AN: For my readers, I inform you that, from this chapter on, the events of 'Ruins of the Empire' will take place, but with big changes.
Somewhere in the world, a woman was walking down a hallway until she came to a room where there was a man looking at a map of the four nations.
"What's going on?" the man asked without turning around, knowing who the person who entered the room was.
"Sir, we have just been informed that the men we sent to attack the Avatar have been defeated. They are all in prison right now." the woman said.
"That's too bad. What about the samples we gave them?" asked the man referring to the liquid those men injected themselves with.
"The prototype we gave them has shown results better than expected." said the woman.
"Excellent. They may have failed, but the experiment has been a success." said the man.
"If I may, sir, if you wanted to kill the Avatar, why didn't you also send metalbenders or more men?" asked the woman.
"As I said, it was an experiment. It didn't matter if they succeeded or not in their mission, the important thing was that the results were as expected. Now we can begin the next phase of our plan." said the man.
"What if the Avatar finds out what we are doing?" asked the woman.
"Oh, don't worry about her, my dear." said the man as he raised a container filled with a bright green liquid to his face level. "I have something very special planned for her."
In Republic City, Naruto, Korra, Asami and Mako were walking through the city in the direction of a particular place.
"So, where are we going?" asked Naruto.
"Naruto, have you forgotten? President Zhu Li has summoned us to talk about an important matter." said Korra.
"Hey, Mako, didn't you say your brother worked at the city hall?" asked Naruto.
"Yes, he's the president's assistant." said Mako.
"Really? Wow, you must be proud." said Naruto.
"A little, honestly." said Mako.
"So why do I have to come with you?" asked Naruto.
"Well, we thought you could help us in case it's something important. That way you won't be bored all day." said Asami.
"I guess that's true." said Naruto letting out a small laugh.
Soon after, the group arrived at the town hall where they were greeted by Bolin.
"Oh, you have arrived. Come in, the president is waiting for you." said Bolin leading the group into the office.
"Wow, this place is much bigger than the Hokage's building." said Naruto.
"Thank you. By the way, Mako told me what you did for him yesterday. Is it true that you transformed into a woman to trick the suspect?" asked Bolin with restrained emotion.
That made the two women look at the ninja with confusion.
"You can transform into a woman?" asked Korra.
"Well, yes. It's called sexy jutsu and it's a special jutsu that I personally create. You can't imagine how much use it was to me in my youth. Hahaha." said Naruto laughing at all the times he used that to cajole men or bring them down with nosebleeds.
A bead of sweat formed on the Avatar's face along with an expressionless face as she didn't want to imagine what kind of things Naruto did when he became a woman.
After a while of walking they arrived at the office, where Bolin opened the door to let them in.
"Welcome! Please help yourself to some cherry-berry lemonade and varri-cakes." said Bolin as the others walked in.
"How's the new job going?" asked Mako.
"Great! I think I've finally found my true calling." said Bolin excited about his job.
"Serving varri-cakes?" asked Naruto with an amused smile as he sat on the couch with Korra and Asami.
"No... Politics!" declared Bolin proudly.
"Yeah, we'll see. That's what you said about pro-bending. And acting. And working for Kuvira. And being a cop." said Mako remembering all of his younger brother's old jobs.
Bolin let out a gasp at what his older brother was saying.
"Are you suggesting that I'm fickle?" asked Bolin very surprised.
"I'm saying you have an aversion to commitment." said Mako going to sit with the others.
"Just because you've 'found yourself' doesn't mean the rest of us have." said Bolin crossing his arms.
After the sibling talk, they began the meeting.
"Thank you all for coming." said Zhu Li as she approached them and turned her gaze to the ninja. "You must be Naruto Uzumaki, right?"
"Yes, I am." said Naruto.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Zhu Li, president of Republic City. And thank you for saving Avatar Korra and Asami the other day." said Zhu Li introducing herself and extending her hand to the ninja.
"You're welcome." said Naruto shaking hands with the president. "So, what's going on?"
"It's about the Earth Empire." said Zhu Li.
"The Earth Empire? Not that empire Kuvira intended to create with her army?" asked Naruto having learned from the Avatar some of her adventures.
"That's right, but she gave up on Korra." said Asami remembering the end of the metalbender.
"She's right. The Earth Empire is no more." said Korra.
"That's what we thought, but we received reports from King Wu that there is a hidden resistance group that never surrendered." said Zhu Li.
"That is, there were some who didn't accept their leader's surrender." commented Naruto.
"Exactly. The leader of that group is a former Kuvira commander. A man named Guan." said Zhu Li.
"But what would that guy want? From what you've told me, when Kuvira surrendered, most of her troops surrendered too. They must not have much influence anymore." said Naruto.
"Maybe not, but the Earth Kingdom is undergoing a process of change to become the Earth Republic." said Korra.
"And elections are coming up soon." said Mako before crossing his arms. "If Guan intends to prevent the people from voting, they will stop supporting the elections."
"And that would give Guan and his forces a chance to restore the Earth Empire. We can't allow that." said Asami.
"There is something else. Thanks to Chief Beifong's investigations, we discovered that the men who attacked you the other day were Guan's soldiers." said Zhu Li.
"Now that I remember, the last one I took down mentioned that someone would be angry with him if he failed. Surely, that man was Guan." said Naruto.
"And that's not all. Korra, you said that those assailants injected themselves with a rare substance before fighting you, right?" asked Zhu Li.
"Yes." said Korra.
"Well, apparently, according to King Wu's reports, Guan had a team of scientists who were developing some sort of enhancer serum." said Zhu Li.
"And it looks like they've already developed it." said Bolin.
"I already suspected it might be about that." said Naruto.
"Me too. The strength and stamina those men had wasn't quite normal." said Korra.
"And if that was able to do with a small group of men, who knows what an entire powered up army can do." said Mako worried about such a scenario.
"That's why King Wu has requested that you settle this as soon as possible." said Zhu Li.
"Agreed." said Korra.
"And I'll help you take that guy down, dattebayo." said Naruto.
"Um, could I go too?" asked Bolin.
"Of course, Bolin. Team Avatar wouldn't be the same without you." said Zhu Li accepting the earthbender's proposal.
"Before you say anything, I'm not being fickle. I'm just taking a few days off, then I'm right back here, doing what I love." said Bolin to his older brother.
"I didn't say a word." said Mako with a smile as Naruto chuckled a little.
With all said and done, the ninja, the Avatar, the engineer and the firebender left the office, leaving the earthbender alone with the president.
"After you clear away the refreshments, I have some paperwork that needs filing." said Zhu Li.
"Yes, ma'am." said Bolin picking up a tray with pastries.
Bolin quietly let out a sigh, thinking if what his brother said was true.
Outside the office, Mako stepped forward, leaving the two women and the ninja behind.
"Asami, wait." said Korra standing up, as did her girlfriend, while Naruto stood off to the side to find out what this was about.
"What is it?" asked Asami.
"I think you and I should pay Kuvira a visit. I want to find out what she knows about Commander Guan." said Korra.
"That's a good idea. But it's probably best if you go without me. I don't want to be in the same room as her." said Asami with a sad face.
"Is that why you didn't come to her trial the other day?" asked Korra putting a hand on the engineer's shoulder to comfort her.
"Kuvira took my father from me. I didn't need to be reminded of all the other horrible things she's done." said Asami with a frown.
Naruto was shocked. He had been told about some of the things Kuvira did during her time as the Grand Unifier, but he hadn't expected one of those to be that she killed Asami's father.
"It's all right. I'll talk to her on my own." said Korra holding her girlfriend's hands.
"Thanks for understanding. Good luck." said Asami before giving the Avatar a kiss on the lips.
"Aw." expressed Naruto seeing the sweet moment between the two.
"Oh, come on. You'll do the same with that girl too." said Korra with a knowing smile, surprising the ninja.
"Y-You told her?" asked Naruto to the engineer with a slight blush.
"There's nothing going on between us and I agree with her." said Asami winking at him, much to the ninja's embarrassment.
"I'll catch up with you later." said Korra walking away.
"Wait." said Naruto causing the Avatar to pause long enough to catch up to her. "I'm coming with you."
"Are you sure?" asked Korra surprised that the ninja would volunteer for that.
"Of course. Besides, I'm a little curious about that woman." said Naruto.
"Alright. Then let's go." said Korra before the two left.
Later, Korra and Naruto, both riding on Naga's back, arrived at a mountain that served as a prison to imprison Kuvira.
"We're here to see Kuvira." said Korra as she and Naruto climbed down from the polar bear dog.
"Of course, Avatar Korra." said the guard at the entrance.
The two guards opened the door, allowing the two to walk down the stairs.
"Wow. It's amazing that you would use a prison like that just for one person." said Naruto admiring the structure.
"Well, Kuvira is an expert earth and metalbender, as well as a very dangerous criminal, so it would be best to lock her up in a special isolated cell where she couldn't hurt anyone." said Korra remembering that they did the same for the Red Lotus members.
"I understand." said Naruto.
After a while walking downstairs, the two stopped in front of a huge door. When they opened the doors, the two saw a huge room lit by green fluorescent stones and, sitting chained in the center of the room was Kuvira, who looked up when she heard the door open and close.
"Hello, Kuvira." said Korra.
"I had a feeling you were going to be my first visitor. I didn't expect you to come with someone, though. May I know your name, at least?" asked Kuvira.
"Naruto. Naruto Uzumaki." said Naruto.
"I need your help." said Korra wanting to get to the main issue.
"With what?" asked Kuvira a little surprised that they wanted her help.
"Tell me about Commander Guan." said Korra.
"Why are you so interested in him?" asked Kuvira.
"Because, apparently, your commander and his troops refused to surrender." said Naruto.
"What?" asked Kuvira surprised by that.
"You didn't know?" asked Korra.
"No, I didn't know, but I'm not surprised. Guan is a shrewd strategist with a sharp mind." said Kuvira remembering her time with her former commander.
"We're worried he's going to try to derail the upcoming elections. How big of a threat do you think he is?" asked Korra.
"If Guan hasn't surrendered by now, then he's plotting something." said Kuvira.
"That's not all. It turns out he's developed a booster serum that he tested on some guys who attacked Korra and Asami the other day." said Naruto.
"I see. Then he's completed it." said Kuvira.
"Did you know about his experiments?" asked Korra.
"Yes. When he told me about it, I had my doubts, so I proposed a test and if it failed, I would cancel the project, but until before my surrender, he hadn't completed the experiment." said Kuvira.
"Well, he has now. And if we don't stop him, he could create an army of super soldiers that could destroy everything in its path." said Korra.
"That's why you should release me." said Kuvira.
"What?!" asked Korra and Naruto surprised by that.
"Guan's not going to roll over just because the Avatar asks him to, but if I meet with him, face-to-face, I guarantee I could convince him to concede defeat. He only respects me and no one else." said Kuvira.
"I don't think so. If he really respected you, he would have surrendered as soon as you ordered him to." said Naruto.
"He's right. I'm sorry, but it won't be possible." said Korra.
"I understand. In that case, perhaps I can help you in another way." said Kuvira.
"How?" asked Korra.
"Guan had a secret facility where he conducted his experiments. If he has completed it, he will surely still be at that site. It's several miles south of Gaoling." said Kuvira.
"Are you sure of what you say?" asked Korra squinting in suspicion.
"Trust me." said Kuvira exchanging glances with the Avatar.
For a few seconds, there was silence and a huge tension in the air.
"Okay." said Korra before she and Naruto left the room.
As they were walking up the stairs, Naruto decided to make conversation.
"Korra, are you okay?" asked Naruto.
"Yes, I am. It was a little harder than I thought." said Korra.
"It's true. You told me you were friends before." said Naruto.
"Not only that. She saved my father when he was about to die. Basically, I owe her one, it's just..." started Korra not knowing how to explain.
"I know how you feel," said Naruto to the Avatar's surprise. "You feel like things would have been different if you had done certain things differently and you regret not stopping her in time."
"How do you know that?" asked Korra surprised that the ninja understood her.
"Because I also went through the same thing. A friend of mine betrayed me and the whole village and did many bad things. I tried to stop him several times, but I couldn't." said Naruto recalling his experiences with Sasuke, both before and after their first battle to the death.
"What happened in the end with that friend?" asked Korra curiously.
"Well, in the end, after a hard battle, I managed to defeat him. Because of the things he did, many considered his execution as punishment." said Naruto before a smile formed on his face. "But I never gave up on him. I knew that deep down, he was still the friend I knew and that made him understand how wrong his path was. In the end, thanks to my support and the support of others, he is now free and forming his own path helping others."
Korra was surprised to learn that her friend had gone through an experience almost similar to hers. She didn't know who this friend of his was, but if Naruto was willing to not give up on him despite the bad things he did, he was certainly someone very important to him.
Kuvira may not have been someone very important to her, but she saw a lot of herself in her, as her only intention was to create a better place, only the methods she used were not the right ones.
That history made her think that, if she continued to support her, maybe, just maybe, her situation could change, although it wouldn't be overnight, as many people hated her for her actions, especially Asami, but still, she wasn't going to give up on her.
"Thank you, Naruto, for coming with me." said Korra with a smile.
"You're welcome. That's what friends are for, right?" asked Naruto with his trademark smile and a thumbs up.
AN: One detail I forgot to mention.
In my stories, Naruto and Sasuke didn't lose their hands in the final battle.