Alright, since I've been binge-watching Avatar The Last Airbender, I'm having this concept of a Naruto/Avatar fanfic. And I'm just writing this in case the first chapter hits it.
Trying for something different with the traditional Naruto/Avatar crossover, I am going to also insert the characters from the Avatar Comics - some of whom you might recognize if you are a die-hard fan or will look up later on after this chapter.
For one, this is going to be solely Naruto in the Avatar World - no other characters will be in it. I am going for something unorthodox - so I can perhaps expect the angry commenters to be going after me.
So if this chapter seems short, I'm sorry. Hopefully you all are satisfied with the 5K word count.
Huge thanks to NSG for cleaning up and also Mustard for helping: shoutout to the two contributors.
So let's get started.
Valley of the End
Tired, wounded, stressed and hopeless.
That were the four words that were now spinning in the mind of a certain shinobi, seen fighting on the other side of the waterfall streaming down to the river. The same river that was accompanied by the statues of both of the Shinobi World's most recognizable warriors who fought here half a century ago - Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha.
And like that historic battle, the one that was taking place between two young kids, teenagers. Young souls who were given no choice then this path.
On the one side was the deformed, demon-looking Sasuke Uchiha. Who just had taken the decision to turn his back against the village he previously swore loyalty to - and had taken the choice of seeking revenge, even when it meant dealing with devils themselves.
"Stay out of my way, Naruto!"
And his opponent, was a blond young teenager himself, who despite his mostly normal appearance - was deemed a demon by most of his village from a young age.
Naruto Uzumaki, a orphaned boy whose features like that of whiskers on his face - was a social outcast for most of his life. From the day as a baby to his final days in the academy, the nearly thirteen-year-old Genin had gone through hurdles and obstacles that would be unforgivable if seen from an outsider's perspective.
Unforgivable, as he even was engulfed in orange chakra, the power source that he called from the same power that could most likely equalize to the Mark that the monster gave to Sasuke - that corrupted his mind with revenge and bitterness.
"Like hell I will!" Naruto shouted back at Sasuke with anger. "I'm taking you back!"
The two held in their own hands, power was surging into deadly precise weapons - with one having sparks of lightning, and the other a small circle of wind that was just as deadly.
"CHIDORI!"
"RASENGAN!"
And shouted like that, both young men were sprinting for each other, running over the river water in speed as they were about to try giving the final blow to one another. As their bodies had already reached their limits with the amount of damage being dealt.
But once those two attacks collided it would cause the unimaginable.
Now in a forest that was wide and endless, it was home to many foreign and unique trees, flora and fauna of present and past times - with the thick white fog giving the element of peace yet a clear present on where this was.
This was the Spirit World.
A place where those who left their previous lives on their earth, now reside in eternity in the peaceful realm. And where powerful spirits with long lives had now retired to.
Roku was among one of those who was seen in the realm, a man who was once the Avatar of his own world, a powerful and nearly holy entity that in his own world was responsible for the peace.
A peace he knew failed to keep, and has watched it unfold in a over a hundred-year-old war, that brought chaos, hatred, death and destruction that covered every corner of the planet.
The elderly man felt more blame knowing the instigator to this war, were the nation he was born in, and the friend who started this carnage.
Forced to watch it unfold - Avatar Roku could only blame himself. As he was seen trying to meditate by himself, accompanied by his red dragon named Fang, who laid sleeping in all the calmness that it wanted.
*BOOOM!*
Roku's eyes widened up after hearing it, with the first word uttered upon realizing.
"Impossible…"
A unexpected thing happened, a explosion occurred that pretty much caught everything in the forest by surprise, with the animals seen fleeing away from flocks of birds to even small rodents, with the impact even blowing the wind into the trees.
Whatever it was, it was something that caught Roku's interest.
"Fang."
Opening its eyes, the red dragon responded to his friend as the old man climbed on top of him.
"Let's go."
Proceeding to follow, the dragon flew towards the source of that surge as it went in top speed. To see whatever it was.
…
At the place of impact, the ground was met with a small crater that was created alongside some unsettled dust, with two figures seen lying in it.
*Growl*
The first to stand up was heard as it stood up, and looked around to figure out what the surroundings were, seen he was in a cloud of dust, his initially reaction was simple.
"Stupid brat…what have you done now…"
The voice belonged to that of a creature that jumped out of the cloud of dust, and revealed himself to be not a human - but in fact a animal, a small and cute one in fact. The fur of it was red-orange and the animal was on four paws, with black fur around its red eyes that stretch up to its ears, and nine long swiping tails.
The animal shivered itself to clear the dust off its fur, before it then made a sudden realization. When he saw the trees and air, a sight he hadn't seen in a long time.
"Wait a minute…."
*Groan*
The animal turned its head around to that noise, slowly as it soon spotted what it was: A body it was, and not just any.
Naruto Uzumaki, on what looks like was the brink of death with multiple holes seen visible in his chest area and gut, as those were gifts the Uchiha did with that Chidori attack. But the many other wounds from bruises, kicks, cuts and slashes were seen not healing as the skin was seen turning from its sun-kissed tan to pale white.
The boy was unconscious as the limbs were not trembling, but seemingly close to accepting the inevitable.
"We're here."
"Huh?" The small animal turned his head around to then see that out of nowhere a man appeared - one with a beard and red traditional looking clothing with a dragon.
"WHAT THE-" The small fur animal went on its defensive position. "WHY IS THERE A DRAGON HERE?!"
The dragon didn't pay attention to the furball as it was more fixated on Roku approaching the boy that he saw wasn't from the Spirit World, kneeling next to him.
Roku examined the body with an near shocked but calm expression as he saw the wounds as he began nearing the boy.
"HEY, old Fart!"
Roku turned around to see the small fox talking, but then noticed the tails and the appearance. Causing him to even stare that managed to end up in a awkward moment between the Avatar and the small animal.
*Gasp!*
But then Roku focused back on the boy who was still in need of help, so he went on to slightly rip open the already ruined shirt of the young teenager and saw the full extent of his wounds.
What he felt oozing from the boy was causing him to be shocked.
"Chakra…"
"Huh?" The fox was confused and said. "Yes, the brat has chakra, what gives?"
Roku however was seen focused on the body of Naruto as he then laid his hand over the forehead, with then sudden white light erupted.
"Hey! What the-"
The light grew brighter and brighter, to the point it illuminated everything in that area to where even any sound was silenced because of it. All except for one clear statement that Roku was heard saying.
"When the time comes, your role will be fulfilled, and you will help bring balance."
Yu Dao
One event could change little in the short-term, yet go on to create massive ramifications further down the line. This was especially the case in Yu Dao, one of the oldest of the Fire Nation's colonies, stretching back to the early days of the war, under Fire Lord Sozin's rule.
Formerly under Earth Kingdom control more than a century prior, Yu Dao was home to tens of thousands of families, from local Earth Kingdom citizens to Fire Nation families that had immigrated over the course of a hundred years.
Among those colonists was a family of two, a man and a woman who lived in the countryside. Both were second-generation citizens, farmers whose parents had hoped to start a new life.
The couple lived in a modest house and were an average family of farmers, with the wife seen cooking inside while waiting for her husband to return from bringing the harvest to the city.
The black-haired woman with a ponytail was named Nuzan. Formerly a student graduating in archeology with prior experience, she now was a housewife and farmer, who had a lot of knowledge on her mind, but with also a lot of opinions of her own, she was a free-spirited, sociable and kind woman.
"Damn it all!"
The one slamming the door in was the man in the household, the black bearded but clearly older Maru. Who was seen holding two bags in one hand alongside a pair of scrolls in the other.
"Evening, Maru." Nuzan chuckled. "I hear you're as enthusiastic as usual."
Sighing, that was the response that the bearded husband gave before he then placed his bags and scrolls on the wooden table.
"Sorry dear." Maru said rubbing his head while sighing even more. "Just had another discussion at the tea house…"
Maru was the complete opposite of his wife. As a former serviceman in the military, he was known to be disciplined, stern and possessed of a strong work ethic. Someone with a good reputation as a veteran in the battles he fought in his younger years, but also was somebody not afraid to tell it how it is and someone who held no naive thoughts.
Both husband and wife shared such things in common, in fact; despite their many differences, they were fair, nonjudgmental, and even bordered on un-Fire-Nation-like sentiments, what was very rare to be seen even in the colonies.
Stopping her cooking, Nuzan grabbed a towel and used it to take both handles of the pot to bring the stew towards the table that was already prepared beforehand. A table of two, like usually.
"What's the pay?"
Opening up the two small bags, Maru poured out the payment of the harvest he brought to town, which had dropped again in value:
"Around two hundred copper pieces, and around twenty of silver." He stated, clearly unsatisfied as he laid his hand across the table. "And I just paid the tax. So that's what we're going to have to live with for now."
Nuzan could see something more was bothering her husband, and she went on to ask.
"You said you just had another meeting, right?" She asked her husband. "At the Sweet Aroma Teahouse, correct?"
Maru nodded as he felt his wife's hand placed on his shoulder.
"What is it?..."
"... Last week, a skirmish by the Southern Water Tribe…" He said to her. "Mee and Zomo were among the dead."
Nuzan narrowed her eyes; she knew those names. Unwillingly, she spoke the forbidden words.
"That leaves only you, right?"
Maru didn't reply for a moment, his eyes taking on a distant cast, until the comfort of his wife brought him back to reality.
"Out of the fifty guys who volunteered from Yu Dao, only I am left…"
Nuzan hugged her husband tighter as she laid her head over his hair, pressing herself against his back.
*Knock!* *Knock!* *Knock!*
The sound of the front door knockers being heard got the couple to turn their heads, with Nuzan seen walking over towards it to answer it.
"Who's there?"
"It's me!"
That voice was that of a child, a child that managed to bring a smile to the woman who let out a smile before opening it.
"If it isn't my niece-"
"AUNTY!"
Jumping right into her arms was a small light-skinned girl with brown hair. Wearing a dress of red and green colors, she had brown hair like her eyes and full of happiness.
"Kori, my dear. It's good to see you." Nuzan chuckled at the sight of her niece in her arms as she stated with a nervous laugh. "But you've grown."
"Oh, sorry!" The young girl named Kori said stepping back and bowing in respect. "Sorry, aunty!"
"No need to apologize." Nuzan only laughed and politely said. "Now go greet your uncle Maru."
Kori smile grew bigger as she ran over to where she spotted him and ran up towards him.
"UNCLE!"
The sight of his niece got Maru to raise a humble smile and extend his arms out.
"If it isn't my favorite niece."
*HUG!*
And just like before, the young Kori jumped into the arms of her uncle Maru. Who hugged back lightly as they both shared a close bond to that of real family - even when in reality they were not tied by blood.
Instead, it was something else.
"Hello."
The couple turned around to see that two other people had entered the home, an woman in traditional Earth Kingdom colored robes and alongside was her supposed husband.
Her husband is also that of the same size of him, but was an very important person who wore Fire Nation robes, that of an official. With pointy sideburns that curve towards and then away from his mustache, his hair tied back into a bun with a small goatee. This man however wasn't just an official, he was the mayor of Yu Dao.
(The three characters are from the Avatar Comics, but only the girl of the Morishita has a name, so here they are.)
"Mr and Mrs Morishita." Nuzan greeted with a bow and welcomed them. "Welcome to our little farm."
Mrs. Morishita smiled. "Please, no need for the formalities. We came here on a visit, as friends." She showed a wrapped up meal she handed over. "Here."
Then the focus laid on Mr. Morishita who was seen approaching Maru, who had released the young Kori who took her distance when her dad went over to her uncle.
"Maru."
"...Azao."
*Clap*
The two shook hands as the men were smiling to one another, as the two were indeed good friends - and old comrades.
"Let's eat, shall we?"
Later
Outside in the rice paddiess of the farmers, were two Fire Nation soldiers seen standing guard outside the farm, with bot men seen nearby the stagecoach that was used to bring the mayor and his family here.
"How long until you are transferred? I'm going to be posted near Ba Sing Se in a few months." The Firebender said. "Apparently, the Earth Kingdom found some new morale."
"How so?"
"Some idiot of the elders made a mistranslation of when Sozin's Comet was about to arrive, and the date was wrong by a few years." The firebender said shaking his head. "Word got out, and now several fronts are reporting more fighting than ever before. Meaning even the Earth Kingdom scholars managed to translate it."
"Meaning the generals got word of it - and ordered counter-offensives?"
The firebender nodded. "News spread quickly, even heard Earth Kingdom rebel groups have been causing havoc."
The second heard this and suggested. "You think they'll try to attack Yu Dao?..."
….
"I do not dare answer that question, man." The firebender crossed his arms. "I only know, that this war will only get worse from now on."
The two men didn't notice that a girl was running out of the house without looking properly.
"Mom! I'll be practicing my-"
*BUMP!*
The girl Kori happened to bump into the side of the second Fire Nation soldier. Who stood his ground while she fell back on her butt.
"Ouch…"
"Should watch where you're running, kid." The firebender chuckled through his mask. "Watch out next time, okay?"
Kori rubbed her head and nodded in silence before she stood up and smiled at the soldiers, giving a bow to them before she ran off.
"Later, mom! Later, dad!" Kori shouted out as she ran for her usual spot. "I'm going to practice my bending!"
…
"Alright, dear. Just don't be too far away!" Mrs. Morishita shouted to her daughter from the table where she and her husband were still sitting at with the farmers.
Proceeding to be at the table, the four adults were also picking up from where they left on the discussion. With the topic being the news of the week.
"So the news is true - Sozin's Comet's is expected to come a few years later."
The news was something that neither the Mayor nor his wife were really comfortable to speak about, but with their friends on the table, they felt more compelling to open up.
"We've heard this from a officer who came out of the capital." Mrs. Morishita acknowledged with a sigh. "So yes. It is true."
Nuzan was seen preparing tea, four cups of Lychee. As she proceeded to pour into all four cups, she clearly had a expression of dissatisfaction on her.
"So that means more lives will be lost, I assume?" She said in response. "More bloodshed to come?"
"That is what the price is of warfare." Maru said sipping from his tea. "Expect these next few years to be bloody…"
Mr. Morishita looked at his friend slightly concerned with the words he was expressing, and decided to ask.
"You heard about what happened to your old unit, correct? About Mee and Zomo."
Maru looked away but nodded. "Yes, I heard."
"Then you must've heard about Yon Rha's promotion?"
BANG!
That was the sound of Maru who just smashed his cup-holding arm into the table, with the expected reaction being given by the former Southern Raider.
"He got promoted? Yon Rha?" Maru sprung up with anger he held back to a degree. "That double-crossing, murdering coward? How in Spirits' name did he got a promotion?"
The women were understandably frightened by Maru's outburst, but it wasn't much to Mr. Morishita, who just told him up front.
"Fire Lord Ozai recommended it to the General Staff - for Rha's successful operations against the last remaining Water benders in the South Pole."
Maru's eyes glared at that one mention. The last mission he was part of before his retirement three years ago.
"The South Pole…"
Meanwhile
Out in the rice paddies of the farm, a young Kori was seen running through the mud with her shoes that she knew were getting dirty by the wet mud, even when her mother bought those at an expensive shop.
But she didn't care, as she was about to -
"HAH!"
With her arm stretched out, she punched right into the boulder, resulting in it cracking into multiple pieces with the rest flying off into smaller pieces. Only using one punch to crush this big rock with no effort.
An earth bender like her mother, Kori had no problem having her hands dirty - she made a fist and felt like she needed to do better on her training. Especially when the times come that the war might reach Yu Dao.
She was not naive to have heard her parents, her town, or even the shouting coming out of her uncle and aunts house. As she was preparing herself to protect her home, her family, and her nation.
*Splash!*
Kori turned at the sound, which had originated from one of their rice paddies. Cautiously, she moved forward to investigate, the high grass making it hard to see the source.
"Who's there?..."
She saw that the water rippled and that something had moved, but then she noticed something that was mixing with the water, oozing in small streams out of the paddy field as it was showing a clear distinct color that was disturbingly familiar to her.
It was red, and more of it was seen coming out.
Kori, was understandably looking bleak after seeing that, and started reaching her hands into the grass and push it aside to see what the source of it was.
And once she saw it, her eyes went hollow-
…
Back at the farm house, the shouting had ended with now Maru seen clearly exhausted, allowing himself to be helped by his wife who sat him down on the chair.
"You need to watch your health, Maru. Remember what the doctor told you." Nuzan told her husband while checking his pulse. "You're not as you used to be."
Both Mrs. and Mr. Morishita watched with concern at their friend who was calming down from hearing such news.
"Yes… I know." Maru sighed as he took a minute to breathe, and taking a sip from his cup of tea as he shook his head. "Cannot believe that bastard got promoted to Commander."
"Well, the Southern Raiders were in need of a qualified commander after the previous one got killed in a battle against some Earth Kingdom battalions." Mr. Morishita explained to him as he went on further. "They actually thought for a good amount of time to give the promotion to someone else."
"To who then?" Maru asked as he poured himself more tea. "Zhao? I know that destiny-obsessed bastard would like to climb up the ranks, but I doubt he'd want to be even near the South."
"... They thought about you, Maru." Mr. Morishita stated. "The Fire Lord had been thinking of asking you out of retirement to lead the Southern Raiders."
…
Like if a pin dropped, the sound in that room went into silence when that was said, even causing the two women in the room to nearly gasp.
But Maru however, his reaction was as expected.
"...I'm not interested in war anymore - not with what has happened."
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
That scream alerted all the adults inside the room, as it was a feminine one.
"That's Kori!"
"Something must have happened!"
Maru stood up and ran out of the door, with the others following suit as they came across the two guards heard it also.
"Its coming from there, Mayor." The fire bender pointed out the far end. "She went that way."
"HELP!"
That shout only got Maru to start running, alongside the others. Hurrying up as they could.
"Help is on the way!"
…
Lying with her knees deep in the water, Kori was seen pulling out from the high grass something she didn't expect to find. As her clothes were getting wet, she also was partly covered in blood.
Blood that belonged to somebody she found, a boy close to her age in strange looking orange clothing that was shredded and ripped apart, with blood still seen coming out of his body.
Once she managed to drag him out and laid him on the dry ground, Kori took a closer at the boy, and was horrified by the wounds he had on his chest and stomach - he had holes, literal holes in his chest!
Unable to even comprehend on what she came across, these wounds would be the end to any normal human being, but then she took a closer look at the face of the boy...and the first thing she noticed was the hair.
Yellow, bright, unusual hair, something she had never seen before.
"Your hair…."
And then Kori noticed the whiskers on the cheeks, and the sun-kissed skin color alongside the necklace of a crystal she noticed around the neck.
"Kori!"
The brunette turned her head around to the sound of her father shouting, as she saw multiple flames ignited that were closing nearby.
"I'm here!" She shouted for help. "Come quickly!"
*Grunt*
The grunting sound got Kori to turn her head around again, and there she saw the unexpected happening: He was wakening up. His eyes were flickering a few times before he widened them up as he stared at the sky. To where his pupils were now visible.
They were blue, pure blue, and they started to focus on her. And the two teenagers were staring at each other for a moment that they both were unprepared for. Brown eyes met blue eyes. And they were unable to speak until the first word was said.
"I've failed…"
"Huh?" Kori didn't catch that. "What did you say?"
"I failed…the mission…."
And by that, his eyes started to close again, slowly and surely for now. With voices ringing through his head by listening.
"Hey, hey! Stay with me! Stay!"
"Kori we're here- My goodness!"
"Dad! Uncle! Help me! He needs help!"
"Look at his wounds!"
"No time to talk - get him to the stagecoach. To the hospital, NOW!"
…
"EYES UP, NOW!"
A pair of eyes sprung up, the same ones, blue eyes that pierced clearly the difference from the local populace.
The locals? Those were the people who lived in the cold, often forgettable South Pole. The cold wasteland that was only home to snow, ice and the occasional colonies of animals who passed by.
Powering through that cold, stormy wasteland was none other than Uzumaki Naruto. Fortunately, he was dressed for the climate, with a traditional blue, hooded parka, along with a scarf that covered his mouth.
His thick brown boots shuffled through the bitter snow, but Naruto showed no sign of being bothered by the blizzard, having experienced such things many times over the years.
The storm was merciless and hard as the night was young and dark, with the moon being the only light in the sky.
Something happened to then crawl out of the back of that parka and a animal's mouth popped out next to Naruto's neck.
"You should stop punishing yourself by meditating in the middle of this fucking place - Naruto."
"Shut it, Kurama." Naruto responded without even blinking a eye. He kept moving. " We've been here for a year and a half now. So stop complaining."
"And it's been five fricking years since we've been here - and three since you left…"
Naruto didn't respond to that immediately, as he didn't want to be reminded of the fact he now was a nearing seventeen-year-old young teenager who was still trying to build his life up. Even after the many mistakes he made, and the war that was still going on.
And his thoughts were interrupted when he saw his final destination. Standing over a ridge, he overlooked the place.
"We're back."
Having arrived back at the place he called home for now. It was the small settlement that he had lived for now.
The Southern Water Tribe.