In the first chapter of Naruto: Konoha’s Story-The Steam Ninja Scrolls, by Masashi Kishimoto, Sho Hinata, and Natsuo Sai, readers are introduced to Mirai Sarutobi, the young daughter of Asuma Sarutobi, a great shinobi who died protecting Konoha from Akatsuki. Mirai accidentally bumps into some dangerous criminals outside the village, and she is saved by Kakashi, who was the Sixth Hokage at the time and likes taking walks to ditch the paperwork that comes with his position. The story then jumps forward a few years, to the first Five Kage Summit attended by Naruto as the new Hokage. Kakashi leaves for a short vacation to the Land of Steam with his best friend, Guy, and a grown-up Mirai is selected as their bodyguard. Of course, the vacation is just a cover to carry on a covert mission.

It’s really refreshing to see Kakashi again in a Naruto manga. Fans who do not read the novel or watch the movies and the anime have noticed that Kakashi has a disappointingly small role in the official Naruto sequel, Boruto. This is even worse for Guy, who barely appears in Boruto, despite how popular he is with fans, especially after his incredible feat during the Fourth Shinobi World War, when he fought on par with the strongest shinobi who ever lived, Uchiha Madara, despite relying only on taijutsu. This first chapter is also a chance to learn more about Kakashi’s time as Hokage, which is mostly a blind spot in the history of the series, before the story moves on to bridge the gap between the ending of Naruto and the beginning of Boruto.

While it’s only right that Boruto decides to focus on the new generation of shinobi, fans still want to see beloved characters such as Kakashi and Guy, and this new Naruto sequel is the perfect chance to do that.