Shukaku

*This article is for the tailed beast for the shinobi see Shukaku Hoshigaki*

**Shukaku** (守鶴), more commonly known as the **One-Tail** (一尾, *Ichibi*), is one of the nine tailed beasts. It was last sealed within Gaara of Sunagakure, after being sealed in two other jinchūriki before him. It is currently sealed into Gaara's son Eiichi

## Background

Shukaku 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 giving each a name. Some time 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 Shukaku to live in a temple built for the purpose of protecting it in a desert region that would later become part of the Land of Wind.

Long before the First Shinobi World War, Shukaku was captured by disciples of a temple and kept in Sunagakure, to which the First Kazekage, who was invited along with other first Kage by Hashirama Senju into the first Five Kage Summit, attempted to use his possession of the tanuki as leverage to gain wealth for his nation, as opposed to gaining another tailed beast.

Shukaku's first jinchūriki was a Suna priest named Bunpuku, who was locked away in a dungeon with the giant tea kettle, and was kept under constant guard. Over time, the citizens of Sunagakure came to believe that Shukaku itself was a living ghost (生霊, *ikiryō*) of a corrupted priest sealed inside a tea kettle. Despite the animosity the village showed for Shukaku and its host, the elderly priest held no ill-will towards the tanuki nor the villagers, viewing it as an equal and was content as long as Shukaku hadn't forgotten his name. Shukaku eventually came to appreciate Bunpuku and would later remember the words he imparted to it: that someday someone would appear in the world to teach it about the heart and acceptance. Shukaku had another jinchūriki who inspired the Third Kazekage to create his Iron Sand fighting style. Shukaku was eventually removed from their bodies, resulting in their respective deaths.

When Karura became pregnant with Gaara, her husband, the Fourth Kazekage, had Chiyo seal Shukaku into Gaara while he was still in the womb because, out of his three children, Gaara was the only one compatible with the tailed beast. Before Karura died after giving birth, she passionately told her son that she would protect him, and, according to her husband, her love seeped into the sand and was noted to form his automatic defence. However, Gaara couldn't properly control Shukaku's powers, killing or injuring several of Suna's shinobi and citizens by accident. Shukaku would even cite its hatred toward humans, warning Gaara not to sleep too long if he didn't want to give Shukaku an opening. Deemed a failure, the Fourth Kazekage chose to test his son one last time, 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.

## Personality

Shukaku is characterised as a childish and short-tempered individual, and often speaks in a bombastic and incoherent manner, giving it the demeanour of a drunkard. It uses "ore-sama" (オレ様, *literally meaning:* my esteemed self) when referring to itself, as it expresses great pride in its own abilities, especially its sealing techniques and defences. According to Gaara, prior to its introduction, Shukaku relishes the opportunity to kill anyone in sight, even more so during a full moon. Shukaku has also shown to harbour a bitter grudge towards Kurama due to the fox's beliefs that the tailed beasts' strength is measured by the number of tails, therefore viewing the tanuki as the weakest. Because of this, Shukaku strives to find any opportunity to surpass its arrogant rival.

Shukaku's hatred towards humans appears to stem from centuries of being viewed and treated as a monster that must either be destroyed or captured and weaponized. This led it to spark fear in whomever was its jinchūriki, reminding them that if they go into a deep sleep, the tanuki would possess their body and murder all humans; this resulted in Gaara's developing insomnia. Rude as Shukaku can be, it could still be respectful to those who show genuine respect and kindness to the tanuki, as seen from its original harsh attitude toward Bunpuku; when its jinchūriki treated the tanuki as an equal, an impressed Shukaku complimented him by comparing him to the Sage of Six Paths. Likewise, during the Fourth Shinobi World War, as Gaara defiantly fought to protect Shukaku from being sealed and openly thanked Shukaku for helping him find his path in life, Shukaku came to see Gaara in a similar light to Bunpuku and fought to protect Gaara just as earnestly.

Years after the Fourth Great Shinobi War, Shukaku's relationship with Sunagakure was relatively peaceful as it mellowed down. As with the other tailed beasts, Shukaku also came to respect Naruto as well, commenting on his son Boruto with interest when he displayed a similar drive. Shukaku is also not above developing affection as after Naruto's daughter Himawari risked her own safety to save Shukaku, the tanuki began enjoying her company and when finally leaving, bid her a genuine and friendly goodbye.