Masashi Kishimoto is officially preparing a new manga entry in the Naruto franchise, and yes bro, that sentence alone is enough to wake up a whole generation of shonen fans.
The announcement came during the NARUTO: What's Next? panel at New York Comic Con on Saturday, where it was revealed that Kishimoto will launch a new Naruto manga. A teaser video pointed to the title Naruto Shadow Rising, and the franchise’s Japanese X/Twitter account later confirmed that title.
For now, that is the big headline: Naruto Shadow Rising is real, Kishimoto is involved, and more information is being saved for Jump Festa ’27, which takes place on December 19-20.
What do we actually know?
Based on the announcement, Naruto Shadow Rising is a new manga in the Naruto franchise. The source does not give a release date, story synopsis, character lineup, format, magazine placement, or whether this will be a short project or a longer-running series.
So for now, it is better to keep expectations sharp but controlled. This is not the time to pretend we know whether Naruto himself is back as the lead, whether the story connects directly to Boruto: Two Blue Vortex, or whether it explores a different era. None of that has been confirmed in the provided source.
What is confirmed is that Jump Festa ’27 will be the next major checkpoint. If you follow anime and manga announcements closely, that December 19-20 window is the one to watch.
Why Kishimoto’s name matters here
Kishimoto launched the original Naruto manga in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump in 1999. The series ended in November 2014, after becoming one of the most recognisable shonen titles globally.
Since then, Naruto has expanded way beyond the original manga. The franchise has led to the Naruto and Naruto Shippūden TV anime series, OVA projects, multiple anime films, spinoff manga, novels, stage plays, video games, and of course the Boruto sequel manga and anime.
That history is why a new Naruto manga with Kishimoto attached hits differently. This is not just another brand extension from a sleeping franchise. Naruto never really left the conversation, especially with Boruto continuing the world forward.
Where Boruto fits into the picture
The Boruto sequel manga was launched in May 2016 by storywriter Ukyō Kodachi and artist Mikio Ikemoto in Weekly Shonen Jump. It ran monthly there before moving to V Jump in July 2019.
Kishimoto later replaced Kodachi as the manga’s storywriter in November 2020, beginning with chapter 52. Boruto then went on hiatus in April 2023 and returned in August 2023 under the title Boruto: Two Blue Vortex. That series is still ongoing.
Because of that, Naruto Shadow Rising immediately raises one big question: how will this new manga sit beside Boruto: Two Blue Vortex?
To be clear, that is analysis, not confirmed info. The source does not explain whether Shadow Rising is connected to Boruto’s current timeline, separate from it, or positioned somewhere else in the franchise. But with Boruto ongoing and Kishimoto already back in a major story role, fans will definitely be watching for how Shueisha frames this new project.
Why SEA fans should care
Analysis: For Malaysia and SEA readers, the main reason this matters is simple — Naruto is one of those anime and manga franchises that crossed generations here. Plenty of fans grew up with Naruto and Shippūden, then kept one eye on Boruto even when the sequel became divisive.
A new Kishimoto-led Naruto manga could become a major discussion point across anime circles, manga readers, cosplay communities, and gaming fans who know the franchise through its video games too. But until Jump Festa gives proper details, the smart move is to treat Naruto Shadow Rising as a confirmed project with big potential, not a fully revealed comeback.
For now, mark December 19-20. That is when we should learn what Naruto Shadow Rising actually is — and whether it is about to pull the whole fandom back into ninja mode again.