So, if you all watched this week’s episode, you can see that we’re returning to these silly Part I/Original Naruto style episodes again.  The arc (according to ANN) is called “Iruka Gaiden”, and since it’s a filler, it won’t be nearly as cool as Kakashi Gaiden.  Look at these amazing episode titles for the next couple of weeks:

2010-09-02
176.
Rookie Instructor Iruka

2010-09-09
177.
Iruka’s Trials

2010-09-16
178.
Iruka’s Determination

The way Shippuden is doing fillers has seemingly departed from the previous style of season long filler arcs, and having mini filler arcs instead.  The previous filler with the six tails only lasted for a little over a month.  The distance between the anime & manga are still pretty far apart, but these style of fillers aren’t exactly enjoyable either.  Anyway, I’m sure this filler arc will be as long as the previous one,  so expect this Iruka Gaiden garbage for the next month or so.