#or that he was targeted for assassination by danzo as a teenager

[panharmonium]

i never really got over hearing danzo say this.  

the fact that he specifically targets kakashi because kakashi has no one to protect him.  because kakashi doesn’t have the power of the uchiha clan to back him up, because he doesn’t have any parents to take care of him, because he doesn’t have any teachers to protect him, because he doesn’t have anyone who will ask inconvenient questions or kick up a fuss when he “accidentally” turns up dead.  danzo is so wicked and dishonorable that he won’t even confront the uchiha directly to steal their hereditary jutsu - the uchiha are too risky for him to attack; they’re a powerful community and there’s strength in their numbers, but kakashi - kakashi is the only person possessing a sharingan who isn’t afforded the protection of that community.  he’s a vulnerable teenager - not because he’s weak (even danzo isn’t foolish enough to look at kakashi and call him “weak”), but because he’s alone.  he has no adults to take care of him, no family community to rally around him.  he’s easy prey, in danzo’s eyes.

what cowardice, to go after a child like that.  

[95jezzica]

Crediting Kakashi

Hatake Kakashi deserves more credit than he’s given. There’s no arguing he messed up at times, but you also can’t deny he has lived a rough life and still managed to do the best with what he got. 

By now we all likely know what Kakashi’s childhood was like, but I still think it’s worth reminding people that he was an orphan who lived by himself by the age of 6 years old. He was just 14 years old when Minato (the last resemble to family he had left at the time) was killed. Everyone thought Obito was dead, and Rin definitely was. Kakashi was just 14 years old, but already a recognized Anbu rumored/known in Konoha as “friend-killing Kakashi” despite it not having been his fault that Rin died. 

After Minato’s death Danzo actively targeted a vulnerable Kakashi and manipulated him to almost betray the village. Kakashi backed out and helped to stop the assassination attempt on the 3rd Hokage, but then he had to watch as the 3rd Hokage did NOTHING about everything Danzo had done - not even after Danzo actively began to target Kakashi’s life for the Sharingan. Kakashi had to practically beg the 3rd to let him save Tenzo/Yamato from Danzo. 

The village constantly screwed Kakashi over, over, and over throughout the years - (mostly the 3rd Hokage in Kakashi’s teenage years tbh) - but despite depression and probably a lot of anger he stayed loyal through it all. He stayed. I wouldn’t have blamed Kakashi if he hadn’t.  

Team 7 was likely the best thing to have happened to Kakashi, and without doubt they helped him a lot - but he was also still a depressed and traumatized adult made into the teacher of the most difficult team they could possibly have given him. They gave Kakashi the traumatized genocide-survivor, the orphaned boy the entire village hated, and a girl who reminded him of Rin almost a painful amount.

Did Kakashi make mistakes? Absolutely, but considering how he was constantly screwed over by the village I’m surprised it didn’t turn out worse. He was out on a mission when Sasuke left the village, but Kakashi probably blamed himself for not being there to stop him. Can you imagine what Kakashi must have thought when he found Naruto’s body out in the rain after he finally caught up? I honestly don’t know what Kakashi would have done if Sasuke had chosen to kill Naruto instead of just leaving. 

Kakashi spent years as a loyal and incredible strong ninja for Konoha, but perhaps even more importantly a beloved and respected sensei. Fans have spent a lot of time discussing Kakashi’s treatment of Sakura, and I agree he made mistakes, but truth to be hold we don’t actually have any canon information about what the time-skip looked like for them other than that Tsunade sent Kakashi on a LOT of missions while she trained Sakura. All I’m saying is that Kakashi can’t have been an absolutely horrible teacher to Sakura either, because Sakura clearly still likes him and respects him a lot, and Kakashi clearly cares a lot about both Sakura and Naruto as well. Sakura’s and Naruto’s children call him “old man” and “uncle”, guys. 

After everything in the 4th Ninja War Kakashi then also spent even more years doing an incredible job as a Hokage despite how much he hated the job. He rebuilded Konoha from the ground before handing over Konoha into Naruto’s care. 

Kakashi has many faults, but in the end of the day he did amazing with the plate he got, despite depression and a life full of traumas and being a bit of a self-sacrificing idiot. He’s a genius who mastered the Mangekyo sharingan - a feat not even many Uchiha were able to do - all the while keeping a kind heart and trying to protect his loved ones. 

Hatake Kakashi did an amazing job, despite his mistakes. 

There are a lot more I could mention about Kakashi, but this post is already getting long and the bottomline is that he has done an incredible job throughout the years, and he deserves a lot more credit for the things he has done for the Naruto universe than he gets from the fandom.