Know Everything About Gaara And His Absolute Defense In ‘Naruto’

The ‘Naruto’ franchise is one of the most popular manga franchises in the world, selling over 220 million copies since 1999. Masashi Kishimoto is the creator of this fictional world full of trained combat ninjas and experienced tragedy and loss. Gaara is one such character who earned worldwide popularity for his heart-breaking childhood.

He earned instant popularity from ‘Naruto’ fans although he first appeared as an insane and sadistic evil character. His motto started off as “love for oneself” and then went on to become the youngest Hokage in the history who risked his life for his people. Know more about Gaara and his absolute defense.

What Is The Absolute Defense Technique Of Gaara?

It was believed for a long time that Gaara’s use of his absolute defense was from Shukaku. Even he too believed this at one point because of Yashamaru’s lies said to him before the latter committed suicide. It would be later proven that it’s his mother’s will that moves the sand to protect him.

Following the Fourth Great Shinobi War, Gaara learns how to incorporate other abilities into his absolute defense including Wind Release and his kekkei genkai into his shields. He mixes metal particles into his Shield of Sand. This allowed him to guard against any jutsu that exploits his sand’s weaknesses.

What Does The Symbol On His Head Stand For?

Gaara carved the symbol on his forehead following the attack from Yashamaru to emphasize self-love. However, it actually had a duel meaning behind it. As a child, he wanted the villagers of Suna to accept him despite their fears of him being a jinchūriki. He often was kind to the villagers and offered help, but would inadvertently hurt them because of his lack of control over Shukaku.

Following these adversarial moments, he accepted self-love as his fate, until meeting Naruto. Shukaku’s previous jinchūriki had prophesied that someone would show him the overall meaning of the tattoos on his own hands. These were “accept” and “heart”. Gaara’s tattoo, “love”, is a combination of these two kanji. The symbol of love would then become a reminder of what he was, and who he was truly meant to be.