Disclaimer: I don't own anything out of this.
From the minds of Myevltwin and TheHumanWiki
Chapter 12
"They haven't turned up anything on a Flying Bison," Naruto informed Lyra and Zentrai.
It had been roughly a week since they got out of the desert and during that time Naruto had devoted a lot of his time asking people in neighboring villages for anything they might know on Appa. Usually Zentrai would gone with him, but after exiting the desert he had chose to stick close to the Avatar's group, which was strange since he usually tended to keep his distance from them.
During this time Aang had also shifted completely. No longer did he care for anything on an emotional level. He tried to kill his emotions and be the true idea of a ninja in Naruto's eyes. He was cold, almost uncaring, and usually had very little to say. He didn't even complain when Toph took his staff again and used it to crack nuts. Katara had to intervene and take it away from her, nearly resulting in another fight between the two.
The only good thing was that their little gangs were getting along. Naruto spent most of his time around Sokka, letting him see their maps and comparing them to the ones he got from the Spirit Library. Sokka never asked questions about where he got his maps or how accurate they were when he compared them to the Spirit Library maps he got. If Sokka asked him about anything, it was his fighting style and why he didn't use a sword or some form of large blade.
True to the fact that girls needed to stick together, Katara and Toph spent most of their time, when they weren't training Aang, with Lyra. Toph spent more time with her though. Toph spent most of her time asking about her ability to Earthbend. The two had compared their abilities once already and learned that Toph was a better bender. When it came to hand-to-hand combat, however, Toph came up short and had been left on the floor.
As for Zentrai, he spent most of his time by himself and scouting ahead of them when need be. Naruto had asked him once on why he was like this, but he simply stated that he had things to do.
The blond assassin shifted slightly and looked over to Sokka. "You find anything interesting yet," he asked. Sokka shook his head as he pulled out another map. He unrolled it and sat it down on the rock he was on.
After a few days of traveling they had arrived at a small lake to bath and play for a little while. They needed rest and would spend the day just messing around until tomorrow morning. Lyra moved next to Toph at the water's edge, her feet dangling into the water, and set them in a moment later. Zentrai moved straight to the edge of the water and watched the fish swim around in pure fear as the teens all swam in their little home.
"Waterbending Bomb!" Katara shouted. Naruto and Sokka had a full two seconds to question it before a large tidal wave came crashing down on them. The maps and scrolls got soaked and the splash knocked Aang out of the water and destroyed his ice block he trapped himself in.
Everyone started laughing as Katara pulled herself out of the water. "Sure," Sokka said casually. "Five thousand year old maps from the Spirit Library. Just splash some water on them."
Katara rang her hair out. "Sorry," she giggled. She bent the water of the map and moved next to him as he got off the wet rock. He searched for a dry spot and then found one.
"So did you figure out what route we're going to take?" Aang asked.
Sokka pointed to a dark spot on the map. "Okay, we just got out of the desert so we must be around here," he shifted to a tan colored part of the map and then pointed to Ba Sing Se. "And we need to go to Ba Sing Se is here. It looks like the only passage connecting to the South to the North is this sliver of land called the Serpents Pass." He explained. Naruto eyed it strangely.
"You're sure that's the best way to go?" Toph asked.
"It's the only way. It's not like we have Appa." He said without concern.
"Shush up about Appa," Katara hissed in a whisper. "Can't you at least be sensitive?"
Aang hugged his legs to his chest and said, "Katara, its okay. I know I was upset about losing Appa before. But now I just wanna focus on getting to Ba Sing Se and telling the Earth King about the Solar Eclipse."
"Oh… well I'm glad to know you're doing better."
"Then to Ba Sing Se we go. No more distractions," Sokka announced.
Naruto was about to say something when a friendly call went out. "Hello there, fellow refuges!" The group turned and eyed them strangely as they approached. There were three of them. One was a male, clearly the father/husband, and the other two were females, one being pregnant and the other being a young woman. Zentrai perked up when he saw the young woman, but was quickly snapped back into proper order from a quick cough by Lyra.
"So are you heading to Ba Sing Se?" Aang asked
"Sure are," the man replied. "We're trying to get there before my wife, Yin, has her baby." The man told them.
"Great! We can travel through the Serpents Pass together." Katara said happily.
The family shivered at the mention of the pass. "The Serpents Pass? Only the truly desperate take that deadly route."
"Deadly route," Toph mocked. She punched Sokka in the side, knocking him flat on his ass. "Great pick, Sokka."
"Well we are desperate." He replied while rubbing his arm.
"You should come with us to Full Moon Bay. Ferries take refuges across the lake. It's the fastest way to Ba Sing Se."
"And it's hidden so the Fire Nation can't find it!" Yin added.
The group took a moment to consider the two options. "Peaceful Ferry ride or deadly pass," Katara mocked. Her brother gave her a flat look and then turned away. He made sure to glare at Naruto and Zentrai. He figured they might have known about it.
The three assassins shrugged as they loaded up their gear and began moving out. Zentrai took point with Shibaru and lead the way to Full Moon Bay. By the time they had reached the place, Yin was winded from her traveling and needed to rest before the mouth of a large cave. Two Earthbenders in green and brown uniforms stepped out and gave a quick nod. Yin's family helped move her along while Aang took point with the mute. They reached a dead end and waited as instructed. The wall groaned and then opened up to reveal a large port hidden in the mouth of a larger cave.
Naruto took one look and shuddered. "Hard to believe that this was all the Fire Nation's doing," he said solemnly. Katara nodded as they moved towards a large line. The blond gave Zentrai a quick glance when he seemed to turn towards one of the boats. "Something on your mind?" Zentrai shook his head. Naruto shrugged and turned to Lyra. "I mean no disrespect for Ba Sing Se or your dreams, but you are aware that if the war doesn't end soon, they will take Ba Sing Se?"
Sokka scoffed at that. "The city has only been penetrated once, and that was by the Dragon of the West, but he was quickly expunged."
"Nothing is impenetrable. I've seen absolute defenses fall in my time. There isn't a single thing that can be called an absolute defense 'less it's guarded by a Spirit. That's all I'm saying."
"Where else could we turn?" Yin asked carefully. Naruto thought about that for a moment before shrugging. "There isn't a place in the world that is safe from them. The only true place is Ba Sing Se." Naruto kept his mouth shut. He'd heard plenty of rumors about the city and didn't much care for it. If you wanted to remain ignorant to the outside world, Ba Sing Se was the place to go. They had only one small piece of information that kept Naruto practically out of the city.
Long Feng, he thought.
They had very few reports on the man and his illegal actions inside the city. Yes his idea was a good one. It stopped panic and fear. No one truly spoke about the war to begin with. Their lives were peaceful and just. But they were taking on too many people at a time. There was no more room to grow in the city unless you moved out from one of the outer rings into one of the inner rings of the city where your homes were bigger, fancier, and you had more elbow room.
But for all his good he did more bad as well. People that spoke out against the war vanished without a trace. The man was in charge of an elite group of Earthbenders, his Dai Li Agents, and held more power than the King did. He was the "True Ruler" of the city for all his political and military power. The King was just a figurehead for him to control. That, coupled with his blackmailing, random acts of violence for those that fail to see things his way, and his way he treated people made him a seriously bad dude.
"Passports," Naruto was jarred from his train of thought at the sound of the angry women. "Do I need to call security?"
Naruto groaned and reached into one of his pouches. He hadn't been paying attention and Toph managed to get them their tickets. They hadn't been part of her group and thus left behind. Not on purpose though. Naruto pulled out a small white piece of paper stenciled with gold and red writing on it. It bore a pyramid symbol in the center with a single slitted eye running down the middle of it. To anyone that understood anything about ancient cultural, it looked like the All Seeing Eye, when in fact it was just a pyramid with a slitted eye. It served as Naruto's official seal. Anyone who saw it knew exactly who he was.
The lady gave it a glance, paled, looked at him, his two pets, Lyra and Zentrai and without a word handed them their tickets. Naruto snatched them and his seal away from her. He shoved the tickets into his friend's chest and began walking.
"I hate the fact that we're heading to Ba Sing Se," Naruto told Zentrai silently. Zentrai passed Naruto's complaints on to Lyra. She just nodded while stifling a yawn. "Long Feng has been on our list for a long time. No one can raise a finger on him though. The man's smart. Real smart actually. If we even take a step inside the city, he'll know about us and have us under his bloody eyes all day long. I wouldn't be surprised if he tried to kill us."
"He can't do anything to us though without physical proof," Zentrai replied. He shifted the pack on his back a bit and then yawned. "I can't believe we're about to head to Ba Sing Se either. Chances are pretty high that the Drill will still be standing. We may have to deal with it. Reaper and her team might not have gotten to it by now or were probably caught."
"There's no way in hell they were caught," Naruto snapped at him. The mute shook his head. "If they were caught, it would only be to kill everything in sight. Those three are extremely bloody. They aren't known like we are, but they're pretty well known for being bloody monsters. I just hope that they left Azula alive. Rehka would probably be pissed if they killed her. She clearly wants her to suffer from what she did, even though she was the one to ask for us to spare her. She just wants her to suffer and wallow in her own shame for what she'd done."
They talked no more as they approached the teens. They were huddled on one of the small towers that overlooked the wall and fleet of boats that crossed the lake. And they had one of the guards with them. It was a female guard, one that Naruto instantly recognized as Suki, from Kyoshi Island. They moved swiftly to their side and when they stopped beside them, Suki stared at them for a brief moment.
"It's good to see you again, Suki. Never thought you'd leave your home," Naruto greeted. "What gives with that?"
She ran up and hugged him and then Lyra. Zentrai was left without a hug. He wasn't paying attention to Suki. But the female warrior had a mad blush on her face when she saw him. She turned to Naruto and said, "After Aang and his friends came to our island, we got involved in the war. We've been helping as best we can." Naruto looked her over and she was force to repeat herself. "The crabby lady at the desk makes all the security guards wear this."
"That sucks," Lyra snorted out. Suki nodded while receiving a strange look from the other teens. Lyra shifted and smiled. "We ran into Suki and her people almost two years ago. Back then we were still doing just mission for the Earth Kingdom and Water Tribe to help end the war. The mission was simple. We needed to provide escort for a large deployment of merchants that would give food to troops on the battlefield. The caravans were blocked on the land and we had to use the sea to get to them. We got attacked and needed repairs so we found their island and they let us stay 'till we got repaired. That's how we know Suki and her people."
"Yeah," Suki replied. "They came to our village and helped us out for a little bit. With Naruto and Lyra we were able to clear more land a little easier because we needed more room to grow crops. Our population had grown a bit and we were certain we'd run out of crops before the end of the next season. In exchange for repairs they helped us move trees and farm the land until it was done. Far trade."
Toph could feel Suki's heartbeat speeding up and her breathing turn into a series of rapid small breaths. She grinned. "Was Zentrai with them back then as well?" Suki nodded mutely. Again he breathing and heartbeat sped up. "Just asking."
"Avatar Aang," Yin shouted. The teens turned and found the small family huddled near the wall. "You have to help us! Someone stole all of our belongings! Our passports! Our tickets!"
"I'll talk to the lady for you!" He jumped off the tower and ran to the crabby lady.
Naruto shook his head as Zentrai sent to them, "She won't give out the tickets," Suki nodded. "We'll have to take them through the Serpents Pass to get them to Ba Sing Se. Just because we're well known assassins won't work here. We got our tickets the first time because she wanted us gone. Now we have a reason to leave because of our tickets and she'll have a backbone."
The others teens, minus Suki, went to Aang. Suki nodded silently as if she had just been told about a new mission to take. "I'll go get dressed. I'll be coming with you." She moved pass them all and vanished.
"Why do you think Sakura wants to come with us?" Zentrai sent to the others dumbly.
Naruto slapped a hand to his face. And as always, Zentrai totally messed up the name of any girl he ever had sex with. Why can't he just remember the names of every girl he does it with?
(-)
Naruto wasn't surprised when they were forced to take the Serpents Pass. If he was surprised, it was by the fact that Zentrai had called Suki a variety of different names by the time they reached the place. He had called her Kasumi, Ayane, Len, Wild Fire, Blue Babe, and the last one being Rika. Naruto didn't get how the man could remember the names of people he hadn't had sex with and possibly never met, yet always get the names of the women he had had sex with wrong. To the blond it was worse than a one night stand date where you tell them you'll write to them or come by and see them again and you never do.
And of course as they reached the shrine that marked the pass, Naruto half listened to Aang as he explained things to people without emotion in his voice.
"This is the Serpents Pass," Sokka said. "I thought it would be more windy, like a serpent. I guess they misnamed it."
"Look at this writing," Yin said unhappily. "How awful."
"What does it say," Toph asked.
"It says abandon hope," Katara read.
"How can we abandon hope when that's all we have?" Yin asked.
"I don't know," Aang whispered. "The Monks used to say that hope is just a distraction. So maybe we do need to abandon it."
"What are you talking about?" Katara inquired.
"Hope is going to get us into Ba Sing Se. And it's not going to find Appa. We need to focus on what we're doing right now. And that's getting across this pass."
"Okay… if you say so."
Naruto kept his mouth shut as he followed the teens. Like always, Zentrai took point with Shibaru while Lyra and Naruto brought up the rear with Rai. The path they took put them on the western side of it. If Fire Nation ships came by and were looking hard enough they'd easily spot them. The only reason Naruto believed they wouldn't was because the rocks that lined the side of the pass went under the water and made it impossible for large ships to get close. Only small rowboats would get close enough to the cliff side, and then they'd have to climb the wall. It would be like stabbing fish in a barrel.
"So why are you guys with the Avatar?" Naruto gave Suki a strange glance. She had slowed down to be between the two assassins. "Is it because you were ordered to?"
"Yeah," Naruto drawled out.
She smiled. "It's good to know Zentrai's got his head out of his ass then. I was wondering when he'd start taking things seriously again."
"Rehka ordered it, actually. She took over a few weeks ago," Naruto explained. Suki gave him a strange glance and he smiled. "She was finally convinced after she and her girls got captured by Azula and we had to rescue them. Azula only learned of their location because we were working with them. We got orders to get close to the Fire Lord and kill him before we learned that Aang was back. When that happened, we used our powers to capture Aang, though at the time we didn't know he was the Avatar. Anyways, Azula captured them and we went and rescued them. We destroyed two or three battalions of troops and left their stronghold as nothing more than a monument to death."
"I heard about that," Suki whispered. "They say that only one person was left alive, but was marked by you two. Why'd you even let one person live? That's like you guys, yeah, but after what they did, why'd you do it?"
"Rehka didn't want us to kill anymore. I was going to kill Azula right there on the spot but she stopped us. Instead, we gave her two marks that will stay with her unless she can remove a piece of her skull without killing herself. I doubt she can."
They traveled in silence for a long time before Suki asked, "You wouldn't know what they're building on the other side of the lake would you?"
Naruto hesitated to answer but knew she'd find out eventually. "It's a giant drill that they'll use to dig through the walls of Ba Sing Se." She turned away and looked towards the family a moment later. "Don't tell them. We had an elite team sent to take care of it. It might already be destroyed for all we know."
"Or it could still be up and running." Her gaze turned to the family and then towards Naruto. "They should know."
"No. Hope is what's keeping that family alive and together at the moment. A baby can help in keeping them together for only so long. Hope is what's keeping them together. They hope that this war will end soon and that the walls of Ba Sing Se will keep them safe."
"But it won't if the drill is still working."
"And if it isn't working than they will he fretted over nothing." Suki conceded and sighed. Naruto smiled. "Does Zentrai have any kids over there?"
She smiled. "Two," she answered happily. "They were very happy when they had the children. They named them Zen. Handsome little devils they are. One of them loves to play with knives and swords while the other one loves to be pampered and has all the women of the village practically eating out of his hands." The blond assassin smiled. "And no, they don't have his ability. They're vocal cords work and they both are normal kids."
"What about the mothers? Do they want him to return?"
"No. They actually like not having him around. I can't believe they don't want him around either, but they have the village to help them. It's a shame that they don't want him around. He was very useful during your stay." She blushed again as she remembered her time with him. "Will you guys ever come back to our village? Our elder enjoyed having you and Lyra around."
Naruto shook his head just as Zentrai's voice filtered into everyone's mind. "Fire Nation ship… Take cover."
The group hustled into hiding places as it passed without spotting them. Naruto kept his gaze locked on the thing, wishing it had spotted them. It passed them by without trouble. Once Zentrai gave the all clear, they started moving again.
Sokka ran back to Suki to check on her and gave the two assassins a strange look. "Suki, are you okay?" She nodded and he breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness." He patted her on the shoulder and resumed walking beside them. "So what have you three been talking about?"
"We were talking about Zentrai and when he might try to settle down with a girl." Suki lied. She liked Sokka. She really did. And she didn't want him knowing that she had a one night stand with Zentrai a few years ago. It might destroy him and whatever chance for a relationship she might have with him later on.
Lyra snorted at her words. "Zentrai will only settle down after he's gotten himself a harem," she snapped. Suki laughed. "But I suppose he truly wants to have a family. The more he talked about it during our time before I was forced to work at the Tower of Silence under his rule; he wanted nothing more than a family. He'd even give up his dream of having a harem instead of just one wife. He wants a big family because he loves children. Before the older soldiers began dying off and the age of enlistment dropped, he spent a lot of his time doing tricks to entertain the children we came across. But now most of those kids are either dead, soldiers, or freedom fighters."
"For a guy that tries to have sex with every female he comes across, he sure does keep to himself." Sokka observed.
Naruto shook his head. "He's only been that way since we left the desert and after he got his stuff from the library. He probably wants to know more about his people. He's truly one of the last of his kind. He even told me that the blood that created him is diluted to the point that almost all nations are inside him. In fact, the blood type of every nation is probably inside all of us if we think about it correctly. We're all one in the same."
"Why would you say that?"
"In the beginning, before the tribes that created your villages and cities came to be, you were all one people living in a land. When you went to explore, you moved along and adapted to your new lands. Eventually you all learned to bend the elements of the animals that you watched. But the other nation's blood that once moved through your veins has probably been diluted to the point it doesn't exist. Zentrai on the other hand would have such ties still, as his blood carries the gene that allowed him to be a Magnetism-Bender. But even it has become diluted over the years and there are very few that have it."
"So Zentrai's not really alone?" Suki asked.
"His people have no home. They have no nation and no tribe. I'd say there are probably only five people out there with his ability if I were to be honest. And those that have it probably don't have the control like he does. They probably didn't have the resolve that he had or the knowledge that he has now on how to use his powers. He is utterly alone. That's why he tries to fill the void in his heart with women and the dream of a big family. He wants it gone."
Sokka looked out towards the lake. "And what about you? What do you want?"
Naruto paused mid-step and then continued walking. "I just want peace. I've spent my life fighting battle after battle. I don't want to fight anymore. I hate fighting." The three teens gave him a strange glance and said nothing. He sighed and added, "I would like a wife I suppose. But I think all men would like a wife and a family. It's just our nature." The blond glanced up at the sun and then said, "We should probably find a safe place to make camp. It will be dark soon and with Yin pregnant we can't push her too hard."
"I'll let Aang know." Suki and Sokka ran towards the front of the group.
Naruto breathed a sigh of relief and quickly helped in making camp. He, along with five clones, moved down to the edge to go fishing. After a few hours of fishing he returned with his catch. Lyra was already ready with a pot of boiling water for his catch. Zentrai cleaned them and handed them over to Lyra for cooking. Katara helped until she saw Aang hovering near the edge of a cliff. She moved to speak with him while Naruto sat down next to Lyra.
"She's head over heels for him," she told him. Naruto nodded and watched the food get cooked. "Do you think it's been taken down yet?"
"Don't know. Reaper has never failed to kill anyone or take anything apart. If she hasn't gotten to it yet, then it would still be up."
"If we take it out, she'll be pretty mad at us." She continued to stir the contents and waited for Rai and Shibaru to return. "I'm sure that if we take it down, she'll be down our throats wanting to know why we did it. You think she'll be angry with us enough to the point she might try and kill us? She is known for attacking people that take away her kills."
Naruto shrugged as Zentrai returned with Shibaru at his side. He was holding a tome and had it opened to a page. He handed it over to Naruto and let him read it. "My people really are monsters," he said. Naruto read it and then gave him a quick glance. "Don't worry. I'm not going to do it."
Naruto closed the book and handed it to him. "You should tell Aang about it. He'd probably know what to do with it." He considered his own and then said, "You should destroy it."
"I've tried. I can't do it." To demonstrate, he stabbed the weapon with one of his knives and it was left without a scratch. "The tome can't be destroyed by any weapon or single element. I bet it would take the power of all four major elements to destroy this tome. I should have just left it in the library." He sighed. "The owl was right. My people are monsters."
Lyra put a comforting hand on his shoulder and then punched him in the face. He blinked and then smiled. "Just let me know if you get down again. I enjoy punching you for no reason," she said simply. He laughed and she lightly punched his arm. "Dinner will be ready in a few minutes. Get the others and tell them to get over here."
Naruto walked around getting the people. Yin stayed put, orders from her husband, and had her food brought to her. Naruto moved over to Suki and Sokka and informed them while Sokka walked off, leaving Suki alone on the ledge. Naruto eyed her strangely for a moment and then shrugged as he turned to leave.
When they all arrived at the campsite they feasted on fish and rice while Aang just ate the rice again. Naruto grinned. "You don't like meat?" Aang nodded as he shoveled the food into his mouth. "Never met a person that didn't eat meat. I had one friend that ate nothing but meat it seemed. His name was Chouji and he was a fat ninja." The group laughed. "That man was strong, fast, and fat. Not a great combination if you were fighting him since he could make himself bigger. If you ever wanted to talk about a fat person that could make all your food vanish, he was the man to talk about."
"How big was he?" Yin asked.
"He was a big person. I remember one time we took a mission and he fought someone that was stronger than he was and he still won that fight. Though he nearly as a result. He was a good person."
"Do you think he could eat all of our food and still be hungry?" Her husband asked.
"Yes. That man never stopped eating. And he had his own little traditions. He always got the last piece of food that sat at the bottom of a bowl or whatnot. It was considered the best piece in the whole thing. It held in the flavor and gave him extreme joy to know it was the last one." Naruto laughed for a moment and remembered the time he and Shikamaru ate chips outside his home. That was the day that Sasuke had left and they were sent to retrieve him.
"You should tell them about Kakashi or Jiraiya," Zentrai said.
Naruto laughed and fell backwards. "Kakashi… he was different. He was always reading his perverted novels that my other sensei, Jiraiya, wrote. Jiraiya, or Ero-Sennin as I called him, was a man that wrote porn novels as a form of income when he wasn't doing missions. Kakashi was probably his most rabid reader and fan. I think he had the entire collection. All probably first addition." Naruto smiled and sat up. "But Kakashi was unique. He had mastered more than a thousand skills and was called the Copy-Nin as a result. His signature skill was Raikiri. He formed lightning energy over one hand and it made the sound of birds chirping."
"So he was Fire Nation?" Sokka asked.
"Yes and no. We lived in a ninja village where we learned all the major elements. We couldn't bend the elements like you can, but we could do different things with them. My affinity before I was injured was Wind. I would have been considered an Air Nomad then, but I can't do it anymore. I lost my Wind Affinity long ago. Kakashi had Lightning Affinity. I had one friend that had Fire and Lightning as his affinity. I never knew anyone else that had any other affinity, unless you count sand as an affinity."
Toph scrunched her nose up at that. She could tell he wasn't lying about any of it. "Did you know anyone that could have been considered an Earthbender?"
Naruto thought long and hard for a moment before saying, "Sakura Haruno and Tsunade Senju," with a sad expression. "I loved Sakura the most and she was in my age group. Sadly though, she had eyes for our Fire Affinity friend, Sasuke Uchiha. Sakura's sensei was Tsunade Senju, our village's leader. She, like Tsunade, had monstrous strength that far surpasses my own. Tsunade taught her that skill and it scared me the first day she used it. She punched the earth and it practically exploded beneath my feet. Tsunade would have been a better one since she could cause a crevice to appear with just one finger."
"Wow! She must have been a very dangerous person." Aang said.
"Yeah… Her two greatest weaknesses were drinking and gambling. She was called our villages' greatest healer, but she was also known as being the Legendary Sucker, because she actually sucked so much at gambling. I suppose I got all the luck in the village since I did win a great vast amount of money one day when we were searching for her." They all laughed at that. Naruto laughed at it too because of how many times she tried to take him with her to get rich quick.
"What about Waterbenders? Surely you must have known at least one?" Katara asked. She leaned closer to Aang and the young Avatar scooted away slightly.
"Haku," he said simply. "Haku would have been one and a wind user as well. He used water and wind to make ice. He was a skilled ninja that was known for his Makyou HyouShou. He could actually put himself inside the mirrors he created and move so fast that he actually seemed to appear everywhere inside the dome he'd create from doing this. He'd rain down senbon needles while doing this and actually kill his opponents that way."
"Wow. I had no idea your people had skills like that. Why can't you do them anymore?" Aang asked.
"I was hurt badly and it left me badly damaged. I could no longer use all of my skills and I become like another friend I had as a result. We used our energies to actually boost our skills and form other skills. I can still do my signature Kage Bunshin, but I'm limited to only five. I can still change my form to that of anything I want." He demonstrated it by turning into a fully clothing female version of himself and then into Sokka. They seemed impressed by this. "And I can still do the basics of running up a while or walking on water."
"Is there anything your people couldn't do?" Sokka asked in excitement.
The blond assassin looked away. "We couldn't have peace." He whispered. They all deflated at this. "We wanted it, but we still fought. We wanted it more than anything else, but we still fought each other. During my time at the academy we were in a cold war. But we still did mission that put us against other nations. My first time out of the village was when I ran into Haku and his master, Zabuza Momochi. Zabuza was a Waterbender I guess and was more known for his sword skills. We fought them and technically won. I say we won because their client pulled out on them and tried to have him killed. They both died though."
The group fell into a series of questions for all three parties. When the conversation shifted to Naruto and his past, he answered by talking about his time in his village and with Gen Fu. When it shifted to the journeys of Aang and his friend, they mostly talked about his travels and the people he'd helped so far. When it shifted to Yin and her family, they often spoke about their time in their village before it was taken over by the Fire Nation.
That night, Naruto was on guard duty and watched the lake with Rai at his side. He was in the middle of petting him when he began to wonder about the fate of Ty Lee. Rehka had told him that she had nothing to do with her kidnapping and had even spoken out against it. And the conversation shifted to his power. When she talked about it, she made it seem like he was some divine being that had been entrusted with a power bestowed to him by the Spirits.
Usually he would have laughed at something like that, but ever since he had gotten here he had wondered if it truly was something given to him by the Spirits for a divine reason. He had used his powers to help a lot people. He had saved more lives than there were people in his village. He had made lots friends and even passed through the ranks in his organization quickly. He was well respected and loved for his abilities.
But for all of it, he had to lose his family back in Konoha. He lost them all and he didn't know how. They were gone. There was no Konoha here in their world so he knew he must have probably jumped forward or backward through time. To him it was the only thing that made sense.
But Ty Lee, to his knowledge now, had been the first to see it. He knew of knew of no one else that had seen that thing. He could see when he used his powers. It haunted him at first, but now he didn't care. It was like he had the Kyuubi with him again, and that made him happy to know that it was still with him in essence only. And she was curious about his power and wanted to know what it was. For the first time in his life he wondered just how he could explain that anyone else that didn't know him like Zentrai or Lyra did. He had only told them and no one else because of how Lyra had taken to it.
Lyra had been horrified by it until Zentrai pulled her deep within his mind while reading Naruto's. He showed her what it was and what it could do for them to end the war. Over time she accepted it and soon found the memories she had seen to be strange and also comforting because of how Naruto used it. He had never used it for evil, even though he looked evil as hell when he did.
If Ty Lee were to learn the truth, he wondered how she would take it. He wondered for an even longer time on why he cared. Maybe it's because of what Rehka said to me, he thought. He shook his head and stood up. Rehka told him that she believed Ty Lee had a crush on him that even she didn't realize. But because she had seen the Kyuubi, he wondered if her crush was nothing more than a desire for an answer. Besides, he moved to the group as the sun began to rise, how could she love me when she hardly knows me?
Naruto woke them and helped Zentrai begin getting their gear together. Suki moved towards him and motioned for him to follow. Naruto left a clone to help in packing the rest of the gear as he moved off with her.
"I lied to you," she said simply. Naruto gave her a baffled look. "We'll need to speak about it away from Zentrai though. It does concern his children." Naruto nodded and then moved back to the group. Zentrai was already off scouting the path ahead. "I don't remember being this distant though. I don't mind that he gets my name wrong, but it is annoying to know that he's acting far different from what he used to. I miss the old him."
"I personally don't. I like this version of him. Besides," he patted her on the side. "Zentrai's just trying to find the right person for himself. He's alone in the world and without Lyra or me, he'd probably be even deeper in his sorrow then he sometimes is. Being alone is… well… hard on people. Knowing you're the last of your kind is tough on everyone. Even me." He smiled and gave her a nod. "Let's get these people to Ba Sing Se. We have a job to do."
(-)
General Han sighed once more as Azula left his chambers. I am so not used to commanding royalty, he realized. Being in charge of the operation meant that he also was also in charge of Azula. It was tough for him. He wasn't used to such a thing. Anyone who tried to command royalty would sooner slit their throat than even try such a thing. Sure during war meetings they gave ideas to Ozai, but they never tried to control him. He had seen dozens of his comrades do the same thing with him. They offered up ideas and he listened to them. But they never commanded him.
He took a deep breath and looked outside his chambers again. The fleet of tanks that guarded them had yet to break formation on both sides. They moved in perfect symmetry. And there was also the fact that his troops were easy going at the moment. When the first siege struck the wall some time ago, the troops had been restless and attacked anything that moved, even though they were under the command of General Iroh, the Fire Nation's greatest General. No other General had come out like him. He was one of a kind.
Now he would be leading a siege against the city and hopefully tear down those walls. He wanted nothing more than for this operation to run smoothly. So far nothing bad had happened. Yet everything felt like it was about to be torn apart.
General Han wasn't known for his battle smarts, which he had, but rather his gut feelings. He had always been a man to, for lack of a better term, predict danger. For him, when things ran smoothly, something was wrong.
He checked everything over again and calmly assured himself that there was nothing wrong. He checked over the crew in all sections of the place, even the boiler room. They reported that everything was running smoothly. He checked the bridge where the War Minister was. He reported the same thing. And by the time he got back to his chambers, he felt like he had once more overlooked something. And he stared back out at the tanks as they moved alongside them.
Something isn't right, he mused. I'm missing something very important. He sat down on his bed and assumed a meditating stance. What is it that I'm missing?
(-)
I could've made five clones and just walked us across the damn thing, Naruto grumbled. He knew Zentrai read his thoughts and was probably chuckling at it all. Naruto wasn't happy. This was not his style. He was completely out his zone.
After a few hours of traveling they came to a dead zone. The pass sank to the bottom of the lake and left them with no room to walk on. When they reached it, Katara came up with the bright idea of Waterbending a walkway for them by having them walk under the water. Naruto had seen people get lost a straight line before. He had suffered through it as well. It usually happened to people in a desert that weren't used to it. This counted as such an event. They would walk forward to the other side and be unharmed by anything and everything.
If only it worked that way, the blond grumbled. Aang was helping her do this.
There were a thousand different ways they could have done this, most of them easier than most. The first way they could have dealt with this was Naruto's method: Using clones and his ability to walk on water. The other ways included having Toph and Lyra pull the earth up and create a pass that way. They could even sink the damn thing then. They could have also had Aang and Katara freeze a bridge to the otherside. It would melt in less than thirty minutes because of the heat and would have been perfectly safe.
The list went on and on with the methods they could have used. But no. They had to do it this way and were now forced with something Naruto truly didn't like. He was underwater with limited room to fight should they run into trouble, and if they did run into trouble, they would be crushed by the instant collapse of their makeshift bubble.
And as if the universe hated them, things did go wrong. A giant sea serpent, probably the same creature that gave the pass its name, decided to try and make a meal out of them. Now they were on a small little island created by Toph, and staring down a giant sea serpent that was ready to make a meal out of them. Naruto just was not in his strong suit at the moment.
"I think I just figured out why they call it the Serpents Pass," Sokka exclaimed. It roared at them as a result. "Suki, you know about giant sea monsters! Make it go away!" He commanded.
She went red in the face, which was amazing since she wore white makeup, and yelled back, "Just because I live near the Unagi doesn't mean I'm an expert!"
Sokka reached down and grabbed Momo. "Oh great and powerful sea serpent, please accept this humble and tasty offering. Thank you."
"Sokka," Katara screamed.
The sea serpent cried out as it lunged towards them. Aang was quickly in its face and swung his staff, sending a blast of wind to smack it. It recoiled and blinked as if stunned by his attack. Aang readied his glider as he said, "I'll distract it! Katara, get everyone across!" He took off just as the thing turned and tried to bite him.
Katara hastily built an ice bridge and hurried everyone across. She turned and jumped onto the water, forming a mini-surfboard of ice beneath her feet. With a single push she surfed out into the fight and didn't think twice to look back.
Naruto cursed and stopped as he crossed the ice. "Zentrai, Lyra, get everyone to a safe place. I'm going to help them." He jumped down and ran across the water.
Zentrai stopped short and turned towards the small little island Toph had made. She seemed quite content on her little island. He quickly ran back and snatched her up. "What are you doing?" She shrieked.
"Saving your life and doing my job," he replied simply. She blinked once as he sat her down. Moments after getting her to the other side did the sea serpent's tail come crashing down onto the ice bridge. Zentrai took a quick look before snickering. "I have the feeling you would have been halfway across when the bridge got destroyed and Xena would have been the one to save you. You would have thought it to be Sokka and kissed her for rescuing her, under the idea that it was actually Sokka and not Tina."
"Who in the hell are you talking about?" Toph screamed.
"He's talking about Suki," Lyra grumbled as they all ran. Shibaru carried Yin while they ran for their lives. Suki blushed and was thankful that all the screaming was deafening to Sokka as he watched his sister, Naruto, and Aang battle the giant sea serpent. "He can't remember the name of a single girl he has sex with. It's sort of retarded, but we've never figured out why. He just can't."
"That doesn't make sense."
"Neither does that fact that Naruto has a red aura when he goes berserk." She countered. Toph submitted to her logic and stopped running when they reached a large section of land that rose up to keep them from view. Lyra looked out around it and watched as the group battled the creature. "I wonder where Naruto is."
"He got eaten," Zentrai said quickly.
Lyra was about to make a comment to that when the sea serpent started reeling back and screaming. Naruto forced its jaw completely open and started punching it in the eye while screaming, "You ain't ever eating me! I'm going to bust your face up!" Naruto punched away on its face, reeling back the entire time and knocking it harder in the face. It screamed loud and long as its eye was literally crushed inside its own skull.
Finally, having enough of Naruto's fist in its face, he swooped down low and flung its head straight up into the air, throwing the teen off of its face. Naruto flipped through the air and corrected his flight. He positioned himself so he would land feet-first. He came down hard on its snout and skidded down its long body. He clung to it with his chakra and pushed off as Aang and Katara began working together to work the water in to a mini-whirlpool. When Naruto landed on the side of the pass, the serpent was thrown head first into the side of it.
The serpent, aware that its meal was a lot tougher to catch than it was willing to coup with, decided to leave while it could.
Aang flew over the group with Katara hanging on for the ride. They landed and everyone cheered.
The rest of the trip worked the same way. Zentrai was out with Shibaru taking point and Naruto brought up the rear with Toph and Lyra. Sokka was at the head of the group and trying to help as much as he could. When they reached the end of the Serpents Pass, Sokka was the one to declare that he found the wall. He even was stupid and declared that they'd have a smooth sailing for here. And of course, just after saying that, Yin went into labor.
The teens moved fast under Katara's leadership. Toph made an earth tent. Sokka went to fetch some water. Aang moved to get some rags. And Suki and Lyra moved inside to help the woman out. Naruto sighed, realizing that he would be of no use and decided to fetch them all something to eat for lunch.
He moved down to the beach and started fishing again. Rai tried hunting with no luck. Realizing that there was nothing to eat other than fish; Rai jumped into the lake and started swimming for a meal. His real goal was to attract the sea serpent and eat it. Of course after an hour of trying he gave up and sat down next to Naruto, waiting and begging for something to eat. Naruto smiled and gave him all of his catch.
It took him another hour to catch enough fish for everyone back at the campsite. When he reached the campsite everyone was happy. Yin had a baby girl and had named it Hope in honor of the thing that most likely kept them all together. Naruto was quick to start a different campfire, one that was far away from the family for safety reasons and so he and Lyra could cook in peace. They shifted things around and quickly got the food dished out to everyone.
After Aang finished eating he flew directly to Ba Sing Se. Zentrai was off to scout out the area again with Shibaru at his side. Naruto brought up the rear once more with Lyra as well. It was only when Suki gave him a strange look did he stop and tell the others to keep on moving ahead. Sokka was hesitant, but did so. He had faith in Suki.
Naruto turned and walked a few meters back and stopped. Zentrai would be out of range of reading their thoughts as they spoke. "What's the deal with this kid you were telling me about?" He said quickly.
She took a deep breath and said, "One of them is a Magnetism-Bender and has shown very little control over his power." Naruto shifted slightly. She knew he was uneasy about that. "It's the one that likes to play with knives. The mother is worried that he might actually harm himself and I'm a little curious about a way for him to learn it safely."
"Zentrai should be there. If you want…"
"No. Zentrai is needed in the war. He's a powerful ally and needs to help in taking down the Fire Lord. But what I'm curious about is if there's a way for you to help the kid? The mom is worried and we don't know what to do. She wants Zentrai to come home, but she's aware that he's needed out here. He can't just stop what he's doing because of this."
Naruto ran a hand over his face. She had a valid point. Zentrai was needed out here and taking him off their active list would cripple them greatly. Zentrai, Naruto, Lyra, and dozens of other assassins were out on the field and were very powerful. Zentrai was ranked as one of the top three elite assassins. Taking him off now would cripple their forces. The only one close enough to take his spot with was a female that didn't have any bending abilities, but was well known for her ferocity in battle.
He shifted next to a rock and said, "Send a message to your people and tell them to keep the kid from doing his bending. Zentrai had to learn things the hard way. I know you've seen them from your one-night stand with him when we first came to Kyoshi Island, but he's covered with scars from just learning on his own. And he's not even a real master in the arts. He just happens to be one of the only high ranking members of his kind because they're only a handful of them left, and most don't even use their powers."
"How am I going to get him to stop though? He actually can't control it." She slapped her arms to her side and exhaled. "Before we left Kyoshi Island, he managed to, in his sleep, put every metal object in the roof of their home and three other homes as well. She needs help."
The blond sighed. "We need to end this war and fast then," he said. She rolled her eyes. "Listen, I'll talk to Zentrai about this. But he can't know that one of his kids is just like him. I know keeping secrets is bad for us, but we do need him. He'd probably rush out to see the kid. We have a few months before we have a chance to end the war. A Solar Eclipse is coming that will render the Firebenders powerless. We hope to get the Earth King's support to mount a massive invasion and end the war. If you can get back to your people and keep this kid from killing himself for that long, I promise I'll send Zentrai over as quickly as I can." He reached into one of his pouches and pulled out a bag. "Give this to the mother and the other one as well. It's my money, but I'll make Zentrai pay me back later. Give this to them. Zentrai would do the same."
She nodded and put it away. "Thanks." She embraced him in a hug and smiled. "You know…"
"I'm well aware of the fact that a few of your girls liked me, but no. Not happening." She smiled anyways. "Go say goodbye to the others that you need to. I'll make sure we get to Ba Sing Se. You have a new job to do." He patted her on the shoulder and began moving with Rai after the group. Suki ran instead while the blond walked. When she was out of ear shot, he turned to Rai and said, "We have to end this war quickly. Zentrai would be devastated if he learned that one of his kids died because he wasn't there for them."
Naruto looked towards the wall and sighed. Somehow, he just knew the drill was still operational and was on its way to the city.