Masashi Kishimoto, creator of the Naruto manga, has announced a new arc set after the Fourth Shinobi World War. The project revives the franchise 12 years after the original series came to an end.
The announcement confirms the official return of Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno and Kakashi Hatake. Much of the other cast that made up the original world of Naruto is also set to appear.
Kishimoto published the final chapter of the original manga on November 10, 2014, in Issue 50 of Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump. The series had run as one of the magazine's flagship titles, and that chapter closed the story he had written himself.
The franchise did not stop there. It moved into a new era with Boruto, a follow-up series centered on the next generation. Boruto has gone through a lot of ups and downs since its debut, and it has remained the main vehicle for the Naruto brand in the years since the original ended.
The new arc is a different kind of return. Instead of continuing with the next generation, Kishimoto is going back to the roots of the franchise, to the world and the characters he left behind more than a decade ago. The setting is the period immediately following the Fourth Shinobi World War, the conflict that stood as the climax of the original manga.
The return of the core team of Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura and Kakashi places the original leads at the center of the revival. Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha were the central pair of the original series, while Sakura Haruno and Kakashi Hatake made up the rest of Team 7.
The announcement was reported on November 13, 2026, and marks the first time in 12 years that Kishimoto is confirmed to be working on new material set in the original story's timeline.
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