Orochimaru's nefarious plans for Sasuke are revealed, and Naruto vows to save his frind. But first he must battle the mysterious Kimimaro, who has deadly past ties to the Sound Ninja Four!

Now preparing for the finals of the Chûnin Selection Exams, Naruto studies with naughty new mentor Jiraiya and struggles to harness the power of the Nine-Tailed Fox chakra locked within him. Meanwhile, other ninja villages are forming secret alliances against Konohagakure...

Tsunade sends a team to hunt down the conflicted Sasuke, who's made a terrible choice of new teammates. Are Naruto, Neji and the others capable of beating the Sound Four? They have no choice but to find out!

"In another world, ninja are the ultimate power--and in the village of Konohagakure live the stealthiest ninja in the world. But twelve years ago Konohagakure was attached by a fearsome threat--a nine-tailed fox demon which claimed the life of the Hokage, the village champion. Today, peace has returned, and a troublemaking orphan named Uzumaki Naruto is struggling to graduate from the ninja Academy. His goal: to become the next Hokage. But unknown...

Zabuza, the ninja assassin, was stopped from his first try at killing Tazuna the bridge-builder--but Zabuza still lives! While the ninjas recover from their injuries, Kakashi puts Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura on a strict training regimen to protect Tazuna's family--including Tazuna's embittered grandson Inari--and prepare for Zabuza's next attack. But the next time won't be as easy, because joining Zubuza is his deadly apprentice, Haku. And as the bridge...

Still in the thick of the Journeyman Ninja Selection Exams, the student ninja unleash their signature techniques as they spar in a series of one-on-one elimination matches. The heated battles bring out a new side in many of the opponents as they fight to advance to the third stage of the test and, in some cases, struggle to survive! Naruto looses an explosive new move on his foe...but will it be enough to win? And when Hyuga clan members Neji and...

As the preliminaries to the third phase of the Journeyman Ninja Selection Exams begin, the student ninja face off against each other in no-holds-barred, one-on-one bouts. Deaf to Sakura's pleas to withdraw from the contest and despite the crippling effects of the curse placed on him by the nefarious Orochimaru, Sasuke enters the first match against one of the vicious Sound Ninja spies. But with his signature fighting techniques suddenly off-limits,...

Their village is under attack, and Naruto, Sakura and Shikamaru can't stay behind to defend it. They have a top priority mission to track down Sasuke and the Sand genin. But with nine bloodthirsty ninja on their heels, the hunters have quickly become the hunted! Back at the village, the Third Hokage is still trapped in Orochimaru's impenetrable barrier. Pushed to the breaking point, the Hokage must decide how far he will go to save what is precious...