Gaara

[Gaara]

Name: Gaara

Age: 20

Gender: Male

Village: Sunagakure no Sato

Rank: Fifth Kazekage

Clan: None

Appearance: Gaara’s clothing would vary depending on him addressing the Sand Village, and then that of him carrying out a task outside the village or even when about to find himself in the midst of combat against an invading ninja or force that would threaten the village, which adds to the presumption that he is at his most best and is serious when fighting in these cloths. The first set of clothing is the Kazekage outfit that is worn when around the village grounds. Unlike, the outfit the fourth Kazekage wore, Gaara’s design differ from some points in appearance and features.

First, there is the fact that Gaara doesn’t covet his mouth with a sheet of cloth to only reveal his eyes and doesn’t wear the Kazekage hat since he has yet to be seen with it on at all. He seems to wear a blue throw that covets his body going all the way to the ankles and then the white thin robe that finishes the garb’s design shows the traditional Kazekage clothing as the bottom opening of the blue garment gives enough space for free leg movement when walking. The coat closes in to make the thick blue run down the center and the sleeves of the coat goes to the length of the wrist and are loose fitting enough to slide an opposite hand into each sleeve. The last touch that differs from the traditional robes is the garb that conceals Gaara’s neck almost completely to a tee. It also covers the point of the collar of both the coat and the blue garment giving Gaara an over all look of his Kazekage appearance even though it looks to conceal his body’s figure under the robes and clothing. This appearance is said to be altered because just under his robes and cloak is his gourd that hides there, but this isn’t confirmed.

Now Gaara’s clothing when outside the village and in combat is of a different matter and suits his own style as it reflects him best. The unnoticeable are the black clothing he wears under the show attire. He wears pairs of black pants that matches his shirt that coordinates by color obviously as well as material. The shirt is plain and is curve collared to show his mesh netted vest that all shinobi wear along their upper body. The pants are fastened at two areas among his right leg and one along his left leg for a total of three small brown straps. The ones on his right leg fasten with on just above the knee, then one farther below going mid-way between his knee and ankle area, and the one on the left leg being in the same position as the second one on the right fastening at the same exact spot adjacent to the right leg. The bottom his pants rest along the top of his navy blue sandals that he wears on his feet. On top of the black set of clothing is his coat that covers the belt line and waist. The coat is a burgundy color that seems to be made of velvet of some sort considering how the sleeves stretch and fits around his wrist as they zip along that point to make the sleeves have no looseness what so ever, even along the body and chest area that shows some of the material adjusting to his body‘s figure. The coat is open below the belt line and waist to show his pants legs and the length of the coat goes just a little above the ankles, even though it isn’t noticeable at the most because the wind blows lightly to make the coat blow open where it isn’t fastened below that point. The last thing is the small, brown, sleeveless harness vest that closes the top of the coat above the belt line as it stops at his bottom torso. Two straps run through the top and bottom of the vest’s center as it goes around tightening the fit of the vest. Also, there are two bandages or wraps of some kind that come across his body in a diagonal slant as it closes the coat along the belt line and waist. The bandages go all the way around his back as they wrap around to hold the gourd on his back in place a they wrap around the center of it, letting it hang from a low point at his lower back.

Gaara’s height stands to be 148.1 cm and his weight is a 40.2kg. That is without the gourd, so his weight with it should be about another 10 through 15 kg, depending on the amount of sand carried. Gaara’s body is built strong and tough even though he doesn’t use physical strength in battle unless necessary. His speed is quicker than it appears since he uses replacement jutsus to abandon is sand armor in emergency situations and leave a hollow shell, and considering how he carries his gourd most of the time would only show how much strength he builds with his body with the excess weight he adjusted to. He can move his limbs and his muscles aren’t affected by the free movement even under the pressure of the gourd which means he is suitable for attack and defense since his body can withstand an attack with or without his perfect defense.

Gaara’s skin is a light color, but somewhat paled as he has a gothic expression. His clothing was to fit the gloomy and mysterious expression, even thought it doesn’t truly portray his caring and loving side he has for others. His pupils are unique as they show have no outer covering to have an alternate eye color just as the other characters. His eyes are narrowed mostly as they are rarely wide since he isn’t surprised and the ring around his eyes show the relation to that of a raccoon. He has no eye brows visible unless they are blended with the color of his coon shaded eyes that narrow to lightly enclose his pupils, and his face is always that with a grim expression that shows serious, but calm nature. He folds his arms and gives a glare with his face that would intimidate most people, but only make the most curious wonder about who he is.

Gaara’s hair is dark shade of red that matches his coat exact color shade, a shadowess burgundy if you will. His hair is spiky and feathery as it easily moves around from small blowing gusts of wind and seems to cover part of his forehead only taming the part that doesn’t covers the red inked kanji symbol on his forehead that represents to say, “Love”. This shows Gaara’s appealing traits as it lightens the dark appearance and tough demeanor of him just a bit.



Personality: Gaara is quite quiet and calm hiding only many things about his personality. He is complex and also very fragile when it comes to what he feels towards people. He has the same personality as linking to Naruto showing the lonely side of him and the want to be loved, respected, and acknowledged. His method made him to love only himself for a period, but in the end he has developed to have a goal in heart to protect whom he loves. He rarely smiles, but when it’s time to rejoice he does so on the inside. He values other’s lives over his own at the most showing the qualities of a human rather than a demon he was said to be. The fear of Shukaku remains present inside of him causing a sort of fear towards Gaara, even though he only wants that fear to change into affection. He believes that it is better to share all his feelings and other’s through life instead of keeping them as his own anguish, which is why he felt he wanted to be needed as Kazekage.

Gaara’s past experiences only motivates him to change. Shukaku is a thought of mind that would present itself as a weapon to his nation’s military, but a curse upon him. The fact that it remained in him only made him unstable since he would not sleep fearing the creature would eat away at his personality. Since then, Gaara’s changes have made him a normal person even with Shukaku as his host. After losing Shukaku, his confidence hasn’t change or the desire to protect others. Through losing the spirit, Gaara has gained more to strengthen his bond with his people and others rather than losing some of his strength. The affection he long searched for replaces Shukaku as it acts as his motivation and strength for becoming a stronger person and shinobi.

When in a situation, or a fight, Gaara will fight, especially when a valuable or invaluable life is at stake. He keeps his mind calm and uses his same quiet expression as he remain cautious and doesn’t grow to thingyy to underestimate his enemy. When overpowered, he will rely on tactics and strategic thinking to surprise his enemy, and even if it has to be through will he will try to prevail to protect someone in danger as it fuels his motivation and reason during a battle. Gaara’s calm side suppressed Shukaku when others were in danger, but without the presence, Gaara fights freely and with a since of passion that he gained from Naruto’s own when he fought him. Gaara only shows change in tone or a sudden expression when he is presented with a vital problem, mostly concerning with someone close being in jeopardy.

Since Gaara leads the Sand village now, he shows the utmost respect towards his people. His wish to bond with the people and live for the village is his goal to become a better person every since he was changed by Naruto’s influence. He now believes that in hard work and not running away he could develop the bond he sought with his people, and not being alone and cutting the easy route. He now goes by being needed as the Kazekage, rather than a weapon.


Weapons:

Shuriken

A simple, flat four pointed weapon. It’s shape is almost like that of a four shard edged star design. It has an opening, or circle shaped hole in the center that is the size to hang loosely off a finger. It’s sharp points are on the edge of each pointed end for efficient scratches and wounds inflicted on others or are to bury itself onto a pliable surface. On a small note, Gaara’s Suna Shuriken are made of these as they are encased in sand and then thrown for blunt impact damage.

Jutsus:

Name: [Suna no Yuroi] (Armor of Sand)
Rank: B
Type: Ninjutsu
Desc: Gaara covets himself in an armor of sand incase that his sand shield should fail. This is effective in guarding against attacks, but he uses a large amount of chakra to repair it and hold it in place.

Name: [Sabaku Yui] (Sand Coffin)
Rank: A
Type: Ninjutsu
Desc: This jutsu uses sand to grab the opponent and cover their entire body. This skill is primarily utilized for rendering an opponent immobile, but can kill the opponent by suffocation or by being followed with the Sand Burial, which crushes them.


Name: [Sabaku Soso] (Sand Burial)
Rank: S
Type: Ninjutsu
Desc: After wrapping an opponent with sand, Gaara will cause the sand to implode and crush whatever is within. When used to kill a person, the death is so quick that there isn't even time to feel pain. The pressure also produces a sizable fountain of blood. Gaara can control the pressure used in the attack, which allows him to merely break bones or completely liquefy an opponent.


Name: [Sabaku Taiso] (Desert Imperial Funeral)
Rank: A
Type: Ninjutsu
Desc: Following the Quicksand in the Style of Waterfall, Gaara slams both hands palm down into the sand, creating powerful shockwaves that compress the sand. Anything buried in the sand is subsequently crushed.


Name: [Sabaku Fuy] (Desert Suspension)
Rank: C
Type: Ninjutsu
Desc: Using the sand, Gaara can make a platform to suspend himself and anyone else in the air.

Name: [Sabaku Ro] (Desert Prison)
Rank: C
Type: Ninjutsu
Desc: Gaara traps the victim in sand for capture or to restrict movement.

Name: [Shukaku no Tatte] (Shield of Shukaku)
Rank: A
Type: Ninjutsu
Desc: Using sand, Gaara can create a toy-like replica of Shukaku roughly twice his size. The replica is created with extreme pressure and the hardest minerals in the area, making it virtually indestructible. Although this technique requires a lot of chakra, it does provide for a very powerful defense. The main drawback, however, is that the replica doesn't move, so Gaara's opponent could just walk around it. Gaara has to make sure his opponent either can't or won't move.


Name: [Ryûsa Bakuryû] (Quicksand in the Style of a Waterfall)
Rank: A
Type: Ninjutsu
Desc: This jutsu creates a massive amount of sand and sends it towards an opponent in the form of a wave, covering and "drowning" them in an ocean of sand. In addition to the wave effect of the jutsu, Gaara can control the sand, allowing him to attack his opponent while they attempt to outrun the wave. This appears to be the only one of Gaara's moves that requires hand seals, and in practice is virtually unavoidable. Once completed, it can cover an entire forest in sand.


Name: [Suna Bunshin] (Sand Clone)
Rank: B
Type: Ninjutsu
Desc: This jutsu creates a clone of Gaara out of sand. Perhaps the most versatile of all clones, this variant does not disperse when hit. When attacked, the affected area turns back into sand and snags the opponent. Major damage must be caused to actually disperse the clone (destroying its head, for instance); otherwise, it can simply reform.
While Gaara's functional sand clone is quite obviously a clone, Gaara can create non-functional clones that look just like him. These clones, however, are simply hollow shells.


Name: [Suna Shigure] (Sand Drizzle)
Rank: C
Type: Ninjutsu
Desc: This jutsu is an alternative to Gaara's Desert Coffin; it gathers sand in the air and then targets the opponent from above, covering them in a rain of sand to trap them.


Name: [Suna Shuriken] (Sand Shuriken)
Rank: C
Type: Ninjutsu
Desc: Once Gaara begins transforming into Shukaku, he can throw shuriken made from sand. Unlike regular shuriken, these are merely fast-moving balls of sand that cause blunt trauma, not actual wounds. They are thrown much faster than regular shuriken, however, so the blunt trauma caused can be considerable.

Name: [Daisan no Me] (Third Eye)
Rank: B
Type: Ninjutsu
Desc: This jutsu creates a floating eyeball out of sand that is connected to Gaara's optic nerves. Gaara can control the size of the eye depending on its use. Its main purpose is spying, since it can form and disperse in any location on command.

Special Abilities/Kekkei Genkai/Unique Traits:

[Suna no Tate] (Shield of Sand)

Gaara’s sand protects him of his own accord and against Gaara’s will. He can also manipulate sand to control it, but since his sand has been adjusted with his chakra, his own supply is stronger. Gaara has more strain of using other sand since he has to animate it with his chakra which makes it tougher. This explains why he uses more chakra when it comes to jutsus that require more sand at a larger scale.

RP Sample: As the sun descended while coloring the sky with pigments of red, orange, and yellow, the people of the city of sand begin to walk into their homes as they gave into the signal of the sky knowing it was time for the day to end. The winds that picked up sand and dust even started to subside as the Sand village was more visible upon the sunset. Soon, the sun started to leave the sky as the moon that begin to rise in the distance colored the sky of blue and dotted it with bright stars that shown themselves as the moon threw off a bright and lunar color upon the scene of the village. All was silent except for the desert winds of the night that blew continuous whispers as they lulled the people to sleep.

Not everyone was sleep however as the sand tower of the Kazekage had three presences upon the mound. As two shadows left the single one standing on the edge of a sand made and hardened clay mixed balcony, the Kazekage himself, Gaara of the Desert stood forever watching the city without any sleep. His pupils in the corner of his eyes as he saw his brother and sister depart in the distance leaving him to be alone as he turned his attention towards the Desert city that he now had intent on protecting forever as he valued those of it like they were apart of him.

“Uzumaki Naruto…” Gaara whispering the name to himself only made visions of his past come to his head. The ninja of Leaf Village and the friends that he held close only reminded Gaara of how he was changed by the very essence of that one will. His feeling to prove himself to be more than a weapon of the village and even a monster to those who would look at him. It was a curse that is long forgotten, but the memories still linger only in harmless remnants. Gaara closed his coon like eyes as it seemed they had turn to reflect the night’s dark sky. His expression remaining unchanged as he didn’t smile, frown, or even make a gesture of meaning. He could only express it as he did many times before through out the years as he walked from the perch of his balcony and added. “thank you…”

[Gaara]

History: Gaara is a sand shinobi of the Sand Village and one of the containers of the demon-tailed beasts that were sealed inside a good few human beings. As the former keeper of the “Sacrificial” one-tailed Shukaku, Gaara is the youngest of his other two siblings and is the son of the mysteriously disappeared Fourth Kazekage. The fourth commanded that Gaara would be the vesssel for the one-tailed Shukaku and his mother would be the sacrifice, since one was required for the one-tailed to be sealed. The reason for the fourth Kazekage’s actions was for military purposes. Since the fate of the Sand Village was greatly leaning towards a weak village because of their limited power, the spirit of Shukaku and the container Gaara would be used in a plan to recover that power, and using him as an ultimate weapon of their village would be a good way to crush their targets and take control.

Meanwhile, during Gaara’s growth among the people of the village, his life turns to be nothing more than pain, anguish, and endless hate because of Shukaku. Gaara had grown to feel a cold feeling of nothing more than silence as he found pleasure in killing the numerous assassins that his father sent after him. He was alone mostly and since his father would send endless amounts of assassins to kill him because he thought of Gaara as a threat after he couldn’t control the one-tailed, he only loathed him causing Gaara to start feeling more anguish and rejection causing him to hate everyone except himself.

Gaara’s childhood was just as harsh as Naruto’s but he had different amounts of suffering in more than being hated. Whenever Gaara went to sleep, he found that he would grow utterly unstable since Shukaku would eat away at his personality. This harmed him emotionally and caused psychological damage to him and caused him to grow ever more scared. During this time, Gaara realized he would have ot limit how much he slept when possible so Shukaku wouldn’t completely rob him of his personality and make him nothing more than a container of the spirit that possesses him. Soon, Gaara grew into the habit of not sleeping at all to keep himself safe from the spirits grasp over Gaara’s emotions and already unstable mind. Just like Naruto, Gaara couldn‘t call anyone close to him a friend. He was lonely and wanted to loved, cared for, and realized for his accomplishments, and lashed out in a desperate way showing his need. While Naruto got others attention by using pranks, Gaara thought that killing others would prove his existence while killing those who tried to end his life as well and offering their blood to Shukaku to power it and satisfy the spirit, using this as his acknowledgement and proving that he was indeed, existent among people. As Naruto grew and was acknowledged by his father figure, Iruka, and his friends and sensai of Team 7, Gaara remained alone and grew ever more miserable as he continued to quench Shukaku’s thirst for blood for it‘s satisfaction.

In the past, Naruto tried to gain attention by being cheerful, kind, and caring, and had little success in doing so as others only just looked down on him and made fun of him, and in Gaara‘s case, he used his powers to retrieve a ball for a group of children playing nearby in a park, but the children only ran from him in fear. Gaara didn‘t want to be alone and pleaded and cried for the children to not leave him alone and stay and play with him, which his sand acted on by grabbing them and pulling them back violently. Gaara grew in a rage as the children cried for help in fear of Gaara‘s ability, he then started to kill them accidentally as he yelled continuously for them to “stop” unconsciously through his pleading as the sand tore and tortured them, but he was suddenly stopped by his uncle, Yashamaru, in time before he could kill them all. Gaara was rejected again as he brought medicated ointment to the house of the girl whose wounds were the worst later hoping that it would make everything better, but she slammed the door in his face, calling Gaara, “Bakemono“, or monster in later translation.

Gaara was trained by his father when young, and raised mainly by his uncle, Yashamaru who seemed to love him. With Shukaku within him, Gaara was able to control the sand by second instinct, showing almost instant mastery of his sand based jutsu attacks and having the sand defense be his instant with or without control, this made Gaara a difficult target to get close to and almost impossible to touch. Over the years, everyone who resented Gaara feared him in the village. Gaara often tried to fit in with others in the village, but then he never could since all his attempts would lead to more bloodshed and pain. Gaara’s father, the fourth Kazekage, looked down on Gaara as a failed experiment that couldn’t be used as a weapon he intended to, and that is the point where he was constantly attacked by assassins sent by the Kazekage. After a few failed attempts to kill Gaara, the Kazekage ordered Yashamaru to kill him instead and he accepted. Gaara only wounded the assassin before he found out it was his uncle, Gaara tried to apologize and ran next to Yashamaru to comfort him after doing such critical damage to him. Yashamaru told Gaara that he never loved him, and despite trying to, he always hidden his hate for Gaara for him using as a sacrifice, his sister and Gaara’s mother, Karura. Yashamaru also revealed the source of Gaara's name, which would stand for such things as "a self-loving carnage" or “a demon“. (They’re one in the same from different sources.) Before Yashamaru died, he tried to kill Gaara again as he used his body strapped with explosive tags to take Gaara with him, but Gaara protected himself using the sand, and his uncles blood was absorbed and offered to Shukaku as well. Gaara's mother in the past had resented the village for using her and her son as a sacrifice and a weapon, respectively, and cursed Gaara for putting her in so much pain as well. This made Gaara realize that nobody loved him in the end, not even his mother. He used his sand to create the kanji on his forehead that meant love, as a symbol of a "demon loving only himself.”

Gaara’s skills and mastery of the sand is introduced in the coming of the chunin exams. Although his rain of terror doesn’t start here, it is obvious of his power and ability as demonstrated when Naruto and his squad are the first to encounter his team. When Sasuke is about to fight Kankuro for bullying Konohamaru and Naruto, Gaara suddenly appears hanging upside down on a tree, telling Kankuro to stop. Kankuro is instantly cowed at the sight of his little brother. The others as well are easily intimidated by his sudden look and Sasuke is impressed as he suddenly sees him not knowing when he appeared behind him, leading him to compare Gaara‘s speed and stealth to that of Kakashi‘s. Gaara is somewhat impressed with Sasuke’s abilities as he asks for his name and leaving no interest in Naruto as he remarks to Naruto he couldn’t care less about who he is.

Although Gaara seems bloodthirsty at the most, he shows his cunning side of a ninja, as he uses his third eye to see the answers of another student taking the exam. To the Procter, he seemed calm and collected seeming unnoticed. In the Forest of Death segment of the exam, Gaara's team reaches the final destination in an hour, beating the previous record by over four hours, though Kankuro is worried Gaara would kill him. Anko and the other examiners are astonished to see through video surveillance that Gaara made it through the Forest of Death without getting so much as dust on his clothes or a scratch on his skin, which is hard enough for any Jounin to do, which only implies that the sand protected him during his exploration of the forest. Gaara's rain of terror began at this point as he is attacked by the Rain ninja in the forest that challenged him. Gaara easily blocked the ninja’s most powerful attack. Just by using his sand shield to catch all the kunai projectile, Gaara attacked using his combination of sand coffin and sand burial as it killed the ninja and absorbed it’s blood into the sand and offered it strengthening the spirit Shukaku. Gaara then killed the rest of the ninja and not only the leader as he offered their blood to Shikaku as well. If not been stop by Temari and Kankuro, Gaara would’ve killed team eight who were sensed nearby as they watched Gaara’s attack. When saying his reason for killing them he says, “They looked at me the wrong way.” At this point, Team eight knew how exactly powerful Gaara was form watching his assault and the fear Akumaru had when sniffing and sensing Gaara’s chakra level. Gaara showed how cold his emotions were when Kankuro pleaded him to stop and Gaara told him he never thought of him nor Temari as siblings and wouldn’t hesitate to kill them if they tried to stop him.

In the preliminary matches, Gaara is matched against Rock Lee. At the most, even others think Gaara would win no problem and Rock Lee seemed like he would be the underdog, but Lee's speed and strength are enough to bypass Gaara's sand shield completely, forcing him to use the sand armor and constantly rebuilding it with chakra to remain protected. This was the first time that Gaara was hurt and even touched at that. Even though Lee seemed to have the upper hand as he uses his primary lotus during the strain Gaara uses a jutsu to escape his sand armor to leave nothing more than a hollow shell for lee to pound at, which causes Lee to us up a lot of energy for nothing making it seem reckless. As the battle continues and Gaara attacks Lee relentlessly with the sand as he shows some frustrating dealing with him, he continues to do so with a blood thirst present within him from watching the recent matches and also from seeing Lee as a worthy opponent and his blood being a better sacrifice for Shukaku. Gaara is then surprised and overwhelmed by Lee’s hidden ability as he executes a Reverse Lotus and makes Gaara defenseless against the attack. However, barely bracing for impact, Gaara brakes down his gourd as an emergency provision to guard him from the full impact of the last blow. This leave Gaara helpless and immobilize as he can barely lift a hand to use his sand coffin, it is not enough to keep Gaara from using his sand burail and crush Lee's arm and leg, critically injuring him since he was so vulnerable from using the Reverse Lotus. He would have killed Lee and added his blood to the sand, if it were it not for Might Guy who stepped in to Lee adding onto Gaara‘s confusion. When Gaara asks why Guy interfered, Guy replied, "He's my student, and he's precious to me." While Gaara stares at Guy with bewilderment, Baki thinks that even Gaara couldn’t even understand such words. Gaara blows his sand armor off saying, “forget it” and uses a body flicker or sand teleportation of some sort to leave the arena area.

Before the final matches begin, Gaara sits atop a building waiting for the night to pass since he can’t sleep because of Shukaku’s presence within him. Dosu appears as he walks up to Gaara telling him o his plan to kill him while he was asleep. Gaara only gives him a glare after Dosu appears to be challenging him and looks to the moon and mumbles, “When the moon is full, it’s blood boils.” It is unseen, but based from Dosu’s reaction it could be assumed that Gaara used a form of his One-Tailed Shukaku as he uses an attack powerful enough to make a large opening on the roof top and Dosu’s body seems to be toppled and mangled, and leaving Baki and Kabuto to speak on exactly what Gaara is.

Later, Gaara then attempts to kill Lee while he is resting at the hospital. Shikamaru and Naruto are there to stop him, but quickly learn that they are out of their league as Gaara is able to move the snad even while being restrained by Shikamaru‘s shadow possession jutsu. Before attempting to attack them, Gaara reveals that he is host to the Shukaku, and also explains his motivation for killing. Although Shikamaru is perplexed to what Gaara goes on to talk about his experience through out his life, Naruto is completely in fear because he understands Gaara’s feelings. It is probably because Naruto has a bond with him understanding him being a container and a reject at one time. He is so shocked by Gaara’s past and how much hate he carries when it comes to killing him and Shikamaru without a second thought he freezes up and Might Guy steps in once again to keep Gaara from killing them, after which Gaara promises by saying, “Eventually, I‘ll kill you all“.

In the final round matches, Gaara was one of the major keys in carrying out an attack on Leaf Village. The plan was to release Shukaku inside Konoha simultaneously with Orochimaru's summon of snakes to attack from outside the village. Before the plan would carry out Gaara would have to wait for the signal from the Kazekage, or Orochimaru in disguise, who probably killed the Kazekage. Before Gaara’s match begin, he encountered ninja who had tried to convince him to lose or they would kill him since they had orders to relay the message from their figurehead. Of course, Gaara took the threat with anger as he killed one of the ninja and as the second one ran away and was caught and dragged back as he was scratching and begging from help form Naruto and Shikamaru who was arriving as they were left shaking in pure terror of what was happening. As Gaara offered their blood the Shukaku and proceeded to the arena, he passed Naruto and Shikamaru as if they didn’t exist. Leaving them in relief and sparing their lives, he proceeded to the arena to fight Sasuke.

As Sasuke and Gaara’s match begin, the cork off the gourd popped and Gaara begin the match as he seeed to be suffering from Shukaku’s influence. He spoke saying, “Mother, don’t be mad. I know the last batch of blood was bad, but I promise, this blood will be so good.” It was clear at this time that Shukaku would be fueled better by the blood of stronger ninja such as Sasuke, determining their level that is. Gaara found Sasuke to be just as difficult when fighting him since he could use the same speed as Lee and bypass his sand shield. At this point, Gaara used his sand shield to harden into a dome and defend himself. He started to use a jutsu that would being his transformation into his half Shukaku form, even if inappropriate, showing how desperately he wanted to kill Sasuke and absorb and offer his blood into the sands for Shukaku. Sasuke however pierced the dome with his Chidori and struck Gaara’s arm causing him to actually bleed in pain for the first time as Gaara cried out about him spilling his own blood. A mutated hand attacked Sasuke from that point as it showed part of the changed Shukaku form‘s arm. At this point, even Kankuro would reflect how hideous the form was by saying how he couldn’t eat for a week after seeing it.

At this point, the plan is delayed and Gaara has to recover. A long chase ensues through the forest between Sasuke and the remaining them seven members plus Shikamaru who halts his position and fights off the ninja that pursue them. Gaara begins to channel Shukaku to kill Sasuke rather than to follow the plan still wanting his blood. Sasuke is the first to fight Gaara, but is no match for him at first. Sasuke becomes desperate and taps into the power of his cursed seal, and barely is able to match strength and in the end is defended by Naruto who comes to help. Naruto defeats Gaara as he finds himself fighting for the life of Sakura and Sasuke. Gaara was confused to why Naruto trying so hard and suffer while fighting him, and what motivated him. When Kankuro and Temari arrived, Gaara told them not to stop since he refused ot fight anymore since he was starting to understand where Naruto’s strength was coming from. As Gaara nd his siblings fled, he told them he was sorry which was a first as he surprised them, but it also ensured that there was a great change occurring within Gaara.

Gaara also appears in the allies of Konoha segment as he helps retrieve Sasuke by taking on the sound ninja. He steps in to stop Rock Lee form fighting after saving him and insist on handling the situation alone. This is the first when his expression shows concern for Rock Lee as well as using his sand for the first time to defend someone other than himself. When questioned by Lee about his motivation for assisting Konoha, Gaara replied saying, “I owe a huge debt to Konoha.” as he refers to Naruto saving him from his depressed state and loneliness. His opponent was Kimimaro who used his bones to attack Gaara with relentless attack. Gaara showed his new abilities such as Last absolute Defense, his strongest defense jutus, and Quicksand in the Style of a Waterfall as it raged a giant wave and then using the Desert Imperial Funeral to destroy the opponent. This shows the enhanced jutsu combination of Sand Coffin and Sand Burial. Kimimaro would’ve killed Gaara as he used his final and strongest attack that Gaara had no chance of guarding against since he couldn’t use the Last Absolute Defense which was the only attack that could fend it off, however, he and Rock Lee became lucky as Kimimaro died because of his lack of health from using the cursed seal at the level of his weak condition. Gaara comments on Kimimaro’s dedication to Orochimaru as he implies someone’s need for someone to notice them, no matter good or evil, to over come loneliness. This shows that he had learned from his fight with Naruto about overcoming loneliness and feeling needed.


Gaara shows various change during the targeted Shukaku arc as well. When faced being paired with a girl who shows little interest in using weapons and killing and fighting, he is quite curious about her as he is drawn to ask her why she chooses to fight and wield a weapon, and Gaara could flashback to remember Naruto’s reason for fighting. He is clearly wrapped around the concept of Naruto’s influence as he believes that he should only fight and kill when necessary to defend the one’s he loves and wants to protect. This shows over the period of time that Gaara has adapted to the reason of protecting his friends, and is shown further when his paired practice partner Matsuri is kidnapped by a mysterious group. Gaara is then forced to go after her as he calls for the aid of his siblings to go to her rescue as well as for the Leaf Shinobi to intercept and aid in the rescue.

Sometime before the timeskip, Gaara aides in the protection of the Sand Village by fighting an army mysterious knights. As Gaara arrives to help fight, Kankuro makes a friendly comment about him being late showing them having a bond of being siblings that wasn’t present before as Kankuro and the rest of the villagers didn‘t act on his orders in fear when trying to protect the Sand Village from being breached. As Gaara fought against one of the ninja that invaded, he saw his sand was useless against the enemies golem like state. Gaara utilized the enemies electric like properties as he used an exclusive attack to make his sand form lightening rods to control the electric current the enemy used and fired it back at her to destroy her plus ending the fight to defend Sand Village. He rescued some children held captive be the enemy and was last seen gazing into the sunset after assisting Naruto and the other Leaf ninja to defend against the threat.

Over the timeskip, Gaara has since become, Godaime Kazekage of the Sand Village. Gaara is soon targeted by the Akatsuki as they go after the One-Tailed Shukaku to capture it. Gaara fights well against Deidara as he uses his claws of Shukaku sand form to attack the invader, and even manages to crush her arm with his Sand Burial. Gaara however is exploited as his weakness for his village causes him to use most of his chakra to save them form being blown to rubble. When he is weakened Deidara attempts to attack with another bomb that was blended in with sand to knock Gaara unconscious. He was captured making it known as Naruto came for him with a rage through their understanding bond of being sought as containers of the tailed-beasts.

Though Naruto tried to rescue Gaara, it was too late since he couldn’t stay alive after having the Shukaku stripped form him. This fueled Naruto’s rage as he and Gaara as well as his siblings would rethink their life with Gaara and how he had changed ever since he came contact with Naruto. This even gave Chiyo, the woman who helped place Shukaku in Gaara, understand their feelings. In the end Gaara died, but was brought back by the use of Chiyo’s jutsu, using both her chakra and some of Naruto’s to fuel the resurrection. In exchance, Chiyo died and Gaara awakened to find himself surrounded by people that are concerned for him, being the first time Gaara felt the love and affection he sought for. He also shows a smile for the first time that hasn’t been seen since he was a child.

Gaara looks to Naruto before he departs as he holds up a hand to shake Naruto’s. Naruto being confused was suddenly caught off guard by Gaara’s sudden change in humbleness and even is startled when Gaara use’s his sand to lift Naruto’s hand so he could hint him to shake his own.

[Uzumaki Naruto]

ACCEPTED