Their canon relationship is SO interesting to me. Like, Kakashi seems to trust Yamato and his abilities so thoroughly that he relies on him without even giving it another thought. It’s almost like a reflex. He trusts his team to him without blinking, he doesn’t even pay attention to Naruto’s training despite the fact that he could transform into the freakin’ tailed beast at any moment because Yamato is there and he’s clearly got it...it just seems unparalleled to anyone else in the series except Gai.
The funny part about that is that Kishi seems to have dropped the character after a certain point, which makes one want to diminish his importance in the series automatically. But in the new Naruto Gaiden series, Kakashi basically states that Yamato is “on it” in regards to a new threat (or Sasuke...I didn’t really understand the conversation) which means that despite Kishi seeming to ignore the character, Kakashi still depends on Yamato like TWELVE YEARS later. And if he is, indeed, referring to Sasuke...that’s a big freakin’ deal. Sasuke is kind of incredibly powerful -and kind of an asshole. So not only is he strong, but he’s hard to deal with. I don’t know about anyone else, but I think that’s pretty telling.
Not only all of that, but Kakashi also seems incredibly comfortable around Yamato. Take this for example:
When this happened, I sat back in my chair and was like “wow what the...when does Kakashi ever get that close to people?”
When does he, though? The only other example I can think of is when Gai gave him a piggy back ride to Konoha because he was too weak to stand. The only OTHER example is when he carried Naruto because HE was too weak to stand. But, on a regular basis, he just doesn’t. Not in the manga, anyway.
There’s also the fact that Kakashi mercilessly teases Yamato, to the point where anyone who cares enough to pay attention or analyze it will question whether or not he’s flirting. It IS in his personality to tease people, for sure. But, when you combine the trust Kakashi has for Yamato and how comfortable he is around him with his merciless teasing, it kind of makes me want to grin a little. CLEARLY Kishi isn’t actually insinuating anything is going on, but that’s why I find their relationship so confusing. Kishi creates this character with SUCH history with Kakashi, creates a rich friendship between them, and then disregards the character for like 400 chapters. I mean...Kishi forgets about characters all the time, but still. Why did he even bother doing it?
Also, and I have a feeling only KakaxYama shippers paid any attention to this scene, when Yamato and Kakashi were trying to explain chakra combining to Naruto during his training Kakashi REPEATEDLY shared inside looks with Yamato. Like, every time Naruto said something stupid, Kakashi would shoot Yamato a look like “ugh, do you see what I have to deal with?” and any time Yamato did something impressive, Kakashi would stand there looking all proud and not at all surprised, like “Yup, he’s a badass.” And any time Kakashi did something impressive, Yamato would do the exact same thing. I mean by the end of the two episodes I was just gob-smacked. It’s like they were both enjoying the other person showing off. Like they are both so clearly proud of each other it gives me cavities.
That entire interaction is incredibly washed down in the manga, though. To the point where this is the only thought they share:
The anime seems to LOVE embellishing their relationship, to the point where they insert scenes of the two of them having “moments” together which makes me and many other shippers basically 100% sure SOMEONE high up on the SP scale is a serious KakaYama shipper.
Although. Does anyone notice Kakashi loves whispering things to Yamato?
Just for a refresher, Naturo was standing like...on top of a freakin’ massive waterfall WAY too far away to hear them if they were just casually talking to each other. Whispering was unnecessary. Also:
Why is Naruto sleeping so far away from them? Did he feel like a third wheel? >:)
This scene is probably one of the most well known “moments” between them, but usually one where people realize Yamato idolizes Kakashi. But, what does this scene say about Kakashi? He may be a bit of a dick sometimes, but he isn’t usually the kind of person to take advantage of others. When I see this scene now, it feels like Kakashi is showing off. He clearly knows how Yamato feels about him, and I think he’s proud of it. He is showing off the power he has over someone who is powerful themselves. He never would have done this to someone who was truly beneath him, or significantly less intelligent than him. I think it is a huge ego-boost for Kakashi that someone like Yamato will get that flustered over him. You can probably REALLY read into this and say it’s almost a possessive act. Like “look how much power I have over him. He’s clearly mine.”
OKAY ONE LAST THING SORRY
Holy shit. I didn’t even realize how huge this was until now. Kakashi designed this entire training program knowing that he was 100% depending on Yamato to keep everything together. I don’t think Yamato had any idea how big of a responsibility this was until he actually started training Naruto. Kakashi is right that they dont have a choice but to try this, but imagine how much faith he has in Yamato to form this kind of a plan and actually put it into motion. What would they have done without him?
OKAY ONE ONE MORE THING. SORRY I KEEP FINDING SHIT.
So. This entire arc was full of Kakashi/Tenzou moments of the two of them ALWAYS standing next to each other, reading each others movements/emotions and working together seamlessly. But this particular panel was really interesting. First, we have Kakashi and Tenzou talking strategies like they’re talking about the weather; clearly they’ve done this about a million times before. But at the end, I can’t tell if Kakashi is thanking Tenzou for his solid advice, or thanking him for considering him Hokage material. Maybe it’s both. Either way, Kakashi holds Tenzou’s advice and opinions in high regard. I find it very interesting that they have a secondary character this close to Kakashi, especially since he barely gets any time with Gai until shit starts going down with Obito.
