It's quite hard to decide what my favorite arc in the entire Naruto series (Naruto + Naruto Shippuden) is since there's a lot of arcs that are really great but overall I think I have to go with the one that got me into watching Naruto in the first place and that would be the "Chunin Exam" arc (Episode 20 - 67). This arc for me expanded and explored a whole variety of characters with their own teams like Team 3, 8, and 10, and not to mention we get introduced to Gaara of the Sand (also gave us a look at what other ninjas from other villages looked like). Furthermore, it also introduced us to Orochimaru, that conspired and initiated the next arc after this known as the "Konoha Crush" arc. Before this arc, we had the "Prologue - The Land of Waves" arc. In that arc, we were shown that Team 7 had apparently been tricked by Tazuna (The Bridge Builder) into taking a C-Rank Mission but was actually classified B or even A rank when the Demon Brothers (Gozu and Meizu, both Chunin that defected from the Hidden Mist Village to work as mercenaries) appeared to assassinate Tazuna, which Kakashi pretended to be killed by them just to later appear and instantly K.O. them both with one swing! This mission was further escalated into an S-Rank mission when Zabuza suddenly appeared to assassinate Tazuna after the failure of the Demon Brothers. Zabuza was given the title of "Demon of the Hidden Mist" due to past as a child where he cruelly and ruthlessly killed every candidate in the Hidden Mist Academy and also having strong chakra that could be visibly seen and has been sighted to manifest into a demon hence the name of the title. He was also one of the "Seven Swordsmen of the Mist" which were revered to be the highest ranked swordsmen in their village. Zabuza could carry the famed "Beheading Sword" and swing with it ease for a very long period of time without strain, something even Suigetsu Hozuki could not do in the later parts of the series. Zabuza also stated himself, boasting that his sword "does not cut twice", implying he kills his target with one swing. Kakashi, touted to have copied over 1000 jutsus has been given the title of "Copy Ninja" and/or "Kakashi of the Sharingan" (Sharingan translates to Copy Wheel Eye). At this point in time, Kakashi was already an elite jounin that had served in the ANBU and was the son of Konoha's White Fang. Zabuza and Kakashi fought and unfortunately Zabuza gained the upperhand at one point and was able to trap Kakashi in his Water Prison Jutsu. Normally, this would have already doomed Team 7 and Tazuna, but Naruto and Sasuke hatched a plan and executed it perfectly to free Kakashi. Two Genin level ninjas was able to catch a wanted S-Ranked Rogue ninja off guard!

Now, let's fast forward to the Chunin Exam arc. Upon arriving into their destination, Team 7 had an encounter with Rock Lee whom insisted to fight Sasuke Uchiha. Sasuke, who graduated at the top of his class in the academy, and had recently awakened his Stage Two Tomoe Sharingan from his fight with Haku in the previous arc, was defeated by Rock Lee with ease. Prior to the fight, Lee had just made a fool of Naruto with one swift movement. We also get to see Lee's team later, Team 3, which has Neji, a prodigy in the Hyuga Clan, praised as a "Genius", a taijutsu expert along with Lee, and Tenten, a weaponry expert. Then we get to meet Team 8, a team specializing in hunting and tracking, consisting of Hinata , a former Heiress of the Hyuga Clan, Kiba, a member of the Inuzuka clan known to use Ninja Dogs, and Shino, a member of the Aburame Clan, one of the four noble clans in Konoha, known for their hidden jutsus that use insects. Then there's Team 10, the Ino-Shika-Cho formation, formed through numerous generations by the strength and unity of 3 clans in Konoha which are the Yamanaka Clan, the Nara Clan, and the Akimichi Clan. Together, these 3 clans have one of the best teamwork. The team consists of Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji. Then there's Gaara, who was actually the host of the One-Tailed Beast, Shukaku. Now, onto Part 1 of the Chunin Exam, the first part of the written exam was not designed for genins to answer, the participants had to get the answers with any means they could without getting caught. But wait! the final part was a do or die question and Naruto took the risk and got it right, thus passing the the first part of the test without answering the first 9 questions! Now we head to part 2, the Forest of Death, where each team has a scroll of either Earth or Heaven, and to pass, the team needs both scrolls when they reach the center. In this part we get to see the dangers of what it really takes to become chunin, even if its the expense of your life! Due to such a high number of teams that passed part 2 of the exam, it was suddenly decided that they have a preliminary exam to further eliminate more teams. Here, we get to see them have to go 1 on 1, and of course, the ever legendary Lee VS Gaara fight. Finally, we get to the Finals, where only the best of the best remains, and even if you manage to win, it does not mean you get promoted to chunin. This goes to show how hard it is to become chunin. I love this arc for all the new characters that was introduced to us, for all the incredible fights it gave us, the lessons it taught us, and its boldness to show us things like death and consequences unlike other shows who shy away from it!

(999 words)

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