Being a tailed-beast in the Naruto universe can be difficult, despite the raw power they possess. Since they are capable of so much destruction, they are reviled and feared by the entire shinobi community. Various techniques have been used in the past to subdue and control the power and destructive potential of the tailed-beasts, including sealing them within shinobi called Jinchuriki.
However, the tailed-beasts are ancient and vastly powerful beings that have been an integral part in the forming of the ninja world. As such, they are a needed part of the Naruto world.
10 Con: They Are Hated & Feared
The tailed-beasts are reviled by all of the shinobi, and they always have been. That is why so many fuinjutsu, or sealing jutsu, have been created to subdue them. It is also why shinobi like Hashirama Senju, the First Hokage, became so renowned.
If it were not for his capturing the tailed-beasts, it is likely he would not have been so important to the shinobi world. Even with such strong sealing jutsu, the tailed-beasts are beyond devastating for the villages, as fans saw with Kurama's attack on Konoha.
9 Pro: They Have No Need For Humans
While many shinobi seem to rely on the tailed-beasts either as secret weapons or as powers to seal away within human bodies, the tailed-beasts, themselves, have no need for humans. In fact, they would be much better off without them.
Unfortunately, the tailed-beasts have always been at odds with humans, and until the events of Naruto: Shippūden, it is hard to imagine a world in which the two can live together in relative harmony. It is only due to the relationship between Naruto and Kurama, and Killer Bee and the eight tails, that it is even conceivable.
8 Con: They Get Sealed Away For A Lifetime
Like Kurama, Shukaku, and the other tailed-beasts, one of the biggest drawbacks to being a tailed-beast is the fact that they spend a lot of their time lying dormant within jinchuriki's bodies. Since the tailed-beasts are hated and feared, sealing them within another person (who is later also hated and feared) is one of the most convenient options for controlling the tailed-beasts' power.
Of course, they get out from time to time to cause destruction (who can blame them when they've been imprisoned by these people?), but it is never for long.
7 Pro: They Have Incredible Levels of Chakra
As fans see with the late Kurama, the tailed-beasts all have an incredibly impressive amount of chakra and are capable of inconceivable amounts of damage. With all that power in one's hands, it is tempting to use it to take revenge on those that antagonize.
The chakra wielded by a tailed-beast is almost limitless, and it comes in colors and forms that no other chakra can take. This makes the tailed-beasts leagues stronger than most shinobi can ever hope to be, though some still have the power to subdue and control them.
6 Con: They Are Constantly Hunted By Powerful Shinobi
Unfortunately, as a tailed-beast, one is always hunted. There are many shinobi, including those of the Hidden Leaf Village, that want the power to themselves. So, it is necessary to constantly be on the lookout and to distrust everyone.
Though there are few, in fact virtually none, who can match the tailed-beasts' power, there are those who have tricks up their sleeves, as fans saw with Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha. This means that, although the tailed-beasts are among the most powerful beings in existence, they are not safe from everything.
5 Pro: They Are Virtually Immortal
A tailed-beast is intimately tied with the land, and they were instrumental in the beginnings of the Naruto world. As such, they are virtually immortal and can rarely be killed, only sealed. This was one of the major issues the Hidden Leaf Village had with Kurama, the nine-tailed fox spirit who rampaged until being sealed within Naruto.
This not only killed Minato, the Fourth Hokage who used the Reaper Death Seal to trap Kurama in Naruto, but also Kushina Uzumaki, Naruto's mother and the former jinchuriki.
4 Con: They Live For Far Too Long
It probably gets very boring being imprisoned in a human shinobi for all their life, especially when one is simply transferred to another shinobi's body with no break. The only reason Kurama got out to attack the Hidden Leaf Village was because of Tobi's infiltration of the village to take advantage of the birthing jinchuriki, Kushina.
Since the life of a tailed-beast is long, and most of it is spent locked up, fans can see how taxing immortality can be for a tailed-beast.
3 Pro: They Have Seen The Evolution Of The World
However, in being so old and connected to the land, there is the fact that the tailed-beasts have seen the world change drastically since the rule of the Otsutsuki. To watch how civilizations rise and fall, and how people and animals evolve and change, must be incredibly breathtaking.
Would it make the constant imprisonment worth it? Well, that is up to the tailed-beast in question, but it certainly would be a perk to see how time changes all things, especially when there is hope the tailed-beasts can be free eventually.
2 Con: Someone Will Always Be Trying To Syphen Their Power
Because a tailed-beast is a big battery of chakra just waiting to be tapped into, there will always be another shinobi trying to take advantage of it. Madara Uchiha went through great lengths over multiple generations to achieve the goal of using the tailed-beasts' energy.
Even when sealed away within a jinchuriki, that jinchuriki is often asking for permission to use the tailed-beasts' chakra. Naruto does this on many occasions, and he would not have become Hokage and saved the village if he had not.
1 Pro: They Can Destroy Entire Countries Without Breaking A Sweat
As a tailed-beast, one has the ability to raise entire civilizations with one blast. If Pain's destruction of the Hidden Leaf Village looked bad, when a tailed-beast really puts their mind to it, they can make that look like child's play.
Looking at how much destruction Naruto is responsible for when he uses just a fraction of Kurama's power, this is pretty obvious. Just take his fight with Orochimaru near the Tenshi bridge for example. Naruto created an enormous crater in the earth, almost killed Orochimaru, and destroyed the Tenchi bridge, and that was at four tails.
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