Containing volumes 7, 8 and 9 of Naruto! Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura passed the written portion of the Chûnin Exam, but that was only the beginning! Now in the thick of the exam's second phase, held in the aptly named Forest of Death, instructor Mitarashi Anko has promised to cut the number of advancing teams by half. And a mysterious predator in their midst is after Sasuke! About The Series : Naruto is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Masashi Kishimoto. It tells the story of Naruto Uzumaki, a young ninja who seeks recognition from his peers and dreams of becoming the Hokage, the leader of his village. The story is told in two parts: the first is set in Naruto's pre-teen years, and the second in his teens. About The Author : Masashi Kishimoto was born in 1974 in rural Okayama Prefecture, Japan. Like many kids, he was first inspired to become a manga artist in elementary school when he read Dragon Ball. After spending time in art college, he won the Hop Step Award for new manga artists with his story Karakuri. After considering various genres for his next project, Kishimoto decided on a story steeped in traditional Japanese culture. His first version of Naruto, drawn in 1997, was a one-shot story about fox spirits; his final version, which debuted in Weekly Shonen Jump in 1999, quickly became the most popular ninja manga in the world.