Eveything is back to normal. Naruto is a little disturbed by a strange nightmare, but still maintains his usual self. Sai is now determined to fit in the team, and Konoha, trying to distance himself from the cold emotionless guy he was so far. Sakura wanders by the library and finds him reading books about interaction with people. She asks him to join her and Naruto in their visit to Kakashi, that way he will meet the team leader. Then they meet Naruto, who was sit on a bench, seriously thinking about Sasuke's words of giving up his body to Orochimaru. Their appearance brings him back, and he's surprised to see Sai, as he expected to spend time only with Sakura. She says he should study instead of thinking about dates, and uses a nickname, which according to Sai, implies trust and cherish, in other words, a close relationship (in the original version, Sai notices that Sakura never says Naruto kun, she calls him simply Naruto, because she is close enough to him). So Sai remembers what he read about interactions and asks them advice, Naruto tells him to let the conversations go casually, while Sakura tells he should use nicknames based on attitudes and physical attributes. She makes an example by calling Naruto with names reffering to his naivety, so he thinks she's being harsh. Sai seems to understand, but when she looks at Sakura, he says "thanks for the advice ugly". Naruto is stunned and tries to calm her down when she reacts angrily, but her fury ends up hurting him too. These moments are more comedic, making the storyline softer after some serious episodes. Almost eveything is written for fun, using Naruto and Sakura's personalities and Sai's interest in fitting in. Still, the fact I want to highlight is Sakura's advice for Naruto. She wants him to train his mind, to go to the library more often, and not only train his body. This makes a reference to the episode in Naruto when Iruka mentioned how Naruto is stronger in body, but Sakura has a stronger mind. That's why they complement each other.
Then, they finally go to the hospital to see Kakashi (he stayed there to long), Sai thinks he's a legendary person at the ANBU headquarters. They talk about last mission's result, Naruto says time is running for Sasuke to be taken by Orochimaru. Kakashi is aware so he says that he will train him to develop a new nin jutsu, personal, to make him stronger. He also says that the training will be only for him, Sakura and Sai won't participate. This is the beginning for Naruto's new road for at least 30 episodes. He will learn a new power to combine with the rasengan, but it will have a price. Anyway, as they talk, suddenly Asuma's team interrupt. Shikamaru is glad to see his friends back, but is surprised by Sai's presence, like Choji. They quickly get over the misunderstanding, while Ino tells Sakura about Sai's certain similarity with Sasuke, but her friend tells the truth, from outside maybe but they're nothing alike. Asuma wants to talk to Kakashi in private, so they send their former students for a meal. Naruto protests but Kakashi says that they can't start the training until he leaves the hospital anyway. While the others leave, Shikamaru sneaks out and joins Asuma again, he wants to hear their conversation about the Akatsuki. Asuma tells that the other villages are concerned (Jiraiya warned them), and they think what's going to happen when they arrive looking for Naruto. Kakashi implies that the new training will help. This is another sign for the future. Asuma's worries tell what he and Shikamaru will face in the near future. They want to protect Naruto and the village as well. In the meantime, more comedy is showed given Sai's poor social interaction. Choji introduces himself because Ino insists, but Sai, trying to be kind, almost uses as nickname fat, so Naruto (Sakura also realized the mistake) quickly stops him before he can say the word. He whispers him that the word fat is forbidden in front of Choji, who doesn't realize what happened because Sakura dismisses the situation. When Ino's turn comes, Sai remembers Sakura's angry reaction for what he said, so now, he calls her beauty, the opposite to what he thinks. Naruto is relieved only until he notices Sakura's anger, the inner Sakura wanted Sai to call Ino ugly too. She explodes, and Naruto once again tries to calm her down. Human interactions can be funny when Sai is around. Spoiler ahead, Sai called Ino beauty because he thought the opposite. Useless information: he and Ino end up together, but here he wasn't interested in her. Another wrong pairing, better leave them single or unknown status. A nice detail to finish, Naruto always ends up trying to calm down Sakura, his caring is always there, also, he protected Choji by stoping Sai. If he wasn't loud sometimes, his development as a character would be better. Anyway, seeing all these interactions, the other characters besides the main, serve to complete more the story. This is what a day in Konoha brings in. To finish, there's a brief filler part at the end of the episode, but it's not important.
Then, they finally go to the hospital to see Kakashi (he stayed there to long), Sai thinks he's a legendary person at the ANBU headquarters. They talk about last mission's result, Naruto says time is running for Sasuke to be taken by Orochimaru. Kakashi is aware so he says that he will train him to develop a new nin jutsu, personal, to make him stronger. He also says that the training will be only for him, Sakura and Sai won't participate. This is the beginning for Naruto's new road for at least 30 episodes. He will learn a new power to combine with the rasengan, but it will have a price. Anyway, as they talk, suddenly Asuma's team interrupt. Shikamaru is glad to see his friends back, but is surprised by Sai's presence, like Choji. They quickly get over the misunderstanding, while Ino tells Sakura about Sai's certain similarity with Sasuke, but her friend tells the truth, from outside maybe but they're nothing alike. Asuma wants to talk to Kakashi in private, so they send their former students for a meal. Naruto protests but Kakashi says that they can't start the training until he leaves the hospital anyway. While the others leave, Shikamaru sneaks out and joins Asuma again, he wants to hear their conversation about the Akatsuki. Asuma tells that the other villages are concerned (Jiraiya warned them), and they think what's going to happen when they arrive looking for Naruto. Kakashi implies that the new training will help. This is another sign for the future. Asuma's worries tell what he and Shikamaru will face in the near future. They want to protect Naruto and the village as well. In the meantime, more comedy is showed given Sai's poor social interaction. Choji introduces himself because Ino insists, but Sai, trying to be kind, almost uses as nickname fat, so Naruto (Sakura also realized the mistake) quickly stops him before he can say the word. He whispers him that the word fat is forbidden in front of Choji, who doesn't realize what happened because Sakura dismisses the situation. When Ino's turn comes, Sai remembers Sakura's angry reaction for what he said, so now, he calls her beauty, the opposite to what he thinks. Naruto is relieved only until he notices Sakura's anger, the inner Sakura wanted Sai to call Ino ugly too. She explodes, and Naruto once again tries to calm her down. Human interactions can be funny when Sai is around. Spoiler ahead, Sai called Ino beauty because he thought the opposite. Useless information: he and Ino end up together, but here he wasn't interested in her. Another wrong pairing, better leave them single or unknown status. A nice detail to finish, Naruto always ends up trying to calm down Sakura, his caring is always there, also, he protected Choji by stoping Sai. If he wasn't loud sometimes, his development as a character would be better. Anyway, seeing all these interactions, the other characters besides the main, serve to complete more the story. This is what a day in Konoha brings in. To finish, there's a brief filler part at the end of the episode, but it's not important.
