You might know Kakashi as the dashing sensei of Naruto and Team 7. Because of his blunt and laid-back attitude, many forget about his bruised past. Masashi Kishimoto has perfected the art of traumatic character backgrounds and Kakashi is no exception to the rule.
A recent theory points out the subtle hints of Kakashi’s recovering mental health. He might be strong and arrogant, but even he needs companionship. Unbeknownst to all, his ninken serve the exact purpose.
Do the Ninken help Kakashi recover from trauma in Naruto?
Ninkens are dogs that shinobi can summon to work alongside them. Kakashi also keeps a pack of eight ninken who arrive when summoned. He mostly uses them to track down targets, train other characters, and combat villains. However, a fan theory suggests that the dogs might serve another purpose: as therapy animals for Kakashi.
It’s no surprise that Kakashi has had a traumatizing life, because of which he grew up to be a lone wolf, often uninterested in others. All that changed after Obito, and he realized the value of teamwork, but the gut-wrenching events of his life have stayed with him. No matter how much he tried to cover them up with a nonchalant attitude, the aftermath of Rin’s death left him with post-traumatic stress disorder.
The role of dogs in elevating stress could be a major reason why Kakashi needs the ninken even more. Dogs elevate mood by providing companionship. Feeding them, conversing with them and playing with them gives people additional chores that can keep them occupied and away from harmful thoughts.
If anyone in Naruto needs eight dogs for self-care then it’s Kakashi. The ninken are highly intelligent dogs who can talk and fight so there may not be many chores involved with them. But Kakashi’s extensive usage of the ninken does strike up a picture of co-dependency.
Kakashi’s Traumatizing Past and PTSD in Naruto
Kakashi’s mother died when he was very young, and he was raised by his father. Unfortunately, he also departed while saving a teammate during a failed mission. Kakashi then decided that following the Shinobi rules takes priority over everything else.
He later accepted Rin and Obito as friends and teammates, but misfortune befell the trio very soon. Obito died in a battle against Taiseki. He moved Kakashi out of a large boulder and got trapped himself.
Kirigakure kidnapped Rin and trapped the Three-Tails inside her body. In order to protect Konoha, Rin forcefully died at the hands of Kakashi. The trauma caused his Sharingan to develop into Mangekyou Sharingan.
The loss of his friends pulled Kakashi into a well of depression. He spent his days avoiding everyone, and at night, he would be haunted by dreams of Rin’s death. During the battle against the Nine-Tails, he also lost Minato and Kushina.
Kakashi faced multiple losses in his life, each of them worse than the last. Yet, he kept going, and helped Team 7 into becoming the best versions of themselves.
You can watch the chronicles of Kakashi and his faithful ninken in Naruto, which is available to stream on Crunchyroll. You can also read the Naruto manga on Viz Media.
