Say goodbye, Naruto, and let's welcome in an extended flashback to our favorite copy ninja, Kakashi! Did anyone expect him to be such a stickler for rules as a kiddo?

So, after reading this the first time, I was overwhelmed by a desire to find a point to this sequence. Much, much later, the life and death of Obito takes on a much different aspect than just being the source of Kakashi's left eye. No spoilers.

I'm not certain this really qualifies as a complaint, but so many things have happened between this gaiden and the final story arc that it should have been easy to forget this volume. Maybe I'm just fooling myself. Everyone is usually very interested in Kakashi's past, or even what he looks like under that mask. What wasn't immediately obvious was the importance it held for much later. (Was this planned, or is it Kishimoto taking advantage of story elements? Who knows.) ( )