Naruto, Vol. 36

Naruto is a ninja-in-training with a need for attention, a knack for mischief and, sealed within him, a strange, formidable power. His antics amuse his instructor Kakashi and irritate his teammates, intense Sasuke and witty Sakura, but Naruto is serious about becoming the greatest ninja in the village of Konohagakure!Reads R to L (Japanese Style).Cell Number TenAsuma's new team and the former Cell Number 10 battle Hidan of the Akatsuki, who may be the most unstoppable foe the Konoha ninja have encountered--and who could mean the end for one of Naruto's longest-standing allies. As Naruto prepares for the worst, the Akatsuki reveals its master plan!

Author/artist Masashi Kishimoto was born in 1974 in rural Okayama Prefecture, Japan.  After spending time in art college, he won the Hop Step Award for new manga artists with his manga Karakuri ("Mechanism").  Kishimoto decided to base his next story on traditional Japanese culture.  His first version of Naruto, drawn in 1997, was a one-shot story about fox spirits; his final version, which debuted in Weekly Shonen Jump in 1999, quickly became the most popular ninja manga in Japan.