Gaara

Gaara is the youngest child of the Fourth Kazekage. Being raised as a tool of the Sand, Gaara gained the nickname "Gaara of the Sand" (砂瀑の我愛羅 Sabuku no Gaara).

Biography
Gaara is the son of the Fourth Kazekage and the younger brother of Temari and Kankuro. Because of Sunagakure's decreases in funds, Gaara's father ordered Chiyo to seal the One-Tailed Shukaku within Gaara during his birth in the hopes that he would become the ultimate weapon for the village. Because a sacrifice was needed, Gaara's mother, Karura, was used. Before she died, Karura cursed Sunagakure, hoping Gaara would avenge her death.

Gaara was trained by his father, but raised mainly by his 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 mistakenly harm others due to the subconscious abilities granted to him by Shukaku, Yashamaru would be the only one who understood that Gaara hadn't intended to harm anyone. Gaara's father, however, did not see Gaara in the same light, and viewed Gaara's frequent attacks upon villagers as a result of a failed experiment that was a threat to the village. Because of the danger Gaara imposed, his father began sending assassins to kill him, though when all attempts met with failure, the Kazekage asked Yashamaru to kill Gaara. As a result, Yashamaru tried to assassinate Gaara, though Gaara's abilities defeated Yashamaru with ease, saddening Gaara. Although Gaara tried to dismiss Yashamaru's attack as an order of the Kazekage, Yashamaru corrected him by saying that he had willingly accepted the mission. Having never truly loved Gaara, Yashamaru hoped that killing Gaara would avenge the death of his sister, who had named Gaara after the phrase "a self-loving carnage" (我を愛する修羅 Ware wo ai suru shura?), a sign of her hate for Gaara. In a last ditch effort to kill Gaara, Yashamaru detonated a number of explosive tags covering his body, asking Gaara to, "Please die." Gaara survives the blast and loses the only person he thought had cared for him.

While Gaara had initially tried to be friendly towards others despite their fear of him, Yashamaru's actions and words changed Gaara. Realizing that nobody loved him, Gaara used his sand to create the kanji on his forehead (愛, "Love") as a symbol of a "demon loving only himself". Gaara became emotionally withdrawn, all but silent, and consumed with a bitter loathing for everyone but himself. He learned to find pleasure and eventually a reason to live in annihilating the numerous assassins sent to kill him – and by extension, anyone who threatened his existence. Gaara's insomnia, forced upon him by the fear that the demon inside him would eat away at his personality if he were to fall asleep, only furthered his instability and desire to kill. In time, Gaara's father would come to appreciate Gaara and the uses he could serve, and canceled all assassination orders in the hopes that Gaara would become an effective tool. Gaara's childhood was somewhat similar to Naruto Uzumaki's, albeit more unfortunate due to his lack of anyone to call a friend. Both were lonely and desired to be liked, loved, and acknowledged as an individual, free of others' prejudices — they are themselves, not the demons they were forced to "contain" — and both were driven into a desperate state. 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 an extreme form of existentialism as his key personality trait. In the absence of others' acknowledgment, he could compensate by valuing only himself to the exclusion of everyone else. Furthermore, while Naruto eventually had Iruka Umino and Team 7 to acknowledge him, Gaara never had anyone to bond with and did not understand the concept of fighting for anything other than himself until his confrontation with Naruto.

Chunin Exams
Gaara first appears hanging upside down on a tree, telling Kankuro to stop picking on Konohamaru, which instantly silences Kankuro. Sasuke Uchiha is amazed by Gaara's ability to appear out of nowhere, comparing Gaara's speed and stealth to that of Kakashi Hatake. During the second phase of the Chunin Exams, Gaara demonstrates his thirst for blood by killing the Rain Genin Shigure, who Gaara claims had looked at him the wrong way. Shigure is followed quickly by his teammates, despite their pleas for mercy. Gaara and his team finish this phase in roughly an hour, beating the previous record by over four hours, with Gaara not getting so much as a speck of dust on his clothes, a feat that would be very difficult even for an experienced ninja.

In the preliminary matches, Gaara is matched against Rock Lee. Lee's formidable speed and strength are enough to bypass Gaara's Shield of Sand completely, forcing him to rely on his secondary Armor of Sand. Despite Lee's best efforts, Gaara's sand protects him from even Lee's Reverse Lotus, which leaves Lee in no condition to fight after its use. Though Lee's Reverse Lotus does immobilize Gaara, it is not enough to keep Gaara from using his sand to crush Lee's arm and leg, critically injuring him. Gaara tries to kill Lee, but Might Guy intervenes before he can harm Lee any further.

In the final round matches of the Chunin Exams, Gaara is to play a major role in Orochimaru's invasion upon Konohagakure by releasing Shukaku within the center of the village. During his match with Sasuke Uchiha, however, Gaara is wounded by Sasuke's Chidori, disabling him from serving his role in the invasion. With Gaara no longer in a condition to join the battle, Gaara and his siblings flee the village while the invasion proceeds without them.

Gaara is pursued by the members of Team 7, which forces Gaara to begin calling upon Shukaku. Gaara managed to pin Sakura to a tree with sand and slowly began to crush her while he fought Sasuke. When Sasuke uses to much of his chakra, Naruto arrived in time to save them both. When Gaara wasn't able to beat the demon fox fueld Naruto, Gaara releases the full force of the Shukaku and even puts himself to sleep to give it full power. However, in in this form Gaara failed to defeat Naruto and Gamabunta and was finally beaten by Gaara. Gaara was puzzeled by fighting spirit Naruto had for those he cares about, which he could understand. Naruto's undying devotion to his friends also surprises Gaara, causing Gaara to realize that Naruto's strength comes from the desire to protect his friends. As Gaara and his siblings flee the scene, Gaara openly apologizes to Kankuro and Temari, which surprises and confuses them. Thanks to Naruto's influence, the defeat proves to be a major turning point for Gaara

Sasuke Retrievel Mission
Team Baki was called by the Fifth Hokage to assist Team Shikamaru in retrieving Sasuke when he defected from Konoha. Gaara arrives to help Rock Lee battle Kimimaro Kaguya. Here Gaara shows his change in personality as he worries about Lee's injuries, the same ones he gave him in the Chunin Exams, while fighting Kimimaro. In the fight, Gaara shows off several new abilities, though he couldn't defeat Orochimaru's disciple, and both he and Lee were almost killed by him though they were saved only by Kimimaro dying from his own terminal disease.