Naruto: Is Kakashi still strong without the Sharingan?

Kakashi Hatake is arguably one of the most popular characters in the Naruto series. He is known for his abilities as a shinobi and has been a mentor to other important characters like Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke. And even though he has a tragic past, Kakashi was able to overcome his mental trauma and went on to become a fine shinobi.

He has made a name for himself, and many shinobi from the neighboring villages fear him. Despite losing his Sharingan in the Fourth Great Ninja War, he is still famously referred to as the Copy Ninja who could imitate over a thousand jutsus just by watching his opponents execute it.

However, now that he doesn't possess his Sharingan, fans often wonder - has Kakashi gotten considerably weaker after losing his Dojutsu? Let’s delve into this article to understand how the loss of Sharingan has impacted Kakashi's powers in the plot.

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Naruto: Is Kakashi weak after losing Sharingan?

It’s safe to say that Kakashi isn’t weak after losing the Sharingan since he’s found ways to compensate for the loss of what is considered to be one of the best eyes in the series. Because of the sheer presence and the depth of exploration of the Sharingan, it’s easy to forget just how good Kakashi was before he even got the eye from Obito. While the timeline is unclear, we can speculate that Kakashi learned the Rasengan without the use of the Sharingan. In the Naruto series, Rasengan doesn’t require hand seals, which is why he probably didn’t have to copy it.

Another impressive feat that showed his natural talent was that he became a jonin at the age of 12. Unlike Naruto, he didn’t have extremely large reserves of chakra to aid him in battles either. Kakashi’s IQ is unrivaled and he has constantly shown his ability to adapt and identify the best solution at any given time. After losing his Sharingan, Kakashi could no longer copy jutsus or use Chidori. But that has not impacted his role as an influential ninja of Konoha.

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Making up for the lack of Sharingan

One of the most important aspects of not having a Sharingan is that there is no chakra leakage. While he might not be able to use Chidori anymore, he made up for it by creating a technique called the Purple Lightning. Not only does it behave like Chidori, but it also retains similar amounts of destructive force. Moreover, it has abilities that are quite far-reaching and diverse in range, making it more versatile than his previous technique, the Lightning Cutter. In addition, his taijutsu is exceptional and he is capable of utilizing it in close-range fights.

Despite not being able to copy jutsus in the Naruto series, he still has access to over 1000 jutsus that he copied when he had the Sharingan. Fans are aware of the fact that Lightning Release is stronger than Earth Release, but Kakashi managed to improvise an Earth Release technique that is unaffected by lightning. He was able to turn sections of the wall into quartz and this neutralized the effects of lightning.

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Final thoughts

There is no doubt that Kakashi is quite strong despite the loss of Sharingan. He is by no means weak and can hold his ground against tough opponents. Whether it be his ninjutsu, taijutsu, or shuriken jutsu, Kakashi has mastered them all. No wonder he ended up being the Sixth Hokage after the Fourth Great Ninja War. And while we get glimpses of Kakashi in Boruto, we can only hope to catch the Copy Ninja in action soon again.