In 1995, Shueisha released "Karakuri", a one-shot manga by Masashi Kishimoto that earned an honorable mention in the "Hop Step Award" in 1996. Kishimoto was unsatisfied with his subsequent drafts for a follow up, and decided to work on another project. The new project was originally going to feature Naruto as a chef, but this version never made it to print. Kishimoto originally wanted to make Naruto a child who could transform into a fox, so he created a one-shot of "Naruto" for the summer 1997 issue of "Akamaru Jump" based on the idea. Despite the positive feedback it received in a readers' poll, Kishimoto was unhappy with the art and the story, so he rewrote it as a story about ninjas.