In honor of Baki’s birthday, here are a few headcanons about him!
Baki Headcanons
Gender/Pronouns: Male (He/Him)
Sexuality: Doesn’t use a label because he doesn’t have time to think about it with all that paperwork he’s doing (its been a running joke that he’s villagesexual)
He always has some sort of candy in his pockets. It’s a habit that started when he instructed the sand siblings. He would give them candy to calm down and as a form of positive reinforcement.
He’s had trouble adjusting to the changes brought by the era of New Suna. Even so, he is happy change is being made.
He feels immense pride and love whenever the members of team Shinki refer to him as grandpa.
Somewhere among his bookshelves at home is a porn stash. It’s not his. It’s Kankuro’s. Baki has no idea its there. It’s been there for years and Kankuro forgot about it.
Its a little late, but happy birthday to Baki! Even on his birthday, the man doesn’t take a break from doing his insane amount of paperwork.
Mod K sketched and lined this and Mod D went back and colored it and we’re both in awe because it now looks nothing like either of our styles and is instead some weird yet fantastic fusion.
What is making this stoic and hardworking man smile as he looks away from his beloved documents? If you think its that tiny little bouncy ball on his desk, then you’d be correct. There’s a whole story behind this headcanon that I can go into more detail on another date, but I’ll give you all a little background on it now. It was the first gift he ever received from the sand siblings on his birthday. He’d been struggling for a long time but they finally began to warm up to him and realize he wouldn’t leave them, so in a last minute rush when they found out it was his birthday, they ran to the nearest store open early in the morning to buy a gift. They didn’t know what he liked and there weren’t many options, but they thought this lame gift was better than giving him nothing. To this day, Baki keeps the bouncy ball on his desk and cherishes it as one of his favorite possessions.
Not sure if you done this before but Baki’s childhood backstory? 👀
I hope you’re ready for a really long post, because I wrote a lot in the past to summarize his life.
As I’m sure all the Baki fans know, there is just as little information on him as any other Suna background character despite him showing up frequently in the arcs relating to Suna. Such a tragedy. This means that the backstory I’ll be telling is 100% my own invention. At this point us mods joke about how he’s more of my oc at this point with how much I’ve had to develop him. Another little warning/thing to be aware of is that in order to flesh out the backstory, I needed to create characters to put in it. Thus, you’ll see some of my ocs integrated into his backstory. Enjoy!
Childhood Years
Baki has no memory of his parents. He grew up in one of Suna’s orphanages until age five, when he was taken into a foster home. The orphanages in Suna are government run and supported but because of numerous wars, the orphanages were often overflowing with kids. To end this, they created a system where older or retired shinobi could be paid to take in orphans and act like a foster home. Baki and two others were taken in by a young man. He was very tall, muscular, and not the most emotionally in touch person, but he wasn’t cruel. Part of the deal with shinobi under this new system was that they would be paid for taking in the kids and providing them with food and shelter. They would also receive money for sending them to school to become shinobi as well as training them more themselves.
The two kids taken in with Baki were older than him by a few years and the shinobi already had another kid under his roof who was going to graduate Suna’s academy soon. Baki had been sure the man would show distaste towards someone so young being taken in, as usually you had to be seven years old at the minimum to be taken in by a shinobi. The man was far from a father figure and more of just someone who provided them shelter and food and rarely helped on homework. Baki was not admitted to the academy right away, still being a bit too young to enter, and instead spent his days at home doing the chores given to him. Their shinobi guardian was often gone on missions and Baki only saw him from time to time. When the man would come back from a super rough mission, he would sit around in silence or would tell the kids stories of his missions. He grew very fond of Baki, although he would not admit it because they were all no more than soldiers and deep feelings for others were only distractions.
Although he was often gone, he was home enough to teach the kids things they were not learning in school. As he was born in what is now considered “Old Suna” he strongly believed in protecting the village. He preached to the kids about how the village was a grand place that provided the citizens with safety and luxuries. A few of his siblings were a bit skeptical about it, but Baki was young and absorbed everything around him. He did not learn much in the orphanage and did not learn much outside of eventually going to the academy. His only other source of information was their shinobi guardian and so his naivety caused him to believe every word. Shinobi protect the village so that everyone can live peacefully and in prosperity. The guardian often told the children in his care “If you protect the village, the village will protect you.”
Baki was excited to go to the academy, having looked up to the greatness of his shinobi guardian. He caught on to things quickly due to his clever mind and latent abilities. At school, he heard more stories and phrases about the village’s greatness and how it and its citizens needed to be protected, so both at home and in school he received instruction to be the best shinobi you can for the benefit of the village.
Baki was always mild in his actions and personality, was not prone to lashing out, and was very accepting of others. He was the least troublesome of his siblings but would often watch how fights broke out. Two of his siblings butted heads more than anyone else but what stuck out to Baki more was the way they apologized and dealt with the fights. It became a tradition that whoever started the fight gave the other a piece of candy from the candy stashes they all kept hidden from their caretaker.
One time when their guardian returned from a long mission, it was obvious he had a hard time. He was sore and worn out, looking battered and beaten. He was tired and skipped dinner but Baki ended up bring food to his room. He barely remembers the situation but can remember something about how the guardian mumbled “are we more than pawns for the village” before telling Baki to forget it and that he had said nothing. So Baki did as he was told and went to bed, thinking nothing of the weird situation.
Teenage Years
Baki graduated the academy towards the top of his class and continued to prove his abilities on missions. His siblings were also good and loyal shinobi like him. Their caretaker approved of all their abilities and would sometimes bring them on missions or have a light spar with them. If they were lucky, he would show them jutsu.
Baki continued to excel and prove his guardian and his living mates, as they called each other, proud. Besides the people he lived with, he did not have many other friends. He was too busy on missions, learning new moves, or attending to duties at home to go out and meet other people, his living mates doing just the same. They were all essentially bred to be soldiers for the village but none of them thought much of it, only knowing this lifestyle. He and his siblings rarely did anything wrong, abiding by whatever they needed to in order to be considered good citizens. But when something bad did occur, they received punishment.
The disapproving glances were enough, but often they would be given other punishments as well. They were never given physical beatings, but were sometimes given more chores, given an impossible “training exercise” or asked to spar with their guardian who would not hold back in the slightest. Doing something incorrect or bad was an extremely taboo thing in the household and so Baki learned to walk on eggshells around certain things, how to act, and what not to talk about.
He and the people he lived with were not a family and if anyone had said so, any of them would have corrected that person. They all lived together out of necessity. They were in no way close or related and did not consider each other more than people they lived with and took care of. They were not siblings and their caretaker was not a father figure. They had been trained through the harsh attitude of their guardian to think that he would not love or care about them as more than future shinobi and that they should consider him as no more than someone who paid the bills. They were only there to be the best they could be for the village, so relationships with others were only trivial and unimportant matters that distracted and got in the way. This is part of the reason Baki and his living mates never reached out to form bonds with others.
Baki continued to improve his skills and develop his own jutsu as well as learn some of the jutsu of his caretaker. As he developed his skills, he also developed his mind, aiming to get as much knowledge on as many things as possible so he could be useful for the village in many different regards.
Young Adulthood
Baki eventually landed a job within the Suna government. It was not a very large job, but it was a sign for him. A sign that he was succeeding in being the best he could be in supporting the village. Many years passed and he slowly rose in the ranks, his skill, loyalty and cleverness lending him to be helpful in many situations. He eventually caught the eye of the Kazekage at the time, Rasa, and soon became an aid to the man.
He and a team had been sent on a mission during one of the many skirmishes with Iwagakure and Baki proved to be a powerful asset. Many of the teams were defeated or became unable to fight, but Baki’s quick thinking and extensive knowledge on foreign jutsu techniques allowed his team to complete their part of the mission even if the skirmish as a whole ended as a failure. The recognition his actions received was what caught the Kazekage’s attention. He knew Baki would be of great assistance to the village and made him a retainer of sorts. Baki and his living mates were all proud as this was a testament to him being useful for the village.
Baki’s job was, however, far from glorious. The Kazekage’s paperwork, as well as many of the council members’ paperwork was shoved on him. He stayed late and got up early, his personal health and routine taking a dip. He still remained functional and took care of himself to the best of his ability, but the paperwork, he knew, was far more important than him and if he failed to do it, he could easily be replaced by someone else. That would only show he was not putting the village first. He was prone to passing out at his desk or skipping meals to finish the paperwork, but even through that hardship, he used his experiences as a learning activity. Seeing paperwork of the higher ups allowed him to start formulating ideas on the village and how to improve it.
He was in his late 20s when Rasa asked to meet him. He had recently been submitting small proposals in his free time on issues in Suna, attempting to fix them, and Rasa and the council had recognized that. He was pretty sure he would be given another promotion and maybe even be placed on the council, for his skill and loyalty was undeniable. Instead, Rasa charged him with an even harder task. He had been put in charge of teaching and watching over the Kazekage’s children. A few others had been considered for the job, but Baki’s superior smarts won him the job, that and the knowledge that he would do whatever he was ordered to, as he was one of the villages many perfect soldiers.
He had no knowledge pertaining to children but did not wish to be involved with the Kazekage’s youngest son who was the village’s jinchuriki; however, more than that, he did not want the kazekage to disapprove of him. To not follow orders was bad and deserved punishment because he was not doing what was best for the village. After trying to avoid it, he finally accepted.
Life with the Sand Siblings
His first year in charge of the sand siblings was the worst year of his life. He went through many trials and tests of his will as well as his abilities. He could not control Gaara and learned that was for the best. The other two were not as troublesome as their younger brother but still gave him trouble. It was obvious none of them were happy with this team. Gaara would go out of control and all Baki could do would be apologize for the damage done. Gaara’s temper was terrifying and Kankuro was very annoying. The older of the brothers listened to Baki the least and rarely put in effort if it did not concern him. The oldest, Temari, was a little spitfire who, while not as rude or terrifying as the other two, claimed she had no respect for Baki because she didn’t think he was qualified to watch them. The only thing Baki and the older siblings agreed on was that Gaara was frightening.
Baki struggled for a whole year, trying to find a balance and reassuring himself that he was helping the village by educating the Kazekage’s children, even though it didn’t feel like he was. He had always been mild mannered and never yelled at them, dealing with most of their nonsense, but the buildup of a whole year caused him to nearly break down. The fact that he was still required to do most of Rasa’s paperwork as well as his own pertaining to the siblings he was now in charge of did not help the matter. He did not want to disappoint the kazekage, but there was only so much he could handle. Before meeting up with the siblings one day, he was walking through town and spotted candy in a shop window. Being reminded of his living mates, he ended up buying some and next time he did something the siblings deemed wrong, he offered a piece of candy. When Gaara’s temper would raise, he would offer the boy a candy.
The siblings were confused but they enjoyed the candy, a luxury they didn’t often get. Although the candy did not change their perspective of each other and Baki, they began to realize that the man was trying his hardest to support them and they were only causing trouble for him. They eventually stopped being as rude to him as they realized he was a caring individual who maybe didn’t only teach them because he was ordered to. Baki and the siblings went on missions and trained together, and as the three grew more comfortable around him, Baki started to almost enjoy their presence. Because of his method of dealing with spouts of anger or disagreement with the sand siblings, the man started carrying candy around with him everywhere, a habit that sticks with him through the rest of his life. He inadvertently became a father figure to the three as he instructed them and gave them tips. He often gave them pats on the head when they did something good or when he was proud of them, yet another habit that has stuck with him.
He put his knowledge to use in training them. The only thing that had kept him going through these hard times was the thought that he could use his knowledge and skills to bring up the next generation of Suna shinobi. His will and perseverance are what kept him going through the hard times. He would be useful to the village in whatever task was put before him because he was a Suna shinobi.
His patience was tested while he looked after the siblings, but it also increased. The terrible first year was the worst experience of his life and he always looked back on it to remain calm. Nothing was as bad as that and so he must treat every situation with calmness and patience, because that had, eventually, helped him out of the worst experience of his life. His already mild and patient nature really shone through as he looked at life and situations with a new light. Being kind and patient with everyone would cause less trouble and be more beneficial than any other way of acting, and that held true. He also naturally picked that attitude up and enjoyed being calm and kind to those who deserved it, which meant those who lived in the village. As he got older, this kindness grew and extended to those outside the village as well.
It wasn’t until the unsuccessful raid on Konohagakure that Suna started changing and Baki started realizing he cared for the siblings more than he should. They had given him enough trouble to take ten years off his life, but their no-nonsense attitudes and individual strengths had grown on him. With a new age of Suna being brought in by Gaara’s position as Kazekage, Baki was thrown for a loop. Many of the things he had grown to know and the ways he thought were questioned and some were even gotten rid of. His living mates all ended up deciding to call each other siblings, as that would be easier, and they ended up adjusting to the new lifestyle better than their youngest brother. One of them even got married.
With nothing else to do, Baki threw himself into his work. During his early years with the siblings, he had become a council member, and now with Gaara as kazekage, he helped however he was needed. He became even more respected among the council and remained in a seat with high power. He assisted Gaara, once again putting his great surplus of knowledge to use, in the boy’s new position. He helped Gaara with paperwork much like he had with Rasa and continued to take on paperwork for some of the council members. As the sand siblings grew older, they became more concerned for their adoptive father, worrying about him overworking and failing to do things for himself.
They pushed him to do things with them outside of working and even set him up on a few dates, all of which turned out badly. The siblings couldn’t understand that the paperwork was Baki’s lifeline, the only thing he had to hold onto as his entire way of life was questioned. He had never known anything other than the ways of old Suna, so the transition only made his entire life crumble apart. Doing the paperwork helped him cope with the loss of identity.
Later Adulthood
As Baki became more engraved in new Suna, he learned certain things that had been frivolous or distracting before were things he should actually be pursuing. Things such as hobbies, friendships and even love were now being obtained by those around him. He tried out a few hobbies but his love for sand baths was the only thing that persisted. Taking sand baths was the only time he felt he could honestly relax. He tried making friends, but it was hard. He was acquaintances with many, but he found it hard to get closer to anyone on a deeper level. Although he knew this was the new way of life, he couldn’t help but separate himself from distracting things such as friendships. He continued to be a workaholic, having nothing else to do.
The longer he spent in this new era of Suna, the more relaxed he became in it; however, he still constantly struggled with his old teachings. He managed to get in a few relationships, but none of them lasted. The longest one lasted half a year but she left him eventually anyways. He had cared for her, but not in the same way she had for him. His inability to understand and accept feelings as well as his dedication to his paperwork made it hard for her to remain in a relationship with him and so she broke it off. He smiled and told her he understood.
Gaara tried to give Baki less paperwork in hopes the man would expand his horizons past the office. The man only panicked and started doing other people’s paperwork, a habit that he eventually left behind as he grew older. The siblings constantly nagged him and told him they cared about him and although he knew they saw him as a father figure, he never said anything on the subject as he was still struggling to handle the emotions that felt forbidden to him. In his late 40s, he had a better hold of himself and relied a bit less on his paperwork. He also kept in contact with his siblings and occasionally his former caregiver. He enjoyed being called grandpa by the children Gaara and Kankuro watched over and greatly missed Temari. Even if he could not admit his feelings to the sand siblings, he knew they were all aware of exactly how he felt.
One day, he received news that his former caregiver was in the hospital. He had an illness now that prevented him from doing many things and the medical ninja were unsure how much longer he could pull through. He would go home for a month or so only to be readmitted. The man still was not a father figure to Baki and never would be, but he was one of the closest things Baki had to family and he was grateful the man had taken him in. The two have had brief conversations on the challenges of transitioning to the new era.
He continues to struggle with his personal feelings and the teachings that had been engraved in him since he was five and can never find a balance. He allows the thoughts to consume him when he is alone in his home, but immediately gets rid of them when he leaves his house, and old habit from old times.
Oops I had this all prepared and then forgot to post it yesterday. Well... A bit late, but to celebrate this wonderful boy's birthday, we're going to share some happy headcanons for him!
Gender: Male (He/Him)
Sexuality: Pansexual
He always showed interest in building things, because the toy he played with the most as a child was a gift of building blocks his mother got for him.
His interest in puppetry first started after attending a puppet play at a Sunartistry festival.
He cared deeply for his baby brother when they were young, but after Gaara's attitude changed he grew scared of him. When Gaara got better, he decided to make up for the years he hadn't given his brother affection by going over the top and being obnoxious about his love for him
He and Temari always got along well, although their rough relationship with Gaara had strained their relationship as well. They show their affection for one another mostly through teasing and comments that would sound harsh to anyone who didn't know about their relationship.
When Temari first showed signs of liking Shikamaru, Kankuro began endlessly teasing her about it. When they get older, he still teases her about their relationship. He also interrogated Shikamaru to make sure he was good enough for Temari.
If Gaara showed interest in dating anyone, he also would have interrogated them.
He doesn't share his siblings affinity for plants, but he can still be seen taking care of the plants in Gaara's office whenever his little brother is too busy working to take care of them. Sometimes a new plant even mysteriously finds its way into Gaara's or Temari's collections.
Kankuro is happy how far his family (his siblings and yes, baki too) has come. He just wishes their duties allowed them all to spend time together more frequently. He also doesn't see his nephew enough.
I always wanted to hear more background information about Reto 🧐
Yes yes! Let me tell you some headcanons about Suna's daddy.
Reto Background Headcanons
Gender/Pronouns: Male (He/Him)
Sexuality: Homosexual
Like many of the other Kazekage, and even some other Suna shinobi, Reto has an affinity for controlling sand with his chakra.
His natural affinity is earth. He also possesses the wind and water nature releases.
His default expression and Suna’s ideologies at the time (reference our post on Old vs New Suna) gave the impression that he was cold, uncaring, and conceited. He was, however, none of the above.
He was strong, but far from being as powerful as the other kage at the time. His tenacity, leadership capabilities, and charisma are what led him to successfully create and lead Sunagakure.
Before his days as the kazekage, he traveled around to acquire supplies for the small desert village he grew up in. It was on these travels that he realized all the other small villages were in just as tough situations as his home.
The creation of a greater village was accomplished by Reto traveling from village to village and convincing them how a larger village would benefit them all.
Hi, I hope not to disturb. I'm writing a fanfiction about Suna, and I need some more information. What do you think about Temari's work in Shippuden? How important is it to Suna in foreign policy?
You're definitely not disturbing! I hope the information I provide can help you write your fanfiction. If you're willing, we here at Daily Suna would love to read it if you post it somewhere!
Sunagakure has been pretty closed off from the other major, and even minor, nations and villages for practically as long as it's been a village. We can see that those outside the village don't know a ton about the village or its residents--which is drawn from the fact that there is little to no information shared about Suna in the original Naruto series. In Shippuden, we see more of Suna, and even hear how Gaara wishes to create more bonds. This can be interpreted as both on a personally level as well as the leader of a village. Their participation in things and openness towards the other villages, especially with Konohagakure throughout Shippuden and after shows just how much they wanted to open up, share their culture, and get along with the other villages.
As a Suna diplomat, aide to the Kazekage, and simply as the sister of Gaara, Temari holds a very important role in making such things happen. Gaara's dream to be closer allies with the other villages is taken on by his siblings as well, both because they care about the village and him. Temari is a powerful ninja and intelligent woman, so it's clear that she was suited to become Gaara's choice of diplomat for relations with the other villages, especially Konoha. She was young and thus supported the change into New Suna (reference that post for more info!), understood the Kazekage's ambitions, and could handle herself well in negotiations. She was the perfect choice to send outside the village, and thus she was the most important person for the new foreign policy for Suna. Without Temari's repeated attempts at bringing the villages closer together and negotiating terms, I firmly believe Suna would have failed to transition to a new period in which they were not isolated from the other countries.
