Keeping Up With the Kage (Part 1)
Just who are they [the Kazekage clan] anyway?
Okay, so let’s start from the beginning. The Kazekage clan is one of the most influential families of Sunagakure, its members include the Fourth Kazekage (Rasa), the Fifth Kazekage (Gaara), Temari, Kankuro, and by adoption into the family, Shinki. Now, this may not sound like much, but two confirmed generations have taken up the mantle as Kage. However, I believe it runs in the family and that all the previous Kazekage have been from that same family lineage.
In the Third Naruto Databook, Page 64 the heading is ‘one after another felled by an assassin’s blade: the cursed line of Kazekage’. Apparently, the latter part can also be translated to ‘the cursed lineage of Kazekage’. This could imply that the Kazekage line is derived from a single family.
However, it’s still possible that they aren’t, after all, we don’t actually know the clan’s name because no one in Sunagakure actually has a last name. They carry titles. (No, Sasori’s last name is not ‘Akasuna’. He’s known as 赤砂のサソリ [Akasuna no Sasori] which literally means ‘Sasori of the Red Sand’, which is also a title.)
But I have some more tricks up my sleeve that may further this plot.
On the Naruto wikia, it mentions these users as being able to use Magnet Release, which is typically a kekkai genkai -- or a bloodline ability -- unless one receives some sort of chakra supplementation that allows for the user to gain the ability to use it (such as let’s say bijuu chakra or cell transplants, etc.).
Now let’s take a look at that for a moment and think about this. Not all of these shinobi so first, I crossed them off in black. Secondly, one of them is not able to use a sand-like ability, so I crossed them off in blue. Lastly, one of them is not a shinobi, but a bijuu, so I crossed them off in red. That left us with this list.
You probably already noticed, but three of the users are a part of the main, canonical Kazekage clan (Gaara, Rasa, and Shinki). But wait. The Third Kazekage? He’s there too?
It’s not actually a surprise because when Sasori first fights Sakura and Chiyo with the Third Kazekage’s Human Puppet, Chiyo explains the jutsu the Iron Sand Technique (chapter #268, page 9 and Shippuden episode #22). This is also mentioned above in the Third Databook, as mentioned earlier.
So here’s the question:
Let’s move on to Rasa. Good ol’ dad.
Well... maybe not ‘good’ because he was on a similar level of gaslighting for the ‘greater good’ as Danzo, but moving on nonetheless!
Now Rasa can, of course, use the Gold Sand Technique, which was developed to fight Shukaku and kill his son when the time was right. This is mentioned in the anime, the manga (chapter #546, page 11), and in the Fourth Databook (page 75, link provided by The Narutoversity). It is confirmed that he’s able to use this jutsu by utilizing the Magnet Release kekkai genkai and that he learned how to utilize gold dust in order to control the Ichibi.
Next, we’ll talk about Gaara’s Magnet Release.
Yes. Yes. I know you’re all screaming at the screen like, “Sev! Gaara only has that in the novel! It’s not canon.” I hate to be the one to inform you, but you are dead-ass wrong.
It is canon, but you probably missed it during the insanity that was the Fourth Shinobi War. So let’s recap.
In chapter 546, Rasa put a ton of gold dust in the sand while he was fighting with Gaara. That was still there when he was fighting with the Second Mizukage, Gengetsu Hōzuki.
Now this nerd, this guy whose eyebrows decided to fly south for the winter and never actually left, paid attention to everything that was going on. And yes, this is the very same guy that taunted and teased Gaara and was asking for the Allied Forces to seal him quickly.
Just look at him.
Yeah, I was surprised too. I adore him.
Anyhow, he actually took note of Rasa’s abilities and when Gaara defeated him, after being given a brief science lesson, this was his reaction:
He figured it out. But if that’s not enough, here is the actual excerpt from the Gaara Hiden novel: A Sandstorm Mirage, on page 76.
So just to confirm, even without Shukaku’s apparent help, Gaara got Magnet Release from his father and at some point, learned how to use it.
Satisfied?
Now, we’ll move on to our last character: Shinki.
As you can tell from the gif, his jutsu is very similar to the Third Kazekage’s. Here’s an image or two for comparison.
On top of that, Shinki uses Iron Sand as well and although he isn’t related to Gaara (as he was adopted) he does have the Magnetic Release kekkai genkai and could use the Iron Sand technique from a young age. This means that either he was taught the Iron Sand technique or he was able to utilize it from birth, which strengthens the idea that he’s from the same clan.
But you know, he might as well be Gaara’s real son, because look at them. Gaara is a fantastic dad.
There’s really not much else I can say or add since Shinki is a newer character and there’s still a lot to learn about him and unless Kishimoto decides to go the same route as J.K. Rowling and overshares or Kodachi decides to fill us in on some headcanons in the Boruto series, we may never know.
Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed that theory. Tell me what you thought of it! Do you think that Leader of Sunagakure is part of ‘the family business’ or do you think it’s all a coincidence?
Take a look at my other theories here.