Desert Flower

The Hidden Sand Village

The Sand and Sound ninjas retreated after the failed mission to destroy the Hidden Leaf Village. The Third Hokage stopped Orochimaru by sealing his arms, with a Reaper Death Seal, so the shinobi could no longer perform any jutsu. But...at the cost of his life to do so. The very next day, darkness fell upon the Leaf Village as it rained down from the heavens above. Every Leaf Shinobi showed up for the Third's funeral, placing a white flower on his coffin. Yuri walked over and placed one and walked back over to Naruto, who was lost in deep thought, saddened by the news that the Third had fallen. Konohamaru was standing beside Naruto with Iruka sensei, crying for his grandfather.

"Iruka sensei, why do people risk their lives for the sake of others?" Naruto asked.

"When a person dies, they pass away. Along with their past, current life and their future. Many people die on missions or through war. And when they die, it happens surprisingly quick. Hayate is one such example. Those who die have dreams and goals, but they all have something else just as important. Parents, Siblings, friends, their fellow villagers, people who are important to them. Bonds form between them and those who are precious to them from the time they are born, through trusting and helping each other. These strings connect them and as time passes, they grow thicker and stronger. There is no logic or reason to it! People just do things like that because they have something precious to protect."

"He did it to protect everyone and the future of the village." Yuri spoke.

"Yeah, I think I'm starting to get it now." Naruto spoke. "But it's painful to die, too."

"The Third didn't die in vain. He did leave us all something important." Kakashi spoke. Naruto blinked.

"Don't worry, you'll understand, eventually."

"Hey, give me some credit-I understand!" Naruto smiled.

A few days had gone by, Naruto told Yuri that he and Sasuke were attacked by two strange intruders, one was a fishman and the other looked similar to Sasuke, who were looking for Naruto for some reason. Naruto mentioned that Sasuke was focused on one man that looked similar to him. The man managed to knock Sasuke out with ease, barely using his chakra. At the last second, his mentor, Jiraya, managed to drive them off. Yuri couldn't help but worry. Who were these people? And why were they after Naruto?

Then to her surprise, Naruto told Yuri that he was going to resume his training under Jiraya to get stronger. And also, they were going to go look for someone name Tsunade, in hopes that she could be the new Hokage.

Three weeks had gone by and the village had gotten very boring since Naruto left. Yuri sighed as she laid on her bed, wondering what to do. She had already visited Lee at the hospital several times. Even though he told her that he was improving, Yuri knew that he was lying. She didn't want to crush his dreams, but how can he get better?

Then her thoughts began to drift wandering how Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro were doing.

Word had got out that the Sand had suffered casualties as well. The Kazekage had been murdered by Orochimaru, who was impersonating the village's leader the entire time. Their father was dead, and the Hidden Sand Village was leaderless as well. Yuri heard a knock and Yukina came into her room. Yuri sat up.

"Do you want to go to the Sand Village?" Yuri asked Yukina. Yukina's eyes widen in surprise and made a gesture for something to write with. Yuri reached into her dresser beside her bed and opened the drawer, pulling out a pad and a pen. Yukina took them from her.

"Are you sure that is wise? Going to an enemy village that betrayed the Leaf a few weeks ago?"

"It's still my home. And the Sand, isn't exactly at fault. They were desperate, considering their country resources is doing poorly because of the Land of the Wind's Daimyo. It was all Orochimaru's doing from the start. He used their weakness against them and lied to them. Plus, I want to see how the others are doing." Yuri told her.