 He lost his father, lost his best friend, lost his lover, and he lost his mentor, and later he even lost his patented sharingan. Kakashi Hatake was born in the hidden leaf. His mother unknown and his father Sakumo Hatake, Konoha's white fang, a ninja who was once as powerful as the Sanyin themselves, but later disparaged by his comrades for choosing to save a friend over the mission. Kakashi had the intelligence and ability of attuning at 5 years old. When he was an academy student, he entered the Anbu Black Ops at 12 years old and was by far the most powerful ninja in his class, but he was distant. Kakashi didn't say much and he didn't care about much. But this is because Sakumo committed suicide and Kakashi didn't have much of a childhood. He didn't get to enjoy life as a kid and he didn't carry the same innocence that the other kids carried. He was forced and forced himself to grow quickly, almost like he was running away. But it seemed like that would only make things worse. The self dependent Chunin was later forced to have teammates, Obito Uchiha and Rin Nohara, and though he didn't show it he cared for them. Then Obito's life was quickly taken by the hands of falling rocks. Obito gifted his friend with his left eye, the Eye of the Sharingan, as a dying gift, and with the final breath Obito asked Kakashi to take care of Rin, who carried a two-tailed beast inside of her. Rin later forced Kakashi to kill her, freeing her from the misery of having a beast live inside of her, and have people hunt her down for it. And though Kakashi denied her request, Rin threw herself in the way of Kakashi's attack, as he impaled her heart with a lightning blade. And with this, the young Jonid had lost both of his teammates, his father, at the ripe young age of 12. Again, 12 years of age and he had already lost his father, his friend, and what many believed to be his lover. Kakashi would become depressed and later joined the Anbu Black Ops. In the Anbu, the Jonin released his rage and emotion through his hands and through his talent. He displayed a cold-heartedness and ruthlessness in the Anbu, and he wouldn't talk to his teammates for days at a time. But his successes were noted, as he rapidly rose through the Anbu's ranks. Kakashi's hardships would not end there. When the nine-tailed fox was set on the village, the Anbu was prohibited to defend the village, only being deployed to protect its citizens. The demon fox was slain, but at the hands of his mentor, Minato, the fourth Hokage, another person who Kakashi had opened himself up to, and that he would lose. At this point in the tale it becomes Naruto's story, Kakashi's grievance had not ended. The copycat ninja was chosen by the third Hokage to be his right hand, who was later killed by Orochimaru, and finally Kakashi loses his sharingan at the hands of Madara Uchiha. Kakashi's story is one of incredible resiliency, but a story of faith and teamwork as well, and I believe that two different things motivate the copycat ninja, the belief of his own abilities and later friendship. I call his story one of faith, but one of the saddest stories in the Naruto universe. As Kakashi could have blamed the leaf for ostracizing his father, he could have turned against them for forcing his father to take his own life, but somewhere inside of him, Kakashi had forgiveness, and would later lay his life down for the leaf, even assuming the position of its leader, the sixth Hokage. And though Kakashi blames himself, he holds the burden of these people, which propels him forward to take on each day as they would, and in their honor, the mindset and the teamwork of the White Fang, Obito's hard work and love of life, Rin's kindness and love, and Minato's ability. When Kakashi's father died, he was motivated by his own ability, the ability to become better than his father not only in status, but in talent and skill as well. The young Kakashi didn't even want to be associated with him, stating that he would follow the rules unlike his father, little did he know the White Fang was so honorable. And then when Obito died, it is at that instant that Kakashi understood why his father sacrificed the mission in order to save a teammate. It is at that instant that Kakashi realized that the people around him were much more important than any mission, and that the survival of the team should always be the number one priority. And while he doesn't overtly say it, he cares immensely about the people around him. As the village raised him, and through team 7, my guy Kuranaya Asuma, and everyone else, he believed that he could inspire a culture of teamwork, a teamwork that he wished he had with his own team. Though Naruto was motivated by other people as well, Kakashi is definitely credible in the motivation that Naruto has to pursue his best friend to the ends of the earth in order to bring him back to the light, something that Kakashi wishes he could even have the opportunity to do. The copy ninja is the pinnacle of resiliency and persistence. Kakashi Hatake is the man who lost everything, and though death has silenced him, he speaks profoundly with his actions, and with a smile. Those who break the rules are scum. That's true. But those who abandon their friends are worse than scum.