Tailed Beasts are a core part of the Naruto franchise and have always been incredibly important in the grand scheme of things. They were introduced at the very beginning of the Naruto series in Chapter 1 with Kurama on September 21, 1999. Since then, the Tailed Beasts have been significantly expanded upon, and they went on to become central to the overarching story of Naruto.
Now, however, in the Boruto era, specifically in Boruto: Two Blue Vortex, the Tailed Beasts are slowly being phased out completely for a brand new form of power system that still involves them, but changes them forever. This power system is the Tailed Beast Incarnation, which sees them all become one with humans, instead of being sealed inside them and treated as prisoners. The Boruto series is officially revolutionizing the power system surrounding Tailed Beasts by bidding farewell to them.
Why The Concept Of Tailed Beasts Is Primitive In Boruto
Tailed Beasts were incredibly important in the Naruto series. Back in the Warring States Period, the Tailed Beasts roamed the world freely, but following the establishment of the ninja villages, Hashirama Senju, the First Hokage, collected the Tailed Beasts and planned on distributing them across the ninja villages in order to maintain peace and prevent war from spreading out. The Tailed Beasts were essentially used as weapons of mass destruction and to keep the villagers at bay, but eventually, Naruto Uzumaki went on to befriend every single one of them. By the end of the series, he set them all free. Kurama remained with Naruto because of their bond and because he was the guardian of the meeting place of all the Tailed Beasts inside Naruto's psyche. Similarly, Killer Bee maintained possession of Gyuki, the 8-Tailed Beast, due to their powerful bond that we got to observe throughout the run of the second part of the Naruto series.
"Since the Tailed Beasts have inconceivable power, every country wanted to use them for military affairs. A Jinchuriki is something that exists to control this power of the Tailed Beast." - Chiyo explains how to control Tailed Beasts, Naruto Chapter #261
That said, in Boruto, the concept of Tailed Beasts is primitive. Tailed Beasts are known to be incredibly powerful, but they are not strong enough to make any sort of a difference against the likes of the Otsutsuki. A Tailed Beast Jinchuriki cannot stand up to even the weaker Otsutsuki, like Kinshiki. As we've seen, Bee was easily defeated by them. Even a user of Six Paths powers, such as Naruto, with the chakra of all the Tailed Beasts, could not defeat Momoshiki by himself. Furthermore, the vast majority of the other Tailed Beasts simply are not even around anymore, meaning the concept of Tailed Beasts as a whole is primitive in Boruto. This is precisely why Tailed Beasts have been cut out of the story and replaced with a completely new power concept.
Tailed Beasts Have Now Been Replaced With Human-Tailed Beasts
While Tailed Beasts were once incredibly important to the story alongside their Jinchuriki, now a new system has emerged in Boruto. This new system sees the emergence of human-Tailed Beasts. So far, we have seen the emergence of two human-tailed beasts:
- Jura, whose status as the human incarnation of the Ten-Tails was confirmed to us in Boruto: Two Blue Vortex Chapter #14.
- Himawari Uzumaki, whose status as the human incarnation of the Nine-Tails was confirmed to us in Boruto: Two Blue Vortex Chapter #25.
"You're no ordinary Shinobi. In fact, you're even a little different from Jinchuriki...those who have the Tailed Beast inside them. You are human, yet, if anything, you're more similar to me and Jura." — Kurama confirms Himawari’s status, Boruto: Two Blue Vortex Chapter #25
Quite clearly, the Tailed Beasts have now changed forever. Instead of getting Jinchuriki, they simply get human incarnations. All the other Tailed Beasts that are currently roaming the world of Naruto will most likely end up with their human incarnations as well, completely changing the power system and replacing it with a brand-new system and making them relevant once again.
It is interesting to note that Killer Bee, who is the Jinchuriki of the Eight Tails, will have to die at some point. When he does die, it is likely that Gyuki, the Eight Tails, will get a human incarnation of its own, and it will certainly be interesting to see who this character ends up being. All the other Tailed Beasts are currently roaming the ninja world, but eventually they might get their own human incarnations as well. These characters together would form a group similar to the Jinchuriki from Naruto, only much stronger and significantly more important to the overarching story.
Why Boruto Will Revolutionize The Power Of The Biju
For quite a while now, the power of the Biju has been obsolete in the Boruto series. Ever since the concept of the 10 Tails was introduced to us, the regular nine Tailed Beasts are simply not that impressive in terms of strength anymore. With the concept of Tailed Beast Incarnations, new life can be breathed into them. Human-Tailed Beasts have a much higher ceiling than Jinchuriki, and they can even fight threats as serious as Jura, as was clearly shown by Himawari Uzumaki in Boruto.
"Jura is a special case. Unlike the others, he has no prototype. He is a direct incarnation of the Ten-Tails, and the one steering this crisis we're facing right now." — Boruto Uzumaki confirms Jura's incarnation status, Boruto: Two Blue Vortex Chapter #14
Similarly, any other Tailed Beast who has a human incarnation will be able to put out much greater power as well. Not only will this make them relevant once again in an era dominated by the Otsutsuki, but it will also make for an exciting story to be crafted around these beasts, seeing further evolution with changing times. It goes without saying that the power of the Tailed Beasts is immense, and it must be used properly in Boruto instead of being wasted completely by bidding farewell to them. By introducing their new human incarnations, Boruto is doing the perfect thing and revolutionizing this concept forever. We absolutely cannot wait to see how things turn out in the future of the Boruto series. For now, the vast majority of the focus will only go to Jura and Himawari, who will then pave the way for others to show up later down the line.
All the latest manga chapters of Mikio Ikemoto’s Boruto series are available to read via Manga Plus and Viz Media.
