Once they entered the Fire Country they only traveled at night in order to prevent Appa from being seen. They were getting closer to the Capital and Aang hoped that they would meet Zuko and Iroh there because they could use the help of someone who knew the city well.
Zuko climbed the tall walls that surrounded the palace and looked around to see if anyone was nearby before he jumped on the other side. He found himself in a garden and made his way to the nearest building but stopped when he heard Mai's familiar voice coming from around the corner and leaned against the wall.
"I hope you're happy now Azula." The voice was getting closer "The Fire Lord entrusted you with an important position in the military for the upcoming invasion."
"I showed those brats not to mess up with me." Ty Lee giggled and received a displeased look from the princess.
"But you still don't have the Avatar. Isn't that what your father wants?"
"You're so narrow minded Ty Lee. I have the demon boy who miraculously survived the black sun but is still trapped in there. The Avatar will come to get him for sure." The other girl jumped excited.
"So you do have a plan to capture him?" Azula laughed at the other's naivety.
"I will personally deal with him." She clenched her fist imagining how she defeats the Avatar and presents him to her father.
Zuko appeared in front of the trio whipping the bored expression off of Mai's face and making Ty Lee gasp. "And where is the demon boy?"
Azula got ready to fight "Who are you?"
Zuko smirked "Don't you recognize your own brother, Azula?"
She bended a blue lightning bolt at him but he neutralized it with a yellow one.
"You're not Zuko" she attacked again with more power, getting serious. "Zuko is in jail."
Sasuke dropped the henge and activating the sharingan he attacked the princess. She barely avoided being hit and that was only due to her training in lightning bending. She redirected the lightning towards Sasuke but that didn't affect the boy. Unlike her attacks which released lightning, the one Sasuke made never left his hand. She clenched her teeth at the troublesome technique. She wasn't going to be defeated so easily though, even by a skilled fighter.
Deciding that it was not their business Mai and Ty Lee didn't interfere with the fight. Secretly none of them would have been bothered if the princess met her match for once.
Behind them the wall fell to pieces at contact with Sakura's fist.
"Where are Naruto and Zuko?" he asked aiming the chidori at her neck.
"In prison, last building on the left in the basement." Mai answered instead, receiving a deadly glare from the princess.
"Go!" Sasuke addressed the others but his eyes never left Azula "I'll handle her." Three black tomoes appeared in Sasuke's eyes and when they started spinning Azulla was dragged in her most horrible nightmares. Raising a hand upwards as if trying to reach something she gave a desperate cry that made even Ty Lee afraid then fell on her knees shaking with fear.
Sasuke looked at the other two girls for a brief moment as if trying to confirm that they weren't a threat then headed in the direction of the prison.
"Wait!" Mai approached him and he noticed the pained expression on her face. "What did you do to her?"
"She's experiencing some nasty illusions right now. She's going to be like that for a while."
"If she won't stand in our way I will help you get Zuko and Naruto out of jail." If it was anyone else they would have looked surprised or suspicious but since it was Sasuke his expression was as blank as always.
"Mai…" Ty Lee put a hand on her shoulder "You still love him don't you?"
"I feel terrible for hurting him so much but I wasn't strong enough to disobey Azula. I won't obey her anymore though."
"Take me to where the jail is!"
The guards were already knocked out when Sasuke arrived with the two girls. The gang had released Zuko and Iroh and Mai jumped in Zuko's arms, wrapping her arms around his neck and resting her head on his chest.
"I'm so glad you're ok." She turned her head to look at him "Can you forgive me? I wasn't strong enough to disobey her but it's over now." Zuko wrapped his hands around her too.
"It's ok. I know she can be hard to handle."
"Sasuke did it though, for now anyway."
Their conversation was interrupted by Aang "Can you take us to Naruto?" Mai dropped her head in shame.
"He's not here."
Sasuke felt his blood boil in anger "You said he would be here!" he roared.
"I'm sorry. I just wanted to make sure you helped us get Zuko out of jail." Mai explained but Sasuke would not listen anymore, he has had enough of this Fire Nation. Activating his sharingan he put Mai and Ty Lee under the same genjutsu he used on Azula then left.
Zuko looked at the two girls with sadness visible on his face but there was nothing he could do for them. Sasuke was scarier than ever since Naruto was not around. He had been surprised to realize that Mai had feelings for him, that she would help get him out of his imprisonment. He felt like he was getting a taste of the life he always wanted for the first time but he would have to let go of it.
"Zuko!" Iroh called his name as he saw his nephew lost in thoughts on the battlefield. "They'll be fine here at the palace but we have to go." Giving Mai one more look Zuko followed his uncle obediently.
Iroh took them to a safe hiding place so they could talk about the plan. The day of the eclipse was getting closer and they needed to open the city gates for the army that was coming from the Earth Kingdom.
Sasuke couldn't concentrate at all on the task at hand. He was wandering the city under a henge, looking for a place where Naruto could be kept.
Late in the evening he returned to the hiding place without a clue about where Naruto could be.
"All hope is not lost." Iroh approached him giving him a cup of tea. "I think I know where he is but we can't get him out now. The place is heavily guarded."
"So then what should we do? We need him on the day of the eclipse?"
"We'll get him on that day. We'll use the invading army to do that." Sasuke looked at him with interest. Finally someone was telling him something and giving solutions. "But you need to be patient until then." Sasuke lowered his head fixing his gaze on the cup in his hands. "I know he means a lot to you."
The day of the eclipse came fast and when Sokka announced that his father had sent a bird with a message saying they were close, everyone got ready to attack the guards at the gate.
Sasuke brought forth Susanoo and damaged the gate as the others fought the guards. An emergency signal was sent throughout the capital but it did not matter. As fire Nation troops were gathered and mobilized the Earth Kingdom and Water Tribe soldiers entered the gate whipping out anyone who opposed them.
"Let's go get Naruto!" Iroh told the group as soon as the allies were in control at the gate.
"I'll stay with dad." Sokka said as he joined Bato on an ostrichcamel "You go find Naruto."
"Be careful!" Katara told him before she joined the others.
"There is a fortress close to the palace. There is a high chance they hold him there." Iroh explained as he guided them on dark, narrow alleys towards the palace. "If we reach the palace there's an underground passage that will take us there."
The palace was under alert so the place was packed with soldiers and avoiding them was impossible while fighting them was suicidal.
Sasuke climbed the wall and looked into the courtyard to evaluate the situation while Sakura watched their back. Jumping down he turned to Ihoh "I'll get them busy, you lead the way."
Toph made an opening in the wall and Sasuke entered first. Activating his sharingan he created the black flames of Amaterasu that engulfed everything and anyone they touched bringing panic among the soldiers. "Don't touch the flames!" He warned them and Iroh led the way. Sakura grabbed Toph's hand to guide her around the flames.
They crossed the courtyard and entering a narrow door they entered the underground passage that led to the fortress. Once they got Naruto out they would come back here and deal with the Fire Lord himself once and for all.
The end of the corridor was getting closer and they got ready to fight. As they got out of the dark passage they found themselves in a huge room with no windows which was lit with torches that were placed on the walls.
The black sun was floating above the ground and glowed with preternatural red light while the two witches stood on both sides of the sphere. Right below it was a throne and sitting on it was none other than Azula.
"I was expecting you." She smirked, angering Sasuke.
"Let Naruto go!" Aang ordered before Sasuke could say anything.
"Make me!" She dared him. "You know that if anything happens to these ladies you will never get him out again?"
"I will make you gladly." Sasuke hissed and activated his sharingan again to cast Tsykuyomi on the princess. He had not planned to do that yet. Tsukuyomi took a great amount of chakra and the battle had just begun. He also used Susanoo and Amatrasu not long ago but he wanted to get Naruto back at any cost. Once his eyes were back to their normal onyx color he began to pant slightly.
Azula acted as if she was in a tremendous amount of pain from torture which scared the women who didn't understand what was going on.
"If you don't want to end up like her I suggest you let Naruto go." He hissed again. It was a bluff since he knew that if they refused he would not be able to cast Tsukuyomi again but the women complied and released the spell.
Naruto fell on the floor with a loud thud as he was still unconscious and Sasuke ran by his side as the others looked in awe. Kyuubi's red chakra was covering him and yet he looked so peaceful. There was no sign of the killing intent that they sensed the last time this happened.
"Naruto!" Sasuke called his name and after a few moments the sky blue eyes opened to look into onyx ones. Sasuke smiled "You're ok?"
"Yeah. Where am I?"
"In the Capital city. The invasion began and the eclipse will begin any minute."
Getting up Naruto brushed the dirt from his clothes then looked at the princess for a few moments. "Did you use Tsukuyomi on her?" Sasuke noded "We have no time to lose, we must get the Fire Lord but you're in no shape to fight Sasuke." Everyone else was in shock. Sasuke was a very strong fighter. If he couldn't fight then they had a high disadvantage in front of Ozai. "Just stay behind me." Naruto gave Sasuke a warning look until the other nodded in agreement.
Making their way back to the palace they didn't bother to hide at all and fought their way into the throne room where an extremely angry Ozai was giving orders left and right. He stood up at the sight of his uninvited guests and at a raise of his hand the group was surrounded by soldiers.
"Brother, Zuko and the Avatar." He acknowledged them "You think you can stop the war with this petty excuse of an invasion?"
"I will stop you today once and for all. I won't let you destroy the world." Aang said getting in a fighting stance.
"Fool. I have no intention of destroying the world. I want to unite it, to bring peace and order."
"You want to unite the world under your rule?" Aang asked.
"This world needs a leader with a vision of the future and big plans but sometimes great things must be done with an iron fist. I believe in this plan for this was the plan that my grandfather envisioned and my father followed and I will do anything to see it fulfilled."
"Then I'm afraid that we'll have to bring an end to it." Naruto interfered as he began to attack the guards. The red chakra cloak enhanced his senses and speed just like the last time only that this time he was in control. He smiled slightly as he tested his new powers in battle and was more than pleased with the result. Apparently the time that he spent talking with Kyuubi was not wasted since he managed to make the stubborn demon cooperate.
Aang went to fight the Fire Lord himself in a tight battle while the others fought the guards. He tried to calm down in spite of the fact that he felt excited. This battle was crucial and he could not fail. Entering the Avatar State he started to fight more serious, with more power. He felt Rava's power engulf him and his senses became enhanced but at the same time he felt calm and in control. He smiled slightly as he launched a close range attack on Ozai only to see a smirk on the man's face before he felt pain in his stomach. Looking down he saw Ozai holding a dagger that thrust his stomach and fell on the ground.
"Relying only on bending is foolish, Avatar."
Naruto finished his opponent fast. There was no time to lose since Aang was wounded while he was in the Avatar State. If nothing was done than he was going to die for good and there would be no more Avatars to protect the world in the future. He made some hand seals in a hurry and for the first time since the battle began he was grateful that he was trapped in the black sun. In his imprisonment he learned jutsus known only to the Uzumaki and he engulfed Aang in chakra vines to keep him alive as he poured enough chakra from the Kyuubi to heal him. "Naruto, the eclipse will start soon." Sasuke said from beside him.
"I know but Aang can't die here. Stay beside him." Naruto turned to face Ozai with a determined look on his face "I'll be your opponent from now on." Giving Ozai no time to react he attacked with a Kyuubi enhanced speed.
"You truly are a demon." Ozai said dodging attacks "How you survived the black sun for so long is a mystery to me but no ordinary human can do it."
"And what if I am?"
"You should not interfere in human affairs. You can't possibly understand order since order is brought by humans."
"Is that so? By human's order you mean humans enslaving and killing humans? That sounds like chaos to me." With every word Naruto became more motivated to bring an end to this fight and kill the Fire Lord. There seemed to be no hope to make the man understand that his methods were wrong.
"I knew you would not understand."
"I was born human though…" Naruto concluded as he launched a final fatal blow to the Fire Lord as the moon covered the sun entirely.
Their job was over and they should leave the rest to the allied army.
The attack on the Capital was over and the soldiers were celebrating their victory but the Avatar had been hurt and his life was in danger. Zuko took his friends to the room that used to be his when he lived at the palace and Aang was placed on the bed.
"Aang's situation is pretty bad. I used some chakra from Kyuubi to heal him but more than this will hurt him so I'll leave him in your hands Sakura, Katara." They nodded.
"What about the chakra veins?" Sakura asked since she was not familiar with the jutsu.
"It's a jutsu that can be done by an Uzumaki only since our chakra is different. It will keep him alive but it can't heal him." Sakura nodded and began analyzing the wound.
"So what's going to happen now?" Sasuke asked.
"Zuko should be crowned Fire Lord." Iroh said, a smile covering his face as he saw the surprised look his nephew gave him. "Now you can look for your mother, Zuko."
"What about Azula?" Zuko asked.
"She won't be sane again. I used on her my most powerful illusion." Sasuke explained and Zuko felt relieved. The war was finally over.
"What about you?" Toph, who had been listening to the conversation the entire time, interfered.
"We'll go back home, in Konoha." Sasuke explained.
"This world will be safe for now with Zuko to lead the Fire Nation and with Aang as the Avatar." Naruto added.
A week later Aang was feeling better and they all participated at Zuko's coronation. For the first time in a long time they could enjoy themselves and have fun. The mission was finally over.
"Naruto?" Sasuke and Naruto were looking at the night sky after everyone else went to bed after the party.
"Hm?" The blonde didn't drop his eyes from the sky to look at Sasuke who was studying him carefully.
"Do you still think that I hate you?"
Naruto dropped his gaze to look at his feet and a sad expression marred his face "I don't know. Maybe you don't hate me but you don't like me either."
"I don't hate you and I'll do anything to prove it to you. Don't you see there's a bond between us that's greater than anything I've experienced before?"
Blue eyes turned to look into the onyx ones, still pained. "That didn't stop you from leaving."
"I only realized myself after I left but you are the reason I came back. I'm sorry if my actions or behavior made you think that I hate you." Naruto smiled, trying to hide the tears that were forming in his eyes and for once Sasuke smiled back at him.