New Naruto Anime Project Officially Revealed at NYCC 2026

Naruto’s long-awaited new anime has finally been revealed at New York Comic Con 2026, with an unexpected crossover connecting the franchise to one of the classic ninja series that helped inspire its creation.

The new limited series brings Naruto together with “Ninku,” the 1990s manga and anime series by Koji Kiriyama, with a world-premiere trailer opening the “NARUTO: What’s Next?” presentation on October 10.

The trailer also featured a statement from Naruto creator Masashi Kishimoto acknowledging the enormous influence Ninku had on his work, declaring that without Ninku, there would be no Naruto.

Naruto began serialization in Weekly Shonen Jump in 1999 and follows Naruto Uzumaki, a young ninja who dreams of becoming Hokage while gradually uncovering the truth about his past and the powerful Nine-Tailed Fox sealed within him.

The manga received its first television anime adaptation in 2002, followed by Naruto Shippuden in 2007, with Studio Pierrot producing both series before the story eventually continued through Boruto.

Ninku predates Naruto by several years, originally beginning serialization in Weekly Shonen Jump in 1993 before receiving its own anime adaptation from Studio Pierrot in 1995.

The series follows Fusuke, a young former member of the Ninku Corps, as he searches for his missing mother in a world recovering from a devastating war.

Its defining combat system combines traditional ninja techniques with karate, creating a distinctive martial arts style that helped separate Ninku from other ninja stories of the period.

The anime ran for 55 episodes between January 1995 and February 1996, with additional original material expanding on Kiriyama’s manga.

Kishimoto has previously discussed Ninku’s influence on Naruto, explaining in a 2013 interview that the earlier manga had already developed an original approach to ninja combat when he began considering his own series.

That presented a creative challenge, as Kishimoto wanted to produce something different from the ninja stories already appearing in Weekly Shonen Jump, eventually developing the world and characters that would define Naruto.

The newly revealed crossover therefore brings together two franchises with an established creative connection, as well as a shared history at Studio Pierrot.

The announcement was made during the “NARUTO: What’s Next?” panel at New York Comic Con 2026, which was held on Naruto Uzumaki’s birthday and broadcast worldwide through the official Naruto/Boruto YouTube channel.

A release date and further distribution details for the new Naruto x Ninku crossover, as well as the number of episodes, are expected to be revealed in the near future.