Naruto Uncut Boxed Set, Volume 6

As the hit fantasy-adventure Naruto continues, Sasuke must face Gaara in the final round of the Chunin Exams, a match that has a greater significance than either participant realizes. The students face off while Sand and Wind ninja attack the Hidden Leaf Village. The attack has been planned by the evil Orochimaru, who was once a student of the Lord Hokage of the Leaf Village. The fight between Sasuke and Gaara, who repeatedly proclaims he lives only to kill, is an essential part of Orochimaru's scheme: he hopes to take over Sasuke's body and keep himself perennially young, using a forbidden jutsu (magical technique). But Sasuke overcomes Gaara's clouds of enchanted sand and wounds his psychopathic foe. Other students from the Sand Village spirit Gaara away, with Sasuke in pursuit; Kakashi-sensei summons up Pakkun, the ninja dog, and tells him to lead Naruto and Sakura to Sasuke. Between battles, the filmmakers offer flashbacks of the lonely, bitter childhood that warped Gaara's personality. Naruto, who was also rejected as a child, understands what Gaara suffered, but he's reduced to a minor player in these episodes. Volume 6 ranks as the darkest and least comic installment to date in the saga of Naruto Uzumaki. (Rated T+ Older Teen; suitable for ages 12 and older: violence, toilet humor, grotesque imagery) --Charles Solomon