We open outside Room 301, and since Kakashi's here, it must be the real 301. He's suprised Sakura's come. Turns out that you have to be a three-man squad to get into the Exam, and if Sakura had played by her standard operating procedure (i.e., tagged along because of Sasuke) then her heart wouldn't have been in it and the team would be starting off in the hole. Kakashi's glad they all came of their own free will, and he's proud of them. Nice scene. Squad Seven's taken aback by the Chunin turnout, and none of 'em look like slouches. Ino pounces Sasuke in a bold flanking maneuver, much to Sakura's ire. She thrusts with an 'Ino-Pig' but gets a devastating 'Billboard-Brow' in response. Hah! Shikamaru (bellyaching idiot) and Choji (fat idiot) join Ino (Sasuke-crazy idiot). We're not done with new characters, though - Hinata (gloomy and shy, which explains crushing on Naruto of all people), Kiba and Akamaru (the former louder than Naruto(!!!) and the latter his adorable ninja dog), and Shino (an enigma with glasses). Shikamaru's irritated they're all here, probably because it means more teams and thus more work for him. Sasuke and Kiba brag a bit, and Hyuga bashfully apologizes for Kiba. Choji eyes up Akamaru for a snack, but he's blocked by Shino before Choji can step on a bug. Shino: "Don't step on it." Choji: "Why? You gonna eat that?" Heh.
The shenanigans are put on hold by a new arrival, a silver-haired kid from Leaf Village named Kabuto, chastises them for acting their age. He might have a point, as it's clear the Rookie Nine are the young punks, and they're not exactly made to feel welcome. It's Kabuto's seventh time through the exam, and wants them to know how rough it's going to be. Shikamaru bellyaches even more. Kabuto takes pity on the Nine and has Ninja Info Cards - special cards you need Chakra to use them. Kabuto's Chakra. The example he shows us has 72 people from Leaf Village, but only 3 from Sound Village. The Exam is technically used in such a way that everybody becomes friends, but in reality it comes off as something like Cold War-era saber-rattling. "My nation's ninjas are stronger than yours, so you just think twice about any funny ideas." Intriguing! Sasuke asks after a certain sand-based dead-eyed kid and a bushy-browed contestant from his own village. Naruto: "I don't know what's going on, so I'll just pretend like I do." Heh! Rock Lee's first up - a year older than the Nine, completed a good number of missions, and as we saw last episode, badass with Taijutsu. His squad also has Tenten )knife girl) and Neji (Hinata's brother/relative). Gaara's next, and while they have no real info on him, he still comes off as hardcore, pulling down B-ranked missions while a Genin.
Outside, Kakashi flashbacks to Guy saying he post-poned his own team taking the test last year so they'd be strong this year, though the Copy Ninja says it won't be long before Squad Seven overtakes them. Naruto look like he's starting to stress over the level of competition in the tournament, so Sakura tries to cheer him up, but she doesn't know our boy that well. He's not upset, he's excited as all get-out, loudly announcing his name to everybody in the room. Awesome. Ino, less used to Naruto than most, flips out on Sakura but doesn't exactly find anything like support when she does so. Sasuke and Kabuto are impressed, probably despite themselves. The Sound Village ninjas act all sinister. To stifle any further outbreaks, Sakura puts Naruto in a chokehold and helpfully explains Naruto doesn't mean anything by that, he's just stupid.
The Sound Shinobi make their move, literally, dashing to and fro about the room. One lobs kunai at Kabuto, but it's just a feint for Dosu take a swing at him. Kabuto ducks, but his glasses come away shattered anyway. It's been a while since anyone threw up on the show, so Kabuto obliges us. The Sound goons apparently have sonic jutsu, which is pretty cool. The Sound Villagers feel smug about aking down the Leaf Village's resident stat-gatherer, and everybody else is baffled by their stunt. Ibiki Morino, head proctor for the first Exam, shows up before things can get even more out of hand.
Next Episode: The written portion!
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