Years before the beginning of the series, Hagoromo Otsutsuki sealed the Ten-Tails beast into himself and became its jinchuriki. However, he later divided the beast's chakra into 9 living creatures that became the tailed beasts.
To quell fighting between the villages, the beasts were divided up, and one individual from each village became the jinchuriki of a tailed beast. The beasts, however, were weaponized, controlled, and used for destruction. The tailed beasts did not change until Naruto came along and freed them from their bondage.
7 Most Of The Tailed Beasts Don't Have A Jinchuriki
In Naruto, all of the 9 tailed beasts have a jinchuriki. Some of the jinchuriki were forcibly made, such as in Rin's case when she is made into the Three-Tails, while others were made a jinchuriki before they could even have an opinion on the matter, such as Naruto and Gaara.
After the Akatsuki extracte the tailed beasts to revive the Ten-Tails, the first seven tailed beasts lose their jinchuriki. The jinchuriki die and the tailed beast chakra is absorbed by the demonic statue. In Boruto, only the Eight- and Nine-Tails still have their jinchuriki.
6 The Tailed Beasts Are No Longer Divided Among The Nations
With the nations constantly fighting for territory, the tailed beasts are utilized as weapons to help further conquests for expansion. As such, the beasts are controlled and feared, not having a say in their lives.
After the Fourth Great Shinobi War, the beasts are freed and no longer belong to any one nation. Each beast is able to live as they choose, and only Gyuki, the Eight-Tails, and Kurama, the Nine-Tails, decide to stay with their jinchuriki.
5 Naruto Is The Tailed Beast Meeting Ground
Naruto is able to befriend all the tailed beasts and release them from their bondage. In turn, the tailed beasts lend him their chakra as he faces off against Kaguya in the Fourth Great Shinobi War.
Although the tailed beasts go their separate ways after the war, a fragment of each remains inside Naruto. With this, Naruto is able to have telepathic meetings with the tailed beasts, such as when Urashiki, Kinshiki, and Momoshiki begin targeting tailed beasts' chakra in Boruto.
4 Not All Tailed Beasts Are Over The Past
In Boruto, the Otsutsuki reappear to finish their mission of reviving the God Tree to eat the divine fruit. To do so, Urashiki, Kinshinki, and Momoshiki start collecting chakra, specifically targeting the tailed beasts who possess massive amounts of chakra.
The Nations agree that the tailed beasts must be protected, so Naruto calls a meeting between the beasts. However, Matatabi, the Two-Tails, Kokuo, the Five-Tails, and Chomei, the Seven-Tails, do not attend the meeting for fear that they will be tricked and recaptured.
3 Shukaku Has Softened A Bit
Shukaku is the first tailed beast targeted for his chakra in Boruto. In order to prevent this from happening, Shukaku comes under the protection of Naruto and stays with the Uzumaki family in a small teapot until the Otsutsuki are dealt with.
Shukaku is a very prideful creature with a hateful disposition when he feels disrespected. It's because of his past treatment by humans that Shukaku is easily angered and intent on killing. However, he respects Naruto and Gaara, as they treated him as an equal. Shukaku also comes to like Himawari and forms a genuine bond with her during his time at the Uzumaki household.
2 Kurama Is No Longer Part Of Naruto
One of the biggest changes to the tailed beasts is the erasure of the Nine-Tails. In the latest episode of the anime, Naruto and fans say goodbye to Kurama, the demon fox that has been with Naruto ever since he was born.
In previous episodes, Kurama lent Naruto his chakra so that he could enter Baryon Mode to stand up to Isshiki Otsutsuki. Though Kurama told Naruto that Baryon Mode would cost one or both of their lives, it was ultimately Kurama who paid the price with his life.
1 Jinchuriki Can Live Without Their Tailed Beast
In Naruto, it is established that a jinchuriki cannot survive if their tailed beast is ever removed. An exception to this is Kushina Uzumaki, Naruto's mother. With the strong Uzumaki life force, she was able to survive the Nine-Tails extraction.
However, the other jinchuriki who had their tailed beast extracted from them by the Akatsuki died. Naruto believed he would share the same fate as the other jinchuriki, but Kurama explained that his chakra was not being extracted from Naruto, but simply fading away, allowing Naruto to live.