Naruto: Why Is Kakashi Always Late?
Last updated February 8, 2022
Gather around Naruto fans! It's time to talk about the most beloved sensei of all time, Kakashi Hatake. Kakashi is one of Konoha's most talented ninjas and has been so since a very young age. Kakashi earned top grades at the Ninja Academy, earning him recognition as a prodigy and the best of his generation. Ultimately, he became very popular amongst his peers.
Kakashi graduated from the Academy at age 5, at the top of his class in a single year. At age 6, Konoha officials allowed Kakashi to compete in the Chunin Exams with his team, which he passed by defeating Might Guy and became a chunin on his first try. During the Third Great Shinobi War, Kakashi was 12 years old and was promoted to the rank of Jonin, making him one of the youngest to achieve this feat.
The young shinobi was shunned by people, with many believing he purposely killed his teammate Rin to prevent her from leaking information, earning him the nickname "Friend-Killer Kakashi." Kakashi was even made part of the Anbu Black Ops at a young age. However, due to losing two of his teammates on separate missions, Kakashi went into depression at a young age.
Despite his dark past, Kakashi became a splendid Leaf shinobi and was eventually assigned to Team 7, consisting of Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, and Sakura Haruno. However, as fans have noticed, despite being such a capable leader and sensei, Kakashi was often late to training sessions with Team 7, often making obvious excuses for his tardiness. Well, Kakashi had his reasons. Read on to find out.
Why Was Kakashi Sensei Always Late?
Kakashi Hatake, as a teacher, has always emphasized the importance of teamwork. The leaf shinobi learned the value of cooperation and friendship from his former teammate and best friend, Obito Uchiha. Obito died saving Kakashi (or so we thought, but that's a whole other issue) from a giant boulder that crushed half of the former's body. As he lay dying, Obito gave his left Sharingan to Kakashi as a parting gift earning him the nickname Kakashi of the Sharingan.
Obito and Rin's death weighed heavily on Kakashi, who, despite his talent, was still just a child. Not to mention his tragic past with his father Sakumo, who took his own life after the village shunned him for saving the lives of his teammates rather than completing his assignment. In addition, Kakashi also lost his team leader and sensei, Minato Namikaze, who died protecting Konoha from the Nine-Tails Fox's attack.
Despite all he has been through, Kakashi is regarded as one of Konoha's most gifted ninjas and is seen as a capable leader and sensei. However, during his training missions with Team 7, he appears to be rather laidback and has a habit of showing up late for training sessions. It turns out Kakashi's reasons for being late are more sympathetic rather than funny. Every morning, he spends hours at the Konoha memorial for dead shinobi, regularly staring at the names of his late friends: Obito Uchiha, Rin Nohara, Minato Namikaze, and all other comrades whom he has lost over the years.
Kakashi has one of the saddest backstories in the series, with the only exceptions, probably Naruto and Sasuke. We bet you weren't expecting Kakashi's reasons to be this emotional since his excuses for being late are often silly. Don't lose heart, though; Kakashi does become the Sixth Hokage of Konohagakure after all.
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