Everything from the Chuunin exams and before were what I thought was the best. It involved a lot of different ninjas with unique abilities and ninja tactics. After the Chuunin exams the shows appeal sort of died down. Don't get me wrong, everything afterwards was good, it's just that the Chuunin exams and before were THAT much better.

After the exams, Naruto beats Gaara, he goes off with Jiraiya to find Tsunade, then he chases Sasuke. Those were pretty much the main plots after that and there wasn't much ninja-like action. It was more of regular fighting, see who can outwit who. Not much ninja tactics being used such as sneaking and all that good ninja stuff you'd like to see.