simply crushed all of them. However, now the situation was a little different.
He always assumed that if it came to an open conflict with the Uzumaki clan, Konoha's other clans would help the Hyuga clan due to their prestige alone. However, that hope was now crushed. The Hyuga clan's supposedly high prestige was absolutely worthless.
'*Sigh* At least it didn't come to a war. Let's not talk about helping the Hyuga clan; I feel like quite a few clans would help the Uzumaki clan instead.'
The worst hit to his pride Hiashi received was surprisingly from one of the clans that gave him a relatively neutral response. The Nara clan.
I was only for a split second, but Hiashi clearly noticed that Shikaku's facial expression distorted when she suggested suppressing the Uzumaki clan. For a very short moment, after Hiashi made his offer, Shikaku looked at him like he had just suggested the stupidest thing he had ever heard in his life. That, gave Hiashi's pride quite a bit of damage.
Although Hiashi considered himself to be an intelligent man, he knew that he stood no chance against the patriarch of the Nara clan in that regard, especially when it came to making strategic decisions.
If Shikaku just rejected his suggestion, then he could still endure it,
but considering that he looked at Hiashi like the stupidest man alive for a short moment, Hiashi realized just how badly he messed up.
'I can only hope that Yuna won't retaliate against the Hyuga clan due to our actions. Well, it's not like we managed to deal any damage to the Uzumaki clan, so it's probably fine.'
A moment after coming to that conclusion, an ugly expression appeared on Hiashi's face.
'Will it really be fine? Yuna isn't exactly known to be a reasonable individual, so who knows how she will act from now on. W-Will the Hyuga clan perish under my rule?'
Hiashi's facial expression grew worse when he thought about Yuna's retaliation.
'Will I have to apologize to her? Never! No matter what, that is not something I am willing to do.'
Although Hiashi's pride took quite a bit of damage, he was still far away from being willing to admit his mistakes.
Moments later, someone knocked on the door, and before Hiashi could give permission to enter, nine people walked into his office, causing Hiashi to frown at the rude behavior.
Considering that the nine people who had just entered were the elders of the Hyuga clan, Hiashi quickly suppressed his frown and looked at them with a neutral facial expression instead.
"Why are you here? We could have just gathered inside the meeting room if you wanted to meet me instead of my private office.
The elders looked at each other for a moment, and after a few seconds of communicating with their eyes, a short man in a brown kimono and long, grey hair stepped forward.
"We, the elders, have come to a conclusion."
Hiashi's frown deepened as he opened his mouth to answer.
"What are you talking about? I am the Hyuga clans patriach. No matter what kind of decision you make, it still needs to be discussed with me first."
The first elder to speak nodded his head in agreement at Hiashi's words.
"Yes, that is indeed the case. That is why we have decided that you are no longer suitable for the position of clan head."
Hiashi's eyebrows rose when he heard the elder's words before shaking his head in disbelief.
"I don't care whether you think I'm suitable or not. Do you think just because you managed to convince me to do what you want once that I will obediently follow whatever you tell me to do?"
The moment Hiashi finished speaking, the expression on the elders' faces grew fierce, and they surrounded the spot where Hiashi was currently sitting.
"No, you naturally wouldn't do that. That is why we decided that you will have an unfortunate accident inside your office, and since Neji is still too young to take over the position of the patriarch, we will be ruling the clan from now on."
Hiashi's eyes widened in surprise before a fierce expression appeared on his face.
"You actually dare to start a coup? Are you insane? There is no way the other members of the main family are willing to support you."
A sneer appeared on the elders' faces when they heard Hiashi's words, and moments later, the only elder to speak so far answered Hiashi's questions.
"Hehe, too bad, but that is not the case. A lot of people from the main family are unhappy about your weak stance in regards to the Uzumaki clan, so this is the will of most of them. As soon as you are gone, we will get our revenge against the Uzumaki clan and wash away the humiliation we received from them."
Hiashi's eyes bulged when he heard the elder's words. He concluded that the Hyuga clan couldn't touch the Uzumaki clan just a few minutes ago, and now, something like this happened.
"Wake up to reality; the current Hyuga clan can not stand against the Uzumaki clan! They are too influential and too powerful to be messed with by us!"
Instead of even considering Hiashi's words, the elder in front of him snorted in disdain at his words.
"How laughable! We are Konoha's oldest, still living clan; there is no way some random upstarts could ever hope to contest against us. The only reason why the Uzumaki clan still exists is because of your indecisiveness in regards to getting rid of them."
Before Hiashi could argue any further, the nine elders released their killing intent at him, causing him to prepare for combat.
"Kill him! After he is dead, it is finally time to show Konoha just how powerful the Hyuga truly is."
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