Catch up on the essentials
- panel during New York Comic Con 2026 on Saturday unveiled new Naruto projects framed as part of "Project Rasengan," a three-year timeline of upcoming releases for the franchise.
- The headline reveal was "Naruto: Shadow Rising," a new manga written and drawn by original creator Masashi Kishimoto.
- Kishimoto and Kiriyama will supervise the story across all four episodes, in which a young Naruto wanders into the world of NINKŪ during a mission.
Selected from this article · 2026-10-11
Read on for the full pictureProject Rasengan and the NYCC announcement
Producers at the "Naruto: What's Next?" panel during New York Comic Con 2026 on Saturday unveiled new Naruto projects framed as part of "Project Rasengan," a three-year timeline of upcoming releases for the franchise. The announcement confirmed a new manga, a crossover anime, a mobile game, and a card game as currently announced components of the initiative. Reporting described the crossover anime as the first new Naruto anime in nine years.
'Naruto: Shadow Rising' manga by Kishimoto
The headline reveal was "Naruto: Shadow Rising," a new manga written and drawn by original creator Masashi Kishimoto. A super teaser video premiered at the panel showing storyboards that feature the four former members of Team 7 — Naruto holding up the Hokage's hat, Kakashi smiling broadly, Sasuke standing resolutely, and Sakura gazing lovingly at a baby — and depicting Naruto and Sasuke clashing. The trailer also showed the stone faces of the six previous Hokage watching over the Hidden Leaf Village, with a seventh face under construction, before announcing the manga's title. Coverage placed the story between the end of the original Naruto manga and the beginning of Boruto, with Kishimoto set to both pen and illustrate the series. The first chapter is targeted for 2027, with further details slated to be revealed at Jump Festa 2027.
'Naruto × Ninkū' four-episode crossover
A separate crossover anime, "Naruto × Ninkū," was also announced, set to consist of four episodes. The project was initiated by Kishimoto, who sought to continue the NINKŪ story and obtained permission from NINKŪ creator Koji Kiriyama. Kishimoto and Kiriyama will supervise the story across all four episodes, in which a young Naruto wanders into the world of NINKŪ during a mission. The plot follows Naruto and his Team 7 companions as they encounter NINKŪ protagonist Fūsuke and his party. In commentary circulated with the announcement, Kishimoto stated, "I drew NARUTO because I wanted to see more of NINKŪ. My dream has come true," and added, "Without NINKŪ, NARUTO would not exist." Kiriyama said the two worlds "will meet and intersect" and called the collaboration a "miracle" enabled by Kishimoto's proposal.
Production attribution and franchise context
Reporting attributed the new Naruto anime project to TV TOKYO and PIERROT, with Kishimoto and Kiriyama credited as supervisors. The original Naruto television anime aired in 220 episodes from October 2002 to February 2007, followed by Naruto Shippuden, which ran for 500 episodes from February 2007 to March 2017. The Boruto: Naruto Next Generations anime ran for 293 episodes between April 2017 and March 2023, with a Part 2 sequel anime reported as currently in production. The Boruto: Naruto Next Generations manga is being written and illustrated by Mikio Ikemoto, with the second part, Boruto: Two Blue Vortex, launched in August 2023 and its ninth volume released on October 2. VIZ Media holds the English-language license for the original manga and the Boruto sequel.
Follow-up signals
The next verifiable milestone is Jump Festa 2027, where further details on "Naruto: Shadow Rising" are scheduled to be revealed. The first chapter of the new manga is targeted for 2027, and the four-episode "Naruto × Ninkū" crossover is the next anime release tied to the franchise's return to television after a reported nine-year gap.
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