Naruto x Ninku gets four-episode anime directed by Noriyuki Abe

NARUTO×NINKŪ will be a four-episode anime bringing Team 7 together with characters from the work that helped inspire Masashi Kishimoto to create Naruto. The project was presented on October 10 during the “NARUTO: What’s Next?” panel at New York Comic Con 2026, where a teaser, key visual and staff details were shown. The production still has no new premiere date.

The story begins when Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura receive a mission from Kakashi. Because their teacher has another assignment, Naruto temporarily becomes the group’s acting leader. During the journey, the trio gets lost in another world and encounters Fūsuke, the protagonist of NINKŪ. The synopsis establishes a new adventure and does not connect it to Boruto or describe it as an adaptation of a main manga arc.

Masashi Kishimoto and NINKŪ creator Koji Kiriyama supervise every episode. Noriyuki Abe directs the series, Tetsuya Nishio handles character design, and PIERROT FILMS produces the animation. The cast includes Junko Takeuchi as Naruto, Noriaki Sugiyama as Sasuke, Chie Nakamura as Sakura and Kazuhiko Inoue as Kakashi. Rica Matsumoto returns as Fūsuke, joined by Mitsuaki Madono, Jūrōta Kosugi, Megumi Hayashibara and Katsumi Suzuki in roles from the NINKŪ universe.

The project revives the special delayed in 2023

The official website identifies NARUTO×NINKŪ as the new animation prepared for the 20th anniversary of the Naruto anime. The original plan called for four weekly broadcasts beginning September 3, 2023, on TV Tokyo, but the premiere was postponed shortly before transmission so the production team could improve its quality. The NYCC announcement finally disclosed the project’s identity more than three years later, but it did not replace the old schedule with a new date.

That distinction matters because the promotional page still preserves the 2023 timetable. It is a record of the initial plan, not current release information. There is also no confirmation of an international platform, simultaneous distribution or episode length. Until a new schedule is published, any alternative date remains speculation.

Why Ninku is central to the comeback

Created by Koji Kiriyama, NINKŪ began in Weekly Shonen Jump in 1993 and received a Studio Pierrot anime series in 1995. The story follows warriors who combine ninjutsu and karate in a martial art called Ninku. Kishimoto says the series had a decisive influence on Naruto and that Fūsuke served as an indirect mentor for his protagonist.

The crossover turns that historical connection into part of the narrative itself. Rather than merely referencing the influence, the anime places Naruto and Fūsuke in the same adventure. Abe also links the two productions: he directed the original NINKŪ anime and worked as a director on Naruto. Nishio previously designed characters for the Naruto television adaptation, providing another line of visual continuity.

The music choices reinforce the reunion. FLOW’s re-recorded version of “GO!!!” will serve as the opening, while the ending will use the band’s cover of Orange Range’s “Viva Rock.” Both songs are associated with the early period of the Naruto anime, matching the presence of the younger Team 7.

What is confirmed and what remains unknown

The title, four-episode count, premise, principal staff, cast and supervision by both creators are confirmed. The teaser also shows that the project is in production. Its premiere date, distribution format outside Japan and episode runtimes remain unannounced.

The same panel introduced other franchise projects, including a new manga drawn by Kishimoto and the multimedia Project Rasengan roadmap. Those announcements belong to the same expansion plan but are separate productions. For NARUTO×NINKŪ, the event’s main consequence was to reveal the identity of the delayed four-episode special, not to establish when audiences will be able to watch it.