"Surviving the Cut! The Rookie Nine Together Again!" ends the second exam with Naruto's team walking into the temple and opening the scrolls. And who should be there to greet them but their old teacher from the academy, Iruka. Here he tells the troop that a major part of becoming a shin-obi and a chunin is knowing what your strengths and weaknesses are and knowing which aspect you should focus on more. For instance, since Naruto has a lot of potential, but lacks book knowledge, he should work harder on culminating his strategic and analytical skills. This is different from Sakura, who isn't the strongest character, but is typically the smartest. "Surviving the Cut!" concludes with all 21 genin who passed the second test finding out that they need to compete in preliminary fights before they are allowed to move on to the final exam.
"Narrowing the Field; Sudden Death Elimination!" starts off a two-part fight between Sasuke and one of the minor characters from the show. This normally wouldn't be a problem for Sasuke, but when Kakashi tells him that he can't use his Sharingan, he finds himself in a bind. Kakashi has forbidden Sasuke from using his birth-right and most powerful ability because it will reactivate the curse mark that Orochimaru has placed on the young Uchiha.
Sasuke's fight culminates in the next episode, "Bushy Brow's Jealousy -- Lions Barrage Unleashed!", where he unleashes a new attack borrowed from Rock Lee. With the fight over, Kakashi takes Sasuke away and attempts to seal the curse mark before it does any more damage, but who should arrive when Kakashi is performing this crucial task? Orochimaru himself.
In the last episode on this disc, "Kakashi and Orochimaru: Face-to-Face", two events happen. On one side, Kakashi is attempting to keep Orochimaru from taking Sasuke and vows to defend the young shin-obi with his life. On the other side and back in the preliminary arena, Shino faces off against one of the sound ninja. Here we get to see just how well Shino's control over insects is and how effectively he can use them in a battle.
The 10th volume of Naruto is a nice transition between the second and third exams and it really helps to build up the events that lead to the final exam, as well as all the destruction that comes with that event. While these episodes aren't necessarily the best in the series, they are all important in the upcoming battles.
