"I heard Clan Head Tomohiro had arrived? I'm Uchiha Fugaku. I wanted to come meet you."
Tomohiro and Ria exchanged a glance, then immediately went to open the door.
"Ah! Clan Head Fugaku, we were planning to visit you later, but you came over first."
Uchiha Fugaku shook his head. "It's all the same. I happened to be free with nothing to do, so I came by. Were you busy?"
Tomohiro waved his hands repeatedly. "No, no, no. We've already finished tidying up. Please, Clan Head Fugaku, have a seat."
"Ria, go brew a pot of tea."
At the mention of tea, Uchiha Fugaku's eyes lit up. "Clan Head Tomohiro likes tea as well?"
Tomohiro laughed heartily. "When I left Lord Torikaze's place last time, I took some of his fine tea with me. I didn't expect to bring it back today. It's perfect for tasting together with Clan Head Fugaku."
Uchiha Fugaku was delighted. "That would be wonderful."
Tomohiro and Uchiha Fugaku drank tea as they chatted idly, mostly discussing matters concerning their clans.
At first, they were both somewhat wary of each other, so they held back in what they said.
But as time went on, they found themselves getting along better and better. Since they both had ties to Torikaze, they gradually let down their guards.
They began freely pouring out the hardships and anxieties they could not normally speak of to outsiders.
Developing a clan truly was no easy matter. The Uchiha Clan's current situation was far better than that of the Uzumaki Clan.
At the very least, they had a stable population, sources of funding, and outstanding heirs.
But the Uzumaki Clan truly had none of that. Their money relied on Mito's support, and that would be cut off in another half a year.
Because