Every TAILED Beast in Naruto! (Explained)

Updated on: July 27, 2022
by Ernie

Those familiar with the Naruto anime or manga may have heard about these powerful demons or tailed beasts in the shinobi world. But many are left wondering how these beasts came to be, their origins, how are they so powerful, and which one is the strongest. This guide will help you understand the Tailed Beasts and their unique abilities.

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What Are Tailed Beast in Narutoverse? - Explained

A long time ago, way before the hidden villages existed, there was the sage of six paths. His name was Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki, he was ridiculously powerful and is known as the father of all shinobi. The ten tails was wreaking havoc in the village, killing a lot of innocents in the process, to put an end to this, Hagoromo sealed it in his own body.

This brought peace to the villages nearby, but the fear of the ten tails escaping was always looming over Hagoromo’s head. If he were to die, then the ten tails would once again be free and go on a rampage. So to put an end to this beast, Asura, the son of Hagoromo gave a brilliant idea of splitting the ten tails into 9 different tailed beats so as to contain the power more easily.

Coming back to the time around Naruto’s birth, people had figured out how to harness the power of these tailed beasts. These tailed beasts used to cause a lot of destruction due to ill-treatment from the shinobis. Nevertheless, the shinobis would capture these tailed beasts and seal them away in a newborn child. This child will act as a prison for the beast, the child who has a tailed beast inside him/her is called a Jinchuriki. Once sealed away these beasts can’t escape, they’re free only when the Jinchuriki dies.

If the tailed beast is extracted from the body of the Jinchuriki, he/she will die immediately. But having a tailed beast inside a shinobi isn’t the worst thing for him/her. The Jinchuriki if trained properly, can actually harness the power of the beast. The chakra that these Jinchuriki have is enormous making the Jinchuriki almost invincible.

Now that we know these powerful beings came into existence, we can deep dive into each one’s powers and lore.

9. Shukaku - One-Tailed Beast

Staring the list with the one-tailed beast, also known as Shukaku. It is a giant Tanuki i.e. raccoon that is completely composed of sand. He has blue markings all over his body and has giant fangs which look deadly, to say the least. It was first introduced in episode 78 of Naruto anime and chapter 134 of the manga.

Before Hagoromo died, he had sent Shukaku to protect a temple in the desert which is known as the land of wind in the anime. There he was captured for the first time and taken back to the village hidden in the sands. Here he was used as a weapon of mass destruction. Shukaku gave the Kazekage leverage to negotiate with the rival villages.

Though the desert village prospered due to the presence of Shukaku, the people in the village hated him. They though he was nothing more than a demon which needs to be sealed. Shukaku and the 9 tails i.e. Kurama are bitter rivals as Kurama thinks Shukaku is the weakest in all the tailed beasts.

Shukaku has a unique set of abilities that become the most destructive when he’s in the desert. The major powers of Shukaku come from his wind and earth release, in addition to this, he also has a Keke Genkai, Magma Release, making him even more scary and powerful.

Shuakaku can also manipulate sand, it is one of his most powerful abilities. This ability is mostly used by Gaara in anime.

8. Matatabi - Two-Tailed Beast

Matatabi is a monstrous-looking wild cat, it looks like it is entirely composed of blue flames and nothing else. It has black-colored patterns all over its body. Matatabi was first introduced in episode 72 of the Naruto Shippuden anime and chapter 313 of the manga. Matatabi was sent out to protect a temple in the Canebrake region, but unfortunately in the first ninja war, it was captured by Hashirama Senju and later given as a token of friendship to the lightning village to maintain parity.

Though Matatabi has a threatening look, it is the most polite tailed beast. Due to this, the bond between it and the human jinchuriki happens easily. As we mentioned earlier the entirety of Matatabi is covered in blue flames, this is because of its Chakra release. Matatabi doesn’t have any Keke Genkai and only has the fire release.

In addition to these blue flames, Matatabi also gives the Jinchuriki cat like abilities.

7. Isobu - Three Tailed Beast

Isobu is a giant turtle-like creature with three tails. The upper shell of his body is grey whilst the body is pinkish-red in color. The entire shell is covered in spikes to protect it from direct physical attacks. Hagoromo had sent Isobu out to protect the temple near a misty lake, which is the land of water in the Naruto anime. It was captured by Hashirama Senju, but due to his pacifist nature, he gave the beast away to the village hidden in the mist to balance the power between the leaf and the mist.

Decades later, the three tails were sealed inside Rin by Madara. This was done to cause destruction in the leaf village, he had made Rin into a time bomb. But sensing the evil plans of Madara, Rin got herself killed by Kakashi, saving millions of livers in the process.

Unlike Shukaku, Isobu is very timid and doesn’t speak too much. He is rather friendly with humans due to which the Jinchuriki of Isobu doesn’t have a hard time harnessing its power. Isobu uses water and yen release, in addition to this he can also manipulate mist causing hallucinations.

6. Son Goku - Four-tailed Beast

Next on the list is the four-tailed beast who goes by the name Son Goku. Son Goku is a big red gorilla with sharp fangs and spikes over his 4 tails. The appearance of Son Goku is threatening to say the least. It was first introduced in chapter 567 of the manga and episode 165 of the Shipudden anime. Just like every other beast, Son Goku was also sent to protect a temple.

He was supposed to protect the temple in the land of the earth, Hashirama Senju captured him and gave it away to the stone village as a sign of friendship. Son Goku doesn’t like fighting for humans, he thinks he is being enslaved by the humans. He is a very proud creature with an intimidating personality. His releases include earth, fire, lava, and also some taijutsu. Along with this he also has an arsenal of powerful justsu.

5. Kokou - Five-Tailed Beast

Kokou has the most interesting and weird design out of all the tailed beasts. It has the body of a horse and the face of a catfish. Kokou is white in color and the color changes to light orange near the tails. It was first introduced in chapter 566 of the manga and episode number 165 of Naruto Shippuden. It was sent to defend the temple in the forest where it resided until Hashirama captured it. He then gave it away to the Iwagakure as a token of friendship.

The 5 tails was later extracted from its Jinchuriki by the Akatsuki. The 5 tails beast has fire and water release along with the Keke Genkai boil release. Kokou can also use some jutsu unique to himself like boil unrivaled strength and horn breaking. Kokuo is rather friendly with humans and has a lot of willpower.

4. Saiken - Six-Tailed Beast

Saiken is a large slug creature with long poking eyes just like snails. The body is entirely covered in a white slimy substance of some kind and he has a tint of blue as well. It has baby arms and legs which are rather useless in combat. Saiken or the 6 tails was first introduced in chapter 467 of the manga and episode 151 of the Shippuden anime. Before Hagoromo’s death, he sent Saiken to a humid region to defend a temple there.

Hashirama captures it eventually and gives it away to the village hidden in the mist to maintain a balance of power. Saiken only uses the water release but combines this with his unique abilities and he is a force to be reckoned with. He uses bubbles and slime to slow down enemies whilst hitting them hard with his water release.

3. Chomei - Seven-Tailed Beast

Chomei the seven tails is a large rhinoceros beetle with its tails ressembling wings. The body is blue in color and wings are a combination of yellow and orange. This majestic beast was first introduced in chapter 467 and episode 165. He was sent to defend a temple in a closed forest that had a lot of moss covering it.

There it defended the temple until Hashirama finally captured it. Just like every other beast on the list, Hashirama gave this one away to maintain parity between the leaf and the village hidden in the waterfall. Chomei is the only tailed beast who isn’t in the hands of one of the 5 great Shinobi nations. Chomei is a playfully tailed beast who takes things too lightly. It doesn’t make use of any releases instead it uses a variety of bug-related Jutsu that destroy its enemies.

2. Gyuki - Eight-Tailed Beast

Gyuki is one of the most popular Tailed beasts in the Naruto fandom. It is a combination of an Ox and an Octopus which is a pretty odd combination. The 8 tails has a brownish-purple hue to it. It has a monstrous size that dwarfs even the largest mountains. We saw it for the first time in episode 143 and chapter 413. Gyuki right after Hagoromo’s death was sent to protect a temple in an area covered with tall mountains.

Hashirama eventually captured it and gave it away to the Kumigakure. Gyuki is one of the most powerful tailed beasts on the planet and it was under Killer B’s control for a long time. Killer B harnessed the power of Gyuki with great precision, he alone is powerful enough to take on an entire village. Gyuki doesn’t have any release, he instead uses various techniques known to him. Despite his lack of releases, he still is the second strongest Tailed beast after Kurama!

1. Kurama - Nine-Tailed Beast

Kurama is by far the strongest and the most popular tailed beast. He has an aggressive appearance which matches his orange fur. Kurama is really proud of himself due to him having the most number of tails. He is really hard to take control of and doesn’t like to be used as a human slave just like Son Goku. Hagoromo had sent him to the land of fire to protect a temple where he resides.

The gold and silver brothers were sent to capture Kurama but failed miserably, Kurama just swallowed them like it was no big deal. Somehow they managed to break free from Kurama gaining some of his powers. Later on, Madara Uchiha took control over Kurama, enslaving Kurama was no easy feat, but Madara Uchiha was one of the strongest Shinobi that ever lived. He used Kurama in a fight against Hashirama Senju, even with the immense power of Kurama Madra was no match for Hashirama.

Kurama being too aggressive, Hashirama thought it would be wise to seal him away. Mito Uzumaki was the first Jinchuiki of Kurama. Later on, Kushina took the burden of sealing Kurama. But during Naruto’s birth, Obita set in motion a plan which involved targeting the week Kushina during child birth. This caused the nine tails to break free causing a rampage. Minato then sealed the ninetails inside Naruto their own child, killing him and his wife in the process.

Kurama uses wind and fire release to destroy his enemies. With so many years of hating on the other tailed beasts, Kurama has developed a sense of pride due to which he can detect negative emotions.

Final Verdict

Along with the above-mentioned powers, all the tailed beasts are capable of using the tailed beast bomb which is the most devastating Jutsu. One single tailed beast bomb is enough to obliterate entire villages. Every tailed beast have their own unique abilities and personalities, though many think Kurama is the strongest he might not be.

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Every TAILED Beast in Naruto! (Explained)

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