Uzumaki Naruto is determined to become the greatest ninja ever; however, he must first graduate from the academy, deal with his would-be rival, and face the terrifying force that destroyed his village twelve years ago.
Sakura feels trapped in the middle when her long-time teammates Naruto and Sasake, now young men and accomplished ninjas, seem headed for separate destinies.
The shinobi learn that there have been casualties from Orochimaru's attack and, in the midst of their mourning, make an unlikely choice for the next great ninja, while a long-lost ninja returns with a dangerous entourage.
Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura battle their classmates one-on-one to advance to the third round of the Journeyman Ninja Selection Exams. Presented in graphic novel format.
After passing the final test to become junior ninjas, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura find themselves protecting a cranky old man from the Land of the Waves who is the target of an elite assassin.
Sasuke finally arrives at the Forest of Death to compete against Gaara in the Chunin finals, but having to wait has heightened Gaara's bloodlust and weakened his grip on his already fragile sanity.
While Naruto studies with Jiraiya to harness the power of the Nine-Tailed Fox chakra locked within him in preparation for the Ch?unin Selection Exams, other ninja villages are secretly forming alliances against Konahagakure.
The preliminaries to the third portion of the Journeyman Ninja Selection Exams continue, and with tensions at an all-time high after one of the last combatants was rushed to the emergency room, the much-anticipated bout between mysterious Sand ninja Gaara and Konoha ninja Rock Lee begins.
