Summary
Kakashi Hatake has been a fan favorite character from the very start of Masashi Kishimoto’sNaruto, as the Jonin Commander placed in charge of Team 7. Throughout the series, Kakashi was a mentor to the main trio, and played an especiallyprominent role in training Sasuke Uchihain Part I, while providing the same guidance for Naruto in Part II. His influence on both of them was pivotal to their respective journeys in becoming two of the strongest shinobi in history.
Besides this, Kakashi himself underwent significant growth during the series, from his initial nonchalance and avoidance of responsibility to the role he playedin the Fourth Shinobi World War. From confronting the trauma of losing his closest friends, to becoming the guiding light for his students, Kakashi’s character arc in the series saw him find redemption and take responsibility for his past. Hence, here is a run-down of how Kakashi has changed since the start ofNaruto.
The Famed Copy Ninja Kakashi
Upon his introduction to Team 7 with the bell test, Kakashi was presented as laid-back and carefree, but also an extremely capable shinobi in his own right. It was only during the Prologue — Land of Waves Arc that his true strength and formidable reputation came to light, as seen inhow he took down Zabuza Momochiduring their first encounter.
While he took a bit of aback seat during the Chunin Examsand Konoha Crush Arcs, his presence and impact on the story increased considerably at the start of the Search for Tsunade Arc, and later, during the Sasuke Recovery Mission. At this juncture, Kakashi’s stoic persona had revealed little about his past or beliefs. He was portrayed as a model ninja and one of the Hidden Leaf’s elite jonin, representing the standard that Naruto and Sasuke had to aspire to.
That being said, Kakashi’s callousness and distant persona gradually softened as he grew closer to Team 7. He even took on a more active role in training his students, like when he prepared Sasuke for the Chunin Exams Finalsby teaching him Chidori while alsoworking on his speed and taijutsu skills. Further down the line, he reprimanded Sasuke for his obsession with revenge, using his own experiences with grief to empathize with the young Uchiha, as he sought to dissuade him from plunging into darkness.
A Tragic Story Behind The Mask
By the time Kakashi’s early years as a ninja were explored in the manga and anime,Naruto’sfan base was quite familiar with his character, which caused these revelations to have that much more of an impact. Quite a few of his quirks, such as his tardiness, were explained in his constant visits to the Konoha Cemetery, where he spent time near the graves of hisformer teammates, Rin Nohara and Obito Uchiha.
His relationships with both were complex and not always amicable, yet it is evident that he cared deeply for them, and struggled to come to terms with theirdeaths during the Third Shinobi World War. The tragic circumstances behind their deaths weighed on his conscience for many years, especially with his inadvertent role in Rin’s demise, where she impaled herself on his Chidori in order to prevent the Three-Tails sealed inside her from being used as a weapon against Konohagakure.
In addition, Kakashi had some regret for not mending his relationship with Obito, especially because of how he failed to honor his promise to protect Rin. Soon after the end of the war,Kakashi joined Konoha’s Anbu, wherehe distinguished himself as a Captain, but struggled with depression and nightmares from the war. He developed a violent streak, ruthlessly eliminating targets, which garnered him a reputation as a “friend killer.” To make matters worse, his mentor Minato Namikaze also died soon afterward, in the Nine-Tails' attack. At this juncture, the reappointed Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, reinstated Kakashi to the Hidden Leaf’s regular forces, believing the village needed kind shinobi like him more than ever.
After The Time Skip And Wartime Heroism
Around the time Naruto returned from his travels with Jiraiya, Kakashi became more of a mentor as he led the teams on the Kazekage Rescue Mission as well as the subsequent Akatsuki Suppression Mission following Asuma Sarutobi’s death. He was instrumental in defeating Deidara,displaying his newfound Mangekyo Sharingan ability, Kamui, but it had huge negative repercussions on his body.
Just like he did with Sasuke in the Chunin Exams, Kakashi taught Naruto about nature transformation ninjutsu as they worked on developing what would become the Wind Release: Rasenshuriken technique. Hisunderstanding of the Shadow Clone Techniquehelped devise Naruto’s unique training method, which saw him cram years of effort into a few days with the aid of clones. When the Hidden Leaf came under attack during Pain’s Assault, Kakashi faced the Deva Path on his own, and sacrificed himself to save Choji, after putting up a valiant fight against the Akatsuki’s leader.
Luckily, he was brought back to life by the Outer Path after Naruto redeemed Nagato. At that juncture, both Naruto and Kakashi turned their attention to the Five Kage Summit, where Sasuke had wreakedhavoc and killed Danzo Shimura. At the start of the Fourth Shinobi World War, Kakashi was appointed the Commander of the Allied Shinobi Forces' Third Division, and distinguished himself by defeating several members of the reincarnated Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.
Might Guy and Kakashi were both shocked to see Obito Uchiha still alive when he was eventually unmasked by Naruto. He used his Sharingan to combatObito’s Kamui and even fought himone-on-one in the technique’s dimension, destroying the Forbidden Individual Curse Tag placed on Obito’s heart by Madara. Throughout all this, Kakashi wrestled with the prospect of having to kill Obito to save his comrades, and he nearly went through with it until the pair’s reincarnated mentor, Minato Namikaze, sensed Obito’s apprehension and stopped Kakashi from ending his former teammate.
Once Obito chose to put his own faith in Naruto, Kakashicontinued to fight Madara alongsideMight Guy and Gaara while Naruto and Sasuke were on the verge of death. Throughout the war, he pushed past his limits, performing techniques such as Chidori and Kamui on numerous occasions without collapsing as he had earlier, highlighting how the conflict had unlocked a new level of power within him. He lost his Sharingan to Madara, but was healed by Naruto, and was one of the few who were shielded from the Infinite Tsukuyomi.
At the very end of the war, Kakashi delivered one of the final blows to defeat Kaguya with his Kamui Lightning Cutter, after being empowered by Obito’s spirit, which allowed him to unleash his Susanoo — armed with the fearsome Kamui Shuriken ability —after temporarily acquiring both Mangekyo Sharingan. In the aftermath, he was disappointed to see Sasuke’s new twisted purpose, and could only watch as he left to fight Naruto at the Valley of the End. The next day, he and Sakura were the ones who found Naruto and Sasuke after their final battle, and was overjoyed to see his pupils in Team 7 reconciled once again.
Becoming The Sixth Hokage And Retirement
Succeeding Tsunade as the Sixth Hokage after the Fourth Great Ninja War, Kakashi was mildly annoyed by the amount of paperwork and new responsibilities that were forced on him, indicating that some of his original personality traits still remained.After a fairly peaceful reign as Hokage, he passed on his mantle to his most distinguished student, Naruto, fulfilling the latter’s lifelong dream.
Since then, he has become even more unbothered and laid back than he was in the past, with his speech and mannerisms now resembling those of a middle-aged man — although his obsession with Jiraiya’sIcha Ichaseries still remains. Currently, he continues to advise Naruto and aids in training young shinobi, but his responsibilities have decreased considerably.Kakashi’s journey throughout the seriessaw him transform from a formidable shinobi into a mentor, and later, a leader of his village, as he confronted his past and inner demons to build a better world for his students.
