Tōjūrō

Tōjūrō is consumed by ambition, set on succeeding Ebizō as head of the Suna Council, and he insists the village and its future come before all else. Fearful of losing the Kazekage bloodline to Konoha through Temari's marriage to Shikamaru Nara, he pressures Kankurō and Gaara to take wives and produce heirs for Suna's sake. Yet his loyalty answers only to his own vision of the village: like Danzō Shimura he quietly undermines the Kazekage, foments secret rebellion to keep himself needed, and even wishes the Kazekage Clan driven out entirely.

Sharing the outlook of others from his generation such as Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane, he holds little regard for Suna's youth. He relishes watching young shinobi grovel, more so the handsome ones, envious of a vitality he feels slipping away as age pulls him down from the summit. That scorn blinds him to how formidable and cunning the new generation has become, and he badly underestimates them. He is also hopelessly baffled by computers and technology, tools beyond his era.

Holding the council's second seat speaks to Tōjūrō's considerable intelligence. In his prime he built his name on taijutsu, his nimble, lightly moving body his trademark, and his mastery of hand-to-hand combat earned him a reputation as Suna's strongest. He also excelled at Wind Release, the Summoning Technique, and genjutsu, standing above his peers in every discipline.

A gifted shinobi in his youth, Tōjūrō retired a few years before the series to a council seat and climbed to the number two rank, openly coveting the leadership once Ebizō's health fails. In Gaara Hiden: A Sandstorm Mirage he leads the elders in urging Gaara to accept an arranged marriage meeting to continue his bloodline, and Gaara agrees to meet the chosen girl. In reality Tōjūrō had strong-armed the Hōki Family heiress Hakuto into the match hoping she would flee to elope with her lover Shigezane, publicly humiliating the Kazekage, while plotting to have an Ishigakure terrorist group assassinate him. After Gaara defeats the Ishi terrorists, Tōjūrō meets with Maizuru, hinting he would rather Kankurō assume the Kazekage's duties, and settles back satisfied that he has secured his own indispensability. As the pro-Kankurō faction seems to sweep Suna, he gleefully orders Maizuru to arrest Kankurō for staging a coup, only to discover to his horror that Maizuru and all the pro-Kankurō shinobi are Kankurō's puppets, backed by computer trickery and filming beyond his understanding. Beaten, he surrenders, and he and his fellow conspirators are finally arrested, freeing Suna's future from the old guard clinging to its war-torn past.