Kaien kept his mouth shut for the moment... mainly to let them eat up before the food went cold, because if it did, Mikoto would undoubtedly drag herself back to the kitchen and remake this entire ordeal once gain.
Across the table, the four Uchiha men were practically inhaling their breakfast, eating with such ravenous intensity that tears were to spill over their eyelids with their mouth full as they beat their chest with one hand to let the food pass through.
"Eat slowly, It's not going anywhere," Mikoto chided them, her voice laced with concern.
Kaien smirked slightly, adding, "Let them be, Mikoto-san. Judging by how fast they are eating, they'll probably be begging for seconds."
Fugaku's left eyelid gave an involuntary twitch. Clearing his throat, he set his chopsticks down with a quiet thud. "I take it you didn't just come over to critique our eating habits. Let's get down to business. Sasuke... go outside and practice your Fireball Jutsu."
Sasuke pouted, casting a resentful glance toward Kaien for disrupting his time with his brother and father first Shisui and now Kaien, but he dutifully got up and trudged out into the yard.
Once the door was shut, Kaien dropped the easygoing persona. "I'll be direct. The decision has been finalized: we are going to have place the Free Bird Seal on every member of the clan. Kumogakure cannot... and will not... allow the enemy villages to target Uchiha for Sharingan. To pull this off, I need an exact accounting. What are the clan's numbers for the one, two, and three-tomoe Sharingan, both living and deceased?"
Fugaku leaned back as he looked at Killer Bee who was looking at home without budging, his expression darkening as he recalled the recent horrors. "We lost at least thirty percent of our shinobi during our escape from Konoha. Among the survivors, however, several have unlocked higher tier sharingan under the stress. Right now, we have twenty-five living members with three-tomoe, thirty with two-tomoe, and forty with single-tomoe. As for the fallen... we managed to recover ten pairs of two-tomoe and another twenty pairs of three-tomoe eyes."
Kaien digested the numbers, his gaze shifting toward his Uncle Bee, who sat quietly beside him. "Is there any internal pushback? If there's dissidents within the Uchiha, we need to handle them immediately. We're on war footing; we can't afford a civil war in our own backyard."
Fugaku's dark eyes met Kaien's without flinching. "You don't need to worry about that. We have already... dealt with the unrest inside the Uchiha, and their Sharingan have been collected."
Kaien nodded slowly. "Good. Now, I'm working under the assumption that only two people here have awakened the Mangekyou."
He knew full well about Shisui, but he wanted to hear Fugaku admit it himself. Trust was a two-way street.
Fugaku hesitated but nodded, his breath catching slightly. The last thing he wanted was for Kumo's high command to view the Uchiha with paranoia, especially if they caught wind of Shisui's terrifying ocular genjutsu, Kotoamatsukami.
Reading the Fugaku's apprehension like an open book, Kaien gave a soft laugh. "Fugaku-san, remember where you are. This isn't Konoha, and I don't need you to volunteer information for me to see it. My Byakugan reads the unique chakra color surrounding Shisui's eyes just fine. I can see the exact same ocular strain in him that I see in you and Mikoto-san."
A self-deprecating smile was out across the Fugaku's lips. The kid had set a trap, giving him a chance to be fully transparent, and he'd faltered. "Point taken," Fugaku admitted quietly.
"Right then," Kaien said, standing up and smoothing out his clothes. "Gather everyone at the main compound. We're launching the Free Bird Seal project today. Uncle Bee, if you'd do the honors?"
"Say no more, lil' boy," Bee grunted, adjusting his shades.
Within minutes, the surviving Uchiha were assembled in the courtyard of the Clan Head's compound. Before most of them even realized what was happening, Killer Bee moved. He became a blur, flickering from person to person at a speed that defied human sight. Slap. Slap. Slap. With terrifying precision, his palm made contact with forehead on every single Uchiha in the yard.
"Bee is in the place, leaving no trace! It's done before it even began, yeah!" Bee boomed, landing gracefully back beside Kaien.
Fugaku's pupils dilated in genuine shock. He had tried to track the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki's movement, but his eyes simply couldn't keep up. "I couldn't follow his trajectory at all," Fugaku realized, a chill running down his spine. "Without activating the Mangekyou, I'm completely blind to that kind of speed. And keeping up to his speed is a different matter."
Suppressing his unease, Fugaku stepped forward and gestured toward two young men standing nearby. "Bee-san... these two are Itachi and Shisui. They are, without a doubt, the brightest prodigies the Uchiha clan has produced in a generation. If you are willing, I would ask that you take them on as your personal apprentices."
The motive behind the request was transparent: the Uchiha needed a solid foothold within Kumo's inner circle, and securing a mentorship under the all powerful Jinchuuriki was the ultimate power move. Fugaku had considered bringing Sasuke into the pitch as well, but the boy was still too young and hadn't proven his mettle yet. Itachi is destined to lead this clan, Fugaku reasoned himself. If he and Shisui can build a real bond with Kaien and Bee, the Uchiha will easily rise to become the premier clan in Kumogakure.
Kaien glanced over at Sasuke, who was still sulking in the distance, and couldn't help but smile at how blatantly calculating Fugaku was being. But Bee didn't seem to mind the political maneuvering.
"If they've got the drive and the fire inside, I'll teach 'em how to take it higher! Like wee." Bee rapped, flashing a thumb-up. "Bring out that talent, and I won't hold back!"
Itachi and Shisui immediately stepped forward and bowed deeply in unison. "We are honored. We will be in your care."
With the sealing process wrapped up, Kaien leaned against a wooden pillar, turning to Fugaku to ask a question that had been gnawing at his mind ever since when he was kidnap by Minato.
~~
A/N: Obito now has no choice but to target Danzo for the sharingan but cunning as he is. He can summon kage level Hiruzen, Mito and others at any time to protect himself.
Fugaku realised from Konoha that getting closer to the kage's inner circle is a must. Every Kage has either direct relation or apprentice relation to the other kage.
Upto 20 Advance chapters available @ patreon.com/aizenDuchiha0