Kankurou

Kankuro is the second oldest child of the Fourth Kazekage, making him the older brother of Gaara and the younger brother of Temari. Kankuro's most notable personality trait is his apparent dislike for children, as seen when he is noticeably irritated while in the presence of someone younger than him. This is most evident when he is with Gaara, who Kankuro is forced to put up with due to the fear his younger brother imposes on him. Despite their apparent differences, Gaara and Kankuro become very close over the timeskip as Gaara begins to confide in Kankuro and shares his dreams of wanting to risk his life to protect Sunagakure. As such, Kankuro has become very protective of Gaara, willing to challenge anyone who puts Gaara down in his presence. When Gaara is captured by Akatsuki , Kankuro rushes to his brother's aid in an attempt to save him and even after being bedridden as a result he does not falter in his resolve to find Gaara.

Kankuro is a talented puppeteer, and with each of his appearances in the major arcs is seen with a new puppet in his arsenal. The three puppets that have been introduced were all originally created by Sasori, and came into Kankuro's possession some time after the former left Sunagakure. Karasu , the first of Kankuro's puppets to make an appearance, has been heavily modified by Kankuro. Because of this it has become highly offensive, having numerous concealed weapons and being able to detach any of its limbs for separate attacks. Kuroari , the second of Kankuro's puppets to make an appearance, is used to capture opponents for assassination purposes. Once an opponent is captured within it each of Kuroari's arms convert to a saw-blades slice through the confined opponent. Sanshouo, the third of Kankuro's puppets to make an appearance, is not seen in action in the manga. In the anime, Sanshouo is shown to have a hollow body that Kankuro and up to two other people can take cover in to defend against attacks. These puppets seem to be designed to work together to some degree, as Kankuro frequently uses them in tandem to increase their effectiveness. Karasu, for example, can blanket an area in smoke while Kuroari fires weapons at the blinded opponent. Karasu can also disassemble itself to reveal many concealed weapons that impale an opponent it has navigated into Kuroari's torso.

Akatsuki

Akatsuki :

Akatsuki is a criminal organization which is first introduced midway into the first arc; it gains greater significance in the storyline during the second arc. Despite its small size (it consists of nine S-class wanted criminals), the Akatsuki is extremely influential due to its potency, which is due in no small part to its elite membership. The exact criteria for admission to the group are unknown, but extraordinary fighting ability and deadly ruthlessness seems to be prerequisites; the rings worn by the members seem to have a significance in the process of joining. It has been speculated by fans that in order to join the Akatsuki one must break away past relations (this explanation explains Uchiha Itachi's wholesale slaughter of his clan: he had to kill them to not merely prove himself a strong fighter, but also to sever his previous connection). The members of Akatsuki who wear village headbands have struck a line through the village symbol on the plate, supporting the hypothesis further.