The story of the Kakashi Gaiden is finally going to be animated into a 1-hour Naruto Shippuden anime special on July 30th. The arc is covered in Volume 28 of the manga, but it was never animated until now. An article in Shonen Jump confirmed it. The title for the 1-hour special is Kakashi’s Gaiden – The Battlefield of a Boys Life.

The Kakashi Gaiden (カカシ外伝; Viz “Kakashi Chronicles”; Literally meaning “Kakashi Sidestory”) is a six chapter spinoff of the Naruto manga. It takes place several years before the start of the series, but acts as an intermission between Part I and II of the series. It has yet to be adapted by the anime, but recently, it was confirmed by an article in Weekly Shonen Jump that Kakashi Gaiden is going to be animated and released sometime in 2009.

The story surrounds a 13 year-old Kakashi Hatake, who embarks on a mission with his team, which includes another boy named Obito Uchiha, from the same clan as Sasuke Uchiha, a medical-nin kunoichi named Rin, and their teacher, Minato Namikaze.

This arc answered many questions about Kakashi’s past. It is learned how Kakashi receives his Sharingan, the identity of Obito, and when Kakashi became a Jonin. It also gives a first glimpse of what Minato was like when he was still alive.