Gaara of the Sand has one of the most turbulent arcs in all of the Naruto Universe. From his tragic childhood to his dark time as a Genin, all the way through to his capture and eventual release from the Akatsuki – it’s true to say that Gaara has had it tough.
With such twists and turns in his storyline, we find that Gaara’s power level does not only go in one direction. Unlike many of the other characters in Naruto, Gaara is a character who loses a great deal of power.
Because of this, as well as his status of Fifth Kazekage of the Village Hidden in the Sand, fans might find themselves wondering just how strong Gaara is by the time the story transitions to Boruto: The Next Generations.
If you find yourself in this position – then you’re in the right place! Below is a complete history of Gaara that will help to explain the powers he once held, and the powers that he has in the present day of the Naruto story.
Although many changes come to Gaara over the course of the story, many of his key powers stay the same. We’ll take you through who Gaara is, who he was, and the potential he has as leader of the Hidden Sand in upcoming Boruto story arcs.
At the beginning of the Naruto story, we meet Gaara as a Genin of Sunagakure (the Village Hidden in the Sand). He encounters Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura during the Chunin Exams, where his intense demeanor and violent streak cause him to become an obvious enemy to the Leaf Village.
Gaara is easily recognizable by his deep red hair color, the tattoo over his eyes that means “love” in Japanese, as well as the gigantic gourd he carries on his back. This gourd is one of the most important features of his character as it contains the sand that he uses for the majority of his Jutsu.
Gaara can manipulate sand to either attack or defend, and in the earliest chapters of naruto appears to be one of the most powerful Genein in existence.
It would be hard to summarize Gaara’s entire arc in just a few paragraphs, but let’s just say he goes through one of the most difficult journeys of any character in the manga/anime. Like Naruto, Gaara was shunned by his village for being the One Tail Jinchuriki, and his childhood is horrific and dark.
As he grows into the young teenager he is when we first meet him in the story, Gaara lives only for himself, desiring power and violence. It isn’t until he faces off against Sasuke Uchiha in the final rounds of the Chunin Exams.
After losing to Sasuke, and then to Naruto and many other of the Leaf Genin in the aftermath, Gaara begins to calm himself somewhat. He and his siblings then become allies to the Hidden Leaf and eventually he becomes a great friend of Naruto.
It isn’t until the transition into Naruto: Shippuden that we see the giant leaps Gaara has taken as a person. When Naruto returns to the Hidden Leaf he is informed that Gaara has become Kazekage of the Hidden Sand Village. This causes Naruto to be jealous, but also happy for his friend. Gaara becomes a strong Jinchuriki who has a good bond with his Tailed Beast and great levels of power.
However, Gaara’s story again takes a turn for the worse when he is captured by the Akatsuki and drained of his Tailed Beast. This leaves Gaara for dead, but thankfully he is resurrected. But that’s not to say he keeps all of his power – the removal of One Tail drastically changes Gaara into one of the least powerful Kage in the story.
Gaara takes place in a lot of the final battles in Naruto: Shippuden and fans get a good understanding of quite how powerful he is, even without his Tailed Beast. It is clear that Gaara continued to hone his skills and becomes worthy of the title of Kazekage.
But then comes Boruto, and although Gaara is still Kazekage, there are so many other powerful ninjas in the world now – which is where our question comes in. Just how strong is Gaara in Boruto, now that he’s a long period of time without Shukaku to help him?
Gaara’s Abilities In Boruto
Let’s have an extensive look at all of the abilities Gaara has in Boruto: The Next Generations so that we can form an opinion about his overall power level.
Taijutsu
Let’s first consider the three major disciplines that ninjas follow in the Naruto Universe. When it comes to Taijutsu it’s safe to say that it is one of the weakest areas for Gaara.
Gaara is a defence, ninjutsu-based ninja and has always used his sand to deflect physical attacks. That’s not to say he’s terrible at it, just that it’s not as impressive as other legendary ninjas such as Might Guy or Rock Lee.
Genjutsu
Gaara mostly has powers in avoiding and dispelling Genjutsu. We’ve never seen him use Genjutsu in the story, but that’s not to say he can’t use it.
Ninjutsu
This is Gaara’s real strength. He can manipulate sand in order to attack or defend. Although it was previously assumed that this was a result of the One Tail within him since its removal Gaara has been able to improve his abilities.
He has many different signature attacks such as Sand Shield, Sand Coffin, Sand Waterfall Funeral, and Sand Armor. He’s also able to create Sand Clones that can attack and defend him.
Leadership And IQ
This is one aspect of Gaara’s power level that is very underrated. He was made Kazekage at a very young age for a reason, both for his love for the people of the Village Hidden in the Sand, but also because he is quick-witted in battle. Gaara has lightning-fast reflexes and decisions and has shown evidence of creating strategies in battle.
He’s not as intelligent as someone like Shikamaru Nara from the Hidden Leaf Village, but he is an underrated leader and critical thinker, which makes him formidable in battle.
Chakra Reserves
By the time we get to Boruto: The Next Generations, it’s clear that Gaara has incredible Chakra reserves. Like all Kage, they are masters of the fundamentals, and chakra control and usage is vital aspect of any ninja’s game.
Gaara is able to use ninjutsu over long battles with no sign of slowing down, this is a testament to his time as a genin and countless years of being a master of specific, difficult ninjutsu.
Comparing Other Ninja To Gaara
As Kazekage of the Hidden Sand Village, we already know that Gaara is among the elite of ninja within the Naruto Universe, so with this in mind it’s useless to compare him against those who have lower power levels.
Let’s compare him to Sasuke Uchiha first of all. Sasuke has some very strong bloodline powers that allow him to manipulate space-time, as well as giving him extreme prowess in Taijutsu, Ninjutsu, and Genjutsu. When we compare Gaara to him, it’s obvious that Gaara doesn’t quite have the same level of power.
Similarly, if we compare Gaara to Naruto, it’s as if Gaara is just below. By the time Boruto: The Next Generations begins, Naruto has a whole host of special powers that Gaara misses out on. It could be said that this is mostly because of Naruto’s status as Jinchuriki. Without Kurama, Naruto might be much closer to Gaara in terms of his ability.
If we compare Gaara to some of the most modern villains in Boruto such as Jigen, it’s hard to say he’d do well in a 1vs1 kind of scenario, this is because the writing team has been forced to include villains that contend with Naruto and Sasuke fighting together, so it’s hard to say that Gaara would be able to defeat them on his own.
That said, we do see Gaara facing off against multiple members of the Otsukuki clan and going toe to toe with them – so perhaps he is more powerful in this respect than we give him credit for.
Verdict
From a proper examination of his powers in the time that we have to see them, it’s clear that Gaara has become worthy of the name of Kazekage. Aside from some of the most obviously powerful ninja in the Naruto Universe such as Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki, Gaara is a very powerful ninja.
From a young age, it was obvious that he would become a person of great influence in the world, so it’s awesome to see that Gaara as an adult is influential with good moral character, and a great ally to Naruto.
We would probably place Gaara somewhere around the upper tiers of all Ninja within Naruto, just below Naruto, Sasuke, and certain members of the Otsukuski Clan, though much higher than a lot of the original Leaf and Sand Genin.
We love Gaara as a character because he is an example of how a terrible start in life does not define what you become as an adult. Gaara’s story is another inspiring piece of the Naruto puzzle, and we hope that he continues to be a strong character throughout the rest of Boruto: The Next Generations.
