Rivals

Coming home from the Land of Waves mission, Naruto snaps at Sasuke for acting superior to everyone. Sasuke coolly clarifies that he only considers himself above Naruto and challenges him to surpass that gap if he wants to settle things. The remark stings, and the tension between them frames the exams to come.

The teams that clear the first stage are herded into the Forest of Death, where proctor Anko Mitarashi lays out the rules: each squad holds a Heaven or Earth scroll, must claim the opposite one, and has five days to reach the tower with both. Any incapacitated member, or any peeking at a scroll, spells elimination.

Inside the forest a Kusagakure ninja named Shiore corners Sasuke and Sakura, nearly killing Sasuke and driving him to surrender his scroll. Naruto storms back, blocks Shiore with shuriken, and strikes Sasuke, accusing him of freezing like a coward. Drawing on the Nine-Tails' chakra, Naruto slays the summoned snake and throws Sasuke's old condescending words back at him, stunning the Uchiha into rejoining the fight.

The trio survive the encounter, which turns out to be Orochimaru in disguise, then team up with Kabuto and get ambushed by Team Oboro's layered genjutsu and clone techniques. The tired-looking targets prove to be Naruto and three shadow clones, letting the real team recover in the trees before Naruto knocks all three enemies out with a single strike. Team 7 clears the second round, and Sasuke, rattled by Naruto's improvement, tells Sakura he must fight strong opponents. Kakashi later confirms Sasuke's Lightning Release affinity with litmus paper and resolves to pass down his own signature technique. When the final rounds begin, both boys eagerly declare they want to face each other.

The clip-driven episode uses Assault Rock for its opening and Cascade for its ending. It debuted in Japan on April 12, 2012, and aired in English on September 6, 2014, retelling the Chunin Exams as a study of the pair's competitive bond.