Hit it or Quit it: The Final Rounds Get Complicated!

Genma declares Naruto the winner, and the crowd reels at how the boy drew on the Nine-Tailed Fox's chakra at will, a feat that catches even Asuma, Kurenai, and the Third Hokage off guard. Sakura, watching her teammate's growth, resolves to become stronger herself. As medics carry the injured Neji away, Hiashi Hyuga asks for a private moment and hands his nephew a scroll written in his late father Hizashi's hand. The scroll lays bare the truth of the Hyuga Affair, revealing that Hizashi chose to die in his brother's place of his own free will, not out of duty to the main house but to protect his brother and their village.

Overcome, Hiashi bows his head and begs Neji's forgiveness, and Neji, asking him to rise, declares that his new goal is simply to grow stronger. The tournament, meanwhile, hits a snag when Sasuke fails to appear for his match against Gaara.

Amid mounting complaints over the missing Uchiha, the Third Hokage moves to disqualify Sasuke, only for the man posing as the Fourth Kazekage to point out that leaders and feudal lords from many lands have gathered specifically to watch the last surviving Uchiha face Suna's Gaara. Swayed, the Third agrees to postpone the bout. Kankuro's match is brought forward instead, but he forfeits against Shino rather than expose the secrets of his puppet Karasu, handing Shino the win by default. With that withdrawal, the stage is set for the next contest between Temari and Shikamaru.

This episode is part of the Chunin Exams arc of the first Naruto series and adapts chapters 105 and 106. It aired in Japan on December 17, 2003, and in English on November 25, 2006. The anime alters the manga scene so that Hiashi first gives Neji the scroll before begging forgiveness, and small animation errors briefly remove Naruto's whisker marks and change the color of Kurenai's outfit pattern. The opening theme is Turning Sadness Into Kindness and the ending theme is Viva Rock: Japanese Side.