Mission: Help an Old Friend in the Land of Tea

Operating without Kakashi, the three young genin accept a job protecting a youth called Idate as he competes in a footrace that will decide a long standing quarrel between the Wasabi and Wagarashi families. Idate carries a deep dislike of shinobi and clashes with Naruto at nearly every turn. Because the Wasabi side has hired protection for their runner, the rival Wagarashi clan responds by bringing in their own ninja as well. When the contest finally begins, Idate bolts away in completely the wrong direction, leaving everyone around him baffled.

The assignment introduces the escort scenario that frames the whole Land of Tea storyline: a race whose outcome carries the weight of a family feud, a client hostile to the very ninja tasked with keeping him alive, and an opposing team of hired shinobi from the Wagarashi camp shadowing the course. Idate's headlong dash off the expected route sets up the confusion and pursuit that follow, establishing both the stakes of the wager and the friction between the reluctant runner and his young guards.

The episode opens the Land of Tea Escort Mission arc and is an anime original with no manga counterpart. It debuted in Japan on September 22, 2004, and aired in English on August 25, 2007. Several summoning creatures make cameo appearances as carved wooden souvenirs, among them Pakkun, Tonton, Katsuyu, Gamakichi, Manda and Gamabunta. The opening theme is GO!!! and the ending theme is Meteor.