Kishimoto Just Confirmed Naruto & Sasuke's Next Official Fight And Nobody's Talking About It Enough

Published Oct 15, 2026, 11:59 PM EDT

An experienced Editor representing Canada via ScreenRant's Team Anime, J.R. has been reading manga since the first printing of Shonen Jump in North America. This passion drove him to write about anime, manga, and manhwa since 2022, having recently served as Lead Anime Editor for ComicBook.com.

His favorite moments in media coverage include reviewing the series premieres of Zom 100 and Bleach: TYBW Part 2 back-to-back and briefly meeting Junji Ito at a VIZ gallery event in 2023.

There are vanishingly few anime and manga rivalries that match the conflicting ideologies, isolating trauma, and dramatic reconciliation of Naruto and Sasuke. Their fights have ranged from bouts of lop-sided jealousy to catalysts for mutual growth, to the occasional moments that could almost be mistaken for having romantic undercurrents. But one thing is for sure: when they fight, either in the manga or in the anime, their clashes grew more explosive with their gradual development as shinobi, from school-set sparring matches, to embittered hospital fooftop jutsu-measuring, to encounters after the Five Kage Summit and twice at the Valley of the End. Now, they'll fight again.

As revealed in early glimpses of Masashi Kishimoto's return as the illustrator for Naruto: Shadow Rising, the long-awaited Blank Period will be explored in greater detail. In addition to expanding the documented events in the Naruto timeline, it appears Naruto and Sasuke will have another chance to revisit their rivalry, but little else has been revealed beyond what appears to be a two-page spread depicting a glorious clash. Much like Dragon Ball fans flocking to the next bout between Goku and Vegeta, moments like these should be carefully relished, especially since they'll be unique for more ways than one.

Naruto & Sasuke's Fight Was Teased Nearly 12 Years Ago

After stopping Kaguya and ending the Fourth Great Ninja War, and finally, after settling their differences, Naruto and Sasuke were able to move forward with their lives. But upon Sasuke's release from prison, he went on a journey abroad to atone for his sins. Yet, before he departs, Naruto gives him one last gift: his Konoha headband he'd defaced in their first fight at the Valley of the End. Sasuke accepts it, hanging onto it until their next fight. What ensued from then on was the start of Sasuke's new life as what'd eventually be Konoha's Supporting Kage, his bond being one of mutual, unspoken trust, having left their grudges, and one hand each, in the past.

"Sure. I'll hang onto it...until we have our real fight."

-Sasuke Uchiha, Naruto chapter 699

It's just as easy to dismiss this as a connection formed in a rivalry that playfully teases it'll never truly be settled. But in another way, this is already the perfect setup for another fight, if simply to see how far they've come. This is significant in that, unlike both times at the Valley of the End, Sasuke shows willingness to see Naruto as his equal, and the implicit intent not to kill his opponent. After all, Naruto finally broke through to him to show Sasuke the errors of his ways, allowing them to grow older, wiser, and more powerful, which opens the series up to another supremely exciting prospect.

Kishimoto's New Manga Will Have Naruto & Sasuke Fight Each Other In Their Prime

Even more exciting than the fight itself is that this is both a microcosm of what's to come with likely other Naruto: Shadow Rising fights, and a unique clash of Naruto and Sasuke in their post-war prime. Now fully adults, starting families of their own, Naruto and Sasuke have grown older, wiser, and more competent with their talents, such as Naruto's bond with Kurama and Sasuke's use of his Rinnegan and Sharingan Eyes. Sasuke may lack the use of one hand, but as seen in Boruto, that never seemed to slow him down.

If anything, the Naruto vs. Sasuke fight teased in Shadow Rising's glimpses might simply set up a distillation of how far each character has come since the end of the war. To bring up Dragon Ball once more, this story is likely to set up the opportunity for them to test each other's limits akin to Goku and Vegeta training under Whis in Dragon Ball Super. Given how spectacular their team coordination is hinted to be such as in Boruto: Naruto Next Generations chapter 8, Kishimoto has the opportunity to set up something similar, written and illustrated by himself, in what could be the singular most satisfying moment promised so far in Naruto: Shadow Rising.

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  First Film

  Naruto the Movie: Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow

  Latest Film

  Boruto: Naruto the Movie

  First TV Show

  Naruto

  Latest TV Show

  Boruto: Naruto Next Generations

  First Episode Air Date

  October 3, 2002

  Cast

  Junko Takeuchi, Maile Flanagan, Noriaki Sugiyama, Chie Nakamura, Kazuhiko Inoue, Nana Mizuki, Hideo Ishikawa, Yûko Sanpei

  Naruto is a franchise spawned from the manga series penned by Masashi Kishimoto that began in 1999. Generating several tv series, games, movies, and more, Naruto follows the exploits of a young outcast ninja harboring the spirit of a demon fox who seeks to become the Hokage, the leader of his ninja village, to break the stigma against him. Upon the conclusion of the initial series, Naruto expanded into Boruto, following many series protagonists' children and returning faces.

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  Naruto: Shadow Rising

  Franchise

  Naruto

  Author

  Masashi Kishimoto

  Artist

  Masashi Kishimoto

  Genre

  Action, Adventire, Fantasy

  Publisher

  Shueisha/Viz Media

  A new Naruto manga by Masashi Kishimoto announced at the 2026 New York Comic-Con, with more details expected to arrive at Jump Festa in 2027.