Naruto: Kakashi's Story--Lightning in the Frozen Sky

NARUTO -ナルト- 秘伝 [Naruto Hiden] #1

by Masashi Kishimoto (Original Story), Akira Higashiyama (Writer), Jocelyne Allen (Translator)

A new series of prose novels, straight from the worldwide Naruto franchise. Naruto’s allies and enemies take center stage in these fast-paced adventures, which each volume focusing on a particular clanmate, ally, team...or villain.

A year has passed since the Fourth Great Ninja War, and Kakashi's appointment to Hokage looms. But first he heads to the Land of Waves for a dangerous mission rescuing hostages from a top-secret airship. There he confronts a ninja whose heart is frozen by tragedy. Having lost both his friend’s eye and his greatest abilities, can Kakashi really protect anyone? What is the true meaning of the will of fire gained in the distant heavens? Kakashi finds these answers and more as he opens the door to a new ninja era.

Genres: Manga, Light Novel, Fantasy, Fiction, Young Adult, Novels, Anime

192 pages, Paperback

First published February 4, 2015

About the author

Masashi Kishimoto (岸本斉史 Kishimoto Masashi) is a Japanese manga artist, well known for creating the manga series Naruto. His younger twin brother, Seishi Kishimoto, is also a manga artist and creator of the manga series O-Parts Hunter (666 Satan) and Blazer Drive. Two of his former assistants, Osamu Kajisa (Tattoo Hearts) and Yuuichi Itakura (Hand's), have also gone on to moderate success following their work on Naruto.

Kishimoto's first work as a manga artist was Karakuri (カラクリ?), which he submitted to Shueisha in 1995. This earned him the Weekly Shōnen Jump's monthly "Hop Step Award" in 1996, granted to promising new manga artists. This was followed in 1997 by a pilot version of Naruto (NARUTO－ナルト－), published in Akamaru Jump Summer. In 1998, Kishimoto premiered as a Weekly Shōnen Jump artist with a serialized version of Karakuri in Weekly Shōnen Jump, but it proved unpopular and was canceled soon after. In 1999, a serialized version of Naruto began publication in Weekly Shōnen Jump and quickly became a hit.

Reviews

[Aja: The Narcoleptic Ninja · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love getting more to a story to fill in some of the blanks. Overall this was a lot of fun and I really enjoyed it.

This story is basically a chapter of what happens after the war ends in Naruto. Firstly, it's interesting to see that even after the five great countries are allied there's still trouble. The book was exciting and fun and extremely hard to put down once I started it. I love the relationship between Guy and Kakashi and seeing more of it is always fun.

Once I got towards the end I suppose I could have done without the kind of a romance, but not really a romance aspect of the book. Honestly, to me, it just kind of felt tacked on and like it didn't really belong there. I know a lot of fans were probably looking for that, and I'm sure a lot of people loved it, but to me it felt a little unnecessary. It's open to interpretation, and personally I read it as more of a platonic work relationship.

Overall a very satisfying read and I look forward to reading some of the others, especially Itachi's and Sakura's.

[Insomnolent Reader °ㅠ_ㅠ° · Rating 5 out of 5]

I know Kishimoto already said he's not good at romance...

But he should've at least tried for our eternal hokage bachelor (sans Guy). 😭

[Daniel Hogg · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read in about three days over the course of ~1.5 months because sometimes life steals your attention.

I enjoy Kakashi as a character tremendously, and the opportunity to read a story specifically about him was one I didn’t want to pass up. Ultimately, I’m thankful that I didn’t, as it tied up some loose ends about his character’s development. That being said, the overall story reads like a filler episode—there’s sufficient hilarity which ensues and plentiful drama to carry the main plot, but you know from early on that the stakes are never that high. That’s not to say the story isn’t enjoyable, however, and the outcome of the novel is satisfying enough. There are also details here which can provide some (very basic) background information for a couple of matters in the Boruto anime.

Would I recommend it for someone wanting a deep read into the life of Hatake Kakashi or looking for a solid resource for late-stage Naruto developments? Not particularly. But if you enjoy the Naruto universe and want some of that extra icing left on the tray after the cake has been eaten, it should definitely do the trick.

3/5 stars. Enjoyable, generally low-stakes, slight filler energy, sometimes thought-provoking.

[Ida-Maria Myntti · Rating 1 out of 5]

That was HORRIBLE. How can you fail this bad a story about Kakashi? That Itachi duology was amazing so I was really looking forward to reading a similar story about my favourite Naruto character. But this ended up being the worst thing I’ve read in a long time.

The whole story felt off the whole time. It felt like reading really bad fanfiction or watching the worst filler episode ever.

We could have had a beautiful story about Kakashi reflecting on his abilities after losing his rasengan and thinking about becoming the next Hokage. We could have gotten some interesting information about the events after the 4th Great Ninja War. But what we get is a stupid mission in a zeppelin where Guy is throwing up all the time and Kakashi acting nothing like his character. With an awful attempt to create a love-interest for Kakashi.

This book had one good thing in it and it was the introduction to Kakashi’s new jutsu: the purple lighting.

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 3 out of 5]

The jump from manga/comics to prose is always a difficult one to make, because there's a whole different set of muscles needed to get the story across. For the most part, this is a successful first outing for Naruto however, with the feeling that this would make a decent multi-part arc in the anime if they wanted to adapt it.

There are a few mishaps in translation, like TenTen being called a boy, and Sai being called a girl, but aside from that, this is a readable little story that, if you're craving more post-Naruto Volume 72 material, will probably give you your fix for now.

[Crow · Rating 1 out of 5]

I bought this book because I thought Kakashi would be in it, but he was replaced with a character I don't recognise. The title is very misleading.

As an actual Kakashi fan, I would suggest skipping this book and keeping his image in your mind untainted.

[Mim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well I am biased so 5 stars 🤩 and million hearts for my favorite character ❤️❤️

Fun, easy, quick read. Well written.
I got this (and other one) as Christmas presents 😍 and I had to read this immediately.

[Lisichka · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked it! Some chapters were too short and I found some formatting errors, but it's nice reading a light novel from Kakashi's perspective.

Here are some quotes I liked (warning: could be spoiler-ish):
"(...) it's nonsense to think you can do anything and everything if your goal is a just one. If you're going to change the world, no matter what happens, no matter how hard it is, the only thing to do is keep being a just person yourself." (Kakashi to Rahyo)

"Honestly! Those Konoha ninjas, they go to absurd lengths..." (Ohnoki; I had to laugh when I stumbled upon that quote)

"Honestly... (...) I'm the Hokage now, but I still do the same things. Every day, I eat, I sleep, I worry about stupid things. My job is to make sure these kids have as many days as they can where they can be idiots like this.
Right, that's it, isn't... Obito?" (Kakashi; MY HEART SIGH)

[Chardou · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jako absolutna fanka Hatake nie mogłam nie dać temu 5⭐️. Jeśli ktoś nadal uważa, że Kakashi to zimny jak lód drań bez serca niezdolny do ciepłych uczuć – niech koniecznie to przeczyta, bo jest dokładnie odwrotnie. Można także być zaskoczonym faktem, iż tak naprawdę jest… romantykiem. Ludzie twierdzący także, że po utracie Sharingana stał się słabszy i jest najsłabszym z Hokage – naprawdę radzę zweryfikować swoje myśli. Kakashi po utracie Kopiującego Oka tak naprawdę stał się silniejszy, a to dlatego, że nic mu nie wysysa czakry, będąc aktywnym 24h/dobę przez 365 dni w roku. Dla ignorantów – Kakashi miał przez cały czas aktywnego tego Sharingana ze względu na to, iż ten nie jest Uchiha, w związku z czym nie ma ani czakry dostosowanej do niego, ani organizmu.

Postacie i ich charakter zostały bardzo dobrze odwzorowane: Kakashi na pozór spokojny i mający wszystko gdzieś shinobi, Gai tak ekscentryczny, że miejscami żenujący i niezbyt kumaty. Jego siła młodości także została prawidłowo ukazana, a Naruto jak Naruto – jak zawsze najpierw robi, a potem myśli (w trzeciej serii Naruto nadal nie jest zbyt inteligentny, ale taka jego natura).

Jedyne tak naprawdę, do czego mogłabym się przyczepić w tej nowelce, to narracja i pewne kwestie. Po pierwsze: zaskoczenie nie może być opisane za pomocą wykrzyknika w dialogu. To jest błąd. Po drugie: Naruto NIGDY NIE ZWRACAŁ SIĘ DO KAKASHIEGO PER „PAN”. „Mistrzu” jak najbardziej. A po trzecie: nazwy technik brzmiały jak wyjęte z internetowego translatora, bardzo nienaturalnie brzmiały. Jednak to jest domena nawet w mandze, która, ogólnie (tak jak Bleach) jest dość kiepsko przetłumaczona.

[Prakhar Sharma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kakashi is one of my all time favorite characters so I just had to pick this book after finding out it's existence.
It's a fun and satisfying read for anyone who wants to read a story around him.
I kinda wish this gets an anime adaptation because, honestly, all the action is a bit confusing to understand without any visuals, hence, one less star.
But overall its very enjoyable.
Got some high hopes from the other parts of this series now.

[Farah · Rating 4 out of 5]

"My job is to make sure these kids have as many days as they can where they can be idiots like this.
Right, that's it, isn't it... Obito?"

Kalau dibandingkan dengan 2 buku lain yang sudah aku baca dalam seri Naruto Hiden, sepertinya Kakashi Hiden adalah buku terfavoritku sejauh ini. Mungkin karena klimaks pertarungannya lebih terasa ya dalam buku ini. Aku juga tidak menemukan hal aneh atau kesalahan berarti. Sebagai buku pertama dari seri Naruto Hiden, Kakashi Hiden adalah pembuka menjanjikan.

Satu tahun sudah berlalu pasca Perang Dunia Shinobi Ke-4. Tanpa terasa waktu Kakashi untuk menduduki kursi hokage ke-6 semakin dekat. Hilangnya sharingan yang menjadi ciri khasnya sebagai ninja membuat Kakashi meragukan diri sendiri untuk menduduki posisi hokage. Ketika sebuah misi pengawalan sederhana berubah menjadi pertempuran yang menumpahkan darah, Kakashi pun menyadari bagaimana dia telah melarikan diri dari hal yang harusnya dihadapi dengan berani.

Kemunculan karakter Tazuna&Inari serta penyebutan nama Zabuza&Haku membuatku bernostalgia lagi ke arc awal dalam seri Naruto. Seperti yang kita tahu, mengawal Tazuna ke Land of Wind adalah misi pertama dari Tim 7. Ah! Good old times. Aku malah sampai berkaca-kaca di episode penutup arc itu karena Zabuza&Haku hiks. Menurutku kisah dalam buku ini cukup efektif dalam menepis keraguan beberapa oknum akan kompetensi Kakashi yang dianggap kurang pantas menjadi hokage ke-6.

Tunggu apalagi penggemar Kakashi? Buku ini sedikit banyaknya dapat memberi insight menarik pada karakter misterius Sang copy ninja. Untuk para penggemar yang tertarik dengan dinamika hubungan persahabatan (hubungan rival abadi lebih tepatnya) antara Guy dan Kakashi, aku rasa buku ini juga akan membuatmu senang.

Aku juga sudah mengulas buku ini (di blog bukuku)

[Nell Dimitrova · Rating 5 out of 5]

"My job is to make sure these kids have as many days as they can where they can be idiots like this. Right, that's it, isn't it...Obito?"
Kishimoto sure knows how to make me cry.

[clea · Rating 2 out of 5]

its my first time reading a light novel lol but i must say this one's pretty dull 😓 WELL at least the epilogue was good!!! sigh wished he really had a woman by his side tho

[Adam Gower · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite disappointed.

I've read the Itachi books that were insightful as to the characters backstory, motivations, relationships with characters not explored by the manga or show and to generally show stuff not known about the character.

This was not the case here. This is essentially a filler episode that takes place a year after the show/manga had finished.

This story is meant to examine Kakashi's internal conflict with taking the Hokage role and just doesn't do a very good job IMO. The action is fine and there are enough cameo's from everyone to keep fans happen but the time given to the conflict we are meant to care about is minimal and barely convincing. There are plot consistency issues/holes and the dialogue is a bit flat also.

Maybe it was my own expectations getting in the way. I thought this may examine his relationship with his parents (who we know very little about) or some of the missions he went through under Minato and how that shaped him as a character, giving insight into multiple characters from before we know them I thought could have been a unique selling point.

Granted we have had a lot of Kakashi backstory already, from youth to ANBU but I still feel it would have been better than what we got here.

Barely a 3/5.

[Wiktor Atryda · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nie wiem jakie mangi pisze Masashi Kishimoto (generalnie jest to moje pierwsze zetknięcie z uniwersum Naruto, więc bierzcie moją opinię z dystansem), być może dobre i czuć tutaj tą mangowość, tylko, że gagi i inne zabiegi z komiksu niestety nie działają na papierze... w sensie na literkach... bez obrazków. Wielokrotnie można było sobie wyobrażać dane sceny w wykonaniu mangowym/anime i wiem, że to był celowy zabieg, spoko, ale dla takich rzeczy wolałbym przeczytać/obejrzeć rzeczywistą mangę/anime. Tak jak mówię nie czułem tego vibe'u, nie po to czytam książki. Jest to również mój pierwszy light novel, więc nie wiem jeszcze czy każdy z nich rządzi się takimi prawami, ale boję się sięgnąć po kolejnego i już tęsknię za książkami z prawdziwego zdarzenia. Fabularnie nudy, nie pochłonęło mnie wystarczająco; postacie również mnie nie zaciekawiły, oprócz Gaia, bardzo sympatyczny gość, i najbardziej nietypowy na tle pozostałych charakterów.

[Shyames · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bardzo spodobał mi się pomysł wypełnienia tego okresu przez skokiem czasowym serią powieści. Na pewno ciężko jest się przestawić z mangi w prozę, ale nie było źle. Postacie trzymają poziom, nie odbiegają od swoich ustalonych już osobowości.
W polskim wydaniu przyczepiłabym się nieco do tego jak postacie zwracają się do siebie. Samo tłumaczenie, tak ogółem, jest całkiem-całkiem, ale w życiu Naruto nie wołał do Kakashiego per pan. Not even once.

[Samuel Beatty · Rating 5 out of 5]

You definitely need to have watched the show before but it was nice to see what the inner dialogue of the characters are like. Probably not a 5 star in terms of plot and writing, but it features my three favourite characters as protagonist and deuteragonist x2

[Vanessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Divertido, pero pensé que sería una historia de su vida, algo que no se profundizó mucho en Naruto, pero, en realidad, es un capítulo de su vida que no explora nada de mi queridísimo Kakashi.

[Narek Shukhyan · Rating 4 out of 5]

It fills some spaces in the plot and is a nice read for a fan. Won't say it was as touching as the Shikamaru novel, but good enough for a side story Kishimoto novel.

[Valdrianth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definately ore of a 3.5

Also shit Kakashi you still depressed as hell.

[Mateusz Nosek · Rating 3 out of 5]

Niby spoko, ale trochę nudy i nic nie wnosi do świata

[Adam Megahed · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was fantastic! If you like Kakashi, Guy Sensei or honestly just gave off a the same good vibes as the Naruto Anime. Won't spoil anything, and I'm obviously biased as Kakashi is my favorite character but this is a must read! It's short, under 200 pages and reads like a three to five episode story arc in the anime!

[Drake Frost · Rating 2 out of 5]

Now remember, if you haven't read all of the original manga, then this book and review will contain certain spoilers, so make sure you read the 72 manga volumes before reading this review, or this book!

When I first saw this book, I must admit, I was very excited. The idea of more expansion to the Naruto universe is something every fan would welcome. Unfortunately, it wasn't a manga, as I'd been expecting, but a novel, which was a slight disappointment, but I was still looking forward to it.

What I was expecting from it, was a story that revolved around Kakashi's time as the sixth Hokage, the changes the world was undertaking, and perhaps the passing of the mantle of Hokage from Kakashi to Naruto, as well as the development of the various characters that the series introduced, now the war was over and they were ageing more.
What I felt like I got, was nothing more than a filler episode from the anime. It's set before Kakashi has even become Hokage. Unlike his usual character, he seems whiny, and kind of arrogant, which doesn't mirror the image of him that we've previously had. The story itself is set in a place that has no real significance to fans, other than being used in one of the spin-off films, and there's very little talk of anything else happening in the world outside of the the filler story.
The writing style also somehow feels off. Somehow, it fails to capture the unique style that the Naruto story is told. The tone is overly wordy, and a lot of the impact in the storytelling is lost due to this. Whether this is down to the author himself, or the translator, I don't know, but it just didn't quite flow well.

Overall, the book was a sad disappointment for me personally. The high expectations I had weren't met, which is partly my own fault, for maybe I was expecting too much, but as a long time fan, you can't help but want a series that's been a big part of your life to do well.
After saying all this however, I still can't say that it was terrible. After all, I made it through the story, and despite it only feeling like a filler, it was still a Naruto filler, and the story carried as such. Not as good as some of the fillers I've seen, but nor was it the worst. Worth a read for Naruto fans, if you're still hungry for the series, but don't expect to be blown away. We'll just have to wait and see if Shikamaru's Story, which has a different author, delivers something more.

[Zahraa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was hesitating about whether I should go with 4 or 5 (Since I feel like it deserves 4.5 but GR doesn't allow halves :/) so I ended up giving it 4 stars !
Anyways , it was a pretty light read & brought me back to the times when I used to love & enjoy Naruto's manga & anime (before the damn 2 chapters & The last movie came out xD) .
Even though it was like the shortest light novel I've read up to this point but it was nice to read something from Kakashi-sensei's POV at least & learn more about his monologs & it was a real page-turner for me :D
However , the biggest turn off was the translation since in some parts especially in regards to the pronouns that I even remember reading a sentence in the last few chapters in which the translator referred to Kakashi-sensei by "her" xD & here are some other examples on this matter :
***SPOILER ALERT*** In (Chapter 12) : -Tenten shot his ninja tools into the air . (Here poor Tenten is being referred to as a guy by the translator xD)
-"Yeah" Shino noded , as she maneuvered the insects . "You go after Garyo". ( & here Shino is being referred to as a girl xD )
Anyways , I can't wait for the rest of the series to come out in English (Even though I seriously just wanna read the last about the Akatsuki but it probably won't be released until a year or 2 at most & there aren't any fan translation of it yet :") ) & hopefully the other novels like those about Itachi-sama & Sasuke get official translation as well :3

[Aja: The Narcoleptic Ninja · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love getting more to a story to fill in some of the blanks. Overall this was a lot of fun and I really enjoyed it.

This story is basically a chapter of what happens after the war ends in Naruto. Firstly, it's interesting to see that even after the five great countries are allied there's still trouble. The book was exciting and fun and extremely hard to put down once I started it. I love the relationship between Guy and Kakashi and seeing more of it is always fun.

Once I got towards the end I suppose I could have done without the kind of a romance, but not really a romance aspect of the book. Honestly, to me, it just kind of felt tacked on and like it didn't really belong there. I know a lot of fans were probably looking for that, and I'm sure a lot of people loved it, but to me it felt a little unnecessary. It's open to interpretation, and personally I read it as more of a platonic work relationship.

Overall a very satisfying read and I look forward to reading some of the others, especially Itachi's and Sakura's.

[Shelby · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story is good but it could have been better. Kakashi goes through a lot of problems and DRAMA with Obito and Rin plus Naruto. Kishimoto did a good job on the book. But everything goes well in the end. I loved how Kishimoto made Kakashi seem so strong. I also like how Kishimoto gave Kakashi a wonderful personality, not a personality of a player or a jerk. I recommend this book to people who like Kishimoto, Naruto, and Manga.

[Kathleen · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's always difficult to figure out if the writing or the translation is the real problem with a novel like this. It was a little clunky, without the usual flow of the manga, and the new characters seemed flat. Still, it's nice that the story goes on in some form and there were a few funny moments that made the book worth reading for a fan of the series. I'm not sure if I'll continue with these novellas or not.

[Melissa Kidd · Rating 1 out of 5]

This story wasn't that good. It's basically fanfiction that's been published and I've read a lot of fanfiction that's better than this. Some of this was probably due to translation issues. Some things are just better said in Japanese and don't translate well into English. I almost put the book down, but I hear that the next book is much better, and it was a pretty fast read. Only recommend for die-hard fans of Naruto however.

[Matthew Velazquez · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved being able to witness things from Kakashi's perspective. Very cool to see that even a shinobi of his standing would have concerns about his ability to meet everyone's expectations.

There was enough action to keep me interested without getting repetitive or boring. The choice of opposing Kekkei Genkai and the surroundings were a great combination to keep the suspense going as well.

I found myself smiling at the end. A fun read!

[Philharmonic EightThirty · Rating 5 out of 5]

NO SHARINGAN KAKASHI?

A pretty cool story of how Kakashi transitions into the 6th Hokage with some bitter sweet romance.

It's all high octane once the jutsu's are released!

SHIKAMARU'S STORY NEXT