'Naruto' creator Masashi Kishimoto to draw short manga about Minato Namikaze

Minato Namikaze, Konoha's Fourth Hokage and Naruto's dad, is getting his own short manga!

This comes after Minato won the character popularity poll "Narutop 99" held in December, garnering 792,257 votes from fans.

Itachi Uchiha finished second with 505,014 votes, while Sakura Haruno ranked third with 489,619 votes. The results were released on Thursday.

"I was shocked to see Minato at the top for all regions, and the fact that Sakura is so beloved by many people around the world made me proud as a writer," said "Naruto" creator Masashi Kishimoto in a statement.

He said he is now drawing the short manga featuring Konoha's Yellow Flash.

"While trying to make a story that would match the expectations of his fans, I ended up with more pages than I had originally anticipated," Kishimoto said.

"Please look forward to the secret story behind Minato's jutsu!" he added.

Other characters in the top 10 are Shisui Uchiha, Kakashi Hatake, Naruto Uzumaki, Sakumo Hatake, Sasuke Uchiha, Madara Uchiha, and Hinata Hyuuga.

Completing the top 20 are Obito Uchiha, Jiraiya, Shikamaru Nara, Tobirama Senju, Gaara, Hashirama Senju, Deidara, Neji Hyuuga, Sasori, and Rock Lee.

Kishimoto released a character illustration of the top 20, with two additional characters: Might Guy and Kurama, who came in 21st and 22nd in the voting.

—MGP, GMA Integrated News