Rasa is a minor character in Naruto. He is the Fourth Kazekage of the Sand Village and father of Temari, Kankuro and Gaara. He is responsible for imbuing the latter of his children with the One-Tailed Shukaku. He was killed by Orochimaru.
He was voiced by Masahiko Tanaka in Japanese and Crispin Freeman in English.
Biography[]
Due to the Land of Wind's daimyō reducing Sunagakure's budget and opting for Konohagakure's cheaper services, Rasa saw his village's survival threatened. To safeguard it, he focused on enhancing the village's ninja quality. Consequently, he instructed Chiyo to seal Shukaku within his youngest son, Gaara, aiming for him to become Suna's ultimate weapon. Tragically, this led to Gaara's premature birth and the death of Rasa's wife, Karura, despite his desperate attempts to save her.
Rasa trained Gaara in ninjutsu but distanced him from his older siblings by assigning his brother-in-law, Yashamaru as Gaara's caretaker. As Gaara's unstable powers emerged, Rasa realized his error and considered Gaara a danger to Suna's inhabitants. The village's dwindling resources and the council's dismissal of Gaara as useless pressured Rasa into a dire plan with Yashamaru to test Gaara's control over Shukaku. However, this plan resulted in Yashamaru's death and unleashed Shukaku's rampage, compelling Rasa to intervene using his Gold Dust to stop the beast.
Rasa's Gold Dust
Subsequently, Rasa deemed Gaara a failure and ordered his assassination, albeit unsuccessfully. As Gaara gained better control over his abilities through isolation, Rasa saw an opportunity to harness his son's potential, halting further attempts on Gaara's life.
Moreover, Rasa orchestrated Pakura's demise in an unjust peace treaty with Kirigakure, falsely blaming Iwagakure to incite conflict. During the Third Shinobi World War, he positioned his forces at the Suna borderline when Konohagakure sought peace with Iwa, ready to handle any conflicts that might arise.
Additionally, Rasa enforced a rule at the Sunagakure Academy barring children lacking proficiency in ninjutsu or genjutsu from attending. He also mentored Shigezane in Water Release techniques to procure gold dust for the Kazekage.
During the Chunin Exams, Rasa and his guards were killed by Orochimaru who disguised himself as Rasa to manipulate the Hidden Sand Village to work with the Hidden Sound Village. His corpse was later discovered by the Hidden Sand Shinobis where they later surrendered themselves to the Hidden Leaf Village.
During the Fourth Great Ninja War, some of Kabuto's Impure World Resurrections were previous Kage, which included Rasa. When he faced his son, he was shocked to see that the boy he had considered a failed experiment and known to be a psychopath had become a level-headed and compassionate young man, whom had earned the respect and admiration enough to have become the succeeding Kazekage.
Due to the involuntarily influence of the jutsu, Rasa and Gaara fought each other; Rasa expressed admiration for how strong Gaara had become, although Gaara explained it was only due to the kindness of his first friend, Naruto, which helped him build connections with his siblings and even the village that had previously feared and despised him. Rasa expressed remorse for his treatment of Gaara, but also pride for who Gaara became, as he had become a better man than his father. Gaara made peace with Rasa before the justu ended, returning the revived undead back to the afterlife.
External Links[]
- Rasa on the Naruto Wiki
