Naruto, Vol. 41

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).Jiraiya's DecisionMysteries from Naruto's teacher Jiraiya's past rise up to confront the Toad Sage. Could something that the Three Great Shinobi of Konoha legend did in their youth have deadly consequences now? Find out as Jiraiya's investigation into the secrets of Pain and the Akatsuki organization bears shocking fruit!

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.