As Kakashi safely releases Sasuke from the spell, Orochimaru suddenly shows up. Orochimaru expresses his desire for the power of Sharingan that the Uchiha clan holds in order to fulfill his ambitions.
The preliminaries of the third exam consist of one-on-one combat, and the first match is between Sasuke and Orochimaru's minion Yoroi.
The 21 ninjas that passed the second exam assemble for their next challenge.
Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura officially register for the Chunin Exam. In this examination, three ninja form a team, and in order to pass, not a single member is allowed to fail. Teamwork becomes absolutely vital for success in this test.
As Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura prepare for the exam, a ninja with short bobbed hair and thick eyebrows named Rock Lee appears. Lee proceeds to challenge Sasuke to a duel.
Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura are among those chosen to take the Chunin (middle rank ninja) Qualification Exam, but Iruka vehemently opposes the participation of Naruto and his team.
Naruto and his team return to the Village Hidden in the Leaves after their battle in Land of Waves.
Thinking of Haku, Naruto angrily confronts Zabuza. Zabuza is devastated by the loss of Haku, the only person he could trust in the world.
Naruto strongly questions Haku's philosophy of existing only to fight and win. Meanwhile, the battle between Kakashi and Zabuza approaches its climax.
Naruto finally explodes! His anger against Haku, who defeated Sasuke, unleashes the power of the Nine-Tailed Fox.
Naruto and Sasuke continue to receive punishing attacks from within Haku's Crystal Ice Mirrors, and Naruto can no longer stand on his feet.
Realizing time is of the essence, Kakashi decides to use the Sharingan once again to defeat Zabuza.
Sasuke finds himself in a pinch inside of Haku's Crystal Ice Mirrors, but Naruto comes to the rescue.
Once again, the time has come to fight Zabuza, and this time he's got company—the tracking ninja who supposedly killed him.
While Naruto concentrates on the training to control his chakra, a mysterious person suddenly appears before him.
Sakura goes into town with Tazuna and sees the hardships that the people of the Land of Waves suffer under Gato's rule. Meanwhile, Naruto and Sasuke continue to train, using chakra to climb a tree.
Recuperating at Tazuna's house, Kakashi is dissatisfied with the outcome of the battle. He concludes that Zabuza isn't dead and the young tracking ninja helped Zabuza escape.
Lee wants be an adult like his sensei, and he gets the chance when Guy turns into a baby. Later, When Lee overhears Lady Tsunade mutter something about being lonely, he sets her up on an arranged marriage meeting.
It's the day before White Day, and a sinister trio of villains has ruined the village supply of sweets. Later, it's been quite a few days since the Leaf's Doll Festival ended, but some prankster keeps putting the dolls back.
Captain Yamato leads Lee, Tenten and Sai on a mission to recover a stolen scroll. Later, Orochimaru creates a virus that turns humans into “Oro-Zombies".