Warning: Contains spoilers for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles x Naruto issue #1.Several months after the original reveal,Naruto’s incredible crossover withTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles x Naruto,is finally here. Like with otherNinja Turtlescrossovers, the story sees theNinja Turtles’mythos refitted into the world of another story, in this case, the iconic ninja franchiseNaruto, and has the heroes of both worlds teaming up to deal with their respective villains.
WithNarutoandTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtlesofficially crossing over, that invites the question of what the timeline is supposed to be. Details about the crossover were mostly vague up to the official release, but now that it’s finally out,Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles x Narutofinally confirms when it’s supposed to take place withinNaruto’s timeline. The timeline placement is still somewhat complicated because of a few notable details, but even so, those complications are still set to allow for a truly inventive story.
Naruto’s TMNT Crossover Officially Takes Place Near The End Of Part 1 (Sort Of)
Does Naruto’s TMNT Crossover Work In Canon?
Very early intoTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles x arutoissue #1, Tsunade is established as the Hokage, something that didn’t happen until late into part 1 ofNaruto, and since Sasuke is still around, that means he has yet to leave the Leaf Village to receive training under Orochimaru, the event that closed out part 1’s story. Based on that,Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles x Narutois meant to take place slightly beforeNaruto’s Sasuke Retrieval arc, which works as a point for making Team 7 slightly mature without putting them into the status quo ofNaruto: Shippuden.
There are some complications with the timeline placement, however. Sakura, for example, is already training under Tsunade and has both medical ninjutsu and super strength, all of which didn’t happen until after Naruto left to train with Jiraiya, and Naruto knows that Kurama is called a Tailed Beast, even though he canonically didn’t learn that terminology until the beginning of part 2. Because of that,Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles x Narutocan’t work inNaruto’s canon thanks to how certainNarutocharacters are depicted, and that would be true, even if the Ninja Turtles and their world weren’t involved.
Naruto’s TMNT Crossover Works Best By Not Trying To Fit Into Canon
As weird as it might be forTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles x Narutoto have so many inconsistencies on theNarutoside of things, it’s ultimately to the story’s benefit. Since the comic is just a limited series, there’s only so much of each side of the crossover that can be used, soTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles x Narutopicking and choosing what it does withNaruto’s story allows for more creativity with its limited runtime. That sort of writing is common for comic book crossovers, so it makes sense that it would be present here, as well.
The benefits of that sort of writing can already be seen in how Sakura is being handled. Sakura is infamous for how little she contributed to the plot of part 1, but she already has her abilities from part 2, sothe changes to Sakura’s character inTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles x Narutoare a perfect means of allowing Sakura to have more agency when she originally had very little. If there are more changes like that, thenTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles x Narutois sure to be great, so it will be interesting to see how things further develop.
Naruto
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.
