Naruto Returns With New Anime Crossover With Ninku and a New Manga

Naruto is getting a new limited TV anime. Titled NARUTO×NINKŪ, it is a crossover with Koji Kiriyama's 1990s ninja series Ninku, and it was revealed at the “NARUTO: What's Next?” panel at New York Comic Con on October 10, Naruto Uzumaki's birthday. The panel was streamed worldwide on the official Naruto/Boruto YouTube channel.

Lost in Another World

Variety reports that the series is supervised by both Masashi Kishimoto and Kiriyama. In the story, Kakashi gives Team 7 a mission and names Naruto acting leader, but the trio ends up lost in another world, where they meet a frog-faced boy named Fūsuke. Anime News Network reports that Boruto and Ninku director Noriyuki Abe is directing.

The premise gives the crossover a clear structure. Team 7, the squad led by Kakashi, is a familiar unit to viewers of the original series, and putting Naruto in charge for a mission adds a small twist to the usual dynamic among the characters. Their arrival in another world is what brings them into contact with the characters of Ninku, and Fūsuke serves as the first point of connection. Abe’s role as director is notable because he has worked on both Boruto and Ninku, which gives the project a director who knows both sets of characters.

What Is Ninku?

The world-premiere trailer included a statement from Kishimoto crediting Ninku as a major influence on his work. A release date, distribution details and the number of episodes have not yet been announced.

For many Naruto viewers, Ninku may be an unfamiliar name, which makes Kishimoto’s statement meaningful. The crossover is partly a tribute from the creator of one ninja series to the creator of another that came earlier. Kiriyama’s series dates from the 1990s, and the new project places its characters alongside Naruto’s, giving viewers who know only the newer franchise a way to meet a series that helped shape it. The details of how the two worlds meet are still limited to the premise released so far.

A Franchise in Brief

Naruto began as a manga by Kishimoto and became one of the most widely recognized ninja stories in anime and manga. The television anime debuted in 2002 and followed Naruto Uzumaki, a young ninja who dreams of becoming the leader of his village. Its successor series, Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, shifted the focus to the next generation, and that series is the one the reports identify as the last anime in the franchise before this announcement.

More Than One Announcement

The panel also unveiled a new Naruto manga by Kishimoto called Shadow Rising, according to Variety. Screen Rant reports a Naruto Card Game is set to debut in June 2027, and that the panel laid out a roadmap for the franchise running from 2027 through 2029. A live-action film directed by Destin Daniel Cretton is also in development.

Taken together, the announcements describe a franchise that is expanding in several directions at once. A manga, a card game, an anime and a live-action film each reach a different group of fans, from long-time readers to collectors and viewers who prefer film. The multi-year roadmap suggests that the rollout is planned in stages and not as a single burst of news, although the sources cited here do not provide the specific dates for most of the items beyond the card game’s June 2027 debut.

The involvement of Cretton as director of the planned live-action film adds another name to the project. He is known for directing Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, and the reports used here note the film as in development only, with no cast or release date given.

Why the Date Mattered

The panel took place on October 10, the birthday of Naruto Uzumaki, which links the timing of the reveal to the character himself. Choosing a date with fan meaning is a common way for franchises to mark an announcement, and it gave the New York Comic Con presentation extra significance for viewers who follow the series closely.

The Gap Since Boruto

The new project is the franchise's first anime since Boruto: Naruto Next Generations ended three years ago. Anime News Network also noted that a four-episode anime planned for the series' 20th anniversary was delayed in 2023.

That history explains why the announcement carries weight. Fans have waited three years since the last anime ended, and the earlier anniversary project was postponed rather than released on schedule. A new limited TV series, even in the form of a crossover, answers the question of whether the franchise would return to television, though it leaves open details such as the number of episodes and the airing platform. Until those facts are released, the information available is limited to the premise, the creative team and the roadmap presented in New York.

For fans, the main takeaway is that the franchise has several projects ahead of it, but only a few details are confirmed. The title, the premise, the supervisors, the director and the existence of the manga, the card game and the live-action film have all been reported, while dates and episode counts for the anime remain unannounced.