Fugaku gave Itachi a small nod. In the open wasn't exactly the place to broach the subject of familial obligation, and that by avoiding his family so much, Fugaku thought Itachi was making the times he did see them worse. It wasn't just the very old that expressed some anxiety about Itachi's lack of interest and supposed disdain for his clan.

Maybe if Fugaku could say Itachi was at least home sometimes, tensions would ease. It was odd, Fugaku had been more concerned about Sasuke when the boys were younger, and now that was turned more and more on Itachi. After all, if Itachi resented or disliked his clan, he wouldn't be a very good clan head. And Sasuke was teammates with Hinata, who would be head of her clan one day. It seemed unlikely the son of Minato and Kushina wouldn't have a hand in future Konoha politics, so perhaps Sasuke would be the better choice for clan head.

If he were willing, anyway. Fugaku got the feeling he was a very long way from retirement.

Maybe he and Mikoto could just run away in the night and force Itachi to assume power that way. Fugaku hadn't been out of Konoha in years, but the search party the Uchiha would mount, probably assuming he'd been kidnapped (but honestly, who would want to kidnap him?) wouldn't be worth avoiding.

Maybe Fugaku could get Mikoto to talk to Itachi about it. He probably wouldn't start looking for exits the moments the words "clan" and "duty" came out of her mouth.