Kankuro

**Kankurō** (カンクロウ) is a shinobi of Sunagakure and the second eldest of the Three Sand Siblings. While initially terrified of his younger brother, Kankurō would come to believe in him and his dream to become the Kazekage like their father before them and would become one of Gaara's most loyal protectors, confidant and bodyguard.

## Background

Kankurō was born the second child to Karura and the Fourth Kazekage: Rasa. While it was customary for close relations to a Kage to be a jinchūriki, neither he nor his sister Temari were compatible with the One-Tail.

In the anime, when Shukaku rampaged in Sunagakure, a young Kankurō instructed the villagers to escape. As his father arrived, Kankurō noted his younger brother was a "monster". Later, he confronted Gaara and asked whether or not he felt remorse for killing his fellow villagers, but was silenced when he threatened to kill him. In the anime, Kankurō mentions having once pleaded with Chiyo to train him, though she turned him down because she no longer cared about aiding the future of the village.

## Personality

In Part I, one noticeable personality trait he displayed was an apparent dislike for children, first seen when he attempted to beat up Konohamaru for running into him. This carried over to many of his interactions with other characters, as he was noticeably irritated when in the presence of someone younger than him. This was most evident when he was seen with Gaara, who Kankurō was forced to put up with due to the fear his younger brother imposed on him. After Gaara's defeat in the hands of Naruto, Kankurō's relationship with Gaara improved drastically over a very short period of time. In the short time between this and the Sasuke Retrivial Arc, Kankurō and Temari no longer expressed fear of being killed by Gaara when sent on missions with him.

Kankurō was shown to be the type to avoid needless fighting. This was shown during the Forest of Death, where he stated if Shigure's team had the same scroll as them, fighting is pointless. He further stated he didn't want to be stuck in the forest with Gaara because he often got into unnecessary fighting for the sole purpose of satisfying his bloodlust.

During the mission to help retrieve Sasuke, Kankurō was shown to be very prideful of his village, saying they're not as soft as Konoha ninja. Kankurō also can be doubtful at times, not only when Gaara wanted to start working with other ninja, but also when he was the first of the siblings to give up on Sasuke due to Naruto's failure to convince Sasuke and his connection with Akatsuki.

Despite their apparent differences, Gaara and Kankurō become very close over the time skip, as Gaara began to confide in Kankurō, and shared his dreams of wanting to risk his life to protect Sunagakure. Combining with having developed brotherly feelings, especially that of an older brother, Kankurō has become very protective of Gaara, getting angry at anyone who insults Gaara in his presence, even Sunagakure's counsellors. When Gaara was captured by Akatsuki, Kankurō rushed to his brother's aid alone in an attempt to save him, and risked his life for him, despite the dangers that he put himself in. When he was incapacitated as a result of the battle with Sasori, he pleaded with Naruto to bring his brother back, and as soon as he had recovered, joined Temari in looking for Gaara. At one point when Kankurō had been poisoned by Sasori he was heard muttering Gaara's name though he was unconscious, which showed how much he cared for Gaara. Once Gaara was found and saved, Kankurō joined Temari in thanking Team 7 for saving their brother. It was also noted that he likes collecting puppets, and installing and upgrading the mechanisms in them. In the anime, as seen from his Infinite Tsukuyomi, his greatest desire is to create the ultimate ninjutsu puppet.

During the Fourth Shinobi World War, Kankurō indicated signs of being a caring leader when he pulled Zaji from the explosion and protecting his group from any danger. He also shows determination during his battle against Deidara, Sasori, and Shin. Kankurō keeps Omoi from overreacting and getting anxious by telling him to win the war at all costs to protect his family and friends. When Sasori was captured inside of Kuroari, Kankurō helps make Sasori realise his true faults during his lifetime as a puppeteer which makes Sasori entrust his "Father and Mother" puppets to him.

In the original Japanese, Kankurō speaks with a distinctive Yokohama dialect. He can often be heard ending his sentences with "-jan". This makes him sound tough, as this accent is often used for biker gang members or punk kids (called "yankii" in Japanese, Yokohama supposedly has many) in manga. It is possible that he was given this accent to make him sound different from the Konoha characters' standard Tokyo Japanese.