Hyūga

[Smyles]

Hyūga

The Hyūga clan (日向一族, Hyūga Ichizoku) is one of the four noble clans of Konohagakure. All members born into this clan possess the Byakugan, a kekkei genkai that gives them extended fields of vision and the ability to see through solid objects and even the chakra circulatory system, amongst other things, and expel chakra from any of the tenketsu in their body.

While not much is known of the clan's background, they are considered to be one of, if not currently, the most powerful clan in Konohagakure. Their notoriety and prowess stretches far and wide, leading others to both praise and covet their abilities. During the Fourth Shinobi World War, a Kumo-nin noted that they had a hard time against them during a previous war.

The clan is separated into two parts, the main house (宗家, Sōke) and the branch house (分家, Bunke), a system that protects the secrets of the Byakugan from outsiders. The main house runs the family while the branch house protects it. The members of the branch house are branded with a cursed seal upon the third birthday of the heir to the main house. This seal gives the main house members absolute control over the branch members, because they can destroy the branch members' brain cells with a simple hand seal, or cause them great pain to punish them. This seal also makes sure the secret of the Hyūga's Byakugan is safe, because it seals the Byakugan after the wearer of the seal dies. Because they are essentially servants, simply because of their birth order or heritage, some branch house members are hostile to those of the main house.

In the past, there have been several attempts on the part of Kumogakure to acquire the dōjutsu of this clan. This event culminated in the death of the would-be-thief: the Head Ninja of Kumogakure and the demands of Hiashi's corpse who had killed him according to the stipulations in the peace treaty that the two villages had signed. Ultimately, Hizashi was the one to sacrifice his life for the village and clan, sealing away his Byakugan as he died and avoiding war. This event would become known as the Hyūga Affair.

The Hyūga are renowned for possessing the highly coveted Byakugan (白眼; Literally meaning "White Eye", Meaning (Viz) "All Seeing White Eye"), a kekkei genkai feared for the great visual prowess that it grants its wielder. The first ability of the Byakugan gives the user a near 360º field of vision, except for one blind spot at the back of the neck above the third thoracic vertebra. The second ability is being able to see through solid objects, and can use a degree of telescopic sight. The distance and the degree of telescopic sight varies from person to person, and can be improved. In Part I, Neji Hyūga was able to see an area of 50 metres, but later he increases his visual range to at least 800 metres, while Hinata Hyūga's range in Part II stretches at least as far as 10 km. However, the Byakugan cannot see through certain barriers, such as the Four Black Fog Battle Formation used by the Sound Four. The third and one of the greatest uses of the Byakugan is the ability to see chakra, its flow, as well as the chakra circulation system inside the body with great detail.

Members of the clan are instructed in the use of the Gentle Fist style, which uses the Byakugan to view the opponent's Chakra Pathway System and deal precise blows to disable and impede the flow of chakra. Due to training in this style, Hyūga clan members tend to have excellent chakra control. This is emphasised in techniques that utilise this chakra control, as well as the nuances of the Gentle Fist Art. Because of this, the Gentle Fist is regarded as Konoha's strongest taijutsu style.

It is said that this clan possesses more than one kekkei genkai, one of which grants them the ability to expel chakra from every tenketsu in their body, allowing them to fully utilise chakra with attacks such as the Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven and the Gentle Fist Art One Blow Body techniques. In addition, the clan's techniques outside the basic Gentle Fist fighting style, like the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms etc., are only allowed to be taught to members of the main house. Neji Hyūga, however, has bypassed this restriction by learning them on his own through simple observation, furthering his reputation as a "genius" within the clan.