"Gaara!" Yuri shouted, surprised to see him and so did Lee as well.
"Gaara of the Sand."
"Gaara...so you are he." Kimmimaro shot out some bones from his fingertips and threw them at Gaara. "Digital Shrapnel!" Gaara's sand immediately rushed forward, protecting him from the attack. The bones seeped through the sand and fell to the ground.
"You're impatient." Gaara spoke keeping his eyes on Kimmimaro then he looked down at Lee. "When we last fought, you were faster and sharper than this."
Lee stood up. "Thanks for reminding me. Not that I hold a grudge. But you really did a number on me." He smiled.
"I see."
"Why are you here?" Lee asked him.
"I owe the Leaf Village a great debt." Gaara replied. "I'll handle this."
"No! Please back me up instead!" Lee shouted.
"Lee, you're still injured. Gaara's got this." Yuri tried to stop him. Lee was about to charge at Kimmimaro when Gaara's sand moved and tripped him instead. Lee fell, getting a face full of sand.
"Ugh. I got sand in my mouth!" Lee sputtered, spitting out the sand and turned to Gaara. "Will you let go!?-" He groaned in pain.
"You're in no shape to fight. I'll handle this." Gaara said and took a step forward, facing Kimmimaro.
"Gaara of the Sand. So the name suggests you are of the sand." Kimmimaro said.
"He attacks with his bones! Like you saw, he fires or shoots them out from out his body. It's amazing, as it is disturbing!" Lee warned him.
"A foolish stage name, to rely only on sand." Kimmimaro spoke. Gaara made the sand rush towards Kimmimaro, trying to grab the shinobi. Kimmimaro dodged, jumping out of the way until the sand underneath him latched onto his ankles, holding Kimmimaro in place.
"Sand shower." Gaara shot out some sand into the air, hovering above Kimmimaro. Then it fell like bullets, raining down. "So long as I have sand, I can do anything." Gaara said. The sand began to wrap around Kimmimaro, encasing him inside of it. "Tell me again who's stupid. Making sand from soil is no art."
"You got him!" Lee shouted.
"Not yet." Gaara closed his fist. "Sand burial!" The sand crushed down onto Kimmimaro's body. There was silence and no one moved a muscle, waiting, hoping that it was finally over. Then there was movement in the sand and Kimmimaro began to slowly push himself out of the sand, revealing parts of body protect by bone. His mouth showed half of his jaw, some showing on his arms and his rib cage. Yuri's eyes widen in shock and so did Lee's.
"N-No way!" Yuri cried out. Gaara frowned.
"More bones, huh? This guy's a freak, a monster." He spoke.
"He certainly is a nuisance." Lee murmured.
"That pressure was a feat. Without this layer I created, underneath my skin, I would've been crushed. I underestimated you, but your sand won't hold me twice." Kimmimaro glared at Gaara. Gaara quickly made some hand signs.
"Sand Tsunami!" Yuri and Lee watched in shock as they saw a large wave of sand rose up, rushing towards Kimmimaro, taking him with it and flowed into the nearby forest.
"You...You did it." Lee said.
"Not yet." Gaara slammed his hands down onto the sand. "Giant Sand burial!" A large shock wave shook the ground, nearly knocking Lee and Yuri off their feet.
"Why doesn't he give up?" Gaara spoke. Yuri's eyes widened in shock.
"Huh!? You mean he's still alive!?" she exclaimed.
"What is that!?" Lee shouted. The three of them saw something shot out from the sand. A tail? Kimmimaro crawled out of the sand, revealing a transformation. His skin was dark, bones were sprouted out from his body and a long tail, looking similar to a dinosaur. Kimmimaro quickly charged at the group at a fast speed.
"He's coming in fast!" Lee exclaimed.
Gaara made a wall of sand rise up to shield them. Kimmimaro broke through the sand, knocking everyone back. He slammed into Gaara.
"Gaara!" Yuri cried out in worry. Gaara sat up revealing some of his sand armor, crackling away from his face.
"Is this your so-called defense? What a joke!" Kimmimaro frowned. "I see. So, you coat yourself with sand."
"He is not your only opponent! I am here as well!" Lee shouted and tried to land a kick on Kimmimaro. Kimmimaro rose his tail to smack Lee with it. Yuri rushed over, landing a kick into Kimmimaro's face. Bones shot out from Kimmimaro's arm, about to impale her. Gaara made the sand shot out, blocking both attacks from reaching Yuri and Lee. He pushed them away from Kimmimaro. Kimmimaro turned to Gaara as Gaara stood up.
"This sand is a nuisance. Very well, you're first, Gaara! "Iron Flower Dance!" A long rod of bone shot out from his back and he pulled out his spine. Kimmimaro wrapped the bone around Gaara. Gaara's sand shield protected him from it as it wrapped around his body, holding him in place. Kimmimaro made a large bone spear from his arm. "They'll pierce through your body along with the sand shield. My bones have calcified as far as they'll go."
Gaara made a hand sign. "Total Sand Defense! Shukaku's Shield!" The sand rose up from the ground and transformed into a chubby Shukaku with armor in front of Kimmimaro, grabbing onto the bone. Kimmimaro lunged the spear at the shield, trying to break through it. It barely made a dent and the sand shattered Kimmimaro's weapon.
"Very solid." Kimmimaro frowned.
"I pulled together the densest minerals in the soil, used my chakra to apply pressure and kneaded them into my sand." Gaara spoke, narrowing his eyes at Kimmimaro. "This move of yours, it's a Kekkei Genkai, right?"
"It is of the Kaguya Clan. A power, I alone possess." Kimmimaro said.
"So, you're the last of the Kaguya. That means today the clan perishes." Gaara spoke.
"Indeed, it may be so. My body is ravaged with an illness. My days on Earth are numbered. And yet I will not be extinguished. For I am not alone. I am an arm of Lord Orochimaru's ambition. I carried out my part. For that, I shall remain forever in his heart."
"Orochimaru doesn't care about you." Yuri spoke.
"You know nothing!" Kimmimaro snapped at her.
"Indeed. He has brainwashed you. What a sad little pawn." Gaara said. "I've used too much chakra. I have to make this last bit count!" Gaara quickly made the sand wrap around Kimmimaro and Kimmimaro tried to fight against it. The sand slowly began to pull Kimmimaro down into the large sand pit underneath him.
"You are indeed formidable." Kimmimaro glared at him.
"I'm sucking and burying you down two hundred meters below the Earth's surface. With that much pressure from the sand on your body, you won't be able to move a finger." Gaara said.
"You did it. This time I know you did." Lee said.
"Dance..." Everyone's eyes widen in shock. Many sharp bones shot out from the ground, covering the entire area. "Bracken Dance!"
Gaara, Yuri and Lee were now hovering above the bones on a cloud of sand. "You save us." Lee sighed in relief. "I never imagined you could do something like this."
"This is the sand I'm always carrying around. It's second nature to me now." Gaara explained. "He was one tough opponent, but that should be end of him. He'll never get out of that." He groaned. Yuri caught him as he fell forward. "My chakra's almost depleted. We must descend."
"I am not his pawn!"
Gaara, Yuri, and Lee gasped and turned around to see Kimmimaro behind them. He had come out of a tree made of bone and half of his body was extended from it. He had an spear made of bone, poised to attack. "He is the one! The only one who truly understands! How can the likes of you know anything!?"
Kimmimaro lunged at Gaara. Yuri quickly moved, placing herself in front of Gaara.
"No! Yuri!" Lee cried out. Gaara's eyes widen in horror as he saw the spear coming fast. No!
But the attack didn't come. Yuri's eyes widen in shock and so did Gaara's and Lee's when they saw Kimmimaro moved no more. Blood was dripping out from his mouth.
"He's dead." Lee said.
Gaara lowered the sand down and the three of them got off taking cover under some nearby trees to rest.
"I should've been dead." Gaara murmured, tiredly.
"Gaara, don't say that." Yuri spoke, softly.
"That is not true. My master always said that a big part of skill is luck." Lee said.
"You mean that meddlesome mother hen."
"He wasn't meddling! He knew that I wasn't strong enough. Don't you dare call him that!" Lee frowned.
"I still can't believe we survived that." Yuri spoke.
"You shouldn't have thrown yourself in front of me." Gaara spoke. "Why did you do that?"
"My body moved on it's own and before I knew it there was no time to think." Yuri spoke.
"So you're the same then, when you feel the honor of your idol under scrutiny, you become enraged. As if it were your own honor being questioned. The more precious your idol is to you, the harder you fight for him." Both Lee and Yuri blinked, looking at Gaara as he continued. "He also reminds me of Naruto Uzumaki. Still, just because someone is precious doesn't mean he's good."
"I can't see how anyone could see someone bad was so precious." Lee said.
"I disagree. Even if he's evil, you can't overcome your own loneliness."
Naruto was discovered by himself, unconscious. Sasuke was nowhere to be found. Temari helped save Shikamaru while Kankuro helped Kiba against two of the Sound 4. Their outfits had changed as well. Temari was wearing a chest plate armor, long sleeved purple top, a dark blue skirt, and a longer sash tied around her waist. Kankuro was wearing the same black bodysuit and hood, but different face paint with cross-like designs.
Everyone was brought back to the Hidden Leaf Village and reported the news to Tsunade. Neji, Choji were seriously injured in their fights with the Sound Ninja four, taking out their opponents. They were immediately rushed to the hospital and Tsunade managed to heal them, but barely. She walked outside of the operating room where Temari, Yuri and Shikamaru waited for the news. To their relief, Tsunade told them that they were going to pull through.
"I promise that I won't ever let this happen again!" Shikamaru cried.
"Shikamaru, it's not your fault. It's Sasuke's. He chose to do this." Yuri told him. "But I'm worried about Naruto. He's not going to let Sasuke go."
The mission was a failure. Sasuke was now marked as a rogue ninja.
Yuri felt completely useless. She hated seeing Shikamaru upset and Naruto still haven't given up on Sasuke.
Late at night, Yuri headed towards the Hokage mansion. She stopped in front of the door to Tsunade's office and knocked on it.
"Lady Tsunade...may I have a word with you?" Yuri asked her.
"What is it?" Tsunade asked. Yuri stepped inside her office and saw Tsunade at her desk and walked over standing in front of her.
"Will you teach me the ways of a healing ninja?" Yuri asked Tsunade. Tsunade eyes widen a little in surprise.
"Why do you want to learn?"
"I think that it would be a important ability to know if a situation should ever arise. Please teach me!" Yuri pleaded to her.
"Alright but get ready for some hard training."