Gaara

**Gaara**is the Hidden Sand Village's **Fifth Kazekage** (*Literally meaning: Fifth Wind Shadow*) and the jinchuriki of the One-Tailed Raccoon, Shukaku. He is also the commander-in-chief of the Allied Shinobi Forces.

## Physical Appearance

Gaara is a fairly-tall individual (about 1 inch shorter than Naruto), with fair skin and short, spiky, red hair with a striking resemblance to his father. He also has pale blue-green eyes. Gaara has no distinct pupils or eyebrows. He has two very notable in his appearance traits: firstly, he has tanuki-like black eye rings, having them since his birth. Secondly, he carved the kajin "*love*" on the left side of his forehead, having it since Yashamaru's betrayal. Gaara's forelocks are parted from the left side, making the kajin more visible.

Gaara wears a crimson long-sleeved coat with flaring hemlines and slits on the lower half of the front and back, full-length dark trousers, with a pair of laces on each leg, respectivley a few inches below the waist and knees, a gray holster vest held in place by a single strap over his left shoulder and by two buckled belts which he uses to carry his Sand Gourd. He also wears another pair of casually worn belts around his waist, and wears the standard shinobi sandals. He even wears the standard Kazekage robes, and a simple black pants suit.

## Personality

Gaara is a calm, cold and serious individual and a person of a few words which makes him soft-spoken, though genuinely caring for his siblings, friends and village as the Kazekage, and is willing to sacrifice his own life to protect them. Though he can be ruthless against his opponents, Gaara can show mercy to those who aren't worth killing and only kill those who are dangerous and would threaten the peace of his village.

Gaara's childhood was a parallel to Naruto Uzumaki's in many ways. Both were unbearably lonely and longed to be liked, loved and acknowledged as individuals as a result of being jinchuriki - they were human beings, not the demons they had been forced to contain - and were driven to separate states of depression and desperation. While Naruto consequently developed the misconception that pranks and mischief would bring him the attention he craved, Gaara came to the conclusion that he could preserve and confirm his own existence by killing any and all who challenged it, securing this extreme form of existentialism as his key trait. In the absence of outside recognition, Gaara could compensate by valuing only himself to the exclusion of every other person. Furthermore, while Naruto eventually had Iruka Umino and Team Kakashi to comfort him, Gaara never bothered to make emotional bonds, not even with his father or siblings, as they too despised and feared Shukaku. The person who grew the closest to acknowledging him was Yashamaru, but when Yashamaru was ordered to betray him, Gaara was transformed into a lonely sociopath. As such, Gaara couldn't understand fighting for anything but himself until his confrontation with Naruto during the Chunin Exams.

After his defeat at Naruto's hands, Gaara was shocked to discover that Naruto understood very well the pain he had endured throughout his life. He was even more surprised to learn that Naruto had never lost his ambition to be recognized as an individual, and had ultimately found companions who truly cared for him. Witnessing the resolution Naruto possessed to protect his friends caused Gaara to finally question the path he had determined for himself as a young child. Realizing that he had given up too easily, Gaara decided to follow Naruto's chosen path instead in order to finally be seen as a human being, and not the tailed beast within him. Over the next few years, Gaara's resolve to find happiness caused him to rely on his own power rather than that of the demon. Gaara eventually formed a close friendship with Naruto, viewing the Hidden Leaf ninja as his first true friend, and became very loyal to his decisions, and protective over him as a companion. Gaara also came to view meeting Naruto as the greatest event of his life and believed any price, even the painful life of a jinchuriki was worth the experience. Gaara even forgave Shukaku for his miserable childhood, claiming that it was only because of such a life that he was able to meet Naruto.

Since becoming one of Naruto's companions, Gaara has somehow taken on his ability to alter people's personalities. During the Kage Summit, he shocked the older, more experienced Kage by asking them when they had forsaken themselves, later causing Ohnoki to become much more determined to protect the Shinobi World. Before the Shinobi Alliance marched off to battle, he motivated them to set aside their differences, forget their past rivalries and unite under a single banner. He even managed to make Naruto think about the choices he had made in regards to Sasuke, stating that he only cared about revenge. His bond with Naruto has also made him capable of tossing aside any grudge, including his previous hatred of his father, who was partly responsible for Gaara's miserable childhood. He admits to having forgiven his father's actions, but openly weeps after learning that his mother truly did love him, and that she had vowed to protect him forever by infusing her will into his sand which, as his father noted, would always protect him.

Gaara cares deeply for Naruto and his well-being, and despite Sasuke's actions during his assault at the Kage Summit and his status as an international criminal, went so far as to attempt to convince Sasuke to come out of the darkness one more time on behalf of Naruto, and when unconvinced, even shed a tear for the failure Sasuke has become, and the disappointment Naruto will face. Despite respecting Naruto's goals, his care for him does not block his personal beliefs, and he believes his friend's well-being is more important, most prominent is his support to keep Naruto out of the war saying to Tsunade that Naruto takes too many risks when it comes to protecting his friends. Gaara also bluntly tells Naruto that chasing after Sasuke is foolish, as he sees him as no longer being able to return from the path of corruption. Though he defies Naruto's goal to bring Sasuke back, he only says this for Naruto's well-being because they are "friends". Gaara told him that when he becomes Hokage that they can share a cup of Sake together, in which Naruto happily agree.

Although he remained ruthless against his opponents, Gaara is extremely protective of his allies and innocent people, as seen when he protected his village from Deidara; and his siblings, Darui and even the Raikage against Sasuke. He also deeply understands those who have suffered from loneliness and hatred in the past by the look in their eyes, such as Naruto, Kimimaro, and even Sasuke Uchiha.

As a Kage, Gaara believes that the ideals of previous generations, that each village must mind their own business and solve their own problems without having to ask for the aid of others in order to keep appearance and honor, is "ridiculous old-fashioned thinking", and that cooperation between the villages is fundamental in order to defeat Akatsuki.

## Powers and Abilities

### Ninjutsu Prowess

* **Ninjutsu Master**:
	+ **Sand Manipulation**: As a host of Shukaku, Gaara possesses the ability to freely manipulate sand, through the beast's Magnet Style, to serve various purposes. The focus of his fighting style, Gaara's control and cunning in using this ability is formidable, able to control immense amounts one time for feats such as fully transforming into Shukaku and create a tsunami of sand to fight four reincarnated Kage. During battle, Gaara rarely moves, attacking with his sand from a single location, and rarely uses taijutsu. His most basic attack method is to first capture and immobilize his target, and then implode the sand to crush the target. Taking advantage of the malleable nature of sand, Gaara has come up with various "catch and crush" tactics. As the second element of his combat style, Gaara has various sand-defenses should opponents gets too close. His primary defense is his Sand Shield, forms a barrier to surround and protect Gaara on its own. While automatic, Gaara can control its strength-level to steel-like quality or make it completely encase himself. While an effective defense, the shield can be overcome with high-speed attacks or simple enough sheer force. Should this happen, Gaara has a secondary layer of sand covering him called the Armor of Sand. Although useful, the armor requires large amounts of chakra to remain active, and also has the side-effect of weighing Gaara down. The defenses offered by his sand are so powerful, they have been named the "**Absolute Defense**" . It is unknown whether or not Gaara's automatic sand defense was ever truly Shukaku's doing as according to the Fourth Kazekage and Yashamaru, have stated that Gaara's mother, Karura, was the true source she loved him and vowed to always protect him. In addition to these basic methods of offense and defense, Gaara also has a number of miscellaneous techniques. By making a sand clone of himself, Gaara can have an ally to be used in battle. Unlike most clone techniques in the series, the sand clone can retain its shape after being hit, able to reform itself or capture an opponent upon being dispersed. With his Desert Suspension, Gaara can use sand as a platform, to allow himself and others to float in the air. He can also ride his sand faster than Ohnoki can fly to a location. Using the Eye of Sand technique allows him to create a floating eyeball of sand in any location, which he can see through as a means of spying or guide his attacks while his sight is obstructed. His sand can also be used as a sensing device: Gaara can detect when others come into contact with it, even from far away. The sensing of his sand is so great, it was able to repeatedly find the disappearing Mu and the Second Mizukage's Giant Clam. In Part II, Gaara's prowess can gather enough sand to shield the entire village of the Hidden Sand from Deidara's C3, as well as assist in stopping a giant meteorite. If sand is lacking in abundance, Gaara can break down the earth minerals in the ground to create more sand. He is able to manipulate the sand even when it's saturated with water. While he can control normal sand, it requires more chakra to manipulate, tiring him at a rapid rate. As a result, Gaara keeps his own chakra-infused sand with him at all times, in a calabash gourd also made out of sand on his back, which also gives Gaara a greater attack-rate. Furthermore, Gaara can crush the hardest minerals in the ground together to create a shield in shape of Shukaku's body or, a spear in the shape of its arm for combat. He was able to integrate gold dust, a feat previously only usable by his father, into his sand. Despite the removal of Shukaku, Gaara can still use his sand like before. According to Sasuke at the Kage Summit, Gaara's Absolute Defense is still alive and well, as well as its previous speed and sheer attack power as it protected Gaara and others from a cave-in, block the attacks of the Fourth Raikage and Amaterasu (without being burned from the latter). During the Fourth Shinobi World War, Naruto expressed belief that Gaara retained the best defense of anyone, later able to block a barrage of strikes from Madara Uchiha's complete Susanoo's sword. Gaara's sand powers were so strong that his father believed he had fully transformed into Shukaku and was later surprised to see that was not the case. Gaara was able to quickly maneuver his sand above his father's Gold Dust, despite its superior weight and stop an enormous meteorite. Gaara's sand is also seemingly the only ninjutsu-based substance that cannot be absorbed. He can even block powerful explosions the instant they explode despite their enormous power, protecting his village and the division respectively.
	+ **Nature Transformation**: Gaara can use Wind and Earth Style nature transformations. He could mix his wind chakra with his sand techniques to increase their defense, power and speed.

### Jinchuriki Powers

* **Jinchuriki Forms**: In desperate situations, Gaara was able to take on the form of Shukaku by layering sand on his body, making him many times more powerful than he already is. Shukaku's personality grew more dominant during this transformation, increasing Gaara's homicidal tendencies. Once finished, Gaara assumed a human-sized version of Shukaku, wherein he relied on his brute strength to destroy everything around him.
	+ **Shukaku Transformation**:

### Taijutsu Prowess

* **Taijutsu Practitioner**: Though he rarely uses taijutsu as a fighting element, Gaara has displayed incredible reaction speed against advanced taijutsu users such as Rock Lee, along with considerable stealth skill and proficiency in the Teleportation Jutsu sneaking up on Sasuke without the Uchiha noticing.
	+ **Enhanced Strength**:
	+ **Enhanced Speed and Reflexes**:
	+ **Enhanced Durability**:

### Chakra Prowess

* **Immense Chakra Power**: Born as a jinchuriki, Gaara gained Shukaku's immense reserves of chakra and stamina. His chakra was also noted by Kiba Inuzuka to be very strong. Thus, he is able to use many chakra-taxing sand-based techniques, sometimes in quick succession, before becoming exhausted. Despite the removal of Shukaku from inside him, Gaara's chakra reserves remained just as powerful, as he was the only one of the Five Kage to show no signs of low chakra reserves throughout the entire Fourth Shinobi World War, even after using large-scale techniques.

### Other Skills

* **Master Strategist and Tactician**: Gaara has also shown to be a highly analytical and very skilled tactician, being able to defeat the Second Mizukage by formulating a way to counter the Mizukage's exploding clone.
* **Fuinjutsu Expert**:

## Relationships

### Family

* Rasa (Father, Deceased)
* Yashamaru (Mother, Deceased)
* Temari (Older Sister)
* Kankuro (Older Brother)

### Friends/Allies

* Baki (Sensei)
* The Hidden Sand Village
* Naruto Uzumaki (Best friend and friendly rival)
* Sasuke Uchiha (Close friend and former rival)
* Sakura Haruno
* Hinata Hyuga
* Kakashi Hatake
* Tsunade
* The Hidden Leaf Village
* Ay
* Killer Bee
	+ Gyuki
* The Hidden Cloud Village
* Ohnoki
* The Hidden Stone Village
* Mei Termui
* The Hidden Mist Village
* Mifune
* Land of Iron
* Toshiro Hitsugaya
* Kai
* Shadow the Hedgehog

### Rivals

* Naruto Uzumaki (Friendly rival)
* Sasuke Uchiha
* Rock Lee

### Enemies

* Owari Otsutsuki
* The Kihei
* The Red Lotus (Xin Bau's Group)
* Madara Uchiha
* Obito Uchiha
* The Akatsuki
	+ Deidara
* Orochimaru
* Kabuto Yakushi
* The Sound Ninja Five
	+ Kimimaro Kaguya
* The Hidden Sound Village
* Sasuke Uchiha (formerly)