Red Nara

The arena itself was six meters below the stands and contained nothing but trampled sand. But what else should there be, if we were in the middle of the desert and normal greenery was rarely seen here, unlike in the Land of Fire. The stadium itself, the bleachers and the walls with the roof were made of dothon, only the sectors for the rich were a little more comfortable than the stone benches.

The people weren't complaining, but were buzzing in anticipation of the bloody spectacle and the opportunity to check out the strength of young shinobi. For an ordinary person all the techniques and the like look like rumors and exaggerations - hardly an ordinary peasant or craftsman would see more than a dozen chakra users in a peaceful environment, and a battle between them would be unbelievable.

Moreover, in most cases, bystanders either don't have time to notice anything before it's over, or turn into a corpse as a random victim of the showdown. That's why there's so much excitement in Suna, the people have come even to the desert to admire such a spectacle as a shinobi battle.

The chunin stood at several entrances to the circular building and distributed visitors by sectors, sending ordinary spectators to some places and all shinobi to others. We were immediately separated, taking the candidates away to get ready for the tournament, and sending everyone else but me to the shinobi sector.

Sakumo glared at the overzealous chunin and demanded that I be given the room where Konoha's genin would be treated. A kid barely older than me tried to object at first, but the jonin who'd just appeared next to me resolved the situation and led me through a jumble of corridors to a small room with a rather large infirmary ward with plenty of places for the wounded. It was obvious that the people were expecting an influx of customers into their fiefdom.

Looking around at the people in the room, I bowed slightly.

- Ryo Nara, a second-degree iryo-nin," I introduced myself to everyone.

There were four people in the rest room - three men of shinobi age over thirty, wearing the same uniform as we had in the hospital, and one tiny (one and a half meters at most) girl, even younger than me, probably a trainee or the lowest degree.

Actually, from the greeting, except for the name of the latter (Takayami), I didn't remember anyone, because the faces of the men were not particularly memorable, without any distinguishing features, and the color of their hair was hidden by their clothes. However, I don't have to work with them, moreover, the first impression was correct - the small girl is really just learning, and all the iryo-nins have reached only the fourth degree despite their age.

- It's a pleasure, - politely answered Suna, and then inquired, - what bunks can I take for my wards and from where I can watch the fights?

- Take all the ones farthest from the entrance, and the viewing area is down the corridor to the right with a slope down to the arena exit, - said the chief, after a glance with his colleagues.

- Thank you," I nodded and left the room, clearly feeling the dislike of the Iryo-nins.

However, I'm not here to drink tea with them, so I shouldn't pay attention to them. Following the instructions I received, I did indeed find myself on a tiny viewing gallery just below the level of the bleachers, directly across from where the kage's box was located.

I was just in time for the exit of all the participants and the speeches of the four (since none of the Kirigakure had made it through, the Mizukage didn't show up either) kage. While they were making speeches, which I mostly missed, I got a chance to look at each of the mighty bunch in detail, especially since I had only seen pictures of my immediate superior.

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