Hatake Kakashi

Hatake Kakashi (はたけカカシ,aka Kakashi Hatake in the english version) is one of the main characters of the series, a jōnin-level shinobi from Konohagakure and the leader of Team 7. He is known worldwide for his use of the Sharingan, earning him the moniker Copy Ninja Kakashi (コピー忍者のカカシ, Kopī Ninja no Kakashi) and Kakashi of the Sharingan (写輪眼のカカシ, Sharingan no Kakashi).

Background
Kakashi is the son of Hatake Sakumo, a genius renowned as "Konoha's White Fang". Not much is known of his mother other than that she died at a young age. Sakumo fell into disgrace after choosing to save his comrades rather than complete an important mission, which caused the nation and the village to suffer a great loss. Dishonoured, Sakumo took his own life after suffering a deep depression and drop in his skills; this experience made Kakashi determined to lead his life strictly by the ninja code. Hailed as a prodigy, because of his great intelligence, skill, and aptitude, at five years old he graduated from the Ninja Academy in a single year at the top of his class, eventually joining a team alongside Uchiha Obito and Nohara Rin under Namikaze Minato's command.

He later became part of a one-sided rivalry with Might Guy. In the anime, Guy first approached Kakashi while he was reading, quickly announced his desire to challenge the prodigy. While initially Kakashi was completely indifferent to the overzealous Guy's request, Guy continued to follow Kakashi around and challenge him. Eventually, Kakashi gave in to Guy's request, beating Guy in every challenge, including various forms of marksmanship, taijutsu combat, and even physical comparison. Despite these losses, Guy became only more determined to defeat Kakashi. Seemingly warming up to Guy, he continued to accept Guy's various challenges (including eating contests and Rock, Paper, Scissors), ultimately giving Kakashi a record of 49 wins and 50 losses.

A year later, Kakashi became chūnin after facing and defeating Might Guy during the third stage of the Chūnin Exams.

Soon after becoming a jōnin, Kakashi was assigned to lead his team-mates Obito and Rin on a mission that would benefit Konoha in the ongoing Third Shinobi World War. They were to destroy Kannabi Bridge, which was being used by Iwagakure forces to move into Kusagakure. This would also be Konoha's first huge offensive move in the war. On their way to the bridge, Rin was kidnapped by two Iwagakure ninja named Kakkō and Taiseki. Obito immediately suggested that they rescue her, but Kakashi disagreed on the basis that they needed to complete their mission, opting not to make the same mistake his father did in his mission.

Obito would not hear of it and stubbornly left to save Rin, but not before mentioning that he believed Kakashi's father, the White Fang, was a true hero. Shortly after parting ways, Kakashi reflected on Obito's words and Rin's prior kindness. He realised that his father was not wrong after all, which prompted him to join Obito in the rescue effort. Kakashi arrived in time to save Obito from Taiseki, using his father's blade to combat him. Despite the two-to-one disadvantage, the more experienced Taiseki was able to attack and damage Kakashi's left eye, who took the blow that was intended for Obito, giving him a permanent scar and blinding his left eye.

Obito's will to protect his comrades caused his Sharingan to awaken, and he used it to kill Taiseki. After finding Rin and defeating Kakkō with Obito's help, Kakashi freed Rin from the genjutsu before their opponent attempted to trap them in a cave-in. While trying to escape, Kakashi was hit by a rock, which he didn't notice because of his bandaged eye, causing him to fall. Obito pushed Kakashi out of the path of a falling boulder, he himself getting crushed beneath it instead. Knowing he was dying, Obito requested his Sharingan be a belated present to Kakashi and instructed Rin to implant his left Sharingan into Kakashi's damaged eye. Rin complied, and as soon as the surgery was completed Kakashi used his new Sharingan to perfect his Chidori and kill Kakkō. He then returned to Obito to see if there was anything he could do for him, but alongside Rin was forced to leave him. With the help of Minato, they ultimately completed their mission, allowing them to mourn Obito's supposed death.

Later, in the anime, Kakashi and Rin's team was given Might Guy as a replacement. It was during this mission that Kakashi and Guy found true trust and teamwork with each other, and where Kakashi famously split a lightning bolt with his Chidori, giving birth to its new name Lightning Cutter. Later, during another mission, Kakashi met a young girl named Hanare of the Jōmae Village who was lost. He taught her about how the clouds can help her find her way and find her teacher.

Sometime after the events at Kannabi Bridge, Rin was taken captive by Kirigakure. Kakashi was able to rescue her, but not before she was forcibly made the jinchūriki of the Three-Tails. While returning to the village, they were ambushed by jōnin and ANBU-level Kiri shinobi. Rin, who knew about Kirigakure's plan to unleash the beast on Konoha, begged Kakashi to kill her. After he refused, Rin waited for Kakashi to attack, and intentionally got in Kakashi's path, culminating in a tearful Kakashi piercing through Rin's chest with his Lightning Cutter. Shortly afterwards, Kakashi and Obito — who witnessed it from behind the scenes — developed their fully-matured Sharingan and subsequently awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan at precisely the same time. Exhausted and overwhelmed with sorrow, Kakashi lost consciousness as Obito took his rage out on the Kirigakure ninja, slaughtering them all. Though Kakashi technically was the one who killed Rin, Obito left him alive, and he was later found by Konoha reinforcements.

After the conclusion of the war, Kakashi would often visit Rin and Obito's respective graves in the Konoha Cemetery and the Memorial Stone. On one such occasion, he visited Rin's grave and told her that their sensei's son would be born soon and left to go to the stone, unaware that Obito overheard him from afar and used that information to free the Nine-Tails and have the tailed beast ravage their village.During the Nine-Tails' attack on Konoha, Kakashi and the rest of his peers were barred from participating in defending the village by Kurenai Yūhi's father and other senior shinobi for their own safety as the younger generation.

Over the years, Kakashi became well-known amongst all the Five Great Shinobi Countries for the extensive use of his Sharingan, gaining him a reputation as "the man who has copied over a thousand techniques", hence his nickname. Kakashi eventually joined the Konoha ANBU, and also served as a mentor to Yamato whose codename was "Tenzō" at that time.

He later left for unknown reasons, but maintained strong connections with the ANBU. Kakashi eventually became a team leader, and tested many genin. As the Third Hokage told Umino Iruka, Kakashi had never passed any of them due to their inability to live up to his expectations of working as a team.

In the anime, he once had a mission where Iruka, his team-mate at the time, was injured and became an instructor at the Ninja Academy. When Iruka was having doubts at being assigned to be the home room teacher of Uzumaki Naruto, Kakashi served to remind him of his real reasons for wanting the post in the first place.

Personality
Kakashi became more stern and serious after his father's death, following all the rules to the letter and chastising any who disobeyed them, like his team-mate Obito Uchiha. He was also very aloof and apathetic to others especially his team-mate Obito who was always late for their missions and would come in tow with a grand excuse. This caused Obito to resent Kakashi; the dynamics between the two would soon change after Obito was mortally wounded during the Third Shinobi World War, with Kakashi and Obito becoming closer friends after Rin was abducted.

Obito's supposed death had a huge impact on Kakashi's personality, adopting many of his friend's cheerful mannerisms such as having greater concern for his team-mates and students over the successful completion of a mission, as well as believing that teamwork is essential to overall success as a team. He has also developed a somewhat carefree personality and is regularly late for appointments, making obvious excuses just like Obito before him. This is often because he loses track of time during his frequent visits to the memorial stone where Obito's name is engraved. However, Kakashi is still just as apathetic as he was during his youth, often speaking bluntly about sensitive topics.

Though his childhood was riddled with numerous despairs that took those dear away from him, one being the death of Rin by his own hand, Kakashi is on the best terms with his childhood friends: Guy, Asuma, and Kurenai, his students and generally with everyone in Konoha to a lesser extent. His devotion to his friends and the rest of Konoha were the motivation to perfect both the Chidori, and its enhanced version Lightning Cutter. After the formation of Team 7, Kakashi begins taking a special interest in his students' development, especially in the case of Naruto and Sasuke whose rivalry reminded him of his relation to Obito. Like Hiruzen, Kakashi loved all of his students deeply, turning down a mission in order to stop Naruto and Sasuke from killing each other. Despite Sasuke allying with Orochimaru, Kakashi shared Naruto's hope that they could save him. However, Kakashi became originally distraught about having to kill Sasuke after he became an enemy of Konoha, especially since he felt that it was his shortcomings as their teacher that attributed to this and Naruto and Sakura's temporary falling out, but then furiously discarding his hesitation, only after Sasuke attempted to kill Sakura without a second thought.[31 ]

Kakashi has a rather solitary, and matter-of-fact attitude. His calm and detached demeanour has been called "cool, hip, and trendy" many times by Might Guy. Despite his increasingly growing reputation and prowess as a ninja, Kakashi has shown no signs of arrogance, and is rather modest about his abilities, as shown when he readily praises others for leaps in their combat abilities and stating on more than one occasion that Naruto has surpassed him in power. When suggested by many for him to become Hokage, Kakashi openly admitted to feeling unworthy but would accept the post for the sake of the village's well-being. His naturally calm attitude is used to his advantage in battle, as it becomes easier for him to maintain his composure and stay focused on the situation at hand, and notice everything around him. As a result, he can quickly adjust to any situation to make keen and thought-out decisions, allowing him to stay steps ahead of his opponents.

Despite his usually stoic demeanour, Kakashi does have an emotional side, as he noted during the Fourth Shinobi World War that it took a lot to get him worked up, but when he did, he would go on a merciless rampage against the enemy. He was later horrified at the fact that Tobi was actually his thought to be deceased comrade Obito, to the point that he became momentarily depressed and was no longer reacting to what was occurring on the battlefield. Despite this, Kakashi was eventually able to snap out of this state with new found resolve, and showed Obito no mercy on the battlefield despite their past friendship. Later on this turned out to only extend to non-lethal attacks, as Obito noted that Kakashi has been hesitating to kill him the entire time they've been fighting. Indeed, when Kakashi was given the upper hand in the fight, he stopped his Lightning Cutter before hitting Obito, showing that he still cares deeply about his friend and continues his attempts to reason with him. But soon, Kakashi comes to the realisation that in order to protect Naruto and preserve the memories of how Obito was, he would have to kill the current one.

Kakashi has an ongoing, albeit one-sided, somewhat childish rivalry with Guy. In trying to prove himself superior to Kakashi, Guy regularly challenges him to competitions of questionable value. Kakashi, on the other hand, shows very little interest in their competitions, which only further inspires Guy to defeat Kakashi and his "coolness". However, Kakashi did show disappointment when he learned that Guy taught Lee how to open the dangerous Eight Gates, which turned to sympathy when Guy shows how much his student meant to him. Nevertheless, both men are great friends and also have the utmost faith in each other seen during the Fourth Shinobi World War when they entrusted the protection of their blind spots to each other. This was also expanded on in the anime, where Kakashi told Tsunade that he would need a second-in-command during the war and wanted Guy to serve that purpose.

Kakashi is an avid fan of the Icha Icha series of novels by Jiraiya, revealing a perverted side. He is typically seen reading one of the books in his spare time, making it the only one of his reportedly several hobbies that is ever seen in the series. He even went and read it during his first bell test with the newly formed Team 7 as he deemed Naruto too weak of a threat. However, during the second bell test with Naruto and Sakura, Kakashi lost to his students when his love for the book series was used against him and he was forced into covering his ears and closing his eyes to avoid being told the ending of the latest instalment he had yet to read at the time. Despite his fondness for the books, Kakashi is uncomfortable about reading passages to others (even around his ninken), presumably embarrassed by the adult content (as noted when they were decoding Jiraiya's last message).

Kakashi also appears to carry about a pair of bells attached to a red thread. These same bells are used in his genin survival test when testing Team 7. He's often seen with them and while remembering Obito's words and lessons taught by his sensei.

Appearance
Kakashi is a fair-skinned, fit and relatively tall shinobi. He has spiky white hair (silver in the anime), and has dark-coloured eyes. His left eye — which has since been replaced by a Sharingan — has a vertical scar running over it. It has yet to be revealed why Kakashi, even at a young age, wore his face mask. In the few instances that Kakashi is seen without his mask, it has been seen that he has a narrow jaw-line; in these instances the parts of his face normally covered by his mask are obstructed from view. In the anime, it is strongly suggested that he is in fact very handsome, as seen from Teuchi and Ayame's reaction to seeing his face. He was once mistaken by Chiyo for his father Sakumo Hatake, whom he greatly resembles, despite most of his face being obscured. Kakashi's personality is further emphasised by his generally lazy expression, aloof manner, relaxed voice, and minimalist attitude. In serious situations, however, he is shown to have a very stern and intense look. Another noticeable feature to Kakashi, other than his unique left eye, is the thin scar running over it and down to his cheek.

As a child, prior to obtaining his Sharingan, Kakashi wore a simple black outfit with the lower-half of his face concealed. He also wore a scarf with a simple design running along its length to the entrance ceremony,[38 ] which he would later swap out for a plain, green one.[39 ] As a genin, he wore another simple black outfit along with an open-front apron around his waist and fish-net armour around his ankles. During his early missions as a jōnin, he wore a black T-shirt with white stripes in the middle of the sleeves. On his arms he wears black sleeves with metal arm protectors over them. He also has leather straps around his back and chest, and his family's White Light Chakra Sabre is kept in a small holder out in the back. He also wore pants similar to the ones he wears today. He appears to wear the same type of outfit as a child (as seen in a flashback). However, in another flashback he is shown wearing a sleeveless black shirt similar to one he sometimes wears as an adult. This type of shirt is presumably for casual wear.

While an ANBU member, Kakashi wore the standard uniform which consisted of a simple blue suit with the standard flak jacket, strapped up sandals, and arm guards. Along with this he wore plated gloves that went all the way up to his arms with a bandage wrapped around the right one. Along with this he carried a sword strapped to his back and his mask was fashioned to resemble a dog's face with red and black markings around the eyes, sides and mouth. In addition, Kakashi has the ANBU tattoo on his left shoulder, and didn't wear a forehead protector during his time at ANBU.

When he joined the regular forces Kakashi once again donned the standard attire of the forces and he began wearing shorter metal-plated gloves. He also wears his forehead protector on a simple blue band, tilted to the left to cover the Sharingan, and a mask which obscures the lower-half of his face, only revealing his left eye when ready to use it. He also wears a chain necklace.

Abilities
Kakashi is hailed as a natural genius, evidenced by his meteoric rise through the ninja ranks; graduating from the Academy top of his class at age 5, becoming a chūnin at age 6, a jōnin while still a child, and his high status in ANBU. Naruto notes that much of Kakashi's battle prowess and skills is greater than his friends who showed exceptional might in their own specific skills. A match for seemingly any opponent, it was also noted by Tsunade that Kakashi is easily one of Konoha's strongest ninja. His various accomplishments have earned him much praise by his fellow Konoha ninja and he holds a position of great influence amongst them. He is frequently given responsibility for important tasks, such as watching Naruto in case the seal of the Nine-Tails begins to fail as well as being considered an ideal and one of the most suitable candidates for the position of Hokage by many.

Other ninja villages are very aware of Kakashi and his abilities, and upon meeting him in battle, become afraid or excited by the challenge Kakashi is certain to pose. Pain, the most powerful member of Akatsuki, feared that Kakashi would interfere with Akatsuki's plans if left alive. This was later validated in the Fourth Shinobi World War. Kakashi's extensive and varied skillset allow him to effectively fight or provide invaluable support against opponents of any level, from powerful missing-nin in Akatsuki to the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist and later held off several "Version 2" state Jinchuriki  and even single-handedly defeated Uchiha Obito in battle, whose tutelage under Madara Uchiha gained him comparable prowess to the legendary Uchiha. He could even handle himself against the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path or the Ten-Tails itself.

Taijutsu
Kakashi is very adept in taijutsu. In the anime, as a child, he was skilled enough to hold his own against his sensei, Minato Namikaze, in his bell test, managing to touch one of the bells while engaging the more experienced shinobi unarmed. As an adult, his improved skill was noted to be greater than Rock Lee in Part I, who is a taijutsu expert. Even when greatly outnumbered by hundreds of shadow clones, he is easily able to defeat them, using well-coordinated attack patterns to handle the mulitple enemy strikes. When facing an adult Obito, Kakashi was able to fight evenly and ultimately defeat his former team-mate in hand-to-hand combat.

He is also noted to have impressive speed; being able to intercept an opponent even from a distance as seen during the very start of the bell test. His battle prowess and speed allow him to effectively catch his opponents off-guard to quickly strike them down and easily evade attacks. Even against highly experience assassins, Kakashi can silently sneak-up on them, making him prime to strike. His speed increased considerably in Part II; before the timeskip he had difficulty keeping up with Itachi Uchiha, but outmanoeuvred the Akatsuki member after the timeskip. His hand seal prowess has also been noted as being very great, able to perform them at highly difficult speeds to follow.

He is also able to open at least one of the Eight Gates, a feat that very few ninja are able to achieve. In the anime, he can also utilise advanced techniques derived from it while showing no signs of even fatigue afterwards. His raw strength is also noticeably high, as shown in Part I, he was able to clash with the likes of enemies like Zabuza, who possesses great physical strength himself, simultaneously throw both Naruto and Sasuke a large distance, and in Part II easily lift and wield the Kubikiribōchō with a single hand despite its considerable size and weight

Genjutsu
While used less often, he has also shown proficient skill in genjutsu, which he can use as a set-up for stronger attacks. His skill in its usage is able to easily deceive most opponents with well-timed diversions, giving his opponents little chance to counter. During the bell test for Team 7, Kakashi was able to use low-level techniques to easily subdue a keen-minded and natural genjutsu-type like Sakura. Against most high-level techniques, he has advanced knowledge of their working, and is able to dispel genjutsu as well.

Ninjutsu
Kakashi primarily relies on his mastery of ninjutsu, of which he has a vast arsenal due in part to his Sharingan; being noted to have copied over a thousand techniques, the number has continuously been growing through his many battles. With this arsenal, he can attack or defend against his opponents in numerous manners. While a student under Minato Namikaze, Kakashi learned how to use the Rasengan, though he was unable to add his own nature transformation and complete the technique, instead relying on his Lightning Cutter. Kakashi has also developed considerable prowess in fūinjutsu, something that Orochimaru found impressive given Kakashi's age.

Nature Transformation
In addition to the sheer number of techniques he is purported to know, he is also proficient in several nature transformations. He has a natural affinity for Lightning Release, which he mastered before even becoming a jōnin. It became so advanced that it is an attribute enemy ninja identify him by His prowess with Water Release techniques is such that he can match specialists like Zabuza Momochi ,and perform them without a nearby water source. He has used Earth Release techniques, able to move fast and unnoticed underground or produce large and intricate earthen walls rather quickly. In the anime, he has also shown considerable skill in Fire Release techniques, able to produce a massive fireball able to cause much damage to the area. In addition, he is otherwise at least knowledgeable enough to train others in Wind Release.

When Kakashi learned how to use the Rasengan, he attempted to infuse it with lightning-chakra as it was originally intended to be combined with element chakra, but ultimately failed. However, he used the same theoretical principle to create the Chidori, which he later refined into the far stronger Lightning Cutter. He can also enlist the aid of a shadow clone, to create a lightning chain able to cut through even a jinchūriki's chakra arms in a "Version 2" state.[72 ] He can also create a lightning-infused clone, and hound via his manipulation of lightning chakra.

Bukijutsu
Kakashi is a highly-skilled user in a large variety of weapons such as bows and arrows, kusarigama, chains, wire strings and others. Since early childhood, Kakashi had highly proficient skill in kenjutsu, able to wield his father's signature tantō effectively enough to be mistaken for Sakumo. Due to his ANBU background, Kakashi's sword skill was especially improved. His weapon-skills are also very adaptable, even able to effectively use Kubikiribōchō, a blade of unique shape with noticeable size and weight, to defeat kenjutsu specialists like the Seven Mist Swordsmen after just gaining possession of it. He can also enhance his physical tools, channelling lightning-nature chakra through them.

Summoning technique
Kakashi is also able to summon a pack of ninja hounds of various breeds. Much like all of his combat skills, Kakashi's use of these summons is highly versatile, ranging from attacking and restraining his opponents. Uniquely he can combine his Summoning Technique and his Earth Release skills to have his hounds burrow and erupt from the ground in order to help subdue his enemies. Aside from offensive purposes, Kakashi's pack is also highly skilled in tracking down targets.

Sharingan
Kakashi's most distinguishing ability is the Sharingan in his left eye-socket that was given to him by Uchia Obito. Since the eye got transplanted into him, Kakashi's ability to copy nearly any technique used against him gave him the moniker Copy Ninja Kakashi (コピー忍者のカカシ, Kopī Ninja no Kakashi) while utilising many of the Sharingan abilities including genjutsu, seeing through deception, and predicting his opponent's next move. This was seen in action twice, once against Zabuza Momochi and then against on Root members sent to watch Naruto. This eye also gives Kakashi a heightened visual perception to his surroundings, enabling him to perfect his Chidori and its later version, the Lightning Cutter.

When he first received the Sharingan it had only two tomoe. Some time after this, the traumatic loss of his dear friend Rin caused Kakashi's Sharingan to fully mature. In addition, Kakashi has extended the duration of time he can sustain using the Sharingan. While fighting Obito, a potent genjutsu master, Kakashi was able to go toe to toe with his enemy in an illusionary fight until he himself asked that genjutsu fighting be abandoned due to the constant stalemates of it.

However, because he is not an Uchiha, Kakashi is unable to deactivate this dōjutsu and is forced to keep it covered when not in combat as it consumes a massive amount of chakra, which forced him into extensive periods of bed rest. Because of this, Kakashi only relies on it when he feels it is an absolute necessity. In Part I, he could only handle using it for a short while in battle while suffering somewhat crippling effects such as severe fatigue. In Part II, he is seen using it for seemingly a day while testing Naruto and Sakura without any adverse effects. Regardless, he is very skilled to the point that Uchiha Itachi acknowledges Kakashi's greater proficiency to most true Sharingan wielders.

Mangekyo Sharingan
Kakashi awakened his Mangekyō Sharingan after unintentionally killing Rin Nohara. Though seemed unaware of its awakening until years later. With it he can perform Kamui: a technique that creates a space-time barrier in the form of a swirling void that sucks any target he focuses his eye on to another dimension and also bring them back; even transporting them to a new location. Originally, Kakashi lacked proper control to accurately hit his target. His skill and aim later improved greatly, able to successfully warp small, fast-moving, or multiple targets in rapid succession as seen against Pain, and Sasuke respectively. Even Obito, who mastered his variation of Kamui, openly acknowledged Kakashi's great skill with the technique. While battling Obito, Kakashi attempted to use Kamui to behead the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path: an object of significant size and mass, failing only because of Obito's intervention. His finesse allows him to safely warp chakra-based techniques, like the Rasengan, or even shadow clones without disrupting them, at such speed that Obito himself was fooled into believing Kakashi failed and dispelled the technique instead. While originally demonstrating only long-range use, Kakashi is also able to use Kamui at a short-range. With this new proficiency, Kakashi is also able to teleport himself at will.

Kamui's chakra requirements are considerably high, such that initially he had to be hospitalised for a week after using it three times in one day. By his battle against Obito, his mastery of this technique improved further, able to use it at least five times, three of which in quick succession (along with multiple other chakra-taxing techniques) and still had enough strength left to act. Afterwards, though tired, he remarked that he retained enough chakra to use the technique a few more times, and only after the fourth use did he start experiencing the immediate side effects, which he soon recovered somewhat from. He is also knowledgeable of other Mangekyō Sharingan techniques as well as the risks the dōjutsu poses to the user's eyesight.

Intellaigence
Repeatedly, Kakashi has proven himself to be a very shrewd and resourceful man, regularly having his opinion asked for by Tsunade, the Fifth Hokage. By a quite young age, Kakashi had enough experience on the battlefield to detect a hiding enemy's presence, impressing his sensei, Minato. Kakashi has even been noted to be smarter than Shikamaru Nara in Part I: a ninja well-known for his insightful, and calculating nature. His instincts also allow him to calmly effectively perceive and react to any incoming danger. Kakashi's intellect has proven itself against various S-rank ninja, including members of Akatsuki, showing undeniable perceptive and analytical skills, able to quickly and single-handedly deduce the workings of the most mysterious enemy techniques and plot successful diversions in order to verify his theories (most of the time proving them correct). He is aided in this regard by his calm personality, which allows him to handle a given situation with some detachment.

His long career as a jōnin, and formerly as an ANBU, have only expanded his knowledge, allowing him to handle virtually any situation. For these reasons Kakashi has been assigned to a variety of teams — always as the leader — and he is always able to work well with his team-mates. Chōza Akimichi attributes Kakashi's success to his approach to battles: he avoids direct combat by using misdirection and clones until he can determine the opponent's skills, at which point he modifies his tactics to fit the situation. Kakashi has also shown repeatedly to be a highly capable teacher. He has come up with various unorthodox methods to help his students produce impressive leaps in their abilities in weeks what would normally take months if not years of intense training.

Chakra Prowness & Control
Originally, Kakashi's primary weakness was his average reserves of chakra and stamina. He could only maintain his Sharingan for a short time, quickly tiring out from overusing it and ultimately collapsing, followed by great difficulty to even stand for days. He also claimed he could only use his signature technique, Lightning Cutter, four times in a single day before it wouldn't work. To compensate for this, Kakashi possesses very refined chakra control, allowing him to use multiple techniques quickly with the minimum necessary chakra and to their highest level. Kakashi's control also allows him to perform various techniques, usually lightning-based, with few to no hand seals.

Over the course of the series, his reserves improved considerably to extend his timespan and versatility to fight multiple high-level opponents. By Part II, he can maintain his Sharingan for an entire day and utilise several chakra-taxing techniques in quick succession unfazed, including his Lightning Cutter at least six times. His chakra reserves development is best seen with his Mangekyō Sharingan technique, Kamui. Originally, a single use tired him greatly. Using it more than twice in a single day would leave him crippled for over a week. By the time of the Fourth Shinobi World War, he was able to fight throughout an entire day right before going to fight against Tobi and his Six Paths of Pain which comprised of reincarnated jinchūriki. Once arriving, he was able to use Kamui several times in quick succession before finally collapsing as his eye started bleeding. Shortly afterwards, he recovered enough to stand up on his own and soon leapt back into action, using Kamui yet again, along with several other chakra-taxing techniques.

Other Skills
A man who epitomises versatility, Kakashi's expertise is not limited to the three major ninja skill sets; he is renowned for his tracking abilities and has otherwise displayed proficiency with trap-making, survival, stealth, and assassination. Kakashi is also noted to have a better sense of smell than Inuzuka Kiba did in Part I, a noteworthy member of a clan with canine-like senses. Even without sight, Kakashi is still a highly formidable fighter, able to use his other senses and knowledge of his surroundings, allies, and enemies to perceive the situation and overwhelm his opponents.

Introduction arc
Although later earning status as a jōnin-sensei, Kakashi developed a reputation throughout the academy for having exceedingly high standards on who he would train, thus every potential genin team he was assigned to failed in every survival training exam that he proctored while using a bell test, requiring the three of them to obtain at least one bell that he keeps on his waist. With only two bells available and three genin present, his students believed the test to be a competition against each other and so they worked independently in the attempt to take a bell. In the anime, when he learned that of his next potential Team 7 — which consisted of Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, and Sakura Haruno — he decided to spy on them a bit to better understand their natures.

Each of the young ninja try their own methods to getting a bell, only for Kakashi to easily defeat them. After Team 7 failed their test, Kakashi was quick to express his displeasure at their performance and that true goal was team-work. After explaining the importance of team-work and seeing how ashamed they were at their performance, Kakashi decided to give Team 7 one more chance to act as a team, and let them take a break for lunch. However, Naruto, having earlier tried to steal their lunches, was forbidden to eat with a severe penalty for anybody feeding him. When he watches Sasuke and Sakura giving Naruto their food to have him in peak condition from afar, Kakashi immediately confronted them while feigning anger. Delighted as they defiantly stand up to him on the grounds that they are a team, Kakashi passes them on the ground they placed loyalty amongst comrades first.

It was later revealed that Kakashi was chosen specifically by Sarutobi Hiruzen to be the leader of Team 7 because of Naruto and Sasuke. Kakashi's duty in addition to training the team was also to keep the Nine-Tails in Naruto contained, and to ensure Sasuke does not tread a dark path, since they had similar traits that would allow Kakashi to better understand him.

Later, in the anime, upon returning from another mission, Kakashi and his team noticed an ANBU team bringing a tied-up beautiful woman who appeared to be a street performer to the village. When Inoichi Yamanaka probed her mind to learn the truth of her identity, it was revealed that she was Hanare from the Jōmae Village on a mission to acquire Konoha secrets. It was also revealed that she knew Kakashi from back when he was a child. Deciding that Kakashi would have the best chance of finding out her true goals. Kakashi decided to let her walk about freely within the village while he escorted her. While walking through the village, Hanare seemed to genuinely enjoy the atmosphere of it, and also seemed drawn to Kakashi, blushing when he looked at her for too long. As Kakashi began to get Hanare to open up about herself, revealing how she met Kakashi and what he meant to her, Kakashi's students, who were spying came crashing out of the tree, landing on Kakashi and Hanare. This caused the two adults to accidentally kiss, and Kakashi to reveal his Sharingan.

After collecting himself, he demanded for the three to explain themselves. Naruto responded first by presenting a bouquet of flowers a congratulations as the three believed Kakashi was dating Hanare. The adults smiled to each other at the kids misunderstanding. Later, Konoha received word that the Jōmae Village had captured a Konoha ninja and demanded an exchange for Hanare. At the exchange, a trap was set, forcing both sides to engage in battle. Kakashi went after Hanare. Upon cornering her, Kakashi revealed that he knows Hanare has a special mind reading technique that lets her look into an individual's mind, even the user's own, without hand seals and used it to read Inoichi's mind while he probed her, meaning she intentionally got taken captive. Kakashi realised this when his Sharingan was accidentally revealed and copied her technique. Hanare then revealed that she used her technique to erase the information she gained. Saying that she enjoyed her time in Konoha so much like the home she never had and the blessing of Kakashi's students for her, she couldn't betray that new-found trust. Refusing to kill her, Kakashi chose to let her go.

Later in the anime, a young but promising ninja named Sabiru proposed a new defence system for the village. Kakashi was one of the guards for the meeting that including the both the Land of Fire and Konoha council. While everyone admired Sabiru's intellect and ambition, Kakashi and the Third Hokage had their suspicions about him. Later, as the council was about to vote to pass Sabiru's proposal, they were interrupted by Kisuke Maboroshi, an ANBU who suspected Sabiru of treason. When it was discovered that Kisuke had in fact died recently, making this man an impostor, he retreated. It was revealed to Naruto, working in league with the spirit of Kisuke. Having talked to Kakashi, the two worked together and tricked Sabiru into confessing his crimes. Before they could take him in, he was killed by an unknown assailant.

During another mission in the anime, Team 7 was assigned to retrieve a golden statue stolen by bandits. To balance his plan for an ambush, Kakashi decided to go solo while his students attacked from a separate location. Naruto and Sasuke accidentally became stuck together by the bandit's leader, Jako's, liquid chakra, but managed to unite their efforts and get the statue back, despite it being seriously damaged. Kakashi however noted that they could probably melt and reforge it. While Naruto and Sasuke continued to bicker at their predicament lasting for another two to three days, Kakashi smiled to himself at how far thier bond has come despite their differences.