A newNarutomanga, set between the end of the original manga and the beginning ofBoruto, was announced last night at New York Comic Con 2026. A four-partNarutospin-off anime was also announced, but don’t get too excited on that front before you hear all the details.
A trailer for the newNarutomanga, titledNaruto: Shadow Rising, premiered at NYCC, and while there is a lot to cover in it, the most exciting part is front and center in the title: Masashi Kishimoto will write and draw it.
For context, and to explain whyNarutofansare losing it, Kishimoto penned the original Naruto manga, but mostly only supervised the creation of its extremely divisive sequel,Boruto. Whether you’re aBorutohater or not, I don’t think anyone would argue that Mikio Ikemoto’s artwork pales in comparison to Kishimoto’s art.
The shot of Sasuke’s daughter, Sarada, in thetraileralso confirms whenNaruto: Shadow Risingis set to take place. Sarada is a baby in the new trailer, and as she’s 11 at the start ofBoruto, that meansNaruto: Shadow Risingis set roughly a decade earlier.
We also see a shot of Naruto and Sasuke having yet another punch-up, which the press announcement on the officialNarutowebsite also makes a specific note of.
Beyond that, we don’t know any plot details, so your guess is as good as mine here–especially considering thatNarutoends with the two burying the hatchet andBorutostarts with them as besties. We’ll just have to wait until the first chapter drops in 2027.
Oh, and yeah–there’s a new four-part anime on its way too. It’s a crossover miniseries betweenNarutoandNinkū, titled…Naruto x Ninkū. If your first response to that news is “Who the hell is Ninkū?” then, trust me, you’re not alone, as the WesternNarutofandom was mostly confused by the announcementtrailer.
I’ll be honest, I like to think I know quite a bit about manga, and even I completely forgot thatNinkūexists. However, the link between the two manga properties is actually pretty important, as Kishimoto has stated before thatNinkūwas his main inspiration forNaruto.
In case you’re not convinced, here’s a direct quote from Kishimoto following the announcement ofNaruto x Ninkū: ”I createdNarutobecause I personally wanted to see the continuation ofNinkū. I think many of you have already noticed, butNarutowas immensely influenced byNinkū. WithoutNinkū,Narutowould not exist.”
Funnily enough,Ninkūis huge in Japan, but it never successfully made the leap to Western audiences. Perhaps this is partially due to the fact that the English dub of the original 1995Ninkūanime is consideredlost media. But hey, at least Kishimoto seems to be very excited about it.
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