With the Curse Mark covering half his body, Sasuke is no longer the Sasuke of old. Naruto charges at this new Sasuke who has turned his back on his closest comrades.
Kimimaro succeeds in shattering Gaara's protective sand shield and attacks Gaara. Naruto finally catches up to Sasuke, who is racing to his destiny at Orochimaru's hands.
Kimimaro realizes that close combat is impossible against Gaara's wall of sand, so he moves further away for a long-distance attack.
Shikamaru, Kiba, and Lee are at the limits of their strength when Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro appear to assist their Leaf allies.
Naruto and the others are trapped in Jirobo's Earth Dome Prison. They try to pound their way out, but the walls regenerate each time.
The Sound Ninja Four race toward Orochimaru's lair with Sasuke in hand. They're discovered and challenged by the jonin Genma and Raido...
Sakura's pleas fall on deaf ears, and Sasuke leaves Hidden Leaf Village. When Tsunade learns of this, she summons Shikamaru to lead his first mission as a chunin.
The Sound Ninja Four, Kidomaru, Sakon, Jirobo, and Tayuya, suddenly appear before Sasuke. Sakura is concerned about the Curse Mark placed on Sasuke by Orochimaru...
Naruto and Sasuke release their ultimate weapons against each other, and just in time Kakashi arrives to stop the fight.
Shikamaru is promoted to chunin, and he and his squadmates celebrate at a BBQ restaurant. In the hospital, Lee decides to undergo a dangerous surgery to repair his body so that he can remain a ninja.
Boss Jirocho waits, confident that Idate will win. But Aoi, the ninja sent by the Wagarashi clan, stands in the way.
Despite interference from Aoi, Idate continues his run. Idate still trusts no one, and it's revealed that during the Chunin Exams, Idate's older brother was the proctor who posed the tenth question.
Naruto and his squad manage to catch up to Idate, only to find him hurt and unconscious with Aoi nearby.
The chief retainers think that Idate has made a farce of their great traditional festival. Jirocho believes that Idate has fled with some plan in mind.
Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura are to protect the runners in a race being held during the Todoroki Shrine's ceremonial ritual held every four years.
Naruto and his two squadmates have always wanted to see what Kakashi looks like under his mask. The three do whatever they can to reveal his whole face.
After being advised by Tsunade to quit the path of the shinobi, Lee recalls his first meeting with his teacher Guy. Unable to master either ninjutsu or genjutsu, Lee has always been looked down upon by the others.
Lee hesitates when Tsunade asks him whether he will quit pursuing the path of a ninja or choose to undergo a risky surgery with only a fifty percent chance of success.
Naruto asks Tsunade to heal Sasuke and Lee before she is installed as the Hokage. After examining Lee, she tells him to find a path other than of that of a shinobi.
Jiraiya saves Naruto from Kisame just in time. It turns out that Itachi and the Akatsuki organization are definitely after Naruto to obtain the power of the Nine-Tailed Fox.