Calling all Naruto fans! You won't want to miss out on this week's issue of Weekly Shonen Jump! Why?! Because the legendary manga creator took the time to work on a separate one-shot called Mario, which is exclusively available inside the 05-13-2013 issue. We also have an incredible interview with the man himself, explaining the creation process behind this special one-shot!

A Story Created Before Naruto

Q: I heard that you created the rough draft for Mario even before Naruto was serialized. Just how long ago was that?
Kishimoto: About fifteen years ago. I think it was 1998 or so. I drew the roughs before Naruto.

Q: Mario seems so different from your other work such as Karakuri and Naruto. What made you want to create it?
K: Before I made my debut in Shonen Jump, I pitched a bunch of different ideas, but none of them really went over too well. That was a period of time when I started to think that I wasn’t cut out for shonen manga. So Mario was a draft of a manga aimed at an older seinen crowd.

Q: So Mario was never meant for Shonen Jump?
K: Right. I created it with the intention of pitching it to a magazine targeting an older seinen audience. There used to be a magazine called Super Jump, and I planned on submitting it there. That’s why I included more mature themes that might not fly in Shonen Jump. I wasn’t planning for it to run in Shonen Jump, so I didn’t even tell my editor at the time. I just worked on it in secret at my own pace. Since I was doing it for myself, I kept adding things in without worrying about the page count. Eventually it became ridiculously long. 

To read the rest of this interview, pick up the 05-13-2013 issue of Weekly Shonen Jump today!