Season: 19

The Chunin Exams finally begin and the proctor for Round One is none other than Shikamaru!

The Hidden Leaf begin preparing for the Chunin Exams. Ino and Choji ask Sakura to join their three-man team as a stand-in for Shikamaru, who is already a chunin.

The story travels back to the time after Sasuke's defection from the Leaf and before Naruto's return from his two-year training journey with Jiraiya.

Sakura and her team continue their trek across the desert towards the goal. Their continuous battles have depleted Sakura's chakra, so they stop to rest. Just then, they encounter a puppet manipulated by a rival team from the Sand and end up being discovered.