sabaku no gaara

[Uchiha Sasuke]

FALLEN ANGELS AT MY FEET ,
^{whispered voices at my ear}

[/sup]

Name: Sabaku no Gaara
Clan: N/A
Age: 16
Gender: Male
Shinobi Rank: Kazekage
Birth Village: Sunagakure
Current Village: Kuma no Kuni

DEATH BEFORE MY EYES ,
^{lying next to me, i fear}

[/sup]

Likes:

• Likes Cultivating Cacti
• Gaara's favorite foods are salted tongue and gizzard,
• Gaara's Favorite words are Love and Future

Dislikes:

•his least favorite foods are sweet bean jelly and marron glacé.
• He dislikes traitors
• He dislikes War

Personality:
While Gaara had initially tried to be friendly towards others, despite their fear of him, Yashamaru's actions and words changed him. Realizing that nobody loved him, Gaara used his sand to create the kanji on his forehead "love" (?, ai), as a symbol of a "demon loving only himself", and to live up to his name, as Karura intended. Gaara became emotionally withdrawn, all but silent, and consumed with a bitter loathing for everyone but himself and "Mother", the voice of Shukaku in his head. He learned to find pleasure, and eventually a reason to live, in annihilating the numerous assassins sent to kill him – and, by extension, anyone who threatened his existence. This was only worsened by the occasional demand by Shukaku for blood to sate its blood lust. Gaara's insomnia, forced upon him by the fear that the demon inside him would eat away at him if he were to fall asleep, only furthered his instability and desire to kill. In fact, his hatred extends to his siblings, as he never saw them as such, and was fully willing to kill them were they to cross him. In time, Gaara's father would come to appreciate Gaara and the uses he could serve, and canceled all assassination orders in the hopes that Gaara would become an effective tool.
Gaara's childhood was somewhat similar to Naruto Uzumaki's, though more unfortunate due to his lack of anyone to call a friend. Both were lonely and desired to be liked, loved, and acknowledged as an individual, free of others' prejudices — they were themselves, not the demons they were forced to "contain" — and both were driven into a desperate state. While Naruto consequently developed the misconception that pranks and mischief would bring him the attention he sought, Gaara came to the conclusion that he could preserve and confirm his own existence by killing any and all who challenged it, securing an extreme form of existentialism as his key personality trait. In the absence of others' acknowledgment, he could compensate by valuing only himself to the exclusion of everyone else. Furthermore, while Naruto eventually had Iruka Umino and Team Kakashi to acknowledge him, Gaara never had anyone to bond with, not even his father or siblings, as they all despised and feared the Shukaku that dwells within him. The person who was closest to being friendly with Gaara was the deceitful Yashamaru, who ultimately betrayed him, which turned Gaara into a lonely sociopath. As such, Gaara did not understand the concept of fighting for anything other than himself until his confrontation with Naruto.
After being defeated by Naruto, Gaara was shocked to find that Naruto knew very well the pain that Gaara had endured all his life. He was even more surprised that Naruto never gave up hope on being acknowledged as a person and ultimately found friends who truly cared for him. Seeing the determination that Naruto had to protect his friends made Gaara question his own path in life. Realizing that he gave up too easily, Gaara decided to follow Naruto's path, wishing to become Kazekage of Sunagakure so he could be connected to his people, and hopefully have them finally acknowledge his existence as a person. Over the next few years, Gaara's determination to find happiness became apparent from his decision to rely on his own power rather than his inner demon's. Gaara eventually formed a close friendship with Naruto.

SHE BECKONS ME ,
^{shall i give in ?}

Hair: Red
Eyes: Cyan
Height: 166.1cm
Weight: 20.9kg

Physical Description:
::Image One :: Image Two::

Like Naruto, Gaara is a little shorter than the average males of his age. He has pale skin and short, straight hair that is brick-red. Though both of his parents and siblings all have dark eyes, Gaara's own are light turquoise. The reason of that different eye color is not confirmed. In the manga and the anime, the pupils of his eyes are mostly invisible. Gaara has no eyebrows either. He has two very notable traits in his outward appearance: firstly, he has tanuki-like black eye rings, having them since his birth due to insomnia caused by the Shukaku. Secondly, he has created the kanji "love" (愛) on the left side of his forehead, having it since Yashamaru's betrayal. Gaara's forelocks are parted from the left side, making the kanji more visible. Gaara is often seen to stand straight, with his arms crossed over his chest.
In Part I, Gaara has been seen in three different costumes. When he was seen for the first time, he wore black overalls with t-shirt-like sleeves, ¾-length legs, and an open neck. With this, he wore a white cloth over his right shoulder and the left side of his hips, and a wide leather band system over the left shoulder and right side of his hips. With this leather band, he carried around his gourd containing his sand. He also wrapped his forehead protector over the band. In his childhood flashbacks, he was seen wearing beige poncho-like clothing with full-length blue trousers and a short-sleeved black t-shirt. In the Sasuke Retrieval arc, and in the final pre-Shippuden filler arc, he switched his previous black overalls to a brown one with longer sleeves and an upright collar. In Part II, battling against Deidara, he wore full-length dark trousers, a long-sleeved red coat with a flaring hemline, and a purplish grey vest. He is also seen wearing Kazekage robes, and a simple black tunic-trousers suit, the latter one greatly resembling Kankuro's suit, and worn for the memorial of Elder Chiyo. All the time, he has been seen wearing black shinobi shoes.

UPON MY END ,
^{shall i begin ?}

Chakra Release(s): Fuuton

Weapons:

• Sand
•
•

Miscellaneous Items:

• Kunai
• Shuriken
• Gourd

Jutsu:Below

FORSAKING ALL I'VE FALLEN FOR ,

Parents: Mother and Father - Deceased
Siblings: Temari and Kankuro

History: Below

I RISE TO MEET THE END .

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Other: I also RP as Sasuke Uchiha

Roleplay Sample:

It was a sandy day in Sunagakure, all seemed normal when all of a sudden an explosion occured in the southern most section of the village occured. Gaara used his Sabaku Fuyû and quickly flew over there. By the time the smoke had cleared, Gaara figured out who it was, the Akatsuki. Gaara quickly said "What are you doing here, Akatsuki scum?" The man chuckled and quickly attacked, which Gaara blocked with Suna Bunshin no Jutsu.

Gaara then quickly used Sabaku Kyû, which he then said as well. The man chuckled as he disappeared in a puff of smoke, and then he reappeared behind Gaara. He then hit the young Kazekage in the back of the head, sending him flying down, but he quickly used Sabaku Fuyû to catch himself.

The man then said "Art.......Is a blast!" The man then dropped a rather large bomb on the city. Gaara acted quickly and used all the sand of the village to absorb the damage, but the majority of the sity was damaged from the massive explosion's shockwaves, and it made buildings crumble. The Akatsuki member chuckled and left on a white bird, he thought that the villagers would grow to distrust Gaara, but he was wrong, the moment the man left, Gaara rounded up all the living villagers and Shinobi.

Once he had gathered them up, he quickly lead them to safe area, Kuma no Kuni, where they would hide until the time was right to strike back at Akatsuki and take back Sunagakure.

FACE CLAIM

[i]Naruto[/i] : Sabaku no Gaara

[Uchiha Sasuke]

Gaara, also known as "Gaara of the Desert", is the fifth and current Kazekage of Hidden Sand Village in the Wind Country. He is younger brother to Temari and Kankurou, the son of the Fourth Kazekage, a student of Baki and former host to the one-tailed demon tanuki known as Shukaku. Before Gaara’s birth, a policy change by the feudal lord of the Wind country forced the village to reduce the number of ninja. Gaara’s father the Kazekage decided that quality should exceed quantity. He chose to use an old weapon of war, a bijuu, which had been imbued into two former Sand ninja in the past.

At his demand, one of Hidden Sand’s elder kunoichi's, a profoundly skilled woman by the name Chiyo sealed this weapon known as Shukaku into the unborn son of the Kazekage’s wife, Karura. Transferring it from the tea kettle it was held in, Gaara was imbued with the Shukaku, making him what many call a "Jinchuuriki", or "power of human sacrifice”. The term originates from the immense abilities that the subject wields, but at the loss of another human’s life. In this case, it was Karura who lost her life as her son was born. Furious about how she was to lose her life for the sake of a weapon, she named her baby in an accursed way. The name "Gaara" itself could be broken down to "A demon that loves only itself", a reflection of his inhuman nature and his status in the village as a weapon and nothing more.

Gaara grew up isolated, as the Shukaku came with more than just the loss of Karura as a price. Having been bonded so closely to Gaara, his will was ever-present in Gaara’s mind. His murderous nature instilled a violent mean streak in Gaara, further isolating him and shutting him off from the world socially. In addition, the Shukaku’s abilities generated an almost sentient and instinctive shield of sand that automatically protected Gaara from physical harm, even when he was the instigator, something Gaara himself realized when he never got cut and bled. Emotionally and physically shut away from everyone and everything, Gaara had no real friends, even with his immediate family looking down at him scornfully. The only person Gaara had come to be able to trust eventually was his uncle, Yashamaru, who educated him on some of the most basic human emotions that he would otherwise never learn.
One fateful night, Gaara was attacked from behind by an avalanche of kunai. Even though he was blind to the danger, his shield of sand protected him and wounded the attacker. Upon investigation, he saw the masked assassin was Yashamaru, who said the one who ordered the strike was none other than his father the Kazekage, who had deemed Gaara a failure as a weapon due to his instability. Yashamaru also confided that while he could have refused to carry out the assassination, he chose to take it willingly for Gaara's part in his sister's death. In his last moments, he activated a mass of exploding tags beneath his flak jacket in an attempt to take Gaara with him. Due to the sand shield, Gaara survived. His mind snapped due to the emotional torrent his immature mind was being burdened with. He wailed in agony and directed his sand to his forehead, carving the kanji "ai" or "love" into it, forever marking his body to remind himself of his new approach to life, to love only himself and fight only for himself.

Not deterred, the Kazekage ordered further assassinations towards Gaara, but every one met in failure. Gaara had learned to finally be the weapon he was intended, but he still retained his mental instabilities. He could never sleep for fear of the Shukaku’s influence on his unconscious mind. Some labeled it as the Shukaku "eating away at his personality". In truth, Shukaku’s personality replaced his, possessing Gaara’s body. Gaara never knew the full truth of the demon inside him. Believing that the blood of his victims that mixed with his sand strengthened him, or how he was possessed by the corrupted spirit of a priest of sand. For all the bravado, Gaara never rebelled against his father, welcoming the challenge of each life-or-death situation he was placed in as a confirmation of his existence.

Gaara was eventually entered into the Chuunin Exams held by Hidden Leaf village, although with an ulterior motive. He and his siblings passed the first stage, followed by the second without so much as a scratch. It was in this second test where he murdered a trio of rival Hidden Rain Genin for his own amusement and demonstrating his signature Desert Funeral attack, surrounding the victims in sand and crushing their bodies to powder before pain could even register in their brains. The incident was witnessed by Team 8, where Gaara’s mere presence made Akamaru quiver in fear.

During the third test prelims, Temari and Kankurou both noticed that each violent fight, Gaara began to grow more excited. Finally, Gaara himself stepped into the arena in the penultimate fight, facing Rock Lee. The first half of the fight saw Gaara mostly disappointed as Lee failed to strike him once, until Lee removed the weights on his legs and began to move at superhuman speed, eventually not only kicking Gaara on top of his head but also landing a punch on his face that appeared to crack it, something rarely seen. It turned out to be a layer of sand Gaara used as an outer shell, revealing Gaara’s real face beneath it, now grinning in a psychotically gleeful manner. Gaara began to assault Lee and throw him all over the arena and rip at him with torrents of sand, Lee was forced into using his Omote Renge, requiring several kicks to lift Gaara up to the required height while under immense pain himself. Spinning and crashing back to the ground, Gaara was driven into the floor.

To Lee’s shock, Gaara cracked apart like a hollow shell. The moment he closed his eyes from the pain, Gaara was able to substitute a sand clone and avoid the impact, which allowed him to go back on the offensive. Enraged, Gaara once again began to violently tear at Lee. With all hope seemingly lost, Lee used his trump card, the Ura Renge. Pummeling Gaara with a series of strikes that were too fast for the eye to see, Lee managed to completely strip every last grain of protective sand from Gaara’s body and drag him around at speeds too high for the sand shield to block. With a final blow, Lee sent Gaara’s unprotected body plummeting down for a final strike. At the last second, Gaara’s gourd itself turned into sand, cushioning the impact. Enraged at being made to feel pain again and not being able to kill Lee, Gaara crushed Lee’s arm and leg, intending to kill him. Luckily for Lee, the fight was stopped when his sensei Gai stepped in to knock away the oncoming sand.

The concept of Gai stopping the assassination sent Gaara’s mind reeling with confusion, forcing him to recall his past. He took his leave and was later placed against Sasuke in the third round test. Foolishly, Dosu Kinuta decided to challenge Gaara the next night as he sat alone in the moonlight, intending to kill him and take his place as Sasuke’s opponent with the intention of ruining Orochimaru’s plans. For his recklessness, he was killed as Gaara allowed the Shukaku a brief moment of freedom, reducing Dosu to little more than a bloody stain on the rooftop. Later, he would track down the unconscious Lee in his hospital bed with the intention of killing him. He was confronted by Shikamaru and Naruto, where he once again suffered a mental lapse and restated his desires, explaining his name. Naruto soon realized he and Gaara were very much alike. Gai soon arrived and sent Gaara away once again. After that, Gaara sought out Sasuke, not to kill, but to acknowledge him as prey formally and go so far as to state a certain level of similarity between them, all under Kakashi’s protective eye.

When the match finally came to take place, Gaara was stopped on the way into the stadium by two Grass ninja who asked him to stage a loss in order to help a bet. Gaara crushed them in a bloody shower, and then proceeded onwards, luckily for Shikamaru and Naruto who were also in his way. Telling them he had been sated for the moment, he allowed them to live, seeing as how his next match was also part of a secret mission. Facing off against a "fashionably late" Sasuke, he was struck several times during the match. Enraged, he formed a sand cocoon around himself made of sand that extended out into spines when approached. Inside, Gaara was beginning to transform his body into the Shukaku’s. However, before it was completed, Sasuke pierced the shell and drove a Chidori into Gaara. For the first time ever, Gaara bled, sending his mind reeling and his half-transformed body slashing out at Sasuke from within.

With the plan forced to begin early, Gaara’s mission began as a joint invasion of Hidden Sound with Sand’s backup started. Still unstable, Kankurou and Temari threw themselves in to help him get to safety until he recovered. Sasuke, under orders, followed him, though Kakashi also managed to throw Sakura, Naruto and Shikamaru into a mission along with Pakkun to follow Sasuke. Shino also decided to follow, seeking the match Kankurou denied him to keep in order with the plan. With his siblings taken out of the picture by Shino and Sasuke, Gaara finally tapped into the Shukaku’s true power and began to transform again, with the right side of his face and his arm grotesquely deforming into a shape reminiscent of the sandy talons that swiped from his shell, drooling and screaming. Screaming out at Sasuke to show himself, Gaara took a second Chidori, tearing his transformed arm off, but he did not give up.

Sasuke was driven to the point where he had to deny Kakashi’s warning and released the power of the cursed seal for a third Chidori, but Gaara’s rage and determination barred him from stopping. Naruto then entered the fray, picking up from where Sasuke left off, with the incentive of Sakura’s life on the line as Gaara bound her to a tree and threatened to crush her. The two battled, with Gaara falling deeper into the Shukaku’s hold as his body sprouted a tail and the only human parts left of him were his lower legs. Naruto managed to hold Gaara off, calling thousands of clones to aid him and knock the sand off his body. Utterly livid, Gaara finally decided to sacrifice his free will. Creating a gigantic body in the shape of a monstrous tanuki, Gaara emerged from the forehead and put himself to sleep, allowing the Shukaku’s personality to emerge in a suitable body.

Naruto summoned Gamabunta, who fought Shukaku with some persuasion from his son. Even Gamabunta was outmatched by Shukaku’s drilling blasts of wind that it literally punched out from the gut. Seeking to end things quickly, Naruto and Gamabunta used a combined transformation technique, changing into a replica of the nine-tailed demon fox to try and get close. Naruto was able to wake Gaara up with a punch, dispelling Shukaku’s hold, but then found himself trapped by Gaara and about to share Sakura’s fate. With one last burst of strength, he crudely head butted Gaara, nearly knocking him out and sending both of them plummeting to the ground as Gamabunta’s summoning was also dispelled. They both gasped for air and they lay immobile. Gaara began to feel legitimately threatened for his life when he noticed a determined Naruto beginning to crawl towards him.

Screaming at how his existence would not end, Naruto told him that it was his friends who gave him the strength and motivation to keep going. Gaara thought back to Yashamaru's words on love and began to see a new path in life. Defeated, Kankurou and Temari retrieved him once more and fled back home, but not without Gaara apologizing first in a shocking display of humanity. However, a worse situation yet had arisen as a few days after the invasion, the Fourth Kazekage’s corpse was discovered, decomposed to lengths that suggested he had been dead months before the Chuunin exam invasion had been planned. It indicated all correspondence with Sound had actually been Orochimaru himself posing as the Kazekage. Hidden Sand was forced into an unconditional surrender with Leaf and became their ally once again.

Gaara’s changed outlook on life was noticeable in his next appearance, as he had not only switched to a new, less dark outfit but showed none of his previous sociopath urges.
Several years after the Chuunin Exams occured, three to be exact, Gaara was named Kazekage, but his reign within the Hidden Sand. The Akatsuki attacked, first they attacked Konoha, and forced their Shinobi to hide within Gaara's Sunagakure. Though that didn't last long as Suna was soon attacked and forced their shinobi to run away, they eventually made it to Kami no Kuni where they hid in their country till the lesser Shinobi Nations could gain enough power to fight back against the Akatsuki.

[Uchiha Sasuke]

Suna no Yoroi
No Rank
Using this jutsu, Gaara can cover himself in a compacted layer of sand, providing an additional defense should his Shield of Sand fail. Though quite effective, maintaining the armor requires a large amount of chakra and stamina. Furthermore, it is nowhere as resilient as the Shield of Sand, since it easily breaks away upon impact, meaning that the sole purpose of the armor is to absorb impact channeled unto Gaara's body during battle. Another weakness is the additional weight of the sand means a decrease of speed and mobility.

Sabaku Fuyû
No Rank
Using his sand as a platform, Gaara is able to float in the air.

Tanuki Neiri no Jutsu
No Rank
This Ninjutsu forces the user to fall asleep. Gaara has only used this jutsu when trying to bring out Shukaku.

Gokusa Maisô
No Rank
Using his ability to manipulate sand, Gaara will loosen the ground below his targets and cause them to sink two hundred meters into the earth. By being imprisoned at this depth, the pressure will completely nullify their ability to move. Also, the pressure resulting from being buried at such an extreme depth would surely kill any normal human, if not from suffocation, although Kimimaro did survive the experience because of his bone strength.

Ryûsa Bakuryû
No Rank
This jutsu sends a massive amount of sand towards an opponent in the form of a wave, covering and "drowning" them in an ocean of sand. In addition to the wave effect of the jutsu, Gaara can control the sand, allowing him to attack his opponent while they attempt to outrun the wave. When Gaara used it against Kimimaro, it was shown that the technique can be so powerful as to change the landscape, as Gaara turned acres of forest land into nothing but a desert with occasional trees. This appears to be the only one of Gaara's moves that requires hand seals, and in practice is virtually unavoidable. It is usually followed by an area crushing technique to kill the opponent.

Sabaku Kyû
No Rank
With his ability to control sand, Gaara encases his opponents in a large amount of the special chakra-infused sand kept inside his gourd, immobilizing them. It can be used to suffocate an opponent or in preparation for a deadlier technique, the Sand Waterfall Funeral. This appears to be Gaara's signature technique.

Sabaku Rô
B-Rank
Gaara uses an enormous quantity of sand to completely envelop the target from every direction and capture them. The speed, hardness, and scope of the sand depend on the amount of chakra poured into it. This allows Gaara to fine-tune the sand's properties to the size and characteristics of the target.
No matter if the target is on the ground or flying in the air, it is almost impossible to escape from this technique. However, even if someone successfully escapes from it, Gaara can easily use one of his offensive techniques, like the Sand Binding Coffin, to immediately attack the target.

Suna Bunshin no Jutsu
No Rank
Gaara creates a copy of himself out of sand, although it lacks color and is immediately recognizable as sand. This means that it is almost useless as a decoy. Unlike most bunshinjutsu, the clone still retains its shape after it is struck, and can even ensnare whatever comes into contact with it.
In the anime, Sasori used a Sand Clone as a body replacement in order to avoid Kankuro's Black Secret Technique Machine One Shot, although it dissolved once hit.

Suna Shigure
No Rank
An alternative to Sand Coffin, Gaara simply gathers sand from the earth and makes it come down like a rain, targeting his opponents from above. To make sure the rain hits its mark, it can be combined with Sand Binding Coffin to immobilize the target.

Suna Shuriken
No Rank
Once Gaara begins transforming into Shukaku, he can throw shuriken made from sand. Unlike regular shuriken, these are merely fast-moving balls of sand that cause blunt trauma, not actual wounds. They are thrown much faster than regular shuriken; therefore, the pain caused can be considerable.

Sabaku Sôsô
No Rank
After wrapping an opponent with sand, Gaara will cause the sand to implode and crush whatever is within. When used to kill a person, the death is so quick that there isn't even time to feel pain. The pressure also produces a sizable fountain of blood. Gaara can control the pressure used in the attack, which allows him to either break bones or completely liquefy an opponent.

Sabaku Taisô
No Rank
Following the Quicksand in the Style of a Waterfall, Gaara slams both hands palm down into the sand, creating powerful shock waves that compress the sand. Anything buried in the sand is subsequently crushed. The compressions also creates massive earthquakes.

Suna no Tate
No Rank
Whenever Gaara is about to come to harm, a shield of sand will automatically surround and protect him. The sand will react regardless of Gaara's will, even protecting him from self-inflicted injuries. The shield is capable of withstanding considerably strong attacks and projectiles, and can be hardened to a point where it's stronger than steel. It can be defeated by avoiding it completely with extremely high-speed attacks, or merely overcoming the shield with incredible brute force.

Kûsa Bôheki
No Rank
This air defense technique creates a giant shield of sand that is suspended in mid-air by raising a great amount of sand from the ground. By gathering the best possible mineral-rich sand, the hardness of the shield is considered to be very high. Furthermore, the sand had its defensive strength raised by flowing chakra through it. It was strong enough to protect Sunagakure from Deidara's C3.

Suna no Tama
No Rank
Gaara surrounds himself with his Shield of Sand to guard against attacks. He then uses the Third Eye to watch his opponents' movements and control sand as necessary to battle them. In addition to being extremely dense, this sand-sphere can form spikes from its surface to spear any would-be attacker. Gaara can also use this technique to shield himself from his opponent long enough to perform his transformation into the One-Tailed Shukaku. With sufficient force, such as the Chidori, this defense can be broken through.

Rendan: Suna Shigure
No Rank
A more powerful version of Gaara's Sand Drizzle. Gaara creates dozens of sand bullets that he uses to shower the enemy.

Daisan no Me
No Rank
This jutsu creates a floating eyeball out of sand that is connected to Gaara's optic nerves. Gaara can control the size of the eye depending on its use. Its main purpose is spying, since it can form and disperse in any location on command. He also uses it while within his Sphere of Sand so he can see what's happening outside.

[Uchiha Sasuke]

Saikô Zettai Hôgeki: Shukaku no Hôkô
The Shukaku's Halberd is the attack variant of the Shield of Shukaku. Like the shield, Gaara crushes the hardest materials from the ground, this time in the form of a Halberd, in the shape of the Shukaku's arm. Just like the shield which has yet to find anything that could break its defense, the halberd has yet to find a defense that it can't break through.

Saikô Zettai Bôgyo: Shukaku no Tate
No Rank
This defensive technique is formed by Gaara to create a toy-like replica of the Shukaku that is roughly twice the size of himself. Because the replica is formed under extreme pressure and is built of the strongest minerals it is virtually indestructible, having yet to be penetrated by any force. The attack variant of the Ultimate Absolute Defense is the Ultimate Absolute Attack: Shukaku's Halberd.

Fûton: Mugen Sajin Daitoppa
No Rank - Post Transformation only
When Gaara enters his half Shukaku form, he is able to use wind-based techniques. This technique allows Gaara to spew large amounts of sand from his mouth, enough to devastate the enemy or a large area around him.

[Uchiha Sasuke]

Controlled Form
Though not in the same level as Naruto's jinchûriki Form, Gaara's jinchûriki form is more or less simply him in control of his body and power. To this end, he can manipulate any grain of sand, although it is easier if it has been mixed with his chakra and blood. If need be, he can even create more sand by pulling more from the earth and crushing it to make sand. The defining feature of this and all of his forms is that the sand has a mind and will on its own. Without even wanting it, his body is constantly covered in the Shield of Sand, an automatic shield to protect him.

Half Shukaku Form
When Gaara was in a rage after a fight with Sasuke Uchiha, he slowly slipped into his half-Shukaku form. In this form the gourd on his back slowly breaks down and begins to cover his body, covering his arms, and then his face distorting it and giving it Shukaku's features such as the yellow eye and markings, he even grows his one tail from the gourd which itself functions like a normal tail. In this form, his speed has increased. He can use the sand on his arms to stretch his limbs to extraordinary lengths. This form allows him to even fire off his limbs at will, but still have them remain under his control, as he was able to pin Sakura Haruno to a tree and then slowly crush her as his battle with Naruto continued.

Miniature Shukaku Form
During his fight with Naruto, Gaara allowed the sand to cover his entire upper body, with only his feet remaining uncovered. While his facial features still remain slightly human, both his eyes resemble Shukaku's with the same markings around its body. Notably, the "love" kanji remains on his head.
In this form, Gaara is able to use Sand Shuriken with apparent great ease as most of his body is now sand. He can use Shukaku's wind element as he could now use the Wind Release: Infinite Sand Cloud Great Breakthrough. In addition much like Naruto's chakra shield, the sand is capable of absorbing a wide variety of attacks. However, the defense given to his body still has one weak spot. Since his lower half is not covered, as seen by Naruto, a small explosion beneath his tail can make the entire sand form crumble, and fall apart.

Full Shukaku Form
Technically this isn't a jinchûriki form as its a transformation into Shukaku itself. In desperate situations, Gaara would instantly create a giant copy of Shukaku with himself hidden inside. While he is awake, Gaara still has control of Shukaku's body and can fight "normally" with it. While in this form, Gaara transfers his eyesight to that of Shukaku's body in turn resulting in his own eyes losing their pupils. Unlike his smaller Shukaku form, this seems to be less able reform itself if damage, if it can at all. For example, Gamabunta cut off one of the Shukaku's arms and it wasn't able to reform.

When Gaara needs Shukaku's full power, he would expose his upper body on top of Shukaku's head and use the Feigning Sleep Technique, which allows Shukaku to take full control over its body. While taking over the body, Shukaku's eyes will become more apparent, changing from a simple light brown pupil, to its original version of a yellow pupil with a small black star with four blue dots around it. Shukaku can use Wind Release: Drilling Air Bullet, by pressing compressed air out of it's stomach, to cause major blunt damage to its opponents.
The major weak spot of the Full Shukaku Form is as expected by Gaara himself being Shukaku's chakra that keeps the large creation going. When Naruto successfully hit Gaara, he woke him, stopping Shukaku's increase in power as Gamabunta stated the longer Gaara was asleep, the more of Shukaku's real power manifested and if asleep too long the Shukaku will eat away at the host's psyche until it takes complete control. After Gaara was knocked out, the entire Shukaku copy was shattered. Its full power is never seen as it was destroyed in a short time.