New February special features Kakashi, Minato, Sarutobi, Itachi, Yamato

The second issue of 2014 of Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump magazine is announcing on Monday that the Naruto Shippuden anime will have a new anime special titled Kakashi Anbu Hen ~Yami o Ikiru Shinobu~ (Kakashi Anbu Chapter ~The Shinobi Who Lives in the Shadows~) that will begin airing on February 6.

The anime special will tell the story of the past of Hatake Kakashi, also known as Kakashi of the Sharingan, a man who has copied over one thousand ninja techniques. The key visual for the special (seen at right) features the characters Kakashi Hatake, Hiruzen Sarutobi, Minato Namikaze, Yamato, and Itachi Uchiha.

In addition to being broadcast, the special will be displayed at the Pierrot booth at the Jump Festa 2014 event later this month.

Adult Swim's Toonami block announced last month that it will air the Naruto Shippuden anime beginning in January. Episodes of the first Naruto anime will stop running on Toonami on November 30, but the staff notes that it is still streaming in several venues. The Disney XD channel began running Naruto Shippuden in October 2009 with edits. Another Naruto special revolving around Kakashi's past aired in 2009.