Tailed Beasts

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

It does not mention the Ten-Tails, Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki, or the creation of the beasts. The source focuses on the narrative role of the Tailed Beasts as living weapons. The Akatsuki organization systematically hunts down and extracts the Tailed Beasts from their hosts, killing seven of them. Gaara, who previously had the One-Tails, survived after a Sand ninja sacrifices their life for him. The Akatsuki figurehead leader, Nagato, kills Jiraiya and devastates Konoha, but Naruto defeats and redeems him. With Nagato's death, Tobi, disguised as Madara Uchiha, announces that he wants to capture all nine Tailed Beasts to cast an illusion powerful enough to control all humanity and achieve world peace.

In Their Own Story

A demonic nine-tailed fox called Kurama attacks Konoha, the Village Hidden in the Leaves in the Land of Fire. In response, the leader of the Leaf, Fourth Hokage Minato Namikaze, sacrifices his life by splitting the fox in half and sealing the fox inside himself and in the body of his newborn son, Naruto Uzumaki, respectively, making him a host of the beast. Naruto is often scorned by Konoha's villagers for being the host of the Nine-Tails. Due to a decree by the Third Hokage forbidding any mention of these events, Naruto learns nothing about the Nine-Tails until 12 years later, when Mizuki, a renegade ninja, reveals the truth to him. Naruto defeats Mizuki in combat, earning the respect of his teacher, Iruka Umino.

Reader's Guide

The Tailed Beasts are central to the conflict of the series. The Akatsuki start kidnapping the hosts of the powerful Tailed Beasts. Team Kakashi and other Leaf ninja fight against them and search for their teammate Sasuke. The Akatsuki succeeds in capturing and extracting, subsequently killing, seven of the nine Tailed Beasts. Gaara, who previously had the One-Tails, survived after a Sand ninja sacrifices their life for Gaara. Tobi, disguised as Madara Uchiha, announces that he wants to capture all nine Tailed Beasts to cast an illusion powerful enough to control all humanity and achieve world peace. The leaders of the five ninja villages refuse to help him and instead join forces to confront his faction and allies. That decision results in a Fourth Shinobi World War between the combined armies of the Five Great Countries which totaled up to 80,000 shinobis. Naruto—along with the help of Killer Bee, the host of the Eight-Tails—gains control of his Tailed Beast and the two of them head for the battlefield. During the conflict, it is revealed that Tobi is Obito Uchiha. The real Madara saved Obito's life, and they have since collaborated. As Sasuke learns the history of Konoha, including the circumstances that led to his clan's downfall, he decides to protect the village and rejoins Naruto and Sakura to thwart Madara and Obito's plans. However, Madara's body ends up possessed by Kaguya Otsutsuki, an ancient princess who intends to subdue all humanity. A reformed Obito sacrifices himself to help the Allies to stop her. Once Kaguya is sealed, Madara dies as well. Sasuke takes advantage of the situation and takes control of all the Tailed Beasts, as he reveals his goal of ending the current village system. Naruto confronts Sasuke to dissuade him from his plan, and after they almost kill each other in a final battle, Sasuke admits defeat and reforms. After the war, Kakashi becomes the Sixth Hokage and pardons Sasuke, Orochimaru, and Kabuto for their crimes. Years later, Kakashi steps down while Naruto marries Hinata Hyuga and becomes the Seventh Hokage, raising the next generation.

Did You Know?

• The Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, sacrificed his life by splitting the nine-tailed fox Kurama in half and sealing the fox inside himself and in the body of his newborn son, Naruto Uzumaki.
• The Akatsuki succeeded in capturing and extracting, subsequently killing, seven of the nine Tailed Beasts.
• Gaara, who previously had the One-Tails, survived after a Sand ninja sacrificed their life for him.
• Naruto gained control of his Tailed Beast with the help of Killer Bee, the host of the Eight-Tails.
• Sasuke Uchiha took control of all the Tailed Beasts after Kaguya was sealed, revealing his goal of ending the current village system.

Origins and Narrative Foundation

The story begins with a catastrophic event where Kurama, a demonic nine-tailed fox, assaults Konoha in the Land of Fire. To stop the beast, the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, sacrifices his life to split the entity's chakra, sealing half within himself and the other half inside his newborn son, Naruto Uzumaki. This act makes Naruto a jinchuriki, a host for the Tailed Beast, but also marks him as an outcast. For twelve years, the Third Hokage enforces a strict decree forbidding any mention of the tragedy, leaving Naruto ignorant of his true nature until a renegade ninja named Mizuki reveals the secret. After defeating Mizuki and earning the respect of his teacher Iruka Umino, Naruto joins Team 7 alongside Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno under Kakashi Hatake. Their journey progresses from simple chores to high-stakes missions like the Land of Waves arc, eventually leading them through the Chunin Exams where the village faces an invasion by the criminal Orochimaru.

Evolution Through Sequel Arcs

Following a two-and-a-half-year time skip after Naruto's training with Jiraiya, the narrative shifts to a darker tone in the sequel series. The primary threat becomes the Akatsuki organization, which systematically hunts down and extracts Tailed Beasts from their hosts, killing seven of them in the process. While Gaara survives due to a sacrifice by a Sand ninja, Sasuke Uchiha betrays his village after learning the truth about his brother Itachi's massacre of their clan. Devastated by this revelation, Sasuke joins the Akatsuki with the intent to destroy Konoha. The conflict escalates when Nagato, an Akatsuki leader, kills Jiraiya and devastates Konoha, only for Naruto to defeat and redeem him. Subsequently, Tobi, posing as Madara Uchiha, reveals a grand plan to capture all nine beasts to cast a world-controlling illusion, prompting the five great ninja villages to unite against this existential threat.

Production History and Broadcast

The franchise originated from Masashi Kishimoto's manga, which ran from 1999 to 2014, and was adapted into two distinct anime series by Studio Pierrot. The first series aired on TV Tokyo from 2002 to 2007, comprising 220 episodes, while the sequel, Naruto: Shippuden, followed immediately with a massive run of 500 episodes ending in March 2017. In North America, Viz Media handled licensing and produced English dubs that aired on Cartoon Network, YTV, Disney XD, and eventually Adult Swim's Toonami block. The broadcast history is complex; after Disney XD removed Shippuden, new dubbed episodes were streamed exclusively on the Neon Alley service from 2012 until its shutdown in 2016. Beyond television, Pierrot expanded the universe with eleven animated films and twelve original video animations, creating a vast media library that sustained interest for over two decades.

Critical Reception and Commercial Legacy

Commercially, Naruto stands as one of Viz Media's most profitable franchises, selling over three million home video units by 2019. By 2020, it had become the third most-watched series in the United States, while consistently ranking among the top-viewed shows in Japan. Critical reception has been mixed; reviewers often criticized the adaptation's pacing and art style choices relative to the source material. However, the series earned significant acclaim for its fight choreography, emotional depth, and character dynamics. Shippuden was particularly praised for its mature tone and improved animation quality compared to the original run. The franchise's impact is further evidenced by IGN ranking the first series 38th on their Top 100 Animated Series list and Shippuden receiving a nomination for Best Continuing Series at the Crunchyroll Anime Awards, cementing its status as a cultural phenomenon.