In Naruto, we watched Hiruzen Sarutobi give his life for the Hidden Leaf as he valiantly locked away Orochimaru’s precious jutsu collection (albeit temporarily). Her fight with Sasori is Sakura's best in the series and the overall highlight of this arc. One of the best parts about this arc is Kishimoto’s intent to establish Sakura as a force on the battlefield. The Kazekage Rescue Mission Arc, beyond being a captivating arc in general, does a fantastic job of highlighting how our favorite members of Team 7 (and a certain sensei) grew during the Timeskip.

Sakura winds up on an approaching Sasori, channeling her year and a half of training with Lady Tsunade (Image via Studio Pierrot) While the opening moments of the first episode provided an answer to that last question (which we wouldn't go back to for another 40+ episodes), there were still the other two questions, and so many more fans wanted answers to. Has Naruto matured at all? Did Sakura's training with Tsunade prove to be more of a waste of time? Is Sasuke still alive? When Shippuden first started, many anime fans were nervous about the potential changes the new series would bring. As far as introductory arcs go, Land of Waves is one of the best and will continue to be so for quite a long time. When you consider the emphasis on how awful the Shinobi World is during Naruto Shippuden, looking back on the relationship Zabuza and Haku had highlighted the tragedy and the occasional beauty of brotherhood found everywhere in the Shinobi World. The iconic Sakura-making-fun-of-an-orphan-in-front-of-an-orphan moment, a masterful establishment of Naruto and Sasuke’s competitive, brotherly relationship via their chakra training and the major fight of this arc, which brings us to the antagonists for this arc, Zabuza and Haku. 1895 The Land of Waves Arc is still one of the best opening arcs in Anime įans might be surprised to see the very first story arc on this list, but it’s easily one of the best in either Naruto parts.

Village hidden in rain