Temari

Temari (テマリ) is the oldest child of the Fourth Kazekage, making her the older sister of Gaara and Kankuro.

Personality

Temari is generally overbearing, if not crude, toward those around her, rarely afraid to speak her mind. Temari does have a caring side, and is not above showing concern for others. Temari also seems to value peace, as she questioned the reasoning of starting a war with Konoha. Three years after Sasuke's defection of Konoha, Temari became a Jonin along with Kankuro, and acts as a liaison between Sunagakure and Konoha, working with the village in preparations for the next Chunin Exams. Like Kankuro, her relations with Gaara have greatly improved, though she isn't as close as the two brothers. When Gaara was captured by the Akatsuki, Temari hurried back to the village to save her brother, and when Kankuro was poisoned, she watched over him until he was ready to move himself.

Many of Temari's appearances are associated with Shikamaru Nara. They first face off in the Chunin Exams. Shikamaru proves a superior strategist and is in a position to win, but forfeits the match when he runs low on chakra, much to the shock of Temari. When the Sand Siblings are sent to aid Konoha in the Retrieval of Sasuke, she comes to Shikamaru's defense in his battle with Tayuya. When Naruto returns to Konoha and sees the two of them together walking together, he asked them if they were on a date, which both of them denied. Even though they are on friendly terms now, and do like each other, Temari still cites Shikamaru as her most desired opponent to fight, showing she still measures herself against his abilities.

Chunin Exam arc

During the preliminary matches of the Chunin Exams, Temari was pitted against Tenten. Tenten began the match by throwing wave after wave of weapons at Temari, though Temari easily blew them away with her fan. As Tenten ran out of weapons, Temari used her fan to trap Tenten in a cyclone and propel her into the air. As the cyclone dispersed and Tenten fell to the ground, Temari made it a point to have Tenten land on her closed fan, knocking Tenten unconscious. Even after she was declared the winner of the match, she threw Tenten off of the fan in attempt to have her land on the many weapons on the ground. However, Rock Lee jumped in to save Tenten before she hit the ground. It should be noted that the fight was entirely skipped in the manga, cutting from the start to the victory without showing what happened in between.

During the final rounds of the Chunin Exam, Temari was matched against Shikamaru Nara. Knowing Shikamaru to use shadows to trap his opponents, Temari made sure to stay out of his shadow's range. Despite this precaution on Temari's part, Shikamaru used various tactics to increase the distance his shadow can reach, all the while buying time for the sun to set and gave him more shadows to work with. As Temari evaded his attacks and prepared to finish the match, she was caught by his shadow, Shikamaru having navigated her to a position where he could easily trap her without her notice. Although Shikamaru appeared to be in a position where he can win the match he forfeits saying he used too much chakra and could only hold her for 10 more seconds.

When the invasion of Konoha began, Temari was forced to help Gaara fled the village. In the anime, when Sasuke Uchiha began to pursue them, Temari stayed behind in an effort to slow Sasuke down, though he defeated her with little effort. After Gaara was defeated, Temari and Kankuro carried him home.

Sasuke Retrieval arc

At the request of the Fifth Hokage, Temari and her brothers came to the aid of those sent out to retrieve Sasuke Uchiha. Temari arrived to help Shikamaru in his fight against Tayuya. She asked Shikamaru for information on Tayuya, though after explaining Tayuya's abilities, Shikamaru replied that they should retreat. Uninterested in Shikamaru's opinion, Temari used Summoning Technique,Whirlwind Dance surrounding the forest which caused a tree to fall on Tayuya, killing her. She then appeared in the Konoha medical center, first criticizing Shikamaru for his lack of emotional control, but later appearing relieved for Shikamaru's sake when the news came that his teammates will survive their injuries.

Anime filler arcs

In episodes 217-219 when one of Gaara's students was kidnapped by the Shiitenshounin, Temari and Kankuro joined him in rescuing her. In doing so, Temari was forced to fight another woman with abilities similar to her own. Although she was able to hold her own for a while, her opponent's abilities began to counter her own, quickly overwhelming her. Just as Temari was about to be killed, Shikamaru and Ino arrived to help, and Shikamaru and Temari quickly began bickering. After combining their talents, Temari and Shikamaru were able to defeat their opponent.

Part II

Temari was first seen when Shikamaru entered the Hokage office, and was at first not recognized by Naruto, and was also believed to be his opponent. It was later revealed that she was constantly traveling in between the two villages working as a liaison in preparations for the upcoming Chunin Exams. Because she and Shikamaru were in each other's company when Naruto initially meets them, he also suspects that they are dating, which both of them deny.

Rescue Gaara arc

Upon learning that Gaara has been kidnapped by Akatsuki, Temari joins Team 7 in rushing to Sunagakure. During this time, she discovers the truth about Naruto and the Demon Fox; she sympathises with him and states that she loves the changes happening in Gaara thanks to his battle with Naruto. Upon arriving, Temari finds Kankuro to have been gravely injured in his attempt to rescue Gaara. Wanting to save her brothers, Temari plans to join Team 7 in rescuing Gaara, though Chiyo volunteers in her place. Once Kankuro is well enough to walk, he sets out with Temari to catch up with Team 7. When Gaara is found and revived, Temari joins Kankuro in thanking Team 7 for saving their brother.

Abilities

Temari is a keen analyst, and can easily deduce an opponent's strategies and weaknesses soon after a battle begins. She's second only to Shikamaru who could calculate and analyze her every move during the finals of the Chunin Exam. For actual combat she uses her giant iron fan that, in addition to serving as a makeshift club, can be used to glide upon in order to intimidate her foes. Inscribed on her fan are three purple circles spaced equally across its length, which she calls "stars" ("moons" in the English dub). As she opens the fan to reveal each star in sequence, the fan's power increases greatly.

Once all three moons are revealed, Temari can use her Cutting Whirlwind Technique or the more powerful Great Cutting Whirlwind Technique to create slicing whirlwinds. Because she can guide these forces with her chakra, she can easily use them to attack her opponents from great distances. Temari's fan is also capable of creating tornadoes, and with her Wind Release: Severing Pressure she can trap opponents and cut them in the process. In addition, her fan can be used to catch opponents off guard, and with Dust Wind Technique she can create a wind current to blanket the area in dust, making it difficult for an opponent to stand once it has settled.

Temari can also summon Kamatari, a one-eyed weasel summoned with her fan. Kamatari serves to aid her in battle, particularly by creating strong gusts of wind to attack her opponents. Over the timeskip, Temari rises to the rank of Jonin, indicating that she has put a great deal of effort into honing her abilities.