Kankuro and his relationship with rules and figures of authority
I've written a lot about why I like Kankuro's character and many of his little traits and idiosyncrasies that, in my opinion, make him unique. Another trait of his tho, that I think I've only superficially touched upon, and think deserves more attention, is his tendency to break rules. Or not respecting figures of authority would be more like it. As we all know, one of the main tenets of shinobi is that of complete and utter loyalty to the village, and all that it entails. That also comes with respect to figures of authority (the Kage and clan leaders) as well as their rules. That's what the Will of Fire is, really. A way to indoctrinate children into becoming obedient soldiers who don't question the system.
Now, the will of fire mainly applies to Konoha, so one question I've always had is: What about Suna? Do they share a similar philosophy? The simple answer is: yes, they, of course, do. It might not be called 'Will of fire' in Suna (some fans speculate in Suna it'd be Will of Wind. Even if it's never been named in Canon). But they still follow very similar principles. Heck, I'm pretty sure there's a scene somewhere in the anime, where it is stated the sand sibs stayed in Leaf for a while, to learn from them how they ran their academy system? To implement a similar one in Suna or smth. Especially after Gaara's rise to Kazekage, it's a given fact he's gonna embrace his beloved Naruto's will of fire. In fact, it's also very known that Suna's also way harsher than Konoha, supposedly.
That's where I started thinking of the 3 main sand shinobi we know: the sand siblings. I came to the realization that while it's true that Temari and especially Gaara are very obedient shinobi who abide by the rules. Kankuro really doesn't? At least, he doesn't respect them as much as his sibs. Boy does whatever he wants, not caring about the consequences.
His introduction was very explicitly of him breaking the rules, with Temari urging him to stop it.
One of his lines is him very explicitly saying he just wants to play until the 'boss' (Gaara) comes. He's very clearly going against standard shinobi protocol, picking up a fight with these kids just cause he felt like it. In this instance, he's breaking the rules. They were probably told to keep it low-key while in the Leaf, and he went and immediately did the complete opposite.
It happens again in Shippuden, after Gaara is kidnapped by Deidara and Kankuro is very explicitly told not to engage in combat:
And once again, he does the complete opposite. He not only tracked the two Akatsuki but also tried to fight them on his own. The funny thing is, it was thanks to his rash way of thinking that they managed to get Gaara back. As without him fighting Sasori, he would've never gotten a piece of his cape, and t7 would've never been able to locate their hideout in the desert. There's also the two instances of him picking up a fight with one of the council elders and Oonoki himself in the Kage meeting arc. Kankuro is deep down, very pragmatic. Whenever he approaches a situation, he does so in a practical way that will lead to positive results he can benefit from. Nowhere is that better shown than this scene here in the forest of death:
This is his main philosophy, which is completely detached from any shinobi teachings. Now, some might think that is exactly what shinobi are taught to do, and I'd say: no, not really. With the shinobi world's militaristic ideals, they live by the rule that violence is the solution to everything and to end all problems standing in the way. That diplomacy should only be the outcome after the violence is done to force the losing side into agreeing to the winners' rules. That's how the Uchiha massacre happened and how the shinoby system was enforced, as well as the idea of having jinchuriki as super powerful weapons. Since Konoha was the 1st to do it, and they were the strongest superpower, all other main village's had to follow the same system if they didn't wanna be crushed. If I'm not wrong, and correct me if I am, the chunin exams were also an invention of Konoha, and the other villages joined in. Kankuro twists that into 'violence should only be used in extreme circumstances when there's big profit to be gained from it'. He doesn't see violence as the first and only tool, or even as a solution. He only considers it if the outcome from it would be a preferable one to him and his loved ones (his sibs). It is very clear, too, because when they came across the rain guys in the forest, Kankuro didn't think it was a good idea to get into a fight with them. His plan in his head consisted of first tracking and obtaining an idea of what scroll they had. Only if it was the scroll they needed would they attack. And head to the tower after that, without getting into any other unnecessary fights that could potentially lead to unnecessary losses. It's in stark contrast to team 8, who immediately set up traps to wipe as many people as possible out of the competition, even if they only needed one scroll. Kiba and Co were willing to get into unnecessary fights to get rid of hypothetical problems that other contestants could pose in the long run (Konoha's teachings), whereas Kank evades that, as much as possible. Which is a very strategic way of thinking things when seen in retrospect. He also tells Gaara that while the exam may be no big deal to him, it's still dangerous to Kank and Tem. Once again, highlighting how much he cares about his sibs (Temari in this instance).
It's also worthy of note that the only authority we've ever seen Kankuro actively respect is that of his siblings
Which should tell us everything we need to know: Kankuro really doesn't care about shinobi rules or ideals, as long as his siblings are safe and out of danger. While yeah, in this image, he's shown fretting about their plan. Let's also keep in mind that once the attack started, they went against it by carrying Gaara away from the village so he wouldn't cause any real damage. Also, he's literally deferring to his sister here on what to do, a sister who not only is just 1 year older than him, but was also pretty much against this whole invasion instead of going to ask his adult jounin instructor for advice, which once again, shows how little he respects figures of authority. He does so once again when him and Temari are in the forest, on the run from Sasuke, and he asks her for instructions. I don't know how else to say that Kankuro doesn't follow shinobi rules strictly. He just takes the decisions that will ensure the safety of his siblings. He's following the rules of his heart.
Another instance of him following the rules of his heart is by comparing his speech to his squad to the one Gaara gave to the whole alliance
Kankurou doesn't give big talks about protecting the whole world and its authorities. He's highlighting the things that matter the most to him: family. That is his main motivator. Protect his family cause they're his loved ones. If we look at Gaara's speech on the other hand:
I don't wanna say it's bad, but he's practically saying that his main motivator is protecting Naruto. Through his speech, he brings Naruto as the golden standard of friendship and breaking village barriers that they should aspire to and protect. Also, he ends his speech by stating the fact that they're all shinobi, which feels pretty much like an admission of 'we were raised to fight and die against the bigger bad no matter our differences'. He's saying that instead of wasting time fighting each other, they should concentrate on becoming friends to defeat this common enemy who's looking to hurt Naruto and the whole world as a result. He, at no point, brings up their families or loved ones as motivators for these people to keep fighting. Naruto is the motivator that comes to Gaara's mind and how he made an intrinsic relation between Naruto's safety and the safety of the whole world. In Gaara's mind, the world is safe as long as Naruto is. If anything happens to Naruto, the whole world goes to heck. Which, when seen in retrospect, isn't that motivating. Knowing that the fate of the world rests on the shoulders of some 16 year old, and the role of every other person in the alliance is to die to protect and ensure the safety of said 16 year old cause he's the most important one. That's what Gaara was saying, basically. Also, looking at it: Naruto ends up becoming an authority, the most powerful in the world, in fact. So, Gaara's speech is all about protecting a future figure of authority to ensure the safety of the world as a result.
Last one here, but this characterization, is kept consistent even in fillers. In the 2nd rendition of the chunin exams, there's a part that took place in the Suna desert, and a big sandstorm happened, putting the contestants' lives at stake. When it's decided that Kankuro and Temari would have to go rescue them, this was his reaction:
He's complaining about having to rescue the contestants but ends up agreeing with it only because the command came from Gaara. You can bet if the order came from anyone else but Gaara (or even Temari), Kankuro would've tried to argue and come up with ideas to ensure the safety of the participants without having to endanger his or Temari's lives. Even when he agreed to it tho, and they go rescue these people, Kankuro is still pouting, and he doesn't even let them ride on Salamander for safety. Once again, showing how he doesn't abide by the rules, he does whatever th he wants, as long as his sibs aren't in danger.
In conclusion: I just find it interesting how much of a rebel Kankuro is. Now, yeah. You can say that, at the end of the day, Kankuro is just serving Gaara, who abides by Konoha's will of fire. So, Kankuro ends up abiding to it as a result. While that might be true, I think we shouldn't miss the main point of his character: his main purpose is protecting Gaara. That is the role he plays in the large scheme of things. Whether he has to follow any shinobi rules to do it is an entirely different matter. He's the type to follow rules, only if said rules ensure the safety of his family. Also, he doesn't view Gaara as an authority figure. He views him as a little brother. So, when he wants to protect Gaara, he's just doing his elder brother role, not looking after his political leader. It's very obvious, too, in how when Suna was destroyed by Deidara, Kank didn't give two shits about his village, and instead went running after the criminals who kidnapped his brother. I just think it's such a phenomenal character trait that makes him stand out, and more people should take it into account.
