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Kakashi

Name: Kakashi Hatake

Alias(es): The Copy ninja, Kakashi of the Thousand Techniques, Kakashi of the Shadow Mirror

Birthday: September 15th

Age: 26-27 (in part 1) 29 (in part 2)

Hair: Silver

Eyes: One black (right), one red (left, sharingan)

Height: 5' 11"

Weight: 148.8 lbs

Blood Type: O

Family: Father, Sakumo Hatake (deceased)

Status: Jounin

Registration #: 009720

Current affiliation: Konohagakure (Hidden Leaf)

Current team: Team 7 (Kakashi Hatake, Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno, Sai)

Previous teams: Team 7 (Kakashi Hatake, Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno)
                             Team Fourth (Fourth Hokage, Kakashi Hatake, Obito Uchiha, Rin)
                             Teamed up with Yamato during his time as an ANBU

Quote: "You know, you could seriously die from that..."  "Compared to the other two, you're a little weird."

Anime: Naruto

Voice: (English) Dave Wittenberg (Japanese) Kazuhiko Inoue

History and Personality:  Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

    Background: Kakashi is a Konohagakure Jonin and the current leader of Team 7, which originally consisted of Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, and Sakura Haruno. He is known as Copy Ninja Kakashi or Sharingan Kakashi, among other variations on the theme. These varied aliases refer to the Sharingan in his left eye and his use of it in battle, which has allowed him to copy more than a thousand jutsu. Kakashi's Sharingan eye is not his own; it originally belonged to his former teammate, Obito Uchiha.

Kakashi is considered a genius shinobi; he graduated from the Ninja Academy at age 5, achieved the rank of Chunin at 6, and became a Jonin at 13. Kakashi was also an ANBU squad captain at one point. In many ways he resembles Sasuke, who has been compared to Kakashi both by Might Guy and Kakashi himself, not just for their Sharingan, but also for the fact that they share extraordinary natural talents.

Kakashi has an ongoing, albeit slightly one-sided, rivalry with Might Guy; Guy constantly proclaims that Kakashi is his rival and challenges him on occasion, but Kakashi simply acts indifferent to the matter, annoying Guy to no end. Kakashi's current record stands at 49 wins and 50 losses, though the contests that make up this figure are so varied that it is not much of an achievement on Guy's part. Nevertheless, Guy is proud of his record. The contests have included 100-meter dashes, sumo-wrestling, ramen-eating contests, and even Rock, Paper, Scissors. Guy serves as a perfect antithesis for Kakashi in personality, appearance, and technique. Unlike Kakashi, Guy has had to work hard to achieve success as a ninja and mainly uses taijutsu, which is the natural counter to the Sharingan. Kakashi, on the other hand, uses mainly ninjutsu and other techniques he copies with his Sharingan.

Kakashi's personal life appears to be as much of a mystery as the face behind the mask he has worn for most of his ninja career. He has no living family, or at least none he cares to acknowledge. He's confirmed that everyone he loves is already dead. He is immediately recognizable as the son of (or mistaken for) the "White Fang of Konoha", Sakumo Hatake. Whether the mask he wears is because of this resemblance or for some other reason is unknown. Though his face has never been seen, the special chapter "At the Ichiraku Ramen" implies that he is in fact quite handsome. The chapter details Team 7's various attempts to see what's under the mask, only to fail horribly each time. Among other things, they persuade Kakashi to eat ramen with them at the Ichiraku Ramen Bar, knowing that he would have to take off his mask. As Kakashi is about to start eating with Team 7 carefully watching him, Ino Yamanaka suddenly interrupts with a loud shriek of "Sasuke!", and proceeds to jump on Sasuke. Distracted by Ino, Team 7's attention is broken, allowing Kakashi to eat unnoticed. Only the ramen chef and his daughter, Ayame, get to see his face, and their expressions suggest that Kakashi must have been good-looking.

Though he reportedly has many hobbies, the one pastime most seen in the series is his reading of "Icha Icha Paradise", which is an adult and probably pornographic novel authored by Jiraiya. It is a runaway bestseller in the Naruto world. He reads this book when testing Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura. In the first Naruto movie, the new daimyo of the Snow country, Fujikaze Yukie, tells Team 7 that she can be both the Snow Country's monarch and an actress. The fact that she's holding an "Icha Icha Paradise" script while saying this probably means she'll be playing in an "Icha Icha Paradise" movie. Kakashi can't help but stare wide-eyed. Later on in the series, Kakashi is seen reading the second volume of the "Icha Icha" series, "Icha Icha Violence" . In episode 101, Kakashi sees an advertisement for a movie under the same title and immediately goes to reserve a ticket without a second thought. The picture shows a woman kicking a man. Naruto gives Kakashi the third installment of the "Icha Icha" series, "Icha Icha Tactics" , which has yet to be released in the Naruto world. Kakashi also frequently visits Konoha's memorial site, where the dead heroic ninja are remembered. In particular, he visits for Obito's sake.

    History: Sakumo Hatake, Kakashi's father, was a genius ninja whose skills have been compared to that of the Legendary Sannin. He was known as the "White Fang of Konoha" . During a mission, he abandoned the objective in favor of saving his comrades, which cost the village dearly. He was blamed and disgraced for the failure, even by those he had saved, and eventually he committed suicide. According to the manga, Kakashi bore witness to this event approximately five years before the events of the Kakashi Gaiden arc, making him around 7 or 8 years old at the time. After his father's suicide, Kakashi began to adhere strictly to the rules of the shinobi – in particular the rule dictating that the success of the mission must come before the well being of one's teammates. He became arrogant, humorless, and by-the-book.

Kakashi's Team at the time consisted of himself, an Uchiha named Obito, and a medic named Rin.  They were under the direct leadership of the fourth Hokage.  It is presumable that Kakashi was present at both the Yondaime's battle with Orochimaru and the sealing of the nin-tailed fox.  Kakashi was not at all close to his team, though Rin was in love with him.

Kakashi achieved Jonin status at 13 years of age, mainly because of an ongoing war that required ninja more quickly than normal. There was no elaborate ceremony, though the other members of his team (save for Obito) gave him gifts to mark the occasion. Instead, since Konohagakure was embroiled in the Third Great Ninja War, his reward was to lead his team on a sabotage mission to blow up a bridge in order to prevent enemy forces from Iwagakure from entering the Land of Grass, where the enemy could easily mount an attack on Konohagakure. Kakashi lost his left eye mid-mission while protecting Obito, and the scar on his face is a result of that injury.Shortly after the mission started, Kakashi's team encountered an enemy shinobi and his clones. Kakashi saw this as a good time to test his newly-developed jutsu One Thousand Birds, but could not find the real enemy amongst the clones. After Kakashi's shoulder was slashed by the shinobi in the confusion, the Fourth Hokage had to rescue Kakashi. The Fourth Hokage sternly told Kakashi never to use the jutsu again. Later on, after the Fourth Hokage had left the team to go to the front lines, Kakashi's teammate Rin was captured by enemy shinobi. Obito wanted to save her, but Kakashi said they had to focus on the mission, opting not to make the same mistake his father had. Though Kakashi believed that they had to complete their objective, Obito eventually convinced him that his father had done the right thing, causing Kakashi to join in on the rescue effort.

During their rescue attempt, Obito managed to activate his Sharingan and killed one of the enemy ninja, only to be crushed by rocks dislodged by another ninja shortly thereafter. Kakashi would have been crushed, but Obito pushed him out of the way. Shortly before he died, Obito had Rin (a medical ninja) implant his Sharingan eye in Kakashi's empty eye socket as a gift, thus creating Copy Ninja Kakashi. As his first act, Kakashi promptly kills the enemy ninja, using his now-perfected One Thousand Birds technique. Obito's death changes Kakashi, and Kakashi adopts many of Obito's traits, even his chronic lateness. This is revealed to stem from long periods of reflection at the Konoha memorial stone.

Kakashi also picks up Obito's concept of teamwork after his death, which is most clearly seen in the way he tests newly-graduated students hoping to become a squad under him. He uses the bell test to test his students, which requires the three students to get the two bells he keeps on his person. Only those who get a bell get to pass. Obviously, this would be difficult even with teamwork, and at least one ninja would fail regardless. However, the rule is only a ruse. The point of the test is to foster teamwork and teach the students that some rules need to be broken on occasion. Team 7 is the only team to have realized this and passed the test. Kakashi adopts a quote from Obito emphasizing teamwork, which goes as follows:

"In the world of the ninja, those who violate the rules and laws are called trash. However... those who don't take care of their comrades are worse than trash." – (Japanese version)
"In the ninja world, those who break the rules are scum, that's true. But, those who abandon their friends are worse than scum." – (adapted US anime version)
"In a ninja's world, those who violate the rules and fail to follow orders... are lower than garbage. However... those who do not care for and support their fellows... are even lower than that!" – (adapted US manga version)

    Ability: As stated by Sakura, Kakashi is the highest-ranking technique specialist in Konoha. He tends to focus mainly on ninjutsu though, using his Sharingan to copy the techniques of others and then turn them on their source. However, he is skilled in all three forms of jutsu, having shown his abilities with genjutsu in the bell test with Team 7. Though having never shown prowess in taijutsu, Naruto commented that Kakashi was more skilled than Rock Lee, who himself is extremely good at it.

Kakashi has his own personal pack of Ninken ("ninja dogs"), which he calls into battle with Summoning Technique. The dogs were apparently trained by Kakashi, and the smallest one, Pakkun, can even speak. He uses these dogs for tracking purposes. They can also be used for attack, as seen during his battle with Zabuza Momochi, in which he uses Summoning: Earth Release: Tracking Fang Technique to hold Zabuza still by having the dogs follow Zabuza through the ground by tracking the scent of Kakashi's blood on his sword.

Though Kakashi has copied the majority of his jutsu, his most powerful jutsu is one of his own creations: the One Thousand Birds (meaning, "a thousand birds"), a ball of lightning-based chakra held in the hand that can kill in a single hit. Its name comes from the high-pitched chirping sound made by the electrified chakra. Kakashi's current version is known as Lightning Cut, because he is said to have cut through a lightning bolt with it. His version is also more powerful and requires better chakra control, making the two separate, yet still similar, techniques. While the jutsu normally has the downside of leaving the user open to a counter-attack, Kakashi's Sharingan eye allows him to bypass the weakness. Kakashi was injured because of this weakness shortly after his first attempt at using the jutsu, thus prompting the Fourth Hokage to forbid him from using it, but Kakashi resumed using it after receiving the Sharingan eye.

Kakashi's Sharingan eye gives him a significant advantage in battle, as he can copy enemy techniques and use them as his own, as well as track and predict his opponent's. In addition, he can even copy a jutsu that an opponent hasn't used through the Sharingan's hypnotic and suggestive abilities. However, because it is a transplanted eye, his Sharingan eye is always active. While this would not be a problem for an Uchiha, his non-Uchiha blood causes it to use much more chakra than it should. Because of this, he covers it with his forehead protector and only reveals it for the toughest of battles. Kakashi's use of the Sharingan is nearly as good as that of Itachi Uchiha, though the aforementioned handicaps brought about by the nature of his eye make him weaker in comparison.

In Part II, Kakashi has developed his own variant of the Mangekyo Sharingan, which acts differently than Itachi's. With it, he can manipulate space-time, even to a focus, and utilize it to conduct long range attacks. In the jutsu's premiere, he managed to sever Deidara's right arm. Later on, when Deidara's clone attempted to blow himself and everyone around him up, he used the Mangekyo Sharingan to send it to another dimension. The Mangekyo Sharingan tires Kakashi considerably, and after using it up to three times he had to be hospitalized for weeks.

    Part I: (Team 7) The initial results of the Survival Training Exam for Team 7 were unpromising. Sakura's tunnel vision focus on Sasuke, Naruto's impulsive insistence on being a one man show and Sasuke's arrogant superiority complex and loner attitude resulted in a huge lack of teamwork, which led them to fail the Survival Training Exam. During lunchtime, Naruto was not to be given any food from either Sasuke or Sakura since he tried to eat it by himself during the test. But by breaking that rule, they were the first to pass the test, since the true purpose was to test their teamwork and commitment to each other; not to follow rules that would jeopardize the lives of their comrades.

The team improved their skills under Kakashi's training, which included the tree-walking exercise seen in the anime and manga. This exercise, which involves the use of chakra to walk up trees with feet alone, greatly improved the chakra control abilities of the team as they prepared for a final battle in the Land of Waves against Zabuza Momochi and his student, Haku.

Kakashi's controversial decision to permit Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura to take the Chunin exam, shortly after this encounter, surprised many, who believed that Kakashi should have given the team another year to prepare. Yet, through this decision, the team begins to truly realize their potential to be ninja. By the end of the second stage, the three exhibit signs of extensive growth from their extreme ordeals.

Kakashi, during the tree-walking exercise, is the first one to recognize Naruto's potential to surpass Sasuke and even himself in Chakra capacity. Initially considered to be weak and untalented, Naruto's growth as a ninja early in the series is attributed to Kakashi's training and influence. Naruto, in his fight against Kiba Inuzuka, quotes Kakashi's earlier admonition to him: "Use your techniques carefully, after giving some thought to what you're doing! Or it'll be used to the other person's advantage, stupid!" Naturally, Kakashi was amused.

However, despite the training that Kakashi has given to Naruto and Sakura, the one he has spent the most time in training with is Sasuke. After the second stage of the Chunin exam until Sasuke's defection to Orochimaru, Kakashi takes an active role in training Sasuke, teaching him Chidori and how to use his Sharingan, as well as attempting to seal the effects of Sasuke's Cursed Seal. Kakashi, like Sasuke, has lost many important people in his life including Obito, whose name is engraved in the memorial stone. Sasuke's Sharingan ability and natural talent, combined by a need for supervision due to the cursed seal and Orochimaru, lead Kakashi to train Sasuke for the third portion of the Chunin exam, much to Naruto's disappointment, believing that Kakashi is playing favorites with Sasuke. Kakashi's intention was for Sasuke to learn to use the Chidori to focus on protecting the important friends he has made in the present, rather than seeking vengeance for the loss of his family.

With Akatsuki seeking to capture Naruto, Jiraiya appropriates responsibility for Naruto and his training from Kakashi, while they agree that Sasuke should develop his Sharingan under Kakashi's guidance.

Following his recovery after a confrontation with Itachi Uchiha, Kakashi awakes to find that much has changed. Sasuke's frustration at his inability to kill Itachi and his growing envy of Naruto's recent growth and success leads him to demand a fight against Naruto in order to prove his superiority. The fight quickly gets out of hand and Kakashi is forced to intervene to protect Sakura from accidental harm.

Despite Kakashi's admonishment about Chidori and his need to end his quest for revenge, Sasuke's frustration and his need for revenge against Itachi lead him to leave the village and seek Orochimaru and his offer of power. Knowing that Naruto and Sasuke have the potential to kill each other, Kakashi attempts to intervene but arrives too late, finding Naruto seriously injured and Sasuke gone, having succeeded in his defection to Orochimaru. This is the first time that being late has severely cost him, though it is worth noting that Kakashi was away on a mission when Sasuke left and immediately pursued Naruto and Sasuke when he heard from Tsunade that Sasuke had left.

With Kakashi now called on by the village to take more A and S level missions due to the current manpower shortage, Sasuke's defection to Orochimaru, Naruto's three-year apprenticeship to Jiraiya, and Sakura's medical apprenticeship to Tsunade, the Fifth Hokage, it seems that Team 7 is currently defunct. His students have since become apprentices of the Sannin.

    Naruto the Movie: Kakashi played a small role in the 1st movie. He freed the Princess Fuun movies staff from being tied up by Sakura and Sasuke due to them thought to be guilty of hunting Fuun. Kakashi encountered Nadare through out the movie and killed him with a piledriver into rocks inside an avalanche and looked out at the newly created Spring Country.

    Part II: After two and a half years, Naruto and Jiraiya return to the village earlier than expected because of the impatience of Akatsuki at capturing Naruto for his Kyubi no Yoko (Nine-Tails Fox Demon). Kakashi forms a team with Naruto and Sakura again. However, the relationship between the three is no longer teacher and students, but equal teammates.

Kakashi decides to test Naruto and Sakura's skills with another bell exercise, identical to the one they underwent with Sasuke when they first met Kakashi. The exercise reveals that Naruto and Sakura's skills and abilities had improved over the years, though he is still able to keep the bells from them. However, Naruto and Sakura manage to finally retrieve the two bells by preying upon Kakashi's addiction to the "Icha Icha" ("Make-out") series of books written by Jiraiya. During the test, they try to spoil the ending of the latest volume, "Make-out Tactics", which Naruto gave to Kakashi. Kakashi is forced to both cover his ears and close his eyes, since he could read their lip movements with his Sharingan.

Rescue Gaara Arc: Upon hearing that Gaara had been kidnapped by Akatsuki, the team of Naruto, Sakura and Kakashi are sent to the village of the Sand for assistance. When they arrive, Chiyo attacks Kakashi, believing him to be the White Fang of Konoha. She soon realizes her mistake and laughs it off. After Sakura heals Kankuro from his poisoning in the hands of Sasori, Chiyo joins the three Leaf Ninjas in tracking down Gaara. However, they are confronted by Itachi Uchiha, who engages Naruto and Kakashi in combat. However, it turns out that this manifestation of Itachi was nothing more than a body substitution jutsu.

Finally arriving at the place where Gaara was being held (and meeting Team Guy there also), they break into the cave to find Deidara and Sasori standing over Gaara's limp body. Deidara creates a clay bird with his hands and takes Gaara's body, and Kakashi and Naruto chase, leaving Chiyo and Sakura to deal with Sasori. Whilst chasing Deidara, Kakashi uses his new Mangekyo Sharingan and uses it to tear off Deidara's remaining arm. Naruto advances to finish him off, but when Naruto realizes his Rasengan hits nothing more than a Deidara bunshin, he starts to lose composure and grow chakra tails. Kakashi then uses a seal that Jiraiya gave him to quickly return Naruto to normal, thus stopping Naruto's transformation at only two tails.

As Deidara tries one last attack with his explosive clay, Kakashi once again utilizes Mangekyo Sharingan to send the clay explosion to another dimension. Kakashi then collapses from exhaustion from overusing his Sharingan. The effects on his body are so severe that, in a rather hilarious moment, Kakashi has to be carried back to Konoha on Might Guy's back. As a result, Kakashi is unable to accompany Naruto and Sakura on their next mission, and Yamato temporarily replaced him as the leader of the new Team 7.

    Current Arc: Yamato has informed Kakashi of all that has occurred during the Grass Country mission. When Naruto, Sakura, and Sai visits him at the hospital, he informs them of a new training technique he created that will help them improve their strength and be able to compete with Sasuke. Specifically it was designed for Naruto. After this training, Kakashi says that Naruto's strength might surpass his own. This training involves creating his own ultimate jutsu, one that can even surpass Rasengan (or even Hiraishin). He also stated that due to this, Naruto wouldn't be super powerful within a few days like some protagonist from a novel (this likely refers to Shonen manga in general, parodying it in that the main characters frequently gain enormous amounts of power easily and in a short period of time). Before he can finish, Ino and the rest of her group come in and interrupt during the conversation so they weren't able to go on but Kakashi says they will continue later. Kakashi is also about to discuss an important matter with Asuma. Then Kurenai interrupts them, and Asuma leaves with her.

Later, when Kakashi leaves the hospital, he finally begins to explain to Naruto how he will train him to complete a new more powerful jutsu. It involves two techniques. The first technique involves 'altering the nature' of one's chakra. The second technique involves 'altering the shape' of one's chakra. He explains that the Rasengan is an example of altering the shape of chakra, and that his Chidori is an example of 'altering the nature' of chakra (in this case creating an electric current). In order for Naruto to create his new jutsu he must learn the technique of altering his chakra's nature.

Kakashi explains to Naruto that the method to speed up his training involves the use of shadow clones. Kakashi explains that because they are actual clones, Naruto will remember everything the clones do once they disperse. Kakashi then helps Naruto discover the element Naruto's chakra is based on using a special kind of paper that reacts to chakra. Handling the paper as an example, Kakashi makes it crumble, showing his affinity to lightning. When Naruto channels his chakra into the paper, it splits, indicating that he has an affinity for wind. With that, they begin training to manipulate that element. Kakashi explains to Naruto that the wind element is considered the strongest type for battle.

Kakashi begins the training by having Naruto and each of his clones hold a single leaf in their hands, and try to split the leaf with just their chakra. After some effort, only one of the 1000 clones manages to split the leaf. After seeing this, however, Kakashi remarks that this training may go faster than he thought. He also comments that Naruto is learning how to use his clones effectively, after he uses one to pick up some tips from Asuma Sarutobi, another wind-element user. He then tells Naruto to go and cut the newly created waterfall, using Yamato's wood as a floor to stand on. Once Naruto splits the whole waterfall (rather quickly according to Kakashi) Kakashi takes Naruto to get some Ramen after Naruto passes out. When finishing his meal, Kakashi states that he has something very important to show Naruto.

    Personality - Though Kakashi at first glance seems to be laid back, and even lazy, to truly make out his character one needs to "look underneath the underneath" as he is so fond of saying.  Kakashi does have a lighter side.  He is usually found smiling... or with a blank expression; he likes to tease both his comrades and his students, and his hobby is reading.. ahem... "adult" manga in public. He is also nearly always late leading many not to take him seriously.  However, Kakashi is a true genius and is very observant and powerful.  He also generally has something witty or full of depth to say in battle.  So he is laid back, but deadly... and really he is a very dark and private person.  Kakashi's past is filled with pain and he blames himself for every fallen comrade.  Though he acts light hearted and careless he is actually full of deep sorrow that he keeps hidden most of the time.

Relationships: Kakashi seems to make an effort not to form close friendships, though he does occasionally "hang out" with his fellow Jounin - Asuma, Kurenai, And Guy (though not with Guy be choice...).  He has a sort of rivalry with Guy, but that is mostly one sided (on Guy's part).  However, as Kakashi often humors him perhaps he enjoys the friendly competition as well.

    Kakashi was not close to his first team because he believed in duty and following rules above all else.  However, once they were taken from him he grew to deeply care for the memories he has of them.

    Of his students Kakashi spends the most time training Sasuke, but this is because he recognizes himself in Sasuke and recognizes the danger of the young man's desire for revenge.  He is trying to prevent Sasuke from walking a very dark path.

Techniques:

The Sharingan  is a special type of pupil condition that naturally occurs in all members of the Uchiha clan, though not all of them gain the ability to use it. Itachi hints at some dark ultimate purpose behind the Sharingan, which both he and Sasuke apparently know, but the series has yet to reveal exactly what that purpose is. The Sharingan is thought to be descended from the Byakugan, but grants the user different abilities and a different insight, which includes the ability to observe the movement and flow of chakra (although not to the same extent and clarity as the Byakugan).

The Sharingan's first and most well known ability is to memorize any technique that it witnesses. It can memorize ninjutsu, genjutsu, and taijutsu with perfect accuracy, allowing the user to use the techniques as his own. In order to reproduce copied jutsu, however, one must have the necessary skill or ability to perform them. A prime example is Rock Lee's brand of taijutsu. While Sasuke was able to copy some of Lee's moves, they put a much more significant strain on him since he hasn't trained nearly as hard as Lee has. In addition to physical skill, the Sharingan cannot allow the user to reproduce any other bloodline abilities or summon a creature the user has not made a contract with, because the user of the Sharingan has to have the same blood as the one they are copying.

The Sharingan also grants the user incredible clarity of perception, allowing them to track fast moving objects with great clarity and predict their opponent's action. This perception is so great that it can even see through genjutsu and reverse it, depending upon the skill of the user.

Finally, the Sharingan is capable of a unique brand of hypnosis that involves suggesting actions and thoughts to the opponent. When used in conjunction with the other aspects of the Sharingan, this allows the user to copy and use an opponent's technique before they can actually execute it.

The Sharingan does not automatically appear from birth in a user; instead, it will usually appear when the user is in a life-threatening situation, where the power of the Sharingan could save the user. After this first appearance, the user can then call up the Sharingan any time he or she pleases. (Due to its unique nature, Kakashi's Sharingan is "permanently on", and thus he usually covers it to conserve chakra.) The power of the Sharingan is judged through the number of tomoe in the eye, known as the "tomoe seal". It is not unheard of for a Sharingan user to have different amounts of tomoe in each eye. For example, Sasuke's Sharingan initially had two tomoe in one eye and one in the other. Upon his first regular activation of it, it had evolved to two tomoe in each eye, then three during his battle with Naruto at the Valley of the End. A fully-matured Sharingan has three tomoe in each eye.

It is possible to transplant Sharingan eyes from one person to another, as occurred with Kakashi and his deceased comrade Obito. However, transplanted eyes do not work as well in a non-Uchiha body, causing more strain on the user, as is the case with Kakashi - extended use of his Sharingan will cause him to collapse. Uchiha clan members are not burdened with this weakness; while activation of the Sharingan does consume chakra, the drain is so small as to be almost insignificant. Itachi in particular seems to have no trouble keeping his Sharingan activated near-constantly.

Characters who currently possess the Sharingan include Sasuke Uchiha, Itachi Uchiha, and Kakashi Hatake. Kakashi's eye was given to him by Obito Uchiha, one of his teammates in his original three-man ninja team. Obito developed it in battle against rival Rock shinobi and during this battle Kakashi lost his left eye when he was attacked, hence his scar. Near the end of the battle Obito's right side is crushed under a giant rock, and as his last act Obito had Rin, a medical ninja, remove his left eye and implant it in Kakashi's left eye, thus allowing Kakashi to use the Sharingan even though he does not have Uchiha blood. This is also why only his left eye is a Sharingan eye.

Kakashi's Mangekyo Sharingan - Kakashi Hatake developed his own version of the Mangekyo Sharingan, presumably during the timeskip. Unlike Itachi's version, which is used to destroy a target, Kakashi uses his to create a localized interdimensional space-time warp, allowing him to target any object and send it to another dimension, achieving the same result. Kakashi used this new jutsu to warp a segment of Deidara's right arm into a different dimension. He subsequently uses it again in Chapter 278 to counter Deidara's ultimate move, which would otherwise level the entire forest they were fighting in. The attack requires considerable effort to aim precisely and appears to leave Kakashi's chakra significantly drained; he collapses after using the technique three times (compared to his other original move, Raikiri, which he can use four times a day).

The appearance of the pupil and tomoe in Kakashi's Mangekyo Sharingan differ from that of Itachi's; Kakashi's looks more like a pinwheel. Before this was shown, it was thought that one had to kill their best friend to acquire the Mangekyo Sharingan. Kakashi stated long before developing his Mangekyo Sharingan that everyone close to him was already dead. The only known now-deceased person that could be described as his "closest friend" was Obito, who died shortly after Kakashi received his Sharingan eye. While Kakashi may have felt responsible for Obito's death at the time, he certainly didn't kill Obito himself, and it wouldn't explain why it took him so many years to obtain the Mangekyo Sharingan. Thus, the means behind its development and the actual meaning of the "requirement" are currently unknown.

One Thousand Birds -

• Name: Chidori, 千鳥 , literally "One Thousand Birds"
• Type: A-Rank, Offensive, Short range (0-5m)
• Users: Kakashi Hatake, Sasuke Uchiha

Simply known as the Chidori, this jutsu is Hatake Kakashi's only original technique, though he now uses an S-ranked version known as the Raikiri. He created it around the time he was promoted to Jonin, and later taught it to Sasuke Uchiha. This jutsu channels a large concentration of chakra to the user's arm. The amount of chakra is so large that it becomes visible to the naked eye as a ball of electricity. In fact, the technique actually alters the nature of the user's chakra, effectively converting it into electricity. Once the technique is completed, the users charges forward and stabs their enemy with it. As a side effect of the conversion process, as well as the large amount of chakra, this technique makes a loud noise similar to many birds chirping, hence the name. This technique is classified as an assassination technique, despite the loud noise it produces.

Because of the high concentration of chakra, and the speed at which the attack is done, the Chidori can break through almost any defense; however, the speed at which the attack must be done, combined with the fact that the user must run in a straight line, causes a tunnel vision-like effect for the user. This allows their enemy to easily counter the attack, making it a potentially lethal move for the user. Though this drawback would seem to make learning the technique fairly pointless, Sasuke and Kakashi are able to avoid the drawback because of their Sharingan eyes, which take in every detail regardless of how fast the user is moving. As an additional drawback, the large amount of chakra required limits its use to a few times a day (two for Sasuke, four for Kakashi). These numbers are undoubtedly higher in Part II. Sasuke can manage one more than normal with the use of his cursed seal. Should the user attempt to go beyond that limit, all of their chakra will be drained, and their very life force could go along with it, killing them.

Lightning Cut -

• Name: Raikiri, 雷切, literally "Lightning Cut", Viz "Lightning Blade/Thrust", English TV "Lightning Blade" (a.k.a. "Lightning Edge")
• Type: S-rank, Offensive, Short range (0-5m)
• User: Kakashi Hatake

This is an enhanced form of the Chidori with the same, albeit more powerful, effect. Kakashi is the only one able to use it, and it is named as such because he once cut a lightning bolt with it. Raikiri requires a larger amount of chakra and better chakra control. Because of this, it is an S-rank jutsu, while the Chidori is an A-rank jutsu.

Spiraling Sphere -

• Name: Rasengan, 螺旋丸, literally "Spiraling Sphere"
• Type: A-rank, Offensive, Short range (0-5m)
• Users: Fourth Hokage, Jiraiya, Naruto Uzumaki, Kakashi Hatake

The Rasengan is an A-ranked technique invented by the Fourth Hokage after three years of training. It requires a very high level of chakra control. For training purposes, teaching the technique is broken into three steps. First, the user has to learn to pop a water balloon with their chakra. Second, they must do the same with a solid rubber ball. Finally, the user has to form a complete Rasengan by combining what they learned in the previous two steps. A regular balloon is often used to act as the shell. In Part II, Naruto develops an improved version known as the Great Ball Spiraling Sphere.

The Rasengan incorporates the chakra control learned from the tree-climbing and water-walking exercises to create a ball of concentrated, spinning chakra in the user's hand that is slightly larger than a baseball. The Rasengan is somewhat akin to the Chidori, but arguably stronger and less dangerous to use. Additionally, the Rasengan is rarely fatal, though the target of it could certainly be killed by whatever they crash into after they are propelled by the Rasengan. Also, unlike the Chidori, it alters the shape of the user's chakra, not its nature. According to Kakashi, it represents the highest level of such an alteration.

The Rasengan requires no hand seals to perform, instead relying entirely on the chakra control of the user to create a spinning ball of chakra in one hand. Once the user creates a stable Rasengan, however, it becomes self-sustaining, so the user does not need to provide any more chakra after forming it. The force of the spinning chakra grinds into whatever it touches, causing major damage. The user can also release the spinning chakra, creating a violent explosive force at the point of contact. The one drawback of the Rasengan, if it can be considered as such, is that it requires great chakra control. Of course, this will not be a drawback if the user has learned the technique, because they already possess the necessary chakra control. Unlike the Chidori, there is no definite limit to the amount of times this technique can be used in a day. Because it uses far less chakra in comparison, it doesn't carry the same over-use risk as the Chidori, either.

Despite the Rasengan being a one-handed technique, Naruto actually uses three or more hands to form it (his one hand holds and spins the chakra while any number of clones create a shell with their hands). When Naruto accesses his tailed transformation states, he can form the Rasengan with one hand by using the Kyubi chakra to form the shell, which likely provides better control and power. It also forms irregularly and grows as it mixes with the Kyubi's chakra, giving it a purple color.

The anime makes light of the Rasengan by making it an "all-purpose jutsu". During one episode, Naruto uses it to mix the ingredients for noodles quickly and evenly. In episode 177, Jiraiya uses it to create a path through a maze of houses, in order to see through everything behind the walls (inadvertently blasting through a woman's bathroom), and also use it to propel a boat; in this episode, Naruto even commented it had become a "cheap trick" (even though he also used it to propel the boat). In episode 194 of the anime, Naruto actually throws a Rasengan to free himself and his friends from a mansion. The last event is a significant deviation on the standard Rasengan, since it is normally hand-held, and may not be canon since these are filler episodes.

As Kakashi recently demonstrated, he can also use the Rasengan. He also explains that the Rasengan is an incomplete technique, since the Fourth Hokage originally planned on combining his own nature manipulation with it. Such a feat, however, proved too difficult for both him and Kakashi. Naruto, however, might be capable of doing so.

Shadow Clone Technique -

• Name: Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, 影分身の術, literally "Shadow Clone Technique" or "Shadow Replication Technique", Early Viz "Art of the Doppelganger", Recent Viz "Art of the Shadow Doppelganger", English TV "Shadow Clone Jutsu", UK DVD "Art of Shadow Body Splitting"
• Type: B-rank, Supplementary
• Users: Naruto Uzumaki, most (if not all) Jonin-level ninja

Unlike the normal Clone Technique, this jutsu creates actual clones of the user. The user's chakra is evenly distributed among every clone, which can be dangerous if the user is low on chakra or makes too many clones, such as Naruto does with with Multiple Shadow Clone Technique, this jutsu's enhanced form. Naruto himself need not worry about running out of chakra, since his chakra supply is almost unlimited because of his biju, the Kyubi. Even without the Kyubi's chakra, Naruto can make quite a few clones, but nowhere near on the level he can when he has access to Kyubi.

Like other clones, they can perform jutsu and cause damage to their target. The clones will disperse when enough damage has been done. Unlike other clones, they can't be detected by the Byakugan because the clones have the exact same amount of chakra and aren't made of any other material, making them indistinguishable from the genuine article. The Sharingan, however, can tell the difference, likely through an application of its analytical properties and attention to detail.

Finally, any experience the clones gain during their existence is transferred to the user once they are dispersed. This makes the technique ideal for spying, since the user can simply send a clone to spy on a target, and that clone need not return on foot to pass the information back to the user. It's also useful for training purposes, but far more difficult since a large number of clones are needed to make a significant difference in the training time.

Earth Release: Inner Decapitation Technique -

• Name: Doton: Shinjo Zanshu no Jutsu, 土遁・心中斬首の術, literally "Earth Release: Inner Decapitation Technique"; English TV "Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu"
• Type: D-rank, Supplementary, Short range (0-5m)
• Users: Kakashi Hatake, Third Hokage, Kabuto Yakushi