I have discovered that Deviant Stamps are AWESOME. So I made me some that I wanted to see.

Well, I don't think the Bijuu get enough love, for as important as they are to the story. Here's the big ugly tanuki, Shukaku, the Ichibi (One-Tailed). He's made of sand, it looks.

For those who don't know much about him, here's a brief run-down.

Shukaku is reportedly the malevolent spirit of an old desert monk, who was sealed in a tea jar. He has been sealed into three different humans, each with rather disastrous results. His most recent host, Sabaku no Gaara, demonstrates why demons like that really shouldn't be sealed into humans.

Shukaku, unlike the Kyuubi, was not sealed into his Jinchuuriki because of his being a direct threat to the village. Kyuubi was sealed as a last resort defense measure to prevent the destruction of the Leaf village at the Bijuu's behest; Shukaku was sealed upon the orders of the Fourth Kazekage, into the Kazekage's unborn third child, using the mother as a sacrifice. The Fourth did this in order to create an "Ultimate Weapon," fearing that Sunagakure would fall into financial ruin without it.

Unfortunately, Shukaku is more dangerous than the Kyuubi in the sense that his Jinchuuriki is considerably more unbalanced. While Shukaku grants his Jinchuuriki absolute control over sand -- and an almost-impenetrable sand shield that acts of its own accord -- it does not appear to give its Jinchuuriki any of its considerable chakra except for its own purposes. And it haunts the Jinchuuriki's subconscious at all times, preventing the Jinchuuriki from ever sleeping, because once the host falls asleep, the Bijuu is able to take over the body. Thus, until Shukaku is forcibly extracted, Gaara suffers from perpetual insomnia.

Gaara can transform into Shukaku at will, though he usually only does so when pressured by Shukaku directly. He does so by coating himself in sand, in a form to resemble Shukaku. When really pressed, the form expands to life-size (which is fucking huge). And if Gaara voluntarily falls asleep on command (Tanuki Neigiri no Jutsu) then Shukaku can take over and use all his malevolence and chakra to his heart's content. Shukaku is the One-Tail, and his tail is massive.


This stamp contains a screencap of Naruto Shippuuden episode 12, which I screencapped myself.

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Ichibi/Shukaku (c) Kishimoto Masashi & Shounen Weekly Jump