Did Kakashi Ever Love Rin? & Why She Loved Him?

Hatake Kakashi is definitely the coolest character in the Naruto series. Even as an “old guy” in Boruto, Kakashi seems to be the same goofball he was at the beginning of Naruto, but with more emotional depth and stability. It shouldn’t surprise anyone that Kakashi acts this way because he lost so many people during his life, and each of them chipped off a piece of his heart. Team Minato and its members were important to Kakashi because they kept him “normal” and supported him. However, his rivalry with Obito expanded to the other team member, Rin, whom Obito loved more than anything. This article will discuss whether Kakashi loved Rin and why she loved him.

Kakashi never loved Rin romantically, and frankly, it seems that Kakashi never expressed his romantic feelings to anyone in the Naruto series. When Iwa-nin abducted Rin during the Third Shinobi World War, Kakashi was willing to leave her to enemies while Obito insisted on saving her. Obito’s death deeply affected Kakashi, which wasn’t the case with Rin, whom he killed himself accidentally. On the other hand, Rin had an obvious crush on Kakashi because he seemed cool and a skilled shinobi, and she expressed this after Obito died. 

We will discuss this topic more by mentioning Kakashi and Rin’s relationship in the Naruto series and if Kakashi shared Rin’s romantic feelings. If you are interested, stay with us until the end.

Kakashi and Rin’s relationship in the Naruto series

Kakashi is the ultimate shinobi in the Naruto series. His character development in Naruto was really good. Throughout the more than 500 episodes, we saw Kakashi’s willingness to open himself to other people and fight more for the people he loves. Of course, that wasn’t always the case because Kakashi’s life was marked with grief and death, which made him aloof and cold.

Kakashi was a shinobi prodigy who had every tool to become the most powerful shinobi in the Ninja World. His father, Sakumo Hatake, was famous for his skills as a ninja and was known to the rest of the world as The White Fang. Sakumo was a valuable asset for Konohagakure until one mission changed everything. During one mission, Sakumo “opposed” the ninja’s “rules” and abandoned the mission to save his fellow shinobi. However, The White Fang didn’t expect the rescued ninjas to shame him in the village. Whole Konohagakure turned against Sakumo, “disgracing” his family, and Kakashi was also affected.

Sakumo has fallen into a deep depression and eventually committed suicide in his own home. Young Kakashi found him and became the cold and detached boy who only followed the rules of shinobi. That behavior transferred through every aspect of Kakashi’s life. Despite being an amazing shinobi, who became Chuunin and Jonin before he turned 13, he never truly had friends until he joined Team Minato.

Of course, Obito Uchiha and Rin Nohara “hit it off” immediately, especially with their enthusiasm and positivity. Kakashi was always “a loner,” which wasn’t a good trait for a shinobi. However, he did form a rivalry with Obito, who wanted to look “cool” in front of Rin, but also showcase that he is a strong shinobi as well.

Regarding Kakashi and Rin, we get bits and pieces of their relationship in the Naruto series. I would say it’s barely there. The Third Shinobi World War brought another conflict upon the shinobi world, and all shinobi had to be available to protect their villages. That also meant young teams, and Team Minato was one of the best, despite Kakashi’s tendencies to work alone.

Rin specialized in Medical Jutsu, and with her positivity and “innocence,” she was a perfect member of Team Minato. However, despite being at the side when Obito and Kakashi would clash, Rin expresses romantic feelings for Kakashi, which Obito clearly sees and wants to prove himself.

When Rin’s kidnapped by Kirigakure, who forcibly seals a Three-Tailed monster inside of her in the hopes of destroying Konohagakure, Rin begs Kakashi to kill her. Of course, Kakashi refuses, but Rin gets the upper hand and tricks Kakashi into killing her to save everyone. Kakashi was devastated, and losing two teammates pushed him into depression and the man he was at the start of the Naruto series.

Kakashi never loved Rin, while she had a crush on him

In the Naruto series, we got a glimpse into Team Minato dynamics, and it’s clear who was in focus – Kakashi and Obito. Rin was always a supporting character for her teammates, and the boys mostly overshadowed her. In those scenes, Obito is shown to have feelings for the girl, and while she was always acting good towards the young Uchiha, Rin never returned feelings for the boy. She always had eyes on Kakashi, who was cool, collected, and an extremely skilled shinobi.

When Obito “died” and gave Kakashi his Sharingan, Rin helped Kakashi to put the legendary eye instead of his injured one. Kakashi was devastated by the death of his friend, and he promised Obito that he would protect Rin with his life. When Kakashi told Rin that Obito had romantic feelings for her, she replied that she had feelings for a young Jonin. Of course, Kakashi ignored that, attacked the enemy Iwa-nin and escaped the danger.

The manga panel clearly shows that Rin is saddened by that fact but doesn’t mention it again, even before she dies, and she is why Kakashi awakens Mangekyō Sharingan. Kakashi deeply cared for his friends but never romantically, and it seems that Rin’s death affected him so much because he broke Obito’s promise.

The dynamics of genin teams in the Naruto series are similar, especially with more significant characters. Team Minato and Team Seven have similarities – Naruto/Sasuke is equal to Obito/Kakashi, while Sakura is essentially the Rin of Team Minato. This evaluation seems lazy, but Kishimoto does recycle many plot points and narratives in the series. Kakashi never ended up with anyone because the author simply didn’t do anything for that part of the character.

Of course, Kakashi’s loner style of living could be connected to the friends and family he lost in his life, and that’s totally valid. Nevertheless, Kakashi never loved Rin romantically, while the girl shared her romantic feelings for a young prodigy. Rin loved Kakashi because he was strong, mysterious, and cool, not because he was giving her attention. 

Despite not loving her, Rin did affect Kakashi’s life deeply, and his teammates and mentor, Minato, were the ones that were his family.