Kakashi Hatake

is one of the main protagonists in the anime and manga series Naruto. He is a Konohagakure jōnin and the leader of Team 7. He is known worldwide for his use of the Sharingan, earning him the moniker and.

Background
Kakashi is the only son of Sakumo Hatake, also known as the "White Fang of Konoha". His mother apparently died when he was young. Kakashi has been known since a young age as an extremely gifted prodigy, regarded by many as the best of his generation. He had received top marks and had showed an innate aptitude for the ninja arts while in the academy. This permitted him to graduate from it in a single year at the top of his class at the age of 5, and then becoming a chūnin a year later. Despite his own success, his father fell into disgrace after choosing to save his comrades rather than complete an important mission, causing Konoha to suffer in the war effort. Dishonored, Sakumo took his own life after a deep depression and a drop in his skills, which caused Kakashi to lead his life strictly by the ninja code.

After graduating, Kakashi was then teamed with Obito Uchiha and Rin under the leadership of Minato Namikaze, the future Fourth Hokage. Kakashi's relationship with Obito and Rin was noted to be very similar to that of Sasuke's relationship with Naruto and Sakura respectively, as he is known as the indifferent genius who shared a complicated relationship with his team-mates, that later developed into a close friendship.

Kakashi Gaiden
At the age of 13, soon after becoming a jōnin, Kakashi was assigned to lead Obito and Rin on a mission that would benefit Konoha in the ongoing Third Great Shinobi World War. They were to destroy a bridge 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. 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 realized 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 2-to-1 disadvantage, 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. In sheer terror and desire to protect Kakashi, Obito finally awakened his Sharingan, allowing him to see through his opponent's camouflage jutsu, kill the attacker, and continue on to Rin. Once they located Rin and Kakkō, Kakashi and Obito teamed up to defeat the latter. Kakashi and Obito freed Rin, but just as Kakashi's team was about to leave, Kakkō attempted to trap them with a crushing technique, causing a cave-in.

While trying to escape, Obito pushed Kakashi out of the path of a falling boulder, causing himself to be crushed beneath it instead. Knowing his life was at an end, Obito instructed Rin to implant his left Sharingan into Kakashi's damaged eye. Rin complied, and as soon as the surgery was completed Kakashi used the Sharingan and his Chidori to kill Kakkō. He then returned to Obito to see if there was anything he could do for him, but the place was turning into shambles, forcing Kakashi and Rin to leave him behind. With the help of Minato, they ultimately completed their mission, allowing them to mourn Obito's death.

Following the success of his first mission as a jōnin, Kakashi became well-known among all five great countries for the extensive use of his Sharingan, gaining him a reputation as "the man who has copied over a thousand jutsu," hence his nickname. Kakashi joined the Konoha ANBU a few years later. He later left for unknown reasons, but maintained strong connections with the ANBU. He once had a mission wherein one of his team-mates, Iruka Umino, was injured, paving the way for the latter to become an instructor at the Ninja Academy. When Iruka was having doubts at being assigned to be the homeroom teacher of Naruto Uzumaki, Kakashi served to remind him of his real reasons for wanting the post in the first place.

Kakashi eventually became a team leader, and tested many genin. As the Third Hokage told Iruka, Kakashi had never passed any of them due to their inability to live up to his expectations of working as a team.

Personality
Kakashi became more stern and serious following his father's death, following all the rules and scorning any who disobeyed them, like his team-mate Obito. This caused Obito to resent Kakashi, as Kakashi showed little kindness to his team-mate. This changed when Obito was killed in a mission, and Kakashi and Obito became friends in the latter's final moments.

Obito's death had a huge impact on Kakashi's personality. He is now more cheerful and shows greater concern for his team-mates and students, placing their safety over the successful completion of a mission, as well as believing that teamwork is essential to overall success as a team. He is also regularly late for appointments, making obvious excuses just like Obito before him. This is because of his frequent visits to the memorial where Obito's name is engraved, where he loses track of time. However, Kakashi is still just as carefree and emotionless as he was during his youth, often speaking bluntly about sensitive topics.

Kakashi claims to have lost everyone who was close to him, causing some reluctance to allow others to get close to him. Of the people who are still alive, Kakashi is on the best terms with his students, although he is on good terms with almost everyone in Konoha. After the formation of Team 7, he begins taking a special interest in their development, as shown from his regular checking up on Naruto and his eating habits. He similarly refuses to go on a mission at the end of Part I so that he can stop Naruto and Sasuke from killing each other. Kakashi is just as devoted to his friends and the rest of Konoha, such that his signature jutsu, the Lightning Cutter, had been made on the principle of duty, and perfected on the principle of protecting loved ones.

Kakashi has a rather solitary and matter-of-fact attitude. His calm and detached demeanor 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 admitted that such a position was unfit for him. His naturally calm attitude is used to his advantage in battle, as it becomes easier for him to maintain his composure to stay focused on the situation at hand, and ultimately 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.

Kakashi has an ongoing, albeit one-sided, rivalry with Guy. In trying to prove himself superior to Kakashi, Guy challenges him to competitions of questionable value ranging from Rock, Paper, Scissors to running races. Guy has a record of 50 wins to 49 losses, which he is particularly proud of, despite these competitions having little accuracy due to their large variations. 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.

Kakashi is an avid fan of the Icha Icha series of novels by Jiraiya, showing that he might be slightly perverted. He is typically seen reading one of the books when not involved in a fight, making it the only one of his reportedly many hobbies that is ever seen in the series. He even went and read it during his first fight against Naruto, as Naruto was, at that time, too weak to pose much of a threat. Despite his fondness for the books, he grows uncomfortable when reading passages to others (even around Pakkun and his ninken), presumably embarrassed by the adult content (as noted when they were decoding Jiraiya's last message). Naruto, on one occasion, has used these books against Kakashi during their second bell test, threatening to spoil the ending of the latest installment to force Kakashi to leave himself vulnerable (by shutting his eyes and blocking his ears) to prevent learning the ending of the story. Kakashi felt humiliated when he realized that Naruto hadn't read past the first ten pages, and that he was tricked.

Appearance
Kakashi's personality is further emphasized 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. He is almost always seen in his Konoha ninja uniform, along with iron guard gloves reminiscent of his ANBU days. The cover page for chapter 16 also shows him wearing a chain necklace. Another noticeable feature to Kakashi, other than his unique left eye, is the thin scar running over it and down to his cheek. He is a tall, fit ninja, is characterized by his tall and spiky white hair, forehead protector regularly covering his scarred left eye, and his chronically visible mask. He was once mistaken by Chiyo for his father Sakumo Hatake, who he is considered to greatly resemble.

While it has yet to be revealed why, he has, since a young age, always been seen concealing the lower half of his face. What he looks like remains a point of interest for his students, who try to find out what he looks like in various omake specials in the series. Episode 101, which is devoted to Team 7 trying to remove their sensei's mask, and suggests that he is in fact very handsome, as seen from Teuchi and Ayame's reaction to seeing his face. In the few instances that he 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. Kakashi is also a transvestite as seen in episode 105 were a camel toe is clearly visible.

Abilities
Kakashi is shown to be very respected throughout Konoha, as well as easily being one of the most powerful Konoha ninja. Kakashi is also recognized as the foremost techniques specialist in Konoha, due to his gradually increasing arsenal of thousands of techniques, a feat that earns either delight or dread from enemy ninja who face him in combat. His knowledge of techniques is so high, that he was requested to watch over Naruto should the seal of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox began to fail. His skill and cunning are repeatedly shown to be great enough to hold his own against seemingly any opponent. Itachi Uchiha, master of the Sharingan even applauded Kakashi's skill with his Sharingan, and when the two battled they were almost equals in physical ability. Itachi had to use Tsukuyomi to beat Kakashi in their first battle, and commended him that he was still conscious afterwards. Even Pain, an extremely dangerous ninja, viewed Kakashi's skills as capable of impeding his plans if he did not get rid of Kakashi first. He is also considered a prime candidate for the position of Hokage by many high-ranking characters and was even requested for the position at one point.

Kakashi has been noted by Naruto to be smarter than Shikamaru Nara, have a better nose than Kiba Inuzuka, a better taijutsu performance than Rock Lee, and a better Sharingan mastery than Sasuke Uchiha prior to defecting from Konoha. While this might be an exaggeration, Kakashi has proven himself to be an intelligent ninja with great instincts and battle prowess, making him a match for almost any opponent. His general abilities are greatly improved during the time skip. In Part I, he was unable to keep up with Itachi Uchiha's physical and hand seal speed, even with the use of his Sharingan. By Part II, he is able to keep up with Itachi's immense speed, (his speed was even praised by Madara Uchiha himself). His chakra level sees a similar improvement as well; in Part I, his chakra levels have been shown to be average. By Part II, his chakra is shown to have greatly increased, as he can perform several chakra-taxing jutsu in rapid succession. He even increases the number of times he can use his Lightning Cutter per day, using six of them in one battle, and still having enough chakra to plan using the Mangekyō Sharingan.

Experience
As a jōnin and former ANBU, Kakashi is very adept in any form of battle. He is regularly put in charge of whatever squad he is assigned to, and works well with its diverse members. Kakashi's naturally calm attitude is used to his advantage in battle, allowing him to stay collected and out-think the opponent, similar to Shikamaru. This is primarily because he can quickly analyze the situation at hand, and comprehend his opponent's abilities and battle tactics. After doing so, he can use sharp intuition to make quick and firm decisions to switch to the appropriate counter-tactics. According to Chōza Akimichi, Kakashi's most common method of fighting is that until he can confirm an enemies skills, he will fight using replacement and clone techniques. Against more powerful opponents, he regularly uses various misdirection and trap tactics to weaken them. Kakashi's cunning also allows him to be a very effective teacher, able to use various unorthodox methods to produce months if not years of training in just weeks as he has repeatedly helped his students gain tremendous jumps in their prowess in relatively short amounts of time. Kakashi is also highly proficient at evasion, as shown when he was able to fight on par with Hidan, and later with Kakuzu, while simultaneously avoiding taking damage and protecting Chōji Akimichi and Ino Yamanaka.

Ninja Skills
Kakashi primarily relies on his mastery of ninjutsu, of which he has a vast arsenal due to his Sharingan. With this arsenal, he can attack or defend against his opponents in numerous manners. While used less often, he has also shown to have impressive skills in genjutsu, which he can use to throw off his opponents as a set-up for stronger attacks. In addition, he has proven to be very adept in taijutsu, which, combined with his impressive speed, allows him to effectively catch his opponents off guard and evade attacks. Moreover, he has proven skillful in areas such as tracking, trap-making, survival, stealth, assassination, armed-combat, and fūinjutsu. Orochimaru notes that his level of fūinjutsu was impressive for his age. He was taught by his late teacher how to use the Rasengan, but could never master it beyond its standard level as it was intended to mix with elemental chakra.

Nature Transformation
In addition to the sheer number of techniques at Kakashi's disposal, he has an extensive knowledge of, and skill with, elemental techniques. He has shown mastery of his natural affinity towards lightning chakra, being able to use several high-level lightning-based techniques without hand seals. Even Kakuzu, an extremely experienced member of Akatsuki, immediately recognized his assailant to be "Kakashi of the Sharingan" after seeing his prowess in lightning techniques. With much assistance from his Sharingan, he has mastered multiple elements despite his still young age, which he is able to use together for various combo attacks or strategies. Individually, he is able to perform earth-based techniques with great detail in their shape, and is able to perform water-based techniques without an existing water source nearby. He has also been shown (in the anime) using fire-based techniques, and he is otherwise at least knowledgeable enough with Wind Release to help train Naruto in its use.

Even though he owes much of his repertoire to his Sharingan, Kakashi is capable of creating his own techniques, as he did with the Chidori. While powerful, the Chidori has two drawbacks: the amount of chakra it requires and the speed at which the user must move. These flaws prompted Minato Namikaze to ban his student from using the technique after seeing it in action. After gaining the Sharingan, the tunnel effect can now be worked around, as he can now see his opponents clearly. He later refines the Chidori into the far stronger Lightning Cutter and develops several new lightning techniques.

Sharingan
Kakashi's most distinguishing ability is his Sharingan, a gift from his late friend Obito Uchiha, as it allows him to copy any technique used against him, see through any deception, give hypnotic suggestions, perform genjutsu, and predict his opponent's movements. The drawback of his Sharingan is that, because Kakashi is not of Uchiha blood and does not have the correct genetics, his body cannot completely adjust to it, hence costing him more chakra than it would an Uchiha. Coupled with the fact that he cannot deactivate it (and thus must keep it covered when not using it), he quickly expends his chakra in battle. Because of this, Kakashi only relies on it when he feels it is an absolute necessity. Despite his handicap with the Sharingan, he is very skilled in using it. Even Itachi Uchiha, a true heir and master of the Sharingan, acknowledged Kakashi's superior proficiency with the Sharingan compared to most true Sharingan wielders.

Kakashi has somehow been able to improve his Sharingan with time. When he first gained the Sharingan it had only two tomoe, but by the start of the series it has progressed to three. In addition, by Part II, Kakashi seems to have extended the amount of time he can sustain using the Sharingan, as he is seen using it for seemingly a day while testing Naruto and Sakura.

Mangekyō Sharingan
During the timeskip, Kakashi further improved his Sharingan by developing his own Mangekyō Sharingan through undisclosed means. Furthermore, he has mastered his only known Mangekyō technique called Kamui. This jutsu has the ability to manipulate space, and was shown to be able to suck targets or even tear off parts of a target and hurl them into another dimension. When used against Deidara, he noted Kakashi's dōjutsu to be of Itachi's caliber, who was infamous for his prowess with Mangekyō techniques. However, this technique uses so much chakra that he has to be hospitalized for a week after using it three times in one day. Though he has never shown signs of deterioration in his sight from the use of his Mangekyō eye (as Madara, Itachi, and Sasuke have), Kakashi has knowledge of the side effects of their repeated use.

Despite Kakashi mentioning that he has yet to master it, as shown from his difficulty in using it against Deidara, his skill with Kamui was later great enough during the Invasion of Pain Arc to accurately suck small speeding targets with no effect on anything else, as seen when he uses it to stop a speeding nail thrown by Pain at close range and a missile shot at Chōji Akimichi by the Asura Path. Later, in his brief battle with Sasuke Uchiha, he again uses Kamui to stop an arrow shot at him by Sasuke's completed Susanoo, which he commented that he wouldn't have been able to dodge without using it.

Aside from his own technique, Kakashi also shows knowledge about the other Mangekyō Sharingan based techniques, as he recognized the Tsukuyomi and Amaterasu used by Itachi, and Susanoo used by Sasuke.

Part I
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, and failing every potential genin team that took the Survival Training Exam he proctored. When he was given the next potential Team 7 — which consisted of Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, and Sakura Haruno — he gave them a bell test, requiring that the three of them obtain one of the two bells that he keeps on his waist. They worked independently to try and take a bell, unwilling to work together since one of them wouldn't be able to have a bell.

Each of the young ninjas 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 how displeased he was with their performance. After belittling each of their performances, he revealed the true goal of this test: teamwork. After explaining the importance of teamwork 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. Deciding that they would need Naruto in peak condition if they were to work together, Sasuke and Sakura gave him food anyway. Kakashi witnessed this act and immediately confronted them, feigning anger that they disobeyed him, before passing them. The newly formed team explained that they needed to work as a team first before anything else. He then congratulated them on being the first team to pass under him after revealing the true objective of the test: teamwork and loyalty to your team-mates.

It was later revealed that Kakashi was chosen specifically 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-Tailed Demon Fox in Naruto contained, and to keep Sasuke from walking down a dark path, since they had similar traits that would allow Kakashi to better understand him.

Land of Waves Arc
After completing a number of easy D-rank missions, Team 7, at Naruto's insistence, was assigned a somewhat more difficult C-rank task of escorting the bridge-builder Tazuna to the Land of Waves. They were attacked en route by the Demon Brothers. After Kakashi easily defeated them, he realized that there was more to the mission than a simple escort, and convinced Tazuna to tell them the truth, that the Land of Waves was under the tyranny of Gatō. Tazuna hoped to build a bridge that would free the country, and had thus garnered Gatō's assassination attempts. Even though the mission was far more dangerous than what they had been initially assigned (A-rank,B-rank jōnin difficulty), Team 7 agreed to act as his bodyguard until the bridge was complete.

Upon arriving in the Land of Waves, Team 7 was attacked by Zabuza Momochi, another of Gatō's hired assassins. Zabuza's superior experience with water-based techniques, combined with Kakashi's focus on protecting his team-mates, allowed him to catch Kakashi off guard, resulting in Zabuza trapping Kakashi with a water prison. Kakashi pleaded with his students to flee with Tazuna, but they instead chose to work together, and managed to free him. Using his Sharingan, Kakashi was able to turn the tide against Zabuza. Before Kakashi could land a killing blow, a boy named Haku stepped in, and appeared to kill Zabuza first. He then took Zabuza's body away, claiming that he was a Kirigakure hunter-nin and would dispose of it, after which Kakashi collapsed from exhaustion due to overuse of his Sharingan.

Fearing that Haku might have faked Zabuza's death to save him, Kakashi trained Team 7 to gain better chakra control while recuperating. In a week, they had mastered the training, and thus resumed their bodyguard duty. At the bridge they were confronted by Zabuza and Haku, confirming Kakashi's suspicions. While Haku engaged Naruto and Sasuke, Kakashi fought Zabuza.

Having learned from his defeat, Zabuza relied on sneak attacks during the battle through his Hidden Mist Technique to keep him from falling prey to Kakashi's Sharingan. In response, Kakashi summoned his ninken underground to locate and pin down Zabuza, making him an easy target for his Lightning Cutter. Before he could kill Zabuza, Kakashi was once again interrupted by Haku, who used himself as a human shield and took the blow intended for Zabuza, thus being killed in the process.

Still determined to win, Zabuza relentlessly attacked Kakashi, but the battle turned completely in Kakashi favor, easily outmaneuvering Zabuza. Gatō and the rest of his henchmen later showed up to have Zabuza disposed of as a result of his failure, only for Zabuza to kill Gatō. While Kakashi witnessed the event, Gatō's henchmen in turn killed Zabuza. In response, Kakashi used his Multiple Shadow Clone Technique to scare the thugs away. As Zabuza died, he asked Kakashi to bring his body beside Haku's before he passed away. Kakashi buried them alongside each other before returning to Konoha with Team 7.

Chūnin Exam Arc
Feeling his students were ready, Kakashi entered Team 7 in the Chūnin Exams, despite some initial disapproval from other elite ninja. After Sasuke was branded with the Cursed Seal of Heaven by Orochimaru during the exam's second phase, Kakashi took it upon himself to deal with the cursed seal. Unable to remove it, he instead used the Evil Sealing Method to try and prevent its usage. Following the preliminary matches, Kakashi decided to personally train Sasuke for a month after realizing how much Orochimaru desired Sasuke from his subordinate Kabuto Yakushi attempting to abduct him. Kakashi tried to reinforce Sasuke’s self-worth and value for his friends by teaching him how to use Chidori as a deterrent against the cursed seal. As the training also involved taijutsu training copied from Rock Lee to better condition Sasuke's body for the Chidori, Kakashi runs late in delivering Sasuke to his final round match.

Invasion of Konoha Arc
When Sunagakure and Otogakure's invasion of Konoha began during Sasuke's match, Kakashi released a genjutsu along with Might Guy and Sakura, and helped repel the invaders along with Guy. They ended up having several contests to see who could defeat the most Suna and Oto-nin, although Guy usually won. When he noticed that Sasuke was going after Gaara, Kakashi sent Naruto, Sakura, Shikamaru Nara, and Pakkun to stop him and bring him back.

Search for Tsunade Arc
Shortly after the invasion was prevented, Itachi Uchiha, Sasuke's older brother, and Kisame Hoshigaki of Akatsuki infiltrated the village. Asuma Sarutobi and Kurenai Yūhi tried to apprehend the two, but they were almost killed, making Kakashi intervene. Although Kakashi was able to hold his own against Itachi for a short while, Kakashi fell victim to Itachi's Tsukuyomi. Severely weakened by the technique, Kakashi confirmed that Itachi and Kisame were after Naruto and the Nine-Tails before collapsing. With Kakashi's knowledge on them, Itachi ordered Kisame to kidnap Kakashi. Luckily, Guy arrived just in time to drive the Akatsuki members off.

Kakashi was left in a coma after what happened, and was not revived until Tsunade returned to the village. Immediately after recovering, he was sent on a new mission.

Sasuke Retrieval Arc
Before setting out on his mission, Kakashi stops a battle between Naruto and Sasuke. Learning that in his absence Sasuke had begun reverting to his obsession for power and revenge, Kakashi lectures Sasuke about misusing the Chidori, pointing out that it was designed to protect friends, not attack them. He encourages Sasuke to place greater importance on friendships than on revenge, then leaves to let his words sink in, unaware that Sasuke was given little time to embrace those words thanks to Orochimaru’s Sound Four.

When Kakashi returned from his mission, he found out that Sasuke had defected to Orochimaru, and that a squad of genin, led by Shikamaru, was all that had been sent out to retrieve him. Ignoring the fact that he had a new mission, Kakashi rushed out to track down Sasuke and the retrieval team. Using his ninken, Kakashi was able to locate a defeated Naruto, with Sasuke having already left. Unable to pursue Sasuke because of a fresh rainfall and due to Naruto's current condition, Kakashi took Naruto back to the village to recover, saddened that he failed to help his students.

Pre-Shippūden filler arcs
Kakashi continued to be sent on missions during the anime's filler arcs, leaving him with very few appearances. He returned from a mission in time to recapture some of the prisoners that had escaped from prison when Mizuki led a breakout. He was later sent to assist with the Cursed Warrior incident in the Land of Birds. While not officially his mission, and arriving much later, Kakashi realized the situation wasn't as it seemed, and ultimately took command of the team, thereby deciding to investigate. This led to Kakashi's fight with Hōki's minions, Nagare and Hokushin, whom he defeated with relative ease.

In the final filler arc, Kakashi was sent to spy on the Takumi Village when rumors of an uprising reached Konoha. There, he discovered the entire village abandoned, and the corpses missing. He later showed up towards the end of the arc, where he was sent as part of reinforcements, along with Jiraiya, to aid Naruto and the rest of the genin in helping Sunagakure, only to discover that Naruto's team had already successfully completed their mission. At the conclusion of Part I, Naruto and Sakura began training under Jiraiya and Tsunade respectively, leaving Kakashi free to train himself.

Kazekage Rescue Arc
With Team 7 effectively dissolved, Kakashi spent the two and half years further enhancing and refining his abilities to prepare for the inevitable battle with Akatsuki. After Naruto's return to the village, Kakashi was given, by Naruto, the newest edition to the Icha-Icha series. Later, Kakashi had Naruto and Sakura take another bell test, with the real objective being to actually capture the bells, to see how much they'd improved. When they were unable to get close enough to Kakashi to each take a bell due to Kakashi’s own skill, Naruto and Sakura resorted to trying to spoil the plot of the most recent Icha-Icha novel, throwing Kakashi off guard and allowing them to take the bells.

When word reached Konoha that Gaara had been kidnapped by Akatsuki, Team Kakashi was sent to rescue Gaara. Upon arrival in Sunagakure they are teamed with Chiyo before following Akatsuki's trail. Along the way, they encountered Itachi. Kakashi was able to fight on even grounds in this battle, but noted that Itachi's performance wasn't what it was the last time they met. With a well-timed maneuver, Kakashi was able to trick and restrain Itachi, giving Naruto the opening needed to finish the fight with his Great Ball Rasengan. Afterwards, they discovered that the Itachi was only a lookalike. They then met up with Team Guy, which was sent as back-up to Team Kakashi, outside an Akatsuki lair. Because there is a barrier over the entrance, Team Guy went to take down the barrier. This allowed Team Kakashi to infiltrate the lair, where they found Sasori, Deidara and Gaara.

Deidara flew off with Gaara's body, with Naruto and Kakashi in pursuit, leaving Sasori to Sakura and Chiyo. While pursuing Deidara, Kakashi tried to use his new Mangekyō Sharingan and its Kamui ability in an attempt to remove his head, but his aim was poor and he was only able to sever an arm. Nevertheless, Naruto was able to retrieve Gaara. With Naruto successful, Deidara tried to use a Suicide Bombing Clone to escape. Kakashi used Kamui again to get rid of the explosion, saving Team Guy, who was nearby. Chiyo gives her life to revive Gaara and they return home. Because he used Kamui too much, Guy prompted to carry Kakashi on his back, to the disgust of the rest of the two teams except for Lee who even raced home with Guy. Afterwards Kakashi is left bed-ridden for a week.

Hidan and Kakuzu Arc
While recuperating, Team Kakashi, led by Yamato, goes on a mission to try and find Sasuke. When they come back from the failed mission, Kakashi offers to help Naruto create a new technique to make him better prepared for his next encounter with Sasuke. Using the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique, Naruto could reduce the amount of time needed to train and master the new technique that would potentially make Naruto surpass (in a manner of speaking) Kakashi himself.

Kakashi's training for Naruto was revealed to teach Naruto to master his natural element chakra (which turned out to be wind) and combine it with the Rasengan, to create an ultimate jutsu that not even Kakashi or the Fourth Hokage could complete. After hearing that Asuma Sarutobi had been killed in a battle with Akatsuki, Kakashi decided to lead Team 10 in avenging him, as Naruto had already advanced in his training beyond needing Kakashi's assistance. He left Yamato in charge of overseeing Naruto's training, and had Shikamaru work with him on the plan of attack.

When they located Akatsuki members Hidan and Kakuzu, Shikamaru distracted the two, giving Kakashi an opportunity to hit Kakuzu with a Lightning Cutter. Although successful, it turned out that Kakuzu had a total of five hearts, one of which (the earth heart) Kakashi had already destroyed. Realizing that the Akatsuki duo were seemingly unstoppable when together, the team decided to separate them, with Kakashi handing a capsule filled with Kakuzu's blood to Shikamaru and the latter leading Hidan away. Kakashi later barely escaped Kakuzu's counterattack, when Hidan inadvertently destroyed his partner's lightning heart with his curse technique.

While Hidan fell to Shikamaru, Kakuzu intended on taking Kakashi's and the remaining members of Team 10's hearts to replace the ones he lost, with three hearts remaining intact. In the nick of time, Naruto and the rest of Team Kakashi came to their aid. Using his new Wind Release: Rasenshuriken, Naruto was able to crack Kakuzu's fire and wind hearts, leaving Kakuzu defeated. This gave Kakashi the opportunity to finally finish the Akatsuki member off with another Lightning Cutter. As Kakuzu wondered how he could have been defeated by the likes of them, Kakashi told him before killing him how the next generation will always surpass the current one.

Three-Tails Arc
In the anime, after Konoha learned where Orochimaru was, Kakashi was assigned to lead Team 8 in tracking down Orochimaru and potentially Sasuke. They were able to find one of his bases, but it was destroyed upon their arrival to get rid of any evidence. They decided to look for survivors, and in doing so, found a number of prisoners trapped in crystals. Perplexed by this, Kakashi was unable to properly investigate, discovering that the team was being spied on.

Kakashi and his team later found themselves attacked by Orochimaru's minions, and trapped by Guren's crystal labyrinth. While initially at a disadvantage, Team Yamato arrived in time to free them from the labyrinth. The two teams then pursued Guren and her men to a lake where they discover that the Three-Tailed Giant Turtle was located somewhere in its center. Later, when Kakashi learned from Naruto that Guren was accompanied with a young boy named Yūkimaru, Kakashi deduced that the child must have an important role to play in Orochimaru's plans for the Three-Tails.

After receiving backup from Konoha, Kakashi focused their efforts to seal the beast and retrieve Yūkimaru. After Guren and her men interrupted the sealing, the Three-Tails went on a rampage, and ate both Naruto and Guren whole. With help from Yūkimaru, Kakashi and his team were able to free Naruto and Guren from the Three-Tails. Kakashi immediately had his team restart the sealing process, but was again stopped by Guren's forces, who were enhanced with cursed seals, making them more formidable opponents. While the Konoha-nin were able to dispose of them, Yūkimaru witnessing Guren's seemingly death caused his power to erupt in full force, causing the Three-Tails to break free from the seal and retreat back underwater.

Later, Kakashi's team was ordered to return to the village to formulate a new plan for dealing with the Three-Tails. During the night before the team returned, Yūkimaru left after being treated by Shizune. While aware of Yūkimaru's departure, Kakashi chose not to stop or pursue him, believing that Yūkimaru was no longer in any danger or a danger to them.

Itachi Pursuit Arc
When word of Orochimaru's defeat at the hands of Sasuke, reached Konoha, Kakashi tried to make another attempt at retrieving Sasuke. He assembled the members of Team Kakashi and Team 8 (minus Kurenai) into an Eight Man Squad, and set out to locate either Sasuke or his brother, Itachi. Kiba and Naruto were eventually able to find Sasuke's location, and the team gave chase, only to be stopped by Tobi. Their efforts to attack Tobi all proved futile because of Tobi's unique teleporting technique. It was not until Zetsu reported to Tobi that Sasuke had killed Itachi that they were able to continue their pursuit. Before Tobi disappeared, Kakashi noticed, to his shock, a Sharingan on Tobi. Despite the team's haste, Tobi got to Sasuke first and, having lost the trail, were forced to return home.

Tsuchigumo Kinjutsu Arc
In the anime, while returning to the village, Katsuyu appears with a message from Tsunade. The team is ordered to aid the Tsuchigumo clan in protecting its forbidden jutsu from enemy ninjas. Kakashi puts Yamato in charge of the mission while he returns to the village for more information.

Invasion of Pain Arc
When Akatsuki's leader, Pain, attacked Konoha in search of Naruto, Kakashi confronted Pain's Deva Path, after realizing that the initial attack was a diversion. He saved Iruka Umino from certain death, but was quickly overpowered by the Deva Path's gravitational-manipulation techniques, repelling all of Kakashi's attacks. When the Asura Path arrived to help the Deva Path, Kakashi was forced on the defensive until he got reinforcements from Chōji and Chōza Akimichi. After figuring out the Deva Path's powers, Kakashi devised a plan, and used Chōji and Chōza's help to take down the Deva Path. They almost succeeded, but the Asura Path uses itself as shield, allowing the Deva Path to counter, defeating them all.

Believing them all to be dead, the Deva Path left. When he came to, Kakashi sent Chōji to tell Tsunade about the Deva Path's abilities. But as Chōji left, the still-active Asura Path launched a missile at him. Despite knowing that he was almost out of chakra, and would likely die if he used the Mangekyō Sharingan again, Kakashi used Kamui to dispose of the missile and save Chōji. Having expended the last of his chakra, Kakashi died, and his soul left his body. He lamented on how he failed to protect Rin and soon found himself at a campfire with his deceased father, Sakumo, to whom he tells his life story upon request from his father.

During Pain's destruction of Konoha, Kakashi's body was protected by one of Katsuyu's divisions. After finishing the recount of his life, he stated that he finally understood why his father had chosen to save his friends and was now proud of him for it. Their conversation was halted when a ray of light beamed down upon Kakashi, as a result of Nagato's Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique. Before seeing his son depart, Sakumo thanked Kakashi, and declared that he would now be able to join his wife. Kakashi then woke up in the Konoha battlefield, with Chōji shocked. As Kakashi wondered what happened, a Katsuyu division explained to him the series of events that had occurred. After the invasion came to an end, Kakashi fetched Naruto and brought him back to a massive welcoming party at Konoha. There, he complimented Naruto on finally achieving his goal to be accepted and appreciated by the whole village.

Five Kage Summit Arc
When news reaches Konoha of Sasuke's actions in the Land of Lightning, Naruto asks Kakashi and Yamato to take him to the Land of Iron so that he can ask the Fourth Raikage to forgive Sasuke. Before leaving, Kakashi asks Sai to keep their departure a secret from Danzō, the acting Hokage while Tsunade is in a coma. They locate the Raikage, but Naruto is unable to convince him. During their stay at a motel in the Land of Iron, Madara Uchiha confronts Naruto. Having expected him, Kakashi and Yamato attack him. Knowing the attacks will have no effect, Madara tells them about Sasuke's motivations, the Sage of the Six Paths, the Uchiha clan, and the truth of Itachi. Kakashi then asks what Madara's own motives are, but receives only the answer of "to be complete" before Madara disappears.

Sai and Sakura follow Naruto to the Land of Iron and Sakura tells Naruto that she loves him and Kakashi watches on in disappointment and stops Yamoto from interrupting, trusting Naruto to handle it. Kakashi suspects that this is not the real reason they came, which is confirmed by one of Sai's ink clones. Sakura, as agreed upon by the other members of the Konoha 11, is going to kill Sasuke before he involves Konoha in a future war. Knowing that she is no match for Sasuke, Kakashi prepares to follow her. At that moment Gaara arrives. Gaara tells them about the start of the Fourth Great Shinobi World War and Danzō's actions at the Kage Summit. Gaara adds that the other Kage would prefer if Kakashi were the Hokage. When Gaara leaves, the ink clone guides Kakashi to Sakura.

The ink clone disperses en route when Sakura neutralizes the real Sai. Kakashi finds her in time to stop Sasuke from killing her and tells her that, as Sasuke's teacher, he will be the one to kill him. Kakashi makes one final attempt to draw Sasuke away from a life of vengeance, but receives an attack from Sasuke's Susanoo in response. Kakashi is forced to use Kamui to divert the attack, which leaves him unable to protect Sakura when she re-joins the fight. Naruto arrives in time to save her and, and with Sasuke's eyes on the verge of blindness, Kakashi tries to finish him off. Naruto halts Kakashi in order to speak with Sasuke, who gloats about having killed Danzō. Madara and Zetsu soon arrive and Kakashi, at Naruto's request, allows them to leave with Sasuke without incident. Kakashi tries to take out Madara with Kamui, but Madara tells him that the technique won't work on him. Madara teleports away taking Sasuke, and Zetsu leaves then as well. Kakashi collects Karin, believing she may have useful information, and revives Sai and Sakura's other escorts before going home.

Confining the Jinchūriki Arc
Back in Konoha, Kakashi speaks with Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado about all that has occurred. While reluctant to become Hokage, he agrees and accompanies them to a meeting with the Fire Daimyo. Before he can be appointed, news reaches them of Tsunade waking up, ending the proceedings. Later, while Tsunade is recovering, Kakashi speaks with her and thanks her for waking up in time, noting he is not "cut out" for the position of Hokage. Later, it was shown he was made General of the Third Division of the Allied Shinobi Forces.

Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow
Team 7 was given orders for an A-rank mission to escort the famous actress, Yukie Fujikaze, to the Land of Snow. Upon arriving in the Land of Snow, they were attacked by three Yuki ninjas Kakashi had fought years ago when he was still in ANBU. It was then revealed that Yukie was actually Koyuki Kazahana, the true heir as daimyo to the Land of Snow, who Kakashi saved years ago from her treacherous uncle, Dotō. Kakashi used his Sharingan to copy some of their ice-based technique to escape.

Realizing what Dotō was after, Kakashi switched Koyuki's crystal necklace with a fake one, in an attempt to stop him. When Koyuki was kidnapped, Kakashi, along with his team (minus Naruto), mounted a rescue attempt. Soon after Kakashi returned Koyuki's necklace to her, Dotō captured his niece, along with the necklace.

Kakashi was later intercepted by Nadare Rōga. Knowing his opponent had a high protection from ninjutsu and genjutsu, thanks to his armor, Kakashi relied on his taijutsu and defeated him with his Front Lotus. After Dotō was defeated and Koyuki took up her role as daimyo, Kakashi learned to his joy that Koyuki would be playing a lead role in a new "Icha-Icha" movie.

Guardians of the Crescent Moon Kingdom
Kakashi was sent on a mission of escorting Prince Michiru of the Land of the Moon, and his son, Hikaru, back home. He was joined by his team (plus Rock Lee). Upon arriving, it was discovered that the Land of the Moon had been taken over by one of the king's advisers, Shabadaba, with the help of Three Wandering Ninja. After getting assistance from the royal guards, who were still loyal to the king, Kakashi used an earth technique to aid in their escape.

Later, Kakashi faced off against the leader of the rogue ninja, Ishidate, but failed to keep up with his opponent, thanks to being affected by a special gas, and ultimately having his left arm petrified to stone. This let the rogue ninja capture Michiru. After his arm was cured by Sakura, Kakashi joined a circus as a diversion, while having his team enter the castle to save Michiru. He then used his Sharingan and a water jutsu to keep the enemies occupied. In the end, Kakashi overused his Sharingan, and was forced to be hospitalized for several days, thus allowing his team to have a vacation in the Land of the Moon.

Naruto: Shippūden the Movie
Kakashi only had a few cameos in Naruto Shippūden the Movie. When word reached Konoha that the legendary demon, Mōryō, had been released, and had begun its quest to control the world, Kakashi was sent out as one of the lead ninja to mount a counterattack on Mōryō's assault of stone warriors. This was merely to stall for time while Naruto, Sakura, Lee, and Neji Hyūga escorted Priestess Shion, who had the power to reseal Mōryō. Towards the end of the movie, Kakashi appeared with Shikamaru Nara, Might Guy, and Temari to support Naruto and Shion in stopping Mōryō. Here, Kakashi used his Lightning Cutter to destroy several stone warriors. At the end of the movie, Kakashi was shocked by Shion's proposal for Naruto to father her child, which Naruto unknowingly agreed to.

Naruto Shippūden 2: Bonds
When the infamous ninja of Land of the Sky attacked Konoha, Kakashi was one of the ninja who fought to protect the citizens, and fended off the attack. Later, Kakashi was put on a team with Shikamaru, Sai, and Shino Aburame to take down the enemy's ship fleet. After working out a plan with Shikamaru, the team was able to accomplish their mission. After Naruto was able to stop Shinnō and destroy his mothership, Kakashi witnessed it plummet, and merely commented that Naruto was as hyperactive as ever.

Naruto Shippūden 3: Inheritors of the Will of Fire
When word that all the Great Ninja Nations but Konoha were having wielders of their kekkai genkai abducted, Kakashi and his team were sent to investigate, following the trail of the most recent abducted man to the mountain range of Shumisen. Upon arriving, they are attacked by strange animals that injure Naruto and Sai. After the trail goes cold, Kakashi's team is forced to return to the village. Later, rogue ninja of Konoha named Hiruko appeared and announces to the world via technique that he was responsible for taking the kekkei genkai wielders and assimilated their power with his Chimera Technique to begin the Fourth Great Ninja War. Kakashi, who met Hiruko ten years prior, after obtaining Obito's Sharingan and was branded with a mind-controlling technique in a desire to obtain the Sharingan, realizes that Hiruko has not actually gained control of the kekkei genkai he stole and must require certain conditions to obtain them or he wouldn't have waited ten years to go after Kakashi. After theorizing that a solar eclipse was one of the conditions, Kakashi decides to face Hiruko. He also asks Tsunade to perform a jutsu on him. Later, after visiting Obito's grave again, Hiruko's jutsu takes effect on Kakashi, making him leave the village.

It is later revealed that Kakashi intentionally let this happen, as he had Tsunade implant a seal on him that would activate his Mangekyō Sharingan once Hiruko assimilated Kakashi. Refusing to let Kakashi sacrifice himself, Naruto went after Kakashi and managed to save him. This unfortunately allowed Hiruko a second chance to assimilate Kakashi and his Sharingan before the eclipse ended. Together Kakashi and Naruto fought Hiruko and found an opening for Naruto to unleash his Wind Release: Rasenshuriken to defeat Hiruko. As Hiruko began to die from his injuries, Kakashi went to him. Hiruko asks how he could have failed. Kakashi says that it was because he chose solitude over comrades. Realizing that Kakashi made the same mistake in trying to sacrifice himself, Kakashi remembers how Obito once showed him the way and was thankful for Naruto stopping him. The movie ends with Kakashi thinking back on his past when Obito spoke to him about refusing to abandon a comrade and he smiles at Naruto commenting on the similarities between the two. Naruto, however, gains the wrong impression, mistakenly believing that Kakashi was homosexual and making a pass at him, which is commented upon by the rest of the groups present. Kakashi hurriedly denies this and chases after the fleeing Naruto, trying to explain what he meant.

Naruto Shippūden 4: The Lost Tower
A young Kakashi is tagging along with Minato Namikaze, Shibi Aburame and Chōza Akimichi in their effort to intervene in the conflicts occuring in a place known as Rouran.

Creation and Conception
Masashi Kishimoto originally intended for Kakashi to debut in the second chapter of the Naruto manga, appearing prior to the other members of Team 7. This Kakashi was designed as a laid back, affected, skilled ninja, that ended his sentences with the polite "de gozaru" in the Japanese versions of the series, similar to Kenshin Himura in the popular manga series Rurōni Kenshin and Lance Corporal Dororo in the manga and anime Keroro Gunsou. After speaking with his editor, Kishimoto pushed this debut back, allowing him to better develop Kakashi and the rest of Team 7. Despite this, Kakashi retained many of his original personality traits, being easy-going, unfazed by the actions of others, and usually appearing to be half-asleep. Kishimoto felt that this made Kakashi a compelling leader, and helped to keep the diverse members of Team 7 unified. Because he acted as a link between the other main characters of the series, Kakashi was rarely featured prominently in promotional artwork, instead appearing in the background while his students were the focus of the scene.

When deciding upon Kakashi's name, Kishimoto considered a number of possibilities:, , , , and. He eventually decided upon Kakashi, and remained glad that he did ever since. In keeping with the meaning of his name, scarecrows were occasionally used to represent Kakashi; Naruto, for example, used a scarecrow that was dressed like Kakashi to help him train for a combat test between the two. Likewise, scarecrows were sometimes added to sceneries in which Kakashi appeared, as was the case with the cover of the Naruto manga volume three.

Trivia

 * "Kakashi" is Japanese for and "Hatake" means, so his name means . This is very fitting since many ninja in actual history (and ninja villages) posed as farmers.
 * Kakashi always places in the top three of the Naruto character popularity polls. The third Naruto databook, after compiling the results of all six polls, places Kakashi as the most popular character in the series with 48,469 votes.
 * Kakashi is one of five characters to have always stayed in the Top Ten of every Character Popularity Poll.
 * According to Pakkun in an omake chapter published in the Third Databook, Kakashi greatly dislikes being photographed without his mask.
 * Kakashi has had the misfortune of being stopped when he's about to kill a major enemy:
 * Haku took Kakashi's Lightning Cutter that was intended for Zabuza Momochi, thus killing Haku instead.
 * Kakuzu countered Kakashi's assault on Hidan.
 * Kakashi was about to kill Guren until Gozu intervened.
 * Pain's Asura Path intervened to protect his Deva Path from Kakashi.
 * In the pre-Shippūden games of the Clash of Ninja series, Kakashi can copy Sakura's "Inner Sakura" jutsu using the Sharingan. allowing him to unleash his "Inner Kakashi" not seen in any other media.
 * According to the Naruto databook:
 * Kakashi's hobby is reading (Icha Icha series).
 * Kakashi wishes to fight Minato Namikaze.
 * Kakashi's favorite foods are salt-broiled saury and miso soup with eggplant, while his least favorites are anything fried or sweet.
 * Kakashi has completed 1,141 official missions in total: 197 D-rank, 190 C-rank, 414 B-rank, 298 A-rank, 42 S-rank.
 * Kakashi's favorite word is "Teamwork"

Quotes

 * (To his students) "I'm Kakashi Hatake. Things I like and things I hate...I don't feel like telling you that. My dreams for the future...never really thought about it. As for my hobbies...I have lots of hobbies."
 * (To his students) "In the ninja world, those who break the rules are scum, that's true, but those who abandon their comrades are worse than scum."
 * (To Sasuke) "I won't allow my comrades to die. I'll protect you with my life. Trust me."
 * (To his students) "Sorry I'm late, I'm afraid I got lost on the path of life."
 * (To Naruto) "I'm telling you this because you don't get it. You think you get it, which is not the same as actually getting it. Get it?"
 * (To Orochimaru)" I don't care if you are one of the legendary Sannin, the great shinobi of legend, I swear take one more step towards Sasuke and one of us will die here!"
 * (About Obito's name engraved in the Memorial Stone) "This place makes me think about the mistakes I've made in the past... and I've made a lot."
 * (Looking at the statues of Madara and Hashirama in the Valley of the End) "Like the fate of the two who founded the village of Konoha... Naruto and Sasuke... your fates are like theirs."
 * (To Kakuzu) "The next generation will always surpass the previous one. It's one of the never-ending cycles in life."
 * (To Naruto) "You've become as strong...if not stronger than me."
 * (To Pain) "The people from this village are different from your average village. Even if it means dying, there's not a single one of us, who would sell out a comrade."
 * (To Sakumo) "Regardless of what happened, you did the best you could. I understand that now... you broke the rules for all our sakes - I'm proud of you now..."
 * (To Sasuke) "No matter how far Orochimaru fell, he still loved him... Now I know how the Third Hokage felt."