1. Which village are you applying this Kage/Village Head for?'
Sunagakure, Kazekage
2. What is the name of the candidate you are applying for this position?
Garan
3. How did your candidate become recommended for the position? (Be extremely detailed in this section, as it is quite important for the outcome of the application)
Garan was born during a tumultuous time in the world. The fight against the invading Ōtsutsuki Clan was reaching its apex, and the military power of the Shinobi Union as a whole began to dwindle in military power. Children at a young age were being promoted exceedingly quickly through the ranks based on individual talents, and were conscripted into the Shinobi forces. As all of Garan's family had a history of service in the military, Garan was no exception to this conscription. The intense training of the Sunagakure Ninja Academy had proven successful, and Garan's talents within puppetry were recognized very quickly.
Garan was quickly with one of the basic puppets of Sunagakure, Sekieki, and was hired by the long-ranged puppet platoon of Sunagakure in order to fend off the invaders. He stayed at a long, safe range from the majority of the conflict, but the bloodshed still frightened him, and forced him to mature rapidly for his age. Similarly, he had quickly ascended to the rank of Chūnin at age 12, taking further part in the battle. As he grew older, he created his own puppet, Daruma, which had become his signature puppet within battle. Rather than relying on long-range artillery for his entire career, Garan had taken a bolder initiative within the puppet platoon, sending out his puppet to act in tandem with the melee Shinobi on the front lines in order to gain even a glimpse of their struggles.
His actions continued for years, as he was eventually promoted to Jōnin due to his merits within the conflict. He became the leader of a sub-unit within the platoon known as the "Puppet Reinforcement Unit" (人形応援部隊, Ningyō Ōen Butai). His division was in charge of entering the battle along with the main forces, supplementing their combat abilities with their puppets and ensuring their survival by any means possible. In the heat of battle, Garan himself had nearly forgotten his role, having begun to engage with the enemy personally, as he blitzed through the enemy forces with his own puppets, and rescued numerous allies from perilous situations. His tactical and combat brilliance was noted by allies, and he was regarded as a puppeteer who took control of the entire battlefield with his strings.
Years passed, and the conflict had finally been over. The Shinobi Union had been given respite from the grueling war. Unfortunately, Sunagakure did not share that same vision. Political discourse had begun to escalate within Sunagakure, especially among the council of elders. They found that the clan hailing from Rasa's lineage had been growing exponentially in political power, and the Suna Council's authority had been waning over time. Fearing that the village would eventually find their authority meaningless, they had staged a plan, following the death of the Seventh Kazekage, to transfer authority over the village and its operations to the council and have the next Kazekage be their scapegoat.
However, among the council, those who respected the decisions and strength of the Kazekage Clan, as well as their importance in establishing Sunagakure as a respectable superpower, disagreed with them. As their political conflict raged on for a while, the village was left without a Kazekage, waning in power as the other villages built up their power following the war. Although the political climate didn't enable them to have any direct influence on village operations, the Puppet Brigade, alongside Garan, had tirelessly worked on mastering a system of automated puppets that was intended to bolster the economic and military power of Sunagakure considerably.
The Council's political discourse soon overflowed, and two factions were born: the first were the supporters of the Suna Council having supreme political power, and the second were supporters of the Kazekage holding the greatest sway over the village. The majority of Shinobi who weren't connected to the Suna Council had taken the side of the second faction. It appeared as if their victory was effortless, when it came to the military side of things, but they were surprised.
The Suna Council, using their funding, had managed to contract a particularly powerful mercenary faction to fight against the Shinobi they faced. The conflict was long and grueling, and within the village, peace was completely disturbed. While the majority of the war occurred on the outskirts of the village, throughout the Land of Wind, people were unable to sleep in their own homes at night, fearing that mercenaries would pillage through their homes and take everything without remorse.
Garan, his older brother Gozui, and his sister-in-law Nadeshiko, were all on the Kazekage's side within this conflict. They were all Jōnin, and such, were military leaders in their own right. They lead the charge against the mercenaries, but they found themselves in a stalemate position. The mercenaries were all seasoned war veterans, and could anticipate virtually any move that the Kazekage faction would make. But it soon became apparent to the eyes of Garan that something else was occurring here. There was no way possible that the Council faction could be so many steps ahead, even if their mercenary's military power was top-notch.
After several failed military endeavors, and unnecessary loss of life, Garan and his family had created an ambush plan independent from the Council representatives on their side. Sneaking into a major stronghold that the Council faction had acquired, Garan, Gozui and Nadeshiko led an assault of great magnitude that enabled them to take over the stronghold and acquire great strides in the civil war. However, in the process, both Gozui and Nadeshiko were killed in battle.
Garan was traumatized, and in mourning. He had experienced war before, but this was a different kind of war. When both factions were truly on the same side...why was there war? He, unfortunately, had no time to reflect on this, for he finally figured out the scheme the Council faction had played. The Suna Council representatives within the Kazekage faction had no disagreement with the Council faction at all: it was all a ploy to thin out the opposition and reinforce the full extent of their military and political power.
Garan quickly used this knowledge to seal away both council representatives on the Kazekage faction before they could order his death, and mobilized the Kazekage faction's army under his banner. He also released the power of the Puppet Brigade's automated puppet, adding to their military power, and sending one last charge towards the Council faction.
With the advantage of surprise on their side, it was a sweeping victory for the Kazekage faction. The leaders of the Council were all restrained, and the mercenaries were driven out of the village. Finally, after an entire year of battle, Sunagakure's citizens could breathe in peace. However...the loss of life that they suffered, simply was not worth it.
Due to his accomplishments within the war, the Kazekage faction elected Garan as the Eighth Kazekage.
4. Upon attaining the position, what has your candidate done within the position for the village? (In terms of economical, political and militant advantages or progress for the village)
His first job, as the Kazekage, was the execution of the Suna Council. They had to pay for the loss of life, and loss of power, Sunagakure held compared to the other villages, due to their petty and trifling ambitions of conquest. Once executed, Garan had the council be re-elected with a mixture of Shinobi veterans and citizen representatives, in an attempt to balance out the opinions of Sunagakure's growth as a village.
Secondly, he has been increasing the village's military and economical power with the introduction of Automated Puppets. Moreover, doing so has enabled steady growth in various areas such as agriculture and refurbishing the village's architecture. Not to mention, export is at an all-time high. Normal civilians are mixed with the automated puppets as both guides and as employees, increasing number of jobs as well.
5. From this point in the Fanon Canon Revolution timeline onward, what plans does your Kage/Village Head have in order to improve the state of the village on the international stage? (Alliances, investing in further technology, investing in strengthening the military, etc)
Garan intends on broadcasting the Automated Puppets internationally. He wants to consolidate the power of Sunagakure within the alliance to ensure that other territories do not dare attack, for the precious technological resources they would lose outweigh the gains. Similarly, he intends to unify the Land of Wind under a single banner to ensure the region's stability.