Prologue — Land of Waves

The Introduction arc is from Part I of the series, and spans from chapters 1 to 8 of the manga and episodes 1 to 5 of the Naruto anime. The main characters of the series are introduced during this arc.

Summary
At the Ninja Academy, Naruto's reputation as a troublemaker and ramen-lover earned him infamy among the teachers and students. Iruka and the Third Hokage were the only two positive influences on him. Naruto failed the graduation exam twice, because he had failed to properly perform the Clone Technique.

Mizuki, another Academy examiner, tricked Naruto into stealing the Scroll of Seals, a collection of forbidden techniques, by claiming that Naruto would be automatically passed by simply learning a jutsu from the scroll. The Third soon realized that the scroll was missing, and gathered many ninja to retrieve it. As the search parties were sent to find Naruto, Iruka went out on his own and reached him first.

Naruto had been training in the forest the entire time, ignorant of what he had done, and simply repeated to Iruka what Mizuki had told him earlier. Iruka realized what Mizuki wanted just as Mizuki himself showed up to attack them both. Mizuki then tried to kill Naruto with an oversized shuriken, but Iruka pushed him out of the way and took the blow himself, thus saving Naruto's life. Mizuki then tried to persuade Naruto to give him the scroll, while Iruka tried to convince Naruto to do otherwise. Their argument led Mizuki to tell Naruto that he was the container of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox, a Tailed Beast, that had killed Iruka's parents during the attack on the village twelve years earlier.

Startled at this revelation, Naruto ran off, leaving Iruka and Mizuki to fight amongst themselves. Naruto watched the two from a distance, eventually learning what Mizuki was after, as well as the true level of Iruka's devotion to him. Just before Mizuki could kill Iruka, Naruto attacked and defeated him using his newly learned Multiple Shadow Clone Technique. Impressed that Naruto had mastered such a difficult technique, Iruka allowed Naruto to graduate and become a Genin, ironically fulfilling Mizuki's original promise.

Genin Training
In order to officially obtain the rank of Genin, Academy students must undergo a field evaluation administered by a Jonin (a high-ranking ninja), who will be their squad leader should they pass. Students are organized into groups of three Genin, with a Jonin-sensei assigned to each team.

Teams are chosen to balance skills and abilities. As such, Naruto, being the worst student, was paired with Sakura Haruno and Sasuke Uchiha in Team 7, with Sasuke being the overall best student (in both skill and intelligence), and Sakura being the best at quizzes and tests. Team 7's initial group chemistry was terrible: Naruto was infatuated with Sakura and detested Sasuke; Sakura was infatuated with Sasuke and detested Naruto; and Sasuke wasn't infatuated with either of them, but, instead, detested them both. Unfortunately for them, their Jonin instructor was Kakashi Hatake, who emphasized teamwork above all else.

Kakashi's field evaluation, considered the strictest of its type, was simple, yet extremely difficult; in fact, he hadn't passed anyone during his time as a Jonin. All the Genin had to do to pass was take a bell from him using any means necessary before noon. Aside from the fact that three Genin were taking on a Jonin (the Jonin would easily defeat them in a battle), Kakashi only had two bells on his belt, ensuring that one of them would fail. On top of that, the students were tricked into skipping breakfast. Those who got the bells got to eat, while the one who didn't was tied to a post and forced to watch the other two eat. The main purpose was not to test the Genins' skill, but rather their teamwork.

Team 7's performance during the exam, however, was terrible. Naruto fell into every trap that Kakashi had set without even bothering to try to be stealthy during his attacks. Sakura did nothing to help Naruto out during this part of the examination due to the fact that she was more interested in Sasuke's overall skills and safety, leading her to fall into Kakashi's Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique Genjutsu. Sasuke didn't bother to help either Sakura or Naruto, but, instead, attacked on his own, as he believed the other two would only slow him down. In the end, all three failed to get a bell.

After their failure, Kakashi criticized all three of them for their lack of teamwork. He eventually explained to them the purpose of the exam, and allowed them to eat in preparation for a second try. Naruto, who had stumbled upon the lunches Kakashi had prepared and had attempted to eat them, was tied to the post. After Kakashi left, Sakura and Sasuke realized that they would need Naruto in top shape if they were to retrieve the bells, and decided to feed him against Kakashi's wishes. Kakashi, of course, was watching the whole time, and appeared in a giant blast of smoke, appearing quite furious. The three Genin claimed that they were a team, and, as such, one person. Quickly changing his attitude, Kakashi allowed them to pass for figuring out the purpose of the exam. He also recited the exact message that he was trying to get across, that: "Shinobi must see underneath the underneath." He continued on to state that: "In the ninja world, those who don't follow the rules are scum. That is true, but those who abandon their friends are worse than scum."