In any series, movie, or even in anime there is always that character, who is not so liked at the beginning but over time turns out to become one of the fan’s favorites.
In the Naruto series, there were many such characters and one of them was Gaara. Starting as a foe, Gaara soon became a friend and gained massive popularity.
Along with him, his tailed beast, Shukaku, also became a fan favorite. Funny thing, just like his Jinchuriki, Shukaku also had a foul personality but later on, he did turn into a friendly beast.
Now, because both of them are very popular, it is only natural to be curious about them. Moreover, after Gaara died and came back, he came back as an ordinary person, which meant that he no longer possessed Shukaku.
This made fans wonder, what happened to Shukaku and whether Gaara got him back or not. As many did know that Shukaku got free after the Fourth Shinobi War, so the question was very understandable.
Here in this article, we are going to discuss just that, and further, shed light on what happened to Shukaku and his jinchuriki after they were freed from each other.
By now you must have forgotten about what really happened, so let us take you back in time for a while and relieve the series once again.
How did Gaara get Shukaku?
When Sunagakure’s budget was cut down because of Wind Daimyo, the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa decided to make one of his children the Jinchuriki of the tailed beast.
Shukaku was the one-tailed beast and despite being the weakest among the tailed beasts, it still had immense power.
Rasa’s first two children, Temari and Kankurō, both were not compatible with Shukaku. However, his youngest child, Gaara was able to merge with Shukaku’s massive chakra.
When Rasa came to know about Gaara’s compatibility with Shukaku, he immediately called Chiyo, Sunagakure’s Puppet Brigade and a medical-nin, and asked her to seal the beast into his son before he was even born.
Sealing the beast in Gaara, Rasa intended to use him as a weapon. However, when he noticed that Gaara’s kind nature was making him weaker.
He thought because of that Gaara won’t be able to handle Shukaku. So in order to get rid of Gaara, Rasa decided to kill him and for the mission, he chose Yashamaru.
How did he lose Shukaku?
The Akatsuki were on a mission to collect the tailed beasts to use their powers to bring peace to the world.
After collecting other tailed beasts, their next target was Gaara, Jinchuriki of Shukaku. To retrieve Gaara, the Akatsuki duo of Deidara and Sasori, made their way to the village.
There they were stopped by Kankurō, but he was defeated by Sasori, the master of puppets. They were successful in taking Gaara and fled from the village.
Naruto, Sakura, and Kakashi along with Guy’s team were heading towards the Akatsuki’s base to save Gaara. However, they were attacked by Deidara and Sasori.
While the fight continued, the Akatsuki had already extracted the tailed beast and sealed it into the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path. They successfully extracted the tailed beasts, which took them three days.
It was said that after the extraction of tailed beasts, the jinchuriki would die and that’s exactly what happened to Gaara.
After the extraction, Gaara’s lifeless body dropped to the ground. After successfully defeating the two Akatsukis’, they retrieved Gaara’s body and laid it on a grassland.
Originally, Gaara was supposed to die right after the extraction but with the combined efforts of Lady Chiyo and his friends, he came back to life.
However, because the tailed beast had been extracted from him, he was no longer a jinchuriki and was finally a normal human but an extraordinary ninja.
Did he get Shukaku back after the war?
No. Once extracted from him, Shukaku was sealed into a Demonic Statue, which was later used by Madara in the Fourth Shinobi War.
After Madara’s death and the departure of the previous Kage, the tailed beasts were captured again. This time Sasuke betrayed them and sealed them in his Chibaku Tensei.
After the intense battle between Naruto and Sasuke, the tailed beasts were freed. Shukaku along with the other tailed beasts were released and continued to live their own lives.
The Tailed beasts were able to live without the jinchurikis but it was not the same for the Jinchurikis, as they lost their lives once the tailed beasts are extracted from them. Luckily, Gaara was brought back to life.
After losing Shukaku, Gaara did lose the tailed beast’s power. But even without its powers, Gaara still had immense strengths and abilities making him one of the most powerful shinobi in the world.
Why Didn’t Gaara Get Shukaku Back?
So now you might be wondering why was he not able to get Shukaku back, right? Well, the main reason could be Shukaku’s wish to become free.
Shukaku despised humans but despite his hatred, he was loyal and respectful toward human-likes like Sage of the Six Paths, Bunpuku, Gaara, and Naruto.
He also believed that one-day humans would be able to understand the tailed beasts, with such belief, Shukaku had a dream of its own.
More than anything, Shukaku wanted to be free and roam around the world. So, it would be highly doubtable that he would want to go back to being sealed in someone once again.
Moreover, because most of the people were aware of the fates of the Jinchuirki’s, nobody in their right mind would even think about getting a tailed beast sealed in them.
The same case could be applied to Gaara as well. Just imagine being brought back to life and getting the beast sealed into you again, who would want to die, again and again, right?
Probably because Gaara also understood Shukaku’s wish, he let him go.
Also, in the Naruto spin-off series, Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, Urashiki also stated that there were only two Jinchurikis left, referring to Naruto and Killer Bee, which undoubtedly indicated that Gaara was no longer a Jinchuriki.
Were Gaara and Shukaku still friends?
Well, most of us are well aware of the fact that when Gaara was younger, Shukaku used him to showcase his hatred towards humankind.
Since Gaara was betrayed and neglected by his own friends and families, it was no surprise he hated every one of them. Shukaku used this hatred and somewhat made Gaara his puppet against humans.
So, we could be sure that more than friends they were more of in a controlling relationship as Shukaku only used him for his personal gain.
Nevertheless, over time they did develop a friendly bond because in Naruto Shippuden when Gaara became a changed person, even Shukaku started to have a little faith in humanity.
After the extraction, Gaara did lose Shukaku but their bond was not severed. They were still friends. This was also proved in the Boruto series. In the new series, Gaara still seemed to be in contact with Shukaku.
When Urashiki attempted to capture Shukaku, Gaara sent him to Naruto making sure he was in safe hands. Even though Shukaku was not happy with the plan, he soon complied with Gaara and agreed to it.
So, after the Tailed Beasts were freed, Shukaku and Gaara became friends through the power of Talk no jutsu and flashbacks. Even the mighty beast was nothing against the Talk no Jutsu.
Is Gaara Still Strong After Losing Shukaku?
Of course, he is!
The fact that Gaara is stronger with the powers of the tailed beast is somewhat true. However, even without the tailed beast’s powers, he is still one of the strongest shinobi in the world.
Right after losing Shukaku, there were occasions where Gaara proved time and again why he was one of the strongest ninjas out there.
When they fought against the four reanimated Kages, he was able to go up against them using an incredible amount of sand for his attack, Sand Tsunami.
Similarly, not only did he defend the meteor that Madara dropped but he was also able to stop the Gedo Statue’s chains that were dragging the tailed beasts.
With time Gaara’s sand manipulation was on a par level with Shukaku’s, which enabled him to fend off attacks from Susano and easily go up against Momoshiki Ōtsutsuki, a member of the Ōtsutsuki clan’s main family.
The surprising fact is that he did all this after losing Shukaku, which means it was all him but not the powers of the tailed beast.
Well, he isn’t The Kazekage of the Sunagakure for nothing, right?
Who will get Shukaku after Gaara?
Okay! this one is also a valid question as we are bound to be curious about who will get Shukaku and here’s the answer, No one! Let the beast breathe!
As we explained before, the beast’s one and only wish was to roam around the world being a free spirit and how good does it sound, right?
The tailed beast certainly did have a foul personality, which was very understandable but we highly doubt that anything would be greater than his freedom.
Now many fans did think that Gaara’s nephew, Shikadai would be the one to inherit Shukaku but that wasn’t the case.
The beast has its own free will, so the answer to the question is quite simple; nobody will inherit Shukaku.
Does Shukaku die in Boruto?
Thanks to all the Talk no jutsu, Shukaku finally is a friendly beast but with a foul personality. However, in the Boruto series, he is no longer termed a monster.
He is sent to Naruto to be saved from Urashiki and thanks to this, we got some cute and funny moments with Himawari and Shukaku. And were they adorable? HELL YEAH!
However, due to the recent demise of everyone’s favorite Kurama, fans are in an uproar about whether Shukaku will die or not.
Shukaku’s death is not so sure as the writers might not be really planning to kill another tailed beast any time sooner. So rest assured, even if Shukaku dies, he will be back as the tailed beasts have the power to reincarnate. However, it may take some time.
Till then we can expect to see more of this tailed beast and Gaara in the upcoming episodes of the Boruro Series. So, make sure you keep up with the series, as it will get more interesting and exciting in the future.
