"You can't be serious!" exclaimed Asami angrily.
"I am." said Naruto.
"Naruto, are you sure about what you're saying?" asked Mako.
"Are you really going to let them release Kuvira to help us?" asked Bolin.
"Well, yes." said Naruto.
"Have you forgotten? Korra was kidnapped because of her!" exclaimed Asami.
"It wasn't her fault! Guan predicted that she would lead us to his center and set up that trap for that moment!" said Naruto defending her.
"How can you defend her¿ Haven't they told you what she did?" asked Mako.
"Yes, they have, but they have also told me that although her goal was noble, her methods weren't. Believe me, I've met people like her." said Naruto recalling enemies like Nagato, Obito and Itachi, whose goals were peaceful, but made bad decisions to accomplish them. "And if I've learned anything from them, it's that they can be given the chance to redeem themselves for their actions. I know you all have bad memories of her, but she's the only one who can help us stop Guan and rescue Korra."
"I hate to admit it, but he's right. Guan was a commander of Kuvira's forces, she knows him better than any of us." said Mako.
"Yeah, maybe she knows something that can be of use to us." said Bolin in support of the idea.
Asami knew there was no other choice, but still, she didn't like the idea of being in the presence of the woman who killed her father shortly after they tried to mend their broken relationship.
"I don't like this idea, but if it's the only chance to save Korra, then I'll accept it." said Asami.
"I'm glad you agree, because Kuvira is waiting outside the ship." said Naruto, surprising the others.
"What? How come she's out there?" asked Bolin.
"Well, before I returned, I called President Zhu Li and asked her permission to release her. When I explained the situation, she agreed, and I let Kuvira stay outside waiting until you agreed to the plan." said Naruto with a nervous smile.
"That was stupid, did you know that?" asked Asami.
"I'm told I usually do them, yes." said Naruto.
"*Sigh* It's okay. Send her in." said Mako before Naruto nodded in response and walked out.
Naruto stepped out of the airship, where Kuvira could be seen escorted by two White Lotus guards.
"You took less time than I thought." said Kuvira.
"Let's just say the circumstances are too serious to overthink it." said Naruto before looking at the guards. "I'll take care of her from now on." said Naruto receiving a nod from the guards before he and the metalbender walked up the entrance ramp, but halfway up, they stopped and the jinchuriki gave the metalbender a hard look. "Listen to me, we are all willing to let you help us, but if at any time, you intend to betray us, I will be the one to return you to your cell, understood?"
Kuvira may not have known the ninja, but she could tell he was very strong.
"Sure, whatever you say." said Kuvira.
Once they entered, the metalbender was greeted by stern looks from the rest of Team Avatar.
"Nice to see you all again." said Kuvira.
Asami moved closer to her until they were face to face.
"Listen to me well. Just because the situation calls for it, I'm willing to work with you, but I swear if you intend to hurt us or try to play us, you'll regret it." said Asami before walking away.
"Honestly, I expected worse." commented Kuvira before sitting down in a chair. "Well then, what do you want to know?"
"For starters, why would Guan want to kidnap Korra?" asked Mako.
"As I told your friend, I don't know. Korra is very strong and possibly the only person who can stop him, but if he really wanted to kill her, he would have left her to die in that rubble." said Kuvira.
"Yes, you're right." said Bolin seeing the point.
"Which only leaves us that he wants her for something else, but the motive escapes me." said Kuvira.
"Well, whatever it is, I'll be sure to make him pay for it." said Asami with a frown.
"Leave some for me, I want to make him pay for it too." said Naruto.
Suddenly, something sounded over the PA system.
"Miss Sato, we have a problem." said the pilot over the PA system.
"What's going on?" asked Asami.
"Several suspicious vehicles are approaching our position." said the pilot over the PA system.
Confused and surprised, the five quickly went to the window of the room and through it, they could see several vehicles heading towards where the airship was.
"Kuvira, are these...?" asked Naruto.
"Yes, these're Guan and his." said Kuvira.
"What are they doing here?" asked Mako.
"I don't know, but I'm going to go over there and ask him a couple of questions." said Asami turning to leave.
"Wait. Maybe I'd better go talk to him." said Kuvira.
"No way." said Asami.
"Guan only respects me. If I talk to him, he might tell us what he's done with Korra and even make him give up. I know you don't trust me, but I'm not the person I was before. I have changed and I want to." said Kuvira.
"She's right, Asami. That's one of the reasons I brought her here." said Naruto.
Even if she didn't like the idea, Asami saw that there was no choice if she wanted to get her girlfriend back.
"Okay, but we can't let Guan see you in that condition. I have clothes that can fit you." said Asami.
"Sounds good to me." said Kuvira.
The vehicles stopped half a distance from the airship and several soldiers got out of them and in front of all of them, the former commander Guan stood.
Kuvira stood at the door of the airship in new clothes and the rest behind them.
"You say you want to change? It's time to try it." said Asami.
"I will." said Kuvira before she and the others got off the airship to stand in front of the ex-commander and his troops.
"Wow. Blessed is the eyes." said Guan.
"Where's Korra? What have you done with her?" asked Asami wanting to know the whereabouts of her girlfriend.
"I didn't think I'd see you so soon, Great Uniter." said Guan ignoring the engineer's questions, much to her frustration.
"Let's cut to the chase, Commander Guan. When I ordered everyone's surrender, I expected you to carry out my orders." said Kuvira.
"If I disobeyed you it is because you were the one who surrendered, not us and as long as we stand firm, the Earth Empire will not fall." said Guan.
"If you continue down that path there will only be death and destruction, that's why I really gave up on it." said Kuvira.
"That's what you see, but I don't." said Guan.
"Even so, you have no real power. Your strength is only a fraction of what it once was. There is no chance that the Earth Empire will ever rise again." said Kuvira.
"You may be right, but, as you may have been told, my booster serum is full." said Guan.
"I know that, and I may have approved of it in the old days, but now I refuse to allow the army I formed to use such cowardly tactics." said Kuvira.
"Cowardly? Ha. This is no longer your army, and you are no longer the person who formed them. You're just a gutless coward now." said Guan.
That infuriated Kuvira and she was about to use her bending powers on him when suddenly a fireball flew out towards her, but Kuvira noticed it in time and jumped back quickly.
"I had it under control. You didn't need to act..." began Guan when, from among the soldiers, a person came out that made everyone gasp in horror. "Avatar Korra."
Next to the former commander stood Korra, who had a monotone expression on her face.
They couldn't believe what they were seeing. On one hand, they were happy to see their friend/girlfriend safe and sound, but on the other hand, they were confused as to why she was standing next to Guan.
"Commander Guan, they are the rebels trying to oppose the Earth Empire?" asked Korra in a monotone voice to the shock of the others.
"What are you talking about, Korra? It's me, Asami, your girlfriend! Don't you recognize me?" asked Asami unable to believe what she was hearing.
"I would never date a rebel enemy of the Earth Empire!" said Korra, much to the engineer's pain.
"What the hell did you do to her, you bastard?" asked Naruto.
"Nothing. I simply gave her a little indoctrination program." said Guan.
"You brainwashed her!" revealed Kuvira realizing what he was talking about, much to the horror of the others.
"You... Damn you." began Mako clenching his fists in frustration.
"Korra, whatever they did to you, I know you can fight it!" said Bolin trying to get his friend to break free from the brainwashing.
"What are you talking about? My duty as Avatar is to bring balance to the world and the Earth Empire is the way to do that. If you stand in the way of progress, I will have no choice but to stop you." said Korra.
Asami was horrified to hear that from her own girlfriend. She was about to make another attempt when...
"Don't bother. If she's been brainwashed, it'll be hard to free her with words alone." said Kuvira.
"I'm glad you understood." said Guan.
"Commander Guan, what do you want me to do with them?" asked Korra.
"Mmm. Well, considering the former Great Uniter is with them, they're too dangerous to let go. So... take care of them." said Guan before turning and walking away.
"You're not going anywhere!" shouted Asami running towards him, but then, Naruto grabbed her by the shoulder and pulled her back before a stalactite that emerged from the ground impaled her.
Asami was even more horrified to see that Korra was ready to kill her.
Guan got into his vehicle.
"Commander, are you sure about this?" asked a soldier manning the steering wheel.
"Even if she is outnumbered, she is the Avatar and their friend, they will have a hard time fighting her without hurting her too much. I would have liked to see the show, but we have important things to do." said Guan.
"Understood, sir." said the soldier before all the vehicles left the area, leaving Korra alone in front of the rest of the group.
"Asami, are you okay?" asked Bolin helping her up.
"Yes, I'm fine." said Asami although she was still worried about her girlfriend.
"So what do we do now?" asked Mako.
"It looks like we have no choice but to fight her." said Kuvira.
"But she's our friend! We can't hurt her!" said Bolin.
"However, she can hurt us unless we do something." said Kuvira.
"I hate to accept it, but she's right. Still, it's not going to be easy, given that she's the Avatar. Maybe if we all fight together..." began Mako.
"That won't be necessary." began Naruto interrupting the firebender. "Because I'll take care of her." said Naruto, to everyone's surprise.
"What? Naruto, are you crazy? You plan to fight her by yourself?!" asked Asami.
"As Mako said, she's the Avatar and your friend. Even if you all fought together, you wouldn't be able to fight her with everything, but that won't happen with me. I'm already used to giving it my all even with my friends." said Naruto.
"Do you really think you're capable of fighting the Avatar?" asked Kuvira suspiciously.
"Of course I do." said Naruto with determination.
The three benders and the engineer looked at each other, still hesitant to let the ninja fight the Avatar alone. They might not like it, but he was right about them not giving it their all as they were fighting a person important to them.
"It's alright. We'll leave it up to you. Just please make sure you bring her back." said Asami.
"Trust me. I'll bring Korra back! That's a promise, dattebayo!" said Naruto with his trademark smile and giving the engineer a thumbs up.
That was enough to make Asami smile a little, as she could sense that Naruto would keep his word.
"You two better back off a bit. Things might get rough." said Naruto stepping forward as the others backed up until they reached the entrance of the airship.
"You'd better get ready, Naruto. This isn't an opponent like the ones you've faced before." said Kurama.
"Don't worry. From what I know, she's about the same level as a jinchuriki and if I could beat all the resurrected jinchuriki, I'll be able to take her." thought Naruto.
"That was because you had that other jinchuriki fighting by your side. This time you're on your own." said Kurama.
"I'm not alone, because I have you." said Naruto smiling at the bijuu.
"Heh. I guess you're right. Anyway, don't underestimate her or you'll end up losing." said Kurama.
Naruto kept walking until he was half a distance away from the Avatar.
"So you've offered yourself first. I'll make sure I finish you off quickly," said Korra.
"Oh yeah? Tell me Korra, do you know who I am?" asked Naruto with a smile believing that, if she had been brainwashed, she surely didn't remember the things she taught him.
"Should I?" asked Korra, answering the ninja's theory.
"Well yes, because I'll be the one to defeat you, Avatar Korra!" declared Naruto pointing a thumb at himself.