GaaNaru

GaaNaru is the slash ship between Gaara and Naruto Uzumaki from the Naruto fandom.

Canon
Naruto and Gaara first met during the Chunin Exams although Gaara did not think much of Naruto at the time. They later ran into each other again when Gaara attempted to kill Rock Lee in the hospital. Naruto then found out that Gaara was a Jinchuriki just like him. The two later fought during the invasion on Konoha and Naruto managed to win. Afterwards, Gaara was intrigued by Naruto's behavior and stopped being a psychopath.

Over the next two years, Gaara became the Kazekage and Naruto was happy for him when he found out. Deidara and Sasori later captured Gaara so Naruto was sent on a mission to save him. His group failed to arrive on time and Gaara was killed. Naruto was so enraged that he turned into his two-tailed form against Deidara. He blamed Chiyo for his death and helped her revive him. Naruto felt awkward about saying goodbye afterwards so Gaara used his sand to guide Naruto into shaking hands with him.

Naruto and Gaara later encountered each other again during the Five Kage Summit. Gaara tried to advise Naruto about doing the right thing in regards to Sasuke. They later fought side-by-side on the battlefield during the Fourth Shinobi World War. At one point, Naruto was exhausted so Gaara helped him get back on his feet. Gaara was later caught in the Infinite Tsukuyomi and dreamed about living a normal life with his family while Naruto was his best friend.

Fanon
GaaNaru is a very popular Naruto ship and is one of the most popular slash ships involving Naruto. It gained support early on when both were revealed to be Jinchuriki with harsh pasts. More fans began to ship GaaNaru when the two grew to admire each other more and especially when Gaara dreamed about having Naruto as his best friend. GaaNaru most commonly rivals SasuNaru as well as other ships involving Gaara or Naruto.

Fandom
AO3

Trivia

 * Gaara considers meeting Naruto to be the best experience of his life.