Gaara

, renowned as, is a major supporting character of the series, and originally introduced as an antagonist. Gaara was the third jinchūriki of Shukaku: the One-Tail, and by Part II, he became the of Sunagakure, and had his tailed beast extracted from inside him by Akatsuki.

Background
Gaara is the third and youngest child of the Fourth Kazekage and Karura, and the younger brother of Temari and Kankurō. Before Gaara's birth, his father had Chiyo seal Shukaku within him, in hopes that Gaara would become the ultimate weapon for Sunagakure as he was the only one of the Kazekage's three children to be compatible with the beast. He was born premature and therefore, was an unusually small and frail infant. Before she died, Karura passionately held her son, vowing to always protect him. Gaara was trained in ninjutsu by his father, but mainly raised by his maternal uncle, Yashamaru.

Because of the power of Shukaku, the villagers of Sunagakure hated and feared Gaara. Seeing him only for the monster sealed within him, for a time, Yashamaru seemed to be the only person who cared about Gaara. When Gaara would unintentionally harm others due to the subconscious abilities granted to him by Shukaku, Yashamaru was the only one who understood that Gaara hadn't intended to harm anyone. The Sunagakure Council, however, saw Gaara's frequent attacks as a threat to the village. Because of the danger Gaara imposed, disappointed by the turn of events, the Kazekage decided to test his son by having Yashamaru attack Gaara both physically and psychologically to see if Gaara could retain control of Shukaku. As a result, on the Kazekage's orders, Yashamaru told Gaara that his mother never loved him. He also tried to assassinate Gaara, only to be fatally wounded by the boy before Gaara realised whom he killed.

Although Gaara tried to consider Yashamaru's attack as his father's order, Yashamaru lied to him by saying that he had willingly accepted the mission to kill Gaara. He also lied that he never truly loved Gaara, and told him that killing him would avenge the death of his sister, who had named him Gaara after the phrase, a sign of her intense hatred for Suna rather than love for her son. In the last ditch effort to kill Gaara, Yashamaru detonated a number of explosive tags covering his body, asking Gaara to "please die". Using his sand, Gaara survived the blast, and lost the only person he thought had cared for him, while not knowing the true reasons behind Yashamaru's actions. Gaara then used his sand to etch the kanji for onto his forehead. Gaara then lost control and transformed into Shukaku, rampaging around the village before his father stopped him with Gold Dust.

Since this incident, Gaara became an aloof and cruel person who would kill anyone to prove his existence and to obtain recognition from the village, all the while giving up any desire for friendship. Seeing that Gaara was unable to cope with the loss of his mother's love, the Kazekage deemed him a failure and arranged several assassinations of his son that all failed yet made Gaara hate his father even more. In time, Gaara's new ideology allowed better control over Shukaku, and his father would come to appreciate this and the uses he could serve, and cancelled all assassination orders. This revived the idea of having Gaara as the ultimate weapon of the village.

Personality
Gaara was once a kind child who, despite their fear and hatred towards him, tried desperately to be friendly towards others. His uncle, Yashamaru's, actions changed and twisted his personality. Misled into believing nobody loved him, Gaara used his sand to create the kanji on his forehead, as a symbol of his ideal to be a "demon loving only itself", and to live up to the name his mother gave him. Gaara became emotionally withdrawn and silent, as he was consumed with a loathing towards everyone but himself and "Mother", the voice of Shukaku in his head. He learned to derive pleasure and a reason to live in the annihilation of the numerous assassins sent to kill him — and by extension, anyone who posed a threat to his own existence. This was worsened by Shukaku's occasional demand for blood to satisfy its blood lust, resulting in Gaara's remorseless nature, demonstrated when he murdered Baiu and Midare, despite their pleas for mercy. Gaara's insomnia forced fear upon him; if he were to fall asleep, the demon within him would begin to eat away at his soul. This only furthered his instability and desire to kill. Gaara's hatred for his own father is due to the the multiple assassination attempts, but his misanthropic nature even extended to his siblings, whom he never saw as related to him, despite them never offending him directly. He was fully willing to kill them if he viewed that the situation called for it. In addition, due to the sand activating at any time injury would otherwise befall Gaara, he never saw his own blood until Sasuke Uchiha pierced his shield and injured him, thus causing Gaara to have a mental breakdown.

Gaara's childhood was similar to Naruto Uzumaki's in many ways. Both were unbearably lonely and longed to be liked, loved and acknowledged as individuals, free of the prejudices of others — they were human beings, not the demons they had been forced to contain — and were driven to separate states of desperation. While Naruto consequently developed the misconception that pranks and mischief would bring him the attention he sought, 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, he 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 bonded with anyone, not even his father or siblings, as they too despised and feared Shukaku. The person who grew the closest to acknowledging Gaara was his mother's brother Yashamaru. Yashamaru was ordered to betray Gaara, transforming him into a lonely sociopath. As such, Gaara couldn't understand the concept of fighting for anything but himself until his confrontation with Naruto.

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 never lost his ambition to be recognised as an individual, and ultimately found companions who truly cared for him. Witnessing the resolution Naruto possessed to protect his friends made Gaara finally question the path he had determined for himself. Realising that he gave up too easily, Gaara decided to follow Naruto's chosen path instead in order to finally have people acknowledge him as an individual, 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 Shukaku. Gaara eventually formed a close friendship with Naruto, and became rather protective of him.

Since becoming one of Naruto's companions, Gaara has somehow taken on his ability to alter people's personalities. In the anime, he convinced Matsuri to overcome her fear of weapons. During the Kage Summit, he shocked the older, more experienced Kage by asking them when they had forsaken themselves, later causing Ōnoki 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.

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 honour, is "ridiculous old-fashioned thinking", and that cooperation between the villages is fundamental in order to defeat Akatsuki.

Appearance
Like Naruto, Gaara is a little shorter than the average males of his age, which is due to the fact that he was born prematurely. He has fair skin and short, spiky, auburn hair which was sometimes depicted as red in the earlier parts of the series. He has green eyes, in the anime it is predominantly blue. Gaara has no distinctive pupils, or eyebrows either. He has two very notable traits in his appearance: firstly, he has tanuki-like black eye rings, having them since his birth. Secondly, he carved the kanji on the left side of his forehead, having it since Yashamaru's betrayal. Gaara's forelocks are parted from the left side, making the kanji more visible. Matsuri and Sari who both seem to have a crush on Gaara, have described him as the strong silent type, elite and very handsome.

In Part I, Gaara has been seen in two different outfits. When he was seen for the first time, he wore black full body suit with t-shirt-like sleeves, ¾-length legs, and an open neck. With this, he wore a white cloth over his right shoulder and the left side of his hips, and a wide leather band system over the left shoulder and right side of his hips. With this leather band, he carried around his gourd that contains his sand. He also wrapped his black forehead protector over the band. In his childhood flashbacks, he was seen wearing a beige poncho-like shawl over a short-sleeved black T-shirt, a white obi around his waist, dark blue pants that were rolled back several times at the hem, revealing the inside cloth to be grey, and black sandals.

In the Sasuke Retrieval Arc, and in the final pre-Shippūden filler arc, he switched his previous black overalls to a reddish-brownish one with longer sleeves and an upright collar. He retained the white cloth, but had mesh armour on his wrists and ankles. He used this costume in Naruto the Movie 2: Legend of the Stone of Gelel as well.

In Part II, Gaara had a considerable growth spurt, like Naruto. During his battling against Deidara and during the Kage Summit, he wore full-length dark trousers, with a pair of laces on each leg, respectively a few inches below the waist and the knees, a long-sleeved crimson coat with flaring hemlines on the front and the back, a grey holster vest held in place by a single strap over his left shoulder and by two buckled belts which he uses to carry his gourd. He also wears another pair of casually worn belts around his waist. He is also seen wearing Kazekage robes, and a simple black pants suit, the latter one greatly resembling Kankurō's suit, and worn for the memorial of Elder Chiyo. All the time, he has been seen wearing Sunagakure's standard shinobi sandals. As the Regimental Commander of the Allied Shinobi Forces, he added his village's sand green flak jacket to his standard outfit.

Abilities
Gaara is an extremely powerful shinobi, so much that he was made Kazekage at the age of 15. His powers and status have now become well-respected and praised by everyone in the Allied Shinobi Forces, including other Kage, both the current and previous ones with the Second Mizukage going as far as to call him the "golden egg amongst the Kage", and his father who acknowledged that he had surpassed him in more ways than he could have hoped for. He was also praised by his enemies such as Deidara, who commented on his power after he captured him, losing an arm to Gaara's attack in the process. Even though he had lost his tailed beast Shukaku, he was still powerful enough to remain Kazekage. Another testament to Gaara's power at his young age is that he could hold his own against five of Madara Uchiha's wood clones, which were all clad in complete Susanoo, for a long period of time. Gaara's fighting style is a stationary type, as he rarely needs to move his entire body to attack an opponent.

Sand Control
As the host of Shukaku, Gaara possesses the ability to manipulate sand, typically moving it through the air to serve various purposes. Being a jinchūriki, Gaara has a large amount of stamina and huge levels of chakra as noted by Kiba and thus is able to use many chakra-taxing sand-based techniques, sometimes in quick succession, before becoming exhausted. The amount of sand he can control at one time is immense: he could use a massive amount of sand to fully transform into Shukaku, as well as create a tsunami of sand to fight Kimimaro, and later four reincarnated Kage. In Part II he is able to gather enough sand to shield the entire village of Sunagakure 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. While he can control any dry sand, ordinary sand 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. Because this sand is already infused with his chakra, Gaara has a great deal more control over it, enabling stronger and faster attacks with it.

During battle, Gaara rarely moves, attacking with his sand from a single location, and rarely uses taijutsu. When first introduced, his basic means of attacks is to first use Sand Binding Coffin to capture, immobilise, and potentially suffocate an opponent with sand. Once the opponent is subdued, he uses Sand Waterfall Funeral to cause the sand to implode crush the opponent with varying intensities. Though he comes up with other means of attack throughout the series, the "catch and crush" tactic remains at the centre of his fighting style. Gaara attempted to use it four times on Kimimaro, but Kimimaro's sturdy bone structure made him a frustrating target.

As the second element of his combat style, Gaara has a number of sand-based defences to be used in case an opponent gets too close. His primary defence is his Shield of Sand, an automatic sand shield that surrounds and protects him from damage whether he wants it to or not. Gaara can control the shield to some degree, strengthening it to steel-like quality or calling upon it to completely encase himself. While an effective defence, the shield can be overcome with high-speed attacks, or simply be broken through with incredibly forceful strikes. Should this happen, Gaara has a layer of sand covering his body called the Armour of Sand. Although it's a useful secondary defence, the armour requires large amounts of chakra to remain active, and also has the side-effect of weighting Gaara down. Despite this, the defences offered by his sand are so powerful, they have been named the. During the Fourth Shinobi World War, Gaara's Absolute Defence was so great, Naruto expressed belief that Gaara retain the best defence of anyone. Furthermore, Gaara can crush the hardest minerals in the ground together to create a shield in shape of Shukaku's body or, in the anime, a spear in the shape of its arm for combat.

In addition to these basic methods of offence and defence, Gaara also has a number of miscellaneous techniques that, while capable of being used as attacks or defences of sorts, are not limited to such purposes. By making a sand clone of himself, Gaara can have an ally to be used in battle, or as a mere distraction to be used to buy him time. Unlike most other clone techniques in the series, the Sand Clone can retain its shape after more than one attack, and can even reform itself or capture an opponent upon being dispersed. With Desert Suspension, Gaara can use sand as a platform, to allow himself and others to float in the air. His Third Eye also allows him to create a floating eyeball of sand in any location, which he can see through as a means of spying, or to guide his attacks while completely enclosed by his defences. He also claimed that he can ride his sand to reach the Island Turtle, and would have been faster than if Ōnoki went there. His sand can also be used as 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 find Mū on several occasions, as well as the Giant Clam.

Despite the removal of Shukaku, Gaara can still use his sand like before. According to Sasuke at the Kage Summit, Gaara's Absolute Defence is still alive and well. Not only that, but the sand has also massively improved in speed, defence, and offence since the last time they met as it was not only able to protect him and others from a cave-in, but also block A, block Amaterasu several times without being burned through or into — a feat that impressed Sasuke Uchiha, as well as block Madara Uchiha's complete Susanoo's sword and still protect him even when it was barraged by four others right afterwards. During the Fourth Shinobi World War, 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 manoeuvre his sand above his father's Gold Dust, despite its superior weight. Gaara was also able to use sand to stop an enormous meteorite. He is able to manipulate the sand even when it's saturated with water. He can even block powerful explosions the instant they explode despite the enormous power these techniques held, protecting his village and the division respectively. He was able to integrate gold dust, a feat previously only usable by his father, into his sand so that he can use the former - noting that gold was approximately twenty times heavier than water- in order to counter the Steaming Danger Tyranny clone.

It was unknown at first whether or not Gaara's sand defence was still automatic as it was believed that Shukaku was the source of the defence. However, the Fourth Kazekage states that Gaara's mother, Karura, was the true source of the defence, as she truly did love him and vowed to always protect him.

Jinchūriki Transformations
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.

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, he began gaining 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, Gaara 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.

Other Skills
Though he almost never uses taijutsu as a fighting element, Gaara has displayed incredible reaction speed against regular users of taijutsu as he was able to instantly react at a moments notice to Rock Lee closing his eyes and completely escape from his high-level taijutsu attacks while having enough precision to position himself directly behind Lee. Gaara has also shown some measure of physical strength, even without transforming into Shukaku as he was able to easily repel Temari with a single punch, despite being wounded. In the anime, Gaara showed to be strong enough pick himself up without aid after having his Armour of Sand soaked through with water, which had made it as heavy as land.

He has also shown to be a skilled teacher in the anime, teaching Matsuri how to use the jōhyō when he learned she was afraid of weapons. In Part II, Gaara has also shown to be a highly analytical and very skilled tactician. This is proven when he was able to defeat the Second Mizukage by formulating a way to counter the Mizukage's exploding clone.

Like many Suna shinobi, Gaara is skilled with the Sealing Tag, using his sand in place of cloth. He has also shown the ability to use Wind Release nature transformation, though this was only seen during his Shukaku transformations.

Chūnin Exam Arc
Gaara participated in the Chūnin Exams, where he quickly identified as a skilled competitor. During the first test which was set to garner how well the candidates could covertly gather information, Gaara blinded a candidate with his sand and then used his Third Eye to copy his answers. Ibiki remarked that through this all, Gaara kept a calm demeanour and gave away no indication that he was cheating. During the second phase of the examinations, he demonstrated his blood-lust, coldly murdering Team Shigure in the Forest of Death, who Gaara claimed had looked at him the wrong way, and threatened to kill his own siblings when they tried to reason with him. Gaara and his team finished this phase in an hour and thirty-seven minutes, beating the previous record by over four hours, with Gaara not getting so much as a speck of dust on his clothes — a feat they noted that would be very difficult even for an experienced ninja.

In the preliminary matches, Gaara was matched against Rock Lee and overwhelmed him until Lee removed the weights on ankles to move at a formidable speed that forces Gaara to exchange his Shield of Sand to his secondary Armour of Sand. Despite Lee's best efforts, Gaara's sand ultimately protected him from Lee's devastating blow as he taken advantage of his opponent's weakened condition to crush Lee's left limbs with his sand. Might Guy intervened before Gaara could harm Lee any further, the act astonished Gaara who is left more confused when Guy answered that Lee is his precious comrade.

For the finals, Gaara was matched against Sasuke Uchiha. The night before, he was approached by Dosu Kinuta, who wanted to take his spot by eliminating him, but was killed by Shukaku's power. Some time after that, Gaara tried to kill the hospitalised Lee but was stopped by Naruto Uzumaki and Shikamaru Nara, who were successful in halting his intentions until Might Guy intervened once again.

Prior to his battle with Sasuke, Gaara brutally killed Shiba and Midori when they tried to intimidate him to throw the fight for a bet. When fighting Sasuke, he realised that his taijutsu skills were similar to those of his previous opponent and as such he was having hard time keeping up with him. Disregarding the plan that the Suna-nin had made, Gaara attempts to transform into Shukaku. However, Gaara was wounded by Sasuke's Chidori, which had pierced his sand sphere, causing him to freak out at the first sight of his own blood. With Gaara not in any mental condition to join the battle, he and his siblings fled the village under Baki's orders, while the invasion proceeded without them.

Invasion of Konoha Arc
Gaara was pursued by the members of Team 7, along with Shikamaru and Shino Aburame, which forced Gaara's siblings to stay behind at different points to hold off their pursuers. Sasuke caught up with a maddened Gaara who begins transforming. Transforming half-way, Gaara is able to resist Sasuke's last available Chidori attacks, allowing him to beat Sasuke to an inch of his life before Naruto and Sakura Haruno arrive. The act of Sakura coming to Sasuke's aid causes Gaara to relive his betrayed childhood before he pinned her to a tree with his sand. Intrigued by Naruto's abilities since witnessing his victory over Neji Hyūga during the exams, Gaara threatens to crush Sakura to force Naruto to fight.

Naruto, though terrified, stayed to fight against him to protect his friends. Though Gaara seemed to have the upper hand, Naruto attacked the lower base of his tail, using his rendition of One Thousand Years of Death to get an advantage to bypass Gaara's defence. After being beaten down by Naruto's army of shadow clones, an enraged Gaara assumes the full form of Shukaku while Naruto summons Gamabunta.

After Gamabunta shows his strength, Gaara then emerged and used the Feigning Sleep Technique to let Shukaku take full control in the battle. Devising a strategy to combat the beast, Gamabunta and Naruto used the Combination Transformation technique to transform into a giant fox (the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox in the anime) so he could cling onto the One-Tail to give Naruto the chance to wake Gaara up. Awakened, Gaara trapped Naruto but the latter used some of the Nine-Tails' chakra to break free, then headbutted Gaara, which caused the Shukaku's body to crumble.

With the last of their energy, the two exchanged final blows, and Naruto ended up claiming victory. Gaara was shocked to learn that Naruto was a jinchūriki like himself yet puzzled by the boy's undying devotion to his friends, causing him to realise that Naruto's strength came from the desire to protect those close to him. As Gaara and his siblings fled the scene, Gaara openly apologised to Kankurō and Temari to their astonishment. Thanks to Naruto's influence, the defeat proved to be a major turning point for Gaara.

Sasuke Retrieval Arc
The Sand Siblings were called by the Fifth Hokage to assist the Sasuke Retrieval Team in retrieving Sasuke when he defected from Konoha. Gaara arrived just in time to save Rock Lee, using his sand to deflect Kimimaro's attack. Though Lee tried to continue, Gaara stopped him, telling Lee that he was still in no condition to fight. In the fight, Gaara's various abilities prove to be ineffective against Kimimaro's sturdy bone structure which protected him from most of the would-be devastating attack. After Kimimaro released the second state of his Cursed Seal of Earth to break through his defences while lowering his chakra further, denouncing Orochimaru to get an advantage, Gaara buried Kimimaro deep underground. However, Kimimaro escaped with a weakened Gaara barely evading death due to Kimimaro's own death by his illness. After the battle, Gaara explained that even a bad person has someone precious to them, and noted to Lee their opponent was like Naruto in that sense before escorting Lee back to Konoha. After this, Gaara and the rest of the Sand Siblings returned to Sunagakure, though in the anime, he and his siblings helped out at the village's Academy before leaving, as stated by Shikamaru.

Kazekage Rescue Arc
Despite having become the Fifth Kazekage during the time skip, Gaara was still targeted by Akatsuki, who sought to extract Shukaku from within him. Gaara confronted and held his own against Deidara, crushing his left arm, and had him on the run for most of the battle, but his inevitable duty to protect Sunagakure was taken advantage of by Deidara, who dropped one of his most powerful bombs on the village. Gaara prevented any damage being inflicted by summoning a vast amount of sand which covered the entire village, albeit at the cost of practically all of his remaining chakra, which left him open for capture. After having his Shield of Sand destroyed, he moved the sand he used to protect Suna into the desert and passed out. Unconscious, he was taken to Akatsuki's hideout by Deidara.

Although Team Kakashi did their best to save Gaara, they did not arrive in time to stop Akatsuki's extraction of Shukaku, which resulted in Gaara's death. Naruto Uzumaki cried in front of him, regretting his inability to save both Sasuke and Gaara. He blamed the rest of the Suna-shinobi because it was on their behalf that Shukaku was sealed inside of Gaara in the first place, and because they let him feel so much pain as a child. However, Chiyo resurrected Gaara with the help of Naruto's chakra using her life-restoring technique, in the hopes that it would make up for her sealing of Shukaku into Gaara years earlier, and that Naruto and Gaara would both change the world, by bringing Gaara back to life at the cost of her own.

Gaara awoke, shocked by being surrounded by so many people who were all relieved that he was alive including Konoha-nin and the Sunagakure shinobi that had gone looking for him. This was the first time Gaara truly felt loved and not so alone. Gaara later ordered everyone to pray for Chiyo when they realised that she had passed away. Before Naruto went back home, he tried to say goodbye, but admitted that it wasn't something he was good at. Gaara used some sand to encourage and guide Naruto's hand, and the two shook hands, revealing that even with Shukaku removed, Gaara still retained his ability to control sand and went on to continue his work as Kazekage.

Five Kage Summit Arc
Because of Akatsuki's increasing activity, the Fourth Raikage called for a Summit of the five Kage. Gaara, along with Temari and Kankurō as bodyguards, were the first of the Kage to arrive in the Land of Iron. When the other Kage arrived and the meeting started, Gaara declared that he would speak first. He indicated that because he was captured by Akatsuki and died when Shukaku was extracted from his body, he considered the organisation very dangerous. He added that he had previously requested collaboration between the villages against Akatsuki, but that only Tsunade of Konoha responded. During the meeting, he was heckled considerably by the Third Tsuchikage due to his young age, but was defended by the Fifth Mizukage.

When Sasuke was revealed to have infiltrated the meeting and the Raikage went to fight him, Gaara voiced his concern with the others' lack of ethics and stated that a world without faith and understanding would be a world with only fear. When the Tsuchikage offered to give him tips on how to be a good Kage, Gaara replied by asking him when he threw away his principles which only served to irritate the Tsuchikage. Gaara, Kankurō, and Temari then left to join the Raikage's battle with Sasuke. When they arrived, Gaara used his sand to stop the Raikage and Sasuke from fighting, insisting despite the Raikage's objections, that it was for the best. While the Raikage begrudgingly had his injuries tended to, Gaara tried to convince Sasuke to stop living in the darkness, citing past experience by saying no good would come of it. Sasuke could not be convinced, stating that he had closed his eyes to the light a long time ago.

Saddened by this, Gaara prepared to battle Sasuke himself. Sasuke attacked the Sand Siblings with Amaterasu, but Gaara's sand proved too fast for it, a feat which earned praise from Sasuke. Gaara then joined Kankurō, Temari, and Darui and launched a combined attack against Sasuke, who protected himself using Susanoo. Sasuke then cut down the supporting pillars of the hall which caused a cave-in to distract them; Gaara shielded the others from falling debris with his sand while Sasuke escaped. They followed him to the Summit hall, where they were met by Tobi. Tobi warped Sasuke away and told everyone in attendance about his Eye of the Moon Plan. Because Tobi concluded by requesting that the Kage give him Naruto and Killer B, Gaara refused, along with the other Kage. In response, Tobi declared the start of the Fourth Shinobi World War. With this new development, Gaara repeated the need for collaboration. The Kage agreed to a Shinobi Alliance, but would not allow Konoha to join unless someone more trustworthy than the current Hokage could be found from the village. Gaara suggested and volunteered to approach Kakashi Hatake on their behalf. Because they were Tobi's targets, Gaara also added that it was crucial not to allow Naruto and B to fight in the war, adding to A's statement about the latter that he would only make things more chaotic on the battlefield by saying Naruto would do the same.

After the Kage depart the Summit, Gaara and his siblings found Kakashi in a nearby inn, along with Naruto and Yamato. Gaara told them about the what happened at the Summit, Sasuke's actions, and about the impending war. Much of Gaara's effort was focused upon convincing Naruto about Sasuke, telling Naruto that he saw no redemption for him and had given up on him. He added that, if Naruto truly wanted to be Hokage, he had to realise when to do the right thing. Naruto remained silent, and Gaara and his siblings left him to reflect, and returned to Sunagakure. When they arrived there, they heard that the daimyō had approved the formation of the Shinobi Alliance.

Confining the Jinchūriki Arc
To make preparations for the approaching conflict with Akatsuki, Gaara went to Kumogakure to meet with the other heads of the Alliance. He reiterated the need to send the Nine-Tails and Eight-Tails into hiding. When the Fifth Hokage — who had just recently awoken from her coma — objected to this, he reminded her that she must take others' views into consideration. She ultimately agreed to it and the jinchūriki were sent to the Island Turtle. When they learned that Akatsuki has discovered this hiding spot, it was decided to send the Tsuchikage as extra protection to the island. As the Tsuchikage left he dislocated his hip, which prompted Gaara to offer to go in his stead. The Tsuchikage went anyway, and when he returned Gaara showed him the new Allied forehead protector that had been designed in his absence.

Shinobi World War Arc
Becoming both Regimental Commander of the primary fighting force and Commander of the Fourth Division, Gaara used his sand to break up a quarrel among Suna and Iwa shinobi. He explained to the joined forces that he himself was a product of the hatred between the villages yet his fellow jinchūriki, Naruto, bore no ill will towards him and others. At the end of the speech, everyone was united and all went out for battle to reach their assigned destinations. With the Fourth Division settled along a rocky terrain, Gaara surrounded their position with his sensory sand to detect any who approach. In doing so, he caught the reincarnated Mū and used his Third Eye to gather intel on the situation and learns that three other reincarnated Kage were with him, his father among them. This information is relayed to headquarters and Ōnoki is sent to provide assistance. When Ōnoki arrived Gaara told him that there was no reason for him to strain his back, and is in return told that his earlier words were the reason Ōnoki was picking up his principles again.

On the second day of the war, him and Ōnoki deciding to finally advance where they had been retreating for some time, Gaara attacked the Kage with a long-ranged attack, but the Fourth Kazekage counters it with his Gold Dust while realising his son is not using Shukaku. After he captured his father and the other previous generation of Kage with his sand arms, Gaara reveals to his father that he is no longer a jinchūriki and that he was now the Kazekage, now understanding his father's reasons and forgiving him. Shocked at how far Gaara had come, the Fourth decided to test his son's worth again by facing him directly. With Gaara getting the upper hand, his father tried to attack him from behind when Gaara's sand takes on the form of his mother, greatly shocking his father. The Fourth Kazekage then finally revealed the truth to Gaara: that his mother loved him and that her dying words were to always protect him which became a reality through the sand. Hearing that this mother truly loved him as well as the truth behind his uncle Yashamaru's actions before he died, Gaara was overcome with emotions as his father apologised for robbing his son of so much. Once the Fourth Kazekage is sealed, Gaara faces the battlefield with new determination and sets out to aid Ōnoki in his fight with Mū before Naruto arrived with Gaara helping him defeat the Tsuchikage before sealing him.

After moving to a safe location at Ōnoki's request to get an explanation from Naruto, Gaara asked him if it was okay for him to be using the Nine-Tails' chakra so much to which Naruto retorted that he was going to be Hokage someday and until then, he would not die, so Gaara shouldn't treat him like a child. Soon after, Gaara and Ōnoki headed off to the area of battlefield where the Second Mizukage is. Though the Second began to rant about himself being a stronger opponent than Mū first, Gaara tells him he learned not to judge others by their appearance yet admits that the Second Mizukage was indeed strong. He later detected the Giant Clam with his sand and raised a platform of sand that Ōnoki used to prepare his attack from. After Ōnoki's assault on the clam was successful and the mirage of the Mizukage that Gaara was speaking to vanished, Gaara immediately activated his Third Eye to locate them. With Ōnoki's life seemingly in peril, the Second shoots him, but it was revealed that Ōnoki was in fact a sand clone which began to restrain the Mizukage. The Second's Hydrification Technique activated immediately, however, before he can free himself, Gaara used his Desert Layered Imperial Funeral technique which seemingly, successfully restrained him. Before the shinobi could rejoice however, a huge explosion occurred and the Second's face appeared above them in the sky. As Gaara watched in horror, he wondered whether it was another genjutsu. Ōnoki informed him that it was the technique that even Mū could do nothing about: the Steaming Danger Tyranny.

As a clone of the Mizukage emerged from the sky, Gaara tried attacking with his sand but the clone proved to be faster than Gaara had thought. Ōnoki explained the mechanism behind the Mizukage's technique, after which Gaara went after the Mizukage, whose position was given away by a sensor. Gaara trapped him with the Desert Layered Imperial Funeral technique again, but as he is applying sealing tags, they are ripped off by the clone. The Mizukage then told Gaara that he would not simply divulge any more details pertaining to the technique as he wanted Gaara to defeat him with his full power or else they'd have no chance at all when they went up against the leader of the opposing side. The Mizukage the lamented that he had found the "golden egg" amongst the current generation of Kage, but was having second thoughts on the matter.

As the clone attacked some of the shinobi and prepared to explode again, Gaara protected them with his sand. He tries to attack the clone but is once again out-done in speed, and the clone struck him only for it to be revealed to be another sand clone after which Gaara emerged from the ground and attacked again. This time, the sand was able to catch, and cover the clone. Inside the sand, it exploded again, but the blast is stifled. The sand breaks down, exposing his father's Gold Dust underneath, which Gaara hid in the sand clone. The gold had melted due to the heat generated by the clone and fused onto its body rendering it unable to move and harder to explode. The sand on the outer layer that had been drenched in the Mizukage's hail was cool enough to keep the clone from heating up. Greatly impressed by this, the Mizukage stated that he was a "golden egg" after all.

When Naruto's clone arrived on the battlefield, Gaara asked him how things went on his end and Naruto informed him that the Third Raikage had been sealed. Gaara then told him that he would finish up here as well and then informed Naruto that the pyramid was his technique when the latter mistook it for the enemy's body. After the Second Mizukage remarked to Gaara that he and Naruto made a good duo, Gaara smiled and wondered whether that was so as he finished sealing him. He then told a shinobi to report to headquarters and turned his attention to Naruto, asking him where his original was. The division was later alerted by a sensor that someone was coming and Gaara stares in shock as he sees Mū appear on a cliff above them. As the members of his division exclaimed that someone else was up there, who is revealed by Ōnoki to be Madara Uchiha, Gaara wondered what was going on, drawing their attention to Madara's eyes that gave away the fact that he was reincarnated. On this revelation the division stood in shock wondering just who the masked man that claimed to be Madara really was.

As a new battle commenced, Gaara attacked Madara, but he evaded it and jumped to the ground below. With this, Madara began his assault and proceeded to tear through the division's remaining forces. Gaara used his sand to catch Madara's arm, creating an opening for a Kumo shinobi to attack, but Madara easily countered. Naruto finally entered Sage Mode and Ōnoki lightened the sand in Gaara's gourd, which made it even faster and easier to manipulate. Gaara uses the sand to pull Madara out of his Susanoo, and into the flight-path of Naruto's Rasenshuriken. Their combo fails when Madara reveals his Rinnegan and uses the Preta Path to absorb the attacks. Madara then retreated to the top of a rock formation and summoned a huge meteorite, which shocked everyone present, and caused Gaara to wonder whether that was the power of a god.

As the meteorite plummeted towards them, Gaara told his troops to try and escape as far as they could while he remained behind, and attempted to help Ōnoki, who had flown towards the rock in order to lighten it. With their combined efforts, they were able to stop the meteorite, but when Madara sent another one crashing into it, they are unable to stop it. Predominantly unharmed, Gaara went to check on the Tsuchikage. As Ōnoki declared that he would fight Madara, Gaara moved to help an exhausted Naruto to his feet. As Ōnoki stumbled getting up, Gaara used his sand to support him, telling him that they would fight together. As Madara and Mū attacked, they are buffeted by Tsunade and A who arrived on the battlefield via the Heavenly Transfer Technique. Mei arrived soon afterwards via the Flying Thunder God Technique and Gaara stood with the other Kage, prepared to fight Madara.

A and Mei confronted Madara directly in order to buy some time for Tsunade to heal Gaara and Ōnoki. When Madara decided to test their defences, Gaara and Ōnoki worked together to build a double-layered shield of sand and rock to block his attack. Before Naruto's clone dispersed, having been told to leave things there to them, Gaara and the other Kage leave him with one message "win".

As the battle waged on, Gaara suspended everyone above Madara's technique. As Tsunade warned them not to inhale the pollen, Madara attacked Gaara and the other Kage from behind and knocked them into the forest below where they lose consciousness after inhaling the pollen. Regaining consciousness after Ōnoki destroyed the forest, the Kage watched in shock as the face formed from the DNA of the First Hokage juts out of the regenerating Madara's, exposed chest.

When Tsunade moved to the front-lines and the other Kage confronted Madara, Gaara wasted no time in the opportunity that was provided to seal Madara within his Desert Layered Imperial Funeral technique and applying sealing tags immediately after. Declaring that Madara was sealed, Gaara was shocked to see Tsunade impaled by a Susanoo Sword and then to see Madara emerging from one of the tree roots, and revealed that they had sealed a wood clone. After Madara noted that five-against-one was a good match-up, he created more wood clones, sending five of them at each Kage.

As Gaara battled five Susanoo-clad clones, he was able to save Mei from being skewered onto a sword of one of the clones she was battling. With his attentions elsewhere however, his own opponents took the opportunity to land a surprise attack which initially failed due to his automatic defence, but is buffeted by a combined assault from the clones. As Gaara agreed with Mei statement that Madara was too strong, Ōnoki spurred the other Kage to keep fighting on, reminding them that Naruto and the shinobi of the world had entrusted their titles and that battle to them. Motivated, Gaara relocated to the side of the other Kage in order to lure all the clone into gathering in one area as the Tsuchikage prepared a large-scale Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique which is successful in destroying the twenty-five clones and the real Madara partially. Launching their collaborative attack, Gaara's sand is revealed to be hidden inside A and Mei's lightning-infused Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique which he used to restrain Madara.

As Gaara started to seal Madara, the latter released his full Susanoo and destroyed the sand barricade before declaring to the Kage that even their power was futile against Susanoo's perfect form. Staring in shock as the humongous construct stabilised, Gaara and the other Kage are knocked off their feet by a single swing from the Susanoo's sword. After regaining their footing, Gaara and the others stood to face Madara once again. When Madara prepared to attack the Kage once again, Gaara stared in shock as Madara's Susanoo de-materialised and a light of sorts enveloped him. When Tsunade deflected Madara's desperate attempt to attack them one last time only to fall unconscious due to overusing her Strength of a Hundred Technique, Gaara and the rest of the Kage moved to protect her from Madara's follow-up attack as she fell through the air and listened on as Madara declared that he would break contractual ties from the summoner which would cause him to remain in the real world and retain all the benefits of the Impure World Reincarnation.

Ten-Tails Revival Arc
Despite their attempt to stop Madara from leaving their battlefield, Gaara and the other Kage are ultimately defeated and left severely wounded.

Naruto the Movie 2: Legend of the Stone of Gelel
Gaara and Kankurō came to the aid of a band of Suna villagers who came under attack. A group of seemingly invulnerable armoured warriors attacked the shinobi, and it was only Gaara's sand manipulation abilities that saved the group from certain defeat. The Suna ninja then destroyed the warship that brought the warriors, only to come under attack from knights wielding the power of the Stone of Gelel. Gaara engaged one of these warriors, called Ranke, who wielded lightning powers, and was able to thwart her using his sand. When Ranke transformed into a monstrous form of greater power, she seemingly outmatched Gaara, until he crushed her using Sand Waterfall Imperial Funeral. By doing this, he made lightning rods to drain her lightning. He is later seen amazed by the destruction the Gelel caused. It is unclear whether Gaara met Naruto after the incident. Later, he and Kankurō safely return to Sunagakure.

Naruto Shippūden 3: Inheritors of the Will of Fire
Gaara watches the skies as Hiruko introduces himself, claims responsibility for the disappearance of shinobi with kekkei genkai and announces the Fourth Shinobi World War. As he and other Sunagakure shinobi travel through a rocky terrain, San's bird creature attacks the convoy with its explosive feathers. The convoy is saved by Jiraiya and Gamabunta. Jiraiya talks with Gaara, updating him on Konoha's actions, including Kakashi's will to sacrifice himself. Gaara gives Jiraiya some special sand, which when thrown in the air gave the Suna troops a temporary cease-fire notice. He leaves to Hiruko's lair, by soaring through the skies as sand in the wind. He reaches Naruto, Sakura and Sai, telling Naruto that he won't risk the lives of shinobi in a war. He removes Sakura and Sai from combat and fights Naruto in a fierce battle, combining his sand techniques with taijutsu as well, but retreated after his defences were breached and hearing Naruto's words of resolve. Later, when Shikamaru finds him, Gaara tells him that by fighting Naruto again after years, he was once again touched by his resolve, and allowed him to pass. Gaara returns to the troops and proclaimed that the issue has been resolved, relieving the troops anxious to return home.

Creation and Conception
Masashi Kishimoto created Gaara to be a foil to Naruto, giving him a similar background to Naruto, where he was rejected by his peers and fellow villagers for being the host of a tailed beast, a situation that Kishimoto refers to as being "very much like Naruto's. He was universally rejected and ignored, living a superfluous existence". Gaara's development from this state into a highly withdrawn, sadistic character was intended to induce sympathy for him from readers, as it was contrasted against Naruto being a cheerful troublemaker.

Gaara's initial attire, along with the costumes of his siblings, were difficult for Kishimoto to draw, resulting in a change of costume during the Sasuke Retrieval Arc, with Gaara receiving an outfit with an upright collar. As well as being easier to draw, it was used to show the change in relationship between Gaara and Naruto following their previous fight. Kishimoto cites The Matrix, one of his favourite movies, as the inspiration for Gaara's new costume. He considers it to be his favourite costume out of the three siblings.

Trivia

 * When Gaara was first named in the English Shōnen Jump, his name was rendered as "Gāra".
 * Up through Naruto chapter 58, Gaara is seen wearing multiple earrings.
 * In the manga, Gaara's Kazekage hat is green. In the anime, it was originally light blue. They were recoloured as of Naruto Shippūden episode 199, showing the Kazekage hat as coloured green.
 * In the Naruto character popularity polls, Gaara was placed in 7th in the first, second and third, 8th in the fourth, 10th in the fifth, 7th in the sixth and 4th in the last and most recent poll. He is one of four characters who stayed in the Top Ten of every Character Popularity Poll.
 * According to the databook(s):
 * Gaara's hobby is battling and cultivating cacti.
 * Gaara's favourite foods are salted tongue and gizzard, while his least favourite are yōkan and marron glacé.
 * Gaara and Naruto are both the same weight and height by Part II.
 * Gaara wishes to fight Sasuke Uchiha and anyone, if it is for the sake of his village.
 * Gaara has completed 34 official missions in total: 0 D-rank, 9 C-rank, 8 B-rank, 14 A-rank, 3 S-rank.
 * Gaara's favourite words are, in the first and second databook,, and in the third databook, and.

Quotes

 * (To Yashamaru) "What does pain feel like?"
 * "I finally understand… I'm alone. I won't believe in anyone, or love anyone. I'm alone."
 * "The corpse's bitter crimson tears flow and mingle with the endless sand, filling the chaos within me - and making me stronger."
 * (To Kankurō) "I will work hard, because I want to become acknowledged by others. That's what I thought when I look at Naruto Uzumaki. Bonds with others… Up until now, I only known them as hate and murderous intent. But I wonder, what is that bond he longed for? Now I understand, even only a little. Pain, sadness… and joy. These feelings allow you to understand others."
 * (To Naruto and Shikamaru) "Love?… Let me tell you what that word means to me… My father taught me secret shinobi skills, one after another. I was raised in isolation, spoiled and overprotected… at first I thought THAT was love… For the past six years… ever since I turned six… my father has been trying to assassinate me. I've lost count of how many attempts he's made… A presence that is too powerful becomes a presence that is feared… To my father, in his role as Kazekage, I was the village's most powerful weapon, but at the same time, I was a fearsome and dangerous object. So apparently, when I turned six, they determined that I was too great a liability."
 * (To Naruto and Shikamaru) "I am a relic they want to get rid of, so why do I exist and live? In order to exist you need a purpose, to exist for no reason is the same as being dead… Then I came to the conclusion that I would love only myself and fight for only myself. If all other people exist to magnify that love, then there is no more a splendid universe than this one… My existence will not vanish."
 * (To Sasuke) "You have the same eyes as I do… the eyes, filled with hatred and death, that long for strength… just like mine… your eyes tell me how badly you wish to kill the one who put you through the hell called loneliness."
 * (To Naruto) "I shall kill you. I will not cease to exist."
 * (To Rock Lee after their fight with Kimimaro) "You're the same then. When you feel the honour of your idol under scrutiny… you become enraged, as if it were your own honour being questioned. The more precious your idol is to you… the harder you fight for him."
 * "Perhaps the companionship of an evil person is preferable to loneliness."
 * "…No… what was I originally?… It just shared a consciousness with me… What is it originally? A mere small sensation…"
 * (To Ōnoki, the Third Tsuchikage) "When did you forsake yourselves?"
 * (To Tobi) "Peace under an illusion is not true peace. It's only meaningful if the real world manages to accomplish it."
 * (To Tobi) "We won't give up hope."
 * (To Naruto) "Naruto… Just so you know, there will be a war to protect the Eight-Tails and Nine-Tails… in other words you. For the sake of the ninja world and as the Kazekage, I will guard you with my life. If as a member of Akatsuki, Sasuke Uchiha stands in the way of the ninja coalition… I will show him no mercy."
 * (To Naruto) "If you're truly prepared to take up the mantle of a Kage, then as Sasuke's friend, you know what you have to do."
 * (To Naruto) "I think of you as a friend. I used to think "friend" was just another word… Nothing more, nothing less. But when I met you, I realised what was important was the word's meaning."
 * (To Tsunade about hiding Naruto) "I know him well. He takes too many risks when it comes to his friends… that's why."
 * "This is where it all starts for me. Starting with this small bond. I too want to become someone who is needed, instead of a weapon that is feared. And as the Kazekage of Sunagakure."
 * (To Kankurō about Naruto) "He was the one who taught me to deepen my bond with my people. Thanks to him, I was able to regain my true self. That village has him, the one who cherishes a friend's bond more than anyone I know. Naruto Uzumaki…. Knowing him and the friends he holds so dear, they will overcome this disaster and grow even stronger from it."
 * (To the Allied Shinobi Forces) "There are no enemies here because we've all suffered at Akatsuki's hand! So there is no Suna, no Iwa, no Konoha, no Kiri, and no Kumo! There are only "shinobi"!"
 * (To his father about Shukaku) "Gone forever! I'm no longer the jinchūriki you created!"
 * (To his father) "…Mother definitely was amazing… but, this is the first time you've ever given me "medicine", father…"