Chapter 46: "The Codeword is...

" – Deception and trickery

come into play as people transform into other teammates to try
and steal scrolls. Sasuke and Sakura fend off a poor copy of
Naruto, then set a password which Naruto forgets. As another
separation occurs, the false Naruto gives himself away, revealing
himself as a Grass ninja that challenges all three of them alone.

Chapter 47: "Predator" –

Naruto barely escapes a huge
snake’s belly. Sasuke and
Sakura contend with the Grass
ninja, who seems to be two
steps ahead of each of them
and controls another huge
snake, even possessing a
snake-like body. At the last
moment, Naruto shows up
with a grand entrance to
distract the snake-man.

Chapter 48: "The Purpose is" – Sasuke tries to negotiate

with the snake-man, but Naruto refuses to back down, enraged
to the point of going berserk with the monstrous fox’s chakra
emerging again. After once again dodging being eaten, Naruto
manages to take down the biggest snake summoned yet right in
front of Sasuke.

Chapter 49: "Orochimaru" –

Introduces Orochimaru. Anko
is alerted that prior to the
exam, foul play took the lives
and even faces of three Grass
ninjas. The one currently
battling the team is someone
from Anko’s past. Naruto's
Kyuubi chakra is disabled by
the snake-impostor’s sealing,
while Sasuke makes a stand.
His skills impress the Grass
ninja, who leaves him with a
different seal and a name to
follow.

Chapter 50: "I Must..." –

With Sasuke and Naruto
completely incapacitated,
Sakura cries in desperation.
Anko arrives with the intent to
kill Orochimaru, her former
sensei and mentor who used
and discarded her, but fails. He
reveals his plans; to eventually
start a war with and steal
strong ninjas from Hidden
Leaf. Leaving Anko to retreat
with a heavy threat, three of
his new pupils close in on the
team...

Chapter 51: "The Beautiful

Beast" – Introduces Dosu and
Zaku. Sakura grows weak
protecting her friends and
surviving. As the Sound Trio
approach, she is threatened
but before they grow close to
their target, Sasuke, they are
knocked back by Sakura’s self-
appointed protector, Rock
Lee.br>

Chapter 52: "Condition of

Usage" – Lee digs deep into
his bag of tricks and uses a
forbidden move, the Omote
Renge (Front Lotus), to protect
Sakura. However, his numbers
disadvantage against the
Sound Trio soon causes
problems as they gang up on
him.
Chapter 53: "Sakura's
Decision" – The Sound Trio
reveal their use of air
vibrations as their weapons.
Sakura is held by her hair as
Lee is also taken out. After a
hard choice, Sakura cuts her
hair to free herself, spoiling
her best physical feature to
ensure the safety of Sasuke,
Naruto and Lee.

Chapter 54: "Sakura and

Ino" – Introduces Kin. Sakura
tries her most desperate
moves against Zaku but still
fails to defeat him. Ino comes
to save her childhood friend
and rival along with her team
after being unable to stomach
seeing her take such a harsh
beating.