Chronicles: Kakashi Hatake

Chapter 11: Kakashi Hatake - Intelligence

Repeatedly, Kakashi has proven to be a very shrewd and resourceful man, regularly having his opinion asked for by Tsunade, the Fifth Hokage. While still a young child, Kakashi's instincts could detect a hiding enemy's presence, impressing his sensei, Minato,[143] and in the anime deceive Orochimaru, greatly injuring the Sannin in the process.[42] Kakashi has even been noted to be smarter than Shikamaru Nara, a ninja well-known for his insightful and calculating nature.[89] Kakashi is noted to be very persuasive speaker. He is very capable in deception, regularly using his opponents' own tactics against them. He is also adept at discerning the emotional nature of people and determining the source of their emotions.[144] Kakashi has undeniable perceptive and analytical skills,[145] able to quickly and single-handedly deduce the workings of the most mysterious enemy techniques and near instantly plot successful diversions in order to verify his theories (most of the time proving them correct). He is aided, in this regard, by his calm personality, which allows him to handle a given situation with some detachment. Kakashi is also shown very intuitive, correctly guessing that Hanabi Hyūga's kidnapping and the breaking apart of the moon were related despite having little evidence.[68]

His long career as a jōnin, Anbu, and later Hokage has only expanded his knowledge, allowing him to handle virtually any situation. For these reasons, Kakashi has been assigned to a variety of teams — always as the leader — and he is always able to work well with his team-mates. Chōza Akimichi attributes Kakashi's success to his approach to battles: he avoids direct combat by using misdirection and clones until he can determine the opponent's skills, at which point he modifies his tactics to fit the situation.[146] Kakashi's leadership abilities were even acknowledged by Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki. Kakashi has also shown repeatedly to be a highly capable teacher. He has come up with various unorthodox methods to help his students produce impressive leaps in their abilities in weeks what would normally take months if not years of intense training. Kakashi is also able to create various elaborate and advanced techniques, likewise able to help Naruto perfect the Rasengan's final form.