Fugaku and Sato exchanged silent glances. During this moment, Mikoto entered and served them her homemade milk tea.
Sato thoroughly enjoyed Mikoto's milk tea, with its distinct flavor triggering a sense of familiarity, though he couldn't remember where he had tasted such a thing before.
"Sato-san, your idea is great and it might be our best option right now."
"But I want to know something clearly. What exactly do you want from the Uchiha for this favor?"
Being responsible for his entire clan, Fugaku couldn't make decisions randomly, even if everything seemed fine; he needed to know every detail.
Sato was aware of this and presented his terms without complicating things for Fugaku.
"When living in the Hidden Cloud, your clan will work for my company. It's only natural for your clan to be loyal to me."
"The Uchiha clan must remember who their boss is – not the Hidden Cloud or the Land of Lightning, but me."
"After my death, their loyalty will shift to the Nii clan behind me. Every Uchiha needs to understand this."
Sato paused, allowing Fugaku time to digest his conditions; essentially, he was assembling a group of followers.
Strength in numbers had always been Sato's philosophy, be it his headhunter squad or business deals. It was all part of building his own power.
The Raikage position was also a part of his power, not his true authority. Even without being the Raikage, Sato would still have unshakable influence.
Meanwhile, Fugaku nodded thoughtfully, unaware of Sato's plans but realizing his intention to merge their clans.
"So, Sato-sama wants the Uchiha to be his blade, and you want the Uchihas bound to the Niis."
"Once we agree, both clans will live and die together, becoming a bound clan like the Ino-Shika-Cho."
Fugaku sipped some tea and smiled with relief. Considering everything, Sato wasn't demanding too much; it seemed feasible.
"As the patriarch of the Uchiha clan, I can agree on behalf of the majority. However, you need to be aware of something, Sato-san."
"There are radicals within our clan. They might be a problem; these people have been oppressed for too long and they want revenge against Konoha."
Fugaku assumed this might pose a problem for Sato. After all, Sato was attempting to help them, yet some within their ranks wanted to create more issues. Sato would obviously be angry in such a situation.
And Sato was indeed angry, but his expression changed after a few seconds. He frowned, tapping his finger on the table. Thoughtfully sipping his milk tea, he remarked.
"They are fools, but I wonder... If they want to take revenge on Konoha, then why not let them?"
Confused, Fugaku blinked. Wasn't it obvious that if they sought revenge, Konoha might blame Sato?
However, Sato disagreed. If these Uchiha wanted to fight for their honor, he would allow it. His objective wasn't just to take the Uchiha away but to damage Konoha and cause chaos, benefiting the Hidden Cloud Village and fulfilling his grudge.
"Fugaku-san, I understand your concerns, but I believe I have a way to kill two birds with one stone."
"If some Uchiha want to cause trouble, let them use the Uchiha guard department to cause trouble. Go all out, do whatever you want, beat whoever you want!"
"You are about to leave the village anyway; the Hokage can't intervene."
Fugaku and Itachi exchanged glances, wondering if Sato held a personal grudge against Konoha.
The Uchiha managed Konoha's security. Allowing them to act freely could lead to utter chaos, turning the entire village upside down.
"Sato-san... Let's forget about it. I'll try to convince the Uchiha to abandon their revenge."
Fugaku laughed dryly, attempting to avoid the situation, but Sato persisted.
"Nope, it's decided. Tell those Uchiha to go wild. As long as they don't kill anyone, it should be fine. I want this village to burn under its sins!"
Sato smiled softly, contrasting his harsh words. Fugaku grew uneasy; he didn't think this was a good idea at all.
"But Sato-sama, if the Hokage decides to attack us before we leave Konoha, we'll die, and so will you!"
"Think about it. Alone, I'm not strong enough to fight the whole village. They might seize this chance to eliminate us all in one strike."
Sato's smile remained unwavering. When proposing this method, he already had an idea on how to avoid such a scenario.
"What are you talking about, Fugaku-san? You have Tsunade, you have Itachi, and then there's you."
"You have three S-class Ninjas, and I am there as well. I don't think anyone in Konoha can stand against our team anymore."
Sipping the last bit of milk tea, Sato bared his teeth.
"Most importantly, you guys have two Mangekyo Sharingan, one with you and one with Itachi. Nobody in Konoha can fight against that."
Fugaku's eyes widened. This information hit him like a hammer.
His son unlocked the Mangekyo Sharingan? And Sato knew about his Mangekyo too? How did he know? He had concealed it so well for so long.
Apparently, Tsunade was also helping them? Itachi and Sato seemed to have everything planned.
"Sigh... I never thought you would unlock the Mangekyo so early, Itachi. Life must have been difficult for you."
"Sato-sama, I understand. If we have Tsunade-sama and you helping us, we can indeed fight against Konoha. We might not win, but they can't kill us either."
Taking a deep breath, Fugaku saw potential in the idea, but a major issue was still there. He couldn't fight for too long; he had a time limit, and so did Itachi.
Usually this was kept a secret within the Uchiha clan, but now was a do-or-die moment. Needing Sato's help, Fugaku decided to reveal the secret of the Mangekyo.
"Sato-sama, you might not know about this. Our strength comes from our Mangekyo, but it has one major problem."
"The more we use it, the more our vision decreases. After some time we will go blind. It's a strong power, but I don't think we should waste it so soon on something like this."
Exhaling, Fugaku finally disclosed his main problem. This was why he always hesitated to use his Mangekyo—it was a limited resource, saved for emergencies.
He was thinking Sato would finally abandon his idea now, but Fugaku noticed Sato still wore a happy smile.
"I know about this, Fugaku-san! Shisui told me long ago. In fact, I might even know something you Uchiha don't."
"There is a turtle island in our Hidden Cloud, so old it has tailed beasts's paintings from multiple centuries ago."
Tapping the table, Sato continued seriously.
"We also have Sage of Six Paths tools. Six were found in our village during the first Shinobi world war."
"That's not all. Kinkaku and Ginkaku were from our village and had the bloodline of Sage of Six Paths."
"Our village is very old. At least, the place our village is built upon has a rich history. I tell you all this because I recently found something curious about the Uchiha and their Mangekyo."
Sato blended lies with facts, constructing a fake story. While Sage of Six Paths' history was true, Sato didn't discover anything new about the Uchiha. His knowledge came from the original story.
"I noticed something amazing written there. It said that if an Uchiha uses the eyes of their close relative, preferably their brother, they can avoid blindness!"
"They called it the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan. Itachi's brother dosen't have a Mangekyo, so it won't work. But why don't you guys try it?"
"You both might not be brothers, but you are father and son. Try it. Tell Tsunade to swap your eyes. Let's see if you gain it."
"The Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan."
Silence spread across the room. Fugaku's entire body trembled, and his forehead was covered in sweat.
This legend reminded him of a similar tale in their Uchiha clan, a story not so distant.
It occurred with the strongest figure of their clan, a man said to possess such eyes—the eternal eyes, Uchiha Madara, the Ghost of the Uchiha!
Advanced chapters ahead on patréon
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