Disclaimer: The revealing of Kakashi's true prowess as well as the unraveling of his personas/facades will be done in scenarios that may or may not be linked. Despite effort to find a semblance in having a good flow of writing as well as to avoid inconsistencies or overlaps in scenes such as the reactions of groups cause by the revelation, such mistakes or inadequacies are not assured to be uncommitted. Please pardon the failings of the piece and comments are encouraged. Thank you.

Sheepish For now, pieces are mostly random, unorganized and slow going. They are in fact many scenarios to depict the intended results and that dilemma has unfortunately escalated into stunted writing. Apologies for that.

Kakashi's ANBU persona- Wolf was rather befitting of his father's legacy and his own spirit animal if he should muse upon it. His mask was intricately painted, with the underlining of red across the eye sockets, the demonic, wolfish grin and the other elegant black and red markings that decorated the sides of the mask that made up the lupine identity. His mask had weathered innumerable harsh times and had not been immune to cracks and breaks. The mended mask was embellished with more scratches and cracks than the number of brush strokes across it, heightening the terror of the mask. The cracks under the sockets made the red starker and darker as the shadows of the cracks gave a morbid imagination of rivulets of blood spurting out of those apertures. The cracks along the grin made the expression even more crazed and dangerous, showcasing the ruthlessness of his persona.

Along with his trademark mask, he was garbed in the ANBU uniform issue, a black tight-fitting undershirt and a grey vest. Apart from the obvious color difference from his green Jounin issue, the stark difference was the baring of his muscled shoulders up to his toned biceps. This was to the purpose of showcasing his ANBU tattoo- the identity of an ANBU- , a seemingly innocuous red print of two curved lines. Also, there was also the looming presence of a standard issue katana strapped to his back. These additions to his uniform sufficed to make his appearance a menace to anyone who came across him. Along with the feral masked strapped across his face, the obvious arming of a ninja who always carried hidden weapons with a long weapon against his back ominously projected the intent and ability to maim. ANBU had the ability to intimidate others into inaction and submission which Wolf was all too happy to exploit, especially in Mission Type I.

Superficial as it was, the mere appearance of an ANBU in any village would warrant in the most obvious fear to the blatant 'ignorance' of the encroaching accident. Unless the leaders of the villages wanted to invite strife with other countries, it was acknowledged that the various ANBU was to surreptitiously clear out threats on all ends. Civilians themselves were also self-preserving enough to not interfere with an ANBU's business. Thus, assassinations and fights were carried out with minimal disruption. While this noninterference contributed to the ANBU's success, the skills of these elite ninja were not to be underestimated. The fact that they were able to inspire such obedience and trepidation was a testament to their much greater physical prowess as hinted in their poise. Kakashi himself had a clean, crisp and commanding walk which made him appear to sweep across large distances in an instant which left others floundering over his 'sudden departure'. The assuredness of his stance displayed his confidence and exceptional control over his body. Thus, with reputation greatly boosting the effectiveness of his kills, Mission Type I's (garbed in full ANBU regalia, aka announcing you are ANBU) failure rate was near zero.

Mission Type II- covert operations, on the other hand required the augmented finesse of a disguise and acting skills. Shedding off the visceral costume of an ANBU, as the saying goes once an ANBU, always an ANBU, but retaining the honed fixation on accomplishing the mission goal, operatives are made to adapt to situations and complete their missions. A simple change of his clothes, can switch the mindset of Kakashi from the puerile yet discerning Jounin persona to the ruthless and ingenious Wolf and now the harmless and boisterous civilian. As Kakashi shrugged on a simple red shirt with a pair of long pants, he starting pitting on a henge on his face to disguise his distinct features and allow for his character's well-mannered smiles and chatter. His gait was changed from the smooth, effortless strides to one of a jauntier nature to sell his affable nature to get him to befriend his target. This was where the true cruelty of the ANBU can be found, the assassination of targets when a relationship is established. No matter to the operatives, however, as their true nature is merely concealed with the prerogative of their missions. The genuine smiles to reel their targets in, the seemingly unrehearsed altruism they gift their target with and the embellished stories told to their targets were all their hard work and culmination of their skills. The practice of such Mission Type IIs enabled their operatives to hone their skills- heightened sense of danger, negotiation, sociability and many others- and most importantly conceal them.

This was probably why Kakashi was so adept at his Jounin persona, his mind treating it as another Mission Type II in his real life. Not to mention, the entertainment he got when he casually interacted with his students as a passing traveller after just having completed his mission. His cheerful and amicable demeanor inviting his students to interact with him in much enthusiasm. They had much to learn, and if these actions and missions fed his acknowledged sadism, who was to know? In fact, perhaps he should reappear as Sukea again. After all, he was confident that his disguise would be revealed sooner or later (a lesson for his students) with his identity as a ninja but not as Kakashi.

The ANBU were masters of disguises and most of all misdirection and manipulation.

They were wearing costumes, the whole lot of them, hiding their true intentions.

Ruminate on that thought for a while longer and you will get even more frustrated, which were their true identities anyway?

Did it even matter?