Kankuro, Master of Puppets Trivia Quiz

Answer: Chuunin Exams arc

Kankuro first appears in the run-up to the Chuunin Exams arc. Konohamaru accidentally bumps into him while running away from Naruto. Kankuro is not a big fan of children, and grabs Konohamaru and threatens him. When Naruto tries to intervene, he trips Naruto up with chakra strings. He gets annoyed when Sasuke throws a stone at him, but Gaara appears and tells him to back off.

Answer: He disguises one of his puppets as an examiner.

Kankuro asks to be excused as he needs the toilet, and is handcuffed to one of the examiners. The 'examiner' turns out to be one of Kankuro's puppets in disguise. When Kankuro gets back from the toilet, Ibiki Morino makes a snarky comment about playing with dolls, but lets Kankuro pass anyway.

Answer: Shino Aburame

Kankuro beats Misumi of the Sound Village in the first round of the Chuunin Exams, and in the second round, he is drawn against Shino Aburame. Although Kankuro forfeits, he and Shino fight anyway in the Forest of Death. Kankuro and Temari get Gaara out of Konoha when the One-Tailed Tanuki starts to take over. Sasuke goes after them, but Shino appears and holds Kankuro off so he can make up for their missed fight. Shino defeats him by clogging his puppets with bugs and placing a bug on his forehead protector, which causes Kankuro to be swarmed as the bugs drain his chakra.

It is a pyrrhic victory for Shino as Kankuro poisons him, but luckily his dad Shibi heals him.

Answer: Kiba Inuzuka

Ukon and Sakon are a pair of twins who inhabit the same body, and can also merge with the bodies of others, as Kiba finds out the hard way. Chouji and Neji stay behind to fight Jirobo and Kodmaru respectively while the Sound 5 are trying to run off with Sasuke, and Kiba engages Ukon and Sakon. Kiba manages to get them out of his body by stabbing himself, and swims away with his dog Akamaru, but is too wounded and exhausted to fight when Ukon and Sakon catch up with him. Luckily, Kankuro shows up, as he and his siblings have been sent to help Konoha get Sasuke back, and uses his substitution technique to trick Ukon and Sakon into attacking one of his puppets.

He then kills them both.

Answer: He is the middle child.

Temari is the oldest of the three children of the Fourth Kazekage, with Kankuro being the next and Gaara the baby. Karura, their mother, died in childbirth while giving birth to Gaara. It is revealed late in the manga that both Kankuro and Temari were considered as potential Jinchuriki for the One-Tailed Tanuki, but neither were compatible. Both older children grew up frightened of Gaara; Kankuro in particular was scared of him, as Gaara would often threaten to kill him.

Answer: Purple

Kankuro has several face paint patterns throughout the manga, some more intricate than others. They are based on the masks worn by Kabuki performers ('Kankuro' was a name used by several Kabuki actors in real life). Purple in Kabuki make-up is a colour associated with royalty, which is quite fitting for the son of a Kage! The black hooded outfit he wears, incidentally, is based on the outfits worn by real-life Bunraku puppeteers, who wear black outfits to make themselves appear invisible on stage.

Answer: Sakura Haruno

Sasori and Deidara invade Sunagakure to kidnap Gaara and steal the One-Tailed Tanuki. Deidara knocks Gaara out with explosive clay and stuffs him in a clay bird, and when a furious Kankuro gives chase, Sasori holds him off. Sasori counters and destroys all of Kankuro's puppets, and reveals that he knows how they work as he made them.

The manga does not show the full fight between them, but at the end, Sasori stabs Kankuro in the stomach and leaves him to die, saying the poison on the blade will kill him within 3 days.

He is rushed to hospital, but the medics in Sunagakure are unable to help him. Konoha sends Sakura, Naruto and Kakashi to help rescue Gaara, and Sakura uses poison extraction techniques to save Kankuro's life by sucking the poison out of his body and saving his heart. Sakura later teams up with Chiyo, another puppeteer and Sasori's grandmother, to fight Sasori, and although Gaara dies, Chiyo resurrects him at the cost of her own life.

Answer: Gamabunta

Kankuro acquires a new puppet in every arc he appears. Karasu ('crow') is a humanoid puppet with three eyes and bladed limbs, and Kankuro uses it as a decoy. Kuroari ('black ant') appears in the hunt for Sasuke, and is used to trap people. It has horns and six arms, and Kankuro carries it and Karasu on his back, wrapped in bandages. Sanshuo ('salamander'), which Kankuro acquires over the timeskip, is a large lizard-like puppet used for defensive purposes.

And Gamabunta? He's not a puppet, but a giant toad summoned by Jiraiya, and later, Naruto.

Answer: Sasori

Kankuro and Sasori are reunited on the battlefield when Kankuro's ambush squad run into a group of reanimated shinobi which includes Sasori and Deidara. Kankuro's arsenal now includes Sasori's puppet body. Shin, Sai's adopted brother, is turned into a suicide bomber by Deidara, much to Sai's fury, and Kankuro traps Shin's body in Sanshuo to minimise damage from the explosion.

He uses two Kuroari puppets to contain Sasori and Deidara, and berates Sasori for trying to gain immortality when he lived on through his puppets.

As Sasori disintegrates, he entrusts the puppet versions of his parents to Kankuro, believing him worthy of them.

Answer: Black Secret Technique Machine One Shot

Black Secret Technique Machine One Shot ('Kurohigi Kiki Ippatsu' in Japanese, which is a play on words relating to 'Kurohige Kiki Ippatsu', a game similar to 'Pop-Up Pirates') involves Karasu Kuroari. Kankuro attacks his enemy with Karasu, forcing them towards Kuroari, and traps them inside it. He then separates Karasu's body into pieces, all of which contain blades, and impales the opponent through the holes in Kuroari's body. This is how he kills Ukon and Sakon, and he tries this technique on Sasori in the anime, but it doesn't work as Sasori's puppet body protects him.

The Gentle Fist is a Hyuuga clan technique. Cherry Blossom Impact is one of Sakura Haruno's moves, while Quick Beheading Dance is used by Temari.