Episode Summaries

Kakashi evades Sasuke's attack with the Body Replacement Technique. After revealing his position, Sasuke moves out to avoid being found by Kakashi. A worried Sakura runs off to find Sasuke, only to be caught by Kakashi's genjutsu that makes her believe that Sasuke is seriously injured, which causes her to scream and faint. Sasuke confronts Kakashi and forces him to stop reading Icha Icha and use both hands to defend against his string of taijutsu attacks. Sasuke then launches a giant fireball at Kakashi, which the jōnin manages to avoid by burrowing underground before dragging Sasuke down, leaving only his head to be seen.

Naruto manages to free himself from the tree he was hanging from and spots the food for lunch. Before he can try to snag a bite, Kakashi appears and ties him to a tree post. Elsewhere, Sakura wakes up and goes to look for Sasuke, whom she believes is still injured. She finds him buried from the neck down and comes to the conclusion that he was decapitated, before fainting again. Sasuke manages to free himself and awakens Sakura, who is relieved to see he is unharmed. Despite time running out, Sasuke is still set on getting a bell, informing Sakura that he came close to doing so. Knowing that she is not capable of getting a bell and worried that she'll be separated from Sasuke if he does, Sakura tries to convince him to give up and try next year. Sasuke dismisses the idea, explaining that he is an avenger and doesn't need any setbacks. However, just then, the timer for the exercise goes off.

Kakashi meets with the three genin and tells them that he won't be sending them back to the Academy. Naruto and Sakura share in the happy news until Kakashi goes on to say that they will be dropped from being a ninja permanently. Naruto is outraged and demands an explanation, and Kakashi explains that they don't think like ninja, thinking more like "little kids". Sasuke then charges at Kakashi, but is easily restrained. Kakashi further explains that teamwork was the key in retrieving a bell, and notes that each of them were so self-entitled throughout the challenge: Naruto recklessly tried to face a foe who clearly outmatched him alone without even a real plan, Sakura focused all her interest on Sasuke while making no effort to help Naruto when she was able to do so, and Sasuke arrogantly believed his teammates were a burden to him and that he would only focus on himself. After showing them Konoha's Memorial Stone, Kakashi decides to give them another chance. Kakashi tells Sasuke and Sakura to eat lunch and replenish their energy; however, since Naruto broke the rules and tried to eat before the test was complete, he is forced to remain tied to the post and watch. Before he leaves, Kakashi warns them that if they feed Naruto, they will immediately fail.

After Kakashi leaves, Sasuke and Sakura begin eating their food, while Naruto's stomach growls of hunger. Sasuke decides to share his food with Naruto, stating that since they have to retrieve the bells as a team, he needs Naruto to operate at good strength, which Naruto cannot do if he is hungry. Sakura hesitates, but decides to share her food as well, stating that she is on a diet and eats less than Sasuke. As Sasuke resumes eating his food, Sakura is forced to feed Naruto since his arms are tied. Kakashi then suddenly appears and tells them that they will be punished for not breaking his rules. However, Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura band together to state that they are a team, and to their surprise, are rewarded with Kakashi stating they have passed. He explains that those who break the rules are considered scum, but those who abandon their friends are even worse than scum. He notifies the they are the only team he has passed, since they were the only ones to realize that breaking rules to help your friends is necessary whereas his previous students merely followed his orders. Kakashi tells them to go home and that they will have their first mission together; as Kakashi, Sasuke and Sakura leaves, Naruto yells at them to free him from the tree post.