Gaara first appears in the series when he is sent to Konohagakure, an allied ninja village, to take part in the Chunin Exams alongside his older siblings Kankuro and Temari. In truth, he is sent in order to infiltrate Konohagakure in preparation for an invasion by Sunagakure and its ally, Otogakure. There, he and Kankuro and Temari easily pass both the first and second phases. In the third phase, Gaara is set to fight against Rock Lee. Lee is able to pass Gaara's defenses, provoking an enraged Gaara into breaking Lee's arm and leg, claiming victory. Sasuke Uchiha manages to give Gaara the first injury he has ever received, causing Gaara to suffer a mental breakdown and nearly manifest his Tailed-Beast powers. This begins the invasion, with his older siblings carrying him off as he could not participate in his current state of mind. Both Sasuke and Naruto Uzumaki confront him with the latter defeating him. Later, Sunagakure sends Gaara to help in preventing Sasuke from defecting to Otogakure, which became enemy of Sunagakure once learning that Orochimaru murdered Rasa prior to the attack. While he is able to help Lee fight Orochimaru's servant Kimimaro, Gaara is unable to prevent Sasuke from escaping from Konoha. He makes amends with the many characters he had alienated, apologizing to those he hurt and improving his relationship with his family. At the same time, Gaara's fundamental characteristic becomes the desire to protect as many people as he can, as in doing so he believes, like Naruto, he will be able to find true strength. This culminates in his replacing his father as the Fifth Kazekage during Part II of the series.