Regardless of humans' status or power, the Tailed Beasts are fundamentally different from one another. Besides their distinct shapes, the most obvious difference is the number of tails each possesses. The Nine-Tails, Kurama, is undoubtedly the most powerful, while the One-Tail, Shukaku — the Desert Spirit — is considered relatively weaker. But is the number of tails truly a measure of strength? Not exactly. The number of tails primarily indicates the amount of chakra a beast holds, not necessarily its overall combat capability.
A large disparity in chakra reserves can lead to significant differences in power. However, when comparing the chakra of Tailed Beasts to human shinobi, even a mighty beast like Kurama has far more chakra than almost any ninja. For example, Naruto Uzumaki, as Kurama's jinchūriki, holds and accesses an immense chakra pool, far surpassing most humans like Hatake Kakashi. So, while the chakra amount is huge, raw power also depends on how effectively that chakra is used.
Each Tailed Beast has distinct characteristics and chakra qualities, yet they share a common origin: the Ten-Tails, which was split by the Sage of Six Paths (Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki) into nine separate entities. These nine beasts have independent consciousness, will, and personalities. For example, Kurama was split into Yin and Yang halves by Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage, using the Dead Demon Consuming Seal to protect Naruto and balance the dangerous power.
Mizuki kept Naruto close not only due to the danger and incompleteness of the Nine-Tails sealed within him but also because Naruto's body contains remnants of Minato's spiritual presence and the chakra lineage of Asura Ōtsutsuki. This spiritual inheritance makes Naruto a uniquely stable vessel, albeit still unpredictable. Therefore, Mizuki considered starting his experiments with Gaara, the jinchūriki of Shukaku, who had a very different relationship with his Tailed Beast.
As time passed, Mizuki felt increasing pressure, but for now, his plans seemed manageable.
Putting aside internal complications, Mizuki turned his focus to Gaara. At first, no significant changes were apparent, but gradually, the terrifying aura of the Tailed Beast began to resurface.
"Does the Tailed Beast sense it's not receiving chakra replenishment?" Mizuki wondered.
When a jinchūriki's chakra supply is cut off or blocked, the Tailed Beast's power becomes unstable—like a rootless tree or water without a source. Shukaku, having recently exerted a lot of chakra during an outburst, was now vulnerable. Without chakra to replenish, its strength was fading.
Gaara, unconscious in a coma-like state, was an ideal target for Mizuki's experiments. However, because of his weakened physical state and Shukaku's chakra depletion, there was little movement initially. Yet waves of sand began to stir beneath Gaara, a sign that Shukaku was still responding.
Observing this, Mizuki remained calm. While Tailed Beasts are dangerous, wild Tailed Beasts typically ignore humans. And jinchūriki, unless fully overtaken by their beast, are not inherently threatening. Jinchūriki usually possess exceptional physical resilience and ninja talent. Properly trained, they can become formidable even without relying fully on their Tailed Beast's power.
But jinchūriki like Gaara are rare exceptions. The giant beast's body, exhausted from recent chakra use, had collapsed. For the One-Tail, already the weakest in chakra reserves, this was a serious struggle.
As Shukaku's chakra began dissipating, a cloud of chakra-imbued sand floated up but stopped at Mizuki's sealing barrier. Slowly, it coalesced into a miniature version of Shukaku, an Omorizuru-like figure, alert and wary.
Mizuki was both surprised and pleased by this unexpected development.
"I only planned to collect a small amount of chakra… but this is a great harvest."
Dividing Tailed Beast chakra is not simple. The Nine-Tails, split from the Ten-Tails, have independent consciousness. Minato's technique split Kurama's chakra into Yin and Yang halves, which maintain sentience. Mizuki, however, lacks the Yin-Yang Release technique and the Uzumaki clan's sealing methods Kushina Namikaze taught Minato. Creating a "mini Shukaku" with independent will was not easy; the best Mizuki could do was gather enough chakra to slowly build a stable consciousness for experimental purposes.
To his surprise, this headache resolved faster than expected. Perhaps Shukaku had never imagined someone would attempt to isolate the Tailed Beast itself like this.
Without hesitation, Mizuki tightened the sealing barrier, just enough to confine the miniature Shukaku. The smaller the area, the stronger the seal.
The miniature Shukaku struggled inside but was powerless against the month-old barrier Mizuki had perfected.
Ignoring the barrier, Mizuki turned back to Gaara. Part of Shukaku's consciousness had been severed when extracting chakra, causing it to become agitated.
"Letting you out now would waste all the sealing work I've done."
Mizuki produced a scroll, stepped forward, and applied a sealing technique.
"Four Elephant Seal."
The powerful sealing jutsu quickly subdued the restless Shukaku.
With Mizuki's skill, if prepared in advance, this seal could barely hold. But for Gaara, it was sufficient. Though not a top-tier sealing technique, it was ideal for controlling a jinchūriki's beast within. The Sand Village's native seals were ineffective against the Tailed Beast's chakra leakage, but Mizuki's Four Elephant Seal reinforced the containment well.
Seeing Shukaku subdued, Mizuki smiled with satisfaction and turned back to the miniature Shukaku in the barrier. He then produced another sealing scroll.
If Mizuki's main work this month was perfecting the sealing jutsu and gathering chakra, the miniature Shukaku's body was the key.
The seal was undone, revealing a slender figure with bright blond hair—an Uzumaki clone Mizuki had cultivated carefully.
To prevent severe atavism from depleting its vitality, Mizuki had grown this clone in an environment infused with his own chakra. Though inferior to Naruto's chakra, it was enough to suppress the extreme mutations.
Seeing the clone's resemblance to Naruto but with a thinner face, Mizuki wasted no time applying a sealing technique.
Tailed Beast chakra differs greatly from ordinary chakra—it cannot be simply sealed and stored like normal energy. Mizuki, pressed for convenience, chose someone close to Naruto's aptitude. Even without Asura's chakra or Naruto's unique spirit, an Uzumaki body is an excellent jinchūriki vessel, and easier to seal.
"The counterfeit jinchūriki is ready. The simplified version of a jinchūriki is complete. Creating a fully independent jinchūriki clone is the next big step."
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