Senju Mori's calling card had barely arrived when it caused an uproar within the Hyuga Clan.
Although Clan Head Hyuga Sogo had anticipated this, when the event actually happened, the Hyuga Clan, from top to bottom, still felt somewhat at a loss.
Konoha had indeed, in fact, elected a Hokage twice: the First Hokage and the Second Hokage.
But those two elections were almost always single-choice.
The first time was a choice between Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara; compared to Uchiha Madara, who looked terrifying, the Hyuga Clan naturally cast all their votes for Senju Hashirama.
Before this, Senju Hashirama had never specifically courted the Hyuga, nor had he even actively visited the Hyuga Clan's territory once.
The result was obvious: the defeated Uchiha Madara rebelled in anger and was ultimately killed by Lord Hashirama himself in the Valley of the End.
During the second election, even Uchiha Madara was no longer present. Facing Uchiha Setsuna, who had almost no competitiveness, the various Ninja Clans, including the Hyuga, naturally chose the Senju side once again.
Senju Tobirama achieved an almost overwhelming victory.
Afterward, Uchiha Setsuna, unwilling to accept defeat, attempted a coup, but was easily suppressed by Senju Tobirama with just the Anbu, and remains imprisoned in Konoha Village to this day.
It can be said that in the previous two Hokage elections, the two Senju Hokage did not make any political promises or distribute benefits beforehand; they simply won easily because their opponents came from the Uchiha Clan.
And because almost no Ninja Clans sided with the Uchiha, although none of them gained much from the Hokage election, no Ninja Clan was purged by the new Hokage as a result.
However, the situation the Hyuga Clan faced today was different.
Even if they wanted to mindlessly support the Senju as always, they had to carefully consider whether Hiruzen Sarutobi, Senju Tobirama's disciple and successor, represented the Senju's power.
Or if Senju Mori, a true member of the Senju Clan, was the real core of the current Senju.
And after making a choice?
Should they seize the opportunity to ask their supporters for some benefits?
If not, would they be looked down upon?
If so, how much would be appropriate?
Would they be resented by the new Hokage for it?
...In everything, the Hyuga Clan had no experience to draw upon.
And ancient families like the Hyuga Clan, who are extremely traditional and stubborn, detest "change" and "uncertainty" the most.
Thinking of this, Hyuga Sogo couldn't help but secretly resent the Second Hokage Senju Tobirama in his heart.
What's wrong with you just honestly passing the position to your own juniors? We would still firmly support you as before; it's not like everyone can't accept it.
Insisting on reforms and new tricks is truly annoying.
Under the sway of conservative genes etched into their bones, compared to personally getting involved in political games for a mere few benefits, the Hyuga Clan would rather stand behind the inevitable victor without gaining anything.
However, no matter what, since Senju Mori had politely delivered a calling card, the Hyuga Clan, as a prominent Konoha family, absolutely could not be impolite, nor could they be accused of "disrespecting the Senju."
Considering the urgency of the time, the Hyuga Clan didn't even wait until the next day.
Later that same day, they dispatched a Main Family Elder to the Senju Clan to deliver Hyuga Sogo's handwritten reply, agreeing on a specific time while also expressing a sincere welcome for Senju Mori's visit.
Unlike clans like the Senju and Uchiha, the Hyuga Clan did not establish clan elders, only the position of family elder.
And the "family" in this family elder position was not the "Hyuga family," but the "Main Family," with the full title being "Hyuga Main Family Elder."
This also meant that no matter how outstanding a branch family member was, even if he became a Jonin in the Village, he would never attain the highest level of political status within the family after returning.
In fact, the Hyuga Clan's so-called Main Family and Branch Family system was not complicated.
Because the Hyuga's rule was that the number of Main Family members in each generation remained fixed.
To give a simple example, let's assume there were six members in the Hyuga family when the system was first established. They were likely direct descendants of the Hyuga ancestor, Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo, and were referred to as A, B, C, D, E, and F.
Then these six people were the original Main Family, and we call them the first generation.
Let's take A as an example.
A had three sons, A1, A2, and A3, considered the second generation.
Among them, only A1, as the eldest son, could inherit the Main Family status; A2 and A3 automatically became Branch Family members to protect A1.
By the third generation, only A1's eldest son, A11, could inherit the Main Family position; A1's second and third sons, as well as all the sons of A2 and A3, could only become Branch Family members.
And so on. Although the Hyuga had been passed down for thousands of years, the number of Main Family members has always remained largely unchanged, with only six slots available in each generation: A, B, C, D, E, and F.
Of course, older generation Hyuga Main Family members would not lose their Main Family status just because their eldest son became the new Main Family head; every Main Family member enjoyed Main Family treatment for life until death.
However, no matter how long the older generation Main Family members lived, it wouldn't be a big deal; even a situation with three generations living together would only temporarily inflate the number of Main Family members to double digits.
Conversely, the number of Branch Family members continued to increase, becoming the true main component of the colossal Hyuga Clan to this day.
This also explains why, in later days, Hyuga Hiashi and his brother belonged to the Main Family and Branch Family, respectively. It's simple: their family line had only one Main Family slot passed down from their ancestors.
Hiashi was born first, the eldest son, so he was Main Family.
Hizashi was born a step later, the second son, so he could only become Branch Family.
A family as rigid and incomprehensible as the Hyuga would absolutely not waver from the Main Family and Branch Family inheritance system passed down from their ancestors because of a Ninja's talent or potential.
Of course, Main Family members like Hyuga Hiashi, who genuinely couldn't have sons, were not unheard of in the long history of the Hyuga Clan.
If it were during the Sengoku period, Hyuga Hiashi (referring to Hyuga Main Family members who couldn't have sons) would most commonly choose a close male relative to adopt.
Usually, he would choose from his nephews, and then marry his daughter to him.
In other words, if he had been born a hundred years earlier, Hyuga Neji's fate would most likely have been to be adopted by Hiashi, becoming a high-ranking Main Family legitimate son, and then marrying his original "Lady Hinata."
But unfortunately, with the establishment of Konoha Village, the later Hyuga Clan gradually became enlightened enough to accept female Main Family heirs, coupled with that bit of selfishness inherent in all people in Hyuga Hiashi's heart.
Hyuga Neji naturally could only bear the Caged Bird Seal and become a Branch Family member born for the Main Family and destined to die for the Main Family.
Power Stone Bonus: Every 100 Power Stones = +1 Extra Chapter
🌟 5-Star Review Bonus: Every 5 (5-Star) Reviews = +2 Extra Chapters
💬 Comment Speed-Up: If any chapter reaches +10 Comments = The Next Chapter Will Be Released Faster!
🔥 Want to Read Ahead? If you want to read advanced chapters, check out my Patreon.com/Laktozlu