The Kushina parallel works best for Gaara, you say? 👀 I'm genuinely interested. Please?
((IM GETTING TO THIS SO LATE IM SORRY!! Been so wildly busy this month. But yes the kushina to Gaara comparisons are always swirling around my head.
Before kushina met Minato she was a lonely, volatile jinchuuriki because she lacked love, family and social connection. The anime even shows that she starts becoming a bit bitter and violent because of this. She's alone and the Konoha government doesn't seem concerned with helping her, simply using her as a vessel for the nine tails and leaving her be.
Sound familiar? Basically - red haired jinchuuriki is saved and redeemed by blond sunshine who saves her. Even how Minato ran after her while she was kidnapped is parallel to how Naruto runs after Gaara during the Kazekage rescue mission arc.
But more than that I think the emotional healing is the most similar here. Naruto/Minato healed both their troubled redheads souls by simply being kind and themselves. Minato saw she was hurting and was the one person who ran after her after noticing she was missing. Same with Naruto connecting with Gaara. Naruto saving Gaara was just as romantic tbh.
Have to go to work!! Will write more later and more in depth!))
EVEN THE NEW MINATO MANGA