The Invasion of Konoha Arc is the fourth story arc in the Naruto series.
Arc Length: Chapters 116-138
Short Summary
Continuing on from the Chunin Exams Arc. Orochimaru, whose been lurking in the shadows during the exam, makes his move to destroy the village with the help of the Sand Village in the midst of Sasuke's match against Gaara. While the Konoha ninjas fight to repel the invasion and the Third Hokage battles against Orochimaru. Team 7 is tasked to go after Gaara and his siblings who are trying to escape before Gaara releases the tailed beast within him.
Long Summary
The Invasion of Konoha Arc has the following tropes
- Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever: Gaara's Shukaku vs Gamabunta.
- Big Damn Heroes:
- Asuma in saving Shikamaru from a few Sound Ninja.
- Naruto saving Sasuke from Gaara.
- Bittersweet Ending: The village manages to beat back Orochimaru's invasion but their Hokage, Sarutobi, dies in battle. Also, due to the exams being interrupted, nobody save Shikamaru ends being promoted to Chunin.
- Darker and Edgier: With most of Gaara's past shown of what led to him and war breaking out ending in Hiruzen's death, it does qualify for this trope.
- Double Knockout: Kankuro vs. Shino. Shino's bugs swarm Kankuro and suck him dry of his chakra until he can't move, but Shino collapses immediately after this thanks to Kankuro's poison.
- Go Through Me: Attempted by Sakura for Sasuke; when Gaara moves in to finish off Sasuke, who is injured and too weak to move, Sakura jumps between them—wielding a kunai and sporting a huge Death Glare—to protect him. Unfortunately for her, Gaara just slams her against a tree, pins her there, and knocks her out, but this does save Sasuke, as it buys enough time for Naruto to get there.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Sarutobi does this by taking away Orochimaru's arms which prevent him from doing any jutsu. This is enough for Orochimaru to order a full retreat from the invasion.
- Normal Fish in a Tiny Pond: The Shukaku is officially the weakest Bijuu. Unfortunately for Naruto, he is still a Bijuu, so he could perfectly destroy Konoha if he wanted to, and the only reason why Gamabunta has a chance against him is because he is not at 100% of his power.
- "Not So Different" Remark: Naruto sympathizes with Gaara as he realizes he had the same rough childhood he had.
- Race Against the Clock: When Gaara pins Sakura to a tree with his power, he explains the binding around her will continue to crush her unless he's beaten, putting more urgency into Naruto's fight against him.
- Shadow Archetype: Gaara to Naruto as he notices that he could've turned out the same way if Iruka hadn't steered him off the path.
- Taking You with Me: Attempted by Sarutobi against Orochimaru, but he doesn't have enough strength to do the jutsu and has to settle for taking away his arms.
- Unwitting Pawn: The Sand Village as it's later revealed that Orochimaru had killed their original leader and took his place, manipulating them into helping to attack the Leaf Village.
- Use Your Head: As Naruto rushes Gaara to stop the One-Tail Beast from completely awakening, Gaara attempts to stop him with his sand, binding his hands and legs. Naruto counters with a headbutt.
- Villainous Breakdown: Gaara as Naruto starts gaining ground on him. So much so he completely goes One-Winged Angel just to gain the edge. And once Naruto actually beats him, he sees an exhausted but still determined Naruto crawling by nothing but his chin alone. Gaara, who through most of the arc scared the crap out of everyone, pleads for him to stay away.
