Naruto creator Masashi Kishimoto has finally revealed who’s really in charge when it comes to the creative process behind the manga’s hit sequel, Boruto, putting an end to years of fan speculation.
The revelation came during an interview conducted at the “KONOHA EXPERIENCE” event in Paris, France, held by publisher Kana in August 2024. The full discussion with Kishimoto and Ikemoto was later published on the official Naruto website on July 17, 2025, where Kishimoto detailed the shift in workflow from Naruto to its sequel. He confirmed that when it came to Boruto, Ikemoto was the one truly in charge. “For Naruto, I was in charge of both the story and the main illustrations while Ikemoto helped. For Boruto, Ikemoto is completely in charge of the story and main illustrations. It really is Ikemoto’s manga.”
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Naruto’s Masashi Kishimoto Ends Fan Debate, Revealing He ‘Almost Never’ Has Anything to Pitch for Boruto
Image via Pierrot
While Kishimoto provided the initial story concept for the entire Boruto series, he explained that his role was now primarily supervisory. Ikemoto himself admitted that he was developing the plot on his own. However, his approach has led the story in a new direction from what was originally planned. “Currently, I’m developing the plot by myself while getting Kishimoto’s approval,” Ikemoto said. He noted that over time, the story began to diverge from Kishimoto’s original outline, particularly with his reworking of the events before and after the time-skip, which involved creating new characters and changing the fates of others to craft a “more interesting story.”
Kishimoto expressed his full support for these changes, stating that despite being the supervisor for Boruto, he hardly has anything to pitch. “The rough sketch (rough draft with dialogue) that Ikemoto makes has ideas, story developments, and characters that all surpass the rough plot I wrote anyway, so even though I supervise for Boruto, I almost never have anything to pitch,” he said.
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The question of who really had the final say when it came to Boruto has been a long-running topic of discussion among fans. The sequel manga, which began as Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, was initially scripted by Ukyo Kodachi with illustrations by Ikemoto, under Kishimoto’s supervision. However, Kishimoto reportedly took over as the writer starting with Chapter 52 in 2020, leading many to believe he was calling the shots. Now, this new information confirms that Ikemoto is the one holding the creative reins for the story.
Ikemoto is no stranger to the world of Naruto, having served as one of Kishimoto’s chief assistants from the early days of the original manga’s serialization. Due to their long-standing professional relationship, Kishimoto has a deep level of trust and confidence in Ikemoto’s ability to carry the franchise forward. “We’ve worked together for a long time when he was a member of the Naruto staff and I could always count on him, so I knew that both the art and story for Boruto would be brilliant,” Kishimoto stated, adding that he wouldn’t have gone through with Boruto in the first place if it was in the hands of anyone other than Ikemoto.
Boruto: Two Blue Vortex is currently serialized in Shueisha’s monthly magazine, V Jump. The latest chapters are available to read for free on Viz Media.
- Author
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Masashi Kishimoto
- Artist
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Mikio Ikemoto
- Release Date
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August 21, 2023
- Chapters
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21
- Volumes
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6
Source: Naruto official website