Biju

In the Naruto anime and manga series, there exist Bij? (??) or tailed beasts; there are nine beasts (demons) in total. The Bij? each have a different number of tails, and are named based on this number from Ichibi to Ky?bi. The Bij? have an unimaginable amount of chakra. The Bij? are currently scattered around the Naruto world.

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A person within whom a Bij? has been sealed at birth is called a Jinch?riki (???), and grows up to exhibit extraordinary powers. The known Bij? and the Jinch?riki that they reside in are as follows:

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• Ichibi no Shukaku,????? - One Tailed Shukaku, a Tanuki. Sealed within Gaara, who has the ability to move and levitate sand at will, and special sand moves to shield and protect him independent of his will. Gaara suffers from a side effect of lifelong insomnia, lest Shukaku would eat away his personality if he were to fall asleep. Gaara however may choose to force sleep upon himself, allowing Shukaku to physically manifest as a giant tanuki made of sand.
• Nibi, ?? - Two Tails: Demon type and Jinch?riki unknown (possibly a Nekomata).
• Sanbi, ?? - Three Tails: Demon type and Jinch?riki unknown (possibly a Isonade).
• Yonbi, ?? - Four Tails: Demon type and Jinch?riki unknown (possibly a Soukou).
• Gobi, ?? - Five Tails: Demon type and Jinch?riki unknown (possibly a Houkou).
• Rokubi, ?? - Six Tails: Demon type and Jinch?riki unknown (possibly a Raij?).
• Shichibi, ?? - Seven Tails: Demon type and Jinch?riki unknown (possibly a Kaku).
• Hachibi, ?? - Eight Tails: Demon type and Jinch?riki unknown (possibly a Hachimata).
• Ky?bi no Y?ko, ????? - Nine Tailed Demon Fox, a Kitsune. Sealed within Uzumaki Naruto, who has accelerated healing and can summon up vast amounts of chakra. Typically, Naruto can only tap into the Ky?bi's chakra in a strong emotional state, wherein he effectively goes berserk; the Ky?bi will also lend his chakra to Naruto in life-threatening situations. Naruto is beginning to show a side effect of going berserk: the Ky?bi would start taking over his personality, appearing as a fox-shaped aura of red chakra surrounding him. The degree of danger is indicated by the number of tails the aura would grow. So far, Naruto is yet to be seen bearing more than two tails. (It is speculated that if the number of tails ever reaches nine, the Ky?bi either gains full control of Naruto or escapes him.) In such a situation, Naruto can be administered a special written seal to suppress the Ky?bi's chakra leakage and restore his sobriety.

It is yet unknown what the other Bij? are. But since they are based on creatures from Japanese mythology, as the Shukaku is a tanuki and Ky?bi is a kitsune, it is speculated that they are inugami, makami or nekomata, among others.

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During the Great Shinobi Wars each country's Hidden Village tried to make use of the Bij? for military purposes, and competed for them. But no one was ever able to truly bring any one of the Bij? under control.

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Akatsuki is currently collecting the nine Bij?. They capture the Jinch?riki and take them to a secret location where a is performed to draw out the Bij? from the Jinch?riki. It is said that once that is done the Jinch?riki will die. In the current manga the Ichibi has been drawn out of Gaara, killing him. Chiyo's technique, in combination with Naruto's chakra are currently working to resurrect Gaara from the dead, though whether he'll retain any of his Bij?'s abilities from its prolonged stay in his body, or not, is unknown.

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According to Akatsuki members, the Jinch?riki are typically lonely persons who loathe humanity. When the two others were captured no one from the villages they were taken from lifted a finger to help; in fact they were thankful to be rid of them.

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Naruto takes offense to the word Jinch?riki, regarding it as a dehumanizing term.

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