Naruto x Ninku Four-Episode Crossover Anime Announced

A four-episode Naruto x Ninku crossover anime entered production, announced October 10 at the "Naruto: What's Next?" stage during New York Comic Con 2026. Masashi Kishimoto and Ninku creator Koji Kiriyama are supervising the completely new story, with Pierrot Films handling animation.

What the crossover story covers

The anime reunites the younger Team 7 lineup of Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura for a mission assigned by Kakashi. Because Kakashi cannot take part, Naruto becomes acting leader and sets out determined to prove himself. The team then becomes lost in another world, where they encounter Fūsuke, the frog-faced hero of Ninku, and the two series begin to intersect. That setup keeps the story focused on the original Team 7 era.

That meeting carries unusual creative significance. Kishimoto has described Ninku as a major influence on Naruto and said his own series would not exist without it. He also characterized Fūsuke as Naruto's hidden mentor and explained that he had long wanted to bring that connection into an actual story. Kiriyama credited Kishimoto's proposal and cooperation with making the collaboration possible. Their involvement covers supervision of all four episodes, not simply approval of the concept.

Ninku began as Koji Kiriyama's manga in Weekly Shonen Jump in 1993, followed by a television anime in 1995. Its title refers to a fictional martial art that combines elements of ninjutsu and karate. Set in an era called EDO after a major war, the series follows Fūsuke and surviving members of the Ninku Corps as they face forces seeking to eliminate them. Kiriyama later continued the manga with Ninku Second Stage: Stories of the Etonin, serialized in Ultra Jump from 2005 to 2011. The crossover therefore links Naruto with an earlier Jump ninja series that directly shaped its creator's approach.

Production team and returning cast

Noriyuki Abe is directing the crossover after previously directing the Ninku television anime and working on Boruto: Naruto Next Generations. Tetsuya Nishio, whose credits connect him to both franchises, is handling animation character design. Pierrot Films is producing the animation. The announced music also draws from Naruto history: FLOW's "GO!!!" is the opening theme, while the band's "Viva Rock" is the ending.

Junko Takeuchi returns as Naruto, joined by Noriaki Sugiyama as Sasuke, Chie Nakamura as Sakura, and Kazuhiko Inoue as Kakashi. The Ninku side includes Rika Matsumoto as Fūsuke, Mitsuaki Madono as Aicho, Jurota Kosugi as Toji, Megumi Hayashibara as Rihoko, and Katsumi Suzuki as Hiroyuki. Takeuchi highlighted the return of young Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura, while Matsumoto described reuniting with Ninku's original cast after roughly three decades.

A collaboration visual and teaser trailer debuted with the announcement, while Pierrot Films executive producer Yoshihiko Tominaga presented work-in-progress animation drawings at the panel. No release date, broadcast plan, or streaming platform has been announced. For now, the confirmed package is a four-episode Pierrot Films production bringing Team 7 and the Ninku cast into one creator-supervised story.