Ah I’m gonna be honest here, I think that you’d have a MUCH easier time if you started their relationship later on.  It is impossible for me to imagine Gaara being in a relationship or even a friendship during the Chunin Exams Arc.  Even if he were in one, it would not resemble a healthy relationship/friendship at all.  Just look at the way he strikes fear into everyone around him: even his own siblings are absolutely terrified of him.  Even if your OC is the type to sympathize and want to protect and better people, I don’t see Gaara wanting to open up to them at this stage in life.

I could see them getting closer and becoming friends during Shippuden.  A romance with Gaara  will be a very slow development as Gaara struggles with forming relationships after how sheltered he was from others in his childhood.  I do not think it is wise to start forming a relationship during Shippuden/the 4th War either, as during this time, Gaara had just become Kazekage and he’s very set on changing a lot of things with the village and himself.

I think for the most believable relationship development, I would start the romance after the 4th War (the Last era) or even in Gaara’s adulthood.  Take it slow, Gaara wants to be able to trust himself around the person just as much as he needs to be able to trust them.

If you need further help, we have a pairing guide for Gaara here!

So, reincarnation in Naruto is somewhat different than the real-world concept of reincarnation we might know of. Reincarnation in Naruto is when the will and chakra of a deceased person is reborn into a new living vessel. 

In Naruto, while the chakra is important, there seems to be an emphasis on the deceased person’s will being passed on. Will, in this case, is referring to the deceased person’s belief system, or their nindō, which I honestly forgot was a term in the series.

With Pain, in particular, it wasn’t his beliefs and probably not even his chakra that made him a god to Ame. They viewed him that way mainly because of his contributions during the relatively unknown civil war Ame had and, possibly, the immense power he was rumored to have.

Now, an important thing to note about Pain and Ame’s relationship is that Ame has never seen Pain in person. Pain communicated to Ame through Konan, which is how she became known as his “angel.” The only thing the villagers could say with certainty about Pain was that it didn’t rain on Sundays in the village when he was present. So, if your OC did look similar to Pain, Ame’s people wouldn’t know because they’ve never seen Pain in the first place.

So, where does that leave your OC? 

Well, the first thing I can say is that they wouldn’t be able to prove your OC is Pain’s reincarnation. It wouldn’t be a case at all like Naruto’s and Sasuke’s, where people know they are Asura’s and Indra’s reincarnates.

That means that the people of Ame would have to come to this conclusion through their own beliefs and by finding correlations between your OC and Pain. Or, in other words, to Amegakure, your OC being Pain’s reincarnation would be mostly - if not entirely - symbolic.

For example, maybe your OC has a technique that stops the rain on Sundays, just like Pain once did. Or maybe your OC is extremely powerful, but their only real concern is about Ame’s safety and prosperity. Or maybe there is just something - maybe a feeling that your OC instills them with - that reminds them of Pain in a way that no one else has since Pain’s death.

Your OC doesn’t have to be exactly like Pain to be his reincarnate and, honestly, the same goes for any character’s reincarnate. 

I think the best way to handle reincarnations is not to take it in a literal sense (well, you can take it literally sometimes) but in a symbolic manner. Look at what the characters did and how they impacted the world around them, and try to make their reincarnates perhaps follow after their beliefs or have people view them in a manner similar to their predecessor.

I know this is a lot to read, but I hope it helps you out in the end. If you have anymore questions, feel free to send them in and we’ll try to help you as best we can.

Mostly from what I’ve observed, there’s a fairly even mix of all of these. Kabuto for example was a spy in Konoha, but also helped him destroy the village. Karin and Juugo were test subjects. The sound four were originally test subjects before becoming his elite bodyguards. Aside from that, any member of Otogakure were part of Orochimarus crew. 

Unfortunately, I’m a bit ignorant of that particular aspect of Kisame’s personality and how to convey it, and I hope you’ll forgive me for that. I’ll try to make this pairing guide as flexible as possible by focusing on the other important aspects of his personality: his philosophy and internal struggles.

An empathic or kindred spirit. Kisame was something of a nihilist - he believed that he would ultimately die meaninglessly for his sins of comrade killing. Someone able to truly understand his despair without bias, or someone that shared similar feelings about life, I think, would be a person he would be drawn to.

Someone sincere and honest. A large part of his mentality was born from the lies of those he respected, and the guilt he felt due to the crimes he committed in the name of that same deception. While he may be skeptical of their sincerity for a long while, a partner that is completely transparent in all matters would be ideal.

Supportive and patient. At his core, Kisame is a very insecure and troubled individual. Always forced to slay those considered comrades in exchange for keeping information safe, he struggled with finding his true identity and place in the world. A potential partner would have to work very hard in trying to help Kisame establish and reinforce his existence, and they would have to understand it would take a long time as well.

Manners. Kisame was very humble, honest and appreciative of his allies. I think a partner that showed him the same courtesy would help in the long run with Kisame.

Respect Itachi. Kisame held an incredibly high opinion of Itachi, to the point that Zetsu thought Kisame would abandon the Akatsuki following Itachi’s death. Kisame even thought of Itachi and how he might’ve viewed him during his own last moments. If the potential s/o met Itachi, Kisame would likely expect his romantic partner to put some respeck on Itachi’s name.

I actually had trouble creating this pairing guide, but I’m glad it was sent in. I do hope that it’ll help in any pairing endeavors anyone might have, and I apologize for how long it took to post this.

Honestly speaking, the only transformation we’ve ever seen is Kisames, who’s to say that they can’t transform to having mermaid legs.

I personally think that the transformation is different depending on the Hoshigaki, while Kisame looks as he does another Hoshigaki would look different.

The beauty of naruto is that you can make your own headcanons for things that aren’t specified in naruto

She could be. She might be dismissive, annoyed or outright hostile if someone were to bring up Naruto positively in her presence. I do think some people might think that she’s being childish and disrespectful in her feelings, especially if she’s always like that when people bring up Naruto. 

I also think that reaction from others might strengthen her negativity because of others’ unwillingness to empathize with her grief. For example, she might end up thinking something like: “Why are people always siding with him!? I lost my brother because of him, but who has he lost?!” or things like that in such instances, which would reinforce her feelings.

I think it’s fine, and I think it would have been something interesting that the series could have added for some character development for Naruto.

No, I don’t think it would be unreasonable at all. A lot of times, grief doesn’t care about reason or logic; it just is and people have to deal with it however way they can.

I actually think your OC coming to form that belief would be an interesting and refreshing perspective. It’s not often you see Naruto himself, his morals or beliefs painted in a negative light—or opposed, in general.