Naruto is set in a world where ninja are constantly in conflict with one another, and it all started in the Warring States Period when ninja clans fought each other because lords hired them to capture more land. After decades of war, Madara Uchiha and Hasirama Senju decided to put an end to the fighting, and their truce led to the formation of the Hidden Leaf Village. The Leaf was eventually joined by the Hidden Sand, Stone, Cloud, and Mist Villages, and together they form the Five Great Shinobi Nations.
Like its counterparts, the Sand Village is filled with talented shinobi, but only the strongest and most skilled shinobi can become the village's Kazekage. There have been five Kazekage throughout the Sand's history, and every single one of them earned the title. That being said, there are actually quite a few other Sand shinobi who could have become Kazekage if they were offered the position.
9 Chiyo Had The Skill & Respect Of A Kage
There are several justu that would be utterly useless in real life, but the Puppet Technique is not one of them. Chiyo mastered this technique to the point that she could control up to 10 puppets at once. She was even able to use the legendary puppets that were created by the Sand's first puppet master, and she used them to conquer an entire castle.
Chiyo served as one of the Sand's counselors for decades, and her skills in battle made her a highly revered shinobi. She certainly had the skill to become Kazekage, but she also had the respect of the entire village, and she proved that she could put the well-being of her village first when she decided to take on her own grandson while trying to rescue Gaara.
8 Kankuro Has Become The Village's Greatest Puppet Master
Kankuro started off as a relatively weak ninja who managed to win fights, but by the end of the series, he becomes the Sand Village's top puppet master. He can now control numerous puppets at once, and this allows him to set up a variety of traps.
Kankuro now serves as Gaara's right hand and top bodyguard, which means that he already has a firm understanding of how difficult it is to be the Kazekage. Most right hands go on to become a Kage themselves, so there is already a precedent for Kankuro to potentially become Gaara's successor.
7 Temari Is One Of The Village's Strongest Wind Style Users
Temari is Gaara's older sister, and like her siblings, she has had some decent fights. Like many Sand shinobi, Temari possesses Wind Release, and thanks to her massive iron fan, she has become an expert Wind-Style user who can create giant wind gusts. She can also use her fan to produce a barrage of deadly slicing whirlwinds.
Before she emigrated to the Leaf Village, Temari was arguably the Sand's most skilled kunoichi, and the title of Kazekage literally runs through her veins since Gaara and her father have both held the title.
6 Maki Was Trained By Pakura & Was Essential During The 4th Great Ninja War
Maki is a Sand kunoichi who was trained by Pakura, which means that she is a skilled ninja who can go toe-to-toe with a kekkei genkai user. Her status as an elite Sand ninja was on full display during the Fourth Great Ninja War, where she was tasked with sealing reanimated shinobi with her Cloth Binding Technique.
This technique may not seem impressive, but it is strong enough to immobilize virtually any opponent, and she can use the cloth as a weapon in battle or as a means of escape.
5 Baki Is A Powerful Jonin & A Longtime Kazekage Advisor
Baki was Gaara's teacher, and he now serves on his advisory council. Other than Kankuro, Baki is the council's highest-ranking member, and he proved his leadership skills when he managed the Sand's defenses during Deidara's attack at the beginning of Shippuden.
Baki is one of the Sand's strongest Jonin, and he showed that strength when he fought several highly skilled Leaf shinobi. He also happens to be very knowledgeable when it comes to other village's secret techniques. In terms of ninjutsu, he is an expert Wind Style user who can effortlessly create a wind blade that can apparently not be blocked.
4 Yashamaru Was Willing To Do Anything For His Village
Gaara was one of the series' biggest underdogs, but he managed to overcome all of his pain to become the Kazekage. A lot of that pain came from his uncle, Yashamaru, who was ordered to attack Gaara in order to test the child's mastery of the One-Tails.
This order came from Gaara's father, the 4th Kazekage, and as his right-hand man, Yashamaru accepted the mission even though he knew he was probably going to die. Yashamaru was a skilled ANBU who was willing to die to make sure his village would be safe in the future, and that makes him perfect Kazekage material.
3 If Gaara Could Become Kazekage, So could Bunpuku
There may have been Jinchuriki who were stronger than Gaara, but he is one of the only Jinchuriki who managed to become a Kage. Bunpuku was Shukaku's previous Jinchuriki, and like Gaara, he had access to the Tailed Beast's immense chakra, which also gave him the ability to manipulate sand.
Bunpuku was a kind and gentle soul who managed to cultivate a relationship with Shukaku, to the point that he could have easily become a perfect Jinchuriki like Naruto and Killer B. He was also revered as a master sealing jutsu user.
2 Pakura Possessed A Kekkei Genkai & Was A Famed Ninja
Many powerful ninja were resurrected during the Fourth Great Ninja War, including Pakura. This famed Sand kunoichi was hailed as a hero because she singlehandedly thwarted a Stone Village plot that would have negatively impacted the Sand Village.
Heroes tend to be appointed to the Kage position, and if she had not been sent to her own death as part of a peace treaty with the Cloud Village, she would have likely been appointed the 5th Kazekage after the 4th's death. She even possessed a rare kekkei genkai called Scorch Release, which allowed her to create heat orbs that would mummify her opponents.
1 Sasori Was Already A Kage-Level Ninja
Sasori was one of the Akatsuki's smartest members, but he also happened to be one of the greatest shinobi that the Sand has ever produced. He is arguably the strongest puppet master in the Sand's history, as he was eventually able to control 100 puppets at once, and he was able to use this technique to take down an entire nation.
Had he not defected, Sasori would have probably become the 4th Kazekage instead of Gaara's father, and no one within the village would have questioned the decision because his legacy was set in stone during the Third Great Ninja War. The 3rd Kazekage is regarded as the strongest shinobi in the Sand's history, and Sasori was able to kill him by himself, which means that he was indeed a Kage-level shinobi.