Several members of the Wasabi Clan from Tea Country travel to Konoha. On the way, the meet Aoi, a whirlwind ninja, who causes needles to rain down from his magical cloud. He warns them to forfeit the race.
Tsunade gives this B-rank mission to our three genin sans Kakashi who is out on another mission. She believes it might become and A-rank but doesn't know much about it. In Tea Country, there's something called the Burning Fire Race held every 4 years. Messengers were attacked by disqualified opponents on their way to Konoha, so the genin are to talk to Boss Jirocho about the specifics. They should arrive by tonight.
On the way, Naruto decides he's hungry and the three head into a local restaurant where another patron taunts them. He ridicules the quality of Konoha's ninja and then hits on Sakura before heading out of the restaurant. The waitress soon hands the genin two bills - it seems that Morino Idate stiffed his bill.
Furious, the genin catch up with Idate where they learn his sob story. They begin to sympathize until he runs away again. They give up following him and head back to Boss Jirocho's place where they hear more details about their mission.
Every four years, they hold the Todori Burning Fire Race in honor of a man named General Todori, who performed a ritual to control the rain. After his death the tradition continued, though the ritual soon became a marathon race. This friendly event has become violent only recently. There are two clans - the Wasabi clan and the Wagarashi clan - who are now rivals. The Wagarashi Clan is known to pick fights in the streets and it is believed they cheated in the race four years ago. Now, the Wasabi clan believes they will cheat again.
He calls Morino Idate in. Their mission is to escort him during the race to make sure nothing happens to the boy. They accept the mission, though Naruto is not pleased to be protecting the man who ripped him off. Idate isn't happy to have shinobi escorts either. But he will do what he must to run for the sake of the village.
The race starts at Tegarashi port and goes through Modoroki Shrine. The two contestants will start by boat. The sun rises and the race begins. Idate immediately heads north, ignoring his boat, while the Wagarashi runner, Hiyokuya Fukusuke, hops in his boat and takes off.