Episode Summaries

Team 7 is on a motorboat, owned by Kaji, headed towards the Land of Waves. Kakashi threatens to abandon the mission if Tazuna does not provide an adequate explanation for lying about the mission's difficulty level. He tells them that an extremely wealthy businessman called Gatō was responsible for his country's struggles, and could not afford any high ranked missions. Later as they are walking, Kakashi suddenly tells everyone to duck just before a giant sword spins over them, and a ninja appears on the handle of it. The ninja identifies himself to be Zabuza Momochi, a missing-nin from Kirigakure. He demands to have Tazuna, to which Kakashi refuses.

Kakashi’s forced to use his Sharingan, and Sasuke immediately recognises it, explaining along with Zabuza, that Sharingan is a dōjutsu that can immediately see and anticipate all ninjutsu and genjutsu. Sasuke’s confused though, as only members of his clan wielded it. Zabuza then summons a thick veil of mist, and Kakashi informs his team to protect Tazuna. The tension between the two jōnin causes Sasuke to have a panic attack, but Kakashi is able to calm him down. Zabuza prepares to strike the group with his sword, but Kakashi races toward them just in time. He stabs Zabuza with his kunai, but it’s revealed he merely used a water clone. In turn, Zabuza slices Kakashi in half, who also turns out to be a clone. Appearing behind him, Kakashi catches Zabuza off guard, holding a kunai to his throat.