Here we are again with an update. I hope you all enjoy it I know I love writing this story so let's get to it.
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The First Mixed Company didn't so much march down the road as it slogged through the thick muck of what was supposed to be a roadway. As Naruto expected, the closer to the front they were the more the situation deteriorated. The muddy roads and eerie silent farms and villages reminded him far too much of his time with the Jaguar Company.
What ate at Naruto the most though was just how close to the old Frontline this position was. After the Battle of the Crossroads had happened they had one for the few properly unified and organized Earth Kingdom armies in a full blown rout. The Fire Nation had been practically knocking at the doors of Omashu. One of the few true Earth Kingdom strongholds that remained.
At least he could appreciate being placed under the leadership of his same old commanding officer. The Colonel's career had temporarily stalled out in the face of the string of major defeats the Fire Nation had suffered. Of course the arrogant ass that was General Buying had bumbled them into impossible scenarios so Raiko had no chance at victory.
As Naruto had expected, the man had chosen the lives of his troops over saving face at court. He adored that about the man. It was something Naruto himself strived to apply to his own career.
As the company marches into the current encampment garrisoned by Colonel Raiko's force he couldn't help but feel both disappointed and nostalgic. Nothing had changed. Any boost of morale gained by the rapid advancement recently was gone since their defeats had forced them so far back.
The tents and broken down buildings of the ruined village were Naruto's home away from home though and after ordering his troops to fall out he, along with his officers and squad leaders headed toward the farmhouse converted into a headquarters.
As he stepped in the young captain smiled at the sight of Raiko once again. The old man looked tired and gray. Literally gray, as his hair both on his head and face had gone a silvery color almost like metal. He was clearly suffering from the stress of the war but he looked as strong and imposing as ever.
"Colonel." Naruto greeted warmly with a salute followed by Mulan and the rest of his subordinates that had accompanied him.
"Naruto. At ease. Damn it's good to see you. Mulan." Raiko said as he nodded in the direction of Naruto's right hand.
"Sounds like you've been in need of some support."
"Sounds like you have a bunch of green recruits. You know what we're about around here. This really isn't the place for them. It will look bad for the First Mixed unit in the military to lose most of its number in it's first campaign." Raiko said.
"With all due respect Colonel, my people are green but I'm not." Naruto said seriously, causing his commander to stare back at him.
"No you are not." The colonel admitted.
Raiko's force was currently on rotation away from the real front lines a few more miles inland. It was fine with Naruto. He needed to get his people used to the reality of the Great War anyway. As much as he had tried, no amount of training would properly prepare for the real thing.
The current focal point of this region was combat around a bridge that the Fire Nation had hastily constructed during their advance inland. The Earth Kingdom had been smart to destroy as many paths across the waterways during their retreat but as they pushed the Fire Nation back they easily rebuilt any bridges themselves.
Now however the Fire Nation was essentially making it's stand in trying to stop the slow plodding counter offensive that their enemy had been using to drive them backward. All but this one metal bridge had already been destroyed making the fighting around Bridge D-3 especially intense.
After all, if they lost their foothold on the other side of D-3 then they would be forced back onto the other side of the river and likely slowly pushed back to the next waterway which was unacceptable. As it was they were already a stone's throw from some of the more isolated Fire Nation colonies and it was unacceptable that they would be put under threat.
Raiko had brought Naruto as well as the other company commanders together to go over the current situation for when they were placed on the front.
The figures on the map did not look good for them. Outnumbered was an understatement and of course the bridgehead was at the base of a valley between two steep hills. The only cover was the remains of a ruined village on the other side of the river.
"This is awfully familiar." Naruto said as he looked at the diagrams.
"At least we don't have to paddle across the river this time." Raiko replied as he nodded his head.
"A lot better first rotation for my people then. What's the plan?" Naruto asked.
"Thought you'd never ask. The rest of our force is slated to rush up to reinforce our troops on the bridgehead. Your force won't be using the bridge. Between your water benders and your earth benders I want you to come in on the southern flank. If possible I want you to do it without revealing your position to the enemy so that you can hit their positions from the rear." Raiko explained.
Naruto eyed the map. He then turned to look at Kida. She was a sergeant already, the highest ranking of the new recruits. She'd earned her position after saving nearly ten of her fellow recruits' lives after an accident aboard the ships nearly drowned them.
"Can our water benders get us across unnoticed?" He asked.
Kida stared at the map and ran the estimates of her people through her head. She was more of a healer in focus but her training and the weeks since coming to the mainland had expanded her knowledge of bending a bit forcefully.
"We could walk across the bottom while bending the river over us. It would take a lot out of everyone and if they lost concentration while doing it we would be as good as dead." She explained.
Naruto eyed the map but slowly began to nod his head. It was a bit risky, however it would put them behind the Earth Kingdom lines without giving them away if they could pull it off. The idea of walking under a river had him suddenly missing the paddle boats he had once used.
"If you're sure, then tomorrow night your people will move as soon as the sun sets. You'll take as long as you need for your people to rest back up then attack before sun up. We'll wait for your attack then join in. Hopefully this will force them off of those hills and allow us to break through again." Raiko commented.
"Sadly it's another set of rivers between us and any real progress." Naruto commented, getting a disappointed nod from Raiko. He knew the terrain in these parts all too well by now. It was going to be complicated to retake the land leading up to Omashu but that was the task they were given.
"Feed and rest your people as best you can, Naruto. You'll need the energy." Raiko said before dismissing them.
The leadership of the First Mixed Company saluted their commander and headed off toward the large barn that had been converted into a mess hall for the troops present.
"Our commander is a bit of a character." Kida commented to her captain waiting to see his reaction. The commanding officer said nothing but Lieutenant Mulan suddenly turned her head to give the younger soldier a scathing look.
"Colonel Raiko's was our commander during our first tour on the front. He pulled us out of the grave more than once." She said simply.
Kida and the other leaders from their force cringed at that. Even those that had been soldiers in Naruto's unit prior to the crossroads hadn't realized how close their two leaders were to the Colonel.
"Fall out and find some chow. I expect everyone to have us a place set up for camp in the next two hours. After that I want a general assembly for the company called outside my new quarters." Naruto said simply.
"Dismissed!" Mulan called and the soldiers moved to join their own subordinates in eating.
As the soldiers headed off Naruto continued past the barn toward the remains of what was probably a tool shed at one point. The tarps and short sandbag walls around it made it clear that the building had been converted into a more important job than before. The small sign nailed to the front of the building denotes it as the company's commander quarters. Which meant Naruto and Mulan would be sharing a space.
Just like their first time on the front. Privacy was a privilege after all.
The two of them thanked the camp workers that brought them their own meals before they settled in and made themselves comfortable on the tiny one room space.
"Cozy." Mulan joked.
"Better than a tent for sure." Naruto commented.
That was a fair point. There was just enough room for two small army cots and a single desk. It didn't matter though. They wouldnf even have a full two days to stay here. At least not if things worked as they planned.
The pair quickly ate and changed, ignoring one another as much as possible while they did so. Thankfully for Naruto's teenage heart, Mulan wore tight chest bindings beneath her uniform. He doubted he wouldn't try to sneak a peek if that wasn't the case. She was a beautiful woman after all.
Naruto turned to the desk instead and set to work writing at a letter to send back home to Azula. Mulan finished dressing and watched her commander at work. A small flutter in her chest at the sight of him looking so peaceful caught her a bit off guard.
Her eyes settled on the letter and she frowned just so slightly. A pang of jealousy at the attention her gave the princess even here so far away from her stung at her but she quickly smothered it. Her Captain might not see himself as such, but he was a royal. It was only fitting that his mind be centered on the princess.
That being said she was disappointed that her choice to change at the same time as him hadn't had more of an effect.
She had little doubt that her captain would eventually rise to high enough station that the Fire Lord would wish to marry him to Princess Azula. He was an incredibly powerful and talented bender. Azula was just as talented and they were both set to shape the future of their entire world.
Mulan was just an army officer in comparison. Yet royals had mistresses, did they not? Fire Lord Azulon was known for it, though he was evidently quite careful not to sore bastards unlike his elder son Iroh.
She could be fine with that situation either way.
"Mulan, are you alright? You're staring." Naruto asked as she realized he had stopped writing and was looking at her in confusion.
"Just thinking of tomorrow night." She said quickly.
"It's going to be tough but better that then our first few battles right? I just hope the company is ready for what will come. We might get the drop on the rock heads but that doesn't mean they are just going to throw in the towel and surrender. There will be bloodshed." Naruto said a bit worriedly.
"We prepared them all as best as we could sit. Better than we were. Better than any other new recruits stepping into combat for the first time."
"Maybe. I just hope it actually counts for something this time." He grumbled before turning back to the letter.
Mulan felt the same way in regards to their lost comrades. So much death, and all for practically no real change. Still, there was just a feeling inside her gut that told her that someday soon things would be changing very quickly.
It was dark. The moon was out but the cloudy night sky kept most things in the dark as the First Mixed Company moved into position along the bank of the river. There was quiet murmuring barely audible over the distant rumbling. A few of the recruits wondered if it was thunder. Perhaps a storm was coming in.
The veterans knew better. The continuous rumble wasn't coming from the clouds but rather from the battle being had at the bridge head. No doubt the Earth Kingdom army was hammering Raiko's men there trying to force them back or at the least keeping them contained until they built up enough of a force to crush through the defenses.
"Pass the word along, quietly form into groups two water benders per group. They know what we're doing." Naruto ordered in a voice just above a whisper.
The murmur changed as junior officers and sergeants quickly passed word along and the men and women under his command shifted into their groups. Soon they were organized, though a few sergeants had to yank a couple soldiers around in the darkness to get them into position.
Kida stood at her commander's shoulder along with a slightly older woman who Naruto felt bad at not recalling the name of. It wasn't time to dwell on that though. His group, consisting of his inner circle as well as those that had once been the elected leaders among his recruits, were the first to step into the water.
As they advanced Kida and the other woman began an intricate dance-like bending pattern. Arms waving, hips twisting. In other conditions it would have almost been like the belly dancers he'd heard of populating the desert provinces of the Earth Kingdom. He figured that such a thing would be used for warfare in this conflict. By now he wondered if there was anything that wouldn't be found useful and utilized in the fighting.
It was an interesting experience, walking along the bottom of the river. The path was understandably muddy, but it was like the muck of the overused roads they had marched on. More like wet ground after a hard rain. Their boots didn't get sucked down or stuck. That had been something he'd worried would stall their movement but they made better time than he could have hoped and before long they were emerging from the river on the other side.
He couldn't stop the feral grin that crept onto his features. This was going to be an utter rout for the Earth Kingdom if the plan continued on as smoothly as this.
After the entire company had been assembled on the enemy shore Naruto once more sent a series of whispered orders to organize his soldiers. They reformed into a rough formation with non benders at the forefront armed with shields and blades while the company's fire benders and earth benders stayed close by to step forward at a moment's notice and assault the enemy. Lastly was the rest of the non benders and water benders.
With a silent signal the group began to move quietly over the hilly terrain toward the rear of their enemy. It would take them a good while to reach the right position at this pace but it was a relaxed gait that allowed the water benders to regain their strength from bending through the river and keep the company overall in pretty decent shape.
They wanted to be as rested as possible for the coming assault.
It was still quite dark by the time they reached their position. A straight shot with a gentle incline up to the Earth Kingdom positions. They could make out the fires and movement at the hill top.
Naruto ordered a halt though. They weren't exhausted but still he gave them all a moment to ready themselves for what was about to happen. The time felt simultaneously like it was gone in a flash and like it had drug on for hours.
As if the spirits themselves were lending a hand a fog began to settle over the whole valley. Morning remained a few short hours away but the humid foggy air felt like it was wrapped around them. Quiet and eerie.
Finally Naruto signaled the company to form up and the soldiers followed his command immediately. The young commander looked on at his mostly green company and worried once again about the possibility of this some how backfiring and getting the entire group trapped on the wrong side of the battle lines.
He pushed the thought from his mind and waved the company forward. Muffled orders from lieutenants and sergeants had the force advancing.
Slowly at first they plodded across the empty space between themselves and the hill. However as they advanced their pace began to steadily pick up.
The rumbling thumps of footfalls and jingling sound of weapons and armor as they moved began to increase in volume. As it did steadily the need for silence fell away and a new need to rouse their determination to spill their enemy's blood picked up. It started out as a couple shouts here and there but by the time the company was running full tilt toward the enemy camps they were roaring out in a full blown charge.
Of course this eliminated any real surprise but the main surprise had been the sudden charge from behind. The complete opposite direction as to where their enemy expected them to be.
It made the Earth Kingdom's reaction slow and sloppy. Too slow and sloppy to properly rally their troops as Naruto and his company rapidly closed the distance.
Screams and shouts of alarm could barely be heard by the young captain over his own soldiers' war cries.
As he began to crest the hil, just a few steps to the right of Mulan as both led the charge, he was already twisting his body into familiar motions that brought forth gouts of flame. The nearly as familiar screams of terror and pain among his targets pushed him on to the next set of enemy soldiers before him.
Nearby Mulan drove her weapon through the chest of a stumbling earth vender before Naruto lost sight of her in the rush of bodies.
The two sides clashed at the edge of the Earth Kingdom camp. Soon gouts of flame swept over the tents and soldiers alike just as boulders claimed the lives of both sides of the conflict. Blades of water quickly became reddened as they carved up the enemy.
Naruto fought harshly and burned his way down a narrow trench line into what appeared like a commander's tent. Inside a young and clearly high born nobleman had just finished pulling on his uniform. At the sight of Naruto his eyes widened and his arms instinctively moved into a bending form.
He never got further than the initial pose though as Naruto planted a fist into his face and clamped his hands onto his enemy. Direct heat, channeled from Naruto into his opponent, began causing the young officer's face to steam and warm up as he let out an anguished scream.
This wasn't really bending. It was the most basic exercise for a fire bender turned up to the most cruel extent. An exercise used to burn leaves and start campfires used to boil flesh and blood and torch bone.
Just as the officer's eyes looked about ready to pop from the heat Naruto felt himself roughly torn off of the man slammed into a rock wall that most definitely hadn't been there before. A much larger and older Earthbender stormed into the tent. That was when Naruto realized there were two cots inside.
"Min? Are you alright?" The man asked, clearly worried about the younger of the two.
It wasn't hard for Naruto to figure things out. The two were identical besides the obvious differences in age and size. This man was the true commander of this Earth Kingdom unit and the man that Naruto had just been cooking alive was clearly his son.
Ming, the younger officer evidently, didn't seem to hear his father at all as he simply sobbed in agony. Blackened hand prints decorated his once flawless visage and blood and peeling skin had ruined the rest of the boy's face. He couldn't clutch at his wounds without causing himself even more Spain so instead his hands desperately reached out blindly grasping at anything and everything.
The commander seemed to understand that his son wouldn't be recovering enough for him to speak. He turned back to destroy the fire bender that had harmed his child in such a way.
Instead he hesitated for a brief moment as he noticed that Naruto was in fact even younger than his own son. It was a fatal mistake. In that brief moment Kida had arrived into the tent and planted a spear of water through his chest and pinned him to the ground. It was brutal but obviously effective as the commander gurgled loudly from the blood and water quickly running into his airway.
Kida seemed to freeze up at the sight. Her training had been enough to save Naruto's life but the dying man before her was dying because of her actions. She snapped out of it a Naruto stood back to his feet and with a twist engulfed both wounded Earthbender in a white hot fire that lasted nothing more than a second.
The charred corpses that remained looked more like huge pieces of firewood than human beings. Kida could hardly believe the damage done to them by what seemed to be such an easy move for her captain to pull off. Was this the end result of all those that had faced him at the Battle of the Crossroads?
"Thanks for that Kida. You saved my ass there but we are needed outside. This battle is far from over." Naruto said. He turned and left the girl to her thoughts for a moment. She needed to fight down that grief at ending a life. It wouldn't be her last.
Naruto rejoined the fight outside. He caught sight of Mulan organizing some of their troops into a battle line. The First Company's Earth Benders marched ahead pushing a solid barrier of rock against the faltering Earth benders from the Earth Kingdom.
Naruto had expected this kind of scenario and trained his men ruthlessly in combating people of all nations even of the fire nation. In comparison the earth benders facing them rarely if ever battled someone of the same element in a serious wartime situation.
It made Naruto quite proud of his soldiers.
While the earth benders advanced, Naruto joined in with his fire benders as they launched another assault over the camp and into the defensive lines that the earth kingdom forces had taken refuge in. Unfortunately for the defenders Raiko had also begun his assault upon seeing the flank of the Earth Kingdom positions collapsing.
Walls of flames fell upon the trenches and bunkers from both sides and the Fire Nation took the hill on the smoldering corpses of hundreds of Earth Kingdom soldiers. Having lost the high ground and nearly a third of their force the organization of the remaining Earth Kingdom forces collapsed and the battle kicked into an even more brutal and intense storm of chaos.
As many Earth Kingdom forces fled and other charged, they were easily cornered and obliterated in small groups by the better discipline and organization of the Fire Nation army.
Naruto had reformed his company and begun pursuing the remnants of the Earth Kingdom center into a ruined village that acted as the central headquarters of the enemy force. He could see Kida had regained herself after taking her first life. The older water bender that had joined his group in crossing the river lay dead nearby her and the white haired bender had exacted revenge for her sister in arms by separating a score of earth kingdom heads from their shoulders.
As he had expected the battle became a complete rout for the Earth Kingdom forces. Only the staunchest and most stubborn of the enemy remained.
"Fucking traitors! You betray your own people to the fire nation for what?!" A man howled with blood from several wounds running freely. He took on three of Naruto's best earth benders through sheer willpower and rage.
"They did it for a chance at a better future." Naruto said simply and he rocketed forward with a burst of flame knocked the man off balance. His soldiers didn't miss the opening their captain had given them. The mouthy soldier was soon little more than pulp from the crushing rocks that smashed into his body.
The fighting didn't stop there and even when the battle itself was truly over the wounded of the enemy were largely put down. It was a mercy in a way. They didn't have the materials to treat so many and of course the fire nation would look after its own first and foremost.
By mid morning the last of the Earth Kingdom forces had either fled or been wiped out. Naruto and other officers had gone to report in to Colonel Raiko but had learned that the Colonel had been severely wounded in the battle and been taken to a field hospital before being taken farther back for more impressive medical treatment.
That had shaken both Naruto and Mulan. Raiko seemed practically invincible to the both of them. To learn he was seriously injured while they had been nowhere close by to help was jarring. Still they were reassured that with a few short months the bitter veteran commander would be right back where he belonged.
The medics had even said he'd been pissed to be getting shipped to the rear just as they made a breakthrough. Naruto had to chuckle at that. It sounded very much like Raiko.
Unfortunately. While Raiko was away from the front, command of his unit was handed over to Major Yaorin. Someone that hadn't joined their force until after Naruto and his people had been given their leave. He had taken part in the advance of the Fire Nation army as well as it's retreats over the last year and was a decent officer in most ways.
Except that he was from a very important noble family. One that even claimed some blood ties to the royal family. Yaorin already thought poorly of the upstart royal bastard leading the First Mixed Company, but his bias didn't stop with Naruto alone.
The Major held Fire benders above all else. If anything that was the one decent thing about Naruto to him. That being said he despised the idea of Naruto's unit to his very core. He considered non benders as lesser but at least he considered them citizens. The way he looked at and acted around the earth and water benders though…it was like he expected them to leap after him to try and stab him in the back.
So for over a month after their first use in battle the company was stuck doing menial labor and construction jobs. Being 'put to real use' as Yaorin called it. Building roads, fixing bridges, and repairing buildings. Civilian work mostly. Naruto had initially been accepting of it. He wasn't keen on throwing his troops straight into the meat grinder and it was only temporary until Raiko returned.
Sadly, that was proving to be impossible. Yaorin seemed intent to make some kind of point of putting Naruto and his troops in their supposed place.
Their rations were cut, nearly by half quantities to supposedly give the food to 'more deserving units'. Soon after that the food they did receive began to suffer more and more win quality until it became clear they were getting leftovers and in some cases even spoiled supplies from the rest of the force.
Sadly there wasn't much Naruto could directly do about it. Until Raiko's return, Yaorin had absolute control. At least until a higher ranked officer became involved. As for Naruto what was the point of having high profile connections, like say the crown princess herself, if you didn't use them from time to time
All it would take is a simple letter. One he was happy to write home. He wanted to see Azula and her friends in the flesh again anyway. A simple little visit to inspect the troops and put any unruly officers in their place sounded good to him.
He knew it would sound good to her too.
Shortish chapter again but next chapter Azula gets to take a peek at the real face of their war. We also get to see her flex her powers as the princess a little so I hope you are looking forward to that.
Naruto's troops have been blooded but they are far from a veteran force. I plan that by the time we see the Gaang making moves Naruto's subordinates will be a hardened force and Naruto himself will be an even more well known name than he already is.
Anyway till next time.