Board Thread:Naruto Discussions/@comment-4271790-20140806084414/@comment-5909893-20140809211637

@Elveonara, I think Kishimoto actually works very closely with the anime team, so I think he would actually help them out a lot. The line between canon and non-canon is very...blurred, in Naruto's anime and manga. Filler arcs help the manga get ahead, so Kishimoto probably did approve it...