Tayuya

was a kunoichi of Otogakure and the only female member of the Sound Four.

Personality
Tayuya was overbearing and foul-mouthed towards most people, especially Jirōbō, calling him "fatty" and Sakon calling him "birdbrain", as he criticised her over it. She didn't think much of Shikamaru Nara as a leader, but as a weak, useless rat, who ran away when she used her Doki to attack him. Like several of the Sound Four, Tayuya had her own perception of morality as she criticised Shikamaru for sacrificing members of his team to bring back one person who left with them voluntarily. Orochimaru commented that Tayuya has a "doesn't-want-to-lose" mentality that can slow down the team. Like the rest of the Sound Five, Tayuya constantly referred to her enemies as "trash".

Appearance
Tayuya's most distinctive feature was her long, untamed, pink hair (depicted as red in the anime). She also wore a black hat with bandaged sides which was shredded when Tayuya reached her second state. She wore a tan tunic, much like the other members of Sound Four, with black shorts and standard black shinobi sandals. In her second state her skin turns brown and her eyes turn yellow. Her hair grows longer and turns pink in the anime. She also grows a set of horns.

Abilities
As one of the Sound Four, an elite group who served at Orochimaru's direct orders, Tayuya was a strong kunoichi. She claimed to be the second strongest member of the Sound Four, subsequent only to Sakon. In the anime, another testament to her skills was her being chosen for reincarnation by Kabuto Yakushi. Furthermore, Shikamaru stated that Tayuya's prowess was of jōnin-level.

She was also very intelligent, and could think of excellent strategies, though not quite parallel with those of Shikamaru. According to him, she would probably be very good in shōgi. However, she was prone to lack of preparation, as she didn't carry any ninja tools with other than her flute. In the anime, after her reincarnation, she corrected that mistake.

Cursed Seal
As one of Orochimaru's closest and most powerful warriors, Tayuya was branded with a cursed seal. When in Level 2 Cursed Seal form, her hair grew longer, remaining pink, her skin became a dark shade of brown, and she grew several horns on the top of her head. In this state, she gained an immense boost in strength, stamina and endurance, which allowed her to surpass even Shikamaru's various shadow techniques. In the anime, after her reincarnation, Kabuto enhanced the properties of her cursed seal, which in turn made her techniques even more powerful. An example of this was the fact that the range of her sound-based genjutsu techniques were greatly increased. Also, when experiencing strong feelings of hatred and rage, she could draw even more power from the seal.

Demonic Flute
Tayuya was the only member of the Sound Four to use sound as her primary fighting style, in the form of her Demonic Flute. She was shown to have immense skill using it. In a fight with Shikamaru she was able to dodge attacks and play her flute simultaneously. Her flute, having been her only weapon, left her somewhat vulnerable to close-range combat. Nevertheless, Tayuya still used her flute for a variety of purposes; one such purpose was controlling her Doki: three massive, ogre-like greatures that can absorb an enemy's physical energy through spectral worms spawned by the creatures. Another one of her abilities was performing sound-based genjutsu, such as Demonic Flute: Phantom Sound Chains. Since it was transmitted through the sound of her flute, it had an extremely long range and power, and could affect the opponent even if she didn't know their exact location.

Collaboration Techniques
Despite the volatile relationship between the members of the Sound Four, they were well-versed in a series of collaboration techniques. They could use the Combination Transformation in order to pose as Orochimaru's bodyguards while also concealing their numbers. During the battle between the Third Hokage and Orochimaru, they could produce the Four Violet Flames Battle Encampment in order to avoid anyone from entering or leaving the confines of the barrier. When carring Sasuke to Orochimaru, they used another technique, a barrier called the Four Black Fog Battle Formation which traps the target in a temporary death state in order to allow him to adapt to the Cursed Seal and make for easier transportation. In the anime, they also displayed another technique, the Space–Time Technique Formula: Underworld Turnover, that sends the souls of both the user and the target into the confines of a special barrier. They could also use the Sound Four: Summoning: Four Beasts Encirclement Formation, which brought out their individual summons to trap their opponents from all sides.

Invasion of Konoha Arc
Tayuya made her first appearance with the rest of the Sound Four creating a barrier to keep others from interfering with Orochimaru's fight with the Third Hokage. She later escorted Orochimaru when he left.

Sasuke Retrieval Arc
When the Sasuke Retrieval Team caught up with the Sound Four after having left Neji and Chōji behind to deal with Kidōmaru and Jirōbō, the team managed to catch up with Tayuya and took the barrel Sasuke was being carried in. While trying to take it back Sakon and Ukon were separated from her, leaving her to retrieve it. While attempting to, Tayuya was confronted by Kimimaro, her former leader, who threatened to kill her if she didn't deal with some of the Konoha ninja resulting in her fighting Shikamaru Nara.

Tayuya summoned her three demons, which she controlled with her flute and easily gained the upper hand against Shikamaru, while at the same time activating stage one of her cursed seal. Being unable to read her music, Shikamaru had to fall back and build a strategy. When he finished, he had nine moves. As he used them, Tayuya used her Doki to block them, while Shikamaru observed her finger positions and how her Doki reacted to them. He eventually took control of the three with his shadow, telling her how he found shōgi fun because he can take over his opponent's pieces. Shikamaru then attacked her with the three demons, prompting Tayuya to de-summon them. Tayuya, activating the second stage of her cursed seal, resisted Shikamaru's shadow, even when he used his Shadow–Neck Binding Technique attempting to choke her.

Picking up the kunai that had missed her she tried to slit his throat but was suddenly punched in the gut and caught by his shadow again, and sees that he broke his finger in order to break out of the genjutsu, revealing that he only pretended to fall prey to her genjutsu. Shikamaru then explained about his plan and how he missed with that kunai on purpose to get her to come closer while he then prepared his Shadow–Neck Binding Technique. However, thanks to the brute strength awarded by the Level 2 of her cursed seal, Tayuya was eventually able to overcome him again after the shadow had shifted back and forth and was almost able to kill Shikamaru.

Temari, however, arrived at the last second, and blew her away with a strong gust of wind. She then tried to use her genjutsu, but Temari blew the sound-waves away and damaged her flute. She then went into hiding. Shikamaru and Temari then discussed their situation. After Shikamaru suggested a retreat, Temari disregarded the suggestion and proceeded to use her Summoning: Quick Beheading Dance to destroy a large part of the forest. When the attack reached the tree Tayuya was hiding behind, it sliced it up, slashing her several times, causing her to scream in pain. Several sliced tree trunk parts then fell on Tayuya's body, crushing her lower half and killing her. Her body then reverted to its original form as she laid dead on the forest floor.

Shinobi World War Arc
In the anime, Tayuya was reincarnated by Kabuto Yakushi along with her Sound Four team-mates during the Fourth Shinobi World War. She was deployed with Jirōbō at the Land of Lightning's coast and fought Shikamaru again. Despite losing even when her body was enhanced by her summoner due to her opponent having become more skilled since their last battle, Tayuya quickly reconstructed herself and cast the Space–Time Technique Formula: Underworld Turnover to teleport herself and Shikamaru to another location where her comrades have brought their respective opponents to. Tayuya rejoins her comrades in the Underworld Turnover barrier and they continue their battles with their enemies, switching opponents while Shikamaru comes up with an analysis. To reward them for their attempted efforts, Tayuya reveals that even their defeats will not release the barrier. Their battles rage on as the Sound Four overwhelm the Konoha shinobi with the hatred they hold for them. Taking advantage of this, Shikamaru continues to bait their hate to lure Naruto to the barrier and break his comrades free. With the souls of their most hated enemies freed, Tayuya and her comrades decide to take out their hatred on Naruto, only to be easily defeated before their souls return to the afterlife.

Legacy
Having used the DNA of the Sound Five in his experiments during his quest to find himself, Kabuto Yakushi gained access to Sakon and Ukon's kekkei genkai which allowed him to access the DNA of the other Sound Five members within his body by creating constructs of them which appeared from the base of his navel-snake. By using Kimimaro's Shikotsumyaku, he could create a bone flute and employ Tayuya's sound-based genjutsu.

Trivia

 * The flute melody Tayuya used to control the Doki was in later episodes, used as background music in the Naruto anime.
 * Tayuya made a brief appearance in an omake in Naruto Shippūden episode 129, as she is seen walking around the festival.
 * Tayuya's hair is shown as dark pink in the manga. In the anime, it has a colour closer to red, but becomes pink when she enters cursed seal stage 2.
 * According to the databook(s):
 * Her favourite phrase was . This phrase is short for . This phrase was said by the Gautama Buddha when he was born as Prince Siddhārtha. Nowadays, the short version is an idiom referring to a conceited and arrogant person.
 * Her hobby was playing the flute.
 * Tayuya has completed 46 official missions in total: 20 D-rank, 15 C-rank, 8 B-rank, 2 A-rank, 1 S-rank.

Quotes

 * "I'll play you the melody of death!"
 * "No one has survived the sound of my flute."
 * "You said this was your last hand, right? I'm afraid it's reverse checkmate, you damn rat!"
 * "He's an amazing piece of trash."
 * (To Shikamaru) "For an idiot like you, to understand the complexity of the melody isn't too bad. But there is no way that you can completely comprehend this song."
 * (To the Sasuke Retrieval Team) "Maybe you idiots can't handle it, but I can."
 * (To Shikamaru) "You fool. One little midget, what are you going to do? And also, look at what happened. Each time, in order to move forward, you sacrificed one of your members, didn't you? Is that guy Sasuke so precious to you? Just for the sake of one person… How many of your team members are you willing to lose? You mindless worm."
 * (To Kimimaro) "I don't care if you kill me, all that matters is you'll die too."