(Uchiha clan headquarters)
knock knock
"Come in."
"Sir, Shisui-sama is requesting a meeting."
"What happened now? Ask him to come in; I am free for some time anyway," Fugaku said with a sigh at the end.
…
"Good morning, Fugaku-sama," Shisui said, followed by Kaida, who also bowed a little and greeted Fugaku.
"What happened?" Fugaku went straight to the topic. Recently, the Uchiha clan was busier than during the time when Danzo was present and suppressing the clan. Even though the public image of the Uchiha was not as bad as it used to be, the relationship between the Uchiha and other clans was now facing some strain. Fugaku could already guess the reason, but he didn't want to act on it yet since the situation was still not out of control.
"Fugaku-sama, today Kaida told me something interesting. I want to know if what he is thinking is true or not," Shisui said with a smile.
"Shisui, I am quite busy now," Fugaku said with his usual serious tone.
"I know, Uncle, but what he said concerns the safety and stability of our clan. That's why we came here as soon as we could," Shisui said, still maintaining his smile.
Fugaku's interest was piqued now. He knew that Kaida was not just some ordinary boy with unusual strength; he also had a good head on his shoulders.
"What happened, Kaida?"
"Fugaku-sama, I was thinking about the power balance of Konoha's clans…" Kaida then proceeded to tell everything he had told Kakashi and Shisui, though he excluded Naruto from the discussion for now.
"Why were you thinking about this matter in the first place?" Fugaku asked, his tone and face not giving even the slightest fluctuation.
'I should stop hiding things from Fugaku. In both experience and power, he is way above me. Just as I could tell what Kakashi was thinking, he should also be able to do that, but on a higher level,' Kaida thought.
"Fugaku-sama, as you know, Kakashi helped us get the root base locations, and I was the one who took those locations from him."
Fugaku just nodded his head.
"For that info, I used a small piece of information I got while I was living at your house. It was about a boy named Naruto."
Hearing the name, Fugaku's eyes went wide for the first time.
"So you used his living condition and somehow tied it to Danzo, and had Kakashi help us in return for helping his sensei's son," Fugaku said, easily guessing what had happened. Kaida just nodded his head.
"So you want Shisui to leave the clan so that you could keep your promise, huh?" Fugaku said while releasing a little pressure.
"I never said anything like that, Fugaku-sama. What I said was just a solution I could think of. I am sure you could easily come up with something way better than that," Kaida said respectfully.
'He dodged that skillfully. Others in his position would be afraid, because what I just said was almost like accusing him of treason, but he is very calm,' Fugaku thought, then sighed.
"Unfortunately, you are wrong. I could not come up with anything better than what you have thought. The relationship between us Uchiha and the other clans is indeed becoming a little heated. They are not willing to form squads with our ninja.
Even though it is on a small scale, I am sure it will increase in the future. I was also thinking that they are getting unsettled seeing the increase in our strength. Now that we don't have someone suppressing us, we actually don't need to have such strength, so we don't need to have two Kage-level ninja in our clan.
Since I cannot leave the clan for obvious reasons, the obvious choice will be Shisui, but he is my responsibility, and the situation is still not dire enough for me to take any action," Fugaku said.
"There is no need for us to let the situation become that dire anyway. If the end result is the same, why should we take unnecessary risks?" Shisui said.
"Shisui, I want you to understand, you are like my own son, and even if Itachi were in your place, I would have done the same to him for the clan too," Fugaku said.
"Uncle, don't you think you are becoming too dramatic? It is not like you are killing me; it is just that I would work for the village in some other way, and I will only leave the clan on paper. At heart, I will always be an Uchiha, and my friends and family will not treat me any differently just because I am not part of the Uchiha clan on paper anymore, right?" Shisui said.
"Hah! It is not that simple, brat, but you are correct. You will always be part of the clan," Fugaku said.
'Isn't this becoming way too emotional? Luckily Guy and Lee are not here, otherwise they may start hugging and crying at the same time now,' Kaida thought, shaking his head.
Uhm
"As for Naruto living with you guys, I will ask Lord Third about that when I meet him regarding Shisui, but I also think that he should agree with your request," Fugaku said.
"Thank you, Fugaku-sama," Kaida said, bowing a little.
"Oh! I nearly forgot, Itachi was asking if you forgot about the spar?" Fugaku asked.
"Not at all, Fugaku-sama, it is just that so many things have happened around this time that I couldn't find time for the spar," Kaida said.
'I totally forgot about that,' Kaida thought.
'He forgot about that,' Shisui thought.
'He totally forgot about that,' Fugaku thought.
"So do you want to have a spar or not?" Fugaku asked.
"I would love to learn something from big brother Itachi. When can I have this spar?" Kaida said. He was also interested in the spar, since getting to know what your level is compared to a genius is something everyone wants.
"I also want to see that spar. I will make some arrangements for that. Maybe by tomorrow it should be ready. I will send someone to notify you."
"Okay, Fugaku-sama," Kaida said.
"Okay, you can take your leave. I have something I want to discuss with Shisui."
Kaida nodded and bowed a little before leaving.