Jinchūriki

This is the article on the term. For the chapter, head to Jinchūriki…!!.

Jinchūriki (人柱力, literally meaning: Power of Human Sacrifice) are humans that have tailed beasts sealed within them. They exhibit extraordinary powers due to the immense chakra reserves they possess.

History

A millennium ago, the world was terrorised by a rampaging, colossal monster known as the Ten-Tails. Eventually, through the combined efforts of the twin brothers, Hagoromo and Hamura Ōtsutsuki, the Ten-Tails was defeated and sealed within Hagoromo, becoming its jinchūriki.^[1] Throughout his travels, Hagoromo used the Ten-Tails’ power to perform many great deeds and promote peace during his lifetime, causing him to be revered as the “Sage of Six Paths”. Towards the end of his life, Hagoromo, knowing the Ten-Tails would be unleashed on the world again when he died, split its chakra into nine living entities called the tailed beasts.^[2]

Although humanity would for centuries exploit the tailed beasts as sources of power, it would not be until after the establishment of the hidden villages that the practice of creating jinchūriki resumed. The new hidden villages, each with their own tailed beasts, started sealing the beasts into selected villagers:^[3] in Konohagakure this was done to protect the village from its beast, the Nine-Tails;^[4] in Sunagakure, the abilities that manifested in their jinchūriki were studied so that non-jinchūriki could replicate them; more often than not, though, the jinchūriki were meant to be nothing more than military potential, with little regard for the jinchūriki or even the tailed beast.^[5]

Because of the difficulties involved when learning to control a tailed beast and the history the tailed beast itself may have with a village, jinchūriki are often hated and ostracised by their fellow villagers, treated as no different than the beast they contain. Members of Akatsuki report that villages are often glad to be rid of their jinchūriki.^[6] However, because a jinchūriki is so valuable an asset, it is not in the village’s interest to let them be captured or turn into missing-nin. To strengthen the jinchūriki’s bond with the village, it is tradition for them to be related to their village’s Kage: for example, Killer B is the adopted brother of the Fourth Raikage and Gaara is the youngest son of the Fourth Kazekage.^[7]

While many jinchūriki do indeed experience hardship in their early lives, either being mistreated by the majority of the village or dying in their failed attempts to control their tailed beasts, some are able to earn respect and recognition both within their village and in the wider world: Gaara and Yagura Karatachi becomes their villages’ Kage, while Killer B, Yugito Nii, and Naruto Uzumaki become regarded as heroes and icons of their villages, with Naruto also becoming a Kage eventually. Fifteen years after the Fourth Shinobi World War, Naruto and Killer B are the only two jinchūriki, as a result of the changes that came about.^[8] After Naruto losing Kurama via the Baryon Mode, Killer B is now the last Jinchūriki in existence.

Sealing

Jinchūriki typically have their tailed beasts sealed into them early in their lives – often shortly after birth – so that they can grow up acclimating to their beast. Which seal is used differs from village to village, with Konoha using the Eight Trigrams Sealing Style and Kumo using the Iron Armour Seal. In order for a jinchūriki to be successful in the long term, it is important for the jinchūriki to have special compatibility^[9] or simply unique chakra that can improve their chances.^[4] If a jinchūriki has been one for a long time, their chakra will naturally adapt to their tailed beast for better compatibility.^[10] In the case of the Ten-Tails, it is also necessary that its jinchūriki have a living body.^[11]

There are several ways in which a tailed beast can be removed from its jinchūriki. If the jinchūriki loses control of the beast or if the seal is simply allowed to weaken enough, the beast will be released. For female jinchūriki, seals are at their weakest during childbirth, due to the nurturing of the child in the womb taking precedence over the reinforcement of the seal. As such, another ninja is required to keep the seal intact during childbirth and restore it to full power afterwards.^[12] Akatsuki uses the Sealing Technique: Phantom Dragons Nine Consuming Seals to extract the tailed beasts and seal them within the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path for future use.

Typically, the removal of a tailed beast will cause immediate death for a jinchūriki. Two jinchūriki from the Uzumaki clan, however, have been shown to survive the initial removal of their tailed beast, but they are left severely weakened and/or left in a critical state.^[13] If a jinchūriki is able to hold on to or receive some of their beast’s chakra, that will also enable them to survive.^[14] The Ten-Tails’ jinchūriki can survive its removal so long as the Demonic Statue remains within them, though they will be completely paralysed for a time.^[15] Reincarnated jinchūriki can “survive” their beast’s removal since they are already dead, but they may lose consciousness in the process.^[16]

Abilities

Main articles: Jinchūriki Forms and Nine-Tails Chakra Mode A jinchūriki has access to their tailed beast’s massive chakra reserves. Most jinchūriki learn how to access this chakra on their own and take it by force, but they can also form a symbiosis with their tailed beast and take only what chakra is offered to them. A tailed beast may even give chakra to its jinchūriki without them knowing it, either to try and exert control over the jinchūriki, or simply to protect the jinchūriki and, by extension, itself. If a jinchūriki shares a good relationship with their tailed beast, they can have the beast in question to help them cancel a genjutsu for them.^[17]

In addition to the chakra reserves, jinchūriki gain abilities unique to the respective beast. As the jinchūriki transform themselves into the likeness of their tailed beasts, it further increases the power of their abilities. If they are able to survive their beast’s removal, they will still have access to those abilities.^[18]

• Shukaku’s jinchūriki can create magnetic forces and manipulate sand.
• Matatabi’s jinchūriki can produce blue flames.
• Isobu’s jinchūriki can materialise coral.
• Son Gokū’s jinchūriki can create and manipulate lava.
• Kokuō’s jinchūriki can use steam.
• Saiken’s jinchūriki can produce corrosive alkali.
• Chōmei’s jinchūriki can fly and, in the anime, create silk that can suppress chakra absorption techniques.
• Gyūki’s jinchūriki can produce ink.
• Kurama’s jinchūriki can quickly regenerate and detect negative emotions.
• The Ten-Tails’ jinchūriki can fly, create Truth-Seeking Balls, and awaken the Rinne Sharingan.

Control

Main article: Tailed Beast Control

The jinchūriki have the potential to control their tailed beasts’ power, but require intense training and sheer willpower in order to properly wield it. According to Gerotora, whenever the jinchūriki draws out a certain amount of the tailed beasts’ chakra, the beasts’ very own psyche will fuse along with it, which usually involves an inner struggle between them as the jinchūriki goes deeper into their tailed beasts’ forms. If a jinchūriki were to completely give into its influence, the seal will break and the tailed beast will be released.^[19] For the jinchūriki to have complete control, they must find something to fill in the void of loneliness within their hearts to give them strength.^[20]

Jinchūriki that have tamed their tailed beast can summon it outside of their bodies while retaining enough of their tailed beast’s chakra to avoid suffering the effects of death or critical condition that comes with a tailed beast extraction to fight on their behalf. Afterwards, the tailed beast has to either be resealed or is de-summoned back into the jinchūriki.

List of Jinchūriki

Shukaku

Bunpuku^{[Notes 1]}

Unspecified Jinchūriki^[21]

Gaara

Obito Uchiha

Naruto Uzumaki

Matatabi

Yugito Nii

Naruto Uzumaki

Isobu

Rin Nohara

Yagura Karatachi

Naruto Uzumaki

Son Gokū

Rōshi

Naruto Uzumaki

Kokuō

Han

Naruto Uzumaki

Saiken

Utakata

Naruto Uzumaki

Chōmei

Fū

Naruto Uzumaki

Gyūki

Blue B’s Father^[9]

Blue B’s Uncle^[9]

Blue B

Killer B

Obito Uchiha

Naruto Uzumaki

Kurama

Mito Uzumaki

Kushina Uzumaki

Naruto Uzumaki

Menma Namikaze (dream only)

Yin half

Yang half

Ten-Tails

Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki

Obito Uchiha

Madara Uchiha

Similar Cases

• In the anime, when someone has had tailed beast’s chakra sealed into themselves, but not the beast itself, that person is considered a pseudo-jinchūriki (人柱力もどき, jinchūrikimodoki, English TV: Simulated-jinchūriki).^[23] Sora and Hōichi are examples of this.
  • Naruto Uzumaki received chakra from eight of the tailed beasts without having them truly sealed in him, with the exception of the Nine-Tails. However, Naruto has been called their jinchūriki as well.^[24]
• The Gold and Silver Brothers were able to gain abilities similar to a jinchūriki by consuming some of the Nine-Tails’ flesh. Kumo ninja’s subsequent attempts to replicate this by eating the Eight-Tails’ tentacles caused only death. The Gold and Silver Brothers’ success was only because they are distantly related to the Sage of Six Paths.^[25]
• During the Three-Tails’ Appearance arc in the anime, Yūkimaru displayed the ability to synchronise with the Three-Tails, allowing him to summon and later control it through unknown means.
• In Sakura Hiden: Thoughts of Love, Riding Upon a Spring Breeze, Kido Tsumiki and his aid Magire use DNA samples of Naruto taken after his battle with Sasuke from the Valley of the End to create a Tailed Beast Drug that grants the consumer a chakra cloak with tails that can range from one to nine tails. The tails are capable of being used as a shield for deflecting kunai, taijutsu, or ninjutsu and are able to manifest into Tailed Beast Chakra Arms. However, if the user is rendered unconscious, the cloak will disappear.
• In the anime, Kabuto Yakushi used his Body Recreation Technique with some of Kurama’s chakra in order to create a clone of Naruto’s four-tailed form. Proving too powerful for Kabuto’s control, the clone is able to siphon Kurama’s chakra to temporarily increase his power.^[26]
• In Naruto Shippūden the Movie, Yomi was possessed by an evil demon named Mōryō.
• In Naruto Shippūden the Movie: Bonds, both Amaru and Shinnō each tapped into the power of the Zero-Tails at different times; however, because the Zero-Tails is not an actual tailed beast, nor was the creature sealed in either of them, Amaru and Shinnō are not considered jinchūriki.
• In Naruto the Movie: Blood Prison, Muku becomes possessed by a yōkai called Satori.
• In Road to Ninja: Naruto the Movie, Naruto’s counterpart in the Genjutsu World, Menma, is the jinchūriki of Kurama’s counterpart, the Black Nine-Tails.
• In Naruto Shippūden: Dragon Blade Chronicles, the main antagonist Kuroma Tatsushiro planned to merge with the five Genryū to become the Light Dragon so he can use its power to destroy the world, which Yamato and Naruto thought was similar to becoming a jinchūriki.
• In Naruto Shippūden: Kizuna Drive, Gensui Amagiri creates a special sealing tag which can transform someone into a false tailed beast.
• In Naruto Shippūden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Revolution, Mecha-Naruto is the “jinchūriki” of Mecha-Kurama. When Mecha-Naruto uses its awakening, it inserts itself in Mecha-Kurama and uses it as a suit.

Trivia

• The fictional term jinchūriki (人柱力, literally meaning: Power of Human Sacrifice) bears strong resemblance to the real Japanese word for supernatural or magical power, jintsūriki (神通力, literally meaning: God-Reaching Power).
• A full-term pregnancy for a female jinchūriki is about ten months.
• Takigakure is the only village not belonging to one of the Five Great Shinobi Countries known to have had a jinchūriki.^[27]
• There have been cases that both the tailed beasts and their jinchūriki are affected to a certain degree during a full moon:
  • According to Gaara, Shukaku’s blood-lust is especially strong during a full moon.^[28]
  • In the anime, Blue B, during his time as Gyūki’s jinchūriki, noted that he would have trouble sleeping during the nights of the full moon, because anytime he would stare at it, it would reflect the loneliness in his heart. Gyūki would take advantage of those moments of weakness and try to control over Blue B’s body. Blue B was also shown to take sleeping pills to help with this side-effect.^[29]
• In the anime, the six tailed beasts that were used by Tobi shared a voice actor with one of each other’s respective jinchūriki.
• If a person with a summoning contract with a tailed beast attempts to summon one while it is sealed within a jinchūriki, the summoning will fail, but the jinchūriki will experience excruciating pain.^[30]
• While it was strongly believed that jinchūriki who has their tailed beast remove will inevitably die, in the anime, certain cases showed otherwise. Harusame was confident he could safely remove Saiken from Utakata.^[31] Also, Menma Uzumaki^[32] and Menma Namikaze^[33] respectively received their tailed beasts without losing their mother, who was the previous jinchūriki of said tailed beast.

Notes

References