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The tailed beasts are the nine titanic behemoths within the Naruto series. They
are differentiated by the number of tails they have, ranging from one to nine. The
tailed beasts are living forms of chakra, sometimes referred to as "Chakra Monsters",
giving them power that far outmatches most shinobi. The tailed beasts' chakra is
According to some, the immense strength that the tailed beasts possess is tempered by their bestial nature, which restricts them from being intelligent enough to use it effectively, thus when the tailed beasts are sealed within humans, they are able to benefit from the knowledge of their hosts, giving them the ability to better utilise their powers. However, this was proven to be false, as the tailed beasts themselves are in fact sapient individuals with their own personalities and emotions, and because of their power, they were sought out by countless humans throughout the ages, and were usually treated as mere tools to be used or taken, a sentiment they absolutely detest. In addition, they are well aware of their origin and the state of the ninja world.
They also have the ability to communicate telepathically with each other and their jinchuriki, and possess several levels of consciousness. There is the initial level where the beast may appear in a habitat of sorts seemingly imprisoned in some way by whatever fuinjutsu that sealed them. The second level is where all the tailed beasts can convene, free of any restrictions and communicate with one another. The jinchuriki are also able to enter there, but in order to do so, they must be completely linked with their tailed beasts.
The tailed beasts are also able to freely transfer their chakra to whomever they choose, and as Kurama has noted, is a less complicated process for them than it is for humans.
In the beginning of ninja history, centuries before the founding of the ninja
villages, there existed a god-like entity known as the Ten-Tails, which plagued
the world until the Sage of the Six Paths defeated and sealed the beast within himself,
making him the first jinchuriki. However, knowing that his death would release the
Ten-Tails back into the world, the Sage used his ability, the "Creation of All Things",
to divide its chakra into the nine tailed beasts, before using Chibaku Tensei to
seal its body in what would become the moon. Some time after being created, the
Sage gave each of the young tailed beasts a name and told them that they would always
be together, even when separated. He also told them that one day, they would become
one entity again with a different name as well as forms than they did at that time;
when the time came for them to understand what true power was. Despite their close
relation to one another, there is a significant amount of friction between them.
One such cause was due to Kurama's belief that their strength was determined by
their number of tails.
By the time of the formation of the shinobi villages, Hashirama Senju, the First Hokage, used his Wood Release techniques to capture and give several tailed beasts to the other shinobi villages as peace treaties, in order to stabilise the balance of power between them. However, after Hashirama's death, the villages had trouble containing the beasts themselves and they began to run wild, so the villages instead moved to seal the tailed beasts within humans. In order to ensure that the jinchuriki wouldn't turn traitor, it has been common practice to choose the jinchuriki from the village's Kage family, such as a sibling or a spouse. The strength of the jinchuriki would then be used to protect the village and be a living display of the Kage's power. Throughout history, very few people have ever gained full control over a tailed beast. Despite this, some have been able to use the power of the tailed beasts outside of actually becoming true jinchuriki. The legendary Gold and Silver Brothers became Kurama's pseudo-jinchuriki, as they were once devoured by it, but managed to survive by consuming some of its own normally-deadly flesh, becoming tinged with its chakra.
With the power of the Sharingan, Madara Uchiha was able to control the Nine-Tails and use it during his battle with Hashirama Senju. During the battle, however, control of the beast was wrested from him, and he was thought to be defeated at the Valley of the End. However it was later revealed that he had in fact survived the altercation, and obtained Hashirama's DNA - his true purpose for the encounter. Integrating Hashirama's DNA into his wounds, Madara awakened the Rinnegan shortly before the end of his natural lifespan. With it, he was able to summon the vessel of the Ten-Tails from the moon. However, using artificial means to expand his life, Madara was unable to carry out his plan to revive the Ten-Tails. As such he passed on this task to a young Obito Uchiha who had come to share his view on the world after Rin Nohara's death.
With the help of Akatsuki, by the time of the Fourth Shinobi World War, seven of the nine tailed beasts had been sealed into the statue. Later, all the beasts were resealed into their respective, reincarnated hosts which had been made into a personalised Six Paths of Pain. Irked by the slow progress of the plan, Tobi accompanied by the statue entered the battlefield to obtain the Benihisago and Kohaku no Johei which contained the Gold and Silver Brothers who were pseudo-jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails. Despite not having sealed the Eight and Nine-Tails entirely — only possessing portions of their power, Tobi decided to begin the plan as the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path undergoes a painful regeneration into the Ten-Tails. When Madara realised that the plan had begun without the Eight and Nine-Tails being absorbed, he attempted to rectify this. Despite Naruto and Killer B's attempt to destroy the Demonic Statue while in mid-transformation, it is successfully restored into the Ten-Tails, albeit in an incomplete form.
|Shukaku - One Tail|
Shukaku, more commonly known as the One-Tail, is a tailed beast that was last sealed within Gaara of Sunagakure. It has been captured by Deidara, then extracted and sealed by Akatsuki.
Citizens of Sunagakure came to believe that Shukaku was a living ghost of a corrupted
Suna priest, and was originally sealed inside a tea kettle.
Shukaku had two previous jinchuriki, one of which inspired the Third Kazekage to create the Iron Sand technique. Shukaku was eventually removed from their bodies, resulting in their deaths.
When Karura became pregnant with Gaara, her husband, the Fourth Kazekage, had Chiyo to seal Shukaku into Gaara while he was still in the womb, because of his three children, Gaara was the only compatible one with the beast. Before Karura died from a premature childbirth, she passionately told her son that she would protect him and according to her husband, her love seeped into the sand. However, Gaara couldn't properly control Shukaku's powers, killing or injuring several of Suna's shinobi and citizens. Deemed a failure, the Fourth Kazekage chose to test his son, ordering Yashamaru to assassinate him and also tell him that his mother never loved him, and that she was used as a human sacrifice for the sealing process. Gaara failed the test, fully releasing the rampaging Shukaku, to which the Fourth eventually used his Gold Dust to subdue the tanuki.
Like all tailed beasts, Shukaku foremost has an enormous supply of chakra and can perform the Tailed Beast Ball. The tanuki is also able to use Wind Release nature transformation, which it uses to perform powerful attacks such as the Wind Release: Drilling Air Bullet which can create giant craters upon impact. Most notable of the the beast's power is its ability to manipulate sand, using it as an effective weapon. At fully-released form, Shukaku's body is completely made of sand; as such he can ignore most damage that would otherwise be detrimental, as shown when he had one of his arms chopped off by Gamabunta and was still able to keep on fighting. Whenever Shukaku is sealed into its jinchuriki, it has the ability to eat away its host's personality, and influence him or her with its bloodlust behaviour whenever he or she sleeps, which leads its host to develop insomnia.
During Gaara's time as the Fifth Kazekage, Deidara and Sasori from the Akatsuki were assigned to capture Shukaku. After Deidara defeated Gaara in combat and took him to Akatsuki's lair in the Land of Rivers, Shukaku was forcefully extracted from Gaara and placed within the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path. Though the extraction killed him, Gaara was resurrected through Chiyo's One's Own Life Reincarnation technique and has still retained the ability to control sand.
|Matatabi - Two Tail|
Matatabi, more commonly known as the Two-Tails, is a tailed beast that was sealed within Yugito Nii of Kumogakure. It has been captured by Hidan and Kakuzu, then extracted and sealed by Akatsuki. It was later resealed into a reincarnated Yugito during the Fourth Shinobi World War.
Like Shukaku, many people believed that Matatabi was once a human that turned into a living ghost. Matatabi eventually fell into the possession of Kumogakure and was sealed within Yugito Nii when she was two years old. She was placed into a detestable training program in order to learn to control Matatabi's power. In the anime, Yugito agreed to have Nekobaa collect Matatabi's paw print for the Paw Encyclopaedia. In a cavern behind the Falls of Truth, where jinchuriki learn to control their tailed beasts' power, there are wall murals of Matatabi and Gyuki, which indicates how long they were associated with the Land of Lightning.
Matatabi has flexible muscles, which grant it great speed despite its large size. Its brute strength is enough to initially pummel Kakuzu, who had attempted to use brute force to stop its paw, forcing him to use his Earth Release: Earth Spear to survive the attacks. It is able to breathe fireballs which are powerful enough to destroy a sewer and the building above. As a tailed beast, Matatabi is able to create a Tailed Beast Ball.
Soon after her introduction, Yugito was captured by two Akatsuki members, Hidan and Kakuzu, although it is unknown who was specifically assigned to capture her. Despite luring her two pursuers into a closed space, sealing the exits, and transforming herself into Matatabi, Yugito was overpowered and rendered unconscious by the two Akatsuki members. Zetsu later arrived to take her off their hands, and she later died as a result of having the tailed beast extracted from her.
During the Shinobi World War; after Son Goku is resealed into the Demonic Statue
of the Outer Path, Tobi, who is intent on going all-out from this point on, forces
Yugito to fully transform into Matatabi. Preparing to attack the shinobi, Matatabi
along with the other four beasts creates Tailed Beast Balls. These attacks, however,
are deflected by Naruto and they are rebuffed by a now fully-transformed Naruto.
Wasting no time in their attacks, Matatabi attempts to attack while Kurama is incapacitated
by Saiken, but instead has Saiken slammed into it with such force that it is sent
flying. With this, the opposing beasts prepare a collaborative Tailed Beast Ball
which is met by one from Naruto and Kurama.
As Naruto enters a deeper level of Kurama's consciousness, he meets the remaining five tailed beasts and their jinchuriki. Summoning Naruto before it, it tells the young man that it intended to keep the promise it made to Son Goku. As it tells Naruto to stretch out his hand, the giant cat introduces itself. Later, as the beast is freed from the chakra receiver, it affirms Kurama's belief that Naruto was the person the Sage of the Six Paths had spoken about so long ago before being resealed into the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path
|Isobu - Three Tail|
Isobu, more commonly known as the Three-Tails, is a tailed beast that was formerly sealed in Yagura of Kirigakure. It has been captured by Deidara and Tobi, then sealed by Akatsuki. It was later resealed into a reincarnated Yagura during the Fourth Shinobi World War.
At some point in the past, Isobu fell into the possession of Kirigakure and was sealed within Yagura, the Fourth Mizukage. However when Akatsuki went after it, the turtle was in the wild; the story behind how it came to be like this is still unknown. It was also stated by Tsunade in the anime that Isobu disappeared after a great war.
In the anime, Orochimaru instructed Kabuto Yakushi and Team Guren to take a young
boy named Yukimaru to a lake. After they arrived, Kabuto forced Yukimaru to release
all of his chakra, which caused Isobu to begin to surface from the lake. With Guren's
help, the beast was completely revealed, and they attempted to capture it. Their
attempts proved insufficient, however, and the beast created a large tidal wave
to wash its attackers away.
The tidal wave gained the attention of a nearby group of Konohagakure ninja, who tried to use Four-Corner Sealing Barrier to permanently trap the beast in its own dimension. Just as the sealing began to work, the Konoha ninja were interrupted by Guren, which prompted the beast to attack them all. Yukimaru was able to calm the beast down temporarily, but, after he became tired, Isobu turned its attention to him. Guren and Naruto Uzumaki came to his defence, but were swallowed in the process. With the help of their allies on the outside, they were able to escape, and the Konoha ninja tried once more to seal the beast.
Just when the sealing was almost complete, Yukimaru, angered by the apparent death of Guren, empowered the beast to break free of its restraints. Isobu went on a rampage, attacking everyone nearby and crushing Nurari, Kigiri, and Kiho. Its attempts to attack Yukimaru, however, had no effect. It was only through the use of the Wind Release: Toad Oil Flame Bullet that the beast was driven away. The sealing attempt was left to ANBU members, and the remaining Konoha ninja returned home. Deidara and Tobi of Akatsuki soon found these ANBU members and disposed of them.
The beast's capture took place much earlier in the manga (at the start of the Hidan and Kakuzu Arc), but played out in much the same way as in the anime. Tobi and Deidara confronted the beast, to which it responded by beginning to chase Tobi. With Isobu distracted, Deidara moulded an explosive clay fish in an attempt to capture it. It was unclear if this marked the end of the battle, as the remainder of the battle went unseen. As the two towed Isobu to the Akatsuki's lair after the battle, Tobi gloated at bringing Isobu down with his special technique, but Deidara thought otherwise. It was later sealed in the sealing statue.
After Son Goku is resealed into the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, Tobi, who is intent on going all-out from this point on, forces Yagura to fully transform into Isobu.
Preparing to attack the shinobi, Isobu along with the other four beasts create Tailed Beast Balls. These attacks however, are deflected by Naruto and they are rebuffed by a now fully-transformed Naruto. Wasting no time in their attacks, Isobu evades Kurama's attack and then, rolling into a ball, attempts to attack the beast while Saiken had incapacitated it. It is however stopped by Gyuki. Freeing itself from the beast's grasp, it and the other opposing beasts prepare a collaborative Tailed Beast Ball which is met by one from Naruto and Kurama.
As Naruto enters a deeper plain of the tailed beasts' consciousness, Isobu introduces itself to the young man. Later, as the beast is freed from the chakra receiver it affirms Kurama's belief that Naruto was the person the Sage of the Six Paths had spoken about so long ago before being resealed into the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.
|Son Goku - Four Tail|
Son Goku, more commonly known as the Four-Tails, is a tailed beast sealed within Roshi of Iwagakure. It was captured by Kisame Hoshigaki, then extracted and sealed by Akatsuki. Son was later resealed into a reincarnated Roshi during the Fourth Shinobi World War.
Son Goku eventually fell into the possession of Iwagakure and was sealed into Roshi over forty years before the Fourth Shinobi World War, who later left Iwagakure in a journey to gain a better understanding and control of the tailed beast.
After an unseen and difficult battle with Kisame, Roshi was defeated and captured by the Akatsuki member. Son was later extracted and sealed, leading to Roshi's death.
During the Fourth Shinobi World War, Tobi forced Roshi to fully transform into
Son Goku and attack Killer B and Gyuki, managing to flip the latter over by its
tentacles. Later, Son attempted to swallow Naruto. Naruto tried to free himself
from between Son's jaws, but failed.
A chained-up Son asked Naruto, now inside the tailed beast, if he had come to steal its power. It lashed out when Naruto referred to it as the "Four-Tails", demanded that Naruto address it by its proper title. As their conversation continued, Son was shocked to discover Naruto to be an open, honest young man. After Son cursed humans for sealing the tailed beasts away and denying their existence, Naruto shared that he was once treated in a similar manner and that he hated to see someone like Tobi controlling the tailed beasts. After initially laughing at the prospect of Naruto, a jinchuriki, wanting to befriend his tailed beast, Son realised that Naruto's ambition was genuine and told him that there might be a way to stop its rampage if the chains that bound it were undone.
In parting, Son bumped fists with Naruto, now eager to know how to undo the chains. Son imparted that in the past he made it second-nature to never trust jinchuriki; it warned Naruto not to expect it to become his ally. Son proceeded to tell him the location of the chakra receiver embedded in its body. Naruto used shadow clones to force Son to vomit him up. A Naruto clone who stayed inside the tailed beast's mouth went into Sage Mode and push the receiver from the inside while he himself pulled it from the outside. Although Naruto succeeded, he quickly realised that Son was still bound. Son explained that the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path still held its chakra and that Naruto had only freed it from Tobi's control. As Naruto argued with the beast over wanting to save it completely and not just free it from Tobi's control, Son in disbelief of the young man's character, offered some of its chakra to Naruto, pleased that he genuinely tried to rescue it. Son was then resealed into the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, leaving Roshi's body behind.
In Fu's flashback of the time before Son was sealed, it was revealed that Roshi attempted to make amends with Son, wondering whether or not they could have traversed a path more similar to Naruto and Kurama's. Son told Roshi that if he wasn't so stubborn and hadn't forgotten its name all those years ago, it might have been possible. As the beast was resealed into the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, it parted on good terms with Roshi, who told it that he had never forgotten its name, but rather was too proud to address him properly. He then wondered if calling the beast "Son" would be appropriate.
|Kokuo - Five Tail|
Kokuo, more commonly known as the Five-Tails, is a tailed beast sealed within Han from Iwagakure. It has been captured, extracted, and sealed by Akatsuki. In the anime, Kokuo is indicated to have been one of the two tailed beasts that Akatsuki captured before the start of Part II. It was later resealed into a reincarnated Han during the Fourth Shinobi World War.
After Han's full transformation into Kokuo, he rammed into Gyuki and pushed it
a considerable ways back. Seemingly rushing towards the shinobi to attack them again,
Kokuo is restrained by Tobi. As the chain wraps around its neck, Kokuo comments
on the pain and laments about being controlled in this manner, revealing that for
an instant it had broken free of Tobi's control and attempted to attack him. Forced
back into its submissive Version 2-like state, it begins to attack the shinobi as
commanded. After Son Goku is resealed into the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path,
Tobi, who is intent on going all-out from this point on, forces Han to fully transform
Preparing to attack the shinobi, Kokuo along with the other four beasts create Tailed Beast Balls. These attacks however, are deflected by Naruto and they are rebuffed by a now fully-transformed Naruto. Wasting no time in their attacks, Kokuo attempts to attack Gyuki again while it is preoccupied with Isobu. The beast is however sent flying by Gyuki. With this, the opposing beasts prepare a collaborative Tailed Beast Ball which is met by one from Naruto and Kurama.
As Naruto enters a deeper plain of the tailed beasts' consciousness, Kokuo introduces itself to Naruto. Later as the beast is freed from the chakra receiver it affirms Kurama's belief that Naruto was the person the Sage of the Six Paths had spoken about so long ago before being resealed into the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.
|Saiken - Six Tail|
Saiken, more commonly known as the Six-Tails, is a tailed beast sealed within Utakata of Kirigakure. It has been captured by Nagato in the anime, then extracted and sealed by Akatsuki. It was later resealed into a reincarnated Utakata during the Fourth Shinobi World War.
Saiken eventually fell into the possession of Kirigakure and was sealed into Utakata. In the anime, it was revealed that at some point before his appearance, Utakata's master, Harusame, tried and failed to remove Saiken from within Utakata, intending to save his student from being a living weapon for his village. Utakata, however, having not heard what his master had said to him, later came under the assumption after the incident that his master had tried to kill him. This failed removal resulted in Utakata transforming into Saiken and killing Harusame.
In the manga, Saiken's capture is not seen. In the anime, before Taka began working with Akatsuki, Akatsuki was said to have seven tailed beasts. When Taka is sent to capture Gyuki, the group has only six, the seventh missing beast being Saiken. Utakata's capture is the subject of its own arc, though little is actually seen of Saiken outside of Utakata's transformations. Utakata is captured by the Six Paths of Pain at the end of the arc and Saiken was extracted from his body, resulting in his death.
After Utakata's full transformation into Saiken, he attacks Kakashi and Guy,
emitting a corrosive alkali from its mouth, which Kakashi warns Guy not to touch.
After Guy dissipates the gas with his Morning Peacock technique, Saiken prepares
to attack him again. After Son Goku is resealed into the Demonic Statue of the Outer
Path, Tobi, who is intent on going all-out from this point on, forces remaining
jinchuriki to transform into their respective tailed beasts.
Preparing to attack the shinobi, Saiken along with the other four beasts create Tailed Beast Balls. These attacks however, are deflected by Naruto and they are rebuffed by a now fully-transformed Naruto. Wasting no time in their attacks, Saiken attempts to incapacitate Kurama by swallowing its arm rendering it immobile. The beast is however swung into Matatabi, sending them both flying away. With this, the opposing beasts prepare a collaborative Tailed Beast Ball which is met by one from Naruto and Kurama.
As Naruto enters a deeper plain of the tailed beasts' consciousness, Saiken introduces itself to the young man. Later as the beast is freed from the chakra receiver it affirms Kurama's belief that Naruto was the person the Sage of the Six Paths had spoken about so long ago before being resealed into the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.
|Chomei - Seven Tail|
Chomei, more commonly known as the Seven-Tails, is a tailed beast sealed within Fu from Takigakure. It has been captured, extracted, and sealed by Akatsuki. In the anime, Chomei is indicated to have been one of the two tailed beasts that Akatsuki captured before the start of Part II. It was later resealed into a reincarnated Fu during the Fourth Shinobi World War.
After Son Goku is resealed into the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, Tobi, who
is intent on going all-out from this point on, forces Fu to fully transform into
Preparing to attack the shinobi, Chomei along with the other four beasts create Tailed Beast Balls. These attacks however, are deflected by Naruto and they are rebuffed by a now fully-transformed Naruto. After being grabbed mid-flight by Kurama, and sent plummeting to the ground and the other failed attacks by the other beasts, they prepare a collaborative Tailed Beast Ball which is met by one from Naruto and Kurama.
As Naruto enters a deeper plane of the tailed beasts' consciousness, Chomei introduces itself to the young man. Later as the beast is freed from the chakra receiver it affirms Kurama's belief that Naruto was the person the Sage of the Six Paths had spoken about so long ago before being resealed into the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.
|Gyuki - Eight Tail|
Gyuki, more commonly known as the Eight-Tails, is a tailed beast sealed within Killer B of Kumogakure after A's cousin, his cousin's uncle and cousin's father failed before him.
Gyuki eventually fell into the possession of Kumogakure. However, its ferocity
was so great that none of its former jinchuriki could control it. They would lose
control, and Gyuki would go on a rampage and destroy the village, requiring the
Third Raikage to form a special coalition to subdue it. During one of its rampages,
the Third fought Gyuki alone allowing his comrades to escape. During this encounter
the Third managed to cut all of the beast's tails off, but both him and Gyuki collapsed
with their techniques before they could finish the battle. During another encounter
the Third extracted it from its previous jinchuriki, and sealed it within the Kohaku
no Johei. Many villagers lost their lives during these episodes and Gyuki lost one
of its four horns to A after the said horn pierced Motoi's father. It was ultimately
sealed within Killer B, who was five at the time, through the Iron Armour Seal.
B would go on to tame and control Gyuki through rigorous training within the Falls
At some point in the past, one Kumo-nin attempted to mimic the Gold and Silver Brothers by eating one of Gyuki's chakra meat tentacles in the hopes of gaining the power like a jinchuriki, but died in the process
When Taka arrived at Kumogakure in an attempt to capture Killer B, he battled
them to the point of annoyance. With his great control over his demon, Killer B
transformed himself into Gyuki, and proceeded to terrorise Taka. As Gyuki attacked,
Suigetsu commanded a wave of water, attempting to defeat it. Gyuki understood that
Suigetsu had the advantage given that they were surrounded by water, so it then
charged a Tailed Beast Ball and fired it at Suigetsu, defeating him.
After Sasuke activated his Mangekyo Sharingan and released Amaterasu on Gyuki, it fell into pain by its flames. As one of its tails was about to fall on Karin, Sasuke cut it with Chidori Sharp Spear. Killer B disguised himself as the cut part of the tail and escaped. Killer B was then seemingly captured by Taka and was given to Tobi. Killer B's brother, the Fourth Raikage, swore that Akatsuki would pay for what they had done.
It was later revealed that Killer B faked his capture. After Taka left, he and Gyuki left the lake and Killer B took this opportunity to take a "vacation" from being a guardian. As Gyuki commented that a new era was coming, Killer B thought it was going to be his singing career.
Later during the five kage summit; as Kisame attacked Killer B, Gyuki demanded B to let him out. However, B reminded him that he would just kill Sabu and Ponta in the process of protecting itself. With this, Gyuki begrudgingly let B use the version 2 form, as well as giving B advice during the battle. However, as Kisame knocked B out, Gyuki yelled at him to wake up, as both B and it were nearly out of chakra. As Kisame then prepared to finish the battle, the Raikage and his bodyguards arrived and helped B kill "Kisame".
Naruto Uzumaki and Yamato entered the Land of Lightning, in the Allied Shinobi Forces' efforts to keep the jinchuriki away from Akatsuki, they were attacked by a giant squid. Killer B, in his full Eight-Tails form, forced the squid back and saved the ship. Upon seeing it, Naruto realised that Gyuki and B were the "octopus" he had been looking for to guide him to control Kurama's power. He asked B to train him, but B refused. After B was done training with some bears in the forest, Gyuki tried to convince B to train Naruto, stating that even though it wasn't fond of Kurama, it still thought B should train him since they are both jinchuriki.
|Kurama - Nine Tail|
KuramaKurama, more commonly known as the Nine-Tails, is a tailed beast currently sealed within Naruto Uzumaki of Konohagakure. The fox was first sealed into Mito Uzumaki after the battle at the Valley of the End, then into Kushina Uzumaki after Mito's death.
Over the centuries, Kurama has gained a reputation as an age-old natural disaster, appearing suddenly out of nowhere to attack areas that have breeding grounds for the darkest aspects of human nature. At one point during the time of the formation of the shinobi villages, the Gold and Silver Brothers of Kumogakure were assigned to capture Kurama, but they were both swallowed whole by the fox. However, the two brothers managed to survive and gain some of its power by eating the flesh of its stomach for two weeks, which caused Kurama to regurgitate them.
After that event, when Madara Uchiha defected from Konoha, he used his Sharingan
to control and use Kurama to help him fight against Hashirama Senju, the First Hokage,
to exact his revenge. The battle was so great, it created a vast crater that later
became known as the Valley of the End. Despite being in control of Kurama, Madara
was defeated and was believed to have died. At some point during the fight, Hashirama
was able to restrain Kurama, which allowed his wife, Mito Uzumaki, to seal the fox
within herself, becoming its first jinchuriki.
For over the period of the first two Shinobi World Wars, Mito kept Kurama at bay except on one event when the seal had begun to weaken as she was going through childbirth.Towards the end of her life, Mito passed on this status and responsibility to another member of her clan, Kushina Uzumaki, who later became the wife of Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage. Although Kushina was terrified with the responsibility of containing Kurama, Mito assured her successor that the fox's hatred was powerless against her love.
Twelve years before the start of the series, after the end of the Third Shinobi World War, the Third Hokage and his wife made preparations to ensure that Kurama would remain sealed within Kushina as she gave birth to Naruto. However, despite keeping her childbirth a secret, Obito Uchiha discovered Kushina's location, killed her escorts and managed to break the seal, seizing control of Kurama. Since Kushina survived the extraction, Obito tried to have Kurama kill her before Minato got her and their son to safety. Soon afterwards, Obito summoned Kurama into Konoha and ordered it to destroy the village.
While Kurama was rampaging in the village and decimating the shinobi forces that tried to repel it, Minato managed to place a Contract Seal on Obito during their fight to free the fox from the masked man's control. Despite no longer being in Obito's control, Kurama still harbored a deep hatred for Konoha for viewing it as nothing but a mindless beast and sealing it away for decades and resolved to destroy the village without orders from Obito. Before Kurama could annihilate Konoha, Minato summoned Gamabunta on top of the fox, and later teleported it to Kushina and Naruto's location, while letting its Tailed Beast Ball detonate away from the village. Soon afterwards, Kushina used her chakra chains to subdue Kurama, planning to seal it back inside her before she dies. However, Minato, knowing that Kurama would revive without a host and a threat the masked man still was to the village, came up with a different plan to give Konoha the means to combat him if he should ever attack the village again.
Since Minato himself couldn't fully seal Kurama as it was, he used the Dead Demon Consuming Seal to seal its Yin chakra within the death god and then prepared the Eight Trigrams Seal to imprison the fox, along with its Yang chakra, within Naruto. Kurama realised Minato's intention and attempted to stop the process by killing Naruto while Kushina was weakened, but both the parents sacrificed themselves to protect their newborn child and completed the sealing, with Kurama cursing the pair during its last moments of freedom.
In the anime, it was revealed that Kurama had left behind large amounts of its chakra during the attack. Kazuma collected and sealed the chakra within his own son, Sora, hoping to make use of its power for his own agenda.