Did Kakashi Love Sakura? What Is the Relationship Between Them?

Although not one of the principal protagonists, Kakashi Hatake was nevertheless one of the best and most beloved characters from Masashi Kishimoto’s Naruto franchise. The guy had a very specific approach to life. Because of his great relationship with the protagonist trio, Kakashi has become a fan-favorite character, which is why fans are always asking questions about him. In this article, we are going to talk about Kakashi’s private life, and we are going to explain Kakashi’s relationship with Sakura Haruno.

Kakashi Hatake did not love Sakura Haruno, and the relationship between them was purely that of a mentor and his pupil and, later, friends. First of all, Sakura was a child when they met, and Kakashi would never do such a thing. Secondly, Kakashi was her mentor, and he would never abuse his position like that. And third, Sakura has always loved Sasuke.

The rest of the article will focus on Kakashi Hatake and his private life. You’ll find out what exactly happened to Kakashi in the series and the exact nature of his relationship with Sakura Haruno. We’ve prepared an interesting article for you, so stick with us to the end, but be careful, as there will be spoilers.

Kakashi Hatake never loved Sakura Haruno

The term “ship” in terms of anime is actually a shortened version of the word “relationship” and represents fan-based relationships between the characters in the series. So, if you think that two characters would be great as a couple, you’re “shipping” them together. As far as Naruto ships are concerned, we have seen various combinations, and even Kishimoto himself made some of them canon. Now, one of the weirdest ships in the series, as far as fan ships are concerned, was the one shipping Kakashi Hatake with Sakura Haruno, and that one is wrong on so many levels.

First of all, Sakura was a child when she first met Kakashi, and when she became older, Kakashi had already gone off to live his life of leisure somewhere else. This would mean that Kakashi Hatake loved a child, which would not only be wrong but also completely out of character for Kakashi, which is why we can definitely confirm that he did not love her. But aside from the fact that Sakura was a child at the time, there are several other reasons why Kakashi did not love Sakura.

One of these reasons is the fact that Kakashi was Sakura’s mentor and that he would never really abuse his position like that. He was a very noble mentor in that aspect, and there was no chance that Kakashi would do such a slick thing to get close to Sakura; it would also be completely out of character. On top of that, Kakashi was well aware that Sakura liked Sasuke, and he himself – due to his personal tragedies – stayed away from romantic feelings towards anyone. Sakura would definitely not be an exception in this aspect.

As you can see, there is absolutely no chance in Hell that Kakashi would have had any romantic feelings toward Sakura. He did care for her, but as a parent and, later, as a friend. She was his pupil, and he was responsible for her, so he cared for her upbringing and safety, but there was not even a trace of romance there, regardless of what some fans might say. Not only would it have been wrong, but it would also have been completely out of character in Kakashi’s case. And that is official, and there is no way around it.

Kakashi stayed away from romance because of his own tragedy

Kakashi is known for being quite secretive about his private life, but it is known that he is single and, as far as we know, has never been in a romantic relationship with anyone. And while most fans think that Kishimoto was just lazy to give Kakashi a good partner, there is actually a good enough in-universe explanation as to why Kakashi is not married, as we have implied.

Namely, due to the tragedies that hit him early in his life and later throughout, Kakashi lost faith in any form of permanent relationship as most people he cared about deeply either died or became evil. This includes his childhood friend Rin and Obito, his former mentor Minato, and his former pupils, Sasuke and Itachi. The most shocking event was Rin’s death, as it traumatized Kakashi so much that he still had nightmares, even in adulthood.

What happened with Rin that traumatized Kakashi so much? After several weeks had elapsed since the events that took place at Kannabi Bridge, Rin and her teammate Kakashi were faced with countless enemy Kiri-nin who held the rank of ANBU or Jonin. What first looked like a perfidious plan by the Kiri-nin later turns out to be Madara Uchiha’s work to win Obito over to his cause.

The Kiri-nin previously took Rin hostage and sealed the Three-Tailed Beast, the Sanbi, inside her body. With the goal that Rin should be rescued, and once she arrived at her home village, the Sanbi would have been unleashed by the Kiri-nin to destroy the village.

The Bijuu was meant to bring terror, pain, and suffering to the people of Konohagakure. But Madara had brought Rin under his control with the help of a seal on her heart. Rin asked Kakashi to kill her, but Kakashi flatly refused, reminding her of his promise to teammate Obito. When Kakashi attacked an enemy Kiri-nin with Chidori, Rin chose suicide and jumped in Kakashi’s way. It can be assumed that she committed this act voluntarily and was not guided by Madara, who was very pleased that his plan was so simple and perfect. Shocked by the sight of Rin, Kakashi, and Obito, who both survived the cave collapse and rushed to the aid of his teammates, activated the Mangekyo Sharingan.

However, after activating the Mangekyou Sharingan, Kakashi collapsed to the ground, unconscious from exhaustion. However, Obito, enraged at the loss of his beloved Rin, slaughtered the Kiri-nin in a short amount of time, concluding that he must be in Hell. Holding Rin in his arms, Obito vows to create the dream world described by Madara, where he, Rin, and Kakashi will be reunited. With this confession of Obito’s hatred for the world, Madara’s plan has proved successful. After her death, she significantly influences Obito’s actions and is his incentive to change the “cruel world” into a better one.

When her two former team members want to save Sasuke and Naruto, Rin takes them by the hand and helps them to do so. Throughout his life, Obito remembers her promise to always watch over him and help him on his way to becoming a Hokage. In return, he promised her that he would do everything possible to become Hokage – he couldn’t keep this promise and therefore can’t look her in the eye when he meets Rin again in the other world. While Obito apologizes for making her wait so long, Rin only praises him for trying his best. Together with Obito, she embarks on life after death.

And while Kakashi did not love Rin like Obito, he cared deeply for her and considered her to be a true friend, which is why this event traumatized him so much. On top of that, this event directly led to Obito becoming a ruthless killer and a villain, which meant that Kakashi lost both of his friends on that day. As you can see, Kakashi has severe trauma when personal relationships of any kind are concerned, and that is why he simply opted to be alone because he decided to spare himself more pain.