Today Naruto is very very famous in a lot of other countries. Do you think this haves something to do with what you just said ?

Kishimoto : It obviously is one of the reason.

Your character have very simple souding names. Do you think about foreigners too about that ?

Kishimoto : I choose mostly names that are easy to remember, even if it's not an easy thing to parody a traditional ninja's name.
I look for names that sounds like japanese and sounds cool, like "Wasabi" or "Kakashi".

Did you started thinking about non japanese readers at some point ?

Kishimoto : Yes, when my editor told Naruto was strong outside japan. I made the reading easier by making the order of the koma easier to read.
That way of thinking had a very large impact on the series as a whole.

What do you think foreigners like the most in Naruto ?

Kishimoto : The hero is far from being the most clever fella on earth. He's not a genius. He starts from 0 and starts climbing his way.
Everyone can relate to this kind of story, japanese or not.
Other Important fact : Everyone in the world like ninjas.

I would like you to tell me about the bonds in the story. There are a lot of time where you talk about that.
Is there some moment you remember ?

Kishimoto : I'd say Jiraiya's death. With a strange force, let's call that "willpower", he comes back to life to give Naruto the secret of Pain.
I think I really managed to put his determination on paper this time around and the bonds that link his to his student.
But since I draw on the spot, very spontaneously, I rarely pause myself to think "wow, I just rocked."