Four Paths to Respect

By

Ragnorokrising

Prologue: The New Cycle

Aang stood atop the remnants of the once great Fire Nation capital city's castle. Behind him stood Bumi, Iroh, Master Pakku, Zuko, Katara, Sokka, Aang, Appa, Momo, Master Piandao, Jeong Jeong, and Suki. A large group of Badger Moles and the last two remaining dragons all waited for an order. The massive form of the last seven Lion Turtles roared as the creatures marching towards the castle began to overtake the last remaining soldiers of the three nations.

The enemy soldiers were made of shadows, which filled suits of armor, were nearly indestructible. Each suit of armor had to be frozen, crushed, and melted to slag, before the slag was forced underground and buried. Only then would they be destroyed. And if that wasn't bad enough, the creature leading the army was an elemental, a force of nature in itself.

The creature normally took a shape of a man, dressed in armor made of storm clouds that flashed with thunder and lightning every now and again. But Aang had seen his true form, and he rubbed his shoulder absentmindedly as I he could still feel the pain from the fight. Even after he had gone into the avatar state, and combined with the Spirits of the Ocean and Moon, he was stile just barely able to escape with his life.

The Lion Turtles had come forth from the ocean to assist Aang in his search for the answers. But they also served the purpose of giving them an escape route. With all the Water Benders they had with them, they could easily stay at the bottom of the ocean, forming a shell around them while they searched for a new place to set up camp and deliver hit and run strikes to the man's forces.

"Mount up on the Lion Turtles! It's time to retreat!" Aang roared, his voice amplified by his Air Bending. Instantly, all the warriors began to retreat as the Lion Turtles ripped apart the following troops. The Earth Benders threw the other warriors up to the back, while Fire Benders caught them in mid-air and set them down. Six of the turtles roared, shaking the ground around them and causing the suits of armor to collapse, and giving them a chance to escape into the ocean.

The final Lion Turtle was the one who had taught Aang Energy Bending, so Aang used him as his transportation. The dragons, Badger Moles, and White Lotus Society, as well as his friends, gathered atop the shell with him. Besides these people, they also had several weapons and cultural artifacts, food, clothes, and scrolls.

Aang touched his hand to the Lion Turtle's neck and the creature took off across the ground to the ocean. As they sank beneath the waves, Master Pakku and Katara began to bend the water around them, blocking off the fighters from the ocean's wrath. Aang moved to the center of the Lion Turtle, where he had first learned to contact the past Avatars at will before his battle with Zuko's father. A structure had been erected there so that the Spirits of the Ocean and Moon could come with them into battle. He prayed to the spirits, asking them for safe passage beneath the waves.

Instantly, they began to move quicker through the water, and several undersea creatures that normally terrified humans swam around them, protecting the humans. The Water Benders ceased their movements, but prepared to move again should the domes they had created begin to collapse. When they didn't Pakku and Katara moved to the center of the shell where Iroh had tea and a battle plan laid out for them.

"It seems to me, that if we hit them here, where they make the armor, we can begin to push through the Earth Kingdom until we reach Omashu. From there, we can spread out to the ocean again. Ba Sing Se will be heavily protected. Not only that, but it also holds all the remaining Earth Kingdom civilians. We have freed the people of the Fire Nation, and they will begin making weapons and armor for us."

"What about the people of the Water Tribe?" Katara asked. "Why can't we go there?"

Iroh nodded his head. "Yes I see your point, but most of us can't survive in that terrain, and few people are locked down there. And not that many are Water Benders. Fire Benders and Earth Benders, they can cause massive amounts of destructive damage to the enemy and their weapons."

Before they could continue, the sea creatures surrounding them roared, and turned around. All around them creatures made out of metal, filled with shadows, followed after them. The sea creatures rushed them, trying to stop them. The water around the armor started to boil, and the eyes of the Ocean Spirit began to glow.

"You see?" Sokka yelled. "This is what I'm talking about people! They won't stop attacking until we're all dead!"

Aang sighed as the outburst began a massive argument. "QUIET!" he roared. Every froze, staring at him. Silently, Aang sat down, assuming a meditative state, and began to glow with a soft blue light.

Aang opened his eyes to find himself surrounded by a floor of clouds. Before him stood every past Avatar. But that wasn't what caught his eye. What he was paying the most attention to was the massive temple before him, with a stone throne set in the center on a raised dais. A man sat on the throne, with a badger mole at his feet, a dragon curled around the throne, a sky bison off to the side, watching him intently, and two fish that circled in an orb of water above him.

He stood up, and opened his arms smiling. "Welcome Avatar Aang. I am the first Avatar. Please, approach me so we may speak."

Aang looked the man over carefully. He was about twenty years old, a few years younger than Aang at the moment. He wore baggy black pants, and no shirt, obviously to show off his muscles, and to make his bending easier. Strapped to his left hip were two broad swords, which looked like they very rarely saw use. The man's face was kind, his eyes a deeper blue then even Katara's, and he had black hair that was only slightly shorter then Zuko's. Aang nodded and began to walk towards the temple. The other Avatars slowly moved out of his way, allowing him to pass.

A similar but less ornate chair rose up for Aang to sit on. "Normally, I wouldn't show myself to you, but since I have no choice, I must. The man you and your friends are fighting is too powerful. He can't be stopped. We had to use the three forgotten bending arts, Energy Bending, Shadow Bending, and Nature Bending, to escape with our lives. He can't be stopped, not by you anyways."

Aang stood up in anger. "Would did you bring me here? To tell me I'm going to fail and all my friends are going to die?"

The man glared, and Aang sat back down, his anger replaced by an overwhelming fear. "I never said that. I simply said you can't stop him. But, there is a way." The man held up his hand. The Dragon, Badger Mole, and Sky Bison disappeared, forming into a green crystal. "This crystal, when combined with Energy Bending, will allow you to travel to another world. There is no hope in our world anymore. So we must start the cycle anew, starting with the child, Naruto Namikaze."

An image appeared, of a small blonde child, crying. "He will be the first new Avatar in this world. Take your troops with you; make sure to teach him Fire Bending first. If the world is new, so to must the cycle be. Fire, Earth, Air, and Water while be the new chain. But for now let's focus on young Naruto." The scene changed, to a massive fox, with nine massive tails, attacking a village. "This demon will attack within three days of your arrival to the new world. It is made of an energy called Chakra."

Realization dawned on Aang's face. "You want me to put the demon inside the child, correct?"

The man nodded. "That is what is going to happen anyway. This way, we can force the demon to increase the power of the child's Bending, since it does control the elements."

Aang was silent for a moment. "Tell me more about this enemy I'm facing."

The man stiffened. Slowly, he calmed again, until finally, he nodded. "He is a master of Bending as well, our natural born enemy. He is the Dark Avatar, a man who revels in death and destructions. He is also my younger brother." The man's eyes grew clouded over as old memories returned. "He was mad the spirits chose me to become the Avatar and went to the dark spirits, the demons, and they gave him a similar power. Most likely, he will follow you to the new world eventually, and train someone to take his place."

"But until then, you must go, and leave quickly." He threw the crystal to Aang. "Simply tell the crystal you want to take the Lion Turtles and all those aboard them to the new world and it will activate with your energy Bending." Aang took the crystal hesitantly. The first Avatar nodded, and from the ranks of past Avatars, an Air Bending man stood up and walked over to him. He bowed deeply to Aang.

"Avatar Aang, I am Avatar Yin." He said, rising from his bow. "I am the Avatar who originally created the Air Bending gliders, as well as several other promising weapons that the monks never needed. I would like to pass all of my knowledge to you, so you may know these things." Aang began to refuse, but Yin's hand shot out, touching the tip of the arrow on Aang's head. A bright light filled the area, and suddenly, Aang had a vast amount of new knowledge at his disposal. Aang bowed to Yin, as well as the Avatar sitting on the throne, and closed his eyes.

Aang awoke in the real world, the crystal now resting in his hands. He stood up and stretched an arm. "Get all the Lion Turtles as close as possible. We're leaving this world." everyone stared at Aang in shock. "Did I stutter? Do it now, while we still live!"

Instantly, the Lion Turtle they were riding on roared, sending vibrations out through the water to the other Lion Turtles. They moved in, coming so close that their shells touched, with the Lion Turtle Aang was riding in the middle. He took a deep breath and began to Energy Bend the crystal. Within, he could feel an immense store of power, and as he reached into the pool of energy, a green light began to spread over his body. The light continued, crossing over the turtles, and spreading to every person and creature aboard. The light, and all that it touched, began to condense, focusing on one point, becoming a small orb, the size of a needle head, before disappearing all together.

Suddenly, they reappeared in the middle of forest. The village Aang had seen earlier stood before them. But now, people were running around the wall, sirens were blaring, and terror filled the air. Suddenly, seven massive toads, led by a toad with a dagger in his belt, appeared in front of them in massive blasts of white smoke. Atop the lead toad, a man stood, with spiky blonde hair, black pants, a green vest, and a white cloak with red flames on the end.

Aang jumped to the tip of the tallest tree. "Are you Minato Namikaze?" he yelled. The blonde man pulled something from his pocket and threw it. A metal knife with three points and writing etched into the handle appeared. A bright flash followed, and suddenly, the man was standing on the branch below him.

"Yes, I am Minato Namikaze. What are you doing here, and what are these things?"

Aang smiled a friendly smile. "My name's Aang and these are Lion Turtles."

(Two Hours Later)

Minato stared at the strangers, wondering if they were telling the truth. If they were, then that meant that so much could be learned from these people, but it also meant bad news as well. Normally, if someone had told him that a Bijuu, the Kyuubi no less, was going to attack them in one week, he would have laughed. But when he told him that his son would be the next Avatar, when his son wasn't even born yet, when they didn't know if the child would be a boy or girl at that time, he knew he needed to believe them.

He pressed a button on his desk. Instantly, an ANBU appeared wearing a cheetah mask. "Cheetah, find Tsunade and Jiraiya. Find Jiraiya first and he'll help you find Tsunade. Tell them that we have reason to believe Konoha is going to be attacked by a Bijuu and we need their help."

The ANBU was shocked beneath the mask, but he simply nodded and disappeared, beginning his search for Jiraiya.

Minato stared out at the massive forms of the Lion Turtles, all gathered around the village, guarding it. On top of each were people who could control the elements with ease. And he knew he had to do something, or else the council would try something.

"Alright, here's the story." Minato said. "You are a ninja from the Village Hidden in the Sea, which was destroyed by the Kyuubi. You heard of our reputation, so you came to Konoha, looking for a new home. But you will only answer to me, no one else, understand?" the group stared at him in confusion. "Our village is ruled by a council, and half of the council is corrupted and greedy. They would try to use you to benefit themselves."

The group, consisting of Aang, Katara, Toph, and Sokka, nodded in understanding. They knew the power of greed, all too well and needed no further explanation.

"Now, if you would excuse me, I need to go check on my wife."

The Next Day

Jiraiya and Tsunade both arrived at the same time, with Cheetah close behind them. All three rushed to Hokage Tower, where Minato was waiting for them. A massive piece of paper was attached to the wall, with a giant seal written all over it. Jiraiya whistled at the complexity of the diagram. "Damn kid, this is the most complex thing I've ever seen. What is it for?"

Minato's face was blank, and he had a serious look in his eye. "In four days time, the Kyuubi no Kitsune will arrive at precisely one thousand, eight hundred forty-three yards, two feet, and eight centimeters from village wall. We found several remnants of a hidden seal for the summoning. Once it arrives, I will summon Gamabunta and restrain the fox long enough for us to seal it into my child. The problem will be that the wave of youki that will be released after the summoning will force Kushina into labor, and her chakra will subconsciously protect the child."

"Tsunade, I need you to help her stay alive, heal her." the seriousness suddenly left Minato's face, revealing the fear, the uncertainty, and the plead for his wife to be okay, for just a moment, before the seriousness reappeared. "After that, Jiraiya and I need to instantly check the seal for flaws."

Minato walked over to his desk and hit a button underneath it. A section of the wall slid apart, and out stepped Aang, Katara, Sokka, Toph, Zuko, and the White Lotus Society. Minato pointed to Aang. "This young man can control the elements; he can control energy, including chakra, which means he can stop the fox without sacrificing his life."

"I find it hard to believe that Minato." Tsunade said. She hated being in the village, and wouldn't be there if it weren't for the fact that Minato had ordered her to return under the consequence of death.

"You trying to insult us granny?" Toph yelled. Sokka and Zuko took a step back. They didn't know anything about this woman, but they knew that Toph didn't either. People in this word had different skills, different abilities from them.

"What did you call me brat?" Tsunade yelled.

Jiraiya couldn't help but let out a quiet snicker. Tsunade turned on him, glaring daggers at him. "Sorry Tsunade, but she reminds me so much of you at that age. I mean, change the clothes and dye her hair blonde, you could be twins."

Minato looked at the two girls. Now that he thought about it, Toph was about the same size as Tsunade, and her bust was about the same size. But Toph didn't wear shoes, instead wearing metal bands around her ankles. She wore a pair of loose light brown shorts, and a green shirt with a golden circle with a square in the center on it. And if Tsunade simply stepped out of her heels, Toph put her hair down, and they had the same hair color, they would be twins.

"Trust me, we are nothing alike." Toph said, preparing to bend. One of the things she had learned in the world was that most people had metal weapons on them, so she could turn that against them. "I'm much stronger then her."

Tsunade roared, rushing towards Toph. The girl swung her arms around, and a water pipe rushed upwards, spraying water in Tsunade's face. The Sannin went sliding across the ground, tripping over the pipe. Toph used her Metal Bending to twist and contort the metal Tsunade carried on her to form shackles for her ankles and wrists.

The Sannin slammed into a wall. Jiraiya burst out laughing as Toph put the pipe back in place. Minato sighed. Tsunade yelled, ripping apart the shackles and turning on Toph. Minato appeared between them though, ready to strike at either of them.

"Both of you calm down right now. This is serious, in case you hadn't notices."

Toph and Tsunade calmed down as Minato began to explain the battle plan to them.

October Tenth

The ground lit up as the hidden seal rose to the surface, bathing the area in an eerie red light. A disembodied roar shook the night air, frightening off all the animals in the surrounding area. A massive wave of chakra, completely visible, even to the naked eye, swept through the forest, destroying small animals, weakening the elderly and the newborn. It also forced Kushina Uzumaki into labor.

The red haired woman screamed as the pain began. Tsunade was there, ready to go, but as they began, her thoughts went to the battle that was taking place outside.

The Kyuubi rose up from the seal, all nine tails swishing. At least, they were, until hundreds of chains made of rock rose up and wrapped around the tails. The Earth Benders continued to bend more chains around the fox, as the ninja brought mist in using Hidden Mist Jutsu, saturating the jutsu with enough chakra that the resulting mist gave the Water Benders enough moisture to completely cover the fox, freezing it several times over.

Seven massive toads surrounded the fox suddenly, lead by Jiraiya and Minato. They waited as the Earth and Water Benders moved back away from the creature. Strapped to Minato's back was a scroll with a simple looking seal diagram on it, which Aang would push the Fox into. Once Minato's son was born, they would set the seal on top of the child, with both of them set in the center of a large sealing circle, and the seal from the scroll, along with the fox, would be transferred onto Naruto's stomach.

Suddenly, the ice exploded outwards, along with the rock. The Earth Benders stopped the rocks from hurting anyone, and the Water Benders unfroze the ice, swirling it around them so that if the time came, they had a weapon. Next to Minato, Aang let out a piercing whistle that filled the air. The seven Lion Turtles rose at the spaces between the toads, their features twisted into one of rage.

The Kyuubi stared around it. It did what would be considered a smirk, and let out huge bubbles of red and black from its body. It inhaled, bring the energy into its mouth. All nine tails moved to its mouth, preparing to fire it. Aang turned towards Konoha and jumped off the frog, using his glider to fly as fast as possible to the gates of Konoha. The Lion Turtles, Benders, and toads moved out of the way as the Kyuubi fired its blast of energy.

Aang's eyes suddenly lit up, and he rose into the air in a spiraling ball of air. A blue energy spread out over his whole body. He rushed the energy blast, reaching out towards it. As he came in contact with it, the energy was swallowed into the palm of his hands. It spread out over his body, swirling around him, until he was almost nothing but black energy. But a small part of his right eye was still blue, and as Aang called on the power of the past Avatars, the blue spread back out. The black spread to Aang's finger tips, and he touched the crystal necklace around his neck, transferring the energy to it.

As he did all this, the Kyuubi was watching in confusion. When he saw Aang transfer the energy, and start to drop only to use fire to stabilize, then bring an earth platform up to him, he became worried. When Aang made a hand of water grab him and throw him at the fox, followed by an orb of spinning air appearing around him, he grew scared. Whoever this person was, they could control the elements just like he could, and that made them a threat.

The Kyuubi roared and began to move forward. It began to move its tails frantically, destroying as much as possible. The Benders did the best they could to stop the damage caused by the monster. At the same time, the Lion Turtles, plus the armored Toads that had been summoned, lunged at the fox, attacking it. The Fire Benders appeared in the sky, and began to attack the fox with their attacks. The beast roared, ripping apart the trees, releasing blasts of youki to destroy the area around them.

Mean while, Tsunade was trying every technique she could think of to stop Kushina's bleeding. But no matter what, the blood kept coming. It wouldn't have been so bad, but it was an internal wound, so Tsunade couldn't get to it. Tears appeared in her eyes as Kushina told her to stop. "Bring me a scroll and a brush, and a kunai."

"Kushina what are you going to do?" Tsunade asked. The red head smiled brightly but weakly.

"Don't worry Tsunade, just making sure Naruto knows what I know."

Back on the battle field, the Kyuubi had moved far through the forest. Aang whistled out a three note song, a signal to Toph. The ground around the fox started to shake, and suddenly, claws of metal rose up, grabbing at it. Thousands of metal weapons were thrown at the Kyuubi at that instant, giving Toph more ammunition. She turned the metal into semi-liquid form, causing it to cover the fox, and harden.

Aang shot through the air, with Minato right behind him, pulling the scroll from his back as he went. Aang began to glow again signifying he was starting to Energy Bend. He grabbed onto the fox, and a massive red and black glow spread out over his form, spreading out into the sky. It completely covered Aang, and for a moment, he became a miniature version of the Kyuubi, nine tails and all. He turned to Minato, and raised his hand, preparing to strike the Hokage down.

"Aang, stop this right now." Katara's voice filled the air. Aang turned on her, his eyes blazing with the red and black light. The Water Bender took a step forward, looking into Aang's eyes. He reared his fist back, and Katara grimaced. "Don't even think about it Aang."

"And what if I do Mortal?" a deep, evil voice flowed from Aang's throat, filled with malice and anger. Aang's lips started a few seconds after the voice, and ended a few seconds before it. "What's to keep me from striking you down right now?"

Katara sighed, grabbed Aang's shoulders, ignoring the pain that the chakra brought to her hands, and said just loud enough for Aang to hear, "Aang, I'm pregnant."

The blue energy exploded outwards from Aang, covering the whole front half of the fox in the initial blast. Minato grabbed the scrolls edge as the blue reached the edge of the fox. He pulled it out, touching Aang's other hand to the design. The red and black energy spiraled around Aang's arm, flowing into the seal, until finally, the glow disappeared all together. Minato, Katara, and Aang all dropped towards the ground, only to be caught by Gamabunta, the leader of the Toads.

"What do you mean you're pregnant?" he yelled as they fell. Katara chuckled as they landed, and began to explain.

In the hospital room, Kushina smiled at Naruto. She took the kunai from Tsunade and cut open her palm. She let the blood trickle into her palm, and used her good hand to dip the brush into the blood, and began to paint seals on the blank scroll they had brought her. Then she dipped the brush into the blood again and drew a storage seal on Naruto's arm. She waited for the blood on the scroll to dry before touching three fingers to her forehead, and a hand to the seal on the scroll. A blinding flash filled the room, and Kushina shook her head to get rid of the effects. She touched the scroll to the storage seal, and it disappeared. Then she began to speak to Naruto, giving him a message.

Finally, she dipped her hand into the blood once more, after re-opening the cut, and painted a memory suppressor seal that would activate later on in his life. And once this was done, Kushina Uzumaki smiled, kissed Naruto on the head, and lay back, as the machine monitoring her heart beat slowly began to slow down and flat line.

An hour later, after gathering up as many of the few casualties they could, the group of happy fighters returned to the village. However, the look on Tsunade's face stopped Minato cold. "Minato, something went wrong during the birth."

Suddenly, Minato was no longer there, instead racing down the street towards the hospital. Tsunade turned to Jiraiya. "This is why I hate this village so much. Every time someone I love dies." And with that, she was racing out of the village, her tears flying behind her.

Minato ran through the doorway of the hospital room, where Kushina was barely alive anymore. "Kushina, Kushina, no please don't go please!"

Kushina smiled slightly, and looked down at Naruto. "I gave him a scroll with all my knowledge in it. I used that knowledge transfer seal you taught me. And I also put a memory seal on him that will activate when he turns thirteen." She ran a hand through Naruto's hair. "It will explain to him everything, including how to control the Nine Tails."

"Kushina, how would you know that?"

She stared at Minato, for almost a full minute, before looking away and saying. "I was the previous host for the fox Minato. That's why the Kuma ninjas tried to kidnap me all those years ago." Her eyes began to close slowly at this point. The machine monitoring her heart beat was almost flat lined. "Minato, just remember, that I love both of you so much."

And with that, Kushina Uzumaki, Jinchuuriki to the Kyuubi, wife to Minato Namikaze, last free survivor of Whirlpool country, and mother of the new Avatar, died, with a smile on her face.

Minato yelled as loud as he could, he cried for hours, and no one could help him get over it. Finally, after seven hours of sitting next to Kushina, holding her lifeless hand, he picked up Naruto and took him to the sealing chamber at the Hokage Tower. There, they placed the scroll on Naruto's stomach and activated the larger seal. The ink from the scroll moved off of the scroll, and onto Naruto's stomach.

Once the process was done, Minato returned to Kushina's side.