Genius

"Graduating in your first year?"

Uchiha Takashi looked at his son in surprise.

"Isn't that too early?"

Kagami lowered his head and said,

"It was the school's decision, Father."

Uchiha Takashi lowered his head to look at the early graduation notice in his hand and thought for a while.

"All right, then. Since it was the school's decision, there's nothing we can do. Since you've graduated, you'll become a Genin. Genin generally won't be assigned any dangerous missions, but remember this well: after becoming a Genin, you must observe and learn as much as possible. You'll have a team leader, so follow your teacher properly. In the future, once you become a Chunin, you'll inevitably come into contact with some dangerous missions."

Kagami nodded.

"I understand, Father."

The next day, there was a platform on the Ninja Academy's training field, surrounded by a crowd of Ninja Academy students. Everyone strained to look toward the platform.

Standing at the center of the platform were the Third Hokage and Kagami. The Third Hokage handed Kagami a forehead protector.

"From today onward, you are a Genin."

Kagami accepted the forehead protector somewhat flattered. This was supposed to be his individual graduation ceremony. He had assumed they would simply find an empty room and have Iruka complete it for him, but he had never expected the Third Hokage to personally come and conduct Kagami's ceremony, even summoning every student from the Ninja Academy to watch. It was impossible for Kagami not to be surprised.

The Third Hokage patted Kagami's shoulder and spoke.

"Kagami Uchiha was a great shinobi. I hope you can become a shinobi like him as well."

The moment he heard this, Kagami understood why the Third Hokage had personally come to conduct his graduation ceremony. What kind of person was Kagami Uchiha? He was someone who had risen above clan interests and devoted himself wholeheartedly to serving the village. By saying this, the Third Hokage was actually hoping that Kagami would not become entangled in the feud between the Uchiha and Konoha in the future, but would instead focus on the safety of all Konoha.

Secondly, the Third Hokage personally conducting Kagami's graduation ceremony was largely meant to benefit the Uchiha and display his goodwill toward them. Look, I'm not treating you unfairly. A member of your clan graduated early, and I even came personally to preside over the ceremony.

Those were probably the two reasons.

Of course, knowing something without saying it aloud was basic etiquette. Kagami calmly spoke.

"I'll do my best, Lord Hokage."

That afternoon, Shisui tapped the forehead protector on Kagami's forehead and said with a disappointed look,

"Sigh, now that you've graduated, won't I be unable to flick your forehead anymore?"

Kagami rolled his eyes.

"Brother Shisui, you're older than Brother Itachi. It should be Brother Itachi learning from you, not you learning from Brother Itachi, all right?"

Shisui laughed loudly.

"Anyone can learn from excellence, no matter who they are."

Kagami couldn't help complaining.

"So, is flicking someone's forehead an act of excellence?"

Shisui looked at Kagami in confusion.

"Isn't it?"

"Is it?"

"Isn't it?"

After fooling around for a while, Shisui became serious.

"Now that you've become a Genin, you should meet your teammates and team leader tomorrow. I know you won't slack off in your training, but I still want to tell you this: work hard to become stronger. The situation is getting worse and worse. I've never expected you to change the overall situation, but you must promise me that no matter how things turn out in the end, you'll protect yourself."

Kagami replied just as seriously,

"Mm, I will, Brother Shisui. Right, about the thing we agreed on before..."

Shisui smiled faintly and interrupted him.

"Don't worry. I remember it. I won't tell Lord Danzo about the ability of my Sharingan. Also, because of matters on my end, I may only be able to see you once after a long while from now on. While I'm away, if there's anything you don't understand in your training, you can ask Itachi or your team leader. Got it?"

Kagami looked at Shisui worriedly. Only being able to see him after a long while—there was no need to think about it. Shisui was certainly going on missions.

"Mm, I will, Brother Shisui."

Hokage's Office.

The door opened, and a masked figure in Anbu attire entered and knelt on one knee.

"Lord Hokage, why did you summon me?"

The Third Hokage threw a file to him.

"I want you to temporarily step down as Anbu captain and become his instructor."

The Anbu caught the file thrown by the Third Hokage and opened it. Inside was information about a child named Uchiha Kagato.

"You want me to become his instructor?"

The Third Hokage nodded.

"That's right. This child is a genius. You should have heard about him. Like Itachi, he graduated from the Ninja Academy after only one year. In the past, I would have been delighted to see such a genius appear. But you know the current relationship between Konoha and the Uchiha. I'm worried that this child might take the wrong path as he grows. I want to find someone who can guide him onto the right path and become his instructor. After thinking it over, I feel you're the most suitable. After all, you've experienced those things yourself. For a child who might take a crooked path, I believe you should know how to teach him. Kakashi."

The Anbu was silent for a while. Then he removed his mask and bowed his head.

"Yes!"

Beneath the mask, his left eye was tightly shut, and a white scar extended from his forehead to below his eye. The scar had marred his originally handsome features somewhat, but after looking at it for a long time, one might feel that it was also a mark of handsomeness. What made him easiest to remember was his completely white hair.

Hatake Kakashi, Anbu captain, had now stepped down. With Kakashi's resignation, Itachi also became an Anbu squad captain.

Walking along the street and looking at the lively scene around him, Kakashi felt somewhat nostalgic. How long had it been since he had leisurely walked along the streets like this? A year? Two years? Or even longer? Kakashi couldn't remember. He only remembered that in the dark corners of the Anbu, even when he came to the streets, he would focus solely on his mission and never care about his surroundings.

"Becoming a Jonin instructor..."

A Jonin instructor was the teacher responsible for guiding Genin.

Taking a sheet of paper from his pocket, Kakashi carefully read it as he walked. It contained detailed information about Uchiha Kagato.

Uchiha Kagato, born on August 15 of Year 48. He had been diligent in his training since childhood and had far surpassed his peers despite his young age. Later, he encountered the Uchiha's Body Flicker Shisui and began receiving instruction from Uchiha Shisui. After entering the academy, he learned the Great Fireball Technique and the Body Flicker Technique in only half a year. During the following six months, his performance in every area grew increasingly outstanding. His Body Flicker Technique in particular had already reached a level above that of a Chunin and was very close to the Jonin level.

It was not difficult to see that most of the information about Kagato consisted of praise. After all, Kagato was simply too astonishing. However, Kakashi also saw some unfavorable records.

As a member of the Uchiha, he had inherited the pride of the Uchiha Clan. During his time at the academy, he had repeatedly looked down on his classmates and refused to fight them by surrendering, earning him the reputation among his peers of being an extremely arrogant Uchiha.

Kakashi narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Looking down on his classmates?"

Putting Kagato's file back into his pocket, Kakashi raised his head and looked toward the sky.

If Teacher Minato had seen back then that I lacked a spirit of teamwork and judged me unqualified, would those things not have happened? Would they...

Kakashi placed his hand on the forehead protector covering his left eye.

"Would I not have ended up with this eye? Wouldn't he and she have been all right?"

Of course, Kakashi could not say these things aloud in the street. He was merely lamenting inwardly.

"No. How can I put all the blame on Teacher Minato? It was only natural that Teacher Minato didn't see through me, because back then, I used the two of them to pass the test."

Back then, when Kakashi, Obito, and Rin had tried to seize Minato's bells, after a battle that could hardly be called a battle, Kakashi had keenly realized that he could not obtain the bells from Minato by himself. Moreover, Minato had held back differently when facing Kakashi than when facing Obito and Rin. He held back slightly less against Kakashi, while against Obito and Rin, he appeared much more casual.

After noticing this, Kakashi had used Rin and Obito as bait and seized the bells while Minato's guard was down.

On the surface, it seemed that Kakashi had taken the initiative to ask Obito and Rin to cooperate with him as a team. But in truth, Kakashi knew very well that it had not been teamwork. The Kakashi of that time had merely been using the two of them.

"It was precisely because I failed to realize the importance of teamwork back then, so..."

The sight of the boy pinned beneath the boulder appeared before his eyes. He still had not forgotten the bloodstained face of the girl when he pierced her through the heart.

Kakashi lowered his head and stared straight ahead, his eyes resolute.

"Don't worry, Obito, Rin, Teacher Minato. This time, I won't let anyone who doesn't value their comrades become a shinobi! Even if that person is an unparalleled genius!"

Had he also ignored teamwork back then because of the name of genius?

Kakashi thought this as he slowly walked along the street.