Sand

Sand is a versatile material, most often employed by the shinobi originating from Sunagakure for various purposes, including numerous supplementary functions ranging from concealment to disguise. However, the tool itself rose to prominence in the hands of the jinchūriki of Shukaku, whom acquired the ability to manipulate sand through the beast, with the most renowned amongst these being Gaara.

While Gaara is capable of controlling any sand, he keeps in his gourd, also made from this sand. This sand is infused with his chakra, allowing him to make faster and more powerful attacks, as well as being used to make his Shield of Sand. It was also noted by both Gaara's father and uncle that the sand would always protect him, because it possessed his mother's will within it. Since this revelation, many of Gaara's techniques have begun to adopt the appearance of his mother.

Sand includes a wide variety of minerals, and Gaara can select the hardest minerals to create stronger defences and, in the anime, offences. However, Gaara also possesses the capability to incorporate other materials into the sand, increasing its versatility even further by introducing substances that can alter its properties to a certain degree, such as gold and hail.

When in need of more sand, Gaara can crush the soil, meaning nearly any kind of earth, with the sand he already has, to create more. Although this sand is more difficult to control than his specially-made sand, it provides the amount needed for large-scale techniques such as the Quicksand Waterfall Flow.

It was shown that despite its durability, the sand could be countered by mixing other harmful substances, such as Explosive Clay, into it. Other methods include the integration of substances that make the sand heavier, such as gold, or by making it bind together through the use of oil, which means that the sand crumbles very easily.

Other Uses

 * Kankurō used sand to disguise his puppets, allowing him to make his puppets appear as another person, or as himself, to trick enemies into attacking his puppets instead of him.
 * In the anime, Sasori also used sand to make a clone of himself as shown during his fight with Kankurō when he escaped from Black Ant.
 * In the anime, Temari also utilised sand in her Dust Wind Technique to cause her opponent to lose their footing in battle.
 * Due to the versatility of sand as a weapon, the Third and Fourth Kazekage both crafted their own imitations of sand manipulation via the use of their Magnet Release kekkei genkai to manipulate iron and gold dust respectively.
 * Earth Release users can also manipulate sand in some instances, as seen in the effects of Earth Release: Hiding Like a Mole Technique.

Trivia

 * Due to the number of people Gaara has killed, the sand smells of blood, as noted by Kiba.