do i have to explain this eerytime?

Naruto (¥Ê¥ë¥È)is a manga by Masashi Kishimoto with an anime TV series adaptation. Its titular main character, Uzumaki Naruto (¤¦¤º¤Þ¤­¥Ê¥ë¥È, Uzumaki Naruto?), is a loud, hyperactive, adolescent ninja who constantly searches for approval and recognition

The manga was first published in Japan, by Shueisha, in the 43rd issue of the Shonen Jump magazine in 1999. VIZ Media publishes a translated version in the American Shonen Jump, and has translated roughly a third of the series. Naruto has become VIZ Media's best-selling manga series.

Viz also licensed the anime for North American production. Naruto debuted on Cartoon Network's Toonami programming block on September 10, 2005, at 9:00 p.m. EST in the United States, and on YTV's Bionix on September 16, 2005, at 9:30 p.m. EST (since changed to 8:00 p.m.) in Canada. Starting July 22, 2006, Jetix will show the first 26 episodes of Naruto in the UK at 8.00 p.m., according to the Jetix website. Starting on June 12, 2006, Cartoon Network is showing Naruto at 9:00 p.m. EST, Monday through Thursday, starting with the first episode.

The series' length and popularity (especially in Japan) is comparable to that of Akira Toriyama's Dragon Ball Z, another popular action-oriented sh¨­nen series derived from a manga. Kishimoto cites Toriyama's Dragon Ball series and Katsuhiro Otomo, of the Akira fame, as some of his inspirations, though Naruto differs significantly in its execution, themes explored, and overall premise.

Since its creation, Naruto has spawned a large number of fansites that contain detailed information, guides, and active forums. Some of the first and most popular sites targeted at English speaking audiences were established shortly after the first English manga volume was released in August 2003.

Prior to the anime's North American debut in 2005, several scanlation and fansub groups translated the series and made it available for free download on the internet. Although many such groups stop once a series has been licensed, there are some that have continued to translate new Naruto episodes due to the extremely large gap between the English and Japanese versions. Many of the episodes subbed by the Dattebayo fansub group are downloaded over 100,000 times within the first week of their release, and several others have surpassed 200,000 downloads within their first months; a testament to their popularity.

Although it debuted some time after the manga, the anime quickly caught up, since one anime episode usually covers around one and a half manga chapters. To prevent overlapping, the anime's producers tend to organize content from the manga chapters into long, uneventful sections followed by short bursts of action, sometimes adding filler content in between. Currently, in order to give the manga time to get ahead, the anime is only showing filler episodes.

The anime generally remains true to the manga, usually changing only minor details (causes of death, loss of limbs, and other injuries have been lessened in the anime) or expanding on parts skipped by the manga, such as the fight between Tenten and Temari. The filler arcs, though unreferenced in the manga (save for a few scant scenes), deal with the breaks between manga volumes, which covers a short period before the Sasuke Retrieval arc and several months before the time skip. The filler arcs tend to cover the supporting characters, occasionally giving insight into an otherwise rarely-seen character. Though these arcs are only present in the anime, it is likely that their events will hold true in the manga, since continuity issues would be created if they were ignored. No specific comment has been given on their status, however.

New episodes, animated by Studio Pierrot, air weekly on TV Tokyo in Japan during the Golden Time slot (Japan's equivalent of prime time in the US) each Wednesday night at 7:27PM. The series has also spawned two movies, Naruto the Movie and Naruto the Movie 2. An announcement for Naruto the Movie 3 was made on August 6, 2005, just after the release of the second movie. It is expected to be released sometime in August 2006.

By the time the Sasuke Retrieval arc ended (episode 135), the anime was at a point where it was quickly gaining on the manga, its source material. At the conclusion of this arc, the anime immediately switched to anime-only filler episodes to allow the manga to broaden the gap once more. Many fans were disappointed because of a lack of plot development in the filler saga; however, had the anime overtaken the manga, the series could have completely differed from the intended plot of the manga, or would have been cancelled completely, both of which have happened to several other manga-adapted anime series (for instance, Rurouni Kenshin). Most of the filler arcs are stand-alone episodes, with a few being several episodes long, unlike the adapted manga arcs which can cover roughly thirty episodes.

Leading up to the series' English-language premiere, a number of fans expressed fears that it would receive a treatment similar to that of One Piece, which was heavily edited and Americanized to a TV-Y7 rating for broadcast in North America. Surprisingly, Naruto was aired with a TV-PG rating in the US and a PG rating in Canada.

Many elements that were expected to be edited out of the broadcast version were left intact, including references to alcoholism and mild sexual situations, Japanese cultural differences (including food and Japanese writing), mild language ("This sucks!", "You pervert!", "That's bull!", and "Hell") and even blood and death were still evident (including some extreme violence, as seen in the 19th and 34th episodes). The uncut broadcast of Dragon Ball Z featured these same elements, but they are still rare among Toonami's other series. In addition, the opening music for the show was significantly changed but the background music during the episodes remained the same.However, it should be noted when the uncut DVDs are released, they will include the original Japanese openings and endings

Cartoon Network also made some extra edits in addition to those done by Viz Media, which is evident of the fact that Canada's YTV network contained fewer alterations. These are fairly minor, such as toning down the amount of blood and other injuries. The accidental kiss between Sasuke and Naruto was also edited out (though it is made clear that it happened), but later shown during a flashback during the Land of Waves arc.

The first uncut box set, which was released on July 4, 2006, contains no edits, with the original vocal themes completely intact, as well as the opening theme, "R*O*C*K*S", being subtitled, a rare occasion for DVDs from Viz. The dub was left unedited for the DVDs, and thus has a few instances of harsher dialogue, with Sasuke saying "damn" on occasion and the word "kill" being used more frequently.

Several small token edits have appeared in the North American manga, the most notable being the removal of Hyuga Neji's manji and replacement with the cross that was used in all versions of the Naruto anime.

The UK version shown on Jetix contains even more censorship, despite its late-night time slot. Naruto's "I'll kill you" line in the first episode and the shot of Iruka pulling out the shurikun from his back are both removed.

Here is a list of further edits that Jetix UK made to the already edited US version:
- The Ninja getting knocked backwards by the Kyuubi was cut
- The Hokage's pipe was zoomed in so you couldn't see it and him telling the two villagers that the news better not be "about Naruto" again is cut
- The camara panning up Iruka after he got hit by the Kunai's was cut
- The scene where Iruka got hit by the Shuriken was cut
- Many frames of Iruka still with the Shuriken impaled in him was zoomed in so the weapon is obscured
- The scene where Iruka pulled it out chucked the shuriken at Mizuki was cut
- The scene where Mizuki was charging at Iruka was cut
- The frame and where Naruto says "I'll kill you" to Mizuki was cut
- The entire scene where the Hokage tells the ninjas that Naruto will be back safely was cut (Presumably to remove the refrence to Hokakge's pipe)

THIS IS THE PART WHERE THE SPOILERS ARE!!!!!!!!

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

12 years before the start of the story, a Nine-tailed Fox, Ky¨±bi no Y¨­ko, attacked the Hidden Village of the Leaf (Konohagakure). One swipe of one of its tails was enough to level mountains and raise tsunamis. It possessed an incredible amount of chakra and strength, as well as unrivaled healing abilities. The Fourth Hokage, the brave leader of Konohagakure, sacrificed his life to seal the spirit of the Ky¨±bi inside a baby whose umbilical cord had just been cut: Uzumaki Naruto.

Unaware of the Demon Fox within him, the orphan Naruto faced a traumatic youth. In spite of the Fourth Hokage's wish that Naruto be viewed as the hero who contained the Ky¨±bi, the villagers of Konoha harbored a fierce hatred for the young child who bore the spirit of the demon that had decimated the once-peaceful village. Though it was forbidden for the adults to mention the attack to their children, they still shunned Naruto. Their children learned from their parents' example and ostracized Naruto.

In the Ninja Academy, Naruto was befriended by his compassionate ninja instructor, a Ch¨±nin named Umino Iruka. Though Iruka's own parents perished in the Ky¨±bi's assault, Iruka didn't blame Naruto for their deaths. Instead, Iruka accepted Naruto and empathized with the boy's desire to be accepted. He was the first person to believe in Naruto, and as a result, impacted his development greatly. Iruka became a father-figure for Naruto to look up to.

Training at the Ninja Academy

At the ninja academy, Naruto's reputation as a troublemaker and failure earned him infamy among the teachers and students. His sensei, Iruka, and, to a lesser extent, the Third Hokage, were the only two positive influences on him. Unbeknownst to him at the time, Hy¨±ga Hinata also thought very highly of him because of his determination and fighting spirit. However, they could do little for the young shinobi who had failed numerous attempts to pass the final graduation exam. The exam required the students to demonstrate their Bunshin no Jutsu (Clone Technique), the technique that Naruto was weakest in

Mizuki, the other Academy examiner, used Naruto's depression after his failure to trick Naruto into stealing the Scroll of Seals, a collection of forbidden techniques housed within the Hokage's study. However, Iruka managed to find Naruto and both realized that Mizuki actually had an ulterior motive, and had not planned on helping Naruto pass the graduation exam at all. In a brief skirmish between Mizuki and Iruka, Naruto learned the terrifying secret of the Ky¨±bi as well as Iruka's devotion to Naruto. To protect Iruka from Mizuki, Naruto used the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shadow Clone Technique) to defeat Mizuki. As a result of his demonstration of the advanced usage of the Bunshin no Jutsu, Iruka handed Naruto his forehead protector, a sign that he had officially graduated from the Ninja Academy.

Formation of Team 7

In order to officially obtain the rank of Genin, or first-level ninja, students of the academy had to undergo a field evaluation under a J¨­nin. The students were organized into groups of three Genin, and each group was assigned to a J¨­nin-sensei who put them to a test that they had to pass in order to be considered eligible for official missions.

Team 7 consisted of Naruto, Haruno Sakura and Uchiha Sasuke and the J¨­nin instructor, Hatake Kakashi. The initial group chemistry was terrible: Naruto was infatuated with Sakura and detested Sasuke's inherent genius; Sakura was not interested in Naruto or in being a ninja and instead focused on wooing Sasuke; Sasuke was a lone wolf with a hidden agenda who hated everyone in the group. Unimpressed with the trio and their first performance on his test, Kakashi failed all three.

Kakashi's test was a simple but theoretically ruthless task: the Genin were required to obtain the two bells attached to his belt in order to pass the test, using any measures necessary. Kakashi easily defended himself from all three, who fought against him separately. At the end of the exercise, he pointed out their sub par teamwork and recommended that they quit being ninjas. However, he decided to give them a second chance, and let Sakura and Sasuke eat lunch so they could all try again later. Naruto was forbidden to eat since he had previously attempted to eat without obtaining a bell. Although Naruto claimed that he isn't hungry, his stomach gave him away. Seeing that Naruto might end up becoming a liability to the team if he wasn't fed, Sasuke offered his own lunch to Naruto. Sakura, seeing Sasuke's actions, offered Naruto her lunch instead. Kakashi appeared as Sakura was feeding Naruto and told them that they had violated the rules. In a surprising show of solidarity all three stood up to Kakashi, declaring that they were as one and that part of teamwork was caring for your comrades. Thus, Team 7 became the first group that Kakashi ever passed to be Genin, as this was the exact message he was trying to get across - "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."

The Land of Waves

While genin are normally assigned D-Rank missions, Naruto insists on doing something more exciting and the Third Hokage agrees to send them on a C-Rank mission to escort Tazuna, a master bridge builder. During their mission, the team is attacked by two enemy Ch¨±nin, something that is not supposed to happen on C-Rank missions, and Naruto panics and freezes. Sasuke, however, deals with the attackers quite efficiently and rubs in his one-upping Naruto by calling him a "scaredy-cat." This name-calling, which Naruto would imitate many times later in the series, is a defining moment in the Naruto-Sasuke rivalry. After the attack, Naruto bleeds out the poison he received by stabbing his wound with a kunai and swears upon his pain to never freeze up and leave his friends to fend for themselves again. Kakashi then looks at his wound and says that he could actually bleed to death from it, but due to the Ky¨±bi inside him, he recovers very quickly and the wound is left but a scar.

Tazuna then explains the real mission: the Land of Waves has been taken over by a shipping magnate called Gat¨­, and the only way to revitalize the economy is by building a bridge to the mainland that can bypass Gat¨­'s shipping monopoly. However, Gat¨­ does not want that to happen, and uses shinobi gangs to get what he wants. Thus Team 7's mission is to support and protect the bridge-building efforts that have been thwarted thus far.

Next, the team is challenged by Momochi Zabuza, who is one of the 7 Swordsmen of the Mist. Kakashi demonstrates the abilities of the Sharingan, defeating Zabuza with both physical and psychological attacks. Though Zabuza should have met his end, he was saved by Haku, who was so skilled with needles that he made it seem as though Zabuza had died, and pretended to be a tracker ninja trying to kill Zabuza.

Team 7 undergoes chakra training, and this becomes another point of rivalry between Naruto and Sasuke, as they constantly challenge themselves to try to outdo each other, but instead end up helping and motivating each other to succeed. They also meet Inari, Tazuna's grandson, who is still brooding over the loss of Kaiza, whom he respected as his father and a local hero, but was killed by Gat¨­.

Eventually, Zabuza and Haku return to make a do or die battle, with some experience as to how they should handle the Konoha ninjas. Haku reveals his Demonic Ice Mirrors jutsu, and completely overpowers Sasuke. Naruto joins the fight just in time to get trapped in Haku's jutsu, and is almost killed by Haku. Sasuke awakens his Sharingan and saves Naruto by sacrificing himself. Naruto asks him why he did that and Sasuke just replied 'How should I know, my body just moved by itself' and then appears to die with 3 needles in his neck. Meanwhile, Zabuza focused on Kakashi, finding a way to weaken his Sharingan.

Naruto's "hidden power" is revealed after he believed Haku killed Sasuke. Naruto loses control and is consumed by the Ky¨±bi's chakra. Its power is so immense that the chakra is visible. All of Naruto's wounds heal near-instantaneously, and Naruto's appearance changes; his eyes become red and slitted like a cat, his "whiskers" deepen, his fingernails grow long like claws and his canine teeth become sharper. He completely overwhelms his enemy with this power and speed.

With the Ky¨±bi power that Naruto used, he proved to be too powerful for Haku. Seeing that he was unable to help Zabuza, Haku asked Naruto to kill him, but Naruto protested and refused. However, Haku then noticed that Zabuza was in danger from Kakashi and he ran away to save Zabuza. Zabuza was being dominated by Kakashi, who used a Kuchiyose no Jutsu to immobilize him -using his tracking dogs to bite his arms and legs (thus breaking his arms)- and also using Chidori/Raikiri technique. As Kakashi was about to stab Zabuza with his Chidori, Haku realized that Zabuza was in mortal danger and ran to save Zabuza by standing in front of him. Thus Kakashi instead stabbed Haku, Kakashi's hand going completely through Haku's heart. Everyone realizes now that Haku is dead. At first, Zabuza has no change in emotion and praises Haku that he was a good tool. This infuriates Naruto as he cries for Haku's death and says to Zabuza that Haku really cared about him and that he would die for him. Moved by his words, Zabuza confesses that he cared deeply about Haku and he begins to cry.

As the battle draws to an end, Gat¨­ arrives with his gang of would-be shinobi. He tells Zabuza that he never intended to pay him, even if Zabuza finished the mission. Zabuza with this realization, Zabuza asks Naruto if he can borrow one of his kunais. Naruto tosses one to him, and with the memories of Haku fresh in his mind, Zabuza grabs the kunai in his mouth and rushes to kill Gat¨­. Gat¨­ runs behind his henchmen, but Zabuza rushes past all of them, killing many of them, and eventually reaches Gat¨­. Before he dies, Gat¨­ realizes that Zabuza is really a demon as he has a silhouette of Zabuza as a demon. In the anime, Zabuza slashes Gat¨­ repeatedly sending off the bridge. In the manga, Zabuza decapitates him. Zabuza then stands still and gets stabbed in the back by the remaining henchmen he hasn't killed. After a brief moment, Sasuke wakes up from the near death state Haku put him in. The shinobi gangs are then chased away, by Kakashi producing many Shadow Clones and with the help of the villagers, who finally stand up for themselves. Zabuza's last request to Kakashi is to be buried next to Haku. After Naruto witnessed what happened to Haku and Zabuza, he decides to become a ninja in his own way, and defy the belief that ninja are meerly tools of their villages.

Ch¨±nin exam

Team 7 returns to Konoha to continue with their lives as regular Genin. One day, whilst playing with Konohamaru and his friends, Naruto meets two of the three Genin from Sunagakure (Hidden Sand) - Kankur¨­ and Temari - and learns that they are in Konoha to participate in the Ch¨±nin Selection Exams. Naruto is thrilled about the possibility of becoming a Ch¨±nin.

The first part of the exam is written, but it was not a test of knowledge than a test of information gathering and willpower. The first 9 questions were supposed to be cheated, where the genins must use any techniques to find out the correct answer without being caught. The last question was do or die question: don't answer and your entire team fails the ch¨±nin exams, answer and get it wrong and you stay a Genin forever. Naruto shows that he is not somebody who quits when he bursts out that he doesn't care if he stays a Genin forever, he will still become Hokage. The genin who stayed behind all pass first part of the Ch¨±nin exams, especially Naruto, who didn't answer a single question on the exam.

The Forest of Death

The second part of the exam is a survival exam in the 44th Battle Zone AKA The Forest of Death. During this part, Naruto finds himself in a desperate situation against Orochimaru - an S-ranked criminal so powerful that the Third Hokage later mentions that there is nobody in Konohagakure that can fight him equally. It turns out that Orochimaru is actually a missing-nin from Konoha, and used to be one of the Third's pupils, oro the Densetsu no Sannin (the Legendary Three). Naruto and Sasuke's reactions to the situation are a complete reversal of what happened in the Wave Country mission - Sasuke is paralyzed with panic while Naruto fights on fearlessly, at one point stopping Orochimaru's huge summoned snake in its tracks on his own (with the help of some Ky¨±bi chakra), and muttering to Sasuke, in a moment of glorious comeuppance that marks another milestone in their rivalry, "are you all right... scaredy-cat?" Naruto eventually snaps Sasuke out of his panic. However, Orochimaru uses one of his sealing techniques to seal the Ky¨±bi's chakra, effectively preventing Naruto from using it.

Orochimaru is too much for Sasuke as well. In the end, Orochimaru puts a Cursed Seal of Heaven onto Sasuke's neck, saying that Sasuke will eventually come to him because Sasuke is an avenger. Orochimaru then leaves, sending his three Sound Genin to come after Sasuke. While both Naruto and Sasuke were unconscious from the fight against Orochimaru, Sakura had to take care of them. It is there that Sakura's personality reaches a turning point. As a Sound kunoichi trapped her by roughly holding her by her hair, Sakura realized how pathetic her behavior was, always berating others, when she was the one who hadn't improved at all. She reflects on herself, thinking how she was always telling Naruto that she was better than him, when he had been the one who was consistently improving, and telling Sasuke she loved him when she couldn't even muster up enough strength to protect him as a teammate, before she symbolically frees herself by cutting off her long hair with a kunai, which she had initially kept long because Sasuke supposedly liked girls with long hair. She also had to fight against the Sound Genin, and resolves not to be too dependent on her teammates. The three Sound genin were pushed back, with the aid of Team Asuma, Rock Lee, and an awakened Sasuke.

Team 7 still manages to make it past the second stage, with a little help from Kabuto. Seven teams managed to pass, which is twice as much as expected. To make it better, a preliminary round was staged before the third and final stage of the Ch¨±nin Exam. The 21 people (20 after Kabuto quits) are to be matched up with each other, in a fight that lasts until somebody gives in or somebody dies. An examiner does reserve the right to step in and stop the fight when he feels that there is a clear winner.

Naruto is matched up with Kiba. Naruto wins against Kiba by using shadow replications to perform a combo attack. Other key matches of the preliminaries include Sasuke defeating one of Orochimaru's minions without using his Cursed Seal, a showdown between friendly female rivals (Sakura/Ino) and troubled family ties (Hinata/Neji) and the futile efforts of "hard work genius" Rock Lee to defeat bij¨± container Gaara. At an early point Naruto tells Sasuke that he wants to fight him during the exam; Sasuke acknowledges Naruto in his own way later on when he tells him that he wants to fight him as well.

The winners of the matches are: Sasuke, Shino, Kankur¨­, Temari, Shikamaru, Naruto, Neji, Gaara, and Dosu (Only 9 ninja make it through the preliminary because Sakura and Ino tie in their battle).

The Main Matches

After the preliminary match-ups, there is a one month time in which the remaining genin can prepare themselves. Various dignitaries are also invited to watch the main matches. During this month, Naruto meets Jiraiya - another one of Konohagakure's legendary three - for the first time. Jiraiya agrees to be his sensei and is the one who teaches him most of the advanced techniques he learns during that time. Under Jiraiya, Naruto improves his chakra control by practicing walking on water, learns how to call upon Ky¨±bi's energy at will after Jiraiya uses a counter seal to cancel Orochimaru's sealing technique, and how to use a summoning technique to call a toad to his aid. Prior to this, Naruto also undergoes a brief training period under Ebisu, who earlier saw him as nothing more than the container of the Ky¨±bi. However, after spending some time with Naruto, Ebisu decides that he is indeed a true ninja of Konoha

Naruto's fight with Neji a month later is a very dramatic one. During the fight, Neji lectures Naruto much like he did with Hinata during the preliminaries, telling Naruto that dropouts remain dropouts and cannot change. Naruto eventually wins the battle through a combination of the Ky¨±bi's power sealed within him and sheer belief in victory. In the process, he changes Neji's outlook on life and inspires him to create his own fate, thus forming another important bond. Naruto is able to make Neji understand that destiny can be changed, and they become good friends from that point on.

The next battle is Temari vs. Shikamaru (Since Kankur¨­ quits to "keep his techniques a secret"). Both Temari and Shikamaru are excellent strategists, but Shikamaru was better. Though it appeared throughout the match Shikamaru was using pointless attacks, he was actually five steps ahead and skillfully manipulated Temari into a position where he could attack from behind, using a little crater to use his Kagemane no Jutsu. This took control over Temari's body to imitate every one of Shikamaru's movements. Though Shikamaru could have won, he quits instead, saying that he is too low on chakra. His real reasons for quitting, however, seem to be because he is incredibly lazy and sees no point in winning, which would only lead to having to fight in further matches.

The last battle is Gaara vs. Sasuke. This is the battle that the crowd has been looking forward to. Sasuke arrives late (seems to be rubbed off of Kakashi, who was training him during the month of preparation), but time was extended because of the importance of the match. Sasuke demonstrates that his speed has vastly increased, to the point where the sand guarding Gaara could not keep up. Sasuke also demonstrates Chidori (Kakashi's technique) to injure Gaara. Before the match could finish, a smoke bomb is set off at the Hokage's box, Kabuto uses a genjutsu to put almost everybody to sleep, and the Destruction of Konoha commences.

Destruction of Konoha

This arc shows Orochimaru's plot to destroy Konohagakure, and is frequently grouped into the Ch¨±nin Exam arc. This arc shows two simultaneous battles: Orochimaru vs. The Third and Naruto against Gaara

Orochimaru vs. Sarutobi

A giant snake is summoned, which breaks down the walls guarding Konohagakure and proceeds to wreak havoc on the village. Meanwhile, approximately 120 Sand and Sound ninjas invade the village. The Sand joins the attack because their Feudal Lord had mistreated their village and showed favors toward Konohagakure; this attack is to show that lord that Sunagakure is not to be messed around with. The J¨­nins of Konoha focus on these invaders, eventually pushing them out.

Meanwhile, Orochimaru fights the Third Hokage, Sarutobi. Though 3 ANBU members tried to help out Sarutobi, the Sound Four used a Flame Barrier Jutsu to prevent any nosy interference. Orochimaru shows his true creepy side: he had created Kinjutsu to grant him immortality. Orochimaru's spirit is able to live forever, but he must change bodies frequently. Orochimaru also created Edo Tensei, which allowed him to summon the souls of the previous Hokages at the cost of sacrificing his Sound Genin. Attempting to stop this technique, Sarutobi performs the Jutsu Shou (Technique Cancel), managing to his great luck to seal the Fourth's coffin. Sarutobi then uses Kuchiyose no Jutsu to summon Monkey King Enma.

The summoned Hokages, though perfect in form to the original and retaining all their abilities, have lost their personalities, and are merely Orochimaru's slaves. They cannot be killed, since their bodies simply regenerate. Sarutobi realizes that he must do something about their souls, and uses Shiki F¨±in, the same technique the Fourth Hokage used to seal the Ky¨±bi. Sarutobi is able to sacrifice two Kage Bunshins to seal away the souls of the previous two Hokages, and then attempts to kill Orochimaru by destroying Orochimaru's soul. However, Sarutobi was low on chakra and stamina, and thus opts to do the next best thing: seal away Orochimaru's arms, so Orochimaru is unable to perform any more jutsu. Sarutobi dies, still with a smile on his face.

Naruto vs. Gaara

The climax of the arc is the battle with Gaara. Gaara represents the opposite reaction to Naruto's own predicament. Like Naruto, Gaara also contains the spirit of a demon, the One-Tailed Raccoon-Dog, Shukaku. However, where Naruto looked for acknowledgement and attention to form his identity, Gaara built more and more walls around himself, eventually concluding that his purpose in life was to kill everybody that was not him. Sasuke, Shino, Sakura, Shikamaru, and Naruto chase after Temari and Kankur¨­, who were charged with protecting Gaara until Gaara recovered from his fight with Sasuke. Shikamaru drops off to stop 9 Sound Ch¨±nins from getting toward them, though Shikamaru was low on chakra. Asuma comes to bail him out. Kankur¨­ stops to fight Sasuke, giving enough time for Gaara to recover. However, Shino declares that they are opponents, since they were supposed to fight during the Ch¨±nin Exam. Shino was able to defeat Kankur¨­ by letting his bugs eat away all of Kankur¨­'s chakra. Finally, Sasuke fights Gaara. Gaara begins to transform into his Shukaku state, overpowering Sasuke and Chidori. When Sasuke was about to be killed, Naruto and Sakura arrive.

At first Naruto is clearly overpowered, but later in the fight he gains more ground by using clever tactics and employing the techniques Jiraiya taught him. Naruto uses A Thousand Years of Pain to injure the partial Shukaku form to prevent any movement, then using the Uzumaki Naruto Nisen Rendan to pound Gaara. However, Gaara then transforms into the full Shukaku form. Naruto was able to perform Kuchiyose no Jutsu to summon Gamabunta, and after a little convincing from Gamakichi, Gamabunta decides to fight Shukaku.

However, Gaara then uses Force Sleep Technique to call out Shukaku's real powers. Even Gamabunta was no match, and so, Naruto must force Gaara awake. Using a combo transformation, Naruto transforms Gamabunta into the form of the Ky¨±bi, which is able to grab Shukaku long enough for Naruto to punch Gaara awake. Naturally, Gaara is not pleased, and uses Desert Coffin. Naruto escapes with Ky¨±bi's chakra, and finally head butts Gaara so hard, it shakes them both, blood trickles down both their foreheads, and Gaara wakes up. Another punch brings all of Gaara's chakra to zero.

What enables Naruto to triumph is his devotion to those important to him, which turns out to be a source of much greater strength than Gaara's hatred. As Gaara was an opponent that Sasuke could not face equally, this reverses Naruto and Sasuke's roles in their rivalry and induces in deep feelings of inferiority in Sasuke despite the facade of superiority that he continues to maintain. After the battle ends, Gaara wonders whether he would be able to love again.

Epilogue

The invasion is called off, since Orochimaru cannot use any more techniques, and the Sand and Sound shinobi retreat. The surviving Sand ninja also find the body of the Kazekage, and they realized that Orochimaru had disguised himself as the Kazekage, thereby playing both sides of the alliance he created.

The Return of Itachi

After Naruto defeats Gaara, helping save the village from destruction, Jiraiya chooses Naruto to accompany him on his search for Tsunade, one of his former comrades and a genius medical ninja, who would later become the Fifth Hokage. The only way he was able to convince Naruto to go with is by telling Naruto that he could teach Naruto a move stronger than Kakashi's Chidori (One Thousand Birds). Naruto quickly agrees and sets out on the journey with him. The reason Jiraiya wanted to take Naruto on his journey was so he could protect Naruto from the Akatsuki, an organization that is after the Ky¨±bi and the rest of the bij¨±. Jiraiya wanted to make Naruto strong enough, so Naruto could fight on his own against the Akatsuki eventually.

However, not everything goes according to plan. Itachi & Kisame arrive, looking for Naruto. After Itachi easily defeats Kakashi, the pair locate their target. Seeking to avoid extra conflict, Itachi hypnotizes a girl into seducing Jiraiya so he would leave Naruto's side, and then the pair confront the lone Naruto in a hotel hallway. Arriving on the scene in a rage, Sasuke immediately tries kill Itachi using Chidori, only to have Itachi causally deflect his most powerful jutsu. Naruto quickly realizes that Itachi is indeed Sasuke's older brother, and finally learns why Sasuke wants to kill Itachi (Itachi killed their entire clan). As Kisame holds off the recently returned Jiraiya (who was only briefly fooled), Sasuke is nearly beaten to death, and Itachi uses his Mangeky¨­ Sharingan to injure Sasuke mentally using Tsukuyomi (the Japanese moon god). Finally intervening, Jiraiya uses his techniques to force Itachi and his partner Kisame to flee via Amaterasu (The Japanese sun goddess).

Later, Jiraiya tells Naruto that Akatsuki are after the demon inside Naruto. Naruto understands that he must become stronger, so he could protect himself and the people he cares about.

The Search For Tsunade

The search for Tsunade leads Naruto and Jiraiya to Tanzaku City. At the same time, Orochimaru and Kabuto also look for Tsunade so she can heal Orochimaru's arms. While Jiraiya prowls the town "looking for information" (or hitting on young ladies), Naruto practices the three steps required for learning the move that is stronger than Chidori, the Rasengan. The first step emphasizes rotation, practiced by trying to pop a water balloon. The second step emphasizes power, and is broken into two parts. The first part is simply trying to get a hole in a rubber ball so that the air gets out, and the second part is exploding the ball altogether. The third step emphasizes control, and the power and rotation in the first two steps must be used at 100%, while maintaining the ball of chakra inside a regular balloon without popping the balloon. When Naruto finishes the first two steps, Jiraiya finally finds out that Tsunade is at Tanzaku City, and they head out, with Naruto working on the third step on the journey.

When Jiraiya and Naruto finally get to Tanzaku City, Orochimaru had reached Tsunade first. Orochimaru offered Tsunade an exchange: heal Orochimaru's arms, and Orochimaru will bring Tsunade's little brother and lover back using Edo Tensei. However, Tsunade must provide two human sacrifices. Orochimaru extends his deadline for her decision to a week, and leaves her.

That night, Jiraiya and Naruto go to a bar to eat and find out information about Tsunade, only to find Tsunade herself there, along with her assistant Shizune. However, she declines Jiraiya's offer to become the 5th Hokage, saying that only fools would want the title of Hokage. This irritates Naruto greatly, and Naruto and Tsunade head outside to "fight". Tsunade easily handles Naruto using only one finger, but when Naruto declares that it is his dream to become Hokage, Tsunade immediately sees the connection between Naruto and her brother and lover. Her reverie leaves Tsunade open, and Naruto takes the opportunity to try to use Rasengan on her, though it was incomplete. Upon seeing the Rasengan, Tsunade makes a bet with him; if he can master Rasengan in a week, she will give him the necklace of the First Hokage. If he loses, she confiscates his frog wallet and all its contents. Naruto accepts after learning the value of the necklace, and goes to train. Shizune is surprised that Tsunade uses the necklace in a bet, since the people that Tsunade tried to give it to (her brother and her lover) both died horribly the next day. Shizune explains this, and Naruto toughens his resolve to get it, not returning to the hotel at all for 6 days. On the 6th day, Shizune finds Naruto unconscious and brings him back, but Naruto just recovers after a night's sleep because of the Ky¨±bi's chakra.

Naruto wakes up the next day to find out from Shizune that Tsunade is going to meet with Orochimaru. Along with Jiraiya, they rush to find her and arrive in time to stop Kabuto from killing Tsunade. While Jiraiya (who was poisoned by Tsunade the night before) tries his best to hold off Orochimaru, Naruto and Shizune try to protect Tsunade, who had been paralyzed by her hemophobia (fear of blood). Kabuto knocks out Shizune and proceeds to attack Tsunade, but Naruto gets in the way. Infuriated, Kabuto pummels Naruto, all the while telling Naruto that he was only a ninja by luck and that he could never dream of being on the same level as Sasuke. This only fuels Naruto's resolve, and when Kabuto charges with a kunai, Naruto allows his hand to get impaled by the weapon, effectively trapping Kabuto in position (in the anime Naruto catches the kunai between his fingers cutting his hand on it). He then uses a Kage Bunshin to mold chakra into his free hand, and hits Kabuto with a fully formed Rasengan, which shocks both Tsunade and Orochimaru. The Rasengan was so powerful that even with Kabuto's excellent regeneration ability, there was still too much damage left that Kabuto runs out of chakra and can barely move. However, prior to getting hit by the Rasengan, Kabuto had severed Naruto's arteries leading to the heart, and Naruto will die soon.

Touched by Naruto's resolution, Tsunade vows to heal Naruto (he can't recover himself because the Ky¨±bi's chakra cannot be used if the heart's arteries are cut). Tsunade was able to heal Naruto, but Orochimaru realizes that Naruto has become too powerful, and his only chance to kill Naruto would be right now. Orochimaru lunges at Naruto with the Kusanagi sword, but Tsunade uses her body to shield Naruto multiple times. When Orochimaru questions her actions, she tells Orochimaru that it is because Naruto would be the future Hokage, and then determinedly announcing, " And from today onwards, I too will bet my life to protect the Leaf, because I am the Fifth Hokage!" Tsunade finally overcomes her hemophobia.

Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru all use Kuchiyose no Jutsu, and they summon Katsuyu the Slug, Gamabunta the Frog, and Manda the Snake, respectively. After a little battle between the Summoned Beasts, Tsunade was able to drive Gamabunta's sword down on Manda's mouth, thereby pinning him to the ground. Since Manda cannot move anymore, he leaves. Tsunade then proceeds to beat up Orochimaru with her monstrous strength. Orochimaru admits that this plan failed, but warns Tsunade that he can still revive his arms using another technique, and then leaves with Kabuto.

Tsunade then puts her necklace on Naruto, saying that just once more, she wants to believe.

When Naruto comes back around, the fight is over, and Gamabunta and Katsuyu are gone. Upon hearing that Tsunade had now accepted the title of 5th Hokage, Naruto proceeds to run down the reasons why she wasn't a good choice (and there were quite a few). Annoyed, Tsunade once again challenges Naruto to a fight outside. And once again, she handles Naruto with ease, but instead of flicking him away with a finger, she symbolically plants a kiss on his forehead, like she did with Nawaki and Dan when she gave them the necklace, telling him to "be a good man", and (thinking to herself) an excellent Hokage. With that, Tsunade, Shizune, Jiraiya and Naruto head back to Konoha.

Upon their return, Naruto hears that the village of Konoha must continue their missions. Iruka explains to Naruto (over a cup of ramen, of course) that they must not show other villages that they are weak, so they do as many missions as they did before Orochimaru's invasion, even though their strength has been cut in half.

Tsunade is known as a great medical ninja, and she heals Sasuke and Kakashi of their ailments received during the fight with Itachi. She sees Lee (who was badly injured during his fight with Gaara in the Ch¨±nin Exam preliminary rounds) after persistent nagging from many characters, and tells him that he should discontinue being a ninja. There are fragments of bone in his spine, and the one operation that can be done (and also can only be done by her) has a 50% chance of either curing him or killing him.

Konohamaru, grandson of the Third Hokage, becomes upset at the thought of a new Hokage, especially a girl, and shows his anger by lashing out at his friends (including Naruto) and locking himself in Tsunade's new office. While this occurs, Tsunade is introduced to the large amount of work required of a Hokage, and is reluctant at first, but finds herself oddly interested in Lee's case. Naruto and Konohamaru are walking down the street and they overhear Shizune talking to Tsunade, and they hear the Fifth Hokage state her concern and her motivation to help Lee. This convinces Konohamaru that Tsunade really is a good replacement for his grandfather.

Just minutes before Tsunade is inaugurated as the Fifth Hokage in front of the villagers, Shizune stumbles upon an open book on Tsunade's desk. It shows a series of mathematical equations surrounding a chart of a body. "50%" is written and crossed out, followed by an arrow pointing to a circle, which contains "58%", and Shizune can only smile.

Sasuke Retrieval Arc

Humiliated by Itachi's declaration that he is disappointly "weak" and aware of the fact that Naruto may be his superior, Sasuke challenges Naruto to a fight when Naruto returns to Konoha. They engage in a heated duel on the rooftop of the hospital, where Naruto tells Sasuke that he never considered himself inferior to Sasuke. Kakashi leaps in to stop the fight just when Naruto and Sasuke are about to use their Rasengan and Chidori on each other, deflecting both their attacks into adjacent water towers. While Sasuke's Chidori makes a larger dent on the front of the tower than Naruto's Rasengan, Sasuke is shocked to find that the back of Naruto's water tank had been completely blown out by the power of Rasengan. Sasuke realizes he would have lost the fight and received major injuries if Kakashi didn't stop the fight. This only makes Sasuke even more fearful of the power Naruto had yet to show the world.

Ever since the Ch¨±nin exam and the fight against Gaara of the Sand, Sasuke felt that Naruto had been improving immensely. Naruto only wanted recognition from Sasuke, recognition that he really had gotten stronger. However, Sasuke would never recognize Naruto, because by doing so, he would also have to admit that he is weaker than him. Despite a lecture from Kakashi about the pointlessness of revenge, the appearance of Orochimaru's Sound Four with an offer of greater powers and yet another humiliating pummeling to drive the point home push Sasuke over the edge.

Naruto's influence on Sasuke, though profound, is powerless to prevent Sasuke from deciding to become a missing-nin and leaving Konohagakure to receive training from Orochimaru. Sasuke's decision to leave is the result of a chain of events that rekindles his hatred for his brother and desire to avenge his clan, to do so; he must claim a great amount of power which became the center of his entire life

Ch¨­ji vs. Jir¨­b¨­

A five-man squad was set up by Shikamaru, including himself, Kiba, Naruto, Ch¨­ji, and Neji. They easily catch up to the Sound Four, who were escorting Sasuke to Orochimaru. Strategies were not used; rather, the team split up. The same was on the part of the Sound Four: they dropped people one by one, and Ch¨­ji ended up fighting Jir¨­b¨­ by himself. Using the secret pills of the Akimichi Clan, Ch¨­ji was able to increase his chakra 100 fold and defeat Jir¨­b¨­. However, the pills have an extremely dangerous side-effect, and Ch¨­ji is left in critical condition at the end of the fight.

Neji vs. Kid¨­maru

Next, Neji ends up fighting Kid¨­maru. Kid¨­maru had trouble at short range since Neji's Byakugan and J¨±ken are too powerful to penetrate. Kid¨­maru ends up fighting from long-range, but the battle is locked in a stalemate until Kid¨­maru discovers the Achilles Heel of the Byakugan: that it only has a 359-degree range of vision. Knowing that he will be hit in this area, Neji purposely let Kid¨­maru hit him with a powerful arrow to which Kid¨­maru had affixed a chakra string to ensure accuracy. However, Neji uses the chakra string to use his J¨±ken to damage Kid¨­maru's internal organs. Neji then catches up with Kid¨­maru, and uses J¨±ken to close Kid¨­maru's tenketsu; Kid¨­maru dies shortly after. Neji is left in a critical state after the fight.

The Sand Arrives

Shikamaru is matched up with Tayuya, while Kiba and Akamaru with Sakon and Ukon. Kiba and Akamaru were the underdogs from the get go, with the Level 2 seal being too powerful. Shikamaru, despite all his prowess at strategy, simply cannot kill Tayuya because of her sheer force. Finally, Kiba and Shikamaru are ready to accept their deaths. However, before the finishing strike could be executed, Shikamaru and Kiba are surprised that they are still alive.

They are aided by Temari and Kankur¨­ respectively, who have been ordered to help the Konoha ninja. Since Tayuya used sound, Temari's wind was a natural enemy. Temari was able to kill Tayuya by destroying an entire tract of the forest. Kankur¨­'s puppets are unaffected by Sakon and Ukon's ability to fuse with cells, and Kankur¨­ simply traps Sakon and Ukon inside his puppet Black Ant. Kankur¨­ then uses Karasu to stab them through holes in Black Ant, killing the brothers.

Lee/Gaara vs. Kimimaro

Last, Kimimaro, who is stronger than all four of the Sound Four combined, comes to aid the escort mission. At first, he is faced with Naruto, but even a massive Shadow replication was nothing, since Kimimaro just took them down one by one. Rock Lee then comes to help Naruto, allowing Naruto to chase after Sasuke while Lee fights Kimimaro.

Both Lee and Kimimaro are excellent Taijutsu experts, but Lee just recently got out of his surgery and is not in top shape. Lee drinks some Sake he thought was medicine and becomes intoxicated, and fights with the Drunken Fist style. With this added unpredictability, Lee gains an upper hand against Kimimaro. But Kimimaro uses his Cursed Seal Level One and overpowers Lee, manifesting his horrific ability to use his bones at will. Lee would have been killed had Gaara not arrived in time and used his sand to protect Lee.

Clearly, Kimimaro was at a disadvantage, since Gaara could block all physical attacks, and Kimimaro could only use physical attacks. However, like the Sound Four, Kimimaro could get past Gaara's defense and offense by sheer force. Kimimaro's bones were so tough that they simply forced their way through Gaara's sand. Even Desert Funeral and other crushing forces could not bring down Kimimaro. Kimimaro would have defeated Gaara; but just before Kimimaro could finish Gaara, Kimimaro's terminal illness ended his life.

Naruto vs. Sasuke

Naruto finally catches up with Sasuke. Naruto tries to convince Sasuke that it isn't late to turn back, and not to forget the experiences they had as Team 7. However, Sasuke is unaffected, going full out against Naruto, while at the same time saying he wasn't leaving because everything they did as Team 7 was meaningless, and that he intends to kill Naruto precisely because he is his best friend- which would be the way to attain the Mangeky¨­ Sharingan. Naruto, however, doesn't know what Sasuke means and is deeply upset by Sasuke's words. Sasuke also flashbacks to his life as a child, and why he must go to Orochimaru to fulfill his life's purpose of revenge, which shows him crying as the older brother who he once knew and shared many memories with stands over the bodies of his parents with a bloodied ANBU katana. What made it worse was that Itachi then proceeded to torture his broken and sobbing self with the Mangeky¨­ Sharingan, and show Sasuke his parents getting killed by the person he used to look up to, which is ultimately what made Sasuke betray Konoha in search of power.

Understanding that Sasuke will never return on his own, Naruto vows to bring Sasuke back by force, even if he must break every one of Sasuke's bones. The two of them keep raising the bar, with Sasuke leveling his Sharingan to three tomoe, then Naruto turning into a one-tailed state, and finally, Sasuke powering his Cursed Seal of Heaven to level 2. A Ky¨±bi-powered Naruto and Level-2 Cursed Seal Sasuke face off in a final clash, Chidori vs. Rasengan. The two attacks explode and bathe the two in a blinding white light. For a brief moment, their hands touch, and it shows a scene of Sasuke and Naruto as children smiling at each other, and the special bond they had even though they didn't really meet. Before both are knocked out, Naruto manages to put a scratch on Sasuke's protector (at the same time refuting Sasuke's boast that Naruto wasn't powerful enough to even scratch his forehead, showing that naruto is stronger, and marking Sasuke as a mising-nin) at the same time that Sasuke hits him. Naruto is unconcious with little wounds while Sasuke's left shoulder is in critical condition. Making it to his feet first, Sasuke is tempted to kill the helpless Naruto - his best friend - and thereby obtain the Mangeky¨­ Sharingan. Sasuke, however, realizes that this is exactly what Itachi wants, and refuses to play by his rules. Sasuke vows to become stronger than Itachi his own way: through Orochimaru's powers.

This experience is traumatic to Naruto, not only because he has promised Sakura to bring Sasuke back, but it's the first time he is unable to live up to something he promised to an important person. Unlike Jiraiya, however, who from his own experience with Orochimaru believes that Sasuke is too far gone and that Naruto should forget about him and concentrate on his own survival, Naruto believes that there is hope for Sasuke yet. He tells Sakura that he will, one day, bring Sasuke back to the village and live up to his promise. Sakura then nods, and says determinedly that they'll do it together the next time

END SPOILERS.

god,i think i have carpoultunnel