These episodes feature not one, but two large scale battles as both Gai and Kakashi’s teams encounter Akatsuki members. Gai’s non-stop memory ‘jokes’ are hilarious, and it’s always fun to watch the over the top taijutsu “DYNAMIC ACTION”. That weird sword kick trick was especially awesome, and with Lee, TenTen, and Neji as backup — it’s hard not to love that team. They may not be the series stars, but they’re all fun to watch.
Kakashi’s team does considerably less against Sasuke’s older brother. I’d call it a staring contest, but it’s not even that. Kakashi may be seriously cool, but with Naruto, Sakura, and an old lady? I don’t expect very much. Hopefully the next episode will get somewhere, but it looks like it’s going to be another ‘Naruto fails to understand even basic ninja techniques he just heard explained a few minutes ago’ episodes.
Of course, Itachi is a much more powerful ninja than his partner from the Hidden Village of the Mist. When we first see them in Konoha, all of the hard work is done by Itachi.