Jinchūriki

The are humans that have a tailed beast sealed within them. They exhibit extraordinary powers, and in some cases are more powerful than their tailed beasts, because they have the intelligence to use the beast's powers effectively.

The first jinchūriki was the Sage of Six Paths, who sealed the Ten-Tailed Beast within himself to save the world, but later divided the Ten-Tails' chakra into nine separate tailed beasts and sealed the Ten-Tails' body into the moon. The Second Kazekage of Sunagakure was the first to research the jinchūriki, with the other villages following soon after. Each village has used a different seal when creating their jinchūriki, resulting in different levels of access to the beast's chakra. For example, Konohagakure used the Dead Demon Consuming Seal, while Akatsuki, an organization whose role in the series is to capture the jinchūriki, uses the Illusionary Dragon Nine Consuming Seals to extract the tailed beasts, and seal it away for future use. They have, as of the Fourth Great Shinobi World War, captured seven of the nine beasts.

In the case of Sora, an anime-only character, he only had a tailed beast's chakra sealed within him, not an actual beast. This made him a "pseudo-jinchūriki". Even though he was granted similar advantages to a real jinchūriki, his were vastly inferior.

Personality
Jinchūriki are typically lonely people, viewed by those around them as the beast that has been sealed within them, leading to prejudice and being hated and feared. According to Akatsuki, the first two jinchūriki they captured loathed humanity, and their villages were in fact glad to be rid of them. However, certain villages treat their jinchūriki with respect, thus leading them to have different personalities than those who are shunned. Such examples are Yugito Nii and Killer Bee, both from Kumogakure.

As the jinchūriki draws on more of their beast's power, their personality tends to corrode into animalistic instincts. Because their survival depends on the safety of their hosts, the tailed beasts are very protective, and will act whenever their hosts' lives are in danger. Normally, these hosts have little control over themselves as they transform deeper into their tailed beast forms, and become more beastly in battle. However, Yagura and Killer Bee, the only two jinchūriki to have full control of their tailed beasts, can retain complete consciousness and control even after a full transformation.

Abilities
Jinchūriki have access to a unique fighting style, depending on their tailed beast: Gaara controls sand, Yugito controls fire, Rōshi controls lava, and Naruto has high stamina and rejuvenation. By training, they can gain additional access to their tailed beast and its chakra, such as Killer Bee being able to synchronize with his beast, and transform himself into it. Not all jinchūriki can retain control when transforming into their tailed beast; when Naruto taps into his four-tailed transformation, he loses the ability to discern between friend and foe, and attacks anything in sight. A tailed beast can also provide its host with constant advantages, such as Gaara's self-activating Shield of Sand which automatically protects him, even from self-injury and Naruto's healing factor that immediately activates as soon as he incurs wounds.

Known Jinchūriki

 * Gaara
 * Beast: One-Tailed Shukaku
 * Affiliation: Sunagakure
 * Status: Captured and extracted by Akatsuki; later resurrected


 * Yugito Nii
 * Beast: Two-Tailed Monster Cat
 * Affiliation: Kumogakure
 * Status: Captured and extracted by Akatsuki; deceased


 * Yagura
 * Beast: Three-Tailed Giant Turtle
 * Affiliation: Kirigakure
 * Status: Extracted under unknown circumstances; deceased


 * Rōshi
 * Beast: Four-Tailed Monkey
 * Affiliation: Iwagakure
 * Status: Captured and extracted by Akatsuki; deceased


 * Han
 * Beast: Five-Tailed Dolphin Horse
 * Affiliation: Iwagakure
 * Status: Captured and extracted by Akatsuki; deceased


 * Utakata
 * Beast: Six-Tailed Slug
 * Affiliation: Kirigakure
 * Status: Captured and extracted by Akatsuki; deceased (Currently active in the anime)


 * Fū
 * Beast: Seven-Tailed Horned Beetle
 * Affiliation: Takigakure
 * Status: Captured and extracted by Akatsuki; deceased


 * Killer Bee
 * Beast: Eight-Tailed Giant Ox
 * Affiliation: Kumogakure
 * Status: Active


 * Naruto Uzumaki
 * Beast: Nine-Tailed Demon Fox
 * Affiliation: Konohagakure
 * Status: Active


 * Sage of the Six Paths
 * Beast: Ten-Tailed Beast
 * Affiliation: Unknown
 * Status: Separated its chakra into the nine tailed beasts; deceased

Pseudo-Jinchūriki

 * Sora (anime-only)
 * Beast: Nine-Tailed Demon Fox's chakra
 * Affiliation: Land of Fire
 * Status: Inactive; chakra absorbed by Naruto Uzumaki


 * Amaru (movie-only)
 * Beast: Zero-Tailed Masked Leech
 * Affiliation: Land of Fire
 * Status: Active

Trivia

 * Four of the known jinchūriki each have some relation to a Kage, specifically, the fourth in their respective villages; Naruto is the son of the Fourth Hokage, Gaara is the son of the Fourth Kazekage and is the Fifth Kazekage, Killer Bee is the brother of the Fourth Raikage, and Yagura was the Fourth Mizukage. Gaara and Yagura are the only known jinchūriki to have been the Kage of their village.
 * Gaara is the only jinchūriki known to have lost their tailed beast and lived. Although he did die during the extraction, he was revived shortly after by Chiyo. Even after Gaara's tailed beast was extracted from him, his powers still remain intact. This is unclear whether the other jinchūriki could have kept their powers if they were still alive after the tailed beast's extractions.
 * Takigakure is the only village, not belonging to one of the Five Great Shinobi Countries, known to have had a jinchūriki.
 * Naruto Uzumaki and Yugito Nii are the only two jinchūriki to have known surnames.
 * Yagura and Killer Bee are the only two jinchūriki that are said to have full control of their tailed beasts.
 * Yugito and Fū are the only known female jinchūriki.
 * In second Shippūden movie, a girl named Amaru was possessed by the Zero-Tailed Masked Leech for several years before the film. However, just as the Zero-Tails wasn't referred to as a tailed beast in the film, Amaru wasn't referred to as a jinchūriki, though her relationship with the Zero-Tails remains unclear.
 * Yūkimaru, an anime-exclusive character, has the ability to control the Three-Tailed Giant Turtle. While his appearance is similar to that of Yagura, the Three-Tails' former jinchūriki, with the same distinctive eye and hair color, no confirmed connection exists between the two. The tailed beast was not actually sealed inside of him, and, thus, he was not a real jinchūriki.