Solicit[]
It’s the coolest ninja matchup you could have ever dreamed of, had you dared! The Heroes in a Half-Shell meet the host of the Nine-Tailed Fox in the crossover everyone will be talking about.
When teenage reporter April O’Neil has a clandestine meeting with Tsunade, the leader of the Hidden Leaf Village, it garners the attention of Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, and Kakashi. They aren’t the only ones who are wondering what the two women were discussing, though. The sinister Foot Clan have their own interest in April’s visit, as they think she might hold the valuable information on mutation research being conducted by the scientist Baxter Stockman. With April caught between the forces of the Hidden Leaf Village and the Foot Clan, it can’t be long before the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles show up to lend her a hand!
Working with acclaimed manga publisher Viz Entertainment, IDW is pulling together two of the most popular comics in the world to bring you the four-issue comic book event of 2024!
Appearing in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles x Naruto issue 1[]
Major characters[]
- April O’Neil (debut)
- Donatello (debut)
- Foot Clan (debut)
- Alopex (debut)
- Foot Ninja (debut)
- Leonardo (debut)
- Michelangelo (debut)
- Raphael (debut)
- Splinter (debut)
- Team 7 (debut)
- Kakashi Hatake (debut)
- Naruto Uzumaki (debut)
- Sakura Haruno (debut)
- Sasuke Uchiha (debut)
Minor characters[]
- Baxter Stockman (debut) (flashback only)
- Nine-Tails
- Orochimaru (flashback only)
- Tsunade (debut) (flashback only)
Species[]
- Human
- Mutant arctic fox
- Mutant rat
- Mutant turtle
- Turtle
Locations[]
Objects, vehicles, and weapons[]
Synopsis[]
Near Big Apple Village, Kakashi Hatake studies a scroll containing the orders for his Team 7 personnel’s mission. They are escorting the teenaged reporter, April O’Neil, to her home. Team 7 consists of the leader, Kakashi, along with Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno, and Naruto Uzumaki.
Nearby, Sakura scolds Naruto for wandering off. He explains that he is helping a turtle that has flipped over onto its back. Naruto complains that so far on this mission all he’s done is save a turtle. When April chuckles at his antics, Sasuke notes that she hasn’t spoken since leaving Lady Tsunade’s office and that Naruto must be good for something. April points out that Sasuke hasn’t spoken much either and maybe they both have a lot on their minds.
Sakura thinks that the meeting must have been over something serious, since the leader of their village wouldn’t waste time talking to a reporter. April explains that she needed to talk to the closest ninja biology expert for her story, which began back home in Big Apple Village. The scientist Baxter Stockman had been fired from the city’s foremost university for undisclosed reasons and had reached out to tell his side of the story. He had told April that the university had hired him to engineer machines, but had spent his time and school budget on biological research instead. Stockman was obsessed with the potential military applications of bio-mutations made possible by his theoretical mutagenic compound, which he called ‘ooze’. Stockman’s dream was to create innately powerful supersoldiers possessing the fiercest traits of humans and animals. He wanted to create and control monstrous mutant ninjas.
Her escorts think that sounds dangerous and then Sakura confirms that April had said the work was only theoretical. April’s reply to that isn’t firm but just then they are interrupted when someone calls her name and informs her that she is coming with the Foot Clan. Members of the clan, led by Alopex, stand atop a rocky outcropping. Naruto is surprised at Alopex’s appearance, but Nine-Tails speaks to him, saying that while she is no mere animal, she is no tailed beast spirit, either. He calls her a ‘one-tailed-fox fake’. Naruto pushes against Nine-Tails, saying that he needs to focus.
As Alopex and the Foot Ninja leap to attack, the air is suddenly clouded by smoke bombs. Out of the smoke, familiar weapons, wielded by green skinned attackers, strike with precision to take down the Foot Ninja. Alopex recognizes the attackers and quickly flees the scene, though she promises that this isn’t over – the Foot will have its revenge.
Team 7 and April then look over at the new arrivals, a mutant rat and four mutant turtles. Splinter tells his sons that one adversary is down and there is one to go. Leonardo steps forward, katana drawn, and orders Kakashi to let Miss O’Neil go. Naruto replies that they will not let her go to a bunch of masked bandits. April calls out for everyone to hold on, because she can explain, but then thinks better of it and takes out her mini-camera, deciding to let things play out.
Leonardo leaps at Sasuke, quoting the idiom about cutting off the head and the body will fall. In response, Sasuke throws a handful of kunai at him, asking what makes him think he’s the leader. Using his katanas, Leo bats away the kunai and replies that maybe he’s not, but he knows pure vengeance when he sees it. They begin to trade and dodge blows. Meanwhile, Sakura has engaged Raphael in battle, though he had wanted to fight “the snobby-looking kid with the bangs”. Sakura throws several kunai, which he ducks, and then she slices at him with one, which deflects off his shell. Thinking he is armored, Sakura realizes she won’t have to hold back and punches a boulder, smashing it into small pieces that Raphael has to jump to avoid. She then asks if he still wishes he were fighting someone else.
Naruto is delighted to be facing two opponents as both Donatello and Michelangelo go for him. They wonder if he just likes getting beaten up twice as much, but he spins and jumps to avoid their weapons. Naruto tells them they might think they have the upper hand, but he’s not losing because he promised to get strong enough to lead his village and he never goes back on his word. Shouting “art of the doppelgänger”, Naruto duplicates himself, producing a half-dozen clones. As Mikey wallops a clone, he laughs and says he could do this all day, but Don tells him not to waste too much time on the clones. They have to focus on pinpointing the original somehow, which Mikey likens to finding a needle in a needle stack.
Meanwhile, Splinter and Kakashi battle. Kakashi states that Splinter’s team is powerful, but lacks polish. Splinter responds that he could say the same about Team 7. Kakashi says their moves seem familiar, but that something is off. Manifesting a powerful energy, Splinter strikes the ground with his walking stick, creating an explosion that throws Kakashi off his feet. The fight between Leo and Sasuke continues, with both speaking of feelings and Sasuke claiming not to be burdened by them. Leo surprises him by managing to chop off a lock of hair when Sasuke doesn’t duck quickly enough. Raph and Sakura also talk as they fight. Sakura acknowledges that Raph is faster than he looks, and he says that she is stronger than he expected. He adds that one needs to be tough as well.
As the Naruto clones keep coming, Mikey asks if Donnie has any ideas for dealing with them. Don does, but tells his brother that he’ll need his help. He has noticed a certain rhythm to the clone attacks and tells Mikey that when the next one comes his way, to just act natural. With a chuckle, Mikey says he has just the thing. The next time Naruto swings at him, Mikey pulls his head into his shell. Astonished, Naruto says he didn’t think he hit him that hard and then Don smacks him with his bō. Having clobbered the real Naruto, all of the clones vanish.
April has continued filming the fight, although she’s sure that it’s going to come out blurry, as everyone is moving too fast. Team 7 line up in front of her and Sakura asks if she’s okay. As the Turtles start to move forward again, Splinter tells them to hold. Addressing Kakashi, Splinter says he is impressed, as his shinobi rival his sons. Sasuke believes they are up against a proper clan, but Splinter scoffs at this, saying the Foot has all but rendered the term meaningless. He tells Team 7 that they are but a humble family.
Kakashi says that perhaps he should be grateful, as Splinter’s family gave his team a decent workout. However, he thinks he’s seen enough. With that, he lifts the covering from his left eye to reveal the Sharingan. With this powerful eye, Kakashi sweeps away the masks covering the faces of the Turtles and Splinter. Kakashi says that they make look different, but a Shinobi knows how to see through deception. This is all too real, however unexpected. Kakashi then says that it is good to see him again… Hamato Yoshi.