Jinchūriki

The **Jinchūriki** (人柱力, *literally meaning:* Power of Human Sacrifice) are individuals who have had a Tailed Beast sealed inside their bodies through use of especially powerful Fūinjutsu. They are considered priceless assets by the Hidden Villages, as each possesses enormous levels of power and Chakra.

## History

Jinchūriki have existed for almost just as long as the Tailed Beasts, though the practice came to an abrupt halt during the Warring States Period. It wasn't until the time of the Hidden Villages that Jinchūriki started reappearing. They would often be treated as nothing more than military assets, and the Beast inside them and its destructive potential meant that they were often treated as wretches by society. The practice of sealing the Tailed Beasts is still in place to this day, and the presence or absence of a Jinchūriki among an hidden village's ranks can tip the scales in their favor or against them in an instant.

## Sealing

While the specific techniques used vary from village to village, with Konoha using the Eight Trigrams Sealing Style and Kumo employing the Iron Armour Seal, the basic principles behind the creation of a Jinchūriki are constant: The user's Chakra must be strong enough to survive the procedure, whether through special traits or special compatibility, and the longer they have their Tailed Beast sealed within them, the more compatible will they become with it. For this latter reason, the sealing of the creature inside its vessel usually occurs early on in their lives, either shortly after their birth or during their childhood.

Tailed Beasts will try to break free if the chance presents itself - for example, if the Jinchūriki loses control and/or the seal keeping them contained weakens enough to allow them to escape. The beast will usually wait for the vessel's moment of greatest weakness to try and break away from them, for example during childbirth for female Shinobi, sometimes even requiring external support to keep the seal stable and return it to its prime condition afterwards. While extremely rare and often experimental at best, there are also certain techniques that allow for a Tailed Beast to be forcefully removed from its Jinchūriki.

Usually, removing a Tailed Beast from its Jinchūriki will result in the latter's immediate death. However, those with especially powerful life force are able to survive the extraction and can survive if immediate medical treatment is administered.

## Abilities

Each Jinchuriki possesses its own unique abilities, often new and exclusive applications of an already existing Nature Transformation or even a Kekkei Genkai associated with their Tailed Beast itself. Additionally, they are able to tap into their Beast's Chakra and assume new, extremely powerful forms that further enhance their abilities.

### Controlling a Tailed Beast

To harness the power of a Tailed Beast, Jinchūriki require extensive training with little margin for error. By essentially "forcing the Beast into submission", they are able to use progressively greater and greater amounts of its Chakra and will eventually become able to assume the complete form of their Tailed Beast while still retaining control over themselves. In history, very few have ever possessed what is known as "**Perfect Control**" over their Tailed Beast, and almost all of them took their methods on how to achieve it to the grave with them.

## Pseudo-Jinchūriki

When someone possesses some of a Tailed Beast's Chakra but does not have the Beast itself contained within them, they become what is known as a **Pseudo-Jinchūriki** (人柱力もどき, *Jinchūrikimodoki*), who have access to a reduced level of power compared to actual Jinchūriki in exchange for a greatly reduced risk. However, extremely few have the ability to become Pseudo-Jinchūriki, as the vast majority would risk death trying to achieve such a state.

## Trivia

* The fictional term *Jinchūriki* (人柱力, *literally meaning:* Power of Human Sacrifice) bears strong resemblance to the real Japanese word for supernatural or magical power, *jintsūriki* (神通力, *literally meaning:* God-Reaching Power).