Gaara

**Gaara** is the Sunagakure's **Fifth Kazekage** (*Literally meaning: Fifth Wind Shadow*) and the jinchūriki of the One-Tailed Tayuki, Shukaku which he gained during birth. He is also the commander-in-chief of the Allied Shinobi Forces during the Fourth Shinobi World War.

## Physical Appearance

Gaara is a fairly tall and slim young man (about .1 inch taller than Naruto despite their height similarity), with fair skin and short, spiky, red hair with a striking resemblance to his father. He also has pale blue-green eyes and 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, respectively 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 ankle-high, shinobi sandals. He even wears the standard Kazekage robes, and a simple black pants suit during formal meetings.

## Personality

Gaara is generally a calm, collected and serious individual, and a person of a few words which makes him soft-spoken, though genuinely caring and protective 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, only killing those who are believed to 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 jinchūriki - 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 Chūnin 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 Konoha-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".

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.

## Abilities

**Sand Manipulation**: As a host of Shukaku, Gaara possesses the ability to freely manipulate sand. The focus of his fighting style, his control and skill is formidable, being able to control immense amounts at one time for feats such as fully transforming into Shukaku or raising a tsunami of sand. While Gaara has become capable of controlling any sand (whether it is saturated with water or mixed with gold), he always keeps his own chakra-infused sand with him in a calabash gourd also made out of sand on his back, giving him a greater attack-rate. If sand is lacking in abundance, he can break down the earth minerals in the ground to create more sand. Gaara's sand is also the only ninjutsu-based substance that cannot be absorbed. Gaara rarely moves in battle, attacking with his sand from one location. His most basic attack method is to capture and immobilize his target before imploding the sand to crush them. Exploiting the malleable nature of sand, he has come up with several "catch and crush" tactics. The second element of Gaara's combat style include powerful sand defences, also known as the "Absolute Defense". His primary defence is the Shield of Sand, which forms a barrier to surround and protect him automatically. He can also harden his sand to a more steel-like quality or make it completely surround him. While an effective defence, the shield can be overcome with very high-speed or sharp attacks. Should this happen, Gaara can create a thin layer of sand over his skin to soften blows. However, it requires large amounts of chakra to remain active, and has the side-effect of weighing Gaara down. He can also crush the hardest minerals in the ground together to create a shield in the shape of Shukaku's body or, in the *Naruto* anime, a spear in the shape of its arm for combat.

It is unknown whether or not Gaara's automatic sand defence was ever truly Shukaku's doing as both Rasa and Yashamaru have stated that Gaara's mother, Karura is the true source, as she loved him and vowed to always protect him. Gaara also has a number of miscellaneous techniques, such as producing a sand clone to aid him in battle. Unlike most clone techniques, the sand clone can reform itself after being hit or capture an opponent upon being dispersed. Gaara can also use sand as a platform to allow himself and others to float in the air, as well as create a floating eyeball of sand in any location, which he can see through as a means of spying or guiding his attacks while his sight is obstructed. He can also use his sand to detect others that come into contact with it, even from far away, such as the disappearing Mū and Gengetsu's Giant Clam.

In Part II of *Naruto*, Gaara's improved prowess allowed him to gather enough sand to shield the entire village of Suna from Deidara's C3 the instant it detonated. Despite losing Shukaku, his sand manipulation remains stronger than ever before, with his Absolute Defense earning praise from Sasuke and Naruto at different points. It could block the attacks of the Fourth Raikage and Amaterasu (without being burned from the latter), protect Gaara and others from a cave-in, assist in stopping a giant meteorite, and later block a barrage of strikes from Madara's senjutsu-enhanced humanoid Susanoo's sword. During the Fourth Shinobi World War, Gaara's father initially believed his son had fully transformed into Shukaku in order to perform such feats. Gaara could quickly maneuver his sand above his father's Gold Dust, despite its superior weight, and later integrate the gold into his sand. He can also insert his sand into an opponent's body through their open wounds, and use it to control and restrict their movement.

**Nature Transformation**: Gaara can use Wind and Earth Release nature transformations. He could mix his wind chakra with his sand techniques to increase their defense, power and speed.

**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 Body Flicker Technique sneaking up on Sasuke without the Uchiha noticing.

* **Enhanced Strength**: Gaara has also shown some measure of physical strength even without transforming into Shukaku, easily repelling Temari with a single punch despite his injury.
* **Enhanced Durability**: Even without his defenses, Gaara is still quite a durable fighter.

**Immense Chakra Power**: Born as a jinchūriki, 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.

**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.

**Fūinjutsu Expert**: Like many Suna shinobi, Gaara is skilled with the Sealing Tag, using his sand in place of cloth.

### Jinchūriki Powers

**Shukaku's Power**: In desperate times, Gaara could take on the form of Shukaku by layering sand on his body, making him much stronger than before. 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. If need be, Gaara could almost instantly create a life-sized version of Shukaku, should the human-sized form fail. In this form, he remained deep within the copy of Shukaku, safe from harm, though unable to move. When in need of Shukaku's full power, Gaara would use his Feigning Sleep Technique, which forced him to sleep, and allowed Shukaku to take full control. To do so, however, Gaara must emerge from within the copy, leaving him open to attack for the duration of the technique. Over time, Gaara gained better control over Shukaku, such that he could suppress its personality by himself towards the end of the anime's pre-Shippūden filler arcs. By the time Part II began, he was even capable of using Shukaku's arms to attack numerous times, without losing control of himself. However, this could have merely been his improved control over sand in action.

## Relationships

### Family

* Temari (Older Sister)
* Kankurō (Older Brother)