So this is just a pure filler story arc, in order to buy time for the manga to get farther ahead? As in, absolutely no relevance at all, not in the manga? Sweet ass.
I'm hoping this ends next week so we can move onto the manga storyline already.
To stay on-topic:
I thought this was a mediocre episode, nothing to be hated, nothing to be loved. If the answer to my first question is yes, I hope this arc at least stays consistent with the rest of the Naruto storyline. I also hate how The 2nd Hokage's sword seems pretty pansy, but maybe we'll get to see something more of it later (wishful thinking, I know. =p)