Konoha
Uchiha Clan grounds
Naraku often visited the Uzumaki and Kurama clans.
Today, he had specifically invited Uzumaki Nao and Kurama Ryota to his home for tea.
There was tea, pastries, and a hot-water kettle on the low table. They could refill their cups themselves; Naraku had no servants.
"Lord Naraku, are you planning to expand the Police Force? That's a good thing. The Kurama Clan will support you wholeheartedly."
"Naraku, what made you think of expanding the Police Force all of a sudden?"
Kurama Ryota and Uzumaki Nao reacted differently.
When Kurama Ryota heard that Naraku planned to expand the Special Police Division and establish a Second Division of seventy members, he immediately voiced his support.
Konoha's funding for the Uchiha amounted to 150 million. It was barely enough.
Meanwhile, the Uchiha arms business brought in another 200 to 300 million ryō a year for the Clan Affairs Hall. Expanding the Police Force was only natural.
The Uchiha had several thousand clan members. After several years of development, they had 1,400 to 1,500 shinobi. Under Naraku's control, both the clan's population and its number of shinobi were growing quickly.
The clan now had a stable environment, with the elderly cared for and the young provided for. It was very different from the old days, when the Great Elders or clan heads would appoint an honorary leader.
Naraku truly controlled the clan's day-to-day affairs. Even the Uchiha leader who had founded Konoha had tried to lead his people away from the village, only to be abandoned by them and leave alone in the end.
Under Naraku's rule, the clan heads and elders were steadily losing their hold over their factions. The Clan Affairs Hall had changed everything.
Clan members no longer needed to rely on elders to fight for their