User:Snapper2/Suna

Horrendously long.

{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" border="1" ! Chūnin Exam arc

Chunin exam
After waking up and having breakfast, Naruto Uzumaki heads off to meet his teammates Sakura Haruno and Sasuke Uchiha. After a three-hour wait, their Jonin instructor, Kakashi Hatake, arrives, and they embark on their next mission. Although Naruto vows to finally do better than Sasuke on the day's missions, pulling weeds, picking up trash, and walking dogs proves to be too tiring for Naruto, and Sakura is forced to support him on the way home. Due to Naruto's inability to live up to his promise, Sasuke insults him, causing Naruto to shout with anger. Sakura attempts to change the subject by offering to go on a date of sorts with Sasuke, only to be insulted herself by being compared to Naruto. Kakashi, having other things to do, disappears, leaving an angry Sakura alone with Naruto.

At this moment, Naruto notices a square rock with eyeholes slowly sneaking up on him. After an attempt to lose it, Naruto yells out what a terrible disguise the rock is, forcing Konohamaru, Udon, and Moegi to reveal themselves as a result of Naruto's "overwhelming" ninja abilities. After a brief argument, Naruto agrees to play ninja with the three, and a still crushed Sakura asks why a real ninja like Naruto would "play ninja". Konohamaru, not knowing who Sakura is, draws the conclusion that she is Naruto's girlfriend. Naruto, wanting to impress the others, confirms this idea, only to be proven wrong by Sakura's punch to his face. As the others run to Naruto's aide, Konohamaru questions why she did that, calling her a witch, and bringing Sakura's wrath down upon himself as well.

As Sakura walks away, Moegi and Udon checkup on Naruto and Konohamaru, the latter of which asks if Sakura is really a woman. Sakura, hearing this, returns to serve another wave of beatings, causing the other four to run away in fear. Konohamaru, not watching where he's going, runs into one of two foreigners, later revealed to be named Kankuro and Temari. Kankuro, angry that Konohamaru ran into him, picks him up by the scarf. Naruto runs to Konohamaru's aide, only to be tripped as a result of Kankuro twirling his fingers. Elsewhere, the Third Hokage addresses a group of Jonin that have been summoned to his office and informs them that in a week's time the Chunin Exams, a chance for Genin to become Chunin, will begin.

Naruto continues his attempts to save Konohamaru, though Sakura restrains him to avoid getting him in more trouble. Kankuro, disliking Naruto's attitude, tries to punch Konohamaru, though before he can follow through a rock collides with his arm, forcing him to drop Konohamaru. Looking to the source of the rock, everyone finds Sasuke to be sitting in a nearby tree, who questions what Kankuro and Temari are doing in Konoha. Konohamaru, meanwhile, returns to Naruto, chastising him for not coming to the rescue, enraging Naruto due to the fact that Sasuke has once again upstaged him.

Kankuro, not liking Sasuke's attitude either, attempts to use the object strapped to his back, though before he can do so a boy hanging upside down from the branch behind Sasuke tells him to stop, ridiculing him for picking on children. Kankuro, addressing the boy as Gaara, tries to place the blame on Konohamaru, only to be stifled by a death threat from Gaara. Gaara apologizes for the other two's actions, and the three try to leave, though Sakura stops them, telling them they aren't allowed to be in the village. Temari explains that they are from Sunagakure and that they are here to participate in the Chunin Exam. Sasuke, surprised that Gaara had been able to get behind him without his notice, uses this opportunity to ask Gaara's name, who in turn, impressed with Sasuke's ability to hit Kankuro with a rock, asks the same of Sasuke. The two make the exchange, and the three Genin from the Sand leave.

Back at the Third Hokage's office, the Third takes nominations for entries into the exam. Kakashi nominates all three members of his team, much to Iruka Umino's disbelief. Likewise, Kurenai Yuhi, leader of Team 8, nominates her team consisting of Hinata Hyuga, Kiba Inuzuka, and Shino Aburame, and Asuma Sarutobi, leader of Team 10, does the same for team members Shikamaru Nara, Choji Akimichi, and Ino Yamanaka. Iruka expresses concern that none of the nominated Genin are properly prepared for the ordeals of becoming a Chunin. Kakashi disagrees, and tells Iruka that, since they are no longer students of the academy, Iruka is in no position to second-guess his judgment.

Upon meeting the group as late as usual the next morning, Kakashi informs them that they have been nominated for participation in the Chunin Exams. He tells them that taking the exam is optional, and leaves them all so that they can consider the matter. As they split-up to think, each are attacked by an unknown ninja, and each defeat the ninja in their own way. The ninja, suffering defeat three times, approaches Kakashi that night and informs him that the three passed his test. The ninja, releasing his jutsu, is revealed to be Iruka, who expresses surprise in all of their growth. Kakashi is not surprised, and says that, although it won't be easy, each are more than capable of taking the Chunin Exams.

The next day, the three meet to head to the academy together, where they will register for the exam. When they arrive, they find two Genin picking on another squad of genin who are trying to register, using the excuse that they're trying to be helpful by telling them not to take what will be a grueling exam. Sasuke approaches the confrontation and tells the two bullying Genin to release the genjutsu they're using and let him through. The two comply, impressed that anyone noticed, and one attempts a sneak attack on Sasuke.

As Sasuke is about to block the kick, Rock Lee, one of the bullied Genin, stops them both mid-stride, surprising everyone nearby with his unbelievable speed. His teammate, Neji Hyuga, lectures Lee for breaking the agreement of acting weak and drawing attention to himself, and his other teammate, Tenten, rolls her eyes. Lee's attention, however, is focused on Sakura, and he promptly asks her out on a date. Sakura, disturbed by the sudden offer, refuses. Neji, impressed with Sasuke's skills, asks Sasuke's name, though because Neji doesn't give his own first, Sasuke refuses. Naruto, enraged that nobody ever wants to know his name, mopes after Sakura and Sasuke to the registration area.

As Team 7 goes on their way, Lee confronts them and challenges Sasuke to a fight. He says that he knows Sasuke is from the Uchiha clan, and that as the strongest Konoha Genin he wants to test his skills against someone of such lineage. Before the fight can start, though, Naruto insists he be allowed to fight Lee, who has no interest in fighting Naruto. Naruto, unconcerned with this fact, attempts to attack Lee, only for Lee to easily counter his attacks and kick him into the wall.

Sasuke, impressed with Lee's defeat of Naruto and his earlier display of speed, takes him up on the challenge. Sasuke is initially unable to land a blow on Lee and instead is constantly repelled due to Lee's speed. Because of this, he activates his Sharingan, which enables him to keep up with Lee much easier. As he is about to attack, though, Lee gives him a swift upper kick, allowing him to use his Shadow of the Dancing Leaf. As he is about to finish the attack, a turtle appears and pins one of Lee's bandages to the wall, forcing him to cancel the attack.

The turtle begins lecturing Lee, reminding him that he isn't allowed to use forbidden techniques such as the Dancing Leaf. Just as the others begin to think the turtle is Lee's instructor, Might Guy, Lee's actual sensei, appears and punches Lee in the face, startling everyone else. Guy and Lee immediately begin to cry, and the two embrace, apologizing to each other. Once the two have reconciled, Guy echoes the turtle's reprimands of Lee and tells him that breaking rules deserves punishment. As Lee prepares to do 500 laps around the arena, Guy notices the other three and recognizes them as Kakashi's students. Instantly appearing behind them, startling them all, he tells them that Kakashi is his rival and claims that he is stronger than Kakashi. He then apologizes for what Lee did, frees Lee's bandage, and disappears with Lee following soon after.

Sasuke, though angered that Lee was about to defeat him, leads the way to the registration area. Upon their arrival they find Kakashi waiting for them, who congratulates them all for qualifying. Seeing the puzzled look on their faces, he explains that the exams can only be taken in teams of three, and that had anyone of them, particularly Sakura, decided not to take the exam, nobody else on the team would have been allowed to proceed. But, since they all decided to take the test on their own and therefore can take the test, he wishes them luck, and they head through the door to the start of the Chunin Exams.

Phase One
Upon entrance into the room, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura are surprised to find well over a hundred other Genin already there who will also be taking the exams. As they stand there in awe the members of Team 8 and Team 10 approach them, and small arguments begin to flare amongst the nine rookies. Their noise catches the attention of Kabuto Yakushi, who befriends the group with information about the other examinees. His explanations, however, catch the attention of some Sound Genin who dislike one of his remarks about their country's anonymity. Their attention leads to them attacking Kabuto, who, despite being able to dodge the attack, vomits and his glasses crack. This act causes the practitioner, Ibiki Morino, to appear, who tells everyone to settle down, take a seat, and then explains how the exam will progress.

The first part of the exam is written, but it is not a test of knowledge as much as a test of information gathering and willpower. To answer the first nine questions, tests takers are supposed to cheat using any technique necessary to find out the correct answer without being caught. Naruto, who does not realize this, goes into a traumatic state in which he feels that he would cause his entire team to be eliminated, as he does not know the answer to any of the questions. Sasuke realizes that he, too, does not know the answers but immediately activates his Sharingan to copy someone else's answers. The last question is a do or die question: don't answer and your entire team fails the Chunin exams, answer and get it wrong and you stay a Genin forever. Naruto shows that he is not somebody who quits when he bursts out that he doesn't care if he stays a Genin forever, he will still become Hokage. The Genin who stay behind all pass the first part of the Chunin exams (including Naruto, who didn't answer a single question on the exam but number 10.)

Phase Two
The second part of the Chunin Exams is to take place in the Forest of Death, where they will have five days to obtain a pair of scrolls and reach a safe haven at the center of the forest. Before the exam begins, Konohamaru and his friends arrive to interview Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura, and the three recount their experiences up to that point. Once the interview is over, the Genin teams prepare to head into the forest, and as soon as the practitioner, Anko Mitarashi, blows her whistle, the exam begins.

Soon after the exams start, Team 8 obtains a pair of scrolls by forcing another team into a trap. At the same time, Naruto, who goes off to use the bathroom, is ambushed and restrained by a Rain Genin, who transforms into Naruto so that he can trick Sakura and Sasuke. Sasuke, however, quickly discovers that the Genin is not Naruto and defeats the impostor. To avoid having this problem reoccur, Sasuke devises a password system to use, and whenever someone is separated from the group, they will need to first give the password before be readmitted.

At that moment, the group is blown away and consequently separated by a Kusagakure Genin's surprise attack. As they try to regroup, Sasuke forces someone who looks like Sakura to give the password, who does so successfully confirming that they are indeed Sakura. A Naruto look-alike then approaches the two, and he too provides the correct password. This relieves Sakura, though Sasuke uses this opportunity to hurl a kunai at the Naruto, saying that the actual Naruto would never be able to remember the password. Realizing that he's been discovered, the Naruto returns to the form of the Grass ninja that attacked them. Elsewhere, a giant snake swallows the real Naruto, effectively detaining him.

The Grass ninja issues a challenge to Sasuke, saying that they should have a fight to the death for each other's scrolls, and then paralyzes Sakura and Sasuke with visions of their own death. As the Grass ninja is about to finish them off, Sasuke stabs himself in the leg to free himself from the jutsu's binding effects, and escapes with a still paralyzed Sakura to safety. As the two try to recover, another giant snake attempts to eat them whole, only for Sasuke to defeat it with a barrage of shuriken to its head. To his surprise, the Grass ninja emerges from the snake's corpse, and heads towards Sasuke to continue their battle. As he gets closer, a cluster of shuriken connect with the ground in front of him, halting his advance. Looking to the source, it is revealed that Naruto has come to the rescue (his escape from the snake's stomach made possible by using shadow clones to force the snake's body to expand and burst from within).

Naruto's arrival does nothing to raise Sasuke's hopes of winning the battle, and as such he attempts to forfeit their scroll to the Grass Genin in exchange for their lives. As he tosses it to the Grass ninja, Naruto snatches it out of the air and proceeds to punch Sasuke, accusing Sasuke of being an impostor due to his belief that the real Sasuke would never give up. The ninja, indifferent to this change in outcomes, summons another snake and swats Naruto aside. As the snake attempts to finish Naruto, Naruto taps into the power of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox sealed within him, giving him enough strength to bruise the snake. Everyone is shocked by this increase in power, and the Grass ninja attempts to take out Sasuke before Naruto can interfere again. As the snake is about to ram Sasuke, Naruto appears and latches on to the snake's nose, effectively stopping its attack. Wanting to make sure Sasuke is unharmed, Naruto asks, "You're not hurt are you... you scaredy-cat?"

The Grass ninja, now recognizing Naruto as the demon fox's container, grabs Naruto with his tongue and seals the fox's chakra, rendering Naruto unconscious. The ninja takes the scroll from Naruto and tosses Naruto aside, ready to continue the battle. Sasuke, inspired by Naruto's actions and words, activates his Sharingan and prepares to finish the fight. Using a number of projectiles tied with wire, Sasuke pins the Grass Genin in place and then sends a flame down the wire, doing what would normally be a fatal blow.

To Sasuke's misfortune, however, the attack only manages to cause the ninja's face to peel, and the ninja still has enough fight left in him to paralyze Sasuke and Sakura. The ninja introduces himself as Orochimaru, and congratulates Sasuke for living up to the title of Itachi's brother. As a parting gesture, Orochimaru destroys Team 7's scroll and bites Sasuke's neck, leaving an imprinted curse mark. As Sasuke wreathes in pain, Orochimaru escapes, wishing the group luck for when his Sound ninja subordinates meet up with them.

Sakura manages to get the unconscious Naruto and Sasuke to safety and takes care of them throughout the night. As fatigue begins to take hold of Sakura, the Sound Genin that had attacked Kabuto earlier arrive and express their wishes to fight Sasuke. Telling them that Sasuke is in no condition to battle, Sakura asks the three what Orochimaru wants with Sasuke, surprising them due to her knowledge of their master. Not accepting Sasuke's condition as a valid excuse, the Genin prepare their attack, though first they are forced to go around the obvious booby-trap left for them, only to fall into the real trap Sakura had setup elsewhere. Dosu Kinuta, one of the Sound Genin, destroys the trap, and the three proceed to surround Sakura. As the Sound Genin are about to finish the defenseless Team 7, Rock Lee arrives and repels them all, ready to protect Sakura with his life.

With the Sound Genin's attention now focused on him, Lee attempts to finish the battle quickly. Remembering how Might Guy had told him he could use his forbidden technique only when protecting someone precious to him, Lee prepares to use the technique he had earlier tried to use on Sasuke. As Dosu advances, Lee kicks him into the air and appears behind him, wrapping his bandages around Dosu. With Dosu retrained, Lee uses his Front Lotus, an attack that would put Dosu out of commission for a long time. Recognizing the danger that Dosu is in, Dosu's teammate Zaku Abumi uses the air tubes in his hands to create a pillow of dirt where Dosu lands, protecting him from the deadliest effects of Lee's attack. Lee, injured due to the side effects pf using that attack, is defenseless against the now vengeful Dosu, who uses the implant in his arm to damage Lee's inner ear, incapacitating Lee.

Sakura attempts to save Lee, though her attack is reflected back at her by Zaku's airwaves. As Sakura shields herself against her own attack, the third Sound Genin, Kin Tsuchi, grabs hold of Sakura's hair and berates her for caring more about her appearance than her abilities as a ninja. As these words sink in, Sakura realizes that people are always coming to her rescue and that she never does anything to help herself. Coming to the conclusion that its time that she start protecting the ones she cares about, Sakura cuts her hair to free herself from Kin's grasp, surprising all onlookers.

With Sakura free, the Sound Genin make to kill Sakura, though as their attacks connect with her she turns into a log, and another Sakura attempts an attack on Zaku. Zaku repels the attack back at the Sakura, who also turns into a log. Zaku's attention then turns to another Sakura above him, who he hits with a number of kunai, and he then looks around for where a Sakura will appear next. To his dismay, the most recent Sakura was the actual Sakura, and she lands on him pins him down. An angered Zaku eventually manages to wrestle free of Sakura, and is just about to finish her off when Ino Yamanaka, who had been watching the entire battle and was inspired by Sakura's desperation, appears with the rest Team 10 to take the fight off of Sakura's hands.

After instructing Sakura to return to taking care of Naruto and Sasuke, Team 10 goes to work; Choji Akimichi uses his Multi-Size Technique and charges at Zaku, and when Dosu attempts to go to Zaku's aide Shikamaru Nara restrains him with his Shadow Imitation Technique. As Zaku narrowly avoids Choji's attack, Kin questions why Dosu did nothing to help, giving Ino a chance to use her Mind Body Switch Technique on Kin. With her jutsu's success, Ino is able to enter Kin's body and attempts to force a surrender by the Sound Genin. Dosu and Zaku, however, are not so willing to give up, and Zaku blasts Ino in Kin's body, which likewise damages Ino's real body. With the Sound Genin's readiness to attack their own teammates made clear, another group of onlookers, Lee's teammates Neji Hyuga and Tenten, make their presence known. Just as they are about to join the battle as a means of vengeance for Lee, Neji decides that their intervention won't be necessary, signaling the now awaking Sasuke as the reason why. Sakura, glad that he's finally come to, is terrified to find that Sasuke is enveloped in a dark chakra, which worries, among other people, Dosu.

Sasuke's first order of business is to find out who put Sakura in such a damaged state, a feat that Zaku is quick to claim, which enrages Sasuke and causes the mark on his neck to spread all over his body. Shikamaru, sensing the danger that Sasuke now poses, pulls Team 10 out of the battle, forcing Ino return to her own body. As Sasuke's strength increases, Dosu recognizes the chakra as that of Orochimaru. Zaku, dismissing Dosu's claim, blasts Sasuke in an attempt to finish their mission. As the smoke clears, it is revealed that Sasuke managed to relocate Naruto and Sakura to behind Zaku, and he sends Zaku flying with a punch in the back. With Zaku momentarily down, Sasuke shoots a number of fire-covered shuriken at Zaku, giving him another opportunity to get behind Zaku as the latter blocks the attack. As Zaku recovers, Sasuke grabs both of Zaku's arms and holds them behind him. After observing that Zaku seems to be very fond of his arms, Sasuke dislocates both of them, and drops Zaku to the ground so that he may writhe in pain.

With Zaku down, Sasuke's attention turns to Dosu, the only able-bodied Sound Genin left. Before their battle can start, Sakura embraces Sasuke and pleads for him to stop. Her words get through to Sasuke's subconscious, and the curse mark begins to recede. Dosu uses this opportunity to forfeit his scroll to Sasuke, asking that he and his comrades be allowed to escape. As they make their leave, Sakura asks what Orochimaru wants with Sasuke, to which Dosu replies that he doesn't know, and that he too will need to get to the bottom of that matter. They disappear, leaving the Konoha Genin to regroup.

Elsewhere, Team 8 makes their way to the tower, though on the way they notice a group of people not far away, and they decide to check it out. Upon their arrival, they find a hiding spot in some nearby bushes, and watch as Gaara, Kankuro, and Temari, the Genin from the Sand, are confronted by a team of Rain Genin. Kiba Inuzuka's dog, Akamaru moans about something, and Kiba believes him to be saying that Gaara is in trouble.

The lead Rain Genin challenges Gaara, though Gaara does nothing but promise him death. Disliking Gaara's cockiness, the Genin uses his umbrellas to execute his Senbon Shower jutsu, which surrounds Gaara with needles that then all bombard him. Although it seems to have been successful at first, it is quickly reveled that Gaara's Shield of Sand blocked every needle. Gaara, now unimpressed with the Genin's ability, traps his foe with his Desert Coffin. After grabbing one of the Genin's umbrellas and using it to shield himself, Gaara ends the fight with Desert Funeral, killing the Genin. The Genin's teammates, fearing for their lives, forfeit their scroll, though Gaara quickly kills them in the same way he killed their teammate. Thanks to the umbrella that he borrowed, Gaara manages to kill three enemies and not get a drop of blood on his person.

Team 8, terrified by this massacre, tries to flee, though Gaara gives the impression that he notices them. Although it seems as though they too will meet their ends by Gaara's hands, Kankuro persuades Gaara to stop, and the three proceed to the tower. As they walk off, Kiba realizes that he misunderstood Akamaru; Akamaru wasn't saying that Gaara was in trouble, he was saying Gaara was trouble.

A few days later, Team 7 has managed to make a full recovery, though desperation sets in as they realize they have only a day until the second exam ends. Naruto, who has since awakened, proposes that they make a fake scroll so that they can gain entrance to the tower. To do so, they will first need to examine the contents of the scroll already in their possession, something they were forbidden to do. Just as Naruto is about to do so, Kabuto appears and stops him, explaining that in the past instances that he's taken the exam, opening the scroll has lead to all nearby Genin being rendered unconscious. Naruto thanks Kabuto for stopping him, and Team 7 accompanies Kabuto to the tower.

Along the way, the four encounter the Rain Genin who had earlier impersonated Naruto and his teammates, who attempt to tire out the four with genjutsu and then take their scrolls once they're exhausted. Due to some quick thinking on Naruto's part, the group is able to defeat the Rain Genin and take their scroll, giving Team 7 entrance to the tower and thus passage of the exam. Kabuto, having found his own teammates, leaves Team 7, thanking them for their assistance in reaching the tower safely. Soon after, Kabuto and his team meet with Orochimaru and give their report of Sasuke's performance thus far, revealing that they are a group Orochimaru's spies.

Preliminaries
In total, seven teams of three manage to pass the second phase of the exam; Team 7, Team 8, Team 10, Team Guy, the Sound Genin, Gaara and his teammates, and Kabuto and his teammates. Because so many have passed, however, the proctor, Hayate Gekko, is forced to hold preliminary matches to halve the number of people that pass on to the third and final stage of the Chunin Exams. Before the preliminaries start, though, he gives the 21 remaining Genin an option to drop out, allowing them to walk away without facing an opponent. Kabuto takes him up on the offer, saying that he's too injured to continue fighting at that he is unwilling to risk his life in his current state. After Kabuto bids a farewell to his teammates and Team 7, he leaves, and the remaining 20 Genin prepare for the preliminaries.

The first match up is Sasuke against a member of Kabuto's team, Yoroi Akado. Before the fight starts, Kakashi warns Sasuke that if his curse mark gets out of control, the jonin in attendance will need to intervene and stop the match to control the mark, which effectively bars Sasuke from using any jutsu at all just so he can fight. The match starts with Yoroi stealing Sasuke's chakra through his hands, which Orochimaru, disguised as the Sound Genin's Jonin, refers to as an unholy gift. The match seems hopeless for Sasuke, until he hears Naruto's nagging. Next to him is Rock Lee, which makes Sasuke get an idea. He uses his Lion Combo, a copy of Rock Lee's Forward Lotus move, captured by Sasuke's Sharingan. Yoroi is knocked out, and Sasuke advances to the next round. After the fight, Kakashi takes Sasuke away so that he can seal the curse mark.

The second match is between Zaku and Shino Aburame. Because of Sasuke's attack in the forest, Zaku only has one arm he can move, but he bets he can win. To live up to his promise he delivers a powerful blast to Shino, which catches everyone by surprise and knocks Shino to the ground. When Shino emerges, it is revealed that he has commanded a multitude of bugs to trap Zaku, who he leaves with a choice: to attack him or attack the bugs. Zaku, in a desperate move, chooses to attack both, and pulls his second arm out of its sling and prepares to attack both forces. As Zaku makes to attack, his arms implode at the elbows, putting Zaku out of commission. As everyone looks on in surprise, Shino reveals that he used his bugs to block the airways of Zaku's arms, leading to Zaku's defeat as a result of attacking. A medical team carries Zaku away and Shino is declared the winner.

The third match pits Kankuro against Kabuto'd other teammate, Misumi Tsurugi. Although Misumi, with his highly flexible body, seems to quickly gain the upper hand of Kankuro and put him in a position to surrender, it is revealed that Kankuro had switched places with the puppet he keeps on his back. With Misumi dangerously close to the puppet, Kankuro uses his puppet to defeat Misumi.

The fourth match, Sakura versus Ino, is particularly meaningful because the two are rivals. At first, they only punch each other, to almost no effect. Eventually Sakura's criticism begin to affect Ino, who seemingly goes insane and cuts her long hair to imitate Sakura's actions in the forest, and she proceeds to perform the Mind Body Switch Technique. Because the jutsu moves very slowly, Sakura runs from Ino's aim only to be trapped by Ino's hair, which Ino purposely cut so that she could send chakra through it to keep Sakura in place. With Sakura restrained, Ino performs the Mind Body Switch Technique successfully and says, as Sakura, that she'll quit the match. However, Ino is thrown back into her own body by the Sakura inner subconscious, surprising Ino and her teammates who have never known the jutsu to be repelled in such a way. Tired, Ino and Sakura charge at each other and each hits the other at the exact same time, knocking each other out. Hayate declares that neither of them will move on, and the two are taken aside to rest.

The fifth battle is between Temari and Tenten. Temari taunts Tenten soon after the battle starts, specifically because all Tenten could do was launch weapons. Temari, being a controller of wind, could easily defeat Tenten, because Temari's wind not only attacks Tenten, but could also blow Tenten's weapons away. Tenten uses everything she can, summoning numerous weapons to the battle, but they are useless against Temari's wind. Finally, Temari, bored with the battle, uses a whirlwind attack with chakra embedded in the wind, knocking Tenten in to the air, unconscious. Temari, the victor, positions her iron fan so that Tenten lands on it, and then throws Tenten away like a piece of garbage.

Shikamaru goes up against Kin, one of the Sound Genin, for the sixth match. Shikamaru starts off by trying to trap Kin with his Shadow Imitation Technique, which Kin dodges and counters by throwing two needles at Shikamaru. The needles, one of which has a bell attached, hit the wall behind Shikamaru, and thanks to a string tied to one of the bells, Kin is able to activate a genjutsu that throws Shikamaru off balance. As Kin prepares to eliminate Shikamaru, she finds that she can't move, trapped by Shikamaru's shadow. As Shikamaru recovers, he reveals that he used the string's shadow to his advantage, giving him an easy path to Kin. Shikamaru grabs a shuriken from a pouch on his leg and Kin, forced to do the same thing as Shikamaru, does the same. The two throw their shuriken at one another, and at the last moment Shikamaru allows them both to dodge. Kin, having unknowingly had her back against the wall, collides with it head first, rendering her unconscious. Kin is carried away and Shikamaru is declared the winner.

For the seventh match, Naruto goes up against Kiba. Though Kiba thinks that it'll be an easy fight against a goof ball like Naruto, Naruto intends to prove to everyone that they shouldn't underestimate him. Kiba starts off the battle by making himself more animalistic and teaming up with Akamaru to attack Naruto. Although the pair seems to be effectively beating Naruto, Naruto starts using the Transformation Technique to his advantage, taking on the appearance of both Akamaru and Kiba in turn. Doing so allows Naruto to get in a number of sneak attacks and ultimately forces Kiba to attack Akamaru, leveling the playing field. Now that it's an even match up, Naruto prepares to use a new move, though Kiba gets behind Naruto and tries to stop Naruto before that can happen. Due to the heightened sense of smell that comes with his animal qualities, a fart from Naruto at that exact moment temporarily stuns Kiba, allowing Naruto to perform his "new" move: Uzumaki Naruto Combo, an adaptation of Sasuke's Lion Combo with the added bonus of using shadow clones. The move is enough to defeat the stunned Kiba, and Naruto claims victory, proving that he shouldn't be taken so lightly.

For the eighth match, Hinata Hyuga is pitted against her cousin Neji. Although both Hinata and Neji have the Byakugan, Neji belongs to a Branch house of the Hyuga clan, which is not well respected by the Main house. For this reason, Neji despises the Main house, of which Hinata is a member. Before the match begins, Neji informs Hinata that she has no chance of winning because she is weak, and states that, because talent is determined at birth, Hinata will never be able to defeat him. This speech weakens Hinata's resolve, which wasn't that strong to begin with. Naruto, however, not believing Neji's speech about dropouts, cheers Hinata on, raising her spirits and giving her the confidence she needs.

With this rise in self-esteem, Hinata and Neji go head to head, exchanging Gentle Fist-style blows that can only be done by those with the Byakugan. As the fight progresses however, it is revealed that Neji has cut off Hinata's ability to be an effective combatant, and as such none of her punches have been harming Neji. Neji's punches, however, are still more than capable of injuring Hinata, and the fight begins to take its toll on her. Although Neji repeatedly puts Hinata in a position where she can no longer fight, Hinata continues to battle Neji, only suffering more injuries as time goes on.

Eventually, thanks to Naruto's encouragement, Hinata is able to turn the tables on Neji, telling him that it is he, not her, that is weak and that as a member of the Branch house he is the one that suffers. This infuriates Neji, who goes for a killing blow on Hinata. Before his attack can connect, however, a number of Jonin instructors come to Hinata's aide and restrain Neji. Despite her rescue, the damage that Hinata has already received is too much for her to bear, causing her to collapse and lose consciousness, making Neji the winner. Naruto, angered that Neji could be so cruel to his own family, makes a promise to defeat him and prove that failure is not a curse.

For the ninth match Rock Lee goes up against Gaara. As soon as the match starts, Gaara releases sand from the gourd on his back and Lee begins with a flurry of taijutsu attacks. However, Lee is at an immediate disadvantage, since Gaara's sand automatically protects Gaara from any physical attacks and also serves as a means of attack. Sakura, watching from the sidelines, wonders why Lee doesn't use any genjutsu or ninjutsu, to which Guy replies that Lee has absolutely no skill in either category, and that his only ability lies in his taijutsu.

Because Lee's only method of attack is not working, Guy tells Lee to take the weights off of his legs, to which Lee happily obeys. Lee removes the weights from his ankles, and lets them fall to the ground, creating two large impact craters when they do so. No longer being inhibited by the excess load, Lee shifts into high gear, beginning another wave of attacks. Gaara's sand still attempts to block Lee's strikes, though because of Lee's enhanced speed the sand can't come to Gaara's aide fast enough, and Lee eventually hits Gaara, an accomplishment that had never before been done. Gaara, however, had a secondary defense, and was left undamaged by Lee's attacks. Lee, wanting to end the battle, uses his Front Lotus on Gaara, and aside from a brief lapse of pain succeeds in doing so without a hitch.

As Lee regains his breath he checks up on Gaara to see if he has won. To Lee's dismay, Gaara begins to crack and collapse, revealing himself to be only a hollow shell of sand. The real Gaara, appearing behind Lee, attacks Lee with a wave of sand. With his defeat imminent, Lee decides to use the most forbidden of the techniques Guy had taught him, something Kakashi, having returned from taking care of Sasuke, scolds Guy for. As Lee prepares to start his final attack, Guy reveals that, of the Eight Gates, Lee can open five, shocking Kakashi to such a degree that he reveals his Sharingan eye, ready to pay careful attention to Lee's next move.

Lee opens the third gate, which turns his skin red and causes his hair to stand on end, and then the fourth gate, giving him such speed that the only way he can be seen is to follow the shattering ground he leaves in his path. Lee launches Gaara into the air, his sand unable to even begin to catch up, and Lee beats him back and forth all throughout his ascent. After opening the fifth gate, Lee uses his Reverse Lotus, sending Gaara into a yet another crater. Lee falls to the ground, exhausted due to the aftereffects of opening so many gates.

As the dust settles, Gaara is revealed to have gone relatively unscathed, his impact cushioned by the gourd on his back that is made entirely of sand. With Lee no longer having any energy to fight, Gaara uses his Desert Coffin to crush Lee's arm and leg. As Gaara is about to kill Lee, Guy steps in, dispelling Gaara's sand. Guy's expression strikes a chord with Gaara, who decides to leave Lee be, accepting victory for what it is. To everyone's surprise though, Lee gets up, his desire to prove himself being so strong that it allows him to move even when unconscious. Guy cries for Lee and embraces him, saying that Lee no longer has any reason to prove himself.

As the medical team takes Lee away, one of medics reveals that Lee's injuries are so severe that he will never again be able to fight as a ninja. Guy, crushed that Lee will no longer be live up to his dreams, apologizes to Lee, sorry that he didn't stop Lee from destroying himself when he had the chance. On a sad note, Guy returns to the sidelines, getting out of the way of the final match.

For the last fight of Choji versus Dosu, Choji uses his Multi-Size Technique, and hides his head within his increased bulk to protect his ears from Dosu's sound attacks. As a means of attack, Choji uses Human Bullet Tank, rolling himself towards Dosu at a high speed. Dosu blocks the attack, and Choji collides with the wall, getting stuck there. Once Choji stops spinning Dosu blasts a wave of sound into Choji's body, the sound amplified several times over due to the large amount of water within the human body, defeating Choji and making him the winner.

With the preliminaries over the Third Hokage congratulates the victors, and tells them that they will have a month to prepare for the final round of the Chunin Exam. Before the Genin are dismissed, they are first asked to draw numbers to decide who will fight who in the finals. Naruto is scheduled to fight Neji in the first match, then Sasuke versus Gaara, Shino versus Kankuro, and finally Dosu versus Shikamaru, the winner of that match meant to fight Temari.

Training
With Naruto Uzumaki's victory in the preliminaries of the Chunin Exam, he attempts to get his Jonin instructor, Kakashi Hatake, to train him for the final matches. Kakashi, however, has already decided to train Naruto's teammate, Sasuke Uchiha. Kakashi does offer Naruto another trainer, and unknowingly reintroduces Naruto to Ebisu. Ebisu explains that he is excellent at teaching the basics of ninja skills, and because Naruto is awful at the basics Ebisu is the perfect teacher for him. After some persuasion from Ebisu, Naruto accepts Ebisu's training.

Naruto's main problem is a proper control of chakra; as he is, he wastes most of his chakra trying to perform jutsu and at the same time the jutsu is underpowered. To fix this problem, Ebisu takes Naruto to a bathhouse where he instructs Naruto to walk on water. Naruto initially fails, and continually falls into the boiling-hot water that he is attempting to traverse. As he does so, Ebisu notices a man peeping on the bathing women in a nearby area, and Ebisu tries to scold the man. Before Ebisu can properly do so, however, the man summons a toad, which uses its tongue to render Ebisu unconscious.

Naruto, noticing that Ebisu has been defeated, rushes towards the man and declares him a pervert for watching women bathe. The man denies this title, and informs Naruto that he is actually a "super pervert". Naruto, now without a teacher, tries to force the man into overseeing his training. The man is initially very reluctant, and after some failed attempts to persuade the man, Naruto resorts to using his Sexy Technique, which instantly gains the man's approval.

The man instructs Naruto to continue trying to walk on water, and Naruto again fails. His attempt did, however, gets the man's attention, and the man instructs Naruto to manipulate his chakra. By doing so, and by getting to see the seals on Naruto's stomach, the man is able to deduce a number of things: that Naruto is the container of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox, sealed within Naruto years earlier by the Fourth Hokage; that the demon fox's chakra is mixed with Naruto's own, keeping the fox under control and keeping Naruto safe; finally that the seal's effects had been blocked by another seal, most likely done by Orochimaru, which makes it difficult for Naruto to control his chakra.

With these facts now clear, the man undoes the seal done by Orochimaru, and tells Naruto to try once again to walk on water. This time Naruto succeeds and proceeds to celebrate. Once his celebration is over, the man tells Naruto that he has two types of chakra, which, after some thinking, Naruto finds to be correct, describing his second chakra as red as opposed to the usual yellow. Satisfied by this answer, the man picks up Ebisu's body and tells Naruto to meet him at the bathhouse again the next day.

Later, Ebisu, now awake, has a conversation with the man, and the man apologizes for taking Naruto away from him. Ebisu blows off the apology, saying that there's no reason for the man, revealed to be named Jiraiya, to apologize. Ebisu asks if Jiraiya has come to the village to defeat Orochimaru, which Jiraiya says is not the case. Ebisu questions why this is, and says that Orochimaru, one of the Legendary Ninjas of Konohagakure, can only be defeated by a member of the same group, namely Jiraiya.

Elsewhere, Dosu Kinuta, one of the Chunin Exam finalists, challenges Gaara, another finalist, saying that if he wants to kill Sasuke Uchiha then he will need to dispose of Gaara first. Gaara accepts the challenge, saying that on nights such as this "its" blood stirs, and a shadow then looms over Dosu, who, with shock in his eyes, asks what kind of monster Gaara is. Gaara attacks, and when the smoke clears Dosu is shown dead with large slash marks across his body.

Not far away, Kabuto Yakushi and Baki observe Dosu's death, and Baki asks if it was okay that Gaara killed a ninja of the Land of Sound. Kabuto, a Sound ninja spy of Orochimaru that had infiltrated the Chunin Exams as a Konoha Genin, replies that Dosu was expendable. Baki goes on to say that the ninja of Sunagakure will not attack Konoha until the Sound ninjas do so first, saying that it is the will of the Kazekage. Kabuto accepts this stipulation, and hands Baki some plans for the invasion. Hayate Gekko, who had been listening in on the conversation, makes to leave and inform the Third Hokage of what he's learned. Before he can do so, Baki confronts him, having known that Hayate was there all along. The two fight, and Hayate is killed.

When Naruto and Jiraiya meet up the next day, Jiraiya has Naruto use up all of his "yellow" chakra so that his "red" chakra can be made more readily accessible. Once Naruto has done so, Jiraiya demonstrates the Summoning Technique, something that he will be teaching to Naruto. The toad that Jiraiya summons brings with it a scroll, which, when a person signs in their own blood, allows them to summon toads whenever they want. Naruto adds his name to the scroll and tries to test out his new ability, yet is only able to summon a tadpole, leading Jiraiya to believe that Naruto has no talent.

As time goes on, the Genin of Konoha train for the upcoming Chunin Exam finals and the Jonin prepare for the imminent betrayal by one of their allies, evidenced by the discovery of Hayate's body. Naruto's training, however, does little to improve his abilities, having only progressed enough to summon tadpoles with legs. Jiraiya decides that Naruto's slow rate of improvement calls for drastic measures, and takes Naruto to a nearby ravine and throws him in. Naruto, unable to save himself with his own power, once again calls upon the demon fox for strength. This time, however, Naruto first enters his own subconscious and speaks with the fox, persuading the entity to give Naruto its chakra to save both of their lives. The fox complies, and Naruto is finally able to summon a toad: Gamabunta, the boss of the toads. Summoning such a large toad tires Naruto out, and Gamabunta, who at first is unwilling to believe that Naruto was able to summon him, takes Naruto to the hospital in Konoha to rest, not wanting his summoner to come to any harm.

When Naruto eventually wakes up, he finds Shikamaru Nara sitting by his bed. Shikamaru explains that he had come to the hospital to visit Choji Akimichi, who had eaten too much and hurt his stomach. Shikamaru had also brought a basket of fruit for Choji, though when he found out that Choji couldn't have any food he decided he'd offer it to Naruto instead. Naruto thanks Shikamaru for his generosity, and contemplates eating the fruit in front of Choji.

Elsewhere in the hospital, Gaara enters the room of Rock Lee, who was badly wounded by Gaara during the preliminaries. Gaara, wanting to get revenge for Lee injuring him during their fight, uses his sand to try and kill Lee, though before he can do so Shikamaru arrives with Naruto and restrains Gaara with his Shadow Imitation Technique. When asked why he was there, Gaara plainly answers that he was going to kill Lee, and begins to detail his history in an attempt to explain why he wants to do so.

During the explanation it is revealed that when Gaara was born, a spirit was planted within him, causing him to take the life of his mother and also giving him control over sand. Eventually, Gaara's father, the Kazekage, decided that Gaara was too dangerous and has since then continually tried to have Gaara assassinated. This story strikes a chord with Naruto, who realizes that Gaara's life has been remarkably similar to his own. When he finishes his story, Gaara decides to try to kill Shikamaru and Naruto as well, though Lee's teacher, Might Guy, arrives before he can do anything. Gaara leaves, vowing to someday kill them all.

Finals
On the day of the final round of the Chunin Exam, Naruto heads to the stadium, though he first makes a detour to the training grounds where he became a Genin. When he gets there, he finds Hinata Hyuga training, and is glad to see she is feeling better after her fight during the preliminaries. Hinata, having a crush on Naruto, thanks him for the encouragement he gave her during her fight and says that his willingness to face imperfections and better himself give her hope. Naruto is touched by Hinata's speech, and the doubts he has about his coming battle are vanquished. Naruto thanks Hinata for her kind words, asks that she be sure to watch his fight, and continues on his way, leaving Hinata frozen with embarrassment.

Once at the stadium, Naruto and the other finalists stand in the center of the arena so that the audience can get a good look at everybody. As they stand there, Naruto notices that Sasuke has yet to arrive, and the Third Hokage meets with the Kazekage so that the two may watch the finals together. Due to Hayate's death, Genma Shiranui takes his place as proctor for the third phase in the exam, and informs the combatants of a changing in order. The lineup is basically the same, Naruto is still to fight Neji Hyuga, Sasuke is still to face Gaara, and Shino Aburame is still scheduled to compete against Kankuro. Because of Dosu's death, however, the fourth match no longer needs to be split into two parts, and Shikamaru need only fight Temari. Once everyone is aware of their new opponent, Genma tells Naruto and Neji to prepare for their battle.

Naruto first reminds Neji of his promise to bring him defeat and prove that failure is not an inescapable destiny. Neji ignores this, and tells Naruto of what a hopeless idea it is that Naruto can defeat him. Naruto, determined to prove Neji wrong, creates a number of shadow clones to fight Neji with. Because of the limitations of Neji's Byakugan and the concept behind Naruto's shadow clones, Neji is unable to determine which Naruto is the real one. This makes no difference, however, and Neji is able to counter each of the Narutos' attacks with his Gentle Fist-style.

Not one to so easily abandon a tactic, Naruto uses Multiple Shadow Clone Technique, creating enough clones to surround Neji. Neji, however, seems to find the flaw in Naruto's attack pattern: that one of the Narutos is keeping its distance from Neji. Concluding that this is the real Naruto trying to avoid damage, Neji attacks it, only for it to disperse into smoke as two more Narutos attack him, Neji having fallen for Naruto's trick. Just as they are about to strike Neji, Neji uses his Eight Trigrams Palms Heavenly Spin, sending the two flying. With Naruto momentarily down, Neji uses the opportunity to perform his Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms, taking away Naruto's ability to move or use chakra.

To Neji's surprise, Naruto gets up and refuses to surrender the battle, saying that he has a promise to keep. Neji, wanting Naruto to understand the concept of destiny, decides to explain to Naruto how the Hyuga clan works, and reveals the Hyuga curse seal to Naruto. Neji explains that because his father, Hizashi Hyuga was born after his twin brother, Hiashi Hyuga, Hizashi was doomed from the beginning of his life to be a member of a branch family of the Hyuga clan. As his son, Neji was born into the same fate, and was branded with a curse mark at a young age so that members of the main house could keep him in check.

Some time after Neji received his curse mark, a ninja from Kumogakure attempted to kidnap Hinata, only to be stopped and killed by her father, Hiashi. Kumogakure would not let the ninja's murder be forgotten, however, and insisted that Hiashi's corpse be given to them as compensation. Because he was a member of the main house, the Hyuga elders gave them the body of Hizashi instead, knowing those of Kumogakure wouldn't be able to tell the difference and insuring that they wouldn't be able to gain the secret of the Byakugan. From that day forth, Neji grew to hate the main house for what they did to his father, and developed the idea that one's life is determined from the day they are born, as was seemingly the case with his father.

Done with his story, Neji again attacks Naruto, and Naruto again gets up, saying that his story was nothing special and that Hinata too has suffered. Naruto explains that Hinata was always having to try and live up to the main house's expectations, and that she had been harmed by Neji, someone who was supposed to protect her. Neji asks that Naruto prove his concept of cheating fate, knowing that Naruto has no chakra with which to prove his point. Naruto, realizing this, remembers about the fox within him, and asks that it lend him some of its power. Naruto tries to channel chakra, causing Neji to ask why Naruto goes against his destiny. Naruto replies that he too was called a loser, and at that moment chakra begins to pour out of him.

As Naruto's wounds begin to heal as a result of the fox's chakra donation, Neji is left in shock and tries to discover how Naruto can still access his chakra. As he does so, he senses the being within Naruto, though he is unable to determine what it is. The older ninja in the audience all recognize what Neji cannot and are just as surprised as Neji that Naruto is gaining its strength. Soon after, the demon fox's chakra begins to wrap around Naruto, and Naruto comments that the fox has given him even more strength than it did during his training.

Rejuvenated, Naruto begins his attack, quickly getting behind Neji and throwing some shuriken at him. Neji blocks the attack with his Heavenly Spin and throws the shuriken back at Naruto, who is able to easily dodge them due to his enhanced speed. The two collide in combat, propelling each away from the other. Naruto, knowing that Neji is confident in close combat, rushes Neji, promising to change the Hyuga clan when he becomes Hokage. As the demon fox's chakra collides with Neji's Heavenly Spin, a large explosion is created, launching Neji and Naruto into the air and leaving a crater where they land.

When the smoke clears, Neji emerges from the rubble, and finds Naruto to be knocked out. Neji begins to ridicule Naruto for trying to fight fate, though his attention is brought to the ground beneath him from which Naruto emerges, who delivers an uppercut strong enough to paralyze Neji. As Neji realizes what happened, the Naruto in the crater vanishes, revealed to be a shadow clone used by Naruto to lull Neji into a false sense of security and to cover up the hole he dug to get to Neji. As Neji lies on the ground Naruto explains that creating clones was always his worst jutsu, a fact that has proven to no longer be true. Before the match officially ends, Naruto tells Neji to stop putting so much thought into destiny, explaining that Neji is not a loser like he is.

As the crowd cheers for Naruto, a medical team takes Neji away so that he can rest. As he recounts the battle, Hiashi enters the room, wanting to tell Neji the truth behind his Hizashi's death. Hiashi explains that he had not been so willing to send his brother's body in his place, and wanted to find an alternative to killing Hizashi. Hizashi however, insisted that he go, saying that although he had always hated the main house, dying in Hiashi's place was his own choice, a freedom never having been allowed to him his whole life. Before he leaves, Hizashi asks that Hiashi relay a message to Neji for him: that he is not dying to protect the main house but that he is instead dying to save his brother, allowing him to disobey the main house and choose his own fate. Neji denies the factuality of the story, wondering why Hiashi waited so long to tell him the truth. Hiashi explains that, until that moment, he would always have been telling the story as a member of the main house and not as Hizashi's brother, and he bows to Neji for forgiveness. This action finally persuades Neji, who cries, his view of life changed and a dream finally created for himself.

Because Sasuke has yet to show up, the Third Hokage, with the encouragement of the Kazekage, postpones the match, and skips ahead to Kankuro's match with Shino Aburame. Kankuro, having expected the planned invasion to start before his match could begin, forfeits the fight, not wanting to reveal the tricks he had hidden within his puppet. Because of this, Shikamaru's fight with Temari comes even quicker than he had planned, and just as he begins to contemplate forfeiting the match himself Naruto throws him into the arena for good luck.

When the battle begins Shikamaru recedes to a shaded area, where Temari is quick to attack him with her Cutting Whirlwind Technique. Temari comes to the conclusion that Shikamaru is hiding there to use his Shadow Imitation Technique, and decides to fortify her defenses with her iron fan. Shikamaru, however, is merely strategizing, something that his sensei, Asuma Sarutobi, says always leads him to victory. When Shikamaru finally finishes, indicating that he's come up with a way to win, Temari sends another whirlwind at him and he attempts to strike her with a kunai. The kunai is merely a distraction as he is attempts to bind her with his shadow at the same moment, though Temari is able to get out of it range.

To Temari's surprise, her momentary evasion is short lived, and Shikamaru gains another advantage: the shadow of his coat that he sent into the air as a sort of parachute. Doing so allows him a little more distance with which to snare Temari, though she is once again able to get out of its range. Shikamaru's shadow retreats, and Temari prepares to use her finishing attack. Her attack, however, does not get an opportunity to be executed as Temari is finally trapped by Shikamaru's shadow. Not knowing how she managed to get caught, Shikamaru allows Temari to see the key to his victory, and turns his head so that Temari, forced to copy his movements, can look behind her. As she does so, she realizes that Shikamaru had been leading her closer and closer to the hole dug by Naruto during his match, and that Shikamaru used the other hole to give him easy access to Temari's shadow.

Shikamaru approaches Temari, who likewise approaches Shikamaru. Just as it seems as though Shikamaru is about to defeat the restrained Temari, he forfeits the match, saying that his chakra has run out and that he wouldn't be able to proceed with the other matches in his condition. When he does so, the more experienced ninjas in the audience compliment Shikamaru on his expert tactics and his ability to properly balance risks. Naruto doesn't recognize these points, and leaps into the arena to scold Shikamaru. As he does so, Rock Lee and Might Guy arrive to watch the final matches, though both are surprised to find out that Naruto was beat to defeat Neji. Lee, having wanted to defeat Neji himself, is glad for Naruto, happy that a "failure" could beat a "genius".

Everyone begins to realize that Sasuke's fight with Gaara is the next match, and all start questioning where Sasuke is. As the exam officials begin to contemplate disqualifying Sasuke, he and Kakashi arrive, wondering if they're too late. Finding out that they're on time, the fight begins, and Kakashi, Naruto, and Shikamaru return to the audience. Sasuke starts off by exhibiting his newfound abilities in taijutsu in speed, having copied such abilities from Lee. Everyone comments that taijutsu alone can't defeat Gaara, noting Lee's loss as their reasoning. Sasuke's attacks do, however, faze Gaara, who recedes into his Shield of Sand to begin what Kankuro and Temari worry will be his "transformation".

Sasuke, unable to penetrate Gaara's defenses, uses Gaara's immobility to his advantage and prepares to use the technique he learned from Kakashi: Chidori. With it, Sasuke is able to penetrate Gaara's defenses, injuring Gaara for the first time in his life, and forcing Gaara to stop his transformation. Kabuto Yakushi, sitting in the audience disguised as a member of ANBU, decides to use his Temple of Nirvana Technique to put everyone in the stadium to sleep, beginning the invasion of Konoha.
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{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" border="1" ! Invasion of Konoha arc

Invasion
With the invasion's start, Sound and Sand ninja pour into Konoha, using giant snakes to topple the village's protective wall. As this goes on, the Kazekage holds a kunai to the Third Hokage's neck, holding him hostage and allowing them both to get to the roof of their sitting area without confrontation. As ANBU members try to come to the Third's rescue, the Kazekage's minions, preventing anyone from getting in or out. As the Kazekage begins to mock the Third for getting so old and even going so far as to call him "sensei", the Third realizes that the Kazekage is actually Orochimaru in disguise, who sheds his disguise so that he can face his former master face to face.

The Third Hokage, knowing that Orochimaru has come to kill him, removes his Hokage outfit, revealing his fighting gear underneath. Orochimaru comments that the Third came prepared for their battle, and the two stare each other down. When one of the tiles on the roof cracks, they begin their battle. The Third starts by sending hundreds of shuriken at Orochimaru, who blocks the attack by summoning three coffins to shield himself. The Third, recognizing the coffins, deduces what Orochimaru is trying to do and attempts to stop the coffins' summonings, though he is only successful at stopping one. The remaining coffins open, and the reanimated corpses of the First Hokage and Second Hokage step out. The two deceased Hokages greet the Third and comment on the impressiveness of Orochimaru being able to summon them. In response, the Third states that he regrets having to see the two again as opponents and tells them to prepare for defeat.

As the Hokage battle goes underway, the Jonin in the audience that had managed to repel out Kabuto's genjutsu begin to confront the invading ninja, determined to protect the audience from stray attacks. Meanwhile, Baki informs Kankuro and Temari to take Gaara elsewhere, his injury making him useless for the planned invasion. Sasuke, confused about what is going on, follows the three, wanting to finish his fight with Gaara. Kakashi watches Sasuke go off, unable to leave his current duty of protection. He does, however, notice that Sakura too has managed to shake the genjutsu, and tells her to wake Naruto and Shikamaru so that they can follow Sasuke. She does so, though she finds that Shikamaru was also unaffected by the genjutsu, choosing to pretend like he had so that he could avoid being drawn into battle. To help in their pursuit of Sasuke, Kakashi summons Pakkun to guide them, and the four set off.

As the group leaves the stadium and enters the forest, Pakkun senses that they are being followed by nine Sound ninja. To act as a distraction and buy the others some time, Shikamaru stays behind to slow down the ninja. After altering his surroundings to give the impression that the group went in a different direction, Shikamaru lies in wait for the following invaders. Once they catch up and take notice of the apparent change in course, Shikamaru traps the group with his Shadow Imitation Technique. Shikamaru notices, however, that he has only managed to catch eight of the nine, indicating that one ninja had been following behind to protect the others.

Running low on chakra and therefore running out of time that he can restrain the ninja with, Shikamaru throws shuriken at the group so that he can find out the location of the ninth. The shuriken are all stopped by the free ninja's needles, and Shikamaru tries to extend his shadow to the ninja's location, though he doesn't have enough shadow to work with. After keeping the eight at bay for a while longer, Shikamaru's chakra runs out, and he is forced to release the group. Freed, the group encourages the ninth ninja to be the one to kill their captive, and in response a ninja appears behind Shikamaru. The ninja, however, catches everyone by surprise, as it is revealed to be Asuma Sarutobi with the ninth ninja in tow. In a flash, Asuma takes out the other eight, and he tells Shikamaru to take a rest.

Meanwhile, Orochimaru prepares the two Hokages for battle, removing the effects that death has had on their bodies and erasing their personality. Angered by Orochimaru's use of his former teachers, the Third attacks the group, though his efforts are neutralized and he is thrown back and restrained by the First Hokage's ability to summon trees. Realizing he's outnumbered, the Third summons Enma to help him in battle, who transforms into a large staff to give the Third a weapon. With Enma in hand, the Third tries to attack Orochimaru though he is again repelled by the other two Hokages. Using his failure as an opportunity, the Third plants explosive tags on the two Hokages, taking away each of their legs. The legs, however, regenerate, showing the Third that conventional attacks are useless.

Out of options, the Third prepares to use the only jutsu that will work, though Orochimaru first decides to show him something. Removing the mask he had been wearing, Orochimaru reveals his "true" face, that of a young woman, whose body Orochimaru had stolen and begun to occupy. Recognizing this as Orochimaru's success in finally achieving a path to immortality, the search for which he had been expelled from Konoha for, the Third begins to understand why Orochimaru has come to Konoha: to take the body of Sasuke Uchiha. Determined to not let this happen and to rectify his mistake of allowing Orochimaru to escape years earlier, the Third creates two shadow clones, and all of the Thirds prepare to use Dead Demon Consuming Seal, a technique the Third claims Orochimaru, despite his extensive knowledge of jutsus, has never seen before.

As the demon called forth by the seal, only able to be seen by the Third, readies itself, the Third is forced to endure the other two Hokages' blows, weakening his old body even more. As soon as the seal is ready for use, the Third's shadow clones each grab hold of a Hokage and the demon plunges its hands into each. Momentarily regaining their senses, the Hokages all apologize to each other, the First and Second for the trouble they've caused the Third, and the Third for the fate he has sentenced them to. The demon pulls the souls of the First and Second from their bodies and seals them within the bodies of the Third's shadow clones, causing the clones to disappear in a puff of smoke.

No longer inhabited, the First and Second's bodies dissolve, revealing themselves to in actuality be the bodies of Zaku Abumi and Kin Tsuchi, two Genin Orochimaru had entered into the Chunin Exams and had now sacrificed for his means. Angered by Orochimaru's careless use of his subordinates, the Third grabs Enma and exchanges blows with Orochimaru and his Kusanagi Sword. Throwing the Kusanagi and Enma aside, the Third grabs onto Orochimaru and the demon of the seal plunges its hand into Orochimaru. Sensing that his soul is being removed from his body, Orochimaru calls his Kusanagi to him, stabbing the Third in the back.

This turn of events forces the Third to halt the removal of Orochimaru's soul, the latter of which questions why he didn't block the attack. The Third explains that in exchange for using the sealing technique, the user is sentenced to death, as was demonstrated by its use by the Fourth Hokage on the demon fox years earlier. Due to large amount of his soul that has been removed, Orochimaru is now able to see the demon of the seal, just in time to witness the consumption of the Hokage souls affected by it. Once eaten by the demon the souls are trapped in its belly, forced to spend eternity in a constant battle of hate with one another. This revelation brings fear to Orochimaru's eyes, who tries to ensure the Third dies before he can be given that same future.

As the Third and Orochimaru have their last battle, Sasuke finally manages to catch up to Gaara, Kankuro, and Temari. As Kankuro prepares to fight Sasuke in the hopes of giving Temari and Gaara time to escape, Shino Aburame arrives to fight Kankuro in Sasuke's stead, wanting to have the fight he had been denied during the finals. As Sasuke goes off to continue his pursuit of Gaara, Kankuro unveils his puppet, Karasu, and Shino readies his bugs for battle. Kankuro uses Karasu's new arsenal of weapons to try and poison Shino, though Shino's bugs allow him to make a number of otherwise impossible evasions. As Kankuro continues to direct Karasu, Shino is able to navigate his bugs in secret to Kankuro's location, which consume his chakra and prevent him from moving. With Kankuro no longer able to move, Shino collapses, Karasu's one successful strike finally taking effect.

As Kankuro and Shino's fight draws to a close, Sasuke again manages to catch up to Gaara, who having sensed Sasuke's arrival, swipes Temari out of the way. As Gaara's contemplations of killing Sasuke increase, his "transformation" begins with his sand forming a new monstrous arm. With the arm, Gaara is given increased speed and strength, forcing Sasuke to begin his assult with another One Thousand Birds, a technique he is only capable of using a twice a day. As Gaara charges at Sasuke, Sasuke unleashes his jutsu, slicing Gaara's arm in two. Though the technique is successful in injuring Gaara, it does nothing but increase his desire to fight, causing him to spout a tail of the same nature as the arm. As Gaara charges again, his speed once again increased, Sasuke is forced to use One Thousand Birds a third time, pushing him to his limits and forcing him to activate the curse seal given to him by Orochimaru. Though Sasuke's attack once again slices Gaara's arm in two, Sasuke's use of the curse mark drains his remaining energy and causes him to collapse. As Gaara makes for the finishing blow, Naruto arrives and kicks Gaara away.

As Sakura and Pakkun start to tend to Sasuke, Naruto attempts to figure out who Gaara is, his face now partially transformed as well. Upon learning that the beast is Gaara and remembering Gaara's vow to kill to prove his existence, Naruto yells to the others to run away. Gaara, however, has already made his move and charges at the downed Sasuke. Sakura, her willingness to help others strengthened during the Chunin Exams, shields Sasuke and prepares to attack Gaara if necessary. Due to the look in Sakura's eyes, Gaara is unable to bring himself to harm her, instead using his arm to pin her to a nearby tree. To save Sakura, Naruto charges at Gaara though only manages to get himself swatted aside. To help him in his battle, Naruto attempts to summon Gamabunta, though is only able to summon Gamakichi, a considerably smaller toad that does nothing but taunt Naruto.

Unimpressed by Naruto's attempt at a summon, Gaara gives the battle a stipulation: using his sand to keep Sakura pinned to the tree, Gaara causes the sand to slowly form a tighter hold on her, forcing Naruto to defeat him before Sakura suffocates. With the new incentive for battle made, Gaara hurls Sand Shuriken at Naruto, who grabs Gamakichi to shield him from the attack. This onslaught allows Gaara another chance to further his transformation, now having two beastly arms and his face being that of his final transformation. His attacks ineffective against this new form, Naruto decides that, to save Sasuke and Sakura, he will battle with his life, and pulls out all of the stops for the battle.

After creating a number of shadow clones, Naruto uses the clones to launch himself at Gaara. Though Gaara swats him aside once again, Naruto manage to plant an explosive kunai under Gaara's tail, something that just so happens to be Gaara's weak spot. Before Naruto can collide with the surrounding trees, Sasuke catches him and tells him to save Sakura and run. Naruto, remembering the time Sasuke risked his life to save him, says that he will be the one to fight Gaara, since the two are so much alike. Repeating his promise to protect those precious to him, Naruto taps into the demon fox's chakra, enabling him to create 1,999 shadow clones.

With his army of shadow clones, Naruto uses his Uzumaki Naruto Two Thousand Combo, sending wave after wave of attacks at Gaara and pushing Gaara to his limits of endurable damage. Not wanting to lose, Gaara completes his transformation, destroying all of Naruto's shadow clones and transforming into a tanuki that stands many times higher than the tallest tree. Determined to make Naruto pay for forcing him into his final form, Gaara begins to encase Naruto in his Desert Coffin. Before the compacting effects of the technique can begin, Naruto again taps into the power of the demon fox, and again attempts the Summoning Technique. Finally successful, Gaara's coffin expands and bursts, with Naruto riding upon Gamabunta's head ready for battle.

Gamabunta, having yet to find Naruto worthy of commanding him, is reluctant to fight for Naruto. Gamakichi, revealed to be Gamabunta's son, encourages the giant toad to accept Naruto due to Naruto's earlier protection of him from Gaara. Upon learning that Naruto helped his son and that Gaara had picked on a member of the Gama family, Gamabunta decides to help Naruto and unsheathes his equally giant sword. Charging at Gaara, Gamabunta puts all of his might into his sword swing, though is just barely successful at cutting off Gaara's arm. Impressed with Naruto's display of abilities, Gaara emerges from the sand tanuki's forehead and puts himself to sleep, awakening the personality of the One-Tailed Shukaku sealed within Gaara.

Now freed from the restraints imposed upon it by Gaara's consciousness, Shukaku is able to use its more devastating abilities, each of which Gamabunta is unable to counter completely. Because toads lack natural weapons such as fangs or claws, Gamabunta asks Naruto to help him transform into something more capable of close combat. Choosing the first animal that comes to mind, Naruto transforms Gamabunta into a giant fox, allowing the latter to bite and tear at Shukaku. With Gamabunta locked in combat with Shukaku, Naruto leaps from Gamabunta's head to that of Shukaku, punching Gaara and waking him up, forcing Shukaku back into submission.

With Gaara awake again, his first priority becomes protecting himself from Naruto. As Gaara's sand tries to again encase Naruto, a now untransformed Gamabunta uses his tongue to shield Naruto. Naruto, determined to now defeat Gaara and save a Sakura who is running out of time, taps into the demon fox's power for one more attack. With chakra radiating from him, Naruto breaks free of Gaara's shackles and charges at Gaara, who manages to use his sand to restrain Naruto's hands and legs. Using the only weapon he has left, Naruto puts all of his energy into a headbutt. Naruto's last desperate attack being right on the mark, Gaara's strength is sapped and the giant tanuki disintegrates. Gamabunta, worn out by the battle, returns home with Gamakichi, though not before complementing Naruto's outstanding fighting abilities. As the two Genin fall through the air, each manages to land on neighboring treetops and each prepares for what will be their last exchange of blows. Once each is ready, the two leap at one another, their destinies about to be decided

Back at the stadium, the Jonin of Konoha observe their field of victory, the bodies of Sound and Sand ninja strewn across the arena. The battle between the Third Hokage and Orochimaru has, over the past hour, not changed, as each is still locked in place; the Kusanagi in the Third's back and the soul partially removed from Orochimaru's body. The Third, wise as he is, has used this time to come to the conclusion that he no longer has the strength needed to completely remove Orochimaru's soul, and decides instead to make this Orochimaru's last battle. Having the demon of the seal turn its attention to Orochimaru's arms, the Third prepares to complete the only seal he can now make.

Hoping to break the Third's will to go on, Orochimaru reminds his former master of the casualties Konoha has suffered at the hands of his invasion, saying that the Leaf Village will crumble. Disheartened that Orochimaru would so quickly forget the abilities of Konoha's ninja, the Third reminds his former student of the Leaf ninja's desire to protect their village. All throughout the village, battles between Konoha's elite and the invading forces rage on, and despite the overwhelming forces united against them, the fighting few of the village utterly defeat the enemy. Determined to prove his point and to finally prove to Orochimaru that power does not lie within knowledge of techniques, the Third seals Orochimaru's arms, taking away his ability forevermore of using jutsu. As Orochimaru's arms fall useless to his sides, the Third bids his final farewells, in unison with Naruto's defeat of Gaara.

Naruto and Gaara fall to the earth, and the Third Hokage falls over dead with a grin on his face. Enraged that, even in death, the old man could manage to smile, Orochimaru calls for assistance, and Enma, now free, honors his old friend by removing the blade from his back before disappearing. As Orochimaru's subordinates gather their leader and flee, the Jonin in the stadium confront the only two remaining invaders. With Kakashi's encouragement, Kabuto removes his ANBU disguise and whispers to Baki that they should retreat. As the two disappear, other battles conclude: Temari picks up a defeated Kankuro, Sakura is freed from Gaara's sand, and Naruto approaches a defeated Gaara.

Fearing that Naruto means to do him more harm, Gaara beckons him to stay away. Upon getting close enough, instead of harming Gaara, Naruto displays pity, stating that he too knows the pain of being alone. Naruto, however, was able to find people to nurture his pain and bring him hope, and states that if Gaara ever again tries to hurt those people that have brought him happiness, he will again be forced to again take action. Gaara, in disbelief, realizes that Naruto's strength comes not from his desire to help himself, but to help those that are dear to him, which begins to change Gaara's outlook on life. Sasuke gathers up Naruto, extremely impressed and jealous of Naruto's display of strength. Likewise, Temari and Kankuro retrieve a beaten Gaara, who, for the first time ever, apologizes to them. As the last of the invading Sound and Sand ninja flee the village, the elite of Konoha gather upon the resting spot of their Hokage's body. During the Hokage's funeral a few days later, the ninja of Konoha vow to remember his sacrifice forever.
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{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" border="1" ! Search for Tsunade arc

Homecoming
After their failed invasion of Konohagakure, the ninja of Sunagakure look for their now missing Fourth Kazekage. After finding the Kazekage's body and the bodies of his assistants in the neighboring desert, the people of the Hidden Sand realize that Orochimaru, the man who originally proposed the invasion to the village, killed and impersonated the Kazekage to give the impression of support for the invasion. This revelation, coupled with the Sand's devastating losses at the hands of Konoha's ninja, forces the village to surrender unconditionally, which the Leaf accepts.

Konohagakure, though having managed to repel the invading forces, was also illy affected by the invasion as well, losing many of its ninja forces and its Third Hokage. Because the village is now without a leader, the village elders approach Jiraiya, one of the Third Hokage's former pupils, and ask him to become the Fifth Hokage. Jiraiya declines the offer, saying that another of the Third's pupils would be better suited for the job: Tsunade. Because Tsunade's whereabouts are unknown, Jiraiya offers to go and find her with the stipulation that he be allowed to bring Naruto Uzumaki. The elders agree and, after Jiraiya's promise of teaching him a new jutsu, so does Naruto, and so the two head out to find Tsunade.

Meanwhile, two outsiders have entered the village and have caught the attentions of Asuma Sarutobi and Kurenai Yuhi. Once confronted about their presence in Konoha, the two reveal themselves to be Kisame Hoshigaki, a renegade ninja from Kirigakure, and Uchiha, the man who singlehandedly murdered the entire Uchiha clan. Because the two are wanted criminals, Asuma and Kurenai try to apprehend them through battle, though neither is successful in doing so. Just as the two Konoha Jonin area about to be defeated, Kakashi Hatake arrives to save them both, his Sharingan making it easier to combat the two criminals.

Despite the advantages that Kakashi's Sharingan allows him, Itachi's use of his own Sharingan are far more advanced, and Kakashi is only barely able to block his attacks. Realizing that Itachi is using only a fraction of his abilities, Kakashi instructs Asuma and Kurenai to close their eyes so as to avoid falling prey to Itachi's ultimate technique. Because Kakashi has a Sharingan, he believes that he will be able to withstand Itachi's jutsu, though is proven wrong when he succumbs to the effects of Itachi's Tsukuyomi. With the little strength he has, Kakashi asks why the two have come to Konoha, to which Itachi replies that they are after the Fourth Hokage's legacy: Naruto Uzumaki.

Remembering what Jiraiya had told him earlier, Kakashi recognizes this reason as their organization, Akatsuki's, goal to gain the power of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox sealed within Naruto. Because of Kakashi's knowledge of their organization and its motives, Itachi instructs Kisame to kill Kakashi, Asuma, and Kurenai. Before Kisame can land a fatal blow, however, Might Guy appears and repels Kisame. With Guy's arrival, Kakashi collapses, exhausted from Itachi's previous attack. Itachi, recognizing Guy as a threat as well as the fact that reinforcements are on their way, leaves with Kisame, wanting to avoid starting a war. Taking Kakashi away to rest, Guy, Asuma, and Kurenai decide that it would be best if Sasuke Uchiha, Itachi's brother, didn't know Itachi had returned. When Sasuke arrives to find out what had put Kakashi into the state that he's in, the truth of Itachi's return and his search for Naruto slips out. Sasuke, having an everlasting desire to kill his brother due to the latter's murder of their entire family, runs off in search of Naruto.

Meanwhile, Jiraiya and Naruto arrive at a nearby town's hotel where they'll rest for the night. Jiraiya, being a pervert through and through, notices an attractive woman that's showing interest in him. So that he can get acquainted with the woman, Jiraiya sends Naruto up to their room. As Naruto sits on his bed cursing Jiraiya, someone knocks on the door. Thinking that it's an already rejected Jiraiya, Naruto opens the door, finding instead Kisame and Itachi. Perplexed by Itachi's Sharingan and the two's knowledge of the demon fox within him, Naruto leaves the safety of the room to find out what's going on. As Kisame readies his sword to cut off Naruto's leg, therefore making him easier to carry, Sasuke arrives, vowing to kill Itachi.

To act on his promise, Sasuke prepares his Chidori, and then lunges at Itachi. Before Sasuke can land a blow, Itachi grabs and crushes his arm, sending the attack into a nearby wall. To help Sasuke, Naruto taps into the demon fox's chakra, ready to summon a toad to help him in battle. Kisame's sword, however, absorbs Naruto's chakra, preventing him from using any jutsu. As Kisame again prepares to cut off Naruto's leg, a toad appears to block the attack, with Jiraiya appearing behind Naruto.

Scolding Itachi and Kisame for not doing proper research on him, Jiraiya explains that he's better at getting women than they are at getting him, though Naruto dismisses that as a bad excuse for his pervertedness. Realizing that Itachi put the girl under a genjutsu to draw him away, Jiraiya learns for certain that the two really are after Naruto. As Jiraiya proclaims that he will kill the two, Sasuke rises, repeating that he will be the one to kill Itachi. Having no interest in their brotherly quarrel, Itachi kicks Sasuke aside and proceeds to beat him into submission. Once Sasuke is unable to fight back, Itachi uses Tsukuyomi to show Sasuke the murder of their parents. As Naruto makes to help Sasuke and Kisame makes to stop Naruto, Jiraiya encases the area in a layer of a sticky substance, preventing anyone from moving. Knowing that they cannot win, Itachi and Kisame flee, though not before Jiraiya attempts to further ensnare them with his jutsu. Surprised that they are successful in escaping, Jiraiya finds that that a black flame was used to destroy his normally impenetrable technique.

With Itachi and Kisame gone, Naruto checks up on Sasuke, whose mind has been broken by his own brother. At that moment, Guy arrives and kicks Jiraiya in the face, having mistaken him for an enemy. After Guy apologizes, he informs Jiraiya that Kakashi is in the same state as Sasuke and that nothing can be done to help him recover. As Guy takes Sasuke back to Konoha to rest, Jiraiya realizes that only Tsunade can help Kakashi and Sasuke, strengthening his resolve to find her.

Spiraling Sphere
Because Akatsuki will henceforth be after Naruto, Jiraiya decides to start teaching Naruto the technique that is supposedly stronger than Sasuke's One Thousand Birds: the Rasengan, the jutsu that took the Fourth Hokage three years to master. As the pair goes from place to place in search of Tsunade, Naruto rapidly progresses through the Spiraling Sphere's learning steps, coming up with a number of shortcuts along the way. Just as Naruto gets to the final stages of learning the jutsu, Jiraiya learns of Tsunade's location, and the two set out to meet her.

Meanwhile, Orochimaru is suffering from his last encounter with the Third Hokage, his arms unable to perform jutsu and constantly bringing him pain at the same time. Knowing that his assistant, Kabuto Yakushi's, medicine will do nothing to help him, Orochimaru concludes that the only person who can restore his arms is Tsunade. Knowing where Tsunade is currently located, he and Kabuto go out to find her.

Elsewhere, Tsunade, an avid and very unlucky gambler, hits a winning streak, indicating to her that something bad is about to happen, and as such she tries to flee the city. Her assistant, Shizune, asks Tsunade if they can go and see the local landmarks first, to which Tsunade reluctantly agrees. As Shizune admires an ancient castle, with Tsunade repeatedly asking her to hurry up, the castle collapses, and from the rubble emerges Orochimaru and Kabuto riding a giant snake. Unhappy to see her old teammate, Tsunade refuses to heal Orochimaru, deducing what his ailment is from his appearance alone. After Kabuto states that only Tsunade can help Orochimaru, Tsunade inquires how he got the injury, recognizing it as being far from an average wound. Nonchalantly, Orochimaru explains that it was nothing more than his own carelessness when he was killing the Third Hokage, the revelation of which shocks Shizune and Tsunade.

Noticing the expression on the two's faces, Orochimaru comments that all people die and reminds Tsunade of her two deceased loved ones. This observation enrages Shizune who attempts to strike Orochimaru, though Kabuto blocks the attack. After calming Shizune down and casually scolding Orochimaru for what he said, Tsunade punches the wall next to her, reducing it to gravel, and vows to kill him if he ever says it again. After repeating her refusal to help Orochimaru, Tsunade prepares to fight them in the event that they won't leave. Just as she is about to attack, Orochimaru offers to revive her dead brother and lover if she helps him, stopping Tsunade before she can act. Finally considering the offer, Tsunade asks what Orochimaru will do if his arms are healed, to which he replies that he will destroy Konoha.

Elsewhere, Jiraiya and Naruto have arrived in the city, and the two visit Tsunade's last known location. When they hear reports of a giant snake destroying a castle, Jiraiya recognizes this as one of Orochimaru's acts, and as such rushes to the castle. Shizune, meanwhile, is infuriated by Orochimaru's proposal of destroying Konoha and tries to persuade Tsunade in helping her kill the weakened Orochimaru. Although Tsunade refuses, Orochimaru sheds some of his own blood to make sure she keeps her word, knowing that Tsunade suffers from a fear of blood. With Tsunade forced into submission by the sight of his blood, Orochimaru allows her a week to consider his offer, and he and Kabuto disappear.

When Jiraiya and Naruto arrive at the scene, Tsunade and Shizune have already left. Deciding to give up the search for the day, Jiraiya takes Naruto to a local bar for dinner where he surprisingly finds Tsunade and Shizune already having theirs. As Naruto eats his dinner, Jiraiya asks Tsunade what Orochimaru wanted from her, to which she replies nothing, quickly changing the subject to what Jiraiya wants from her. As he tells her that Konoha wants her to be the next Hokage, Naruto begins to choke on his food with surprise, and Tsunade and Shizune use this as confirmation that Orochimaru really had killed the Third Hokage. Tsunade declines the position saying that only a fool would become Hokage and goes on to ridicule the past Hokages. Tsunade's words anger Naruto, spurring him into attempting to strike her, though Jiraiya holds him back. Impressed that Naruto was willing to challenge her, Tsunade offers to fight him, going so far as to say she'll only use a finger.

After the two step outside, Naruto charges at Tsunade with a kunai in hand, though Tsunade is able to take it from him, use it to remove his headband, and launch him backwards with the promised single finger. Tsunade, expecting Naruto to pass out from her attack, asks why being Hokage is such a sensitive subject for Naruto, to which he replies that becoming Hokage is his dream. As he says so, Tsunade sees in Naruto her dead brother and lover, both of whom had wanted to be Hokage, and both of whom looked similar to Naruto. While Tsunade is momentarily off-balance, Naruto uses the opportunity to use his still-to-be-mastered Spiraling Sphere on Tsunade.

Recognizing the technique and the danger it imposes, Tsunade slams her finger to the ground, creating a large fissure that Naruto falls into, forcing the Spiraling Sphere into the ground. Noticing that Naruto's version of the jutsu is dramatically weaker than what it is capable of doing, Tsunade proposes a bet with Naruto: if he can master the Spiraling Sphere in a week, she'll give him her grandfather, the First Hokage's, necklace, something she claims could buy three mountains; if he can't, she gets all the money in his wallet. Naruto accepts the offer, and he goes off to the hotel with Shizune while Tsunade and Jiraiya chat over drinks.

During the discussion, Jiraiya reveals that he's aware that Tsunade has some sort of deal with Orochimaru, though he doesn't know what it is. He goes on to say, however, that if Tsunade helps Orochimaru with whatever it is that he wants, he will kill her as a traitor of Konoha. Looking to change the subject, Tsunade asks why Jiraiya brought Naruto with him, to which he replies that Naruto looks remarkably similar to Tsunade's dead brother Nawaki. Meanwhile, at the hotel, Shizune explains to Naruto the history of Tsunade's necklace and how Tsunade had given it to each her brother and lover, Dan, in turn in the hopes that it would help them achieve their goals of becoming Hokage. Soon after receiving the necklace however, each of them died a bloody death, giving Tsunade a fear of blood and leading many to believe that the necklace was cursed. After hearing the story, Naruto leaves to finish his training, determined to prove that when he wins the necklace, he really will become Hokage.

For the next week Naruto trains, and each day he puts larger and larger dents into the trees he's training with, indicating that his Spiraling Sphere is gaining more power. All the while, Tsunade watches him in the background, remembering her dead loved ones and contemplating the offer Orochimaru made her. One the final day, Naruto doesn't return home at his usual time, and Shizune goes to see what happened to him. After finding a tree to be broken in two and Naruto passed out on the ground, Shizune takes him home to rest. At the same time, Jiraiya and Tsunade meet again for drinks to discuss Naruto's progress. While Jiraiya isn't looking, Tsunade slips a powder into his drink, and after drinking it he passes out. Tsunade returns to the hotel to see if Naruto has perfected the jutsu, but only finds him in bed, causing her to realize what a ridiculous bet it was that she had made. Shizune, meanwhile, pleads for Tsunade not to go through with Orochimaru's deal, willing to kill herself in order to stop Tsunade. Tsunade knocks Shizune unconscious, and leaves to meet Orochimaru.

Decision
As Orochimaru and Kabuto head towards the meeting place, Orochimaru comments that it may be easier to persuade Tsunade to heal his arms if Shizune weren't around, and so Kabuto heads off to kill her. Naruto, meanwhile, wakes Shizune up having found her on the floor. Realizing what happened, Shizune rushes to the window to go after Tsunade, but a weakened Jiraiya stops her before she can leave. Cursing Tsunade for drugging his drink, Jiraiya explains that the drug makes it difficult for him to move and that he can't control chakra very well. Kabuto watches the conversation in the background and, knowing that he can't take on Shizune, Jiraiya, and, to his surprise, Naruto by himself, leaves to report to Orochimaru. Jiraiya notices Kabuto's departure, and asks what deal Tsunade had made with Orochimaru. Along the way to the meeting spot Shizune explains the offer, and Jiraiya realizes that he may really need to kill Tsunade.

Tsunade and Orochimaru, meanwhile, meet at the site of their last conversation, and Tsunade agrees to heal Orochimaru's arms if he promises to leave Konoha alone. Orochimaru agrees to the stipulation, and Tsunade approaches him, preparing her healing jutsu. Before she can make contact with Orochimaru, Kabuto appears and throws a kunai between them, forcing the two to separate. Orochimaru, realizing what Kabuto has done, asks why after coming so far Tsunade was betraying him. Kabuto notes that because both he and Tsunade are medic-nin, he could notice the subtle amounts of killing intent within her jutsu.

Orochimaru laments Tsunade's decision, even saying that he really had intended to stay away from Konoha. Tsunade dismisses this as a lie, yet says she had been willing to believe it if it meant that she could see her loved ones again. Because of Naruto, however, the dreams of Nawaki and Dan returned to her, and thus she couldn't bring herself to turn a blind eye to Orochimaru's goals of effectively destroying the hopes that they had had. With that, Tsunade attempts to attack Orochimaru, though because of his timely dodge her attack misses, creating a large crater where he had been. As Orochimaru prepares to fight Tsunade, he comments that he had never battled her before, though Kabuto quickly questions this observation since he will actually be the one who will fight her. After Kabuto informs Orochimaru of Jiraiya's presence, they lead Tsunade away, not wanting to fight in the city in case Jiraiya shows up.

After retreating to an empty field, Kabuto and Tsunade begin their fight. Because Kabuto isn't very good at taijutsu, Tsunade's specialty, he resorts to using his Mystical Palm Technique to give his attacks an extra boost in strength. Although Tsunade is initially able to avoid many of his attacks, her old age causes her to tire quickly, allowing Kabuto to catch her off guard and strike. Because of the nature of his Mystical Palm Technique, Kabuto is able to sever some of Tsunade's muscles upon contact, preventing her from moving. Using this to his advantage, Kabuto punches her in the chest, which also allows him to sever some of her respiratory muscles, making it difficult for her to breathe.

Thinking this should be enough to force Tsunade into submission, Kabuto begins to gloat at his success. Tsunade, her large breasts having weakened Kabuto's attack, uses his cockiness to her advantage by striking him in the neck, forcing him to the ground. As he attempts to get up, Kabuto discovers that Tsunade's attack disrupted the electric currents of his nervous system, causing his hand to move when he tries to stand up. With Kabuto unable to move, Tsunade heals her injuries. As she does so, Kabuto begins to compensate for Tsunade's last attack, learning what actions lead to what outcomes. After regaining the ability to move 80% of his body, Kabuto gets up, surprising Tsunade due to his rapid ability to adapt. Just as Kabuto is about to attack a still healing Tsunade, Naruto, Jiraiya, and Shizune appear before him, blocking the way.

Tsunade is unappreciative of the group's arrival, and pushes Jiraiya to the ground so that she can charge at Kabuto. Before she can commence an attack on Kabuto, however, Kabuto slits his wrists, covering Tsunade with his blood and causing her to become paralyzed with fear. With Tsunade incapacitated, Kabuto punches her away, leaving Shizune to catch Tsunade and take her aside to recover. Naruto, meanwhile, tries to understand why Kabuto, a person he had befriended during the Chunin Exams and had believed to be a ninja of Konoha, is fighting against Tsunade with a Sound headband on. To help Naruto out, Kabuto explains that he was a spy for Orochimaru who entered the Chunin Exams to gather information on Sasuke Uchiha, a person he claims is far more talented than Naruto.

Enraged by Kabuto's treachery, Naruto creates a number of shadow clones to help him attack Kabuto from the side of his injured hand. As Naruto closes in, however, Kabuto uses the blood seeping from his wrist to blind the Narutos, allowing him to easily defeat them all. Shizune, using Kabuto's distraction to her advantage, launches a poisonous needle at Kabuto, though Kabuto is able to block it in time by having the needle deflect off of his headband. Returning to Orochimaru's side, Kabuto takes a pill to stop his bleeding. As he does so, Jiraiya hands out assignments: he will fight Orochimaru, Shizune will fight Kabuto, and Naruto will protect Tsunade while she recovers.

With that, Jiraiya and Kabuto, with Orochimaru's assistance, perform the Summoning Technique, allowing Kabuto to summon two giant snakes while Jiraiya, still in his drugged condition, can only manage to summon Gamakichi. As Orochimaru ridicules Jiraiya for failing to summon anything formidable, his attention is brought to Naruto, who is giving his own attempt at a summon. Just as Orochimaru considers whether he should have killed Naruto when they first met due to how formidable the power of the demon fox could be, Naruto summons Gamatatsu, causing Orochimaru's worries to vanish.

Orochimaru and Kabuto charge at their respective opponents, each riding upon a different snake. Jiraiya uses his Swamp of the Underworld on Orochimaru, though in his drugged state he is only able to submerge the snake in a shallow swamp. No longer able to use the snake, Orochimaru charges at Jiraiya, lengthening his neck so that he can get close enough to bite the other's neck. In response, Jiraiya creates a defense by extending the hair on his head and turning it in to spikes, creating a stalemate between the two.

Shizune, meanwhile, battles with Kabuto, but Kabuto is able to evade her attacks and burrow beneath her, allowing him to sever the muscles in her ankles and causing her to collapse. At the same time, Naruto deals with Kabuto's snake, escaping from its mouth only briefly enough for it to fall upon his leg, pinning him in place. As Tsunade regains her senses, she finds Shizune and Naruto lying on the ground, defeated. Remembering the deaths of Nawaki and Dan, she attempts to defend herself against the approaching Kabuto, though he easily starts to beat her into submission. Just as he is about to give her a finishing blow, Naruto appears in front of Tsunade, blocking Kabuto's punch with his headband.

Titans
Surprised by Naruto's sudden intervention, Kabuto is left momentarily stunned. Using this to his advantage, Naruto tries to use the Spiraling Sphere on Kabuto, but because of the slow sweeping motion that Naruto puts into the attack Kabuto is easily able to avoid it. As Naruto lays on the ground due to his lack of speed, Kabuto taunts him by detailing how talentless he is and how hopeless his dreams are. As he does so, Tsunade sees these insults as applying to Nawaki and Dan and remembers her earlier words of similar meaning to Naruto. As Naruto rebuts these claims, he reminds Tsunade of the bet they had and how she will need to give him her necklace, and then proceeds to create a shadow clone.

As Kabuto charges towards Naruto with a kunai in tow, Tsunade begs Naruto to run so that he can accomplish his dreams, but Naruto simply stands his ground. In doing so, Naruto allows Kabuto to attack him, though he blocks the worst of it by catching the kunai with his hand. As Naruto grabs hold of Kabuto's hand, he begins to create a Spiraling Sphere with his free hand and uses the shadow clone for assistance in its creation. Once completed, Naruto forces the sphere into Kabuto's stomach, the latter unable to avoid it. With only enough time to clutch Naruto's chest, Kabuto is hurled back by the attack and thrown into a rock. As the dust settles, Kabuto emerges with a deep wound in his gut, though it immediately begins to heal as a result of the chakra he gathered to his abdomen just before the attack. Although the exterior damage is almost completely heal, Kabuto collapses from the internal injuries caused by Naruto's attack, his chakra reserves too low to fully heal.

Kabuto's last attempt at defeating Naruto, however, proves to be effective, as Naruto passes out. As Tsunade rushes to his side to investigate, she finds that Kabuto weakened Naruto's heart muscles, giving him an erratic heartbeat. Tsunade desperately tries to heal him in an attempt to not only save Naruto, but also in an attempt to save Nawaki and Dan's dream. As she does so, the demon fox within Naruto notices the fading lifeforce of its host, and contributes its power in an attempt to save Naruto and, in turn, itself. As Tsunade continues her healing effort, a tired Naruto comes to and grabs her necklace, claiming it as his. After he slips into a tired sleep, Tsunade puts her necklace around his neck, hoping just once more that its wearer will someday become Hokage.

Orochimaru, having just witnessed Naruto's potential, worries about what may happen if Naruto ever falls into the hands of Akatsuki, and decides to kill Naruto in his weakened state. After throwing Jiraiya to the ground, Orochimaru lunges at Naruto with his Kusanagi Sword sticking out of his mouth. Tsunade, realizing Orochimaru's intended target, leaps in front of Naruto as a human shield, allowing the sword to impale her through the heart. As Orochimaru tells Tsunade that he hadn't intended to kill her, Tsunade replies that she won't let anything happen to Naruto.

After Orochimaru removes his sword from the blood-trembling Tsunade, he questions why she should would save Naruto, to which she replies that she is protecting Konoha by protecting Naruto, the future Hokage. As Orochimaru ridicules the title for its holders' willingness to sacrifice their lives for the prosperity of Konoha, Tsunade states that she too will sacrifice her life for the same reason. Disappointed that Tsunade would waste her life in such a way, Orochimaru slashes her across the chest, and she falls to the ground. Believing Tsunade to at the very least be out of the fight, Orochimaru makes for a finishing blow on Naruto, though Tsunade blocks the attack again. Upon falling to the ground in fatigue, Tsunade's trembling stops, her fear of blood finally overcome. As she rises, Tsunade throws Orochimaru back, explaining that her commitment to protecting Naruto is because she is, henceforth, the Fifth Hokage.

As her first order of business, Tsunade activates the seal on her forehead to completely regenerate the wounds induced by Orochimaru. Realizing that Tsunade is now back in top shape, Orochimaru retreats to Kabuto for assistance. In unison, Orochimaru, Tsunade, and Jiraiya use the Summoning Technique, summoning Manda, Katsuyu, and Gamabunta respectively. As Gamabunta expresses excitement in finally getting the chance to kill Manda, Manda reprimands Orochimaru for not having any human sacrifices ready for him. After Jiraiya and Tsunade denounce Orochimaru as their comrade and give him promises of death, the final battle begins.

Katsuyu starts the fight by spitting some of her poison at Manda, the latter of which quickly evades the attack. Using Katsuyu's vulnerability between attacks to his advantage, Manda wraps himself around Katsuyu and prepares to bite the giant slug. Before he can do so, however, Gamabunta forces his sword between Manda's jaws, saving Katsuyu from the snakebite. Still having Katsuyu in his clutches, Manda tightens his hold of her in an attempt to suffocate her, but she breaks apart into a number of smaller slugs in order to escape the attack. As she regenerates, Manda throws Gamabunta back, allowing the toad to, with the help of Jiraiya, engulf Manda in a enormous cloud of fire. When the smoke clears, Manda's shed skin is all that can be found, the real Manda in the process of burrowing beneath Gamabunta.

Although Gamabunta is able to catch Manda's tail, Manda is able to get behind the giant toad and prepares to bite the latter. Before he can do so, however, Tsunade appears with Gamabunta's sword in tow, and forces it through Manda's mouth to keep it shut. Orochimaru, hoping to even the playing field, extends his tongue towards Tsunade in an attempt to break her neck, but Tsunade uses the tongue to her advantage by using it bring Orochimaru to her. After connecting her fist with Orochimaru's jaw, Tsunade allows the defeated Orochimaru to crash to the ground. Manda, disgusted with Orochimaru for losing, promises that if he could open his mouth he'd eat Orochimaru, and disappears after promising to do so the next time they meet. As Manda departs, Orochimaru frees his tongue from Tsunade's grasp and returns to Kabuto's side where he says that there is still one way to get his arms back, the mask covering the face of the body he had stolen peeling away. With a promise to destroy Konoha, Orochimaru disappears with Kabuto.

After returning to the city and Naruto's recovery, Jiraiya, Tsunade, Shizune, and Naruto have lunch at the same bar they met only a week earlier. After learning that Tsunade has taken on the title of the Fifth Hokage, Naruto begins to find her inadequate for the position, listing all of the ways that the Third Hokage was better than her. Angered by his words, Tsunade tells Naruto to step outside so that the two can fight, where Tsunade once again says she'll only need one finger. As Naruto charges at her, she once again removes his headband and prepares to strike him with the one finger. Fearing the outcome of the strike, Naruto closes his eyes. To his surprise, however, Tsunade kisses his forehead rather than hitting him, telling him to become a good man. After Naruto agrees, the group heads back to Konoha.
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