“Now there's something I understand a little better. Hate, sadness, even joy. To be able to share it with another person... Naruto Uzumaki. From fighting him I learned that. He knew pain like I did and then he taught me that you can change your path. I wish that one day I can be needed by someone. Not as a frightening weapon... But as the sand's Kazekage.”
“Family? Let me tell you what kind of link I have with them. They are just lumps of meat linked by hatred and murderous intent!”
“In order to escape a road of solitude, one has to work hard, and forge a new path with their own power.”
“Naruto... Just so you know, there will be a war to protect the Eight-Tails and Nine-Tails. In other words - you. For the sake of the ninja world and as the Kazekage, I will guard you with my life. If as a member of Akatsuki, Sasuke Uchiha stands in the way of the ninja coalition... I will show him no mercy.”
“One day I'd like to become something precious to others.”
“I took the life of the woman I was supposed to call mother in the process of being born... in order to become the world's strongest shinobi... I became the incarnation of sand...”
“People cannot win against their loneliness.”
“This is where it all starts for me. Starting with this small bond. I too want to become someone who is needed, instead of a weapon that is feared. And as the Kazekage of Sunagakure.”
“*to Naruto* I think of you as a friend. I used to think "friend" was just another word... Nothing more, nothing less. But when I met you, I realized what was important was the word's meaning.”
“*to Naruto* If you're truly prepared to take up the mantle of a Kage, then as Sasuke's friend, you know what you have to do.”
“Perhaps the companionship of an evil person is preferable to loneliness.”
“You're the same then. When you feel the honor of your idol under scrutiny... you become enraged, as if it were your own honor being questioned. The more precious your idol is to you... the harder you fight for him.”
“*to Sasuke* You have the same eyes as I do...the eyes, filled with hatred and death, that long for strength... Just like mine. Your eyes tell me how badly you wish to kill the one who put you through the hell called loneliness.”
“I finally understand... I'm alone. I won't believe in anyone, or love anyone. I'm alone.”
“I fight for my sake only and live to love no one but myself.”
“A soul needs a purpose to live...and so I concluded that my purpose was to kill everyone besides myself. I felt alive...”
“I want to be needed, this is what I've learned from meeting and fighting Uzumaki Naruto.”
“*young Gaara attempts to slash his wrist* It's no use, the sand gets in the way.”
“The corpse's bitter crimson tears flow and mingle with the endless sand, filling the chaos within me - and making me stronger.”
“If love is just a word, then why does it hurt so much if you realize it isn't there?”
“He was the one who taught me to deepen my bond with my people. Thanks to him, I was able to regain my true self. That village has him, the one who cherishes a friend's bond more than anyone I know. Naruto Uzumaki... Knowing him and the friends he holds so dear, they will overcome this disaster and grow even stronger from it.”
“Three times now... We've fought world wars for our own nations, our own villages. We've hurt one another. We've hated one another. That hatred bred a lust for power, and that lust for power created ME. I was a Jinchuuriki, the embodiment of hatred and power. And I hated this world, and all the people in it... I wanted to destroy it with my own hands. The exact same thing Akatsuki is trying to do today. But one man, one ninja from Konoha stopped me. I was his enemy, yet he wept for me! I hurt him, yet he called me his friend! He saved me! My enemy, my fellow Jinchuuriki... He suffered the same pain as me, yet bore no ill will! There are no enemies here because we've all suffered at Akatsuki's hand! SO THERE IS NO SAND, NO STONE, NO LEAF, NO MIST, NO CLOUD! THERE ARE ONLY SHINOBI! And if you still hold a grudge against the Sand, then when this war is over, come and take my head instead! Our enemies are after the friend who saved my life! If they take him, if we hand him over, our world is finished! I want to protect him, and I want to protect our world! But I'm too young to protect it all on my own! All of you lend me your aid!”
“I am a relic they want to get rid of, so why do I exist and live? In order to exist you need a purpose, to exist for no reason is the same as being dead... I would love only myself and fight for only myself. If all other people exist to magnify that love, then there is no more a splendid universe than this one...”
“Up until now, my bonds with others have only been ones of hatred and murder. But, seeing him fight so hard made me wonder what a bond really is. I think I understand a little now. Suffering, sadness...and joy. To be able to share it with another person. Naruto Uzumaki...when I fought him, I feel that is what he taught me.”