The Naruto manga is set to return with a new installment titled NARUTO: SHADOW RISING, announced at New York Comic Con on October 10, 12 years after the original manga concluded in 2014.
The surprise announcement confirmed that Masashi Kishimoto, the creator of the hugely popular ninja series, will draw the new manga. A teaser video featuring storyboards offered a first glimpse of the project, although its release date, length and full storyline have yet to be revealed.
Further details are expected at Jump Festa 2027, scheduled for December 19-20 in Japan, according to the official Naruto website.
The teaser features familiar characters from the original series, including Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno and Kakashi Hatake. It also shows the monument bearing the faces of the Hidden Leaf Village’s Hokage, with a seventh face under construction, suggesting a story set after Naruto’s rise to the village leadership.
The footage also depicts Naruto and Sasuke facing off, but the circumstances behind the confrontation remain unclear. No official synopsis has been released, leaving fans waiting to learn whether the new manga will continue the original storyline or explore a previously unseen chapter in the characters’ lives.
The original Naruto manga ran in Weekly Shonen Jump from 1999 until November 2014, spanning 700 chapters collected in 72 volumes. Its conclusion brought the story of Naruto, an aspiring ninja who dreams of becoming Hokage, to an end after years of battles, rivalries and personal growth.
Since the original manga ended, the franchise has continued through Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, which follows Naruto’s son, and its sequel, Boruto: Two Blue Vortex. However, Naruto’s journey to becoming the Seventh Hokage has never been fully explored in the original manga, leaving room for the new series to revisit the events that led to him succeeding Kakashi.
The reveal was part of a broader initiative called Project Rasengan, which aims to expand the Naruto franchise across manga, anime, games and other formats. Other announcements included a four-episode Naruto x Ninku anime crossover and plans for a worldwide release of the Naruto Mobile game.
