Hello everyone here is another update from me to you, this time obviously for Son of the Dragon. We get to see some good old fashion fighting in this one so no doubt a little stoked for it. At least I am lol. Anyway I just want to get some author note items out of the way here first and we can dive into the story.
First-I really must encourage folks to come down and try out a server filled with readers, writers, and overall enjoyers of fanfiction. Whether it's to discuss concepts, recommend stories, lend a helping hand for projects underway, just chat about daily things, or enjoy some time in a voice chat there is more than likely something for you. So give AizenTheGoat's server a try. Give me a shout when you come in too and I would be happy to say hey. A link can be found right here → /FFGEDgVWfR
Second-So I feel it goes without saying but obviously things in the timeline are altered pretty heavily from canon. That being said I don't feel it is obvious that everyone will be a little older when the canon events begin happening. What I am saying is that when Aang is found in the Ice, Aang will be fourteen, Katara fifteen etc. For Naruto he and Zuko will both be eighteen and Azula and her friends will all be sixteen. Just a heads up on that fact I guess.
Anyway I hope you guys enjoy now lets get down to business.
The column of Fire Nation benders and soldiers marched steadily down the muddy road of the Earth Kingdom interior. There was little talking, no joy or excitement among the ranks of the battle hardened and weary men and women of the Thirteenth Jaguar Company as they marched on. It was a gloomy day adding even more to the grimm atmosphere of the troops on the move.
The few farmsteads they passed remained as silent as the grave, either abandoned in the face of the ever present all encompassing war, or filled with frightened and silent watchers. The image of mud and blood covered troops stomping past their homes was something from a nightmare. Now though it was made very real.
Naruto led his own platoon in a broken line. He had learned by now that having his troops marching tightly like a parade was like asking politely for the Earth benders they were facing to crush them all together in a single barrage of boulders. He wasn't about to make the same mistake twice. Enough dead comrades lingered on his conscience that he didn't need to add any more if they could be avoided.
As the company continued to march a handful of Fire Nation soldiers leading a column of Earth Kingdom civilians began to pass them by headed in the opposite direction. The civilians quickly moved out of the way of the oncoming soldiers and avoided eye contact or presenting themselves as any kind of threat toward the gruff looking soldiers marching past.
Captain Tukao looked to be trying to identify the officer in charge of the soldiers escorting them but was stopped as Naruto waved the other column on.
"Lieutenant, what are you doing? We need to ensure those people are being rightfully detained for-" The Captain began only to be stopped by one of the other Lieutenants.
"All due respect Captain, but those folks are collaborators. They're being taken to the nearest colonial settlement. That's the usual agreement." Lieutenant Huang commented.
"How are you so sure. Those men could be impersonating our troops to take advantage of local allies or-" Tukao began.
"Look Captain, don't worry about them. These types of people will do anything to come out on top. Actually if you see one you like they'd probably let you do anything to them for your rice ration." Chizu said as she smirked devilishly at the man now blushing in fury and outrage at that thought.
"Mind your tongue Lieutenant! These people have shown themselves to be loyalists to the Fire Nation." Tukao argued.
"They've shown themselves to be loyalists to money or food." Huang laughed.
Tukao scowled and shot a look at Naruto who was ignoring the interaction. He had no interest in the Captain's falsified idea of this war. He was no different than any of the fresh faced recruits they got as replacements on a regular basis. Except for the fact it had been decided that he would be their commander. Despite his lack of knowledge of how the war was really fought.
"Oh you like that one with the green eyes, ey baby face?" Chizu continued to harass their Captain.
"I should have you lashed for insubordination…" Tukao seethed. Chizu simply snorted at the threat.
"Sure, just thought you might be interested since you were staring. She'd fuck you for half a bowl of congee too, so you wouldn't have to rely on your…boyish charm." Chizu cackled along with several of the soldiers as Tukao stewed in rage.
"That's enough Chizu. Let's keep moving everyone. We have a lot of ground to cover." naruto finally called out getting CHizu's smile to drop as she nodded and the column again set out into motion.
Tukao slowly made his way to be marching alongside Naruto. The younger officer simply raised an eyebrow at the Captain's arrival beside him. They marched in silence for a time, which was fine for Naruto's part. He didn't really want to talk with the man all that much to begin with. He doubted he would last all that long out here on the front. Eventually though the Captain did open his mouth and speak his mind.
"Lieutenant Naruto, you are supposed to be my second. I would appreciate a bit more support from you in controlling the unit." Tukao said in a bit of a reprimanding tone.
"You would? Do you want me to just lead them for you?" Naruto asked in far too innocent of a voice.
"That's not what I mean." Tukao growled.
"Well, sure it's not. Captain, I can't lead them for you. You need to show them you're in charge." Naruto replied.
The captain frowned as he realized Naruto had no intentions of offering more help to him in controlling the troops. Scowling once again he moved back up to the front of the column with a couple chuckles following after him. His spot beside Naruto was replaced by Mulan who stared forward after the Captain.
"He might make trouble for you if you don't at least show him some respect, Naruto." She warned.
"No. Either he'll become like the rest of us or he'll die. One way or another it doesn't matter. Assholes like him change or die." Naruto said with a shrug.
"I guess." The sergeant replied as she watched the Captain continue to march slightly apart from the rest of the unit.
"He's still going to drag us into an early grave." Mulan insisted with a scowl.
"Mulan. Trust in me like you always do. I'll look after everyone." Naruto insisted with a small smile on his tired face.
The girl sighed but slowly nodded. He always did after all. She turned to return back to her squad when a sudden shout from the front of the line caught their attention, just in time to watch a spear of earth skewer the captain and a half dozen other soldiers.
"That farm house on the right!" Someone hollered and soon the building was completely engulfed in flames with the sound of screaming Earth Kingdom soldiers briefly heard above the roaring flames.
Naruto approached the corpse of the captain. The man dangled easily a foot off the ground and was killed almost instantly. A small mercy in the war. Naruto briefly contemplated that he'd prefer to go out like that if he was going to die. Instantly, without pain, and without him seeing it coming.
"I guess you were right." Mulan said from beside him.
"I never get to be happy when I hear those words. It's always about something like this." Naruto frowned.
After having a squad get the men down and pack away their belongings they quickly buried them and said a kind word. It was odd as a sense of mild relief flooded into the troops at the passing of their Captain. The man had never gotten a chance to become something other than an outsider to the company, and now he never would. They would only ever remember him as he died.
On second thought, perhaps Naruto didn't wish to go that way. He would rather fight and claw and struggle to the end. He wanted to be remembered as he really was. A soldier.
"Alright everyone. The Captain is dead but that doesn't mean we get to slack off. We still need to link up with the battalion of colonials past that ridge up there and back them up in their task. The brass want results and as much as it's a pain in the ass we are gunna be the ones punished if they don't get it. So eat on the move. I want to make it to our colonial pals before mid afternoon." Naruto ordered getting a set of nods and 'yes sirs' from the unit.
"Well, at least the little boss is back in charge now." Chizu said with a shrug.
"And here I thought you would be upset about losing your newest toy." Naruto joked toward the woman causing her to throw her head back with a rough laugh.
"He was a bit too girly for me boss man. I like mine with a bit more man to them. The late captain could have worn a dress and I wouldn't have been all that surprised." Chizu said as she began to walk past.
"Really? Here I thought you preferred the girly ones to compensate for your own manliness." Naruto teased getting a snort from the woman.
"Oh, I'll remember that." She said intent on getting him back at a later time.
"Sure, sure. Alright Jaguars, let's move it out!" Naruto bellowed in a voice that was surprisingly heavy with bass for his age.
Once more the company set out down the muddy roadway, bound for their next battlefield.
The company fanned out in a horseshoe formation as they approached a heavily damaged farming hamlet near the roadway. It had started raining lightly by now and the tattered remains of a Fire Nation banner flapped loudly over the ruins.
Within the short walls of the compound colonial soldiers moved to and fro trying to get out of the rain as best they could. While several took up residence in the old farm house it's roof had largely been burnt away during whatever fight had occurred here in the past and those inside still battled the water.
In contrast one of the larger barns remained almost entirely intact and it was there that Naruto found the Major had set up shop for commanding his forces. The man was much more like Naruto and Raiko than Tukao, thankfully. He had a wicked scar running down the middle of his face ending just above his mouth. That wasn't all though, draped over his black and red armor was a bloodied and worn green and tan sash with a faded Earth Kingdom symbol present.
This man had seen plenty of battle which was unsurprising as the colonial units often got some of the worst assignments in the war just like Naruto's own troops did.
"Liuetenant…don't tell me this is all you brought with you." The man said as he shook Naruto's hand solidly. He seemed unbothered by the young fifteen year old boy being in such a command.
"I'm afraid this is all we got, sir." Naruto replied.
"Of fucking course it is. I request a full battalion in support thinking I'm low balling it and they send me a half strength company. At least you lot look like you know what you're doing. That's gotta count for something." The Major bemoaned his situation, though he was quick to recover and led Naruto over to a table covered in maps and notes.
"Listen. Our orders are to capture this town here. Wonshua. It's pretty much a nothing place but reports from collaborators say that Earth Kingdom forces have been using it as a staging point for militias in the area so they want it seized to break up the lines of communication between the Earth Kingdom military and the militia cells that are playing hell with our supply lines." The Major explained as he traced a line along a road to a tiny insignificant looking spot on the map.
"Sounds like a plan. Heavy resistance there then…or is there another reason your force is still camped out here?" Naruto asked, glancing at the distance between the farm they were at and the town.
"There is another reason alright. We don't even know the defenses that Wonshua has. Right now I'm still fighting over the stretch of fields between here and the road we need to take to the town. We've been hitting each other over the same three rice paddies for the last four days, and if we don't take them soon I won't have enough troops to make for the town at all." The man was clearly fed up with the situation.
Naruto sympathized with the Major. Pressure from the upper levels of commanders to complete their orders in a timely manner was harsh. That didn't make the enemy any less of a stopping force though. The young Lieutenant looked at the troop positions in the fields that the Major had pointed out.
The Earth Kingdom forces had placed themselves in a great spot. The nearby bridge was destroyed so that left crossing an area that spanned three fields as the only viable way to get back to the road. On one side was a ravine that was deep and wide enough that a bridge was needed to cross it and on the other the fields transitioned to a muddy bog. Perfect killing ground for the Earth Kingdom to pick off any Fire Nation troops that attempted to flank through it.
"The only way is to push through them then." Naruto realized with a frown.
"Yeah. We have hardly any benders in our unit. I'm not even a great bender myself. So it's like hitting a stone wall with a sword half of the time."
Naruto stared at the map for a moment before slowly nodding. His mind started forming a plan for how to handle the next attack they would launch.
"I have an idea. First we need to wait for the rain to clear up though." Naruto said as he looked out at the water streaming down on top of them.
"Well, I'll trust you on this. What do we need to do?" The Major asked as he leaned in to look over Naruto's shoulder as the boy began sketching out a diagram of what he hoped to do.
Two hours later and the unified forces of the Twelfth Colonial Battalion and the Thirteenth Jaguar Company had taken up positions in a thin line of trees and brush that marked the edge of the fields. Across from them, on the far end of the fields was a similar set of foliage that concealed the Earth Kingdom forces.
By now the rain had stopped and word of what Naruto required for his plan had been spread among the benders of both units as they prepared to make their push against the enemy. It was a bit of a gamble but Naruto had confidence it would work. Sadly, there was no possible way for the upcoming skirmish to not be a bloody affair and the men at his and the Major's command had been made completely aware of that. If anything it bolstered their resolve to know their commanders would be joining them for the harsh assault even knowing the danger such action presented themselves.
"The wind died down with the rain. You really think this will work?" Mulan asked Naruto as they tensed up.
"Shit I hope so." Naruto replied, getting a dry look from his subordinate in response.
"Send word to begin." He quickly ordered, disliking that expression from her. What was it about women like Mulan and Azula that could get under his skin so easily?
As Mulan began moving down the line spreading Naruto's command, Naruto and the other benders in the two units began generating heat with their bending. It was a beginner skill. One that every fire bender learned. They had to learn to generate and control heat to properly bend fire itself after all.
The difference now was the fact that they were each heating up piles of damp leaves and sticks. Not enough to properly set them ablaze and burn out, but just enough to ignite and smolder slowly creating a cloud of dense gray smoke. Soon the line was covered in a thick cloud, and Naruto and his fellow benders began slowly advancing under the cover of the smoke. The trampled crops in the field were gradually ignited as they moved, advancing the smoke along with them.
From the standpoint of the waiting Earth Kingdom soldiers a thick smoke began crawling across the field toward them ominously. It didn't take them long to figure out what was happening and so the officers began ordering volleys of arrows against the cloud.
Normally, the archers would litter the fields with arrows as the Fire Nation soldiers advanced while the Earth Benders kept the attackers from properly forming shield walls to deflect the archers' attacks. Now though, with no way to properly see where the formations of the Fire Nation troops were they had no way of specifically targeting the shield bearers.
By the time the Fire Nation forces were over a third of the way across the field the Earth benders had decided to attempt a different tactic. A thunderous rumble shook the ground and the field shifted and roiled as the Earth Benders shifted it underfoot of the Fire Nation troops. It had the desired effect of disrupting many of the shield bearers and arrows began finding their mark among the Fire Nation soldiers.
Unfortunately for the Earth Kingdom forces they hadn't realized they had also just removed the soft and muddy field surface for solid hard stone. Realizing that they could move much more capably on such solid ground the Fire Nation troops began advancing much quicker.
With the crops buried under a thin layer of stone, the smoke cover quickly began to dissipate and Naruto shifted his focus from forming their cover to leading a direct assault. He quickly twisted his body through the forms he knew by heart and blasted a barrage of deadly fire attack toward the Earth Kingdom forces that remained hidden behind their cover. With that he roared out in animalistic fury and sprinted head first toward the positions of his enemy.
A battle cry sounded out and quickly spread through the unit of Fire Nation soldiers as they rushed forward howling in fury like their young Lieutenant before them. The Earth Kingdom soldiers' morale collapsed and many attempted to flee only to be cut down by a mix of fiery blasts and arrows as they did. The battle soon became a harsh close quarters fight as both sides battled over the burning tree line. Smoke, ash, and flame sword around both sides as they screamed and roared their individual shouts of battle as they clashed. Naruto cut through his enemies easily and soon found himself fighting alongside his sergeants and fellow officers. Chizu cackled like a mad woman as she slaughtered an entire squad of Earth Kingdom archers trying to make a break for it.
Naruto eventually stopped his attack while the Colonials continued their revenge fueled assault on the few remaining enemy troops. Eventually though a single man remained and he was dragged before the collection of commanders that had led the attack.
He was a pathetic looking man now, but Naruto could tell he was likely an able bodied warrior when not at the complete mercy of his enemy. However that in the end mattered not as similarly to the Major with his Earth Kingdom officer's sash, this man wore a medallion taken from a Fire Nation Colonel. He barely had a chance to open his mouth to beg for mercy before Naruto and the Major both struck out with their flames and scorched the man across the face. He was lucky it was so mercifully quick a death.
"Well, now we can reach the road." Naruto commented.
"Right. Everyone take an hour. Bury our dead, burn theirs, and grab something to eat. We still have a schedule to keep!" The Major hollered.
Naruto nodded as he watched the troops jump to work doing as they had been commanded. All things considered they had suffered far less casualties than Naruto had expected in the attack. There were always some though. Thankfully none of his actual close friends had been unlucky enough to be taken out this time though.
An hour came and went quickly. Far too quickly, but as the Major had said they had said they had a schedule to keep. The united force of Fire Nation soldiers set out down yet another muddy road bound for the little town of Wonshua.
The town of Wonshua was hardly deserving of the name. Village, or perhaps even hamlet were far more fitting. That aside the town itself was in pretty good shape compared to most of what the Fire Nation soldiers had come across so far in this valley. It made sense, up until now this sleepy little spot had practically no strategic value besides being along a roadway that might transport troops.
Now though that had changed. They knew the Earth Kingdom forces were using it as a base of operations to better organize and control their militias and irregular troops throughout the region. That was enough of a reason to take and hold it to deny such lines of communication. The fact that taking it would also open up another path of advancement for either side once their armies were in a position to move forward jumped the importance of the town of Wonshua up quite a lot in the list of locations in every commander's mind.
As they began coming into the town there was practically noone in sight. The Jaguars moved down the main road cautiously while the Colonials surrounded the town with their larger numbers. As they moved into the streets it became clear that Wonshua's defenders were prepared and waiting for them. Just as he was about to call out to his men to be on guard for an ambush the Earth Kingdom troops stuck. Small rocks shot out of an alley at such speed that they embedded themselves into the stone walls of the town and the armor of the Fire Nation soldiers in equal depth.
As the first screams ripped out of his men's mouths Naruto jumped into action and all hell once again broke loose. The attack became a mad scramble as the heavily outnumbered defenders did their best to play cat and mouse with the Fire Nation soldiers. It didn't work well in their favor though. Naruto set one of the largest buildings on fire with a dragon-like roar and the other benders quickly began doing the same, flushing Earth Kingdom troops out into the streets to be cut down by sword and spear from the rest of the Fire Nation troops present.
As the Colonials stormed in from every side of town the battle quickly became nothing short of a massacre as the Fire Nation troops hunted down the Earth Kingdom forces still trying to hold out within Wonshua. As the last of the Earth Kingdom soldiers fell and the Fire Nation soldiers began celebrating, Naruto made his way over to the Major.
Rather than be happy at the victory though he found the man to be in an especially foul mood. It was understandable though. Naruto watched as one of the barbed Earth Kingdom arrows was pulled free of the man's thigh with a howl of pain from the Major. The timid nature of the medic tending to the man would have been humorous if it wasn't so damned pathetic and unwelcome in an actual situation concerning medical processes.
"I-I'm sorry major. This is the first time I've had to remove an arrow though…uhm next I have to cauterize the wound." The man stammered before he fell silent at the heated glare the officer gave him.
"Move, I'll do it." Naruto said as he shoved the medic out of the way and began heating up the blade of a knife.
"Hah. Didn't take you for a medic too." The Major said through gritted teeth.
"I'm not, but who is going to pass up a chance to burn a commanding officer a little bit?" Naruto asked as he inspected the red hot blade before turning to look at the man.
"Want something to bite on?" He asked genuinely.
"Just get it over with." The Major growled and Naruto shrugged before pressing the tool into the wound.
The Major bit backa scream of pain instead huffing loudly and angrily while clenching both his teeth and eyes tightly. Finally the worst was over as Naruto removed the knife and let the medic handle the rest of the Major's care.
"Wonshua is captured. A couple fires to put out and the commanders should be appeased for a while. Which is good. The men need rest for sure." Naruto commented as he dropped down to sit next to the Major.
"You're about to hate me Lieutenant." The man said, causing Naruto's eyes to narrow.
"Runner came in just as we finished taking the town. Orders from on high. For you. Well they were for your Captain but I'm giving 'em to you since you are running the Thirteenth now." The older man said causing Naruto's expression to fall into a furious scowl.
"You bring me a pad of the valley." The Major hollered to one of his men nearby. They snapped to attention before sprinting off to do as told.
"They want us dead that bad?" Naruto asked as he took to glaring up at the sky.
"Listen, I hate the idea of you and yours having to go out again so soon. The fact is though I have to agree with the reasoning on this one. It has to happen." The Major said, drawing Naruto's attention back to him.
The soldier with the map arrived at that moment and the Major unfolded it on the ground between them. He traced a path along a road leaving Wonshua and heading toward Earth Kingdom lines. Eventually his hand stopped at a large mill with a crossroads just beside it.
"This crossroads is the only major point between our position and the Earth Kingdom forces at the other end of the valley. What's more is that because of the way it's situated whoever marches a force through this spot can move into pretty much anywhere on the opposite side of the valley from where they came without facing major resistance. Command wants to march the whole fuckign division through there in two days. So we have to hold it to make sure that it's not one giant bottleneck." The Major explained.
As Naruto studied the map he grew more and more furious. Not at the audacity of his commanders. For once they seemed on the right track. No he was furious because of just how vital that little crossroads really was. That in turn meant he was going to march his company right up into enemy territory.
"We have no choice." Naruto grumbled.
"Like I said, I'm sorry it's gotta be your unit but you're the best for it. My people and I will lock down this town. Good luck." He said.
Naruto nodded, not trusting himself not to say something snarky to the man for this. As he approached where his officers were collected the jovial greeting they threw his way quickly turned to somber realization they were being ordered on the move once again. They didn't complain though. At seeing his apologetic expression they simply climbed back to their feet and assembled to begin marching once again.
The Thirteenth Jaguar Company set out for the crossroads by mid afternoon and were making good time. The countryside beyond Wonshua was in a far better state than that which they had passed through to reach the town. Civilians occasionally poked their heads out to stare at the marching invaders crossing their lands and making a ruckus. As quickly as they appeared they disappeared again.
It was strange, how oddly peaceful it was here beyond the battle lines of the valley, yet Naruto felt even more on edge because of it than he had in the midst of the battle for Wonshua or for the fields earlier in the day. The quiet was just too suspicious, as if the world itself was watching them walk right into a trap.
Perhaps it was. The enemy's element was Earth after all. As if to prove his point the Earth Benders preparing yet another ambush easily got the drop on Naruto's column of troops.
There hadn't even been the usual rumbling or shaking of the earth that came with Earth Bender attacks. Instead the ambush began with a sudden sharp whistle that saw a barrage of sharp stones rip through an entire platoon. Stunned by the attack the rest of the force hardly had time to seek cover before another barrage of the deadly stones tore through the air over them. Several of the men weren't so lucky though and were eviscerated by the attack.
"Dammit where the hell is the enemy!" Huang yelled only to find himself speared through the gut alongside his right hand man. The pair of them briefly howled in pain before they succumbed to their injuries.
"Boss! They're chewing us up!" Chizu shouted over to Naruto as she narrowly avoided another barrage of razor sharp rocks.
"Lieutenant Huang's dead!" A member of the third platoon shouted only to also find his end shortly after from an enemy attack.
Naruto scanned their surroundings. It didn't take him too long to identify exactly what they were up against. Only six people. Six very well known and feared people.
"The Pohen Partisans." He mumbled before his eyes hardened. They were in for a hard fight. The enemy they were up against were some of the most talented and disciplined Earth Benders in the Earth Kingdom armies. Led by Colonel Han Pohen they had a perfect record of success at eliminating Fire Nation forces, typically ones outnumbering their own force as much as eight to one.
"Boss?" Chizu asked as she glanced his way. The typically rough and cocky woman was at a loss on what to do.
"Shit. No choice but to attack. Charge them! Everyone move!" Naruto roared as he bolted to his feet and sprinted toward the enemy.
He felt a small cut along his right arm open up as another barrage of stones slammed into his company. Soldiers screamed and died in agony while their comrades rushed past them. A mixture of blind bloodlust and terror pushed them forward. Nowhere to run but forward the Fire Nation soldiers set upon the Partisans as quickly as they could.
The six earth benders slaughtered droves of his troops before his eyes pushing Naruto closer and closer to his edge as he watched his men, his responsibilities collapse dead at the hands of the Earth Kingdom fighters. The Fire Nation troops had the numbers though, and it seemed that finally the Pohen Partisans had grown too arrogant with success to properly prepare for their enemy. Most forces would have attempted to retreat under such a sudden and devastating opening attack. That would have made Naruto and his troops even easier pickings for the Earthbenders.
Naruto and the Jaguars had a different experience with the war than most units though. They had been the sacrificial unit time and again during their entire campaign against the Earth Kingdom. They had never had the option to outright flee in battle. Their only response was to die fighting.
It didn't take long. Naruto smiled as he saw Mulan personally remove the head of Colonel Pohen herself with her jian sword. The fight had been devastating though. Naruto's company was in pieces. A trail of corpses from the road to the dugout that the enemy had been using showed just how bad their losses were.
"Mulan…where is Chizu?" Naruto asked, getting a sad frown from his now second in command.
"I see." Naruto all but whispered out. After running a bloody hand through his hair staining it's already dirty locks with red.
So began the reorganization of his unit. Nearly all of the fourth platoon had been wiped out, but the second and third platoons each had enough troops remaining between them for Naruto to not only replenish his platoon's ranks but also set up a detail under one of Chizu's sergeants. They would recover the fallen Fire Nation troops and return the wounded to Wonshua for aid.
Naruto himself would lead the new first platoon on to the crossroads to secure it for the next couple of days. As long as everything went according to plan.
The two groups parted ways. There was no time for mourning at the moment. Who knew what other enemies awaited them further ahead. They needed to reach the crossroads by nightfall or risk an even worse ambush than the one they had just suffered.
As the exhausted troops came into the crossroads just before dusk they found the area deserted. The old mill beside the road was in disrepair and had clearly been abandoned long ago. It seemed the building itself had at one point been a supply depot for the Earth kingdom forces in the region but as they had been gradually pushed back they had abandoned the location.
"Alright! Check out the building and get comfortable. Looks like those cowards turned tail and ran when we took Wonshua." Naruto said, getting a cheer from his men.
The platoon settled in for the night. While Akio led a squad out to keep watch, the rest dug some defenses but primarily focused on making camp. Lower and lower the sun sank until it was beginning to fall behind the hills to the west. Naruto had settled in and was enjoying his first warm meal in weeks only to frown as he saw Akio and his men rushing back to them.
Jolting to his feet he met the man at the edge of their makeshift campsite. He had been fighting alongside Akio for a year now and never had seen the man so out of sorts or worried. It filled his entire being with dread at the thought of whatever news he had.
"An entire army, Naruto. The Earth Kingdom is sending an entire army this way." He managed to get out between gasps for air.
The men around them easily heard his words and began mumbling worriedly. Some even stood up as if preparing to bolt. Naruto was silent as he realized the Earth Kingdom forces had the exact same one that the Fire Nation commanders had come up with. They planned on turning the crossroads into the perfect bottleneck so that any attempt to push further would be a massacre.
The landscape made it the perfect place to break the momentum of the Fire Nation division in the valley. As panic began to set into his troops at the thought of a gargantuan force bearing down on them, he realized the reverse was true as well. This was as good a spot as any to break the Earth Kingdom forces in the valley. The problem was he had a single battered platoon to do it with.
Turning to look at his troops he noticed that while they were panicked and frightened, they remained ready for his command. They were waiting for his decision on their own fates. The weight of not only his life but theirs was heavy but, it wasn't the first time he had carried that weight and he doubted it would be the last unless he did in fact die in the next few hours.
That was a very real and worrying possibility. One that Naruto could do nothing about besides putting it out of his mind for the time being.
"Listen up! If we don't hold this spot the damage those fuckers will do to our fellows will be catastrophic. Not only will hundreds if not thousands of our fellow soldiers die from such a battle but it could lead everything our company has sacrificed for in the last few days to being worth nothing. Every injury, every death, and every single second of suffering would be worthless if we just gave this spot up." Naruto began calming the group down as they listened to his voice.
"Now, I know you're afraid. I am too. We must do what is required of us anyway. Not for the Fire Lord, or even for the Fire Nation. Just for our brothers and sister in arms. I hate myself for asking more of you than I have any right to, but I have no choice. I can't hold this crossroads alone, I will try to do just that if I must though." He continued noticing the resolve returning to his soldier's eyes.
"Will you help me?" He asked, quieter.
"Yes." Came the reply. It was mumbled and uneven among the soldiers as if they remained unsure. Naruto narrowed his eyes at that.
"I asked, will you help me!" Naruto bellowed out causing the front ranks of his soldiers to jump slightly in the change of tone. "I don't want any half assed answers. EIther you're with me to the end or you can fuck off back home like the cowardly bastards you'd prove yourselves to be!"
"Yes Sir!" The platoon roared in response.
"That's better. That's the sound of the bunch of warriors I've been serving with!" Naruto responded with a shout, gaining a series of approving shouts back.
"Now, we have a little time to get ready. First thing's first though, who is the youngest person here?" Naruto asked.
The crowd of soldiers all blinked back at their commander awkwardly while Naruto continued to stare at them. "Well?"
"That's you Lieutenant." Mulan spoke up causing Naruto to blink dumbly for a second before groaning.
"I mean beside me dammit!" He shouted, causing the men to practically shove a girl only a few months younger than Mulan forward.
"That's me, sir!" The girl snapped off a salute. It was clear she was one of the newest members of the platoon, likely a replacement since their time directly under Raiko.
"Alright. I want you to go back to Wonshua and get in touch with the Major. Tell him we are going to likely be overrun if we don't get support. Tell him to send word to Colonel Raiko. They'll speed up the advance if the whole operation is threatened…which it will be. Hopefully they can get here and bail us out." Naruto explained.
The soldier saluted again and raced off back toward the Fire Nation lines. Naruto frowned as he watched her go. Even as his troops hurried to set up defenses as best they could, Naruto doubted there would be much left for the division to support once they got here even if they cut their advance by a day and made it sometime tomorrow.
"Naruto…" Mulan said from beside him drawing his attention.
"Yeah?" He asked.
"The last of Akio's scouts just got back. We have until sundown before they get here at the latest." She said with worry.
"Alright then." He answered quietly looking at the sun that had already sunken more than halfway past the horizon.
The Eighth Mountain Division marched proudly down the road toward the crossroads and then on to Wonshua. They would be the first units to encounter enemy troops, if the reports of Wonshua's fall were to be believed and they would fight a delaying action against Fire Nation troops as the rest of the army dug in at the crossroads.
At least that was the plan. It was ruined as a sudden flurry of arrows sank into the flesh of the organized column soldiers as they neared the crossroads, only to be quickly followed by a massive series of fireballs launched from multiple spots along a ramshackle defensive line.
The front ranks of the division seemed to disintegrate as they were devoured in flame. As the battle began the Earth Kingdom troops were thrown into disarray by the enemy attack. They had known that Wonshua had fallen but Pohen was supposed to keep the Fire Nation contained until the rest of their forces were in position. Obviously that plan had failed and now the battle of the crossroads was started hours ahead of schedule and with the wrong side dug into defensive positions.
The battle raged for hours. Eventually the defenders ran out of arrows allowing the attackers to begin launching their tried and true tactics of human waves. Unfortunately for the multitude of first waves, the defenders had been waiting for this moment to truly open up with their fire bending. The smell of burning flesh and hair hung in the air but the battle was far from over.
Still on came the attackers. Even after their tremendous losses the attackers possessed a half strength division at their command. Even at half strength though they numbered nearly five thousand men at arms. The platoon under Naruto was over strength, truly closer to the strength of two platoons some one hundred and seven soldiers not including Naruto himself when all was said and done.
By no stretch of the imagination should the defenders, exhausted and stressed from weeks on end of moving and fighting, be able to hold their own. Yet, as if by a miracle they did. Screaming and howling like animals the remnants of the Thirteenth Jaguar Company tore into their attackers and fought tooth and nail. At the center of it all, roaring out commands and bursts of flames in equal measure, Naruto stood firm.
The fifteen year old led the defense as his weary soldiers gave into their instinctive desire to live. Their fight or flight impulses stuck totally into the mentality of fight. The combat grew more and more gruesome as the night wore on. Wave after wave of Earth Kingdom infantry, mostly just conscripted levy spearmen or swordsmen were fed into the hellish wall of Fire Nation soldiers and the battle raged on and on.
Slowly though, the Earth Kingdom numbers were deciding victory. Naruto could do nothing as more and more of his unit was killed off around him. He was prideful in their last moments, the fearless way they battled their opponents truly gave credit to the name Jaguar company.
Eventually a brief respite was had as the Earth Kingdom forces reorganized. Hundreds, perhaps more lay dead in mounds surrounding the crossroads but by midnight it remained steadfastly in Fire Nation hands. In Naruto's hands.
The young lieutenant stood atop a pile of corpses. There was nowhere else to stand the as the mindless assault of their enemies had sent such numbers against them that Naruto doubted he could find a spot of ground between the bodies now. As terrible a toll as they took on the Earth Kingdom forces though, the number advantage remained completely in the Earth Kingdom's favor.
Among his remaining forces Naruto could count fourteen living. Thankfully Mulan remained but the rest of his sergeants, his original squad and friends had fallen one by one as the battle had carried on. It had fueled him as he fought on.
By now though things looked even more grim. Naruto was the last bender among their forces and the majority of the Earth Kingdom's fodder seemed to have been extinguished leaving their true soldiers to begin the advance.
Naruto stared out silently over the dark, corpse strewn fields. The smoke blotted out the moon and stars and only the numerous fires and embers caused from battle kept the area somewhat lit. It truly looked like a hellscape now compared to the sleepy little crossroad mill that had once been there.
The Lieutenant's mind couldn't linger on what lay actually before him though. Instead it settled on things behind him. As the rhythmic thumping of marching feet began again and the Earth Kingdom troops began their next advance, Naruto's mind focused on the faces of loved ones he wished to see again so desperately.
Despite everything, he wished he could say a few things more to his father. The man wasn't perfect, but in the end, Iroh was his father. Zuko as well, he had been more like a brother. Not necessarily one he got along with but he felt a bond with him that was irrefutable. Even his mother came to mind, blurry as the memory was. He had to wonder if she would be proud of him for going out like a soldier.
He felt guilty for not having sent Mulan back to the rest of the division. She could have had a chance to live, but then again going off the inhuman kill count she had also wracked up before her blade had dulled and she had been forced to resort to scavenging other weapons during the battle, they probably would have already lost were she not with them.
Most of all though his mind dwelt on Azula. How badly he wanted to see her or talk to her again. How worried he was about how his passing would affect her. Would she hate him for leaving her like this? It was a possibility with her the girl's mind did work in some odd ways, even to him.
"Naruto, they're coming." Mulan said.
"Yeah." Naruto said as he scowled at the approaching enemy and felt his irritation at this ending he was forced into coming to pass.
He was never meant to live beyond the battlefield. Had his father even cared about the fact Naruto was being sent to the front lines in what amounted to a sacrificial unit? The Fire Lord had obviously intended for this to happen and as per usual Iroh was too concerned with Zuko to even contemplate the situation of his own son.
The only one back home who gave a damn had been Azula, and for a sudden moment Naruto's mind cleared. He didn't care for the Fire Lord, or Iroh, or Agni forbid Zuko. his mother was dead her opinion was worthless. But Naruto wasn't dead. Not yet. He wanted to get home. He wanted to see Azula again and change this fucked up way of life. This war where all his friends kept dying horrible painful deaths. He wanted to shield Azula, and Mulan, and Ty Lee and so many others he had encountered and considered family from this hellishness.
That was when he felt it. A feeling he had only felt one other time, years ago on the island his father had sent him away to train on. For the brief moment when he had bended fire with the last two dragons themselves.
"I can't die yet, Mulan." Naruto suddenly said, surprising the girl beside him.
"As silly as it sounds, I can't die yet. I made a promise to Azula that I would take her to learn bending from the same teachers that I did. I don't want to break that promise." Naruto said, sounding increasingly mad as he spoke, a bright grin spread across his soot covered and blood stained face.
"Naruto?" She asked feeling unsteady with his rollercoaster of emotions. She could almost feel the swings and changes of his mind. There was something else too though. A heat, a warmth that seemed to practically emit from him suddenly. Like a furnace heating a cozy home or a warm summer's day brushing against her skin.
"Stand back. All of you. I've got a few more things up my sleeve." Naruto said as he strode forward and took up an odd starting stance for one of his bending moves.
The Earth Kingdom army continued forward while Mulan led the handful of remaining Fire Nation soldiers back as they had been commanded. She wasn't sure what to expect. None of them were but after months of following Naruto's command they had come to see his orders as nigh absolute and they trusted him implicitly. They were likely dead anyway so what did it matter.
People speak of miracles on the battlefield in every conflict. No matter the war, no matter if it seems to defy reality itself they speak of miracles occurring with a reverence rarely found outside of a temple. For the survivors of the Battle of the Crossroads, they witnessed the birth of one of the Fire Nation's greatest miracles and heroes. Most believe the Son of the Dragon moniker to reference the fact that Naruto is the progeny of the Dragon of the West. In truth as Naruto danced through the forms utilized in the most ferocious and elegant moment of bending any of those present had yet seen, they knew the truth.
When they called Naruto the Son of the Dragon they were referring to the god of dragons, Agni himself.
Naruto didn't recall what happened after his brief mental snap. The stress and grief at never seeing his loved ones again had pushed him to do something most thought impossible and it took its toll on his body. As he created and bent a massive curtain of flame against the screaming horde of Earth Kingdom soldiers, permanently scorching the valley ever more, all Naruto could think of was wanting to rest as he collapsed from exhaustion.
Okay, so that's that. We have gotten an update and a little better understanding of the real meaning behind Naruto's new title, Son of the Dragon. Anyway that was the battle of the crossroads as well as the skirmishes leading up to it. Next chapter we will be dealing with more of the fallout of that event and we will get to see Naruto and Azula reuniting. I hope you all enjoyed.
Till Next Time
