Kankuro (Kankurō?) is a fictional character in the anime and manga series Naruto created by Masashi Kishimoto. He is the second oldest child of the Fourth Kazekage, making him the older brother of Gaara and the younger brother of Temari.

“Kankuro” is the name of a famous ninja, and he often was pictured as a ninja with a crow (Karasu) as his pet. “Kankuro” is also the name of many famous Kabuki actors which shows in his face paint and quirky style of speech in the original Japanese versions.

Personality

In comparison to his siblings Kankuro sees the least amount of development, typically only making appearances to take part in battles. In Part I the only noticeable personality trait he displays is an apparent dislike for children, first seen when he attempts to beat up Konohamaru for running into him. This carries over to many of his interactions with other characters as he is noticeably irritated when in the presence of someone younger than him. This is most evident when he is seen with Gaara, who Kankuro is forced to put up with due to the fear his younger brother imposes on him.

Despite their apparent differences, Gaara and Kankuro become very close over the timeskip as Gaara begins to confide in Kankuro and shares his dreams of wanting to risk his life to protect Sunagakure. As such, Kankuro has become very protective of Gaara, willing to challenge anyone who puts Gaara down in his presence. When Gaara is captured by Akatsuki, Kankuro rushes to his brother’s aid in an attempt to save him. He is quickly defeated and bedridden as a result, though joins Temari in looking for Gaara as soon as he is able to walk. Once Gaara is found and saved, Kankuro joins Temari in thanking Team 7 for saving their brother.

For some reason Kankuro changes the design of his face paint with each of his appearances, though the significance of this, if any, is unknown.

Abilities

Kankuro is a talented puppeteer, and with each of his appearances in the major arcs is seen with a new puppet in his arsenal. His “Cat Hat” is even part of the traditional garb of a Bunraku puppeteer. The three puppets that have been introduced were all originally created by Sasori, and came into Kankuro’s possession some time after the latter left Sunagakure. Similarly, each puppet is destroyed by Sasori years later, and it is unknown if Kankuro will rebuild them. In Part I he carries his puppets with him, though in Part II he starts keeping them in summoning scrolls. Each of these puppet is characterized for the excessive clicking noises they make when moving.

  • Karasu (Karasu? “Crow”) - The first of Kankuro’s puppets to make an appearance, Karasu resembles a three-eyed, four-armed humanoid. In Part I, Kankuro typically keeps Karasu wrapped in bandages on his back, and he is able to switch places with it at will using a technique similar to the Body Replacement Technique. Because of Kankuro’s enjoyment in installing mechanisms into his puppets, Karasu is very offensive, having numerous concealed weapons and being able to detach any of its limbs for separate attacks.
  • Kuroari (Kuroari? “Black Ant”) - The second of Kankuro’s puppets to make an appearance, Kuroari has a much longer head than Karasu and sports two red devil-like horns and six arms. While it does not contain as many hidden weapons as Karasu, each of its arm segments contains a hidden saw-blade which can be used to inflict large slicing wounds to opponents. Kuroari’s primary function is to trap opponents within itself while weapons enter the slots along its body to puncture the opponent.
  • Sanshouo (Sanshōuo?, “Salamander”) - The third of Kankuro’s puppets to make an appearance, Sanshouo stays true to its name and resembles a salamander. Its abilities are unseen in the manga, but in the anime, Sanshouo is shown to have incredible defensive power. It has a frill that swings up to defend against attacks from the front, and a hollow body one can take cover in to defend against attacks coming from other directions.

Kankuro’s puppets seem to be designed to work together to some degree, as seen with Poison Fog, Blind Spot Destroyer (, Dokugiri Zuyoku, Baribari Shikaku Renpatsu?) where Karasu blankets the area in a smokescreen while Kuroari fires poisoned needles at the blinded opponent. Black Secret Technique Machine One Shot (Kurohigi Kiki Ippatsu?) also displays the puppets’ abilities to work together, where Karasu navigates an opponent into Kuroari’s torso. Once trapped, Karasu separates its limbs to reveal a number of concealed weapons and enters the slots on Kuroari’s body to impale the opponent. Similar in purpose though only needing one puppet, Black Secret Technique Machine Two Shot (Kurohigi Kiki Nihatsu?) calls upon four scythe-like blades to run along the sides of Kuroari’s body, reaping the victim inside.

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