Tayuya

was the kunoichi of Orochimaru's Sound Four.

Personality
Tayuya was overbearing and foul-mouthed towards most people, especially Jirōbō, calling him "fatty", as he criticized 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. Of the Sound Four, Tayuya was the only member to show a sense of morality, as she berated Shikamaru for sacrificing his team-mates to bring back one person who voluntarily left.

Abilities
Tayuya was the only one of the members of the Sound Four that actually used sound as a weapon; her main weapon was a flute, and with it she could control her Doki. Tayuya was very intelligent, and could think of excellent strategies, though not quite on par with Shikamaru. According to Shikamaru, she would probably also "be very good in shogi". She could also perform genjutsu, which she called Demonic Flute: Dream Sound Chain. Her preference for sound-based, long-range combat with her flute made her vulnerable to close-range combat, as the flute was her only weapon. Tayuya also has great durability, she carried Sasuke throughout the forest without getting tired, after she and her team fought two Konoha Jonin in their Curse seal form. She was able to outlast Shikamaru, when he and her were struggling when she was bound by the Shadow Imitation Technique.

When in Level 2 Cursed Seal form, her hair grew longer, her skin turned dark brown, and she grew several horns on her head. She also gained immense strength, which allowed her to overcome even Shikamaru's various shadow jutsu. She claimed to be the second strongest member of the Sound Four, inferior only to Sakon.

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

Sasuke Retrieval Arc
The Sound Four escorted Sasuke Uchiha when he decided to join sides with Orochimaru. When Team Shikamaru caught up with the Sound Four, they managed to take the barrel Sasuke was being carried in from her. While trying to take it back, she was confronted by Kimimaro, who threatened to kill her if she didn't deal with some of the Konoha ninja resulting in her fighting Shikamaru Nara.

Tayuya summoned three demons, that she controlled with her flute and easily gained the upperhand against Shikamaru. Being unable to read her music he eventually took control of the three with his shadow, telling her how he found Shogi fun because he can take over his opponent's pieces. Shikamaru then attacked with the three demons prompting Tayuya to remove the demons but she was still caught by his shadow. By activating the second stage of her cursed seal, Tayuya was able to resist Shikamaru's shadow.

Picking up a kunai that had missed her earlier she tried to slit his throat but was suddenly punched in the gut and caught by his shadow again, 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 close while he then prepared his Shadow Neck Bind Technique. When she started relying on brute strength after going into Level 2 of her cursed seal, Tayuya was almost able to kill Shikamaru. Temari, however, arrived at the last second, and killed Tayuya first by using her Summoning: Quick Beheading Dance to destroy the forest, causing the sliced trees to fall on Tayuya and crush her.

Other Media
Tayuya is a playable character in three of the Naruto: Ultimate Ninja, as well as Naruto: The Broken Bond and Naruto: Gekitō Ninja Taisen! 4. She also appears as an assist character in Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm. Tayuya is the only one of the Sound Four to appear in various Naruto Shippūden ending skits.

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."

Trivia

 * The flute melody Tayuya used to control the Doki was in later episodes, used as background music in the Naruto anime.
 * Tayuya bears a striking resemblance to both Amaru and Sasame. All three have long red/orange hair, wear a hat, and have a single lock of hair coming down between their eyes.
 * Tayuya made a brief appearance in an omake in Naruto Shippūden episode 129, as she is seen walking around the festival.
 * Tayuya's way of using her flute is similar to Menma's and Shiin's, also Tayuya and Menma's share similar hair partings between their eyes only reversed positions.
 * 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.
 * Tayuya is not seen in the Hidden Leaf Village Grand Sports Festival! OVA.
 * According to the Naruto Official Databook:
 * Tayuya has completed 46 official missions in total: 20 D-rank, 15 C-rank, 8 B-rank, 2 A-rank, 1 S-rank.