Gold and Silver Brothers

The, also known as the , are two infamous shinobi from Kumogakure. The brothers share similar appearances to one another, including whisker-like marks on their faces due to the influence of the Nine-Tails, much like those of Naruto Uzumaki. They wielded the Treasured Tools of the Sage of the Six Paths in battle and used deceit and betrayal to emerge victorious in a fight. Despite this, they are still both respected and feared in Kumogakure for their actual strength and skill.

During their lifetime, the siblings were assigned to capture the Nine-Tails, but were instead swallowed whole by the beast. They survived inside the fox by eating the chakra-meat of its stomach. After two weeks of rampaging inside the fox's stomach, it regurgitated them, leaving them with unusually large chakra-reserves and abilities similar to those of a jinchūriki. They later assaulted the Second Hokage and Second Raikage during a peace pact and brought the Second Hokage to the verge of death. These actions have caused them to be considered disgraces to the village.

The pair are eventually reincarnated by Kabuto Yakushi; their presence alone almost provoked the Fourth Raikage into completely disregarding his duties as leader of the Allied Shinobi Forces in order to personally confront the brothers on the battlefield. During their battle with Darui, the brothers are sealed in their own weapons: Ginkaku into the Benihisago and Kinkaku into the Kohaku no Jōhei. Tobi later steals both items in order to use the brothers' Nine-Tails chakra.

Trivia

 * Both Kinkaku and Ginkaku are based on two characters from the Chinese classic "Journey to the West". In this story; the siblings are two demon king brothers, known as the and the, who live in the  on . They possess five treasured tools, called the , the , the  the , and the . Amongst these, the pot and the gourd are capable of sucking in their opponents and melting them, once they are trapped within. Ginkaku is also said to have a technique that allows him to move mountains.
 * The demon king brothers' mother and uncle also appeared in the novel. Their uncle, Hu A'qi was a fox that fought with a halberd and lived close to his nephews. Their mother was a nine-tailed fox in the disguise of an old woman who lived in the Dragon-suppressing Cave.
 * The fact the demon king brothers' mother was a nine-tailed fox, is an allusion to how Kinkaku and Ginkaku possess the Nine-Tailed Fox's chakra after being trapped in its stomach.
 * Due to the brothers' ability to assimilate the Nine-Tails' chakra by eating its flesh, the Fourth Raikage suspected them to be distantly related to the Sage of the Six Paths.