The tailed beasts are beings made out of chakra, each possessing an inexplicable amount of power. TheNarutoseries has made it apparent that each one of these beasts possesses enough power to wreak havoc throughout the lands, going as far as destroying entire nations on their own – making these beasts the pinnacle of power. However, even within this framework, a clear power disparity is apparent between the tailed beasts themselves, with the series denoting theNine-Tails as the strongest tailed beast.
While theNarutoseries has clearly set a precedent with Kurama being the strongest tailed beast, it gave no direct reasoning as to why such a drastic power disparity even exists among the tailed beasts. Many attribute the number of tails to each beast’s power, and while this may be true to a certain extent, this theory doesn’t explain why the Sage of Six Paths would create these beings with such a dramatic power difference. Piecing together details from the series might shed light to this matter,explaining Nine-Tails’ unfathomable power.
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Is Nine-Tails Truly the Strongest Tailed Beast?
The notion of Nine-Tails being the strongest tailed beast has never been directly stated anywhere in the series, though a clear difference in their strength becomes apparent as the series progresses and the Akatsuki begins its hunt. Despite being tailed beasts, most of these massive chakra beings easily lost to the Akatsuki members, with One-Tails even losing to Gamabuntaduring the Chunin exams. Two-Tails lost to Hidan and Kakuzu with ease, which again seems odd considering this immortal duo was easily subdued by Kakashi and Team 8.
Four-Tails’ capture could arguably be the easiest, with Deidera debilitating the beast with his explosions. The rest of the tailed beasts were seen in action during the Fourth Great Ninja War, where they, apart from eight- and nine-tails, remained utterly helpless. From what the series has presented so far, Eight-Tails is much stronger than the previous beasts, and though this could be attributed to itssynergy with Killer B, a clear difference in power is still indicated from its endurance and overall strength.
From the events depicted in the series, Nine-Tails seems to be in a league of its own, with its absurd power levels remaining unmatched. What makes Nine-Tails' strength even more absurd is the fact that Naruto never had Kurama’s entire chakra, as Minato had split its Yin and Yang chakra and sealed one half inside of himself. This becomes all the more apparent duringthe Great War arc, with Naruto using his tailed-beast form for the first time, yet he was able to match the strength of five tailed beast bombs with his own. From these events, it has been made apparent that Kurama is indeed the strongest tailed beast, primarily due to having the most number of tails.
Hagomoro Failed to Divide Ten-Tails' Chakra Equally
One plausible theory that explains Nine-Tails’ inexplicable power is the unequal division of the Ten-Tails’ chakra. Hagomoro Otsutsuki never mentioned that he divided the chakra unequally, meaning he either did that by mistake or he had no control over that. Otherwise, it would hardly make sense forHagomoro to play favoritesin such a situation, especially considering how he treated all tailed beasts as his own children.
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The only reasonable explanation is that Hagomoro had no control over the division, and the resulting tails were formed due to the division being highly unequal. There is also a possibility that Hagomoro wanted to equally divide the chakra, yet he failed to do so. However, this paints him as someone who had no control over his own ability, a theory that would hardly make sense considering his position as the Sage of Six Paths.
Kurama’s Power Is a Result of Plot Armor
It’s no secret that theNarutoseries is guilty of utilizing plot armor whenever it deems fit, giving its main characters power boosts and borrowed power whenever needed. Similarly, Kurama being inside Naruto gives him the advantage of being sheltered by plot armor, in turn making him the strongest beast. Kishimoto also had to make Nine-Tails the strongest since only half ofit was sealed inside Naruto. It would hardly make sense for the main character of a series to get the short end of the straw, meaning Kurama had to be the strongest.
While this explanation certainly justifies why Nine-Tails had the most chakra, there’s no concrete in-universe reasoning that would explain the drastic disparity between each tailed beast. EitherKishimoto overlooked this aspectof the series completely or there’s an in-universe explanation that has never been properly shed light to. Suffice to say, there’s no proper reasoning for this aspect of the series, though it certainly plays out in favor of the plot.
