It’s no secret that almost every anime series has a dark side, yet theNarutoFranchise truly sets a precedent in terms of imbuingtragedy and cruelty into its characters’ backstories, adding a much-needed profundity to their overall personalities. However, not all characters have an equal footing as some had to undergo much more, especially those that were cursed with the power of the tailed-beasts, more commonly known as Jinchuriki. One such case is of Gaara of the Sand, the Fourth Kazekage’s son and One-Tails’ Jinchuriki.
Being a recurring theme in theNarutoseries, it comes as no surprise that Gaara’s childhood as a Jinchuriki was filled with sorrow and loneliness – a sentiment that was further exacerbated by his own father’s mistrust and hatred. If being hated by the entire Hidden Sand wasn’t enough, Rasa, the Fourth Kazekage and Gaara’s father, ordered several assassination attempts on the young Jinchuriki, further cornering the child towardsa life of misery and isolation. While Rasa’s efforts of killing his own son were vehemently shown throughout the series, his true intentions behind the assassination attempts were only vaguely depicted.
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Gaara’s Childhood as a Jinchuriki
Before delving into the Kazekage’s motives behind attempting to assassinate his own son, it’s essential to look into Gaara’s childhood, along with the events that followed right after his birth. Rasa hadShukaku implanted into Gaaraeven before he was born, yet he failed to realize One-Tails’ overwhelming power, resulting in several complications that led to Gaara’s premature birth and the death of Karura, the Kazekage’s wife. Overwhelmed with emotions and grief, Rasa blamed his son for the death of his wife, sowing the seeds of hatred that would bloom later on.
The Kazekage saw Gaara simply as a weapon for the Hidden Sand, forgoing all emotions and sentiments for the child. He even had the young boy kept in isolation, away from his siblings and other children, further deepening the hollowness in his heart. Gaara’s isolation pushed him towards insanity, which was further exacerbated byShukaku’s threats to killhis loved ones while he slept. Under such immense pressure, Gaara became highly unstable and went on several tailed-beast rampages, causing more harm than good to the Hidden Sand.
The Kazekage’s Assassination Attempts
Seeing the damage Gaara had caused,Rasa had no other choicebut to deem his son a failed experiment, as the young Jinchuriki was of no use to the village anymore. While he initially had no intentions of killing his son, the chaos that Gaara’s rampages had ensued, along with the Village Council’s pressure, forced Rasa to eliminate the Jinchuriki. The Hidden Sand’s economic downturn also played a major role in forcing Rasa to take up such a massive step, as reparating the damages caused by Gaara’s rampages had become quite burdensome.
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In total, the Kazekage ordered six assassination attemptsto have Gaara killed, yet all of them remained unsuccessful due to Gaara’s protective sand. The attempt that had the most profound effect on Gaara was the one led by his uncle, Yashamaru. Losing Yashamaru, the only person who actually cared about him, completely devastated Gaara, a sentiment that was further aggravated by Yashamaru’s words that made him believe that he was unlovable, prompting him to etch the Kanji for ‘love’ onto his forehead and to only live for himself from that point onward. However, this wasn’t the end of Gaara’s assassination ordeal, as Rasa had ordered five more attempts on his life – all of which remained futile.
The Kazekage’s Intent Behind the Assassination Attempts
While it may seem thatthe Fourth Kazekage was hell-benton eliminating Gaara purely on his personal intents, the reality was quite the contrary, as he never wanted to end his own son’s life. Despite Rasa’s seemingly indifferent attitude towards Gaara, he actually cared about his son to some extent, yet was forced to put his feelings aside for the sake of the Hidden Sand. The Council’s pressure and the Hidden Sand’s crippling economy forced Rasa to rely on extreme measures, resulting in him forsaking his own emotions and ordering an assassination attempt on Gaara.
The attempts finally ceased when Gaara proved that he could control Shukaku’s power, along with his own rage and bloodlust. The Kazekage gave him one final chance to prove himself as an asset for the Hidden Sand, which was seen to be in the form of invadingthe Hidden Leaf Village. Although Rasa was willing to give the ultimate sacrifice by having his own son killed for the sake of the village, it’s obvious that he had gravely misjudged Gaara and his power, with his own hasty decisions becoming the cause of his undoing in the end.
