Kakashi Hatake

Name: Kakashi Hatake

Age: 29

Background:

Kakashi's background goes unexplored for the first part of the series, not being shown in any detail until Kakashi Gaiden, a six chapter series that divides the gap between Part I and II of the manga. During Kakashi's youth his father, a ninja that was highly revered in Konohagakure, abandoned a mission crucial to the village in order to save the lives of his teammates. Disgraced by the villagers and those he had saved because of the repercussions the village suffered, Kakashi's father committed suicide. Wishing to avoid his father's dishonor, Kakashi adopted the philosophy that the success of a mission must always come first, becoming humorless and by-the-book in the process.

In later years Kakashi was assigned by his teacher, Minato Namikaze, to lead a mission that would turn the war going on at the time in Konoha's favor. When his teammate, Rin, was captured by enemy ninja, Kakashi elected to leave her behind and finish the mission. His other teammate, Obito Uchiha, rejected this alternative, stating that those who abandon their friends are worse than garbage and that Kakashi's father had done the right thing by saving his teammates. Touched by Obito's words, Kakashi joined him in a rescue effort, though his left eye became damaged in the ensuing battle. After finding Rin and preparing to escape, an enemy induced cave-in crushed Obito's right half. With the cave continuing to collapse around them and Obito unable to free himself, Obito urged his teammates to save themselves. Before leaving, Obito had Rin implant his newly acquired Sharingan eye into Kakashi's damaged eye socket as a gift. His new eye in place, Kakashi fled with Rin as the cave collapsed, eventually completing their mission and forever mourning Obito's death.

Personality:

Obito's death greatly changed Kakashi, as he adopted many of Obito's traits and philosophies. Most recurring of these is his concept of teamwork: when first forming Team 7, Kakashi gauges their abilities with a bell test in which the three must capture the two bells he keeps on his person. Only by working as a team, regardless of the fact that there aren't enough bells for each of them, are they able to pass, instilling in them the concept of teamwork early on. Kakashi continues to further this philosophy for the duration of Part I upon Sasuke Uchiha, whose drive to get stronger causes him to slowly turn against his friends and teammates. Though Kakashi frequently reminds Sasuke of the importance of teamwork and tries to show him how strength can be found in friendship, he is unable to get through to him before the latter's defection.

Kakashi keeps his personal life separate from his interactions with his students, only going so far as to say that he has a number of hobbies and dreams that are "none of [their] business". He also states that everyone precious to him is dead. What is known of Kakashi's personal life is that he spends much of his free time at a memorial site where Obito's name is engraved. He tends to lose track of time when he is there, and is frequently late to his appointments as a result (another trait adopted from Obito). Similarly, Kakashi constantly keeps the lower half of his face covered, and thus the appearance of his face remains a mystery. Episode 101 of the anime, an omake episode dedicated to Team 7's efforts to unmask Kakashi, implies he is quite handsome, as two employees at a ramen shop (male and female) are left awestruck after he briefly removes his mask to eat.

One pastime that Kakashi allows his students to be aware of is his fondness for the Make Out (イチャイチャ, Icha Icha?) series of novels. The books, detailing the author's (Jiraiya) experiences in love, are runaway best-sellers within the Naruto world. When asked more specifically about the contents of the books, Masashi Kishimoto explained that Naruto's target demographic was not old enough for him to disclose the details of the plot. Kakashi is usually seen reading one of the books during events that do not require his complete attention, such as his early conversations and training sessions with Team 7. Naruto has on occasion used Kakashi's attachment to the books against him; he threatens to spoil the ending of the latest installment in the series, forcing Kakashi to shut his eyes and ears to avoid learning the secret and leaving him off guard in the process.