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After a full day of getting to know his teammates and practicing coordination, the team disbanded without much else happening.
As usual, Kagaya headed to the training ground for practice, only returning home slowly in the evening.
At the door, his mother, Uchiha Yuko, was waiting as always. This time, though, his father, Uchiha Takayuki, was there too.
Seeing Kagaya return, Yuko fussed over him, asking about his day. Kagaya answered her questions one by one.
Once Yuko was done, Takayuki, with a stern expression, asked, "You met your teammates and jonin instructor today, right? How are your teammates? Who's your instructor?"
Kagaya smiled lightly. "My teammates? One's straightforward and kind of cute. The other is calm, never showing much emotion. As for my instructor, it's Hatake Kakashi."
Takayuki's eyes widened in shock. "Hatake Kakashi? The Kakashi who killed his comrades? Damn it! The village higher-ups assigned that guy to teach an Uchiha genius? As expected, those village leaders…" His voice trailed off, his eyes filled with clear disgust. "An outsider with our Uchiha Clan's Sharingan. It came from that dead Uchiha Obito, didn't it? Hmph! Uchiha property should return to the Uchiha! Especially something as crucial as the Sharingan—how can it be in an outsider's hands? If the Fourth Hokage hadn't protected him back then…"
"Father!" Kagaya interrupted sharply, cutting off Takayuki's words.
Takayuki froze, realizing they were still outside. Discussing such matters in public was unwise. Fortunately, their family was an ordinary one within the Uchiha Clan, not significant enough for the Anbu to monitor closely. The Anbu only kept tabs on the clan's overall movements and key households.
Takayuki turned and headed inside. "Come in. Don't stay out here. The Anbu—those sneaky bastards—are always watching us Uchiha."
Kagaya and Yuko followed him into the house.
This interrupted conversation revealed two things to Kagaya.
First, Kakashi's reputation was poor, labeled as the "Kakashi who killed his comrades." This likely stemmed from the incidents with Obito and Rin, and the time Kakashi spent in the Anbu, where the darkness from losing Obito and Rin made him ruthlessly efficient on missions, earning him a cold-blooded reputation.
Second, the Uchiha Clan deeply resented Kakashi, an outsider with a Sharingan. A kekkei genkai was a clan's foundation, inviolable. Take Ao from the Mist Village: he kept his stolen Byakugan hidden to avoid provoking the Hyuga Clan and risking war between Konoha and the Mist. Stealing a clan's kekkei genkai was an egregious offense, tantamount to challenging the entire Uchiha Clan. The village's support in letting Kakashi keep the Sharingan only deepened the Uchiha's resentment toward both him and Konoha.
In the original story, why did the Third Hokage make Kakashi Itachi's Anbu captain? To most, Kakashi and the Uchiha were irreconcilable enemies—making him the perfect choice to monitor an Uchiha genius. But Itachi wasn't one to dwell on clan grudges, and in matters of greater importance, he didn't hate Kakashi. As for Kakashi, Obito's Sharingan was a gift from his dying friend—how could he betray that friend's clan like an ungrateful wretch? So, despite the Uchiha's disdain, Kakashi didn't take it personally, and he and Itachi got along well in the Anbu.
That night, after discussion, Takayuki decided to appeal to the Uchiha Clan leader, Uchiha Fugaku, to request a different jonin instructor for Kagaya.
Would you let someone you despised teach your child? Of course not.
---
The next day, at the Fugaku household.
In a room, Fugaku sat on a tatami mat, looking at Takayuki and Kagaya. "You want me to ask the village to replace Kagaya's instructor?"
Takayuki nodded. "Yes, Captain. Please."
Many Uchiha served in Konoha's Police Force, where Fugaku was the captain. Thus, those in the force, like Takayuki, called him "Captain" rather than "Patriarch."
Fugaku rubbed his temples, troubled. "Takayuki, you know the state of Uchiha-Konoha relations. My request might not work. Kagaya, what do you think? Do you also want a new instructor?"
Kagaya pursed his lips, speaking cautiously. "For me, it doesn't really matter."
"Nonsense!" Takayuki shouted. "Let Hatake Kakashi teach you? The village is trying to ruin you! Captain, I'm begging you. Kagaya isn't just my son—he's this generation's Uchiha prodigy, the face of our clan. Assigning Kakashi to teach him—isn't that an insult to us?"
Fugaku sighed, silent but thinking, Takayuki is far less perceptive than his son. But then, I'm no better.
A true sage would see that assigning Kakashi wasn't an insult but a sign of high regard. Consider this: in Konoha, below Kage-level, who reigned supreme? Kakashi might not be the absolute strongest, but he was among the elite. Sending such a figure to teach Kagaya, setting aside clan grudges, showed how much the Third Hokage valued him.
But most couldn't look past clan grudges, especially the Uchiha, a clan driven by deep emotions.
The Third Hokage was in a bind. He knew sending Kakashi would provoke the Uchiha, but who else could he send? A random jonin? He feared a genius like Kagaya wouldn't be properly guided and might end up at odds with Konoha. Faced with the choice between a tense clan and a prodigy's future, he chose the latter.
Politics often wasn't about choosing the best option but the least bad one.
In the end, the request to change instructors fizzled out. Fugaku stressed the strained Uchiha-Konoha relations, and the village wouldn't budge. Reluctantly, Takayuki gave up.
---
For a long time afterward, Kagaya followed Kakashi on a tedious routine of catching cats.
Yes, as newly minted genin, they were stuck with D-rank missions. To put it politely, these were low-danger tasks with no enemy encounters. Bluntly, they were odd jobs—miscellaneous chores.
The most common? Catching cats. Kagaya was nearly driven mad by it. He desperately wanted to ask: Where do all these cats in this damn village come from? We catch them every day, and they never run out!