Kankurō
Encyclopedia : K : KA : KAN : Kankurō
| Kankurō | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (カンクロウ) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Kankurō is a fictional character in the anime and manga series Naruto.
Contents
Part IBackground
 As the son of the Fourth Kazekage, Kankurō is the brother of Gaara and Temari, and a ninja from Sunagakure who specializes in ninja puppetry. In his first appearance, he carries a large marionette wrapped in bandages on his back called Karasu (烏, "Crow"). In combat, Kankurō tends to use Karasu in combination with a technique similar to a Kawarimi no Jutsu (Body Replacement Technique); he first lures his opponents into getting close to Karasu (disguised as himself), then unveils himself from the bandages to finish his opponent off. His puppets are also equipped with various traps and numerous concealed weapons, such as hidden poison-coated blades, poison gas, and projectile launchers. In addition, the heads and limbs of his puppets can be disengaged from their respective bodies and used as projectiles themselves. Kankurō appears to add new puppets to his arsenal as the manga/anime progresses, reflecting an increase in his skill level. He later uses Karasu in conjunction with a second puppet called Kuroari (黒蟻, "Black Ant"), a puppet designed to be a trapping unit that holds opponents still for Karasu. However, in the second Naruto movie (Naruto the Movie 2: Great Clash! The Illusionary Ruins at the Depths of the Earth), it is revealed that Kuroari can also used as a lethal offensive puppet by Kankurō. Chūnin Exam arcUpon first arriving in Konoha, Kankurō is run into by Konohamaru. After he threatens to injure Konohamaru, Naruto tries to intervene, but is tripped by Kankurō's chakra strings mid-stride. Sasuke soon arrives to reinforce the threat, which almost causes Kankurō to unveil Karasu. The appearance of Gaara discourages him from doing so.In the Forest of Death section of the Chūnin exams, Kankurō unsuccessfully tries to reign in Gaara's bloodlust, even advising the Rain ninja they run into that they can't possibly win. Though Gaara kills all three Rain ninja with ease, his bloodlust is still unsatisfied; it takes a combined effort from Kankurō and Temari to get him to calm down. During the preliminaries preceding the third round of the Chūnin exam, Kankurō is matched up against Tsurugi Misumi. Kankurō acts overconfident at first, allowing Misumi to catch him in an inescapable hold by unhinging his own joints. He then proceeds to snap Kankurō's neck. Though it seems as if he has won at first, Kankurō turns out to be a puppet. The real Kankurō is in the bandages, having switched places with Kawarimi no Jutsu. Kankurō then proceeds to return the favor by snapping Misumi's neck. Misumi's contortional abilities allowed him to survive. Later, in the third round of the Chūnin exam, Kankurō forfeits his match against Aburame Shino in order to avoid revealing his techniques to the observers (much to Shino's annoyance). During the invasion of Konoha by Sand and Sound nin, Kankurō attempts to stall Sasuke in order to cover Temari and Gaara's retreat, only to have Shino appear and challenge him, claiming that Kankurō was supposed to be his opponent. With Sasuke free to pursue Temari and Gaara, the two have a short battle, ending with Shino draining Kankurō's chakra. Shino is injured in the process, however, having inhaled some of Karasu's poison gas. Kankurō returns later to help carry Gaara after Gaara's battle with Naruto. Sasuke Retrieval arcKankurō accompanies Temari and Gaara in their mission assigned by the Fifth Hokage, now an ally of Sunagakure. He saves Inuzuka Kiba, who was about to be killed by Ukon. He then battles both Sakon and Ukon, and despite Kiba's pleas to retreat, refuses to leave after Ukon insults his puppets. He ultimately wins when he traps the brothers in Kuroari and finishes them off with Kurohigi Kiki Ippatsu (Black Secret Technique Machine One Shot).Naruto the Movie 2In a non-canon appearance sometime before the timeskip, Kankurō helps defend the Hidden Sand Village from an onslaught of mysterious knights, utilizing Karasu and Kuroari to battle the seemingly unbeatable foes. Later, in one of the wrecks of the invading ships, he fights one of Haido's henchmen. Using Karasu to trick her into thinking it's him, he nearly kills her before she transforms into a bat-like form to escape. He eventually kills her using the Kurohigi Kiki Nihatsu (Black Secret Technique Machine Two Shot), after Shikamaru tricks her into falling into it.Part II
 After the timeskip, Kankurō has become a Jōnin-level ninja and has acquired more facial paintings. He also adds a third puppet named Sanshōuo (山椒魚, "Salamander") to his arsenal. Unlike Karasu and Kuroari, this new puppet is much larger and resembles a lizard-like creature rather than a multi-armed humanoid. He no longer carries his puppets around with him; instead, he now summons them from scrolls. Sanshōuo's full abilities are unknown, however, as it was destroyed during the battle with Sasori. While his relationship with Temari was always well enough off, his relationship with Gaara has grown much stronger than before. Originally, the two brothers acted hostile towards each other; Gaara cared little for either sibling while Kankurō was divided between walking on thin ice around his dangerous brother and exploding with anger when Gaara's refusal to follow guidelines went too far.
 In a post-timeskip flashback, Gaara is shown explaining his dreams and feelings to his older brother, treating him with respect and closeness. Kankurō, for his part, is now fiercely defensive of his younger sibling, going so far as to physically assault a Suna elder who dared put down the Kazekage in his presence. Kankurō even tried to rescue Gaara by himself after he was captured by Akatsuki, but failed. He asked Naruto to bring Gaara back, openly referring to Gaara as his brother. There is also a scene where Kankurō, in an act of friendliness, lightly teases Gaara after he had been revived by Chiyo; no longer was he deathly afraid of Gaara as was seen during the Chūnin exams. All signs point towards each brother caring deeply for one another. Kankurō's puppets are eventually revealed to be the original creations of Akatsuki member Sasori. After Gaara was kidnapped, Kankurō fought and was defeated by Sasori, with all three of his puppets apparently destroyed in the process. In addition, Sasori used his puppet tail to poison Kankurō with a poison that no member of the Hidden Sand Village could identify. Given about three days to live, Kankurō was saved by the arrival of Team Kakashi and Haruno Sakura, who uses the medical techniques Tsunade had taught her to save his life. After recovering from his fight with Sasori, Kankurō is seen ready for battle once more with a bandaged, unidentified fourth puppet. Trivia
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||