Thursday, November 4, 2010

Kakashi Hatake

Kakashi Hatake (はたけカカシ, Hatake Kakashi) is one of the main protagonists in the anime and manga series Naruto. He is a Konohagakure jōnin, a former ANBU, the leader of Team 7, and the only son of Sakumo Hatake. 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).

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.

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.

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