Masashi Kishimoto

Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura have passed the final test to become junior ninja, but now the real challenge begins. Weary of menial tasks, they request a tougher assignment and find themselves--along with their teacher, Kakashi--bodyguarding a cranky client who winds up the target of elite assassins.

There comes a time in every ninja's training when he must put aside his morals and face the truth: ninjas are tools for killing. With the death of a friend, Naruto finds that time is now.

Naruto will have to summon all of his Nine Tails power if he hopes to stand up against the devastating team of Obito and Madara. Luckily for the Allied Shinobi Forces, the greatest help they could ever wish for is on the way. And when Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura are finally reunited, the whole direction of the war may change dramatically!

Now the school is literally a battlefield! Deep within the Forest of Death, our heroes are still reeling from Orochimaru's attack, and must now battle this unrelenting monster's minions known as the mysterious Sound Ninja. Worse, time is running out for the students to collect the scrolls they need to pass the test.

As he now prepares for the finals of his exams, Naruto studies with naughty new mentor Jiraiya and struggles to harness the special power locked within. Meanwhile, other ninja villages are forming secret alliances.

Still in the thick of their exams, the student ninja unleash their signature techniques as they spar in a series of one-on-one elimination matches.

Naruto finds that his new jutsu is harder to handle than he thought. Meanwhile, Sasuke seems to be falling even more under Orochimaru's spell. Despite all Naruto's efforts, he may have finally lost his best friend forever. But he'll use all his skills as a ninja to keep that from happening!

With Obito dispatched, Naruto and Sasuke need to work together to defeat the powerful Madara, a situation complicated by Naruto's loss of the nine tails fox demon.