Hyūga Clan

The or is a well known clan of Konohagakure, as well as the strongest clan in the village, standing alongside the Uchiha Clan, with the Hyūga said to also possess the oldest and most outstanding bloodline in the village. All<!-- do NOT change --> 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.

The Hyūga clan are descendants from the Ōtsutsuki Clan, specifically from Hamura Ōtsutsuki's lineage. As a result, they are also distant cousins of the Uchiha, Senju, Uzumaki, and Kaguya clans. They are considered to be one of, if not currently, the most powerful clan in Konohagakure. Their fame 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' and the 'branch house', 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 even 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 who sacrificed 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.