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Kakashi Hatakehas been a breakout star sinceNarutoreleased, with his mysterious masked face, white hair, and rather cool persona striking a chord with fans who wanted a mentor figure worthy of admiration. Such a reputation boosted with the reveal that he has the Sharingan, an Uchiha kekkei genkai even though he wasn’t a member of the fabled clan. Making a reputation as the Copy Ninja, it came as quite a shocker for fans to learn of his past as a ruthless ninja - not to mention the tragic origins of how he got the Sharingan in the first place.
So when Kakashi concluded his story arc with Obito Uchiha in the Fourth Great Ninja War, fans were saddened by his rather “diminished” role in theBorutoseries. After being relegated to the sidelines following his stint as the Sixth Hokage, some think the “best” Kakashi could offer is his Purple Lightning. However, fans who want Kakashi to return with a vengeance could probably get his Sharingan back from an unlikely source.
A Quick Recap On Kakashi’s Sharingan
Lost After Obito’s Ascension
Kakashi easily became one ofNaruto’smost iconic characters for being the Copy Ninja - as he is not only able to perfectly copy the moves of others, but he does so with a Sharingan he technically doesn’t “own.” It’s soon revealed that his Sharingan was originally his former teammate Obito Uchiha’s eye, which is why it’s always active and has to be covered to avoid unnecessary use. The events ofShippudenrevealed that Kakashi and an alive Obito (now Tobi, sometimes Madara) activated their eye’s respective Mangekyo Sharingans - the advanced dojutsu they often used in the latter part of the series as a teleportation crutch.
When Kakashi and Obito reconcile their rivalry,Obito’s spirit lends Kakashi both of his eyes one last timein the fight against Kaguya, helping Team 7 with a temporary Perfect Susanoo before Obito truly ascended. Since Kakashi loses both of his Sharingans at the end ofShippuden,it’s for this reason that Kakashi doesn’t use the Chidori inBorutoand instead invents the easier-to-control Purple Lightning. Kakashi’s ingenuity is a focal point of his character, and should be taken into consideration for a more involved role in theBorutoseries.
Enter Shin Uchiha
The Rogue Clone Convinced Of Being An Uchiha
When strange reports of a boy with Sharingan reach Naruto, Kakashi advises the Hokage to ask Orochimaru about his involvement in the matter. The Team 7 mentor’s instinct is right, asShin was indeed Orochimaru’s former experimentwhile studying the Uchiha Clan. In fact, it’s Shin Uchiha’s arm with Hashirama Senju’s cells that became Danzo Shimura’s right arm - ensuring he had enough Sharingan to use the infamous Izanagi in his fight against Sasuke. Unfortunately, aforementioned experiment had gone rogue and became obsessed with Itachi Uchiha - branding himself as an Uchiha and even wearing his clothes.
Surprisingly enough, Orochimaru created quite a decent “copy” of the Sharingan that Shin Uchiha even manifested a telekinetic Mangekyo Sharingan. It’s only thanks to the efforts of Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno, and Sarada Uchiha that Shin is ultimately destroyed and his younger clone “sons” taken in by Kabuto and Orochimaru as their new adopted children. It’s implied that Shin Uchiha’s lair was destroyed…
Would Orochimaru Give Up His Sharingan Studies So Easily?
The epilogue of the “Sarada Uchiha” arc showed the Shin Uchiha clones in Kabuto and Orochimaru’s orphanage, with Kabuto promising to “give them names” - implying the children will now have their own identities unlike the mere lackeys the original Shin made them out to be. Not much is known about what happened to Shin Uchiha’s lair and laboratory, implying it was either abandoned or destroyed.
However, it’s not beyond the realm of possibilityfor Kabuto and Orochimaruto actually have preserved this former home. After all, not only did this likely contain Shin Uchiha’s laboratory and schematics pertaining to the clones, but also valuable data into his genetics. For someone as inquisitive as Orochimaru, it’s not wrong to assume the Sannin may have kept Shin’s research for his benefit. This is an interesting potential development, as Shin’s lair would likely also have more artificial Sharingan left abandoned and without users.
Kakashi Could Be A Recipient Of One Such Sharingan
Kakashi’s Experience Could Become A Crutch
If Orochimaru were truly converted into an ally of the Hidden Leaf, it’s always possiblefor the Sanninto provide Kakashi Hatake with one of Shin’s Artificial Sharingan to replace the one he’d lost through much of his career. While evidently not as potent as the one he received from Obito, Kakashi’s experience using this original Sharingan could make Shin a potential breeze. Granted, it’s only thanks to Shin’s unique adaptable physiology that he’s able to use multiple Sharingan at once - but Kakashi’s experience as a non-Uchiha user could make using Shin’s not as difficult.
There doesn’t seem to be a lot of differences between Shin’s variation of the Sharingan compared to an original Uchiha’s, as Shin somehow also found a way to make his artificial Sharingan evolve into their Mangekyo counterparts. Considering how New Era Kakashi circumvented his inability to use Chidori by creating Purple Lightning, the jonin should be able to adapt to Shin Uchiha’s space-time-related base and Mangekyo abilities.
A Deeper Look Into Shin Uchiha’s Sharingan
Kakashi Could Access Familiar Space-Time Abilities
Should Kakashi receive Shin Uchiha’s Sharingan, the Copy Ninja should be familiar with its basic slate of abilities. Despite its artificial nature, Shin’s Sharingan still endows its users with heightened perception - allowing Shin to predict and pull off attack patterns and even copy techniques. However, it’s Shin’s other slate of unique Sharingan abilities that could make Kakashi a more powerful character when used. For starters, it’s only Shin’s Sharingan that can summon Sharingan Spying Creatures through which he can “see” and “talk” through, as well as transmit his other Sharingan powers.
Whenusing the Mangekyo Sharingan, Shin gets access to a unique space-time technique that summons a “barrier” through which he and anything else inside can instantaneously teleport to another location - much like the Kamui. Through a special brand, his Mangekyo can “move” branded objects telekinetically and with surgical precision - something he can do to weapons to attack opponents, tools to perform surgery with, and even the environment itself to aid him in combat. Kakashi accessing any of these abilities can turn him into perhaps an even stronger ninja compared to his prime.
Deployable Sharingan An Interesting Tech In A Time Of Shinjutsu And Shinobi-Ware
Perhaps the most interesting factor in Kakashi obtaining Shin’s Sharingan would be what it “represents” in the face ofBoruto’s power scaling and presentation. In the current Human Chakra Trees storyline where almost every Shinju has a Rinnegan and a unique dojutsu to come along with them, the Sharingan that used to wow fans of earlyNarutoseemed to pale in comparison. No one would stand a chance in theBorutoworld if they didn’t have Otsutsuki DNA, Shinobi-Ware, the Kama, the Nine-Tails, or the Mangekyo Sharingan with them.
Kakashi potentially usingShin Uchiha’s Sharinganis a unique combination ofNaruto’s legacy andBoruto’s new standard of power-scaling. This will be especially more interesting should Kakashi get to benefit from Shin’s potential stockpile of reserve artificial Sharingan, as Kakashi’s expertise on the dojutsu - plus the chance to replace any Sharingan he gets to exhaust while using Mangekyo - could give him a fighting chance againstBoruto’s newer threats.
