Kurama Naruto Guide

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Emad has been a major manga/anime fanatic for the past 13 years. He has watched almost every good anime you can name, and he invites you to test him! Aside from his love of manga, he is a keen gamer, and a huge fan of all things Marvel.

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Kurama Naruto Guide — Image from Wiki Fandom

Kurama or Kyubi or The Nine-Tails, whatever you call him, was one of the nine Tailed-Beasts to walk the earth (in the Narutoverse, of course). He came into existence when Hagoromo, the sage of the six paths, split the Ten-Tails chakra into nine separate pieces. This partition gave birth to nine beasts, Kurama being one of them.

After Hagoromo’s passing, Kurama went to rest in a temple where the hidden leaf now exists. In his long period roaming the land, Kurama was often used as a tool for war by many. As a result, people feared him for his destructive capabilities, yet he was still pursued by those looking for power. This betrayal by the humans led him to detest humankind as a whole.

After being controlled by Madara, Kurama was ultimately defeated and sealed inside Mito Uzumaki, Hasirama Senju’s wife, where he remained for some time after being passed onto Kushina. Soon after Kushina gave birth, Obito released Kurama and started destroying the lead village, but Minato and Kushina sacrificed themselves to seal Kurama inside Naruto Uzumaki.

The relationship between Naruto and Kurama started badly, but as time passed, Naruto’s kind and caring personality finally got to Kurama. He finally managed to calm his anger toward humans. Kurama then befriended Naruto, and their duo became fearsome ever since.

Kurama passed away in Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, where he sacrificed himself to help Naruto defeat Isshiki Otsutsuki.

Early Life

Kyubi’s life started centuries before the main plot of the story. Hagoromo Otsusuki, also known as Sage of the Six Paths, utilized his technique ‘Creation of all Things’ to divide the legendary ‘Ten Tails’ into nine separate beasts. Kyubi was one of those Tailed Beasts.

Hagoromo did this to ensure that no one would ever claim the Ten-Tails power in his absence. As centuries passed, Kyubi got known as an ancient force of nature that suddenly appeared in places where the darker aspects of humanity swarmed and wiped them out.

After the formation of the village hidden in the leaves, a former ally turned evil, Madara Uchiha, used his Sharingan to control Kurama into helping him fight the one titled ‘First Hokage’ and referred to as the ‘God of Shinobi,’ Hashirama Senju. The battle between two Legendary Shinobi was of such extraordinary power that it slit the land in two, creating a massive crater known as the Valley of the End.

Hashirama finally managed to best both Madara and Kurama and then sealed Kurama off in the body of his wife, Mito Uzumaki. Mito held onto Kyubi for the rest of her life, keeping it at bay. Finally, when Mito Uzumaki’s life was almost over, she found a successor who would carry Kurama after her passing. That successor was none other than Kushina Uzumaki, who would later marry and become the wife of the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, and mother to Naruto, the protagonist of this story.

Obito Uchiha, a former ally of Kakashi-sensei, now disguised as Tobi, took advantage of the weakened state of Kushina after Naruto’s birth and ensured that Kurama could free himself. He then took control of the nine tails to help him destroy the hidden leaf.

Although Minato Namikaze managed to defeat Tobi and release his control over Kurama, the tailed beast was so furious at the hidden leaf for sealing it in the first place that it continued its rampage and kept destroying the village.

Kurama charged a tailed beast bomb at the village, but Minato managed to teleport the bomb away from the village, saving everyone. Kyubi was far too strong to put down even for the Fourth Hokage. To seal it away again, Minato teleported Kyubi, Kushina, and Naruto away from the villagers and decided to use his son as the new vessel for the beast.

Afraid of being sealed once again, Kyubi attempted to kill Naruto, but Minato and Kushina both stopped his attack, sacrificing their own body. The entire Nine-Tails chakra was too immense to seal inside a child, so Minato used the ‘Grim Reaper’s Death Seal’ to divide Kyubi into two halves and sealed one inside him to die with him and sealed the other half inside the newborn Naruto.

Kurama roared and cursed in rage as he again was trapped inside a human. Kurama’s appearance at the Hidden Leaf had very devastating effects, as the entire Uchiha clan got annihilated under the suspicion of involvement in the tailed beast’s escape. Itachi Uchiha, the one given the task to murder his whole clan, left only his brother alive, who would later grow up to learn the fact and become Konoha’s enemy.

His First Encounter With Naruto Uzumaki

Naruto wasn’t aware that he was Kurama’s Jinchuriki until later in his life. Naruto being Kyubi’s host didn’t make his orphan life any easier, as almost every adult and teen resented him.

Kurama first came in contact with Naruto in the land of waves. Naruto found himself trapped on a mission with Kakashi, Sasuke, and Sakura when Haku caught him and Sasuke Inside her jutsu. Seeing Sasuke collapse to the ground, Naruto finally gave in to his anger and tapped into Kurama’s chakra for the first time. The nine tail was quite happy at Naruto for using his chakra.

As the second trial of the chunin exams was underway, Naruto once again tapped into Kurama’s chakra during his fight with Orochimaru, who used the five elements seal to keep Naruto from using the beast’s power. Jiraya-Sensei, Minato’s teacher, would later break this seal.

Kurama and Naruto’s Fight For Control

Kurama’s manifestation of Naruto started during his fight with Sasuke. Naruto wanted to stop Sasuke from leaving the village, but Sasuke was too powerful for him to stop. After deeming him a weakling, Kurama lent some of his chakra to Naruto, which transformed half of his body into a manifestation of Kurama’s Jinchuriki. But even with Kurama lending him a fraction of his strength, Sasuke’s activated curse mark proved too strong for him.

After Sasuke departed from the hidden leaf village, Naruto went on a journey of his own with Jiraiya-Sensei. For two years, Naruto trained with Jiraiya in hopes of controlling the nine-tail chakra. There were plenty of moments when Kurama took over Naruto’s body during these two years, but Jiraiya was always there to stop him.

But never had Kyubi come this close to fully engulfing Naruto when the fourth tail appeared. The four-tail cloaked form was so strong that Jiraiya almost lost his life trying to stop Naruto. He finally managed to calm Naruto at the expense of several of his bones.

Two years later, Jiraiya returned with Naruto to the leaf village. He told Kakashi about Kurama’s influence on Naruto and handed him a couple of seals to prevent Naruto from taking the four-tailed cloaked form. Soon after, Naruto and his team headed to save Gaara, who got kidnapped by the Akatsuki, a group of extremely powerful Shinobi tasked with the revival of Ten-Tails.

During the mission, Naruto confronted Deidara, one of the Akatsuki, and during that fight, he again started to lose control. Kurama was slowly manipulating him into using more of his power against Deidara. At last, Kakashi managed to place the seal on Naruto before attaining the fourth tail.

This battle led to the hospitalization of Kakashi, and hence a substitute captain was assigned to the team, Yamato. During the next mission, the team got ambushed by Orochimaru. Naruto was furious at him for placing the curse mark on Sasuke resulting in him leaving the village.

The battle began, and Orochimaru proved to be an overwhelming foe. While battling Orochimaru, Naruto’s desire to defeat him led Kurama to take control and Naruto to take his four-tailed form. Naruto became a soulless monster in this state as he attacked everything, even his teammate Sakura Haruno.

When Yamato finally managed to suppress Kurama, using his wood style technique, he told Naruto what he had done to Sakura. Realizing that he severely injured his beloved friend in his state of rage, he vowed never to use Kurama’s power ever again.

During his fight with Pain, Hinata Hyuga got severally injured protecting him. Seeing her collapse on the ground, presuming her to be dead, Naruto finally stopped suppressing Kurama and gave into his emotions. That led Naruto to the brink of being engulfed by Kurama, forming the eighth tail.

The immense power that came with the eighth tail overwhelmed Pain. Everything seemed lost for Naruto until the small amount of Minato’s chakra resided in Naruto restored the seal.

To control Kurama’s chakra for good, Naruto went to a remote temple with Killer-bee, the eighth tail Jinchuriki. He overcame his dark side when he invaded his subconscious to fight Kurama. Both Naruto and Killer-bee fought against Kurama to take control of his chakra. But the Nine-Tails was no ordinary foe. He almost overwhelmed them both and took over Naruto.

The fleeting chakra of Kushina appeared before him and gave him the strength to take control of Kurama’s chakra, transforming into the Nine-Tails chakra mode.

Kurama During The 4th Shinobi World War

After obtaining the power of Nine-Tails chakra mode, Naruto could use an immense portion of Kurama’s power. Still, even that had its limits, as using too much of Kyubi’s chakra resulted in the draining of his own chakra. This consequence led to him coming very close to death.

Having gained Kurama’s powers, Naruto and Killer-bee headed to the Fourth Great Shinobi War battlefield, where this chakra proved of immense help.

The reincarnation of Madara Uchiha again tried to summon Kurama from Inside Naruto but failed. Kyubi felt Madara’s chakra, much to his discomfort and anger.

Naruto once again entered his subconscious to converse with Kyubi, where he pinned Kyubi down and promised to help him resolve his issue one day. Hearing this, Kyubi looked back at the times when Naruto proved to be better than the rest of the humans and finally realized how much he had grown over the years.

Under Tobi’s control, the tailed beasts were fighting Naruto. Kurama did less to help and listened to Naruto conversing with Son Goku, one of the tailed beasts. Seeing him free Son Goku from Tobi’s control, Kurama finally decided to lend Naruto his entire strength.

This burst of energy allowed Naruto to step into a new, more powerful state to stop the other Tailed-Beasts. An epic fight erupted between the tailed beasts, and Kurama finally freed his brothers from Tobi’s control. He then took Naruto to a deeper subconscious level, where he talked with the rest of the tailed beasts. Kyubi told his fellow tailed beasts that Naruto might be the one Hagoromo spoke of, which would unite them all.

This revelation marked the beginning of Naruto and Kyubi’s friendship, who would later work together to end the war and bring world peace.

Kurama’s Passing

Ah, if only that were the end. But unfortunately, Kurama’s fate had other plans for him. In the Naruto sequel series named Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, Kurama passed away after using all his life force to power Naruto in his fight against Isshiki Otsutsuki.

After getting their asses handed to them by Isshiki, when Naruto was on the brink of death, as a final measure, Kurama allowed Naruto to access a new and his most powerful transformation, Baryon Mode, but only at the expense of their own lives. Naruto took on the offer, assuming that they both would meet their end.

The God-like Baryon mode allowed Naruto to easily overpower Isshiki, rendering him so weak that Kawaki ultimately defeated him.

After their triumph, Naruto was ready to move to the afterlife, knowing that his loved ones were safe. That is when Kurama revealed that Naruto’s life was never the price, it was Kurama who had to go now. Naruto was heartbroken upon hearing this.

The duo took a heart-felt moment to reminisce about their journey, ups, and downs. In their final moments, as Kurama was slowly fading away into the mist, Naruto could not hold back his sorrow, and with a weeping eye, bid farewell to his partner.

Kurama: Appearance, Personality, Abilities, and Much More

Kurama’s Appearance

Kishimoto took the inspiration for Kurama’s character design from a Kitsune, a Japanese mythical creature. And just like the creature, Kurama too had Nine long, beautiful tails, which also worked as his identification for being a Tailed-Beasts.

He had crimson red eyes and bright orange fur around his body, with black lines that circled his eyes and followed into his long ears. Nails so sharp that he could easily Pearce into other Tailed-Beasts. Though small at birth, his body slowly grew to enormous size as he matured.

At his peak, Kurama’s body was similar in size to a mountain. Another noteworthy characteristic that Kurama possessed was that his two back legs were structured so that he could stand on his two feet and fight using his two arms.

The Yin side of Kurama, which Minato trapped Inside himself and thus died with him, was almost identical to the Yang Kurama inside Naruto. The only difference was that Yin Kurama’s fur was a dark orange color rather than bright orange like the original one.

This trait might have to do something with their separation, as the loving side of Kurama got sealed and died inside Minato. In contrast, all the negative aspects of his personality got sealed inside Naruto.

Kurama’s entire body turned a transparent golden color as he manifested his nine-tailed chakra mode. His whiskers thickened, and black circular markings appeared on his shoulders, abdomen, and the front and back of his paws.

His spine, arms, legs, and tails are also covered in black lines. Kurama got similar thick dark spots that circle his eyes when Naruto was in Sage mode. Kurama’s Tailed Beast avatar grew to enormous proportions, and his tails became bushier after achieving Naruto’s six-path chakra.

Following the reunion of both halves of Kurama during the Fourth Great Ninja War, the fox beast grew even more extensive than before, towering over the stump of the God Tree.

His Personality

At the start of the series, Kurama had quite a negative personality. He was a prideful, anger-driven, and manipulative fox. His hatred for humankind still burned bright while trapped inside Naruto. This hate led him to try often and take control of Naruto’s body, resulting in massive damage to the surroundings.

His manipulative tactics were also quite sinister. He often would try to get into Naruto’s head, filling it with lies and negative thoughts. Sometimes, Naruto would manage to see through Kurama’s manipulation and get his head together, while in other instances, he would give in to the hate and lose all control.

His feelings toward Naruto and the rest of humankind finally changed during the 4th Great Shinobi World War. He saw Naruto help not just his nation but also helping the other Tailed-Beasts escape Obito’s control. Kurama’s heart, which had been made to stone by all the hate and manipulation he faced at the hands of other humans, finally melted against the kindness and heroism displayed by Naruto. Also, the “Talk-no-Jutsu” helped.

Abilities

Kurama didn’t have too many of them when it came to abilities and special moves, but the ones he had were enough to level entire cities. Aside from his colossal chakra reserves, massive size and the Tailed-Beast bomb, his more noticeable move would be his ability to share his chakra with Naruto.

This chakra manipulation had gotten Naruto and himself out of countless dire situations. Sometimes, the chakra manipulation would be mutual, meaning Naruto accepted Kurama’s help consciously, while at other times, Kurama would try to forcefully take over Naruto’s body by flooding him with his ominous chakra.

This chakra manipulation would come in quite handy in the future, as Naruto learned to control this power and later could even manifest Kurama in his chakra state to fight the other Tailed-Beasts.

Tailed Beast Bomb

A Tailed-Beast bomb is the most vigorous attack that a Tailed-Beast possesses. In this attack, a massive chunk of the tailed beast’s chakra reserve is focused directly towards its mouth, taking the form of a colossal ball of dark mass. This attack is soo overpowered that it can level an entire village.

During his assault on the leaf village after being controlled by Obito, Kurama began to form a similar beast bomb. The attack, it had made contact, would have been enough to wipe out a significant portion, if not the entire village. Hopefully, Minato, the Fourth Hokage and father of Naruto, managed to teleport the Beast Bomb away from the village, saving his people.

Susano Armour

Kurama is the first Tailed-Beast to combine and use the immense power of Susanoo, a gigantic avatar made of pure chakra and possessing incredible attack and defense power inherited through the Uchiha Clan members who successfully awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan.

Enveloped in Susanoo Armour, Kurama single-handedly defeated the five Tailed-Beasts. In his battle against Momoshiki, he cut the gigantic elemental construct made by Momoshiki in a single slash from Susanoo’s blade.

Quotes

Kurama debuted as an evil character in the show and stayed such for a very long time. This period in which he detested all humans, including Naruto, led to many ominous and hate-filled dialogues. While reading some of them, one can feel the anger inside Kurama, his lust for corrupting Naruto to free himself. Let’s go over some of them.

Destroy everything, erase everything that hurts you, entrust your heart to me, I will save you from your suffering.
You don’t have what it takes to control my power, you’re nothing more than just a mere fragment of my hatred.
Until that day comes, you be well, Naruto.
Why are you hesitating? You need my power, right? Well, who do you want to kill?
If the alternative is being controlled by him, then I choose you.
I am the Nine-Tails! I haven’t fallen so far that a child can influence me! I’m a living mass of malevolence.
Naruto, let’s show them our power.

Fun Facts (And Not So Fun Facts) About Kurama

Before we get on with the FAQs, let’s look at some facts about Kurama that you might not be aware of.

While being sealed inside Naruto, Minato separated Kurama into two parts, Yin and Yang. The Yang Kurama died with Minato, so in other terms, Kurama was dead and alive at the same time.
Kurama’s strength was soo overwhelming that with only half his strength, he successfully pushed back five Tailed-Beasts at the same time.
Kurama’s first Jinchuriki was Mito Uzumaki, the wife of Hashirama Senju.
The inspiration for Kurama’s design got taken from Kitsune, a mythical Japanese fox. Kitsune was famous for her shape-shifting abilities using which she turned into beautiful woman. The same characteristic is quite prominent in Naruto and his sexy jutsu.
Kurama would be the last Tailed-Beast to be absorbed by the Getto Statue because his power was soo immense that the statue would have overloaded if not for the other tailed beast’s chakra inside it.
Kurama was the very first tailed beast to fuse with a Susano.

FAQs

Question: Will Kurama Return in Boruto?

Answer: To be honest, there isn’t a clear answer for this one. It all depends on Kishimoto (the Mangaka), whether he revives Kurama or lets him rest in peace.
As for the fan theories, there are quite a few. Some believe that Kurama might be able to revive itself once the amount of chakra to maintain its body gets reformed. In contrast, others believe that Kurama’s passing was permanent, and we won’t be seeing any more of our beloved Kitsune.

Question: Is Kurama The Strongest Tailed Beast?

Answer: Yes, he is. Kurama’s strength is well known and feared throughout the Naruto universe.
A little demonstration of Kurama’s fearsome might got displayed during the 4th Great Shinobi World War, where he single-handedly fended off five tailed beasts at once. And the crazy this is, Kurama wasn’t even at full strength. As you might remember, half of Kurama’s chakra was separated and trapped inside Minato, so he was half his strength when facing the tailed beasts. What a monster.

Question: How Does Naruto Befriend Kurama?

Answer: Time heals all wounds. Though both Naruto and Kurama started as nothing more than enemies, with Kurama always trying to take over Naruto’s body, as time passed, Kurama took a liking to his character. Naruto’s constant kindness to humans and the other Tailed-Beasts managed to change his perspective on all humans, and for the first time in his life, he put his faith in a human (Naruto).

Question: How Did Kurama Come to Detest Humans?

Answer: Ever since Hagoromo’s passing, all that Kurama ever received from the humans was betrayal and fraud. Again and again, humans used him to fulfill their desires and still treated him like nothing more than a mere weapon.
This anger inside Kurama kept piling up until all that remained was hate and disgust for humankind. And to put fuel to the fire, Madara came and forced Kurama to bend to his will.
Luckily, as time went on, Naruto managed to calm down that anger bit by bit, until finally, Kurama could trust again.

Question: Why Did Minato Separate Kurama’s Chakra Into Two Parts?

Answer: Kurama’s entire chakra was too much for a newborn to bear. Trapping his complete form would have been too much for Naruto, and he would have died. So to prevent that, Minato first separated Kurama’s chakra into two, a Yin and a Yang. The Yin was sealed inside Naruto, while the Yang part died with Minato.

Kurama Guide: Final Thoughts

Kurama’s life was in no way easy. Brimming with physical and spiritual battles, he faced many hurdles in his journey. He originally was a very kind-hearted fox who loved Hagoromo and his fellow Tailed-Beasts. But that kind-hearted Kitsune got lost somewhere between the disparity of the human world. Not every human is kind, and Kurama’s unfortunate fate led him to the bad ones.

But fortunately, fate had other plans for Kurama. After passing through such anger and despair, he finally met Naruto, a very kind-hearted boy who cared for not only humans but also beasts. Their journey together is a very splendid one. And their separation is even more heartbreaking. It at least provided some consolation that the bond they had formed was strong as ever, and you never know, maybe destiny might bring the duo back again.

The Naruto series, in general, has a fantastic storyline that has kept it amongst the Anime world’s big three. There is a hand full of fillers in the Anime that might hinder you from obtaining the complete thrill of the main plot. However, it still manages to steal the spotlight from everyone else with its amazing character development and storyline. That was all for Kurama’s Guide, I’ve been Emad, and I’ll see you in the next one.