The Woodbender

Legend of Korra and all related characters belong to Nickelodeon. Naruto and all related characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto


Naruto Uzumaki had been in Republic City for three weeks and was now flat broke. The only real bright spot in his time there was meeting the Avatar, but she was so flabbergasted by the fact he was a woodbender that she asked him more questions than he had ever been asked. The easiest one was why his hair was yellow, the answer being that people from his homeland of Konoha usually had red or blond hair. After talking with her for a while, Korra had to leave.

At any rate the blond had had little luck in finding a job, well at least one that would let him afford a motel bill. He sat on the side of the street, Kurama sitting in his lap as he thought about how he could find a well paying job.

"Okay, so I'm notthe most qualified person for somethings. Still there should be something in this city I could do, right Kurama?" Naruto asked the kitsune, only for the fox to shrug as if to say,

"Don't look at me."

The blond decided to get up, Kurama making his way up to his master's shoulder, and headed down the streets. Soon he walked past Narook's Seaweed Noodles, just as Korra walked out with two boys.

"Naruto?" The young Avatar asked as she noticed the whiskered boy. He turned and smiled, despite the fact he was covered in dirt and hungry as hell, as he walked up to her. The fact that he had been living on the streets wasn't lost on Korra nor her friends as the all shot each other quick glances.

"Hey, long time no see Korra! Been busy?" Naruto said cheerfully, only making Korra feel even sorrier for him.

"Um, yeah being the Avatar's a full time gig. These are my friends, Mako and Bolin." Korra said, introducing the boys.

"I guess she told you guys about me?" The blond asked, having a strong feeling he was right.

"Yeah, she wouldn't stop going on and on about how you bent a tree." Bolin said, causing Korra to elbow him in the side out of embarrassment.

"So, what are you doing Naruto?" Korra asked, already seeing tiredness in his eyes.

"I'm, uh, I'm begging for a job." The blond said, not wanting to lie and hoping Korra and her friends might be able to tell him who's looking to hire.

"Well, you could try the new gym downtown. I heard they're looking for a new maintenance guy." Mako said, trying to lend the other teen a hand. He knew what it was like on the streets, so he had some sympathy for Naruto's situation.

"Well I'm pretty handy, so it's worth a shot. Thanks!" Naruto said as he ran off.

"He has no idea where he's going does he?" Bolin asked no one in particular.

"Nope." Korra deadpanned.

"Should we catch him and tell him?" Mako wondered. After a few seconds Korra said,

"Nah, he'll find it, I mean it's the only gym downtown."

SIX HOURS LATER


"Why didn't you remind me to ask for directions?" Naruto snapped at Kurama. The kitsune just glared and whacked his master upside the head with one of his tails, a clear sign that he believed it wasn't his job to think for him. Naruto sighed as he entered the building, finally finding it. It was dark inside, a clear sign everyone had gone home for the night.

"Ah man! Looks like I'll have to wait until tomorrow!" Naruto said, but just then he saw a light from down the hall. He walked toward it, hearing someone talking as he walked further along.

"If I cannot do 400 sit ups, then I will do 500 push ups!" As Naruto walked into the lighted room he saw a young man, probably in his early twenties, doing sit ups in rapid succession. The young man was wearing a long sleeved tight green Chinese styled shirt with white bandages on his hands that covered his hands, save for his fingers, and went up to his elbows. He also wore tight green pants and wore dark blue kung fu shoies. The young man seemed to notice Naruto's presence as he said,

"What brings you here this late at night? Are you a fellow youthful fighter looking to train?" Naruto raised an eyebrow at the "youthful" part, but quickly disregarded it.

"Um, actually I was looking for a job. I heard you needed a new maintenance guy?" The blond said, really hoping the position was still available. The young man then leaped up, revealing he had a pair of thick bushy eyebrows.

"Well you are in luck my friend! You are the first to apply! I am Rock Lee Beifong(1) and it is a pleasure to meet you!" Lee said as he gave a bright smile and a thumbs up. Naruto almost fell over from shock when he heard the name.

"Y-you're the Rock Lee Beifong? The world's greatest martial artist and 12 time champion of the Pro-Fighting circuit?" Naruto asked, starstruck in every sense of the word.

"The one and only!" The bushy browed fighter said. The next thing Naruto knew his head felt lightheaded and things getting darker.


"Hey! Hey wake up! Come on buddy I want to go home." Naruto heard as he slowly opened his eyes. He saw a girl standing over him. She had brown eyes and brown hair done in two buns on her head. She wore a simple white t-shirt with black pants and sandals. Naruto slowly got up, rubbing his head as he stood up.

"Let me guess, you meet Lee and it was too much for you?" The girl said, obviously annoyed.

"Well I haven't eaten in a few days, so that combined with the excitement of meeting one of my personal heroes was too much for me." Naruto said with a small smirk, despite the fact his head was throbbing and his stomach still ached from a lack of food. The girl's annoyed look softened and said,

"Lee said you wanted the janitor's job, so it's all yours. It comes with a spar room in the back you can use, it's nothing fancy but from the looks of you I doubt you'd mind." Naruto chuckled and a little and said,

"No, I guess not. My name's Naruto by the way. Naruto Uzumaki." The girl smiled and said,

"Nice to meet you, name's Tenten."


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