Narutop99: Why Minato is all but confirmed to get a new manga spin-off 

Jump Festa 2023 announced a global popularity poll called Narutop99 in celebration of Naruto's 20th anniversary. In this contest, the character with the maximum number of votes will get their own spin-off manga series, illustrated by the creator of Naruto, Masashi Kishimoto.

Voting for the global popularity poll started on December 17, 2022, and ended on January 31, 2023. The results of the poll are set to be released sometime in April 2023. Many fans believe that Minato Namikaze will win the popularity contest with the most votes.

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Minato will get own spinoff series given that he is most likely to win the Narutop99 global popularity poll

Narutop99 is the first-ever voting poll for the series that was conducted worldwide. There were over 450 unique characters for the audience to choose from. The voting period lasted for over a month, starting on December 17, 2023, and ending on January 31, 2023. Among all the characters, Minato Namikage is currently in the best position to win the contest and get his own spin-off manga series.

The official Naruto Twitter @NARUTO_info_en provided fans with real-time coverage of the popularity poll during the month-long voting period. Fans participated actively in the poll, many of whom voted every day for a month. After the first million votes came in, Minato was revealed to be at the top of the popularity poll, with Itachi and Shishui in the second and third positions, respectively.

The Midterm Report for the popularity poll was revealed by Narutop99. In this report, we saw Minato Namikaze winning the Worldwide Popularity Poll with the maximum number of votes. He was followed by Itachi Uchiha and Sakura Haruno in the second and third positions, respectively. Shishui, Sasuke, and Naruto were overshadowed by Sakura fans, who banded together to elevate their favorite characters.

However, Minato has been steadfast in the No. 1 position throughout the voting period, and no one seems to be close to the number of votes he has. It is undeniable that Minato is well-liked by the Naruto community. He was one of the strongest ninjas of his time and was born during an era full of warfare and bloodshed.

Minato surprising Killer Bee with his speed (Image via Studio Pierrot)

Minato single-handedly ended the Third Great Shinobi war by defeating a thousand shinobi from Iwagakure all on his own. Known as the Yellow Flash, Minato was fast enough to blitz the Fourth Raikage and take on both him and his brother Killer Bee in a fight. It is natural for fans to want to learn more about his exploits and delve deeper into the adventures he took part in as an elite ninja.

In the Narutop99 voting poll, Minato was at the top for most of the duration and had a large number of fans voting for him daily. Unless Sakura or Itachi fans sabotage the Yellow Flash, he is almost certain to win the popularity poll and will get his own short spin-off manga series.