Third Person's POV;

A few month passed since Kurama's evolution into the ten tailed fox and with it the construction of her body. Dexter and Kurama were now married and Kurama a figure head of being a wife to her husband. At least the citizen of Uzu saw her as such. She herself was more annoyed by all the attention she got and only tried to spent more time with her Dexter.

But Dexter was still the Uzukage and there were duties linked into this title. One of such a duty was it to attend the finals of a Chunin exam that has a Genin team of one's own village in it.

And it just so happened that Uzu had such a team in the Chunin exam that was taking place in Sunagakure.

It was by this reason that Dexter walked through the desert of Suna. His mother as an ANBU guard at one side, his wife on the other. Mikoto was also with them and was walking next to Kurama.

Both Dexter and Kurama had their tails out, Kurama was also showing her ears. This wasn't possible for Dexter, thanks to the traditional Kage robes.

“I hate the desert”, complained Dexter for the fifth time in two minutes. He has started to complain sometime during the last hour and the others were quite annoyed by it.

“Then just let it rain, shouldn't be such a problem”, proposed Kurama. She had no problems with the sun, but Dexter said that he always disliked the sun. Something that he kept from his first life.

“Make it rain? Do you know how much Chakra that would cost?”, asked Kushina with a raised eyebrow that was hidden by her ANBU mask.

“Not enough to even be noticed by him”, answered Kurama with a shrug. Both Mikoto and Kushina looked at Kurama as if she had sprouted a second head.

“Hmm, you're right dear. Then let me make it rain!”, said Dexter with a sagely nod. He let his Rinne-Sharingan flare and a quick manipulation of the weather created a cloud over them that let down copious amounts of rain.

“I hate rain”, complained Kushina now. The rain was strong enough to create a small river behind them, the sand was simply not able to absorb it. It rained as heavily as in a strong monsoon and, Dexter's grin to judge after, would not stop for the foreseeable future.

“Really? I think it feels refreshing. The sun is hot enough to make the rain cool but not cold and you can always step out of it, you know?”, said Mikoto in a happy and refreshed tone. She was really enjoying the rain.

“Yep, the cloud is only five-meter or so in diameter, you can step out”, agreed Dexter. He was also fond of the rain and was holding the hand of his wife. There is nothing better than a walk in the rain with your wife.

“No, I am on duty”, grumbled Kushina. She would not leave her place during a mission, even if her target to protect does not need protection. She glanced over at the happy couple and looked back on their wedding.

They had two weddings, one was large and political with a lot of foreign guests. It took place in Wave and was anything but romantic. It was also a duty as a Kage to hold a grand wedding. Kurama was not amused by all the spittle licker and or arrogant lord and ladies. She quickly excused herself under the disguise that she didn't feel well. This left Dexter to the hyenas and the poor Uzukage had to speak politician for half a day.

The other wedding was way better. It was still a city-wide festival but their friends were there, they did not have to be so formal and Dan, the most favorite chef of Dexter, was showing why he was so well liked by the chicken gourmet.

Dexter had no male friends and Kurama no female ones, so there was no best man nor a bridesmaid. They did also not exchange rings. Both of them just swore to be together forever. Some questioned the phrase and asked why they did not say until death does them part. They answered that it would be so much better to be together forever.

What followed was a giant party that lasted for three days and was the death of at least two thousand chickens. A tenth of those was eaten by Dexter alone.

Kurama looked so pretty in her wedding dress and Dexter was handsome beyond anything inside his suit. The wedding was not traditional and more a mix of everything that was either cool or looked pretty. At the end of the three-day festival, they left the face of the earth and were only seen months later.

And much happened in these months. Konoha was now all geared up for war and only needed a reason to start. Iwagakure was also moving its troops, Kumogakure has closed its borders more tightly than what it was to begin with and Kirigakure was steadily making progress in rebuilding its destroyed land.

Uzushiogakure now has a functioning Chakra armour for all its soldiers and both healing seals, as well as better paper bombs and a variety of other traps, was common to find in each unit. Kiri got a weaker Chakra armour that had a absurdly complicated fail-safe seal. It was there in case they think betrayal was a good idea.

Suna was on the brink of a civil war with Gaara standing on shaky legs as the current Kazekage.

The Chunin exam was his attempt of gaining more support and showing the world that they were not weak. So each nation sent their Genin squad and waited for a message bird.

Uzushiogakure got one of such birds with the notification that one of their teams made it to the finals. That was, as already said, why they were walking through the desert and that was why Kushina had a sunburn all over her face and hands.

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“Are we there yet?”, she asked. The rain was obscuring her vision, truly not something she likes during a protection mission.

“I think we will see Suna behind the next larger dune”, answered Dexter. He had no problems with his vision. True to his words Suna was behind the next dune. It stood in its rocky glory, tall and strong in the desert that would kill any attackers by simply existing.

“Damn, I really want to see how Danzo thinks it will be possible to invade this place”, mused Dexter. The stone wall was at least a hundred or so meter high and almost vertical. Ballistic weapons and Ninja were positioned all over it and there were only a few entry points. Those were easy to defend and also long and in a single line. Anyone who wanted to attack this bulwark of nature had to go through the deadly desert first and would be spotted long before the village itself was even in view.

“How would you attack such a village?”, asked Dexter both his ANBU guards.

“Depends, do we have to keep the civilians save? Do we want to take the village for ourselves and do we have cheat like abilities like you?”, asked Kushina in return. Questions like this kept the travel interesting.

“No to the abilities the rest is up to you”, answered Dexter. He personally would just send down a meteorite and be done with it. Or swarming the place from the inside with clones of his own.

“A direct frontal assault is suicide, so maybe poisoning their water supplies and then a starving tactic? The only other idea I have is to install spies that will open the gates or attack directly like what happened in Konoha”, said Kushina.

“Poisoning will be hard, they have their own well inside the village. But the other idea is possible. And I think it is what might happen during this exam”, said Dexter with a nod.

Kurama smiled evilly, she hadn't killed something in ages and she was itching to test her body in other ways than for sex. “You really think so? But wouldn't a small task force not be too weak?”, she asked.

“Yes, that would normally be the case, but with Orochimaru and Danzo working together it might not. The strength of Konoha's elite Ninja combined with the curse seal and maybe chemical warfare might do the trick and at least weaken Suna severely.

I at least don't believe that this exam will be a quiet one. And let's stop with speaking about the destruction of Suna. Our welcoming committee has reached us”, answered Dexter. A moment later a squad of Suna Ninja jumped down in front of them. They were led by Temari, she had her custom wind fan on her back and was standing at the front.

“Good day Uzukage-sama, it's a pleasure to be allowed to welcome you into Sunagakure. I hope your travel was not too uncomfortable?”, she said in greeting and with a small bow.

“Hello to you too, I see you managed to safely escape the invasion of Konoha. Good for you, as for the weather, it was okay. But you seriously have a problem with sudden rainstorms that keep following people”, joked Dexter.

Temari smiled wryly, reminded of the fight between the Uzukage and her youngest brother and the swift defeat of Gaara. “Yes, they are a problem we have to fight against on a daily basis. If you please would follow me, we have arranged a guest house for you and your escort, as well as your wife of course”, she then said and turned around. The other Suna Ninja positioned themselves in a box formation around Dexter and his company.

They were led through a checkpoint and directly inside the village. They were able to skip the long line thanks to their status as VIPs. The village itself was build inside the rock formation and mostly out of sand stone. There were a few green patches, most likely wells and for food but the majority of the village had the same sand colour as the desert outside.

“A little dreary isn't it? Am I right with the assumption that painting the houses wouldn't work thanks to sandstorms?”, asked Dexter. Temari didn't show any signs of being angered for the insult at her village and just turned around with her head to answer.

“Yes, we once tried but the colour was sanded down after only two such storms. We try to design the interior more colourful in return. Not for nothing is it said the the insides are showing the true colour of something more than the outside appearance.

Take Konoha for example, it is colorful painted but rotten to the core.”

“Hmm, maybe I personally never liked the desert, the sand always gets inside everything and is such an annoyance”, mused Dexter with a shrug. They stayed silent for the rest of their walk and passed many vendors and shops that were selling all kinds of goods. From fruits to grilled meat and carpets, pottery and clothes.

They would have continued if it wasn't for one particular smell that drifted inside Dexter's nose. It was the smell of finely grilled chicken. “Temari-san, are we able to take a small detour? I smell something delicious and tasting the local food of a foreign nation was always one of my hobbies”, asked Dexter. He did not wait for her to answer and was already moving towards the stand that sold the grilled meat.

The vendor, a young man, looked up from his meat sticks when he noticed someone standing in front of his small stall and was shocked to see a Kage, and then a Kage as strange as Dexter. With his mask and white tails. He nearly pissed his pants in fright and nervousness.

“H...how may I...I help you, my lord?”, he managed to stammer out.

“Hello, I'd like to have twenty of your meat sticks, the chicken ones”, replied Dexter smoothly. The vendor, however, was too shocked to move, so Dexter took the meat himself and put the money on the table. He gave a stick to each of his guards and two for Kurama, while eating the remaining ones himself. Neither his guards nor he lowered their masks to do so.

“A Genjutsu?”, asked Temari in wonder, she hadn't noticed the mind trick.

“Ah yes, outside of fights we tend to have our masks as a Genjutsu it is training and convenient at the same time”, answered Dexter between his bites. The skewers were delicious and he was tempted to go back and buy every single stick they had. Only Kushina's glare stopped him from doing so. That was until he had a brilliant idea.

“Temari-san, would it be possible to have some of these chicken skewers for dinner? And please ask the cook if it would be possible to get his recipe for the sauce. It is brilliant”, he said with a smile behind his mask. Dan is sure able to improve the recipe even further. The ultimate chicken skewer will be his.

He was so much in his illusion of chicken that Dexter did not notice how they reached their destination and only refocused when Kurama squeezed his hand. He looked at her and then at the front to see Gaara standing behind his table.

“Ah, sorry. My mind was somewhere else. Good day Kazekage-san, how is it to rule a village?”, he asked with an apologetic laugh.

“It is hectic and hard some times but also fulfilling and pleasant the rest of the time”, replied Gaara in his monotone. “I wish to thank you Uzukage-san for suppressing Shukaku for me. Without him I have more control over my sand”, he added and gave a small bow at the end.

“Nah, you don't have to thank me, I got what I wanted. I'm fine as long as everything is good at the end”, said Dexter dismissively. He did not mention that everything has to be good for him and not everyone.

“Good to hear. Your Genin teams have done quite good so far, they managed the first and second test without a problem and were only taken out oduring the following one vs one rounds. Three of them managed to proceed into the finals”, Gaara then said and gestured for Dexter and Kurama to sit down.

“Glad to hear, we have put a lot of thoughts in our training program and it will make our teachers happy to hear that it works”, answered Dexter. He sat down next to Kurama, who until now has chosen to stay quiet. She had nothing to say to these people.

“Yes, that much is obvious. Still, I hope my Genins will come out on top”, said Gaara.

“Don't we all want that to happen?”, laughed Dexter in return. He did not like this small banter and was more of the kind to go in, say what he wanted to say and then leave with a fight or an agreement.

Yet, this wasn't possible now, there was too much fun hidden inside this village to do just that. He could already feel the Chakra of several curse seal users during the short time they were inside the village.

“Yes, that is indeed so. I think we will have to see for ourselves in tomorrows tournament. My sister Temari will bring you to your guest house”, Gaara said after a pause and Kurama saw the dismissal for what it was. She stood up and almost dragged Dexter out of the Kage tower.

“Is something Kura-chan?”, asked Dexter highly amused.

“I'm bored from this village and it's your duty to entertain me if such a thing happens”, she replied and increased her speed slightly.

“You heard the lady, up up, I have my duty to fulfill”, laughed Dexter. They reached a large stone building and stepped inside. Temari has spoken the truth, the insides were way more colorful. Pictures, flowers and silk carpets were decorating the insides of the house. Richly decorated pottery stood on small tables and looked pretty in its design.

“An escort will bring you to the arena tomorrow morning, have a nice night and good rest”, said Temari at their door. She then excused herself and left the four to themselves.

“Well, you two can do what you want, Kura-chan and I will test out the bed. See you tomorrow morning”, said Dexter with a wave. He picked Kurama up and swiftly left the other two women on their own.

“I think I was never this embarrassed about having a son”, muttered Kushina. She released her Genjutsu and walked away in search for a kitchen and something to drink.

“It's surprising how laid back he can be”, wondered Mikoto and followed Kushina. She hoped Dexter will apply silencing seals. And if not, well, Kushina can make them as well.