"Genin Takedown! All Nine Rookies Face Off!" (蹴散らせライバル！新人9人全員集合, Kechirase Raibaru! Rūkī Nain Zenin Shūgō) is episode 23 of the original Naruto anime.
Genin Takedown! All Nine Rookies Face Off! (蹴散らせライバル！新人9人全員集合, Kechirase Raibaru! Rūkī Nain Zenin Shūgō) is episode 23 of the original Naruto anime.
Synopsis
As Kakashi Hatake meets up with his team before they enter the Chūnin Exams hall, he informs them that unless they had all consented to do the exam, they would not have been permitted to take the exam. With that, he wishes them well before departing. Within the hall itself, the Rookie Nine meet up and after apparently getting carried away, Kabuto Yakushi warns them to quiet down as they were seemingly irritating the shinobi around them. Explaining the exams further, Kabuto uses his Ninja Info Cards to give Sasuke Uchiha information on Gaara and Rock Lee. Worrying the Rookie Nine a little with information that the individuals taking the exams were all most likely elites from their respective villages, they are spurred on by Naruto Uzumaki who announces his presence to the rest of the room which is received with annoyance and shock by the other shinobi in the room. Insulted by Kabuto's earlier detailing of the villages who were participating in the exams and how he had discarded Otogakure as a minor village, three Oto-nin attack Kabuto who seemingly dodges the attack only to have his glasses broken and then experience nausea from the attack. Before things could escalate any further, however, Ibiki Morino and his team appear on the scene. With that, the Chūnin Exams begin.
Trivia
- In this episode, a few candidates are wearing forehead protectors from Kumogakure and Kirigakure — despite apparently these villages not having any Genin participating. These forehead protectors occur when Neji is talking with Lee about Naruto (the far middle-left), and when Sakura is strangling Naruto.
