Board Thread:Naruto Discussions/@comment-24949639-20140528135926/@comment-24531362-20140603210658

I look at this issue in two directions:

1: From a military standpoint, Kakashi is useless. While he does have above-average skill with taijutsu and ninjutsu, any proponents of his being a factor in this fight overlook his main weakness: abysmal chakra reserves. Throughout this series, he has been the character who uses one powerful attack and then is out for weeks. Despite his logical growth throughout the series, he has been fighting all out, without pause, for like four arcs now. Cap that with the loss of his primary asset, the Sharingan, he remains theoretically only useful as a meat shield.

Sakura is also rendered useless, but less so than Kakashi. Though she lacks experience or some mystical otherworldly power, she is easily the third strongest combatant on the Alliance's side, ever since Guy was neutralized. However, her strenghth lies in her literal physical capacity (I am operating under the assumption that should Sasuke and Naruto ever need healing, it will not come fast enough to save them in this fight). Sakura is only useful within melee range, and she does not possess the speed that Guy had to get into that range. Even if she could land a hit, Madara's Limbo clones would likely render it useless.

2: From a literary standpoint, the two likely have some role to play. The mere fact that they are independent of the Nativity in a World of Trees technique right now, while other capable ninja are not, means that there must be a reason for it.