Welcome to the Village Hidden in the Leaves, where deadly serious ninja roam the land and the seriously mischievous Naruto Uzumaki causes trouble everywhere he goes. But when he steals the ancient scroll of sealing, he unleashes a rare power rarely seen in a 12-year-old boy!

Naruto finally graduates from the Ninja Academy and claims to know it all. Well, at least that's what he tells Konohamaru, the village elder’s pint-size grandson.

On the way to becoming a ninja, Naruto must team up with his classmates, the pretty Sakura and the pretty serious Sasuke, whose only common bond is that they both hate Naruto. So Naruto tries to win Sakura over by pretending to be her life-long crush …Sasuke!

Now that Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura are a team, they meet with their sensei, the enigmatic and aloof Kakashi. He presents to them a survival challenge where only two of them will pass, sending the failing student back to the Ninja Academy! Too bad they don’t know that Kakashi’s never passed anyone…ever!

With the threat of failure hanging over their heads, Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura try everything they know to pass the grueling survival test. But it will take some wise advice from Kakashi to teach these selfish ninja a thing or two about teamwork!

Naruto and his squad start their first ninja missions with boring and menial tasks. Weary and angry, Naruto vents his frustration at the Hokage. Amused by Naruto’s excitement, he gives them a new mission, to protect a grumpy old man named Tazuna as he returns to his home!

Naruto and his squad arrive in the Land of the Waves and learn that an evil businessman named Gato has taken over the land. Zabuza Momochi appears, hired by Gato to kill Tazuna. Excited and ready to attack, Naruto can’t wait to take on this powerful ninja assassin. Will he be up to the challenge?!

Kakashi has the upper hand in his battle with Zabuza. But the tide turns when Kakashi is trapped inside Zabuza’s Water Prison! Kakashi urges the squad to flee, but Naruto remembers the pledge he made--to never run away again--and holds his ground!!

Thanks to Naruto’s ingenious plan, Kakashi is freed from the water prison. He defeats Zabuza, leaving him critically injured. But in the blink of an eye, a mysterious tracking ninja shows up and kills Zabuza before Kakashi can. Naruto is shocked that a boy, not much older than he, was able to defeat Zabuza so easily.

Recuperating at Tazuna’s house, Kakashi is dissatisfied with the outcome of the battle. He concludes that Zabuza isn’t dead and the young tracking ninja helped Zabuza escape! Kakashi decides to implement some interesting training that will allow Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura to better control their chakra!

Sakura goes into town with Tazuna and sees the hardships that the people of the Land of Waves suffer under Gato’s rule. This is the reason Tazuna is risking his life to build a bridge that crosses the ocean. With a bridge that gives everyone access to other lands, people will no longer have to rely on Gato, who controls all imports. Meanwhile, Naruto and Sasuke continue to train, using chakra to climb a tree.

While Naruto concentrates on the training to control his chakra, a mysterious person suddenly appears before him. The person tells Naruto that as long as one has the desire to protect what he loves, there is no limit to becoming stronger. The mysterious figure echoes the sentiment inside Naruto and the two feel a sense of connection.

Once again, the time has come to fight Zabuza, and this time he’s got company--the tracking ninja who supposedly killed him. Zabuza and his companion take notice of Sasuke’s abilities, and Sasuke in turn realizes the immense power that the masked ninja holds. As if they were meant to fight each other, Sasuke and the masked ninja begin to battle.

Sasuke finds himself in a pinch inside of Haku’s Crystal Ice Mirrors, but Naruto comes to the rescue. But Sasuke has a plan to counter Haku's jutsu with attacks from both the inside and outside the Crystal Ice Mirrors, and Naruto’s unexpected action ruins Sasuke’s strategy. Eventually, both young ninja are trapped.

Realizing time is of the essence, Kakashi decides to use the Sharingan once again to defeat Zabuza. But Zabuza is a ninja that has also experienced many killing battles, and from his first encounter with the Sharingan, Zabuza has devised a strategy against it.

Naruto and Sasuke continue to receive punishing attacks from within Haku’s Crystal Ice Mirrors. Naruto can no longer stand on his feet. But during the intense battle, Sasuke starts to realize the power of his own Sharingan and gradually starts to elude Haku’s assault. Haku decides to finish them off immediately. Sasuke is caught off guard by Haku’s action and uses his own body to shield Naruto…

Naruto finally explodes! His anger against Haku, who defeated Sasuke, unleashes the power of the Nine-tailed Fox. Naruto’s chakra becomes so intense that even Kakashi and Zabuza, fighting in the distance, take notice. Haku is unable to do anything in the face of Naruto’s hidden power.

Haku tells the hesitant Naruto to finish him off. Naruto strongly questions Haku’s philosophy of existing only to fight and win. Meanwhile, the battle between Kakashi and Zabuza approaches its climax. Zabuza’s movement is restrained by Kakashi’s Summoning Jutsu. With victory within his grasp, Kakashi unleashes his most devastating maneuver.

Thinking of Haku, Naruto angrily confronts Zabuza. Even though he appears to have no emotions, Zabuza is devastated by the loss of Haku, the only person he could trust in the world. Naruto learns that this kind of cruel reality is indeed the fate of a ninja.

Naruto and his team return to the Village Hidden in the Leaves after their battle in Land of Waves. Even though they complete new missions that are assigned to them, Naruto is not satisfied with the daily routine. But soon he learns that outsiders are gathering in the Leaf Village.