"Naruto" may have ended its manga run with chapter 700 but that doesn't mean that there are no more stories to tell. According to the iDigitalTimes, six spin-offs have been planned, and all but the last two have been released in Japan thus far. A new report from AnimeNewsNetwork now confirms that the last spin-off will be released on July 3.
The final spin-off or gaiden will focus on the Akatsuki, an organization of rogue ninjas that come from different nations all banding together for one ultimate goal. Along with the Japanese release date, AnimeNewsNetwork also gave the official synopsis of the novel as it was leaked via a product listing on the Japanese Amazon site.
A boy Sasuke met during his journey speaks of how his family was killed by Akatsuki... Itachi and Kisame. Hidan and Kakuzu. Deidara and Sasori. Nagato and Konan. What is the path of the ninja that was illuminated by the light of Akatsuki? (lit. the dawn) The sixth volume in the Hiden series!"
By the end of the main manga series, the Akatsuki was dissolved since there are no remaining members left, with many of them either killed or defected. However, judging from the synopsis, the spin-off will tell the tale of what occurred before the final events of the main series.
The fifth novel, "Gaara Hiden," will be released on June 4. This will give Japanese fans roughly a month to sink their teeth into that story before they go out to buy the sixth and final spin-off title. As for a U.S. release, the iDigital Times states that English versions of these novels will be released starting this year, beginning with the Kakashi and Shikimaru novels first.
The spin-off novels not only conclude the story of the main manga series but also tie in with the upcoming "Boruto: Naruto the Movie," which is also an epilogue story that focuses on Naruto's son and Sasuke's daughter, several years after the events of the main series.
