With the power of money, we bought a couple of tickets at the last minute.

We were rather far from the center, but our seats also possessed some privacy for ourselves so nobody could hear us by chance, combined with the fact that people were rather loud. But it didn't affect us that much from enjoying the show, it could be considered like a cinema to some degree with so many wide screens at the center and smaller ones.

From my memories spectators had the chance to look at the candidates enter the building where the writing exams would take place, at least that was how Konoha did things but in Suna it surprised me that they slightly bend how things would proceed.

"Usually the exams are divided in three parts, but Suna divided it in two rather than three, starting with the survival phase in their desert." Karin was quick to pick up on my mild confusion and gave a brief explanation.

"So we will only be able to watch faces until the whole phase is over, right?" Suigetsu tilted his head to the side with both arms crossed, which only earned him a hard glare from our redhead.

Karin took a deep breath as she adjusted her glasses. "Yes and No, Suna wanted to make it a spectacle to the viewers, so they installed hidden cameras across the designated area so we, the spectators, can watch it in the stadium or other designated areas."

"That's very different from what I remember from the last Chunin Exams." I commented as the memories from years ago resurfaced in my mind and how things played out differently in the whole mess that was the invasion.

"This macabre show generates profit to the village and Suna needs every profit it can get." Karin added a darker money-making scheme.

"Macabre show?" Juugo finally asked his own question after a long while.

Karin was ready to answer him but Suigetsu was faster than her as he brazenly put an arm around Juugo shoulder pulling him closer.

"Is not that much of a bloody show in my opinion, besides some skirmishes and probably animals dismembering and eating the candidates, everything else is pretty tame."

Juugo looked at him with an expression difficult to put into words, like he was perplexed yet blank and confused of what Suigetsu's message was trying to convey before he released him.

Karin on the other hand sighed in exasperation. "Of course you won't find it up to you 'standards', guy who literally bite off his victims' throats, but in these exams things tend to get really messy."

Suigetsu on the other hand looked at nothing as if he was dozing off before stretching his arms. "Anyway, I will go for a drink."

As he left our group, Karin puffed her cheeks as her eyebrows scrunched together.

My attention quickly shifted to the center where all the display screens are and checked each screen as fast as possible looking for Fu and her team. But it didn't take me long enough to find her team, it was unsurprisingly easy to find the only girl with green hair since most of the other candidates have brown and black hair. And her team was in relative peace moving across the plain desert.

"In the fifth panel from the second row, the girl with green hair, that's who we are looking for." I pointed at the screen.

Karin attention shifted and slightly frowned. "If you didn't tell me she is the Jinchuuriki she would have passed as any kunoichi, I couldn't even feel any demonic chakra in Suna making it almost impossible to differentiate her from the rest."

"Almost?"

She closed her eyes and gave a confident smile. "If I can get close to her and sense her hybrid chakra with that, I am sure I will be able to recognize her chakra at any given distance."

While it was a good thing first, we would need to get close to her and the only chance we would have was at the third phase, but there were other things we could do in the meantime.

"Juugo the birds from the dessert can help you?" I immediately asked our wildlife specialist, his terrain reconnaissance would be very useful in moving across the desert if shit hits the fan.

"There are few, but they can offer help to some degree."

"If possible, have them keep close tabs on her team."

"Look at the First screen!" One guy from the crowd exclaimed out loud as he points at the specific screen where all the eyes landed on.

"Oh, I didn't miss the first blood." Suigetsu came just in time to watch along with us what was catching everyone's attention.

The wide screen broadcasted a genin team, a relative junior genin team, probably around my age, from a minor village in the middle of a fight against two giant scorpions.

Except that they already lost it, as only two remained between the scorpion's pincers while the other fled to who knows where.

"They are literally getting dismembered alive by a giant scorpion." I commented as I watched how the animal used its pincers to cut each limb with ease and stuff it inside its mouth.

"Each country has their own vicious animals, but I can say than being dismembered is better than being eaten alive by a snake and slowly digest in its stomach." Karin shuddered at her own words.

"That's quite detailed." Juugo looked at her, surprised.

"Blame Orochimaru summons, they loved to be around others as people screamed inside their bellies for whatever twisted reason."

"What a twisted sense of humor." Suigetsu spoke out.

She sharply turned and pointed an accusatory finger at him. "YOU are the least indicated to say that."

"Don't make a scene both of you. " And while she was right to point out his hypocrisy, she shouldn't do it in front of such crowd and be loud about it.

Our attention returned to the screens just in time to watch how the scorpion brought the head of a poor bastard closer to the mouth as he desperately struggled in vain hope, since there was no better angle we had no chance to watch the genin dying face.

The crowd cheered as the scorpion close its mouth around the head, splashing blood everywhere, even staining the lens of the camera.

That last scene would fit so perfectly in a 3D movie.

Also, it was enough for me, I didn't want to sit down and watch a gorefest for the rest of the day like a mindless idiot and stuffing my mouth with overpriced snacks and drinks.

After the crowd cheering died down, I stood up from my seat and made way to the stairs.

"Where are you going?" Karin asked.

"I will ask for a permission, and probably a map, to wander Suna outskirts." I answered honestly.

"Why?" Suigetsu asked rather annoyed.

I sighed. "We won't waste an entire week just watching a spectacle and lazing off."

He looked at me with scrunched eyebrows before shrugging and shifting his body with legs stretched for a more comfortable position to watch the show. "As long as I have lots of water I might not complain."

With that said I left them behind as I made my way to the exit and only after I was outside I jumped towards the nearest roof and made haste towards Gaara's office or that was the plan until a couple of Suna shinobi jumped in front of me and demanded me to get down and walk on the road like the rest since only them could move freely inside the village.

With the main show taking place very few were outside and moving across the streets, even the merchants that used to be yesterday weren't in their spots; assuming they moved closer to the stadium to increase profits.

Once I arrived I went directly to his secretary and she said nothing, she simply stood up and opened the door for me.

Inside, she closed it, and Gaara looked up and frowned when he saw me.

"Why have you come this time, Uchiha? I might have tolerated today's transgression, but let me warn you that there is no second time."

His words irked me, but I had to keep my cool. "Then do not spy on me, but that's not why I'm here."

"Then? Speak."

"I need your permission to explore Suna surroundings and a map."

A long silence followed as we started a staring contest between the two for several seconds before he was the first to break away.

"Why should I give you a permission to move as you please?"

"Because I can easily recognize patterns of the Akatsuki which your village forces cannot recognize."

Gaara's eyes widened for a second before he opened a drawer under him and pulled out a piece of paper and placed on his desk.

From my place I could read a couple of words from the document, but those words were enough to find out that he pulled out a permission and only his signature was missing.

However, instead of giving his signature, he slowly placed his pen on his desk right next to the paper and looked at me.

"Before I sign this, first you must share this knowledge with us." He was rather quick to make his demands clear in exchange for what I exactly needed.

He placed such an annoyance in front of me but I wasn't one to budge that easily, if that wasn't true then I would have surrendered when he threatened my entire team to bury us with his sand.

I walked closer and placed both hands to support my upper on his desk, not breaking eye contact with him. "If everyone knows a secret, then is no longer a secret."

My words caused his face to contort into a frown. "So you won't."

I quickly retreat from his desk to take a seat on his chairs and leaning my back for some rest.

"If I find anything out of the ordinary, I will have the decency to directly inform you." I quickly added to significantly defuse the growing tension between us.

Gaara closed his eyes as he took a deep breath and released a long sigh before grabbing his pen.

"That's the least I expect you to do." He quickly signed the document before handing it to me.

"I appreciate your cooperation." I placed it around my belt and made my way out from his office and then his building.

Once outside I was a bit unlucky to go right at the moment when the wind blew with enough strength that lifted the sand from the ground and went directly to my face and invade my eyes. I didn't make a scene, but it was beyond troublesome to deal with the sand blinding my vision for a couple seconds while dealing with the burning pain making my eyes water to somehow numb the itch.

I really hated the desert and Suna.

After recovering I shifted my direction towards the stadium and jumped over a roof to shorten the distance and save time, thanks to that permission if any shinobi were to give me trouble I would only need to show it for them to buzz off just like Tsunade's letter.

But no such occasion passed saving me time and reach the stadium relatively quick, but since it was the stadium a place where many people were gathered I had to follow the rules and enter through the principal entrance before I could go looking for my team in that sea of people.

But again it was quick to spot Juugo's orange hair since he was taller than the average person and they had seats really high.

When I arrived Karin turned to look at me with surprised. "That was quick."

"Come with me, you two can stay but always check the sky."

Suigetsu smiled as he moved his legs and rested them on Karin's seat. "Sure, in the meantime I will watch the show from here."

Juugo on the other hand nodded and shifted his attetion to the screens to watch the show with our swordsman.

Karin said nothing and followed me outside the stadium and to save some time I grabbed her hand and jumped to the nearest roof to led her outside the village, with the burning sun above our heads.

Thankfully, I had a canteen with me, which I occasionally took a sip to keep me refreshed.

"Why did you chose me?" She finally asked as we moved forward. "If we encounter any trouble, I can't guarantee I will be much help like that idiot or Juugo."

I stopped dead in my tracks and slowly looked at her, trying to understand what was going through her head. "You are a powerful sensor, did you forget?"

She looked at me stunned with her mouth hanging open as the realization hit her. "Oh...right. Do you think they will try something now?"

I shook my head in dismissal of the possibility. "I doubt it, it would be counterproductive to strike when so many eyes are on her."

As far as I could remember only Pain dared to directly attack a within the village borders to take a Jinchuuriki since he had the power to do so and Akatsuki were almost out of members.

Even with the different and increased activity, going for a direct attack would draw too much attention on them.

"Even then…that's odd" She sharply turned, looking at the direction of the village.

"What is it?"

She turned and looked at me with concern clear on her face.

"I felt a chakra signature for a moment before it disappeared."

I didn't like the sound of that.

"How can chakra signatures disappear so suddenly?" My knowledge about chakra theory was limited and sensory abilities even less, Karin was the only source for information at the moment and I needed answers.

"Even when somebody dies the chakra slowly dissipates into nothing, so the user must have hidden it there is no other explanation."

Her explanation was reasonable, so that gave me enough information to deduce a possibility from the many that wildly formed.

"Either is Jiraiya or Tayuya."

"Oh, right! They can hide their signatures very well." She indirectly brought up the past events and reason why she did her best to improve her sensory abilities.

Also, because she wanted to impress me, impossible to not know her personal intentions.

"But I'm surprised that Konoha had such fast response, or they were close by chance."

"Since they manage the spy network, they must be in constant movement." I assumed the possibility unless his network was way more connected than I expected.

"Should we go check who it is?" She asked and pointed the direction of where she felt the signal.

"We focus on our first objective, we can later see who is the newcomer." I replied as I resumed my path, going even further into the desert, guided by the map. Besides, returning to the village for something relatively trivial would be a waste of time.

However, before I could continue with our patrol, a powerful explosion was set off, strong enough to even shake my footing while Karin fell on the sand.

I immediately turned at the direction and my eyes caught sight of a growing fume from the distance, the only comparison my mind could come up was if a gas station exploded. "That explosion is far from possible for aspiring chunins."

"Could it be Deidara?!" Karin got up in an instant as she shouted her thoughts.

I considered her words, but I had no time to think more deeply into it, I had to go to the danger zone and check it out for myself to be sure and I was sure that Suna's forces would investigate as well.

"Go back and tell those two to be ready."

I looked at the sight of the growing smoke from afar, despite I couldn't be sure if the responsible was Deidara or not, I needed to check the situation.

"What an interesting turn of events."

My vision went red as I took off.