What does Kakashi look like without his fabled mask, and how was the secret in the Naruto anime series finally revealed? The protagonist of Masashi Kishimoto’s Naruto story, young ninja Naruto Uzumaki, strives to become the next Hokage, yet he could never have accomplished this goal on his own. Sasuke, Sakura, and other Team 7 members train with Naruto under the supervision of the “Copy Ninja” and eventual Sixth Hokage, Kakashi Hatake, who is a major figure all the way through the series. Kakashi’s tenure as Hokage isn’t discussed in length, but he plays a crucial part in the conflict with Kaguya Otsutsuki and is prominently featured in the excessive amount of filler that is crammed onto the end of Naruto: Shippuden. Kakashi is given some screen time in the Boruto: Naruto Next Generations sequel series.
In addition to his unmatched fighting abilities and capable leadership, Kakashi Hatake from Naruto is well-known for a few amusing running jokes. He enjoys reading pornographic fiction, is often late, and has a special rivalry with Might Guy. The mystery surrounding Kakashi’s looks when he is not wearing his mask is another. The characters of Team 7 observe early on in the original Naruto anime that they never see their sensei without his distinctive mask, and they spend the entire episode attempting to catch Kakashi out to see what is hidden beneath. Team 7 tried increasingly desperate methods to watch Kakashi eat or shower, but they were never able to determine if he was hiding his embarrassingly wide lips or buck-teeth.
After well over 500 episodes, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura try once more to find the answer to their most pressing query: what does Kakashi look like without his mask? This time, the trio enlists the aid of members of other teams, including Hinata and Shikamaru, as well as a photographer by the name of Sukea who overheard their plan and offered to assist in documenting Kakashi’s disclosure. Sukea departs from the children for the day and heads back to his flat after multiple unsuccessful attempts to capture their sensei unmasking. Once in a secure location, the “camera” progressively removes his mask to show that he has been Kakashi all along, having staged a complex team-building activity to capitalise on his students’ curiosity. Viewers finally get their first look at Kakashi without his mask as Sukea vanishes and Kakashi appears.