Temari

is the oldest child of the Fourth Kazekage, making her the older sister of Gaara and Kankuro. Like her siblings, Temari is usually seen less often than the other main characters in the series. She is the most powerful kunoichi of Naruto's age group. It is hinted that she may have feelings for Shikamaru Nara.

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. Also in the filler to rescue Gaara's student Matsuri Shikamaru and Ino came to rescue Temari from a wind ninja, which Shikmaru and Temari defeated together. When Naruto returns to Konoha and sees the two of them walking together, he asked them if they were on a date, which both of them denied. It is suspected that she has taken a liking to Shikamaru, as she has a tendency to show a softer nature around him, and advices him to quickly become a Jonin.

Chunin Exam arc
During the preliminary matches of the Chunin Exams, Temari was pitted against Tenten. Since their fight goes unseen in the manga, the anime adaptation explains the circumstances, 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. She finished off the match quickly, 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. Kankuro pointed out to Gaara, that Temari made it look easy and can put up a good show. 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 faces Shikamaru Nara. Knowing Shikamaru used 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. All that time he planned it out, when she fell into his trap. She had been outsmarted, and was astonished when he decided to forfeit the match.

When the invasion of Konoha began, Temari was forced to help Gaara flee 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 by Naruto, Gaara apologises to both Temari and Kankuro, who were amazed, wondering what Naruto has done to him, while they 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: Quick Beheading Dance surrounding the forest which caused a tree to fall on Tayuya, killing her. Shikamaru also remarked that the jutsu was good on using attack and defense, from the genjutsu at the same time. 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.

Pre-Shippūden filler arcs
When one of Gaara's students was kidnapped by the Shitenshounin, Temari and Kankuro joined him in rescuing her. In doing so, Temari was forced to fight Kujaku who has 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 arrive to save her from being killed. Shikamaru and Temari quickly began their usual bickering, but ultimately devise a strategy to defeat Kujaku. Temari uses her fan to change the direction of a nearby waterfall, allowing Shikamaru to increase the reach of his shadow by using the waterfall's shadow. After Shikamaru traps Kujaku, Temari finishes her off by summoning Kamatari.

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 Kakashi in rushing to Sunagakure. During this time, she discovers the truth about Naruto and the Demon Fox; she sympathizes 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 Kankuro 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 Kakashi. When Gaara is found and revived, Temari joins Kankuro in thanking Team Kakashi for saving their brother. Afterward, the three start to begin sharpening their skills so that they can be more reliable next time.

Intelligence
Temari is a keen analyst, basically on par with Shikamaru, and can easily deduce an opponent's strategies and weaknesses soon after a battle begins. During her second Chunin Exam fight, she easily calculated the distance it would take for Shikamaru to reach her with the Shadow Possession Technique and was able to keep out of its grasp. Despite ultimately being out-thought in her fight against Shikamaru, Asuma complemented her. He called Temari an excellent strategist indicating a character with a lesser intellect might not have kept up with Shikamaru and forced him to think multiple moves ahead, and that they are both strategists.

Like fellow strategist Shikamaru, Temari has also shown to plan ahead before attacking. Before confronting Tayuya, she asked Shikamaru for a detailed assessment of the Sound ninja's abilities before considering the proper tactic, without listening to what Shikamaru planned out.

Iron Fan
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: Great Task of the Dragon 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.

Summon
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, which then Temari can mold into attacks of her own.

Quotes

 * "Wasn't much of a match, kinda boring."
 * "You are awfully fragile. What kind of man are you?"
 * "Get yourself and that loser out of my way."
 * "We're up one!"
 * "Sharpen your kama at sunset."

Other Media

 * Temari is a playable in the Naruto video games, appearing in 5 out of 7 games.
 * Temari makes a cameo in Naruto Shippūden: The Movie alongside Shikamaru Nara

Trivia

 * In the omake at the end of Shippūden episode 75 (The Old Monk's Prayer), Shikamaru tells Asuma that Naruto Shippūden will now be called Shikamaru Shippūden. The logo appears with the title and two silhouettes appear facing each other. One is Shikamaru and the other is Temari.
 * Temari was ranked as the 16th most popular character in the sixth and most recent Naruto character popularity poll. Temari was the 11th most popular character in Naruto according to the fifth poll. She finished 15th in the fourth poll.
 * Temari was the only female who made it to the final round of the Chunin Exams. Sakura and Ino drew against each other and did not advance. Tenten lost to Temari; Kin lost to Shikamaru; Hinata lost to Neji.
 * Temari has never lost a battle in the manga (any loss she has had in general was against Sasuke Uchiha). She defeated Tenten during the Chunin Exams. Later, she defeated and killed Tayuya. During her second Chunin Exam match against Shikamaru, she was outwitted and about to lose. But due to Shikamaru forfeiting the match, Temari was given the win.
 * Temari is based on the character Princess Iron Fan from Journey to the West
 * Temari's family's surname is still unknown.