Masashi Kishimoto was born on November 8, 1974, in the Okayama Prefecture of Japan. As the older identical twin of fellow manga artist Seishi Kishimoto, he grew up in a household near Hiroshima, where stories of war told by his grandfather would later influence his work. From a young age, Kishimoto was an avid reader of manga, with early interests in series such as Dragon Ball and Dr. Slump. He idolized their creator, Akira Toriyama, and developed a desire to write his own stories. During high school, his passion for drawing was rekindled upon seeing a poster for the film Akira, after which he sought to emulate the detailed style of its creator, Katsuhiro Otomo. He went on to study at Kyushu Sangyo University, where he spent considerable time developing his craft.

Before achieving worldwide fame, Kishimoto worked through several rejected drafts and projects. His first successful manga pilot was Karakuri in 1995, which earned him an honorable mention in Shueisha's Hop Step Award for promising rookies. He worked with an editor, Kosuke Yahagi, on various concepts including a slice-of-life story and an action manga, but none were successfully serialized. A one-shot version of Naruto was published in 1997, and after further development, the serialized version of Naruto premiered in Weekly Shōnen Jump in September 1999.

Naruto became a global phenomenon, running for over fifteen years before concluding on November 10, 2014, with a total of 700 chapters collected in 72 volumes. The series has sold over 250 million copies worldwide and has been adapted into two highly successful anime television series: Naruto and its sequel Naruto Shippūden. Kishimoto requested that animator Tetsuya Nishio oversee the character designs for the anime adaptation. He was also personally involved in the production of several canonical films, providing the story concept and character designs for The Last: Naruto the Movie and supervising Boruto: Naruto the Movie. The franchise expanded to include numerous spin-offs. The anime Naruto SD: Rock Lee no Seishun Full-Power Ninden Mō Iccho, also known as Naruto SD: Rock Lee and His Ninja Pals, is an adaptation of a spin-off manga written and illustrated by Kenji Taira, one of Kishimoto's assistants, with Kishimoto credited as the original creator of the Naruto universe. Kishimoto also oversaw the Boruto: Naruto Next Generations manga, initially supervising the series written by Ukyō Kodachi and illustrated by Mikio Ikemoto, before officially taking over as the writer in November 2020.

Following the conclusion of Naruto, Kishimoto authored Samurai 8: The Tale of Hachimaru, which was serialized from May 2019 to March 2020. His artistic identity is characterized by a detailed and intricate drawing style, with a particular focus on dynamic fight choreography. A recurring theme throughout his work is the concept of perseverance, where characters achieve strength through hard work and dedication. The theme of war and its consequences, drawn from his family history, also plays a significant role in the narrative of Naruto, which he approached with a sense of hope despite its tragic nature.

Masashi Kishimoto holds significant importance in the manga and anime industry. Naruto is one of the best-selling manga series in history, and its success contributed substantially to the global popularity of manga and anime. The series is credited with helping to expand the market for manga in the West, at one point accounting for nearly ten percent of all manga sales in the United States. Kishimoto has also contributed his artistic talents to other media, including redesigning a character for the video game Tekken 6. His influence is evident in the work of subsequent manga creators, and he remains a central figure in the industry, continuing to work within the Naruto universe while pursuing original projects.