Team 7's teacher, Kakashi held a dangerous secret from Naruto and his rival Sasuke that would have set them up as major targets as soon as they left Konoha. The origins of both Naruto and Sasuke's families are thoroughly explored throughout the hit manga series. However, one character in the franchise spent a considerable amount of time with close of both Naruto and Sasuke's families: Hatake Kakashi. He kept those bonds private, but their teacher held other secrets that could have cost them their lives.
Naruto and Sasuke owe a lot to their teacher. Still, upon reading the story of Team 7's first big mission in the Land of Waves, their teacher was hiding something from them. In chapter 10 of the Naruto manga, the young team is ambushed by Chūnin level ninja, who provided the new Genin their first lethal test as shinobi. After seemingly being defeated, Kakashi reappears and easily restrains the failed assassins. When asked why Kakashi didn't dispose of the threats sooner, he responds, "I could have killed them at any time, but I wanted to find out who their real target was." While the Bridge Builder was the intended target, Kakashi's response points to the possibility that Team 7's two young remnants of widely feared ninja clans could have been targets.
The Uzumaki & Uchiha Clans Would Have High Bounties
Ninjas from every Shinobi Village in the Land of Fire are tasked to complete missions, which can often lead to assassinations and other sorts of mercenary work. However, bounty hunters and rouge ninjas play a significant part in Naruto's story. The powerful clans that Naruto and Sasuke came from were often used in warfare for their unique abilities, which were exploited and used to devastate countless enemies, likely making many enemies in the past. It would make sense for someone to put a bounty out on any living remnants of either the Uchiha or the Uzumaki clan for the crimes of their ancestors, and Kakashi knew this.
Kakashi confronts the Bridge Builder Tazuna after the first attack, and instead of assuming that he was the target, Kakashi suggests that the target could have been a fellow ninja. Chapter 10's hint that the Uchiha and Uzumaki of team 7 were potential targets isn't the only important information their sensei hid from them either. After learning more about Kakashi's life and the connections he shared with both Naruto's father, Sasuke's brother, it grew increasingly suspicious as to why he kept such bonds a secret from his students. By sharing that information with them, Naruto and Sasuke would have developed as characters faster than they did in the series.
Kakashi Hid More Than One Secret From His Students
Kakashi's time with the Fourth Hokage and Uchiha Itachi may have influenced Konoha's decision to make Kakashi – arguably one of the best ninjas the village has ever produced – Naruto and Sasuke's teacher and protector. That decision paid off more than once throughout the storyline. Still, after readers learned of the tragic history of Naruto and Sasuke's families and the connections that Kakashi shared with them, it's shocking how much information Kakashi hid from his students.
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