Kurama

Kurama ( 九喇嘛 クラマ ), more commonly known as the Nine-Tails ( 九尾 , Kyūbi ), is one of the nine tailed beasts . Centuries of being regarded as a mindless monster and sought after as a tool for war caused Kurama to hate humans. After being sealed into Naruto Uzumaki , Kurama attempts to maintain its cynical perspective about the world, but with Naruto's insistence on treating it with respect, the fox overturns its hatred and willingly strives to use its power for the world's salvation.

## Background [ ]

Kurama and the tailed beasts first came into being in the waning days of Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki , who used his Creation of All Things Technique to divide the Ten-Tails ' chakra into nine separate bodies and give them each a name. Sometime after being created, the Sage explained to the young tailed beasts that a link existed between them despite their separation. He also foretold of a day when they would be brought together again—though not as they were—and that at that time someone would emerge to show them what true power is. In the anime, before his death, Hagoromo sent Kurama to live in a temple built for the purpose of protecting it in a forest region with mountains that would later become part of the Land of Fire . Over time, Kurama gained a fearsome reputation as a natural disaster that can desolate areas where the darkest aspects of human nature collect and fester.

During the time of the founding 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 survived and gained some of its power by eating the flesh of its stomach for two weeks, forcing Kurama to regurgitate them.

After Madara Uchiha 's defection from Konohagakure , he found Kurama and used his Sharingan to control it, forcing the fox to help him fight against Hashirama Senju , the First Hokage . The epic battle left a colossal scar in the earth that would come to be called the Valley of the End . After his victory over Madara, Hashirama's wife, Mito Uzumaki , sealed the fox within herself, becoming its first jinchūriki .

Over the period of time that included the First and Second Shinobi World Wars, Mito kept Kurama at bay except when the seal nearly broke when she was going through childbirth. Towards the final years of Mito's life, it was decided that a new jinchūriki would have to be found, and that was another member of her clan , Kushina Uzumaki . Although Kushina was terrified when she learned of it, Mito comforted her young successor by telling her that by filling herself with love, Kushina would overcome the fox's hatred. This was shown years later that despite Kurama's constant attempts to destroy her hope for happiness as its jinchūriki and coerce her to break the seal, Kushina's love for Minato Namikaze and his love for her were proven to be strong enough to contain the fox.

Soon after the end of the Third Shinobi World War , the Third Hokage made special arrangements for Minato to ensure that Kurama would remain sealed inside Kushina while she gave birth to Naruto on the night of October 10. However, despite keeping the childbirth a secret, a masked man called Tobi tracked down their location, killed their escorts, and held Naruto hostage, forcing Minato to quickly rescue him and teleport him to safety. Right after Tobi captured Kushina, he extracted and seized control of Kurama and tried to have the fox kill its barely surviving jinchūriki, but Minato made it in time to save her. Soon afterwards, the masked man summoned Kurama into Konoha and ordered it to destroy the village .

While Kurama was rampaging in the village, Minato fought against Tobi and soon managed to place a Contract Seal on him, which freed the fox from his control. Despite that, Kurama still harboured resentment against Konoha for sealing it away and continued decimating the shinobi forces that tried to repel it. As it prepared a Tailed Beast Ball , Minato summoned Gamabunta on top of the fox and quickly teleported it to Kushina and Naruto's location, letting its Tailed Beast Ball detonate away from the village. Already dying from the extraction, Kushina used her remaining strength to restrain Kurama, planning to seal the fox back inside her so it would die with her. However, knowing that Kurama would revive without a host and how great a threat Tobi was, Minato instead came up with a plan to give his son the means to combat the masked man in the future.

Because it was impossible for Minato to seal Kurama entirely on his own, he first used the Dead Demon Consuming Seal to separate and seal the fox's Yin half within himself and then prepared the Eight Trigrams Seal to imprison the Yang half within Naruto. Realising what they were planning, Kurama attempted to kill Naruto, but both of the parents used themselves as shields and completed the sealing. Although greatly frustrated of being sealed again, Kurama decided to wait for the time when it could influence Naruto to use its power to break the seal. Throughout the years, Kurama weakened the seal through the cracks of its formation by constantly sending out small portions of its chakra, which had positive side-effects on Naruto, such as amplifying his naturally large chakra reserves and healing ability, being able to heal from minor wounds within seconds to major injuries within a day.

In the anime, it was revealed that Kurama had left behind large amounts of its chakra during the attack. Kazuma , a former member of the Twelve Guardian Ninja , collected and sealed the chakra within his son, Sora , hoping to make use of its power for his own agenda.

## Personality [ ]

Kurama is characterised as a snarky and shrewd individual. It uses "washi" ( ワシ ) when referring to itself, which is generally used by older men. Kurama expresses great pride in its power, believing itself to be the strongest of the tailed beasts due to its belief that their strength is determined by their number of tails, which earned Kurama nothing but disapproval from its brethren, especially Shukaku . The fox would also react out of jealousy whenever Naruto was not using its power. Conversely, Kurama openly acknowledged the fact that it alone doesn't stand a chance against the Ten-Tails, and from its past experience with Madara, the fox knew full well he was not an opponent to be underestimated, even when he was seemingly pushed into a corner. Kurama holds great respect to Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki ; during the tailed beasts' youth, the fox shed tears after the Sage had imparted his final words to them. Kurama's manner of speech is often harsh, but deep down it has a supportive disposition, an ability to express concern for its allies and give some words of encouragement. In addition, thanks to its exploits during the Fourth Shinobi World War and working alongside Naruto, Kurama's peaceful existence expanded to the Five Great Shinobi Countries , as it would talk directly to the other Kage and assist over important matters.

Kurama also has a comical side; the fox brazenly teased Naruto about his first kiss with Sasuke, argued with him about each other's stubbornness, and nervously lashed out at a joyful Naruto after the tailed beasts were freed from Kaguya Ōtsutsuki while flipping him off. In the anime, Kurama came to fear Himawari after being incapacitated by her Gentle Fist attack during an incident where Naruto had to shield Boruto from Himawari, who attacked him in anger for damaging her panda plushy.

Due to centuries of being perceived as a terrifying monster or a powerful tool of war that must either be sealed or weaponised, Kurama developed intense hostility and distrust towards humans, even going as far as proclaiming itself to be the living embodiment of hatred. Ever since its sealing within Naruto, Kurama plotted to use his dependence on its power to break free, becoming an ever-looming threat to both Naruto and the people he cared about. Even after Naruto managed to best Kurama in combat, the fox tried to instill doubt in him about his ability to deal with the hatred in both the war and Sasuke, but Naruto was determined to find a way and hoped to resolve Kurama's hatred someday. Despite reproaching him for making such a claim, Kurama was visibly shocked by the gesture, later choosing to assist Naruto against the reincarnated Madara and allowing him to utilise the Nine-Tails Chakra Mode without consequence during the early stages of the war. Soon, after listening to Naruto's conversation with Son Gokū about his sincere desire to save the tailed beasts and become friends with Kurama, the fox, who witnessed all of the hardships and deeds Naruto had in his life, decided to stand by and see if he could truly aid its brethren. When Naruto successfully freed Son Gokū from Obito's control, Kurama finally became convinced of Naruto's word and, in return, extended its hand to him as a form of partnership, to which Naruto then removed the seal that restrained it and happily acknowledged the fox as his teammate and a member of Konoha.

Ultimately, Kurama formed a strong bond with Naruto; the fox proudly declared itself his friend and admitted that it had the utmost faith in Naruto's ability to carry on the legacy Minato and Jiraiya had left him, therefore abandoning its grudge against the Fourth Hokage for sealing it. Naruto trusted Kurama enough to allow the fox to control his body and switch back without conflict. When Naruto became notably distraught as Neji Hyūga died in his arms, Kurama fiercely reaffirmed Neji's sacrifice, reminding Naruto of his parents' similar sacrifices for him and how they shouldn't be in vain. Later, despite being free from its seal, Kurama didn't turn down Hagoromo's request to stay with Naruto. Kurama even went as far as to sacrifice its own life for Naruto, as the fox intentionally hid the actual risk of using Baryon Mode from him because it knew he would oppose it if he knew the truth.

Kurama even came to care for Naruto's family, finding them entertaining to be around, further indicating that the fox saw it as its responsibility to look after them akin to being a parent. Three years after its demise and being reborn within Himawari, Kurama displayed a rather mentoring nature towards the young girl, calmly explaining the situation and offering advice. Likewise, the fox appreciated Himawari's acceptance and respect towards it.

## Appearance [ ]

Kurama is a red-orange coloured kitsune with black fur around its red eyes that stretch up to its ears, and nine long swiping tails. It also has an upper-body structure of a human, complete with opposable thumbs on its clawed hands.

During the last remaining days of Hagoromo, Kurama in its youth was much smaller in size, yet still towering over an adult, with leaner and softer while less-defined in shape with a rounder face, akin to a fox cub. Over time, Kurama's size grew to roughly equaling the Hokage Rock , and Gamabunta , the largest of the Mount Myōboku's toads, was only the size of Kurama's torso. Its pupil alone was bigger than a tall human. When Minato separated Kurama's Yin chakra and Yang chakra, it was split into two entities, both of which were shrunken more than half its original size, yet still roughly the size of other massive tailed beasts. While the two were basically identical to the other, Yang-Kurama retained its original colouring while Yin-Kurama was darker coloured.

While manifesting its Nine-Tails Chakra Mode , the fox's entire body took on a transparent golden colour, its whiskers were much thicker, and black circular markings appeared on its shoulders, stomach, as well as the front and back of its paws. Black lines also ran the length of its spine, arms, legs and tails. Additionally, while Naruto is in Sage Mode , Kurama gained similar thick dark patches circling around its eyes. Upon gaining Naruto's Six Paths Chakra , Kurama's Tailed Beast Mode avatar grew to tremendous proportions, roughly the same size as Sasuke Uchiha 's Six Paths Complete Body — Susanoo , with its tails becoming bushier.

After both halves of Kurama were reunited, the fox grew even larger than ever before, to the point it was towering over a stump of a God Tree .

Three years after its demise from over-usage of the Baryon Mode , Kurama reformed as cub like it did when first created by Hagoromo, albeit much smaller, roughly the size of a large pet dog, with very long tails.

## Abilities [ ]

See also: Jinchūriki Forms , Nine-Tails Chakra Mode , and Baryon Mode

Kurama is widely known as the strongest of the nine tailed beasts. Hashirama Senju , who could subdue the fox, viewed it as too powerful and dangerous to be left roaming free. Even with only half its power, Kurama remained strong enough to defeat five other tailed beasts simultaneously. After reuniting its Yin and Yang halves, the absolute peak of Kurama's power was enough to decisively overwhelm Isshiki Ōtsutsuki .

### Chakra and Physical Prowess [ ]

Kurama possesses vast and powerful chakra , the most of the nine tailed beasts. It could be passed on to the entire Allied Shinobi Forces , be felt countries away by non-sensors, and was required to be sealed last into the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path to avoid overloading it. It can also accumulate a huge amount of chakra shortly after it has used up most of its own. Due to Naruto's compatibility with Kurama's chakra, any chakra it possessed is limited for its jinchūriki alone, unless it was moulded to fit the recipient's unique chakra signature.

When used by others, the chakra became dense enough to be seen as a visible shroud that can further protect the wearer. Using its chakra, Kurama could shroud itself within its Nine-Tails Chakra Mode to increase its power. As a last-ditch ability, Kurama could enter Baryon Mode . In this state, similar to nuclear fusion , Kurama's chakra was consumed as raw materials to produce a new type of energy. When in use, it dramatically boosted Kurama's reflexes, raw might, and chakra to extreme levels. Because all chakra is connected, the same power that is produced from bits of their lives also works to reduce the lifespan of opponents on contact. Due to its extreme energy consumption, Kurama must remain focused and not waste energy of extraneous thoughts and actions, to maximise the amount of time Baryon Mode can be maintained. As a tailed beast, Kurama has powerful healing capacities, able to mend injuries in itself and others in seconds. Likewise as such, it is effectively immortal. When it dies, it will eventually revive, albeit in a younger form.

Kurama has a great deal of brute force, reputedly able to raise tsunamis and flatten mountains with just a single swipe of a tail. Even with half its strength, it could overpower five of Obito's controlled tailed beasts, smash Madara's senjutsu -enhanced Susanoo with a tail, and with the Six Paths Chakra, battle Sasuke's Six Paths Complete Body — Susanoo to a standstill. Kurama is deceptively fast, able to track Naruto in Sage Mode. The fox is also very durable, enough to withstand several senjutsu-enhanced attacks , and block a Tailed Beast Ball from the Ten-Tails ' initial form.

### Ninjutsu [ ]

As a tailed beast, Kurama can create a Tailed Beast Ball , and fire it either as a beam or rapid blast of spheres . Kurama can also supercharge it, creating one many times its own size for much greater power, even on wisps of chakra. One of these was powerful enough to counter a collaborated Tailed Beast Ball from five tailed beasts. At full power, Kurama's Tailed Beast Ball could blast Toneri Ōtsutsuki 's giant golem through the moon and into orbit. With unity between the jinchūriki and itself, Kurama can manifest itself outside for a period of time, allowing the two to fight independently and away from each other.

Kurama can unleash destructive roars , capable of dispersing a massive Rasengan , knocking back five tailed beasts at once, and destroying entire city blocks. Even when limited through Naruto's Version 1 and 2 states, they were strong enough to destroy an entire bridge and repel Pain's Shinra Tensei respectively. Kurama also has adept sensor skills, able to detect chakra from great distances and uniquely able to sense negative emotions , as well as natural energy , which it could accumulate and transfer to Naruto to create senjutsu chakra. In the anime, it is shown using Wind and Fire Release nature transformations , being able to generate twisters and breathe fire.

### Intelligence [ ]

Kurama is very cunning and could formulate strategies in the midst of battle. Through Naruto's body, the fox tricked Obito into using Kamui to absorb Kakashi into Kamui's dimension , only for Obito to become vulnerable to Kakashi's attacks as he phased through Naruto's punch. Kurama has also shown remarkable leadership skills, being able to calmly and effectively instruct its allies on how best to engage the Ten-Tails. In the anime, it has enough knowledge of fūinjutsu to determine the natures and weaknesses of the Eight Trigrams Seal that bound it inside Naruto. In addition, Kurama has an advanced understanding of nuclear physics, particularly the nuclear fusion that occurs within the Sun.

## Part I [ ]

### Prologue — Land of Waves [ ]

Main article: Prologue — Land of Waves

At the Land of Waves , Naruto and Sasuke were battling against Haku while being trapped in his Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals technique. Haku attempted to kill Naruto, but Sasuke used his body as a shield to protect Naruto, causing him to collapse. Enraged by Sasuke's apparent death, Naruto unknowingly tapped into the Nine-Tails' chakra for the first time. In his newly-attained form , Naruto became strong enough to destroy the ice mirrors and defeat Haku.

The Nine-Tails itself expressed great delight at Naruto finally making use of its power.

### Chūnin Exams [ ]

Main article: Chūnin Exams Within the Forest of Death , Team 7 was ambushed by a disguised Orochimaru and his large snake summon. Realising Naruto was the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki , Orochimaru countered by using the Five Elements Seal on him, which disrupted the flow of both the fox's and Naruto's chakra. Despite the impairment, Naruto was able to beat Kiba Inuzuka and Akamaru during the preliminary rounds.

Later, during his training to prepare for the finals, Naruto encountered Jiraiya , whom the Nine-Tails recognised as the Fourth Hokage's teacher. After Jiraiya deduced who Naruto was and believed it was time for Naruto to learn how to take advantage of the Nine-Tails' power, he removed Orochimaru's seal and offered to teach Naruto the Summoning Technique .

As the month of training was nearing its end, Naruto was still struggling to summon large toads . In order to accelerate Naruto's slow progress, Jiraiya, without warning, pushed him off a cliff. In his act of desperation, Naruto, for the first time, abruptly entered his subconscious and encountered the Nine-Tails, who showed no hesitation in expressing both its hostility and desire to devour Naruto. Despite initially being terrified, Naruto boldly demanded that the Nine-Tails give him its chakra as a form of "rent money" for living in his body, since his death would also result in the fox's own. Realising this, the amused Nine-Tails complied, giving Naruto enough chakra to summon Gamabunta .

With Naruto finally becoming aware of its presence, the scheming Nine-Tails was convinced that it could influence him even more to use its power.

At the time of the finals, the first match was Naruto facing Neji Hyūga . After Neji sealed his tenketsu with Sixty-Four Palms , Naruto called upon the Nine-Tails for aid. Without hesitating, the fox gave Naruto enough chakra to force his tenketsu to open and defeat Neji.

### Konoha Crush [ ]

Main article: Konoha Crush During the climax of Naruto's fight against Gaara , the Nine-Tails gave some of its chakra to Naruto, leading to him defeating Shukaku's jinchūriki.

### Search for Tsunade [ ]

Main article: Search for Tsunade While on his search for Tsunade with Jiraiya, Naruto was confronted by Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki of Akatsuki . Naruto tried to use the Nine-Tails' chakra to help him fight against them, but Kisame quickly used his Samehada sword to absorb it all and attempted to cut off Naruto's arms. Luckily, Jiraiya arrived in time to force both Akatsuki members to retreat.

Later, in the midst of battle against Orochimaru's right-hand man Kabuto Yakushi , Naruto managed to defeat him with a perfected Rasengan . However, Naruto collapsed as Kabuto in turn severed his heart muscles and neighbouring chakra system , to which the Nine-Tails was unable to heal. Within Naruto's subconscious, the fox quickly noticed the surrounding light was fading as well as its strength, indicating that both its life and Naruto's were on the brink. Fortunately, both Naruto and the Nine-Tails were able to survive with the help of Tsunade and her medical ninjutsu .

### Sasuke Recovery Mission [ ]

Main article: Sasuke Recovery Mission

Naruto, determined to prevent Sasuke from severing ties to Konoha, managed to catch up to him at the Valley of the End , and they began their fight. Just as Sasuke, enhanced by his cursed seal , pierced through Naruto's right shoulder, the Nine-Tails quickly gave Naruto enough chakra to enter his initial jinchūriki form, instantly healing his large wound. Naruto initially overwhelmed Sasuke with his increased speed and strength, but as the fight continued, Sasuke's Sharingan fully matured, allowing him to predict and overcome Naruto's attacks. The Nine-Tails callously berated Naruto for being weak and said that he should be grateful to the fox before granting him more of its chakra. The dense red chakra enveloped Naruto, transforming the jinchūriki into his one-tailed form . Ultimately, the power-up wasn't enough, as Sasuke then advanced to the second level of his cursed seal, and the fight ended with Naruto lying on the ground, unconscious.

### Kaima Capture Mission [ ]

Main article: Kaima Capture Mission When Naruto was overwhelmed by the Umibōzu summoned by Amachi , he entered his initial jinchūriki form, overwhelming Umibōzu and later defeating Amachi. Naruto soon after became exhausted and fell into the ocean but he was saved by Isaribi .

## Interlude [ ]

During Naruto's three-year training under Jiraiya, the Sannin began training Naruto to gain better control of the Nine-Tails' chakra, soon helping Naruto to master wielding the chakra cloak up to two tails. Feeling he was ready to take it to the next level, Jiraiya had Gerotora tweak the seal enough for additional chakra to be unleashed. However, the Nine-Tails took advantage of this and began mocking Naruto for his failure to save Sasuke, able to use Naruto's negative emotions to overwhelm him with additional chakra. This ultimately caused Naruto to slip into a four-tailed Version 2 state, which allowed the Nine-Tails to go on a rampage in Naruto's body. Jiraiya was narrowly able to reseal the fox's chakra, to which his passive methods of saving Naruto led to Jiraiya being severely injured.

## Part II [ ]

### Kazekage Rescue Mission [ ]

Main article: Kazekage Rescue Mission Angered that the Akatsuki had claimed Gaara 's life, Naruto vowed to avenge his friend and fought the Akatsuki member Deidara . While under the influence of the Nine-Tails' chakra, Naruto ruthlessly pummeled and drove his Rasengan into Deidara, only to discover that he was fighting a clay clone . Growing frustrated, Naruto drew out more of the Nine-Tails' chakra, causing him to slip into his one-tailed form . Just as the second tail began to form, Kakashi immediately placed Jiraiya's special seal tag on Naruto's forehead, restoring him back to normal.

### Tenchi Bridge Reconnaissance Mission [ ]

Main article: Tenchi Bridge Reconnaissance Mission At the Tenchi Bridge , where Team Yamato was facing Orochimaru and Kabuto , Naruto, enraged by Orochimaru's remark about Sasuke, attacked him in his three-tailed form. Naruto's rage intensified to the point where he gave into the Nine-Tails' influence, destroying the Tenchi Bridge and advancing into his four-tailed form while fighting Orochimaru. Unable to tell friend from foe, Naruto attacked anyone around him, including Sakura . After Yamato managed to suppress the Nine-Tails' chakra, he later revealed to Naruto that he was the one responsible for Sakura's injury, which greatly horrified Naruto and resolved to never rely on the Nine-Tails' power again.

Soon afterwards, when Naruto encountered Sasuke again for the first time in almost three years, the Nine-Tails took it as an opportunity to tempt Naruto to release the seal. Naruto firmly refused, but the Nine-Tails scoffed, cruelly remarking that he couldn't do anything on his own. Before their quarrel could escalate any further, both Naruto and the Nine-Tails were shocked to see Sasuke suddenly appearing in Naruto's subconscious with his Sharingan . When the fox noted his similarity to Madara Uchiha in terms of visual prowess and chakra, Sasuke immediately responded by suppressing the fox. Although outraged by the display of his power, the Nine-Tails warned Sasuke not to kill Naruto, stating he would only regret it.

### Twelve Guardian Ninja [ ]

Main article: Twelve Guardian Ninja

### Akatsuki Suppression Mission [ ]

Main article: Akatsuki Suppression Mission During Naruto's nature transformation training, the Nine-Tails' chakra began to surface within some of his shadow clones that had grown increasingly frustrated with the seemingly impossible task of combining the Rasengan with his wind element . Yamato was able to suppress the fox's chakra before it could do serious damage.

### Pain's Assault [ ]

Main article: Pain's Assault At Mount Myōboku , Naruto trained with the elder toad sage Fukasaku in the art of senjutsu . Once Naruto attained a perfected Sage Mode , the Nine-Tails, out of anger and jealousy, continuously rejected Fukasaku's attempts to fuse with Naruto in order to help mold the senjutsu chakra for him, which forced Naruto to look for other alternatives to overcome this disadvantage.

Later, during Naruto's battle with Pain , he slipped into his six-tailed form right after Pain appeared to have killed Hinata Hyūga . Despite the necklace 's attempts to suppress it, the Nine-Tails quickly seized the necklace and crushed it. When Naruto was soon contained by Pain's Chibaku Tensei technique, the Nine-Tails tempted Naruto to entrust his heart to it so that it could destroy everything that was causing Naruto pain, thus distorting the seal to the point where the eight-tailed form was released. Before it could convince him to completely remove the seal, the spirit of Minato appeared in Naruto's subconscious and stopped him. Enraged, the Nine-Tails tried to dare Minato to come closer so it could rip him to shreds, but Minato simply ignored it and restored the seal to its original strength.

During Naruto's conversation with Nagato , the Nine-Tails became angry with Nagato's words, and its chakra began to leak out while Naruto was in Sage Mode, allowing the two forms to synchronise.

### Power [ ]

Main article: Power

### Fourth Shinobi World War: Countdown [ ]

Main article: Fourth Shinobi World War: Countdown When Naruto was summoned back to Mount Myōboku by the Great Toad Sage , he was given Gerotora , along with the key that has access to the seal holding the Nine-Tails. From there, Naruto, after learning from the sage's prophecy of his battle with Sasuke, journeyed to the remote island in the Land of Lightning to find a way to control the Nine-Tails' power.

After Naruto completed the first step at the Falls of Truth , Killer B , the jinchūriki of the Eight-Tails , then led him to the secret temple behind the waterfall, where Naruto would then enter his subconscious to challenge the Nine-Tails. As Naruto unlocked the seal's doors, the Nine-Tails, although taken aback that it could no longer sense any hatred within him, quickly engaged in battle. While in Sage Mode , Naruto was able to weaken the Nine-Tails with the Rasenshuriken and started to drain out its chakra. However, the Nine-Tails planted its hatred within its drained chakra, and it suddenly began to consume Naruto, making him lose the control and forcing him out of Sage Mode. Just before he completely succumbed, the chakra imprint of his mother, Kushina Uzumaki, appeared before Naruto and halted his transformation. She then used her Adamantine Sealing Chains to subdue the Nine-Tails, to which the fox reacted in anger and shock when it recognised her chakra.

After being comforted by Kushina, Naruto's positive emotions purged the Nine-Tails' hatred within its drained chakra. With Kushina holding the Nine-Tails at bay, Naruto quickly made a large number of shadow clones, entered Sage Mode, and bombarded the Nine-Tails with his onslaught of Rasengan . Immediately followed by the Rasenshuriken, Naruto was able to separate an extensive portion of chakra from the Nine-Tails, leaving the fox in an emaciated state. As its chakra merged into Naruto, the Nine-Tails became so furious that it brashly attempted to fire a massive Tailed Beast Ball at him, but Naruto cancelled its attack by using a new, stronger seal to imprison the fox once again.

In its moment alone, the Nine-Tails, in great frustration and disbelief of its defeat, frantically began to ponder just what was Naruto.

### Fourth Shinobi World War: Confrontation [ ]

Main article: Fourth Shinobi World War: Confrontation During Naruto's training to control the Nine-Tails' chakra, the fox had been consuming a certain amount of Naruto's chakra while he was using its own, which recovered it from its emaciated state.

Later, as Naruto and Killer B continued their way toward the battlefield, the Nine-Tails pulled its jinchūriki into his subconscious, berating him for squandering its chakra and calling him naive for thinking he could stop the war by himself. After failing to tempt him with power, the Nine-Tails tried to instil doubt into Naruto by telling him that shouldering all the hatred was futile, using his failure to save Sasuke from revenge as proof. In retaliation, Naruto pinned the fox down, refuting with brimming confidence that regardless of the odds, he would still find a way to do something about Sasuke and end the war. Recalling its jinchūriki's growth, the Nine-Tails condescendingly complimented Naruto for finally learning how to stand up for himself, before being unnerved by his promise to someday resolve the fox's hatred.

### Fourth Shinobi World War: Climax [ ]

Main article: Fourth Shinobi World War: Climax

Later, as one of Naruto's shadow clones was fighting alongside the Fourth Division , the reincarnated Madara Uchiha attempted to summon the Nine-Tails. Even though the summoning failed, the fox expressed its anger as it recognised his chakra calling for it. Having no desire to be manipulated by Madara again, as well as dismissing Naruto's suspicions of its usual attempts of taking over his body, the Nine-Tails willingly lent the shadow clone enough chakra to counter the Uchiha's massive Wood Release onslaught .

At the time of Killer B and the real Naruto's battle against Tobi and the reincarnated jinchūriki , the Nine-Tails had purposely stopped consuming Naruto's chakra, deciding to let its jinchūriki fight on his own. As the impartial Nine-Tails refused to listen to the Eight-Tails' request for its aid, the fox vividly remembered its past encounters with Madara , Hashirama , Mito , and Kushina . From those experiences, the Nine-Tails concluded that no matter what words humans use, they always mean the same thing, with the exception of Naruto, a thought which silenced it. The Nine-Tails quietly watched on as Naruto was speaking with the imprisoned Four-Tails, Son Gokū , only expressing annoyance when the fox's name was revealed to him.

While thinking back on the events in Naruto's life and watching the proceeds, Kurama silently noted that Naruto of all people should know that no matter what he says to the tailed beasts, his true intentions would only reach them through his actions. After Naruto successfully removed Tobi's control over Son Gokū, Kurama silently celebrated the small victory and offered to lend him more of its chakra. Before accepting however, Naruto thanked Kurama for its help during his encounter with Madara, to which the flustered fox rebuffed him before offering to meld their chakra together. Naruto opened the seal's gate and acknowledged Kurama as his teammate from Konoha. As a result, Kurama enabled Naruto to enter a new form , in order to stop the other tailed beasts that were bearing down on Might Guy and Kakashi.

However, as this was their first time transforming into this mode, Kurama warned Naruto that they only had five minutes. They first started by grabbing Chōmei in mid-flight to pile-drive it into Isobu , but it rolled out of the way to counter-attack after Saiken quickly swallowed Kurama's hand prior to Gyūki joining the fray. When Matatabi attempted to pounce on Naruto and Kurama from behind, they fiercely swung Saiken right into the monster cat, throwing the two away from a distance. As the other tailed beasts gathered and performed a collaborative Tailed Beast Ball , Naruto and Kurama performed one of their own and cancelled the attack. Right after that, Naruto entered a deeper level of Kurama's subconscious, where he meets the other five tailed beasts and their respective jinchūriki, to which Kurama explained that this was somewhere not even Tobi could enter. As it remembered the Sage of the Six Paths , Kurama asked its brethren if they too believed that Naruto was the one the Sage had spoken of so long ago, to which they agreed before being resealed into the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path .

While they were fighting against the Demonic Statue, Tobi summoned both the Benihisago and the Kohaku no Jōhei which contained the reincarnated Gold and Silver Brothers , who possessed a portion of Kurama's chakra. Right after the masked man made the giant statue devour them, Kurama, who had sensed its own chakra signature within those two items, requested Naruto to switch with it so it could explain the situation to the others, as well as about the Ten-Tails and what its revival would mean. Kurama also echoed Kakashi's words that something needed to be done before the Ten-Tails' revival was completed, afterwhich, on Naruto's request, Kurama switched back with him. Kurama was later seen smiling when Naruto opposed Tobi's ideals and told him that he was who he was today because he had heroes to look up to and to show him the way. After a brief fight, Tobi tried to instil doubt into Naruto by telling him what would Jiraiya and Minato say if he ended up neglecting the legacy they left him. Kurama, recalling what Minato said to Naruto during his battle with Nagato, requested Naruto to switch again and directly told Tobi that Naruto would never follow his ideals and that Minato sealed it into Naruto so that he could defeat Tobi. After melding their chakra together once more, Naruto entered his Tailed Beast Mode and Naruto began his assault on Tobi after being assured by Kurama that he would not fail.

As the battle raged on with Madara suddenly entering the fray, the reincarnated Uchiha summoned Hashirama's giant wooden dragon in order to restrain Naruto. While Naruto instantly manifested Kurama's body to fight against it, the wooden dragon eventually managed to bind Naruto and started draining Kurama's chakra, forcing his tailed beast form to falter. However, Naruto was able to quickly escape from its coils before it could absorb any more of Kurama's chakra and created a shadow clone to protect Kakashi from Obito. When Kurama noticed that Kakashi was low on chakra, it told Naruto to switch places with it, and, through Naruto's body, tossed Kakashi at Obito, who used Kamui to absorb him into Kamui's dimension . Despite Naruto initially berating it for what it did, Kurama assured him that he could now fight without worry. Naruto attacked Obito again and phased through him, but surprisingly Obito coughed up blood. Kurama revealed that it transferred some of its chakra to Kakashi, allowing him to attack Obito in the other world and come back to the real world with Kamui. Meanwhile, the original Naruto entered the full Tailed Beast Mode to create a giant Tailed Beast Ball with B and Gyūki and fired it at the Demonic Statue. This was all done in vain however, as after the resulting explosion, the Ten-Tails had been revived.

Naruto and the others quickly regroup while Kurama restored Kakashi and Guy's respective chakra, but the Ten-Tails, under the control of Obito and Madara, quickly overwhelmed them before they could finish devising a strategy. Kurama and Gyūki then fired a barrage of Tailed Beast Balls at the Ten-Tails, who easily deflected them with a single blast of its own. Kurama and Naruto were able to withstand the attack (losing six of its tails in exchange) and threw Kakashi and Naruto's Sage Mode shadow clone above the Ten-Tails, where Kakashi teleported Gyūki who prepared to launch a Tailed Beast Ball from the beast's blind-spot. However, the Ten-Tails simply flicked the attack back at Gyūki, leaving Naruto's shadow clone, and Kakashi open for an attack. Kurama and Naruto were able to rescue Kakashi, Gyūki, and B before the Tailed Beast Mode was deactivated, which Kurama noted to Naruto that it needed time to generate more chakra.

Later echoing Hinata's sentiments that Naruto's life was not his own, the fox reminded him that it was also here and that his parents had also died in a similar manner to protect him. After the words finally get through to the young shinobi, Naruto once again entered Tailed Beast Mode , and with Kurama's instruction, created shadow clones to distribute its chakra to the other remaining shinobi to help empower their respective abilities. Kurama then silently praised Naruto's ability to distribute his chakra to others despite how different they were, the fox noted that Naruto had surpassed his father and mother . Continuing their attack on the Ten-Tails, Kurama warned Naruto that the Ten-Tails was continuing to mature and to be careful about micro-managing all of the chakra he had given his allies, as it was exhausting him. Kurama also warned Naruto that the Ten-Tails was preparing its devastating attack, the Tenpenchii . After the attack injured Naruto and drained him all of Kurama's chakra, the fox proceeded to gather more chakra to prepare for another assault. After the reincarnated Hokage's arrival, Kurama was suddenly startled by Minato's use of its chakra. Naruto boasted about Minato's ability with the fox's chakra, only for Kurama to point out it already knew about Minato's skill, given he was the one to use such a complex technique to seal it into Naruto. Later, when Naruto's mantle disappeared and the young shinobi requested the fox to supply him with more chakra, Kurama advised him that he should stay in his normal form a bit longer if he wanted to enter Tailed Beast Mode.

### Birth of the Ten-Tails' Jinchūriki [ ]

Main article: Birth of the Ten-Tails' Jinchūriki

Meanwhile, as their battle strategy unfolded, Kurama's Yin half within Minato noted that Naruto's actions and speech about his father was touching enough to move this half of it. Yin-Kurama also told Minato to disregard Obito's words as he was not responsible for any of those tragedies and that instead of leaving his son to do it, he should also act. Later, when Naruto and Minato bumped fists, Yin and Yang-Kurama came in contact with each other, with Yang-Kurama greeting its other half casually and asking it to share its chakra, which led Yin-Kurama to note that asking itself for chakra was an odd situation. Nonetheless, when the father-son duo prepared to deal with Obito, the two halves of Kurama also bumped fists as they prepared to initiate their strategy. As their chakra begin to meld, the two halves conversed about Minato and Naruto, leading Yin-Kurama to comment that Naruto must have had some upbringing to treat a tailed beast as a comrade.

As Naruto donned the Tailed Beast Mode shroud and prepared to attack Obito, only to be reminded that only senjutsu-based attacks would work, Yang-Kurama reminded Naruto of the time during Pain 's invasion that the two modes had been combined and noted that while had resented Naruto's use of another power instead of its own, it would allow him to use Sage Mode while also using its own power. Yin-Kurama advised Minato to follow suit so that he could provide powerful support for his son. With this, both shinobi, shrouded in Kurama's form, created a giant, senjutsu-enhanced Rasengan and were teleported to Obito's location by Tobirama. However, the Uchiha anticipated the attack and was able to deflect it. Reassessing their strategy to destroy the mysterious black substance, Naruto and Minato formed a senjutsu-enhanced Tailed Beast Ball, but Obito quickly created a full-blown replica of the Ten-Tails' tree form, and its roots started chasing and absorbing chakra from anyone in its path. As the Allied Shinobi Forces began to despair, Naruto, through Ino Yamanaka 's telepathy , conveyed his memories and feelings to them, restoring their resolve to fight.

After Yin-Kurama transferred the majority of its chakra to its Yang half, Naruto joined Sasuke in their team assault against Obito. With a senjutsu-enhanced Tailed Beast Ball, as well as Sasuke firing a senjutsu-enhanced arrow with his Susanoo Bow , they cracked the sphere Obito had wrapped around himself as he pushed forward. The battle continued, resulting in Sasuke's Susanoo and Naruto's Tailed Beast Mode form being destroyed. However, Sasuke and Naruto got up on their feet again, their resolves untouched, and Sasuke then manifested his final Susanoo to encase Naruto's Tailed Beast Mode mantle. Using the telepathic link, Naruto called for his comrades who rallied to his side all donning Tailed Beast Mode mantles as they entered Kurama's tails. Using the Rasengan Naruto had created, they all attacked and broke through Obito's shield, allowing Naruto and Sasuke to deliver a devastating blow against Obito and forcing out the chakra of all the tailed beasts. Through the combined effort of the Allied Shinobi Forces, all of the sealed tailed beasts were extracted from Obito's body, reducing the Ten-Tails within him back to its empty shell . As Naruto and the rest of the Allied Shinobi Forces went to aid Hashirama against Madara, Yin-Kurama explained to Minato who was tending the defeated Obito that he was not in mortal danger from the extraction as the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path was still filled with great amounts of life energy, but rendered immobilised for a while.

Naruto and Yang-Kurama re-entered Tailed Beast Mode to join the other tailed beasts in assaulting Madara, but the Uchiha survived their attacks and retreated to a safe distance. After he received his own right Rinnegan eye from a White Zetsu clone, Madara quickly summoned the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path from Obito's body, and used the Rinnegan to repel the tailed beasts. With the tailed beasts stunned, Madara then proceeded to chain them up and prepared to remove Yang-Kurama and Gyūki from their jinchūriki. As Naruto failed to cancel the Tailed Beast Mode, Yang-Kurama, realising its extraction was imminent, contacted Gaara to transfer its Yin half from Minato to save Naruto, wishing him luck before it was extracted and sealed within the statue along with the other tailed beasts.

Unfortunately, Black Zetsu put himself between Naruto and Minato just as the latter was transferring Yin-Kurama, becoming its jinchūriki in the process. As Madara, now the Ten-Tails' jinchūriki, arrived, Black Zetsu attempted to return to the Uchiha with his left Rinnegan eye and Yin-Kurama, only for Obito to overpower Black Zetsu and maintain their merger. Having decided to help the Allied Forces stop Madara, Obito worked with Kakashi to teleport Naruto to Kamui's dimension, and soon joined him. Once there, Obito proceeded to transfer Yin-Kurama into Naruto.

Within Naruto's subconscious, as he spoke to the spirit of Hagoromo, Yin-Kurama along with the chakra portions of the other tailed beasts, including Gyūki and Shukaku, which Obito stole from Madara and also sealed inside Naruto, manifested to join the meeting. They voiced their continued trust in the Sage and their belief that Naruto is the child of prophecy. Later, after Naruto returned to the battlefield, Madara managed to regain both his eyes. He then proceeded to perform the Chibaku Tensei to set up for the Infinite Tsukuyomi . Yin-Kurama then lent Naruto chakra for him to use Tailed Beast Ball Rasenshuriken against the Chibaku Tensei satellites.

### Kaguya Ōtsutsuki Strikes [ ]

Main article: Kaguya Ōtsutsuki Strikes Later, Madara's ambitions were cut short by Black Zetsu, who revealed itself to be in fact the manifestation of Kaguya Ōtsutsuki 's will. It then used Madara's body as a medium to resurrect its true creator. After Kaguya managed to trap Sasuke in a separate dimension, Yin-Kurama granted Naruto more chakra, letting him create a massive army of shadow clones .

Yin-Kurama, alongside the chakra portions of its brethren, helped Naruto create an onslaught of Rasenshuriken that dealt a significant blow against Kaguya. After reacting to the chakra, Yang-Kurama and the other tailed beasts within Kaguya tried to escape but caused Kaguya to morph into a rabbit form with a gigantic blob of the tailed beasts. After Kaguya was touched by Naruto and Sasuke's seals, Yang-Kurama and the other tailed beasts were extracted from Kaguya as she was sealed away . After escaping, Son Gokū praised Naruto's efforts, causing Yang-Kurama to grin. The tailed beasts then ran away from the new moon and joined the rest of Team 7 . When Naruto joined them, he and Sakura were both shocked by the fact that they couldn't escape the dimension, causing Son to state that Naruto was still a bit dumb, making Yang-Kurama grunt. However, Hagoromo, who called upon the souls of all of the previous Kage, performed a massive summoning alongside the reincarnated Hokage in order to return the tailed beasts, Team 7, and Madara's body back to the real world. Having returned to the real world, Naruto, happy to see Yang-Kurama again, asked if it missed him, which lead the flustered fox to comically deny his claim, much to Son's entertainment.

After the past Kage return to the afterlife, plans for the future were discussed, to which the tailed beasts expressed their joy at finally being free. As Yang-Kurama was surprised to hear Gyūki's wish to return to B, Hagoromo insisted to the fox to return within Naruto to watch over the young ninja, who has become an important part of the tailed beasts' existence. While Yang-Kurama accepted Hagoromo's request, Sasuke made his own intentions known: removing as many people as possible who could get in the way of his own plans of leading the world through a revolution to do away with current shinobi systems, including killing all the current Kage and tailed beasts. Just as Sasuke swiftly subdued the tailed beasts with his Rinnegan and sealed them within his Chibaku Tensei , Naruto reassured Yang-Kurama that he would save them once again.

Soon after, Naruto and Sasuke finally have their long-awaited confrontation, ultimately leaving both ninja battered and exhausted. Yin-Kurama attempted to help Naruto by accumulating a little extra chakra for him, but it got absorbed by Sasuke. As it recalled Yang-Kurama's memories on Naruto's determination to save both Sasuke and Kurama, Yin-Kurama applauded Naruto for countering Sasuke's Chidori and noted that transferring the last of its chakra would put itself to sleep. After the battle, where Sasuke declared Naruto the victor, the two dispelled the Infinite Tsukuyomi and Sasuke released the tailed beasts from their prisons. Yang-Kurama would then return to Naruto and merged with its Yin half, finally restored into a complete state.

## Blank Period [ ]

### The Last: Naruto the Movie [ ]

Main article: The Last: Naruto the Movie

When Naruto and his team saw the giant golem emerging from beneath Toneri Ōtsutsuki 's castle within the moon , he activated his Nine-Tails Chakra Mode and summoned Kurama outside of his body. During their fight, Kurama was initially overwhelmed by its opponent, but eventually the fox was able to blast the golem away into space with a Tailed Beast Ball. Kurama then later wrote the "Mission Complete" symbol on the moon's crater so everyone on Earth knew they succeeded in their mission, but the fox complained to Naruto that its penmanship was terrible.

### Sasuke Shinden: Book of Sunrise [ ]

Main articles: Sasuke Shinden (novel) and Sasuke Shinden (anime) When the genjutsu -controlled missing shinobi were attacking Konoha, Kurama assisted Naruto by infusing its chakra to his Rasengan: Flash to repel them.

## New Era [ ]

Years later, on the day that Naruto was to be inaugurated as the Seventh Hokage , Kurama was knocked out along with Naruto when Himawari , having awakened her Byakugan , hit Naruto's tenketsu by accident while aiming at Boruto , due to his role in a tug-of-war that ripped off her stuffed toy. This caused both Naruto and Kurama to develop a strong fear of Himawari, even when she's her usual happy and sweet self.

### Sarada Uchiha Arc [ ]

Main article: Naruto Gaiden: The Seventh Hokage and the Scarlet Spring When Naruto went to meet with Sasuke about a mysterious young Uchiha, Naruto discovered the said boy attacking Sarada Uchiha and Chōchō Akimichi . As Naruto intervened and entered his Nine-Tails Chakra Mode, Kurama noted its excitement about getting to battle again after so long. However, Kurama's hopes were dashed as the mysterious boy retreated .

Later, as the boy — along with his father — battled Naruto and Sasuke, Kurama criticised its jinchūriki for being careless, commenting on how easily he was stabbed by the enemy's technique . Later, during the final battle with Shin, Naruto brought one of Shin's clones into his subconscious with Kurama glaring down at the boy, scaring him and his clones to surrender.

### Naruto Shinden: Parent and Child Day [ ]

Main articles: Naruto Shinden: Parent and Child Day and Parent and Child Day Arc When the release of a popular but limited edition doll modelled after Kurama came out, Himawari was eager get one for herself. While Naruto decided to help his daughter get one, Kurama was openly unsatisfied at the childish design of its likeness. In addition to Naruto mistaking a Shukaku-doll for it, Kurama's mood turned sour and was unwilling to help Naruto catch a thief who stole a Kurama-doll from him, citing that Naruto wouldn't be a very good father if he couldn't help his daughter using his own power, a sentiment Naruto agreed with.

Later, a grumpy Kurama responded with a pout when Naruto told Himawari that the Shukaku doll was cuter than a Kurama-doll. When Naruto teased it by calling it by the doll's name, Kurama glared at Naruto to intimidate him and showcase its displeasure.

### Versus Momoshiki Arc [ ]

Main articles: Boruto: Naruto the Movie and Versus Momoshiki Arc

After they defeated Killer B and absorbed a lot of Gyūki 's chakra from him, Momoshiki and Kinshiki Ōtsutsuki decided to capture Naruto with the intent of extracting Kurama's chakra for their own use. They soon arrived at the arena where the Chūnin Exams were held and proceeded to attack, creating chaos. As Momoshiki created an amplified Tailed Beast Ball to obliterate everyone with it, Naruto entered Tailed Beast Mode in order to stop the attack, and warned Kurama that it better not have gotten out of shape, to which Kurama refuted and declared it was going with all the power it had stored up. Ultimately, though Naruto stopped the attack, he allowed himself to be taken.

Brought to another dimension , Naruto stubbornly resisted Momoshiki's attempt to effectively extract Kurama's chakra from him, as the other four Kage , Sasuke, and Naruto's son, Boruto , managed to arrive in the dimension and free him from his bounds. Naruto soon combined his Tailed Beast Mode with Sasuke's Susanoo , gaining the upper hand against the empowered Momoshiki.

### One-Tail Escort Arc [ ]

Main article: One-Tail Escort Arc

In the anime, when Urashiki Ōtsutsuki began targeting Shukaku for its chakra, the tanuki agreed to be temporarily sealed in a small tea kettle and escorted to Konoha. While under Naruto's protection, Kurama, smug as ever towards Shukaku, laughed at how Himawari was treating the tanuki as a pet/toy. Kurama and Naruto later had a telepathic meeting with the other tailed beasts, though Matatabi , Kokuō , and Chōmei decided not to participate, and talked about their protection. Shukaku, vowing to get back at the fox for teasing it, was intrigued to learn that Himawari once knocked out Kurama, and decided to play nice with the young girl in hopes of learning how she did it as a chance to have some mocking rights on the fox. It was later revealed that Kurama was aware of the tanuki's plan.

After a few days, Kurama and Shukaku bonded over how spending time with Naruto's family drove them crazy, and that they were never boring to be around. As Shukaku figured that Kurama had grown attached to them, the tanuki teased the fox, to which it quickly rebuffed such an accusation.

### Time Slip Arc [ ]

Main article: Time Slip Arc In the anime, Urashiki Ōtsutsuki decided that the best course of stealing Kurama's chakra was to use Karasuki to time-travel to the past, and attack Naruto when he was too weak and inexperienced to fight back. He arrived in the time period shortly after Sasuke's defection from Konoha.

When failing to steal past-Naruto's chakra due to the seal on him, Urashiki entered into Naruto's subconscious to forcibly remove it. Once finding Kurama's domain, the fox demanded to know what his intentions were. Shortly after he replied that he was "taking back" its chakra, the angered Kurama used its power to reject Urashiki from Naruto's subconscious and subsequently burned the intruder's hand. This outburst also forced Naruto to enter his Version 1 state. Ultimately, Jiraiya was forced to use an extra seal to subdue Naruto back into normal.

### Kawaki Arc [ ]

Main article: Kawaki Arc

While Naruto was sleeping, Kurama manifested its head from his body to warn Kawaki against wandering off from Naruto. While shocked, Kawaki remained composed enough for Kurama to explain its role in watching over him, and corrected certain misconceptions Kawaki had about Naruto, explaining the various hardships he had to overcome. Moved by the story, Kawaki wondered if he could become someone like Naruto, to which Kurama believed that it would be all up to him, before directing him to go to sleep.

Later, using the connection between his and Kawaki's Kāma , Jigen teleported to Naruto's house instantly to bring back Kawaki. When Jigen subdued Naruto with black chakra draining rods, Kurama immediately chastised him for shaming the Hokage title, causing Naruto to playfully retort to the fox as he activated Six Paths Sage Mode. Jigen then soon teleported himself and Naruto to another dimension and attempted to strand him there, but Sasuke arrived and stopped him.

Despite their best efforts, Kurama, Naruto, and Sasuke were swiftly overwhelmed and subdued by Jigen, who was later revealed to be possessed by Isshiki Ōtsutsuki . When Isshiki was going to kill Sasuke, Naruto managed to hold Isshiki off with his shadow clones while Sasuke escaped with his Rinnegan . As Naruto continued to taunt Isshiki, Kurama quickly told him off, stating that from the beginning Isshiki never had any intentions to kill him, but could just easily change his mind and slaughter them both, to which the Ōtsutsuki commended the fox before sealing them away in a giant coffin. The seal was then put under safeguard by Boro .

Determined to save them, Team 7 and Kawaki later used the power of Kawaki and Boruto's Kāma to enter the dimension. While struggling to fight against Boro, Boruto and Kawaki used their Kāma to create a rift in the seal, freeing the unconscious Naruto. After the team defeated Boro and returned to Konoha with Naruto, they were all taken to the hospital for treatment, with Naruto making a swift recovery.

Later, after Boruto teleported the resurrected Isshiki and himself to a separate dimension, Kurama, Naruto, and Sasuke managed to join Boruto for their second confrontation against Isshiki. However, the Ōtsutsuki once again proved too powerful as he knocked out Sasuke and blocked Naruto's sensory abilities by manifesting giant black cubes, a fact that Kurama noticed. Seeing how determined Naruto was to stop Isshiki, even if it cost him his own life, Kurama suggested using a last resort while misleading him into thinking it would result in his death . Naruto agreed to it, declaring that the moment he decided to become Hokage, he knew the risks and was prepared to die. Naruto took on a new form of Baryon Mode .

Kurama explained to Naruto that the form is like nuclear fusion, consuming all their respective energy and that he must be careful not to make any unnecessary movements or thoughts. The new form baffled everyone with its sheer power. Naruto quickly began overwhelming Isshiki. Soon after, the strain of Baryon Mode began catching up as Naruto began to tire. Kurama noted this form gradually drains all life-forces, including Naruto's. However, it would also drain Isshiki's with each contact, meaning they just had to keep pressuring Isshiki until his already diminished lifespan ran out.

After Isshiki's defeat, Kurama spoke with Naruto inside his subconscious for a final conversation as Baryon Mode proved too much to handle. In the manga, Naruto told the kitsune that he had no ill will to Kurama despite killing his parents. In the anime, they reminisce about their history together as Naruto prepared to die. However, Kurama revealed that Naruto would be fine, as it was Kurama's life that was gambled from using Baryon Mode. Kurama revealed the double meaning behind its earlier words and Naruto interpreted it as Baryon Mode resulting in his death rather than Kurama's. Before Kurama's life finally faded away, it warned Naruto that he would lose all access to Kurama's chakra and abilities, meaning he would have to be more careful from now on.

Soon after, the remaining kernels of Kurama's chakra found its way into Himawari .

## New Era: Part II [ ]

### Boruto's Return Arc [ ]

Main article: Boruto's Return Arc Three years after its temporary death, Kurama is revived as a much smaller, younger form. Its presence drew the attention of the Human God Trees , Jura and Hidari , who had mistaken Himawari for her father. As Team 10 retreated with Himawari from the God Trees, Kurama reached out to her within her mental realm, surprised that incarnations of the Ten-Tails were able to sense it.

As Kurama introduced itself, it explained the situation to Himawari. Kurama surmised that its rebirth inside her came from her unique heritage, both being born of two strong bloodlines and inheriting some of its chakra already as the daughter of Kurama's previous jinchūriki. Himawari merely welcomed the fox, impressing Kurama at her maturity and acceptance of the situation. It also revealed to Himawari's compatibility to the fox's power is even greater than her father's was. As Himawari regained consciousness, Jura caught up to Himawari and forced them to the ground. When Inojin was impaled by Jura's Wood Release , the sight of her maimed friend enraged Himawari enough to access Kurama's power. Proud of how quickly Himawari adapted, it encouraged her to fight. Using her newfound abilities, Himawari healed herself and Inojin. She then proceeded to pummel Jura about, until the God Tree decided to take the fight more seriously and swiftly subdued her, prompting Kurama to admit that Himawari could not win. Instead, Boruto arrived to help his sister and teleported them away.

### Matsuri and Ryū Arc [ ]

Main article: Matsuri and Ryū Arc

After the Human God Tree threat passed for the moment, Kurama began training Himawari within her mental realm. While sparing, it tried to make Himawari understand the importance of better chakra control to properly utilise her newfound powers. It explained to Himawari that her newfound status as a Jinchūriki is uniquely more akin to an actual tailed beast with the potency of her powers. Ultimately, deciding that Himawari needed time to process this news, it called the training for the day done.

## In Other Media [ ]

### Movies [ ]

#### Naruto the Movie: Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow [ ]

Main article: Naruto the Movie: Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow During the fight between Naruto and Dotō Kazahana , he managed to knock Naruto, who was at the disadvantage due to having the Chakra Negator on him, through the ice of the lake they were standing on, causing him to sink beneath the waters. However, as Naruto called upon the Nine-Tails for its chakra, which helped break the Chakra Negator, it allowed him to recover quickly and summon his shadow clones to overwhelm Dotō.

#### Naruto the Movie: Guardians of the Crescent Moon Kingdom [ ]

Main article: Naruto the Movie: Guardians of the Crescent Moon Kingdom During an attempt to escape the Land of the Moon , the three ninja hired by Shabadaba attacked, disabling Naruto, Kakashi, Sakura, and Lee with poison mists that slowed their reactions. The prince Michiru Tsuki was captured, but the emergence of the Nine-Tails' chakra allowed Naruto to repel the attacking ninja before the prince's son could be taken.

#### Naruto Shippūden the Movie: Bonds [ ]

Main article: Naruto Shippūden the Movie: Bonds When Naruto fought against the Zero-Tails to free Amaru from its influence, the malevolent spirit sensed the Nine-Tails within Naruto and expressed desire to obtain its power. The Zero-Tails then taunted Naruto and coaxed him into using the fox's power by saying that he couldn't save anyone without it. That made Naruto remember his failure in saving Sasuke and became emotionally unstable, which caused him to eventually enter his four-tailed form . After fighting with the spirit for a while, he turned back to normal when a seal on Naruto given by Jiraiya came off and reminded him of how the tailed beast chakra hurt his friends in which he immediately turned back to normal.

Later, when Shinnō grabbed hold of both Naruto and Sasuke and began draining their chakra to empower the Zero-Tails, Sasuke activated the first level of his cursed seal, releasing its evil chakra, and Naruto, who had understood Sasuke's plan, sent a large amount of the Nine-Tails' chakra into the Zero-Tails, which was too much for the spirit to handle. They managed to break free and Naruto used the Tornado Rasengan to defeat it.

#### Road to Ninja: Naruto the Movie [ ]

Main article: Road to Ninja: Naruto the Movie In the alternate world that Naruto and Sakura ended up in, the Nine-Tails has a counterpart called the Black Nine-Tails ( 黒九尾 , Kuro Kyūbi ), who is sealed within the body of Naruto's alternate self, Menma . Menma's hatred has allowed him to bond with the Black Nine-Tails, and he is able to create and control living entities composed of its chakra, which are known as the Nine Masked Beasts . He doesn't display any kind of tailed beast transformations during the film, but he is able to completely unleash the black fox, using it in a manner similar to a summon.

As they fought, Menma restored and summoned the Black Nine-Tails so he could finish Naruto off. While the Nine-Tails berated its jinchūriki for being overwhelmed by a fake, it offered a truce with Naruto to work together since the fox didn't want to be trapped into a world controlled by Tobi. Having no other choice, Naruto opened the seal to summon the Nine-Tails in a similar matter to fight against its opposite. In the battle, Naruto was barely able to win, but Tobi revealed that this was his plan, to have Naruto and Menma fight, as doing so would cause the two foxes to fight and weaken the Nine-Tails. As he possessed Menma, the Nine-Tails warned Naruto to avoid eye contact with the Sharingan, as it would allow Tobi to extract the fox out of Naruto the same way he extracted it from Kushina.

## Video Games [ ]

Kurama has some minor roles in some of the Naruto video games.

- In Naruto Shippūden: Dragon Blade Chronicles , Kurama appears as a boss when it tries to take control of Naruto.
- In Naruto Shippūden: Kizuna Drive , Gensui Amagiri creates a fake Naruto, who transforms into Kurama, "kills" Gensui and destroys Yumegakure , all to pin the blame on Konoha and the real Naruto. Gensui later transforms Ryuka Tenrō into a false replication of Kurama, but Konoha 11 soon defeated her.
- Kurama also appears as a boss twice and a playable character in the story mode of Naruto Shippūden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 3 .
- In Naruto Shippūden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 and Ultimate Ninja Storm Revolution , Naruto takes on Kurama's form as his awakening. However, in UNS4, only three versions of Naruto Uzumaki can use Kurama via awakening: Road to Boruto, Kurama Link, and Sage of Six Paths.
- Mecha-Naruto possesses most of Naruto and Kurama's abilities, such as the Rocket Rasengan and a mechanical variant of the Tailed Beast Ball. Additionally, it can also shoot rays with its "eyes", after targeting the opponent. It can also merge itself with a huge mechanism to form Mecha-Kurama .

## Trivia [ ]

- Kurama was the first character shown in the series.
- "Kurama" ( 九喇嘛 ) literally means "nine lama ". Kishimoto was mainly inspired to create Kurama based on the character with the same name from the manga series Yū Yū Hakusho . The name may also reference Mount Kurama ( 鞍馬山 , Kurama-yama ), the sacred mountain said to be the home of Sōjōbō , a tengu who taught the arts of swordsmanship to Minamoto no Yoshitsune .
- Furthermore, in the jōruri and kabuki play Yoshitsune and the Thousand Cherry Trees , Minamoto no Yoshitsune is accompanied by Genkurō , a kitsune disguising himself as Yoshitsune's retainer, Satō Tadanobu .
- Kitsune ( 狐 , fox ) are popular animal yōkai in Japanese folklore, and are very well-known to be cunning tricksters with shape-shifting abilities, to which on occasions, use to transform themselves into beautiful women in order to seduce men (possibly the inspiration for the Sexy Technique ; Naruto even thought Kushina would be Kurama, when they first met). They are also said to be rivals to the tanuki , which created an old Japanese proverb: "A fox and a tanuki matching their cleverness" ( 狐と狸の化かし合い , kitsune to tanuki no bakashi ai ), which meant the two sly characters trying to outsmart one another. However, kitsune are known to keep their promises, a trait Naruto has with his nindō . Stories often depict kitsune growing additional tails as they age, which increases their magical power; once a kitsune reaches 1,000 years of age and grows their ninth and final tail, their fur turns gold and becomes a tenko ( 天狐 , celestial fox ), making themselves equivalent to a kami .
- In the manga pilot , Kurama was actually Naruto's father, who attacked the village of Mt. Oinari and required nine shinobi to defeat him. Hiruzen was the only survivor and had taken pity on Naruto, who had taken human form, and allowed him to live in the village.
- Kurama's death was featured in Boruto episode 218, on the 19th anniversary of the debut of the Naruto anime, where Kurama debuted.
- Despite being a kitsune in appearance, Kurama has never once been called the Kyubi no Kitsune in the official translation, but is erroneously called that in the English anime and Viz translations.

## Quotes [ ]

- (To Naruto) " I suppose I can't kill you, can I? After all, you die, I die. Your courage is impressive, little boy… Very well, as a reward for making it this far, I will loan you my chakra! "
- (To Naruto) " You runt, you really are weak! You better be grateful to me… and to your beloved Fourth Hokage , who sealed me inside a twerp like you! "
- (To Sasuke) " With that vision of yours and chakra more ominous than my own… You're the spitting image of Madara Uchiha from the elder days… "
- (To Naruto) " Destroy everything … Erase everything that hurts you… Entrust your heart to me… I will save you from your pain… "
- (To Naruto) " You don't have what it takes to control my power! You're nothing more than a mere fragment of my hatred! "
- (To Naruto) " Are you stupid!? I am the Nine-Tails! I haven't fallen so far that a little brat can influence me! I am hatred incarnate! "
- (About Naruto) " Naruto… If you really want to do something for us … then do what you've always done… Prove it to us with your actions! That's who you are! "
- (To Obito about Naruto) " Sorry, but… this guy doesn't suit your words. The Fourth Hokage entrusted me to him, and not only has Naruto befriended me… he mastered my power as well!! The Fourth sealed me inside Naruto… to take you down! Go… Naruto! You won't fail!! "
- (To Kawaki about Naruto) " Hmph… He was always lonely. Now, he uses the Shadow Clone Technique as his specialty. It's ironic, isn't it…? Originally, he was bad at ninjutsu itself. He was especially bad at things like the Clone Technique … But in the end, the void in Naruto's heart… wasn't filled by some sort of jutsu… I got to watch closely as Naruto's heart slowly became fuller… He's certainly living proof of it… "
- (Last words to Naruto) "Well, I guess this is it. I've got to go, but… be real careful. You won't have superhuman strength anymore. So if you overdo it, you'll end up joining me in no time. But until that day comes… you be well… Naruto. "

## References [ ]