In Naruto's Footsteps: The Friends' Paths

Covering episodes 394 to 413 of Naruto: Shippuden, this flashback storyline unfolds after Sasuke's defection and while Naruto trains under Jiraiya, slotting into the middle of the Birth of the Ten-Tails' Jinchuriki. Tsunade and the newly named Kazekage Gaara agree to co-host fresh Chunin Exams, the first stage in Konoha and the second in Sunagakure, each leader pursuing a hidden aim of their own.

Tsunade hopes the event will draw Akatsuki out of hiding, while Gaara means to expose the rebels scheming against him; invitations to the other villages are all refused, and Kakashi's attempt to reach Hanzo in Amegakure meets only a disguised Konan. The written first stage, overseen by Shikamaru, weeds out teams by a scoring trick before the survivors travel to Suna's Demon Desert to hunt for matching Heaven and Earth scrolls. Among the standout clashes, Lee crosses fists with Shira, a Suna genin who, like him, cannot use ninjutsu or genjutsu, and the two battle to a hard-won mutual respect. Team Kurenai outwits the deceptive Team Kazami, Team Guy and the Ame kunoichi Ajisai forge an uneasy truce to survive collapsing ruins, and Ino, Sakura, and Choji weather ambush after ambush while reflecting on how far each has grown.

The exam's true danger emerges when Gaara, quietly noting how much the Taki jinchuriki Fu resembles Naruto, becomes the target of an assassination plot. The priest Hoichi animates his victims' shadows and latches a sealing technique onto Shukaku to draw the beast out, unaware that Gaara no longer carries it, then turns the same drain on Fu when she rushes to help. Neji leads a mixed group of Konoha and Suna genin to the rescue, piercing the chakra cocoon and halting the absorption before Gaara spares the defeated priest.

With his rescue exposing the failed coup, Gaara confronts the shamed conspirator Fugi, whose realisation of how wrongly he judged the Kazekage drives him to take his own life. Because of the unrest inside the village, Gaara cancels the final stage, leaving promotions to each home village based on detailed reports. Ajisai's team is elevated by Konan only to be sent to its death on an S-rank job, and Fu and her comrades are ambushed by Hidan and Kakuzu.

In Konoha, Tsunade promotes Kiba, Shino, Hinata, Sakura, Choji, and Ino to chunin, along with Lee and Tenten despite their failed scroll hunt, while Neji earns a double promotion to jonin for saving the Kazekage. As the exams close, Naruto and Jiraiya finish their training abroad and begin the journey home.