Team 7 (Kakashi)

Team Kakashi, originally known as Team 7, is a team led by Kakashi Hatake and was formed after the members became genin. The members were selected in order to balance out their talents: Naruto Uzumaki, the worst student in his graduating class, would benefit from Sakura Haruno's intelligence and Sasuke Uchiha's proficiency with ninjutsu. Sakura would similarly benefit from her more battle-capable team-mates, whereas Sasuke would benefit from being forced to work with others.

It would be later revealed that Kakashi was chosen specifically to be the leader of Team 7 for two reasons: Being the student of Naruto's father and given the task of keeping the Nine-Tails at bay while unknowingly honouring the promise that Hiruzen Sarutobi made to Itachi Uchiha in secret to keep his younger brother safe and kept from going down a dark path. In time while training them, sharing similar traits to the latter, Kakashi noted the rivalry between Naruto and Sasuke to be similar of that to Obito Uchiha and himself.

When Sasuke defected from Konoha at the end of Part I, siding with Orochimaru to kill Itachi whom he believed killed their family, Team 7 was disbanded for the next two and a half years. By the time of their reunion at the start of Part II, though still technically a genin, Naruto gained new strength under the guidance of Jiraiya while Sakura's education under Tsunade made her both battle-capable and a skilled medical ninja. The two are reunited with Kakashi and are reformed as Team Kakashi to go and rescue Gaara from the Akatsuki's Sasori and Deidara. In the process, from a dying Sasori, the group gains intel that Sasori was to meet a spy he placed in Orochimaru's inner circle. However, with Kakashi wounded from the fight, Team Kakashi was temporary placed under the command of Yamato with the addition of Sai to fit the spot left by Sasuke. Though Sai was given a mission by his superior Danzō Shimura to assassinate Sasuke, his new-found resolve to help Naruto and Sakura bring their former friend back to Konoha gained him acceptance as a member of Team Kakashi.

During the second attempt to find Sasuke after news of him defeating Orochimaru reached them, Team Kakashi forms an Eight Man Squad with Team Kurenai to find him. However, interference from Tobi causes the group to lose Sasuke's trail as he was spirited off by the masked ninja. After Tobi reveals the Konoha Council being the ones who forced Itachi to kill the Uchiha Clan, Sasuke affiliates himself with the Akatsuki and becomes an international criminal. When news of Sasuke's attack on the younger brother of the Fourth Raikage reaches Konoha, Danzō who had been appointed Candidate Hokage, declared Sasuke a missing-nin who was to be killed on sight.

During the Kage Summit, despite Naruto's attempt to convince the Kage to spare Sasuke, Sakura and Kakashi separately attempt to kill their former team-mate to prevent future implications. However, the two were horrified to find that Sasuke has become completely heartless as he reveals his intention to destroy Konoha itself. By that time, Naruto is confronted by Tobi, who reveals Sasuke's new target of his hatred to the boy and the revelation Naruto and Sasuke are destined to clash as they inherited the Will of Fire and the Curse of Hatred. Arriving in time to save Sakura from their former friend, seeing that he is on verge of passing the point of no return as the Fourth Shinobi World War begins, Naruto resolves that fighting Sasuke is the only way to stop him even if means they both die in the process.

However, at the Fourth Shinobi World War reaches its climax with Tobi exposed as Obito Uchiha as he and Madara Uchiha resurrected the Ten-Tails, Sasuke's final encounter with Itachi caused him to question his resolve. Meeting with a reincarnated Hashirama Senju and learning what it means to be a shinobi, Sasuke chooses to protect Konoha like his brother had as he rejoins his former team-mates to aid in the fight against Madara and the Ten-Tails.

Missions

 * Find the Lost Pet Tora
 * Rank: D-rank
 * Status: Success

Team 7 was assigned to find Tora, a lost cat owned by the Fire Daimyō's wife, Madam Shijimi.


 * Escort the Bridge Builder
 * Rank: C-rank (technically A-rank)
 * Status: Success

Per Naruto's request for a more challenging mission, Team 7 was assigned to escort Tazuna to the Land of Waves. Along the way, they discovered that Tazuna had assassins after him and needed protection while he finished building a bridge. Tazuna did not have enough money to pay for bodyguarding services, and so lied to Team 7 that he only needed escorts. Despite the difficulty of this assignment Team 7 stayed by Tazuna's side until the bridge was completed, successfully protecting him from Gatō and his men.
 * Find Genmai (OVA only)
 * Rank: D-rank (turned B-rank)
 * Status: Success

In the anime OVA special, Team 7 had to search for a man from the Inaho Village, Genmai who was kidnapped by a group of missing-nin and their leader, Kajika. Kakashi gets trapped in a spell technique with Genmai after finding him and Kajika and his group kidnap Sakura after a little scuffle with Naruto and Sasuke. Naruto and Sasuke defeat Kajika and his team-mates and Team 7 return Genmai to his son.


 * Miscellaneous D-Rank Missions
 * Rank: D-rank

When Team 7 returned from the Land of Waves, they were given a number of uneventful assignments. These included pulling weeds, picking up litter, and walking dogs. Kakashi noted that their team-work has deteriorated during these missions.


 * Stop Gaara/Find Sasuke
 * Rank: A-rank
 * Status: Success

During the Invasion of Konoha in Part I, Kakashi assigned Naruto, Sakura, Shikamaru, and Pakkun to find Sasuke and Gaara. This stated to be the first A rank mission since the Land of Waves.


 * Escorting Condor (Anime only)
 * Rank: Unknown
 * Status: Success

In the anime, Team 7 are assigned to take a runaway ostrich to his home despite a misadventure at a village.


 * Complete Paw Encyclopaedia (Anime only)
 * Rank: D-rank
 * Status: Success

In the anime, Team 7 was assigned by Nekobaa to obtain Nekomata's paw print. This mission was meant for Sasuke Uchiha when Itachi Uchiha assigned Sasuke a small game to get all the ninja cat paw prints. However it was revealed that Itachi wanted Nekomata to test Sasuke when he's older if he's strong enough.


 * Konoha/Suna Teamwork (Anime only)
 * Rank: Unknown
 * Status: Success

In the anime, Team 7 are sent on a mission with Gaara, having become a new person since his defeat by Naruto, to stop a group of bandits located between Konoha and Suna, resulting in the first time that two villages work together after the Invasion of Konoha.


 * Retrieve the Golden Statue (Anime only)
 * Rank: Unknown
 * Status: Success

In the anime, Team 7 was assigned to retrieve a golden statue of a feudal princess that was taken by a band of thieves from a Feudal Princess. Though Naruto and Sasuke retrieve the statue, Sakura gets taken hostage as her team-mates got their hands stuck. Though Naruto and Sasuke defeat the bandits in their condition, dismay of being stuck together for a few more days, the mission success despite the statue being damaged.


 * Escorting Naho (Anime only)
 * Rank: Unknown
 * Status: Success

Naruto and Sakura are assigned to escort a relative of the Fire Daimyō named Naho to Shizume village. Though Naho wanted him to escort her, Sasuke went with Kakashi to investigate an international criminal named Sadai, who kidnapped Naho and defeated Naruto and Sakura. However, when Sasuke appears and takes his insults of being weak and of his clan personal, he beats Sadai to an inch of his life before Kakashi restrains him. Sasuke leaves for Konoha as Naruto and Sakura complete their mission.


 * Protect the Runner (Anime only)
 * Rank: B-rank (possibly A-rank as Tsunade stated)
 * Status: Success

In the anime, Team 7 was hired to protect Idate Morino during his race.


 * Rescue the Kazekage
 * Rank: A-rank (S-rank in the anime)
 * Status: Success

At the start of Part II, Team Kakashi was sent to help Sunagakure rescue Gaara from Akatsuki. Sasori, one of the Akatsuki members, was killed during the course of the mission, and Gaara was saved.


 * Meet Sasori's Spy
 * Rank: A-rank
 * Status: Failure

Using information gained from Sasori, the new Team Kakashi (led by Yamato) went to Kusagakure to meet with a spy in Orochimaru's ranks. Although hoping it would give them a clue regarding Sasuke's location, Sai had a secret mission to assassinate Sasuke. Upon infiltrating the hideout to retrieve Sasuke, fight ensues and Sasuke leaves with Kabuto and Orochimaru.


 * Protect the Twelve Guardian Ninja Tombs (Anime only)
 * Rank: B-rank
 * Status: Failure

In the anime, Team Kakashi and temporary member Sora were assigned to find and stop thieves robbing the tombs of former Twelve Guardian Ninja. They were unable to stop the grave robbers or reacquire the stolen bodies in time.


 * Back-up Team 10
 * Rank: Unknown
 * Status: Success

Following Naruto's completion of the Wind Release: Rasenshuriken, Team Kakashi was sent to help Team 10 fight Akatsuki members Hidan and Kakuzu. Their combined efforts were enough to kill the latter.


 * Hunt for Itachi and Sasuke
 * Rank: Unknown
 * Status: Failure

As part of an Eight Man Squad, Team Kakashi started a mission to capture the missing-nin Itachi Uchiha. It called for the squad to split up and search the area for any sign of Itachi. However, upon seeing Deidara's suicide explosion, the team regrouped, with Kiba finding Sasuke's scent. With Sasuke so close, the squad's primary mission of finding Itachi was replaced with finding Sasuke instead. While being stalled by Akatsuki member Tobi, the team learned that Itachi had died in battle with Sasuke. They tried to reach Sasuke before Tobi could, but failed and were unable to rediscover Sasuke's trail.


 * Protect the Tsuchigumo clan Kinjutsu (Anime only)
 * Rank: Unknown
 * Status: Success

In the anime, Team Kakashi is sent on a mission to assist the near-extinct Tsuchigumo clan protect its destructive and forbidden technique from bandits as per a peace agreement made between the clan and the Third Hokage.


 * Gather Information About the Massacre of Tonika Village (Anime only)
 * Rank: Unknown
 * Status: Success

In the anime, Team Kakashi is sent on a mission to find out the reasons and guarantors behind the massacre of the Tonika Village. The culprit is very fast identified as Kabuto Yakushi using a forbidden reanimation jutsu. After the team sends out for reinforcement, the rest of the Konoha 11, as well as their teachers come to their aid, leading the mission to a success since the culprits either flee or are killed during the confrontation.

Trivia

 * As Kakashi noted, the members of original Team 7 share group dynamics similar to that of himself and his team-mates when he was a member of Team Minato. Even Team 7's photograph is nearly identical to Team Minato's photo. But while Kakashi trained all three members of the original group in Part I, he only aided Naruto in perfecting the Rasengan in Part II while his former team-mate Obito helped Sasuke to perfect his Mangekyō Sharingan.
 * Due to Sasuke's defection, all four original members of Team Kakashi have not been seen together for 308 chapters, from chapter 176 to chapter 484. Episode-wise, it is for 326 episodes, from episode 108 to Shippūden episode 214.
 * The three original members were trained by the Sannin in the gap between Parts I and II, something which Sakura mentions in chapter 631 though she had not learned a Summoning Technique.
 * Despite being the only Team 7 member who did not make it to the final round of the her first Chūnin Exam, Sakura is the only one promoted to chūnin by Part II, where as Naruto and Saskue making it to the final round are still genin and their absence from later Chūnin Exams.
 * Interestingly, in a way, all three members represent the 3 primary colours, red (Sakura's clothing), blue (Sasuke's shirt) and yellow (Naruto's hair).