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| Alias(es) | 穆王, Kokuō Five-Tails (五尾, Gobi) |
| Debut | |
| Novel | Naruto: A Shinobi Story |
| Appears in | Novel |
| Character Status | |
| Species | Cetacean Horse |
| Affiliation(s) |  Iwagakure
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| Classification | Tailed Beast |
| Kekkei Genkai |  Boil Release
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| Family | |
| Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki (Creator) Shukaku (Sibling) Matatabi (Sibling) Isobu (Sibling) Son Gokū (Sibling) Saiken (Sibling) Chōmei (Sibling) Gyūki (Sibling) Kurama (Sibling) | |
| Nature Type | |
Boil Release Fire Release Water Release
| |
| Jutsu | |
| Boil Release: Steam Explosion, Boil Release: Unrivalled Strength, Chakra Transfer Technique, Horn Breaking, Tailed Beast Ball, Tailed Beast Chakra Arms, Tailed Beast Full Charge, Tailed Beast Telepathy | |
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Kokuō (穆王), more commonly known as the Five-Tails (五尾, Gobi), is one of the nine tailed beasts. It was last sealed within Han from Iwagakure.
Background[]
The young tailed beasts with Hagoromo.
Kokuō and the tailed beasts first came into being in the waning days of Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki, who used his Creation of All Things Technique to divide the Ten-Tails’ chakra into nine separate bodies and giving each a name. Sometime after being created, the Sage explained to the young tailed beasts that a link existed between them despite their separation. He also foretold of a day when they would be brought together again ― though not as they were ― and that someone would emerge to show them what true power is.[1][2] Before his death, Hagoromo sent Kokuō to live in a temple built for the purpose of protecting it in a forest region.[3]
Before the First Shinobi World War, Hashirama Senju captured eight of the tailed beasts and sold Kokuō and Son Gokū to Iwagakure at the Five Kage Summit, as a sign of friendship and to ensure a balance of power amongst their new villages.[4] The tailed beast would end up being sealed within Han, but was captured and extracted by Akatsuki.
Personality[]
Kokuō seems to be a quiet and reserved individual. Though it does not speak much, Kokuō uses the rather old-fashioned “watakushi” (私) when referring to itself, causing it to come across as very polite. It also has pride as a tailed beast, being dismayed at being controlled and being used as Tobi’s puppet during the Fourth Shinobi World War. After the end of the war, Kokuō declared that it wants to seclude itself in the forest, implying it is a pacifistic individual, not wanting confrontations anymore.
Appearance[]
A young Kokuō.
Kokuō primarily resembles a white horse but with a dolphin’s head. It has two pointed long horns and three (two in the anime) shorter horns in front.
The ends of its horns, hooves, and tails are tan, with some of the same-colored spots before the tan areas of its horns and hooves. It also has red markings under its dark blue-green eyes. During the last remaining days of the Sage of Six Paths, Kokuō was much smaller than it is now, and its horns were also shorter.[5]
Abilities[]
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Kokuō creating a Tailed Beast Ball.
As a tailed beast, Kokuō possesses a massive amount of chakra and can use it to create a Tailed Beast Ball. Its willpower was incredibly strong, as it was the only tailed beast who broke free, albeit briefly, of Tobi’s control and attempted to attack the masked man.[6] Kokuō also possesses great physical strength and uses its horns in combat, showing enough ramming-force to injure and knock Gyūki a considerable distance away.
Nature Transformation[]
Main article: Jinchūriki Forms (RW109)By combining water and fire-natured chakra to create Boil Release, Kokuō is able to increase the temperature of its chakra to its boiling point.[7] This ability forms the basis of what is referred to as “steam-based ninjutsu”, granting itself, or its jinchūriki, overwhelming physical strength. When in use, this ability causes the jinchūriki to emit copious amounts of steam from their body.
Part II[]
Fourth Shinobi World War (Arc)[]
Main article: Naruto: A Shinobi Story/Fourth Shinobi World War (Arc)
Kokuō attacking Gyūki.
Kokuō, alongside the other jinchūriki and tailed beasts, encounters Naruto.
Birth of the Ten-Tails’ Jinchūriki[]
Main article: Naruto: A Shinobi Story/Birth of the Ten-Tails’ Jinchūriki
The tailed beasts being freed from Obito.
The tailed beasts reunite with Hagoromo and Naruto.
The tailed beasts being freed from the Ten-Tails.
Trivia[]
- “Kokuō” (穆王) literally means “respectful king”. This name probably comes from the name of the tenth-century-ʙᴄ Chinese King Mu of Zhou (周穆王, Zhōu Mù Wáng). He is famous for the legend surrounding his visit to the sacred Kunlun Mountains (崑崙, 昆仑山, Kūnlún Shān), where he visits the goddess Xi Wangmu (西王母, Xī Wángmŭ, Literally meaning: Queen Mother of the West) so he can eat from her peaches of immortality. There is also an account of the King being shown a human-shaped automaton — a completely artificial, fully functional robot with internal organs and all. This might tie into Han’s appearance and abilities. In Japanese, the name ‘穆王’ is pronounced as ‘bokuō’, so the unusual ‘kokuō’ pronunciation used for the beast’s name was probably meant to bring the word 国王 (king) to mind.
- The kanji ‘穆’ in Kokuō’s name comes from the archaic adjective ‘bokuboku’ (穆穆), which means ‘peaceful and lovely’ or ‘humble and dignified’ and are also traits often associated with horses and dolphins.
- According to Kishimoto in the second Naruto artbook, he tried to do a mix of a dolphin and a horse when he created Kokuō.
References[]