Jinchuuriki & Bijuu - Jinchuuriki" meaning the "power of human sacrifice", are those individuals possessing tailed demons within their bodies. The demons themselves are known by the number of tails their body possesses, and each has different characteristics. Shukaku ("Ichibi") is the One-Tailed Tanuki, "Nibi" is the Two-Tailed Cat, "Sanbi" is the Three-Tailed Turtle, "Yonbi" is a Four-Tailed Ape, "Gobi" is a Five-Tailed Horse-Whale, "Rokubi" is a Six-Tailed Gastropod, "Shichibi" is a Seven-Tailed Rhino Beetle, "Hachibi" is the Eight-Tailed Ox-Cephalopod and "Kyuubi" is the Nine-Tailed Fox. The only known named Jinchuuriki are Gaara of the Sand, Nii Yugito, Yagura, Roushi, Han, Utakata, Fuu, Killer Bee and Uzumaki Naruto. Sanbi is the only known bijuu without a host, though it was housed within a Mist ninja named Yagura at some point in the past.
The bijuu are creatures of great power and destruction, and all the ninja nations coveted that power and sought to make it their own as weapons. As various clans began to come together as villages, Shodai Hokage sought to stabilize the balance of power. He did so by capturing the Bijuu and offering them to specific villages. This unimaginable power proved difficult to manage however, requiring literal sacrifices to gain control. Several jutsu variations have been used to seal a bijuu within a human. Yondaime Hokage used his Shiki Fuujin technique to capture the rampaging Kyuubi and seal it within Naruto. The jutsu had a high price, resulting in his own death. The Ichibi Shukaku was sealed into the unborn body of Gaara, with the sacrifice taking the form of his mother, who died as a result of his birth.
Shukaku has previously been imbued into two Sand ninja. When their time as possessor came to an end, Shukaku was removed from their bodies at the cost of their own lives. Such a result has been the only shown way to remove the bijuu from a Jinchuuriki. It requires a Fuuin (Sealing) Jutsu capable of resonating at the same power frequency as that between the bijuu and their human host over a period of time. Akatsuki used one such method which took three days to accomplish, with that time increasing based on the number of members participating. This GenryuuKyuu Fuujin (Mystical Dragon Nine Exhaustion) was used to remove six bijuu, resulting in the deaths Gaara, Yugito, Roushi, Han, Utakata and Fuu.
The hope of Jinchuuriki creation is for the human and the tailed beast to resonate together, thereby granting the human some measure of their immense power. Each beast appears to interact with their host in unique ways, and grant their host power in different amounts. The life of a Jinchuuriki has been seen to be a difficult one. Many see the Jinchuuriki as the demon itself, and fear and shun them. This causes many to become dejected outcasts who become angry with the world. Gaara became crazy and felt alone because of his demon but he eventually gained his village's respect. Yuugito and Killer Bee were respected and loyal to their village. Naruto also grew angry with the world and turned to pranks to get everyone to recognize him. He was eventually accepted by the village. Roushi had no village ties after leaving Hidden Rock, so he wandered the world. Two other Jinchuuriki also grew distant from the world, with their villages not exerting any effort to save them when Akatsuki came to capture them.
This guide will examine the mythology and history of the demons in the real world and in-universe, biographical information on the beasts and their human hosts and how the beasts affect their hosts.
