Kakashi killed Rin in episode 371 of Naruto Shippuden anime. He unintentionally killed her in order to prevent the unleashing of the three-tailed beast known as Isobu, which their enemies had sealed in her. Had that wild beast been unleashed in the village of Konoha, it would have killed several of the villagers.
This situation made Kakashi agonize over killing Rin as she was a good person as well as his friend and teammate. She, however, took the decision out of his hand by jumping into the path of his powerful lightning blade, thus basically committing suicide for the greater good of her village.
The History of Kakashi and Rin
The history of Kakashi and Rin is fully explored in the Naruto spin-off known as Kakashi Gaiden. While Kakashi makes it into Naruto part 1, Naruto part II and Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, Rin is already long dead before then. As such, the place where her backstory and that of Kakashi are fully explored is the spin-off, Kakashi Gaiden.
Kakashi and Rin are both age mates born in the village of Konoha. Rin is also best friends with another of their peers known as Obito Uchiha. Just like other kids, Kakashi, Rin, and Obito make it into the ninja academy at an early age. Upon their graduation, all three are placed under the tutelage of Minato Namikaze. They perform various tasks and eventually pass their Chūnin Exams. Upon passing these exams, Kakashi, Rin, and Obito, alongside their teacher, embark on various missions to defend their village of Konoha. They also take part in the third shinobi war.
During this war, the team is tasked with destroying the Kannabi Bridge, which serves as a vital pathway of supply for one of Konoha’s enemies. They bravely embark on this mission, but Rin is kidnapped by the enemies. Her enemies try to use their powers to get her to spill secret information about Konoha’s war strategy, but she successfully resists them until Kakashi and Obito rescue her. Unfortunately, Obito is crushed in a cave-in during the rescue. However, before his death, he gifts his powerful Sharingan eyes to Kakashi.
What Episode Does Kakashi Kill Rin?
Kakashi killed Rin in episode 371 of Naruto Shippuden anime. It must, however, be pointed out that the killing actually took place numerous episodes before this particular episode. It is, however, only in a flashback in episode 371 that we actually see what transpired. Following the death of Obito, Kakashi, and Rin, together with their tutor, Minato, complete the mission of destroying the Kannabi Bridge.
They continue with their other activities until Rin is once more kidnapped by enemies from Kirigakure or the hidden mist village. Kakashi rescues her once more, but on their way back to their village of Konoha, she jumps in front of his powerful lightning blade. This lightning blade is his hand-controlled lighting chakra, and it pierces her chest and kills her on the spot.
Why Did Rin Jump in Front of Kakashi?
Rin jumped in front of Kakashi to kill herself in order to prevent the unleashing of the three-tailed beast that was sealed within her. When Rin was kidnapped the second time, the enemies sealed off inside her one of the nine-tailed beasts, known as Isobu.
Isobu possesses great destructive abilities that can wipe out nearly an entire village, and the plan was that whenever Rin got back to the village of Konoha, the three-tailed beast within her would be released to cause great destruction and kill many people.
Rin realized this and discovered that she was a Trojan horse gift for her people. She, therefore, decided that she would not reach Konoha but rather kill herself. She begged Kakashi to kill her, but he refused, as he had promised the late Obito that he would always protect her. When Rin saw that Kakashi would not budge from his position, she decided to take matters into her hands and jumped in front of a lightning blade that Kakashi had targeted at an enemy that attacked them. She was thus killed instantly.
In the anime version of Naruto, Rin’s death is presented in such a way that makes it look like Kakashi deliberately killed her to stop her from divulging sensitive information to the enemies. This made many people refer to him as a friend killer, but this is not true. He did not deliberately kill Rin. She instead killed herself.
Nevertheless, Kakashi was quite deeply haunted by Rin’s death as well as that of Obito’s. He often visited their grave sites to chat with them. His pain also awakened his Mangeyoko Sharingan eyes. With the Sharingan, Kakashi could accurately reproduce any movement he sees. He could also take in a heightened amount of visual information and perform the Sharingan’s broad category of genjutsu.
Did Kakashi Like Rin?
Kakashi liked Rin as a friend and teammate but did not love her in any romantic way. On the flip side, there is some confusion about Rin’s feelings. Some sources have it that Rin loved Kakashi though he did not reciprocate these feelings. Other sources, however, had it that Rin had a crush on Obito without knowing that he equally liked her. Yet some other sources believe that Obito loved Rin although that love was unrequited.
One fact that is consistent through all this is that Obito greatly loved Rin, and with time she became affectionate towards him. When she later dies (and it turns out that he is still alive as he survived the cave-in), she patiently keeps watch over him and waits for him to join her in the afterlife. Obito eventually dies at the hand of an enemy known as Kaguya Ōtsutsuki and makes it to the afterlife to be with her.
He apologized for taking so long to join her. He also apologized for the fact that he had left the good path and temporarily joined a criminal organization, Akatsuki, and became their leader. Rin accepted Obito’s apologies and assured him that he had tried his best. Obito then used his teleport powers to briefly come back to the earth to aid Kakashi in a battle. He later returns, and he and Rin are reunited in the afterlife forever.
