Kakashi Hatake does not die in Boruto. He, however, shockingly died in Naruto Shippuden during an encounter with Nagato (Pain). His death occurred in the 159th episode of Naruto Shippuden, titled “Pain vs Kakashi.”
Kakashi is one of the strongest characters in the Narutoverse, and his death, coupled with the manner in which Kishimoto wrote the plot of Kakashi’s death, has caused conflicting narratives amongst fans of the anime on whether Kakashi is dead or not.
Byliner’s extensive research shows that although Kakashi sacrificed himself, he is currently still alive. Kakashi is a shinobi of the Hatake clan of the Konohagakure. Famously known as the Copy Ninja due to his ability to imitate his opponent’s techniques and as Kakashi of the Sharingan due to his prowess with the Sharingan, he is one of the most powerful ninjas in Konoha. He is also one of the very major characters in Naruto and a leader of Team 7, which consists of Sasuke Uchiha, Naruto Uzumaki, and Sakura Haruno.
Currently, the possibility of Kakashi’s character being discarded is slim because even after getting old and losing his Sharingan, Kakashi is one of the strongest Ninjas in both Naruto and Boruto combined. His character is vital to the plot of Naruto, Naruto Shippuden, and Boruto: Naruto Next Generations.
When Does Kakashi Die?
Kakashi dies during Pain’s Assault arc while battling the arc’s main antagonist. The antagonist, Pain, also known as Nagato, has experienced a lot of childhood trauma and aspires to make the world a better place by eliminating all forms of pain. He attacks the Konoha village in order to lure Naruto Uzumaki, who is also one of Kakashi Hatake’s three students, to the battlefield.
As Pain destroys the village in his search for Naruto, Kakashi and everyone else in the village of Konoha rally around to help Naruto. However, using his extensive array of skills, Pain interrogates any villager he comes across by torturing them to reveal Naruto’s whereabouts.
Hence, when Kakashi and Pain cross paths during one of these encounters (pain interrogation villagers), a fight unavoidably breaks out, which results in Kakashi’s death.
In What Episode Does Kakashi Die?
Kakashi died in the 159th episode of Naruto Shippuden titled “Pain vs Kakashi.” In this episode, after a protracted fight with pain and his paths of pain, Kakashi dies from exhausting his chakra while trying to save his village from Pain’s attack.
In the manga, Kakashi’s death happens at the end of the manga, which is the Pain’s Assault Arc of the story. The fight between Pain and Kakashi happens in Chapters 421 through 425 of the manga, with Kakashi’s death happening in chapter 427.
How Does Kakashi Die?
Kakashi is powerful enough to deal with the Akatsuki. This is shown when he battles two of the Six Paths of Pain at once during Pain’s Attack arc and demonstrates that he is a tenacious ninja with enough power to support his accomplishments. The events that led to Kakashi’s death began with Kakashi confronting the Deva Path alone in a fight.
As Kakashi tries to attack Deva, the chakra rod stabs him, but Kakashi dodges the chakra rod and attacks Deva with a strong Chidori. Deva uses Shinra Tensei, also known as Repulsive force, to throw Kakashi far away after realizing the destructive power of Chidori.
Kakashi launches a ranged Chidori after realizing it is difficult to come close to the Deva path. But even the ranged Chidori misses because it vanishes into the air before coming down on the Deva Path. At that moment, the other Path, Asura, appears behind Kakashi and fires missiles at him. Kakashi became unstable, and Deva proceeded to seize the opportunity and used Bansho Tenin, also known as an attractive force, to draw Kakashi in.
However, Kakashi manages to lock himself in place using a rock and a chain to resist it. Asura comes in front of Deva and then stabs Kakashi with his tail blade. Choji and Choza arrive just as Pain starts to believe Kakashi has died, and the trio of Kakashi, Choji, and Choza face the Paths.
As the group fights the paths, Kakashi successfully lands a Chidori at Deva toward the end of the fight, but the Asura path blocks it. Asura is subdued by Choji and Choza, leaving Deva alone to battle the three; however, the Deva Path flips the situation around, beating Kakashi’s reinforcement and trapping Kakashi in a heap of debris. Deva also uses a nail as a missile to kill Kakashi since he is too dangerous to be left alive and then leaves. Kakashi, however, tricks Deva by pretending to be dead, and then, just as the nail is about to hit him, he warps the nail away with the help of his Rasengan.
Choji regains his consciousness, and Kakashi orders him to carry a critical message to the village chief after deciphering Pain’s complex powers. In an effort to stop Choji from running, one of Pain’s bodies notices this and fires a missile at him. To save Choji, Kakashi uses his Rasengan once more to warp the missile away from him. He successfully wards the missile away, allowing Choji to flee, but his chakra energy depletes and kills him. Kakashi dies from exhausting his remaining chakra to save Choji.
But Kakashi didn’t stay dead. Does Kakashi die? Yes, but he was resurrected. After his death, Kakashi enters limbo, a place that exists between the living and the dead, and there he meets his father Sakumo Hatake. Sakumo asks Kakashi to give him an account of his life since he is curious to learn more about his son.
In his final statement to his father after recounting his life’s story, Kakashi says he is glad to be his father’s son and that he understands the decisions his father made while he was alive. However, a light surrounds Kakashi, denoting his resurrection and cutting short his reunion with his father.
Sakumo expresses gratitude to Kakashi for giving him the peace required to pass on to the afterlife as Kakashi returns to the land of the living, and the two part ways.
Kakashi is resurrected by pain, who, after holding a discussion with Naruto, decides to embrace Naruto’s plan of peace and uses his chakra to bring back all who have died after his invasion of the village. Since Kakashi was one of those who died from Pain’s invasion of the Konoha village, he is brought back to life.
On his return, Kakashi gets in-depth details about Naruto’s return and battle with Pain, as well as Naruto’s victory. Kakashi meets with Naruto and carries him back to the village, where Naruto is hailed as the Village’s hero.
Kakashi’s resurrection is buttressed by his background roles in Boruto, as seen in Boruto episode 260.
