Chapter 8: The Drill
Earth Kingdom, outer wall of Ba Sing Se
The arrow head formation of Fire Nation Armor advanced towards the massive outer wall. The tanks advanced ahead of the massive drill, kicking up tons of dust that their treads picked up. The drill head was steadily turning, and smaller drills poked out of the point. The drill advanced along like a caterpillar, pulling itself towards the wall in segments. Whenever one segment connected, steam came shooting out of the vents on the top of the drill's hull, and then it pulled out to grab more land.
Whenever the drill's segments extended and retracted, spikes shot out at the bottom of the massive drill and pulled the massive machine forward. The drill advanced again, slowly keeping up with the tanks that were racing towards the wall. The size of the massive machine was jaw-dropping, at least five hundred meters long and seventy meters high, it dwarfed anything on land that came before it. A bridge tower steadily rose from the top of the hull, to give the aggressors a better view for the battle.
Inside the bridge, three young women were sitting on a three seat throne. The young woman in the middle had her legs crossed and gave a commanding presence to the men around her. She had a beautiful face, pale and pure looking like Hinata's, yet her yellow eyes had a murderous intent that only Orochimaru or Itachi had. Her brown hair being held up in a bun with a fire symbol that seemed to signify a crown, and she wore her bangs like Hinata as well. Dressed in royal Fire Soldier armor, she was an impressive looking person, for she was the Fire Nation's princess, Azula, heiress to the throne and a prodigy of Fire Bending unseen in the hundred years.
The young woman to her left was sitting with her legs crossed underneath her. Her hair was done in an elaborate ponytail that let her hair flow all the way down to her waist. Her face was pale, not as much as Hinata's or Azula's, but gave a fair look to her form. Her brown eyes had a playful fire in them, and she was wearing a tank top like shirt that created an arrow shape, rising above her shoulders, which had loose, pink sleeves going down them. She showed off her midriff and belly button with her pink, loose fitting pants. This was the daughter of a nobleman who ran away from home and joined the circus, a master of the human body and its weaknesses, like the Hyuuga Clan, Ty Lee.
The third young woman on Azula's right was sitting sideways, staring at the wall with a bored look on her face. Out of the three of them, her skin was the palest, and she had short black hair with a shine that would have reminded a Konoha resident of Rock Lee or Maito Gai. She was wearing armor and with red sleeves, which hid her secret weapons. She was Mai, daughter of a noble family like Ty Lee, and master of weapons.
"This drill is a feat of scientific ingenuity and raw destructive power, once it tunnels through the wall, our troops will storm their city, the Earth Kingdom will finally fall, and you can claim Ba Sing Se in the name of your father. Nothing can stop us," a man said pacing in front of the three young women.
"Hmm, what about those muscley guys?" Ty Lee asked, looking out the periscope to see several Earth Kingdom Soldiers and Earth Benders running to the trenches.
"Please, the drill's metal shell is impervious to any Earthbending attack," the war minister told her, tapping the periscope making her pull back. Ty Lee glared at him angrily, which was uncharacteristic for her since she's usually happy all the time.
"Oh I'm sure it is War Minister Qin, but just to be on the safe side…" Azula started, and then she glanced at the two women. "Mai, Ty Lee, take the Earthbenders out!"
Mai sat idly twirling one of her shuriken on her finger as she looked back at Azula, and she caught it. "Finally, something to do."
With that, both young women left to prepare themselves to deal with the Earthbenders.
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Earth Kingdom, near the wall of Ba Sing Se
Naruto, Kakashi, and Sakura led the group from the front as Hinata and Katara held up the middle with Toph and Yamato and Sokka held back a ways to see if Ying and Tahn needed any help with their new baby, Hope. They stopped and looked up to see Aang flying down to them. They were surprised by this, since he had started to look for Appa.
"Aang, what are you doing here? I thought you were looking for Appa," Katara asked, surprised that he did this.
"Yeah, something came up?" Naruto asked, looking at the young Avatar.
"Yeah, I was, something big stopped me," Aang replied, and he looked at them. "Really, really big…"
A little while later, they were all at the wall, and Toph and Aang were at the ends, preparing to Earthbend them up to the top of the wall. They dislodged a massive piece of earth that could carry them all and, like the slab was an elevator, began 'pulling' them up the wall. At the speed they were going, they'd reach the top of the wall very shortly.
"Now what's so big that Appa has to wait?" Sokka asked, since the description was too vague.
"Probably a war machine of the Fire Nation," Kakashi speculated, and Aang nodded.
"That," Aang said as they reached the top of the wall, and everyone's eyes widened at the massive drill.
"…what is it?" Naruto asked, not recognizing what the weapon was. "And what are the smaller metal things around it?"
"They are Fire Army tanks, that thing, however, is a giant drill," Sokka replied, looking down.
"And…any ideas on how we're suppose to beat that thing?" Sakura asked, but no reply was forthcoming.
"We made it to Ba Sing Se, and we're still not safe," Ying said depressingly, looking at her husband and traveling companion. "No one is!"
"What are you people doing here? Civilians aren't allowed on the wall," an Earth Kingdom soldier asked.
"I'm the Avatar, take me to whoever's in charge," Aang told the soldiers as he stepped forward.
A little while later, Naruto, Aang, Katara, Hinata, Sakura, Sokka, Toph, Kakashi, and Yamato were standing in front of the Earth Kingdom General, Sung, waiting to hear the defense. The office that Sung occupied was huge, and soldiers occupied, yet weren't doing anything.
"It is an honor to welcome you to the Outer Wall, young Avatar, but…your help is not needed," Sung told them, making Naruto's eyebrow rise.
"You got to be kidding me…" Naruto said as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. "And…how are you supposed to stop that huge drill without us?"
"Ahem, young man, as I was saying, I have the situation under control," Sung replied as he stood up and led them out to the wall, where Earthbenders were piling rocks. "I assure you, the Fire Nation cannot penetrate this wall. Many have tried to break threw it, but no one has succeeded."
"What about the 'Dragon of the West'? He got in," Toph asked as she crossed her arms, and Sung's face fell at the mentioning of Iroh's old nickname.
"And really, nothing is impenetrable," Kakashi said, and Sung chuckled lightly.
"W-Well…technically yes on both counts…but the Dragon was quickly expunged," Sung told them, not easing the mood everyone was feeling. "That's why the city is called Ba Sing Se, the 'Impenetrable City'; they don't call it 'Na Sing Se'…" he then began laughing at his own joke. "That means 'Penetrable City'."
"Yeah thanks for the tour," Naruto and Toph said at the same time. "There's still the drill problem," the blind Earthbender finished.
"Not for long! To stop it I've sent an elite platoon of Earthbenders," Sung told them confidently as he walked over to a spyglass. "…called the Terra Team."
"They can have all the fancy titles they want, they are not going to scratch a thing that stretches out for half a kilometer!" Sakura yelled and the general sighed.
"Terra Team…that's a good group name though, very catchy," Sokka said as he put his hand on his chin.
As the Fire Nation's juggernaut inched closer, Kakashi pulled up his forehead protector up to use his Sharingan to copy the Terra Team's moves. Three of the members, in triangle formation stomped and thrust their hands upwards, throwing a tank out of their path.
They then road on a rocky island and got close to the drill. In three separate teams they rode up, and with a group stomp they all launched pillars of rocks into the joints of the drill. However, they had no effect in slowing the drill, when the joints moved; the pillars shattered as if they were made of glass.
The Terra Team members shielded their eyes and faces from the falling rocks, and then they noticed something, two girls sliding down the side of the drill. One of them grinned and launched several shuriken with an accuracy that rivaled Tenten. The Terra Team stomped and a rock shield went up to protect them from the shuriken, and they got ready to battle.
One of the girls with the pony tail swung down a rope and landed on her feet. One of the members of the team stepped and stomped, sending a pillar of rock jutting out at her. She easily leapt over it, twirled, and smiled as she landed. He began to try to punch her out, but she was far too agile and quick and she quickly got behind him. With just three jabs, she knocked him down, temporarily sealing his bending.
As the Terra Team member crashed to the ground she used a handspring to get out of the way of several rocks tossed at her by the other members of the team. She landed right in the middle of their diamond formation. Before they could react, she began slamming her fists into their pressure points. All around her, the Terra Team fell. When it was all over, the girl was surrounded by the unconscious members of the Team without breaking a sweat, and the last member collapsed, and she had a smile on her face.
'She sealed their tenkatsus by hitting their pressure points…' Kakashi thought, his Sharingan analyzing her style. 'Hinata-san will be her counter, I would think.'
Sung looked up from the spyglass in shock, "We're doomed!" He yelled as he threw his arms in the air.
Sokka then slapped him. "Get a hold of yourself man!"
"Your right, I'm sorry," Sung said as he rubbed his face, and he noticed Naruto smirking.
"Maybe you'd like the Avatar's help now…?" Toph asked him sweetly, closing his eyes.
"As well as the future Hokage…?" Naruto added with a grin.
"Yes please," Sung replied as he slinked over to the jinchuuriki and Aang.
They all went to the wall and looked at the drill. Naruto bit his lip, he began to draw a blank on how to defeat on how to defeat the drill, but he turned to Hinata.
"Hinata-chan, do you see any weak points on that thing with your Byakugan?" Naruto asked, and Hinata gasped at what he asked, and she nodded.
"O-Of course, N-Naruto-kun…." Hinata replied, and she slowly activated her kekki genkai and began scanning the drill, and then she sighed disappointingly. "…I can't detect any weak points…the metal shell is extremely thick…"
Naruto shrugged and Aang sighed. "So the question is…how're we going to stop that thing?"
With that, Katara, Aang, Sakura, Hinata, Kakashi, and Yamato then looked at Sokka. The Water Tribe warrior looked at them, dumbfounded he was chosen by all of them to form a plan of attack.
"Why are you all looking at me?" Sokka asked as he looked left and right.
"You're the idea guy!" Aang replied as the Water Tribe Warrior's eyebrow rose.
"And you've had some pretty good ideas and plans so far," Naruto added with a smirk. "You're this team's strategist."
"So I'm the only one that can ever come up with an idea?" Sokka asked in disbelief. "That's a lot of pressure!"
"And also the complaining guy," Katara added, and her brother's eyes widened.
"That part I don't mind," Sokka told them, and Sakura giggled. "What?"
"For someone who thinks himself to be a genius, you don't show it," Sakura replied with a grin, and the Water Tribe Warrior began grinding his teeth at that.
"She has a point Sokka-kun," Hinata added and Sokka's grinding was further heard.
"Careful, you're going to mess up your teeth doing that!" Naruto laughed and the Water Tribe Warrior nearly exploded.
"Enough, we have to form a plan or Ba Sing Se will fall," Kakashi interjected, making everyone look at the tall Jounin. "They are bringing the injured Terra Team up now, we should go to the field hospital to find out any information we can."
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Ba Sing Se Outer Wall Field Hospital
A few minutes later, they were all gathered in the field hospital of the Outer Wall. Katara and Sakura were checking on the patients. Hinata looked at them, and she could recognize what they were suffering from.
"He doesn't look injured," Sung commented as the Hyuuga walked over to one of the Terra Team that was being treated by Katara.
"His chakra is blocked," Katara stated as the healing water engulfed the earthbender's arm, and they receded when his chakra was unblocked. "Who did this to you?"
The Earthbender squeezed his fist and groaned. "Two girls ambushed us. One of them hit me with a bunch of quick jabs, and suddenly I couldn't Earthbend, and I could barely move. And then she cart wheeled away."
Katara recognized the description. "Ty Lee…she doesn't look dangerous, but she knows the human body and its weak points. It's like she takes you down from the inside."
"Katara-chan…please move out of the way," Hinata said as her water bending teacher looked up. The Hyuuga activated her Byakugan, and saw which tenkatsus were blocked on the Earthbender's body, and she prepared herself. She then struck them, and enabled them to be opened up again. "Can you move better now, sir?"
"Y-Yeah…" The Earthbender replied as he sat up. "Thank you, miss."
"Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh!" Sokka yelled as he got an idea to deal with the Drill.
"Yes…?"
"What you just said, that's how we're going to take down the Drill, the same way Ty Lee took down all these big Earthbenders!" Sokka replied as he looked around to see Hinata unsealing another Earthbender.
"By hitting its pressure points!" Toph added, getting what he was saying.
"We have to hit it from the inside," Naruto and Aang concluded at the same time, and Sokka grinned at his plan.
"And if we run into this Ty Lee girl, we have the perfect counter," Naruto said with a grin, and he glanced at Hinata. "Hinata-chan's Jyuuken Style will be perfect, no, more than perfect stopping her."
"…w-what…me?" Hinata asked, and the jinchuuriki turned to her.
"Yep. If this is the best she can do, you can beat the snot out of her easily Hinata-chan!" Naruto replied with a grin. "Just believe in yourself! You're strong! I know it!"
'N-Naruto-kun thinks I'm strong? I'm…strong!' Hinata thought as her eyes widened and her mouth curled into a smile. "Alright…Naruto-kun. I'll do it!"
Sakura looked at the scene with a smile. 'You can do it, Hinata-chan. You better tell him your feelings soon though…'
They all began to iron out the plan, and a few seconds later they were all prepared to assault the Drill, this time with a bit more care. Kakashi left a Kage Bushin up on the wall to advise Sung, and he freaked out, to put it lightly, when the clone appeared out of a burst of smoke. With that, they all went to the bottom of the wall to start the strike.
At the bottom of the wall, they all gathered in front of the drill behind a trench that the Earth Kingdom army had made. The drill lurched forward, its head slowly spinning. Toph then pointed at the drill.
"Once I whip up some cover, be sure to follow Hinata. She's the only one who'll be able to see," Toph told them as she jumped over the trench as the others leapt into it. She raised her hands and closed her eyes, and the entire area began shaking.
Hinata activated her Byakugan just as the blind Earthbending Master leapt into the air and came crashing down, kicking up a large cloud of dust. "Run!" Toph commanded as they all ran into the dust cloud.
"Nice one, Toph," Naruto commented as they got into the cloud, and Hinata looked around.
When they were in the dust cloud and they continued running until they were at the head of the drill. In the shadow of the massive machine, Toph bent a tunnel into the ground.
"Everyone into the hole, follow Hinata!" Toph ordered as they nodded and leapt into the hole.
The hole was then sealed to prevent any findings of the team's plan. Toph began to push the dirt out of the way, following the vibrations the drill was giving off so they'd be able to find the exact bottom of the drill. Hinata's Byakugan showed where to go, and everyone kept behind her.
"It's so dark down here I can't see a thing!" Sokka complained as he followed the others.
"Oh no, what a nightmare!" Toph said overdramatically, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
"Oh, right, sorry," Sokka winced as Naruto hit him over the head again. "Ouch!"
"Stop complaining, it's getting really annoying!" Naruto chided him as he followed behind Hinata.
Toph then dug them out right under the massive drill's super structure. Hinata had indicating an opening, and that's where they popped out.
"There!" Sokka yelled as Naruto, Kakashi, and Hinata leapt clearly into the opening and Aang leapt onto the pipe and hung by his legs. Momo flew in and landed on the jinchuuriki's shoulder.
Katara ran up and grabbed the Avatar's hands and he threw her up into the bowels of drill. Sokka was next and Aang continued to hang by his legs, waiting for Toph to come and grab his arms to be led in.
"Toph, Sakura, Yamato, come on!" Sokka yelled impatiently.
"No way I'm going into that metal monster! I can't bend in there!" Toph told him as she pointed to the treads. "I'm going to slow it down out here."
"I'll help her," Sakura said as she cracked her knuckles. "Got to see my strength limit, after all."
"And I'll coordinate," Yamato told them and Aang and Sokka nodded.
"Okay, good luck guys," Sokka said as he pulled himself back up and Aang crawled up into the drill.
Toph began working herself up, she stepped and lifted her hands. A massive pillar of rock shot up onto the bottom of the drill. Sakura ran to the other side, and pushed all her Chakra into her arms and began pushing back. Yamato cracked his knuckles and began doing hand seals.
"Mokuton: Chikonpon (Wood Release: One Thousand Roots)!" Yamato yelled and a thousand incredibly thick roots shot out of the ground and wrapped themselves around each metal pillar they could grab, including the legs that were further down.
They all began gritting their teeth as they tried to push the massive drill back, and sweat began to form on Sakura's brow as she continued to push back. However, the machine proved the stronger and lurched forward.
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Fire Nation Drill Interior
They walked further into the drill, until they reached a network of pipes and valves. Naruto looked around, kunai drawn, just in case any enemies came out. Hinata had her Byakugan activated, and they were following Sokka. Kakashi looked around, being prepared for anything.
"I need a plan of this machine, some schematics that show what the inside looks like," Sokka told them as they walked into the room filled with pipes. "Then we can find it's weak points.
"And you have a plan to get said plans?" Naruto asked as the Water Tribe warrior slashed a pipe, chopping off its knob. Steam began spewing out as Katara and Aang gasped.
"What are you doing? Someone will hear us!" Aang yelled as he looked around.
"I think that's the point, Aang," Kakashi said as his eye searched around, the steam continuing to pump out the damaged pipe.
"A machine this big needs engineers to run it, and when something breaks…?" Sokka asked them, raising his finger.
"They come to fix it!" Katara finished with a smile.
Sure enough, a few minutes later, a brawly engineer walked in, carrying a rolled piece of paper in his hand. Hinata came running out of the shadows and slammed her palm into his stomach. As she did that, the engineer turned to look at Katara, who froze the steam around him as the Hyuuga got out of the way.
"What did you do?" Aang asked Hinata, who smiled.
"When he melts out, he'll have a little trouble breathing for a while," Hinata replied, her Byakugan shutting down.
"This'll work thanks!" Sokka said as he ran over, grabbed the plans out of the frozen engineer's hand and he ran away.
They all crawled up a metal staircase into another mass of pipes, and Kakashi kept a lookout. Sokka began unraveling the schematics of the drill, showing it as a three ringed structure around the engine of the machine rings. He laid the schematic out on a pipe and looked at it.
"It looks like the drill is made up of two main structures," Sokka started as he pointed the machine structure in the middle of the schematics. "There's the inner mechanism where we are now," he then pointed to the outer ring. "And the outer shell. The inner part and outer part are connected by these braces…if we cut through them, the entire thing will collapse."
Everyone nodded. "Kakashi, how many times can you use that…Raikiri a day?" Sokka then asked.
"Four times. I've already used it once, so I have only three more shots," Kakashi replied, and the Water Tribe Warrior nodded.
"We'll let you handle one column of the braces then," Sokka told him, and the Jounin nodded.
"Alright, Katara, Aang, Sakura, Naruto, Sokka is the 'team leader' of the brace breaking. Follow his instructions," Kakashi ordered, as he used his speed to vanish from sight.
A little while later, Sokka, Aang, Katara, Hinata, and Naruto reached the first column of braces, which were huge. The brace walkway to the vertical brace was wide enough for them to walk two at a time towards the large brace.
"Wow, it looks a lot thicker than it does in the plans," Sokka said as they continued walking towards the first metal brace. "We're going to have to work pretty hard to cut through that."
"What's this 'we' stuff? Hinata, Aang, Naruto, and I are going to do all the work," Katara asked as she crossed her arms.
"Yeah, what are you planning to do? Cut the braces with your dinky machete?" Naruto asked, making Sokka growl.
"Look, I'm the plan guy, you four are the cut stuff up with your powers guys," Sokka told them, using his hands to make several chopping motions. "And my machete is not 'dinky!' Together we're Team….!"
"Seven," Naruto finished, making Sokka stop short, and Katara and Aang looked at each other. "Well, let's get started!"
Naruto leapt over to another beam, and Katara, Hinata, and Aang circled the first one. The Hyuuga Heiress and young Waterbending Master went down to their flasks, popped the cork, and sent a goblet of water out. Katara's went to Aang, who was standing on the other end of side of the brace, who sent it to Hinata, who sent her goblet to Katara.
"Kage Bushin no Jutsu!" Naruto yelled as he created two shadow clones. One leapt over to the other side of the brace. "I want you to keep a lookout for anything. It's only a matter of time before the Fire Nation Crew finds us here."
The clone nodded, and leapt back to the primary beam and then up to the ceiling of the drill, behind Sokka. The sounds of the goblets colliding with the metal braces, gradually slicing through them on both sides of said brace.
"Rasengan!" Naruto and his clone yelled as they slammed the mini-hurricane of chakra in their hands into each side of the metal, and they slowly started drilling through the thick metal of the brace.
After thirty minutes, both Rasengans collided, which blew the brace wide open. Naruto and his clone had used their chakra to seemingly glue their feet to the horizontal brace, and the dust cleared revealing a gaping hole at the bottom of the vertical brace. Sokka's jaw dropped, and Naruto grinned at the job.
"One brace down! Hinata-chan, Aang-oto-san, Katara-chan, how's your brace coming?" Naruto asked as he noticed how far their cut was coming…
Aang and Katara glared at him. They had only gotten a quarter of the way through each side of the brace, and all three of them started panting. Naruto frowned, they weren't going to get anywhere at this rate.
"C'mon team, don't quit now! We're-!" Sokka started, and his sister almost lost patience and grabbed the goblet with her bending, and threateningly pointed it at him. "I mean, you're almost there!"
"W-We know that, Sokka-kun…" Hinata told the young Water Tribe warrior. Naruto's eyebrow raised, he never seen the young heiress get even remotely annoyed at a person, and considering her teammate was Kiba, that was an understatement. "We are doing our best here; please…do not cheer us on."
The three of them began again, swirling the goblets of water around the metal brace at high speed, slowly slicing their way through the thick metal brace at a 45 degree angle. After a few more seconds, they had cut clean through the brace. It began sliding down the angle, kicking up sparks before stopping when it half-way slid down the cut.
"At this rate we won't do enough damage before the drill reaches the wall…" Katara stated, her face drenched in sweat, as Momo leapt off Sokka's shoulder.
"I don't know how many more of those I have in me," Aang added as he plopped down on his butt.
"W-We can't give up guys," Hinata told them as she wiped the sweat off her face. "Even if it does reach the wall…we still have to do this so it'll become unusable."
"That's right, Hinata-chan! We can't give up, even if we do get tired!" Naruto added as Katara and Aang smiled, they knew they were right.
Suddenly, the entire structure started creaking and the entire machine began shaking. Sokka's face lit up into a smirk.
"Do you hear that? We took it down! Kakashi probably destroy three more of them!" Sokka told them as he began to turn and run. "We'd better get out of here!"
Naruto dispelled his Bushin and jumped up to the primary brace. They all began running towards the exit, but then stop when the intercom pipe system crackled.
"Congratulations crew! The drill has made contact with the wall of Ba Sing Se, start the count down to victory!" War master Qin announced to the crew from the bridge, and he looked back to Azula. The princess however, held a questionable look as the crew cheered.
The Drill had indeed reached the wall, and was slowly drilling into the thick rock that guarded the massive capital of the Earth Kingdom. The drilled rock was guided to a bunch of hoses, which soaked down the crushed rocks to break it up, and they went down a pipe into the drill.
Sokka growled and went to the brace that Aang, Katara, and Hinata had cut through and began pushing. Veins popped out on his forehead, hands, and face and his eyes bulged as tried to push the massive piece of metal.
"Come on brace, budge!" Sokka groaned as he let go for a second, then ran his hands back onto the brace and still attempted to push it.
"This is bad…really bad…" Katara said as her brother stopped pushing the unmovable brace.
"We're putting everything we got into busting these braces! But it's taking too long!" Sokka complained as Naruto sighed.
"We can't give up Sokka; probably we're going on about this the wrong way…" Naruto said as he started to think.
"Maybe we don't need to cut or drill all the way through," Aang said as he used his airbending to get back onto his feet. "Toph has been teaching me you shouldn't give 100 percent of your energy into any one strike. Sokka, take a fighting stance," he then ordered, and Sokka did so eagerly. Aang then tripped his front foot. "You got to be quick and accurate," he then hit several pressure points, which he knew, on Sokka's body. "Then hit a series of points and break your opponent's stance," Sokka began to reel back as he tried to keep his footing. "And when he's reeling back, you deliver the final blow," Aang demonstrated by hitting the young Water Tribe warrior over the head with a tap, making him fall. "His own weight becomes his downfall, literally."
"You just described one of the basic principles of the Jyuuken style, Aang-kun," Hinata told him, and he grinned back at her.
"So we just need to weaken the braces then, instead of cutting all the way through…" Katara added, getting what the young Avatar was saying.
"Then I'll go on top of this thing and deliver the final blow," Aang agreed, pointing up at the ceiling.
"No way you're going up there without me. You'll need backup in case the idiots on this thing discover us," Naruto said and Aang nodded.
"And then 'boom'! It all comes crashing down!" Sokka cheered, finally a working plan to bring down this thing would go into effect, he thought.
"Everyone inside that wall…the whole world…is counting on us," Aang told them seriously.
"The whole world, minus the Fire Nation that is," Sokka corrected him with a smirk, and they all nodded.
"Well, let's get started!" Naruto said as he leapt over to another beam.
Below them, Toph, Sakura, and Yamato were still attempting to hold back the massive drill. The ANBU captain had added even more roots after his initial ones snapped, the pink haired kunoichi had put most of her chakra into her arms and hands to enhance her strength tremendously. However, all their efforts were proving futile, as proven by the massive amount of dirt that was building up behind the blind Earthbender.
"Come on…Twinkle Toes…hurry up!" Toph called out quietly, as she tried to push back the giant drill with her pillar of rock.
"Naruto, you idiot…destroy this damn thing already!" Sakura complained, her feet shifting on instinct, and the dirt around her wrapped around her legs to give herself extra bracing.
Toph noticed that, but didn't say anything. 'Tell her after the drill is destroyed…'
Back in the Drill itself, Aang, Hinata, Naruto, and Katara were working frantically to cause enough damage to the beams, either by drilling through them with the Rasengan, or cutting through them with waterbending. Whenever they got either half-way or three quarters of the way through a brace, they leapt to the next one. Naruto's watch out Shadow Clone kept a close eye on each entrance to the inner-outer shell area, making sure no enemy would pass through unnoticed. After a couple hours, at least twenty braces were damaged severely.
"Damn, I wonder how Kakashi's doing," Naruto said as he wiped the sweat off his forehead after drilling through another brace.
"That's enough; let's move onto the next one!" Aang ordered, and Hinata and Katara agreed, and they leapt over to the next brace, where Naruto was standing.
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Outer Wall
On top of the wall, Earthbenders brought boulders to hurl over the edge in an attempt to damage the massive machine. Kakashi's clone noted that no archers were being positioned on the other side of the wall, just in case they got through.
"General Sung, this tactic won't work," the Kakashi clone observed as the Earth Kingdom general looked at him. "It's obvious we can't stop the drill from the outside, and it'll get through the wall, don't you have any archers, slingshot users, or even boiled oil to inflict as much damage against the invading force as you can?"
"…no, but I'm sure this will work!" Sung replied, not even bothering to listen to any advice from the Jounin Clone. "This wall has only fallen once, and it won't do so a second time!"
"…that's not very comforting," Kakashi's clone said as he fed the information to the original, and leapt to the other side of the wall. "You haven't even put any troops on the other end to meet any invading force head on!"
"Unneeded, we'll stop the drill before it goes entirely-!" Sung started before the clone knocked him out, and the Earthbenders and Earth Kingdom troops looked at the ninja incredulously.
"We'll lose the city following these plans!" Kakashi's clone told them, and he turned to address the troops." Get archers on the other side of the wall. Start boiling oil in drums and get it up here. Put a few battalions of troops on the other side of the wall! Now!"
The Earth Kingdom soldiers complied, and began organizing a true defense. Archers quickly scrambled to the other side of the wall, and Kakashi looked down to see several battalions of Earth Kingdom Soldiers and Earthbenders crossing the farmland that was in the Outer Wall. The other Earthbenders were still following Sung's order, and the Jounin turned to address them.
"Don't waste your energy," Kakashi's clone ordered, and the Earthbenders stopped. "We need you at your best if what they say about Firebender skill is true."
They nodded reluctantly, and put their rocks down. They awaited the next orders from the Jounin Clone.
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The Fire Nation Drill
On the bridge, War Master Qin stood in the middle of the intercom pipes, confidently watching his machine go to work. The air of confidence around him didn't shake the nagging feeling that Azula was having, that something was off. One of the pipes then crackled, and the War Master assumed it was news that the wall has been broken through.
"War Master, a engineer was ambushed! His schematics were stolen!"
Qin's eyes widened in shock at this. "War Minister, a brace on the starboard side has been cut clean through, and another looked like it was blasted out by blasting jelly! It's sabotage sir!"
Qin's eyes widened further, and his pupils moved to look back at the Princess. Azula turned to her 'friends', not wanting to wait around any longer.
"Let's go ladies," Azula ordered Ty Lee and Mai, and they began to walk out of the bridge as the War Master closed his eyes in shame.
In the bowels of the drill, on the aft side of the massive machine, Naruto, Hinata, Katara, and Aang were furiously working to drill or cut through the braces. The jinchuuriki's Bushin kept a watch out as Sokka cheered his friends and sister on, knowing he was completely useless in this area of the plan.
The Bushin looked around, and its enhanced senses heard something. Suddenly, five shuriken shaped like small wide blades slammed into his back. He exploded in a puff of smoke, surprising Azula's team.
"Wow, you don't see that everyday, do you Azula?" Ty Lee asked and the Princess nodded, and she and her teammates leapt over the beam where the Bushin stood.
Naruto winced and dispelled his Rasengan. "We could have company…"
"What do you mean?" Sokka asked as he turned to the group. "Come on Team Seven! Now Aang and Hinata just need to-!"
He yelled in fear as he ducked a blue fire bolt shot from above them on a higher level brace. Naruto, Hinata, Aang and Katara looked up at them. The girl who shot the fire bolt was still in her stance, and she launched another blast at Aang, who frantically dodged it.
"Wow Azula! You were right! It is the Avatar!" the pig-tailed girl cheered, and her features softened as she looked at Sokka. "And friends…"
Sokka began to wave, but Katara stopped him and began to drag him away. Naruto leapt over to Aang to back him up as Hinata joined the two southern Water Tribe members in fleeing. She was going to make sure they'd make it out, since what the blond jinchuuriki said about her being the best bet of defeating that Ty Lee girl.
Azula and Mai began running on the brace to follow them, and Ty Lee jumped down and swung herself to launch herself towards Naruto and Aang. The Avatar wound up and launched a blast of wind at her, throwing her back. She rebounded and began to pursue them.
Naruto, Hinata, Sokka, Katara, and Aang ran down a corridor, with the three Fire Nation elites chasing them. As the Hyuuga Heiress, young Water Tribe Warrior, and Waterbending Master ran down the other hallway, the blond genin and the young Avatar stopped at the intersection.
"Guys, get out of here! I know what to do!" Aang told them as Momo landed on his shoulder.
"And I'll watch his back!" Naruto added as they began to run down the opposite hallway.
"Wait, you need this water more than I do," Katara told the young Avatar as she tossed her flask to Aang, who ran off.
They all ran off to the left and right sides of the intersection, and Azula and her teammates arrived soon afterwards. The evil Fire Nation princess saw the blond jinchuuriki and Avatar sprinting down the right hallway, and Ty Lee and Mai fanned out on the left hallway.
"Follow them!" Azula ordered as she pointed to the left hallway. "The Avatar and his friend are mine!"
Hinata, Katara, and Sokka ran down the hallway of the massive drill towards the sewage system, with Azula's subordinates, Mai and Ty Lee in hot pursuit. As they reached the sewage exit, Hinata activated her Byakugan and turned around, taking a Jyuuken stance.
"Slurry Pipeline? What does that mean?" Katara asked as her brother twisted the hatch open, and he got it loosened enough to open it.
"It's rock and water mixed together, its our way out," Sokka told her as they both gazed out down at the muddy water. "Hinata, what are you doing?"
"I'll hold them off, just get out of here," Hinata ordered as she saw Ty Lee and Mai round a hallway, barreling straight for them.
"You're going to hold them off?" Katara asked as one of the brooding weapon's masters shuriken screamed above her head. "You sure you can handle them?"
"Yes, now go!" Hinata replied as Ty Lee leapt from wall to wall, trying to keep Hinata off balance and reach Sokka and Katara.
"She can handle this, we got to move!" Sokka said as he opened the hatch and leaped down. Katara looked at her friend, and she saw her determination.
"Good luck," Katara told her, and leaped into the hatch and slammed it shut.
"So it looks like one of you wants to play after all!" Ty Lee taunted as she got ready to attack.
"This is no game," Hinata said in almost monotone, turning around and slamming her palm straight into the gymnastic fighter's chest.
Ty Lee coughed up blood, but back flipped to where Mai was standing. "What was that? It was like she hit five of my points at once!"
"She has a fighting style like you..." Mai muttered as she pulled a wire on her wrist, sending several arrows whizzing towards the Hyuuga.
Hinata sidestepped each of them and closed her eyes and caught the last. When she opened them Ty Lee was bearing down on her, ready to hit one of her tenkatsu's. She moved to the left, like she was water flowing down a gentle stream, avoiding the hit to one of her shoulder tenkatsus. She retaliated with three quick pokes on the gymnastic fighter's at a speed faster than the human eye could follow, and she finished off by tossing Ty Lee back to where Mai was standing.
Mai gritted her teeth, firing several of her arrows and throwing several of her shuriken with deadly accuracy. Hinata dodged a couple, bent down and retrieved a kunai from her leg pouch, and blocked the rest. The Hyuuga Heiress then tossed the small knife right into one last shuriken that the weapon's master had launched.
"We need to attack her together," Mai stated as Ty Lee growled, unlocking the tenkatsus that were sealed, and she let out an uncharacteristic shriek. "What was that about?"
"She's better at my own style than I am! Plus she looks better doing it!" Ty Lee complained as Hinata smirked.
"Sorry, this is my clan's Jyuuken, not your gymnastic style," Hinata clarified for them. "I can see every one of your tenkatsu's with perfect clarity, and I know where you'll want to strike mine."
Ty Lee growled again, and Mai sighed. "I guess we loose this one."
"No! I'm not losing to her!" Ty Lee shrieked as she charged again, leaping from wall to wall trying to get Hinata off balance.
Hinata just sighed, and closed her eyes. Ty Lee launched a strike at one of her neck tenkatsus, yet it was stopped by a wall of chakra. The Hyuuga began spinning, and the wall of chakra expanded, making a mini-hurricane in the room, damaging several pipes and tossing the gymnast back.
"Kaiten (Rotation)!" Hinata finished as she stopped, and she changed her stance. "Your in range of my divination, I'm sorry."
Ty Lee sat up, shaking her head. "What does that mean?"
"This, Hakke Rokujuuyon Shou (Eight Trigrams Sixty Four Palms)!" Hinata replied as she slammed her fingers into two of the gymnast's tenkatsus. "Two Strikes!" She doubled it with the next set of strikes. "Four Strikes!" She then increased to eight. "Eight Strikes!" Then she hit Ty Lee with sixteen strikes. "Sixteen Strikes!" Ty Lee coughed up blood as the number of strikes doubled again. "Thirty-two Strikes!" Finally Hinata finished the jutsu with the last sixty-four strikes. "Sixty-Four Strikes!"
Ty Lee was thrown back, and Mai's eyes widened as her ally skid across the metal floor, coming to a stop at the broody weapons master's feet. As the weapons master looked up, Hinata was already running for the pipeline.
'This may be my last chance before she jumps into the sludge,' Mai thought as she pulled a cord on her wrist and launched several spring-loaded arrows at the Hyuuga Heiress.
Hinata's Byakugan warned her and…she ducked all five. However, one arrow nicked her neck near her thoracic vertebrae, but it wasn't enough for her attacker to notice. The arrows slammed into the metal bulkhead as the Hyuuga rose as she continued running, and leapt down the pipeline, splashing into the muddy water.
"Grrr…I can't believe I lost!" Ty Lee complained as she tried wiggling her finger. "Mai, you know the body as well as I do, right?"
"No, you know that Lee," Mai replied as the normally perky, happy girl fumed as she tried to move.
She made a fist with her left hand, and willed her arm to work. Ty Lee then slammed her fingers into her tenkatsus on her right hand, undoing the seals that Hinata had put on them. She then did the same with her other arm, and her legs. She leaned back and flipped onto her feet, and ran to the pipeline followed by Mai.
"Ugh! Disgusting!" Mai yelled as she saw the contents of the pipeline.
"Come on! You heard Azula, we have to follow them!" Ty Lee told her as she stepped forward. "And I want a rematch with white eye black hair girl!"
"She can shoot all the lightning she wants at me I'm not going in that wall sludge juice," Mai countered as she shivered at the mere thought of getting in the muddy sludge. "And you really have no chance against that girl. It was like she had eyes in the back of her head!"
Ty Lee shrugged at that angrily, and jumped into the pipe. With a splash she reached the water, and Mai stuck her tongue out in disgust, and closed the hatch.
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In another part of the drill, Naruto and Aang were running as fast as they could to outpace the Fire Nation Princess. The blond jinchuuriki was running slower than he could so the young Avatar could keep up. However, they were running fast enough that they appeared to be only a blur and a gust of wind to the engineers working in the bowels of the drill. Naruto leaped up the staircase and stopped momentarily to let Aang catch up to him and pass him before continuing the dash.
They sped down the hallway towards a ladder and they climbed up it before any of the engineers could react. However, Azula was close on their tails, and she ordered the engineers to make the engines on the Drill work at maximum efficiency to get them through the wall faster.
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End of the Slurry Pipeline
Katara, Sokka, and Hinata yelled as they were ejected from the drill, and as they landed the slid on the muddy ground. The Hyuuga Heiress blanched…she didn't like riding the sludge flume, and the young Water Tribe warrior stuck out his tongue and tried to clean it.
"How did you do against them, Hinata?" Katara asked as she, Hinata, and Sokka stood up.
"I beat them. The broody girl didn't seem to want to fight after I beat her friend," Hinata replied, her Byakugan still active. "She's coming…her friend must have unsealed her tenkatsus."
Katara nodded and they looked as Ty Lee, grinning maliciously as she descended the sludge shoot. With a wave of her hand she sent the muddy water right back into the pipeline. The pig-tailed gymnastic warrior was stuck in the muddy water, and she struggled to get out.
"Why don't you try blocking my chakra now, circus freak!" Katara yelled angrily, stopping the mud from exiting the pipe.
"Katara, keep that up! The pressure will build up and when Aang and Naruto deliver the final blow, it'll be ready to pop!" Sokka told her, and she nodded, putting even more chakra into her bending.
"Hinata, I'll need some help," Katara said, and the Hyuuga Heiress nodded.
Hinata stepped up near the Water Bending Master, and performed the same bending stance that she did. Suddenly, the water was pushed back another three feet, and it seemed like the mud around Ty Lee hardened a bit more, ceasing anymore struggles from the gymnast fighter.
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On top of the drill, Naruto covered Aang as the young Avatar searched for a proper place to start cutting. Momo flew behind them as they ran to the base of where the drill had broken through the wall. They stopped as they reached the wall and Aang looked down at the spot he picked out.
"This is the spot, Momo, Naruto," Aang told them as they looked at the slab of metal.
"Hurry, or else that psycho bitch will catch up to us," Naruto ordered, and the young Avatar nodded.
Aang started to bend the water out of Katara's flask, and began using it in a cutting motion to get it threw the hard metal. With each swipe he cut into the drill's metal armor, flaying a huge slash into it. He kept doing the same actions until he had carved a large gash into the metal, but it still hadn't broken through all the armor.
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Hinata and Katara were holding back the sludgy mud without breaking a sweat. They were conserving their chakra so it wouldn't tire them out. The Hyuuga Heiress wisely spread her legs out wider to compensate for the extra sludge coming in.
"Good technique little sister, Hinata! Keep it up!" Sokka told them as he tried to cheer them on. "Don't forget to breathe!"
"You know, I'm just about sick and tired of you telling us what to do all day!" Katara snapped, looking back at him angrily. "You're like a chattering Hog-Monkey!"
"Sokka-kun, we'd be able to do this better without the cheerleading section," Hinata added, and the young Water Tribe warrior jumped at her comment.
"Just bend the slurry women!" Sokka ordered as he lost his patience at the two young women's comments.
In response, they waved their hands and Sokka was launched into the air by the muddy water. The young Water Tribe warrior crashed down, completely covered by the sludge once more.
"You guys need some help?" Toph asked as she, Sakura, and Yamato walked out from underneath the drill.
Suddenly, a hatch opened, Sokka took out his boomerang…and Kakashi leapt out, still reading his book. "Hey, how you doing on this end?"
"I think we're doing very well, Kakashi-sensei, even though we didn't prevent the drill to reach the wall," Sakura replied as she stretched her tired arms.
Katara acknowledged Toph. "Toph, help me and Hinata plug up this drain!"
Toph nodded, and she stamped into the muddy water and thrust her arms out. The muddy water was not only stopped at the exit of the pipe, but it was pushed right back into the pipeline. The pipes inside the drain suddenly bulged, and bolts riveted out to relieve the block.
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Aang was starting to get tired; he had carved an X into the drill's armor after he bridged the horizontal slash through it. He began to pant as the vertical slash got closer and closer to breaching the heavy armor, and his arms slumped in exhaustion.
"What I give to be a metal bender…" Aang muttered as Momo looked back, and Naruto stood up.
A blast of blue flame was launched at Aang, but Naruto created a Bushin and deflected it. "Aang, I'll handle her. Keep working, and get ready to strike the final blow!"
Azula stepped forth proudly, ready to face the Jinchuuriki. "Out of the way, I'm after the Avatar, not you."
"Oh yeah? If you want Aang, you'll have to go through me," Naruto told her with a grin, taking a guard stance. "Never underestimate a Shinobi, especially one that comes from Konoha!"
"If you wish to die, fine, I won't stop you," Azula stated coldly, as she took a stance.
She suddenly stepped out, and launched a blue tongue of flame at the jinchuuriki. Naruto brought out a kunai and deflected, and she launched three more fire blasts at him. He leapt into the air, landed, and rolled out of the way of each blast.
"You can move at least," Azula stated with an arrogant smirk. "So you plan to fight me, come on!"
She launched several more fireballs which Naruto dodged. He leapt into the air and crossed his fingers in a seal. Azula looked up at him, confused.
"Kage Bushin no Jutsu!" Naruto called out as ten shadow clones materialized.
Azula's eyebrow arched as Naruto and his clones landed. He wasn't done yet, however. He did a different seal. "Bushin no Jutsu!" And five more clones appeared in a puff of smoke. They all brought out kunai, brandishing them like knives and they charged.
"Interesting…" Azula said as she sidestepped the first clone, tapped it right in the stomach and shot a point-blank blast of blue flame at it. The result was instantaneous, it exploded in a puff of smoke, momentarily blinding her.
Another clone leapt through the smoke at the last moment, and his kunai slashed her cheek as she moved out of the way. The Fire Nation Princess snarled and retorted in kind, she shot another blast of flame from her foot in a side kick at the clone, which exploded from the hit. More smoke covered the top of the drill, and more clones burst out of the smoke to attack Azula.
She gritted her teeth, launching another blast and destroying another clone, and she curled her left hand in a fist and launched a punch at the nearest clone she could see. However, Azula's fist just past through it like it was air. Her face contorted into shock, then anger as one of the other clones connects in a punch, and she's thrown out of the cloud of smoke by the blow.
The clones then began to charge at her again, and she threw five bolts of blue fire at them. The wave of them exploded, but several others again got into melee range. She fought them hand to hand, but several of them had the affect of the other clone, she only hit air when she stuck her fist or foot through them with a punch or kick.
"Uzumaki formation one!" Naruto ordered his clones as the spread out in a circle, and he was careful to mix the Bushins and Kage Bushins together so it'd be executed without her knowing which was solid and which was just an illusion. He then leapt up into the air. "Execute!"
The clones began charging her and they all started skidding towards her. The first one that reached her yelled "U!" as he kicked up, sending her into the air. The next one threw it's leg up and kicked her higher into the air yelling "Zu!", and the next one launched her higher with her kick, "Ma!", and the final one sent her flying higher into the air, "Ki!" She grunted in pain from the blows, not very use to hand to hand combat, since she normally fought with ranged attacks. She turned around to see Naruto, the original above her, with a kick loaded.
"Naruto Rendan!" Naruto yelled in a finish, bringing his foot down in an axe kick on her face.
At the last second, she blocked the kick, and retorted with a blast of flame. He broke off from the attack by flipping out of the way, and they both landed on their feet, glaring at each other.
"You're better than I thought," Azula said as she wiped her bloody lip, and rubbed the scratch on her right cheek. "Such interesting techniques…"
"Thanks, psycho bitch. I have to admit, you're better than I thought as well. The last person who was able to block my Rendan was Sasuke," Naruto said with a grin, looking at his clones walked up behind the Fire Nation Princess. "Though you won't win."
"We'll see about that," Azula retorted with a grin as she threw her hands behind her, and a wave of blue flame shot out at Naruto's clones. Several of the bushins exploded in smoke, until only the illusionary ones remained.
Naruto snarled and he charged her and he launched a punch, which she blocked and met with a roundhouse kick, which he blocked with his left arm. His hand grasped her ankle and he spun and tossed her away, throwing her a quarter of the way towards the bridge tower. Azula spun and landed on her feet as he charged. Her eyes widened in shock as his speed increased until he was literally an orange blur. Azula launched several rapid fire fireballs from her fingers to try to hit him.
The jinchuuriki dodged each and every fire bolt by mere centimeters. The blasts past so close to his clothes they singed them, but he didn't stop, he kept moving forward and loaded a punch. Azula's eyes widened as his fist crashed into her jaw full force, sending her flying back four meters before she skidded to a stop, and put her hand to her jaw. There was a trickle of blood dribbling down her lip, which she wiped off and smirked.
"Again, I am more impressed by your abilities," Azula told him as she stood up to her full height. "But this fight is over."
"Keep talking, that bleeding jaw will turn into a broken one if you do," Naruto said with a grin, and he noticed her breathing out weird and she put her hands down slowly, as if centering herself.
She moved her arms in a circular motion, pointing her index and middle fingers out. Her left arm curved downward, sparks flying off of it, and her right arm curved upward. Naruto's eyes widened as the air crackled around her movements…she was generating lightning. She could use Lightning Chakra…this could be bad. Really bad…
He was right. As soon as Azula finished the circular motion of charging up the attack, she slammed her fingers together, and thrust her right arm out. A massive bolt of lightning shot out of her finger tips, and Naruto, as quickly as he could, dropped to a crouch and let the lightning pass over his head. His hair stood up on end as the bolt careened towards Aang.
Momo began chattering a warning for the Avatar, who ducked when he heard the thunderclap of Azula's lightning blast. The bolt slammed into the wall with such force, it shook the entire structure of the outer wall around the area where it struck, and made the Kakashi Bushin run to the point of impact to see that…Aang and Naruto were alright. There was a massive gouge in the wall though, right above the penetrated part the drill had bore through.
"Wow…that was close," Naruto said as he shook his head, instantly getting it back to its normal spiky position. "If that hit…you'd have killed me."
Azula snarled as the jinchuuriki then held out his hand. "And what do you think you're doing?"
"I'm ending this, can't waste any more chakra fighting you," Naruto replied as he concentrated, and the swirling, mini-hurricane of chakra, the Rasengan, formed in his palm.
He then began charging at her, and Azula's eyes widened in recognition of the power of the attack in his palm. She began launching blasts of blue flame at him in an desperate attempt to stop him, but he either dodged them or, if they passed the ball of chakra, they were pulled in, their power added to the mini-hurricane's power.
"Rasengan!" Naruto called out as he closed the gap, and Azula's yellow eyes widened as the ball of chakra closed in…
Suddenly, the entire drill shook, making Naruto lose his footing and aim, and the Rasengan crashed into Azula's side. The Fire Princess closed in unimaginable pain she'd never experienced before. It was like her flank was shredding by the very drill they were fighting on, and she was thrown back as a wall of sludgy mud crashed over Aang, Naruto, and herself from the front of the drill.
"What the hell?" Naruto yelled angrily as he stood up, shaking his head to get the sludge out of his hair. "It feels like mud, but is stickier!"
He stood up and slipped on the sludgy mud. Naruto focused his chakra and stood up without slipping, and he looked around for Aang.
"Aang-oto-san?" Naruto asked as he saw the young Avatar running back up the side of the drill to get back on top of the massive machine.
"I'm alright, Naruto," Aang replied as he landed back on the slick, sludgy covering of the drill, but nearly slipped again. Momo however saved him again from the fall, and he panted. "Thanks Momo, I owe you one. I got the 'X' gash finished. Now all we need is a giant nail or something to strike the final blow."
"I know," Naruto said with a smirk, looking back to see Azula, who was thankfully unconscious. Being hit with the Rasengan, as well as the fight and the expense of chakra forming the lightning strike had drained her chakra and left her exhausted. He then looked around at the sludge and rock scattered around the drill. "Aang-oto-san, can't you bend a rock from this stuff, then use it to form a rock spike to finish the final blow?"
Aang nodded, and he swung his arms around. The muddy sludge around him was dried, and the rocks and gravel were also pulled into the forming boulder. He compressed it and hardened it even more, until the boulder was the size of himself standing fully upright. He then bended it over the X-shaped gash, then he precisely cut it to fill in the gash, until the spike penetrated the weakened hull of the drill with a sharp point.
He then backed away until he could get a good distance, put his hands to the metal and began running as fast as he could. Naruto smirked as the young Avatar formed a Airbending ball underneath him to increase his speed and make sure he wasn't going to slip on the slick light brown sludge. The airbending ball propelled him over half way up the wall before he dispelled it and ran a few more meters before turning around and running full speed down the wall.
Azula's eyes fluttered open and picked herself up just as Aang took off towards his target. She was full of anger, and hatred, for the blond that did this to her. Her eyes then widened as she saw the young Avatar running down the wall towards a rock spike at one of the entire drill's weak points. She started stumbling, and she willed herself to run as Aang leapt off his sprint, aimed perfectly at his spike.
With the last of her chakra, she spun and shot a fire bolt at him from her fingers, but she was too slow. With massive force, Aang landed on the spike, sending a massive shockwave that threw Azula all the way off the drill, passed the exhaust pipes, and she crashed painfully on the ground below. The braces that had been cut by Hinata, Katara, and Aang, drilled by Naruto, and slashed through by Kakashi's Raikiris gave out, breaking as they were twigs. The pipes burst again, more violent this time, and the sludgy water poured into the interior of the drill, ruining many systems in the massive machine.
On the outside, the muddy water exploded out of cracks and openings on the exterior of the drill, splashing the entire wall and destroying all the pipes in the and joints of the massive machine. When the last joint was breached, even the elevated bridge was covered in the sludge.
"Here it comes!" Toph told them as she dropped her hands and elevated everyone above the drill's sewage pipe on a massive pillar of stone.
Ty Lee crashed onto the pillar and was knocked unconscious from the force from behind her and in front of her. The entire drill began to shut down, steam rose as everything on the drill creaked and broke from the damage that Team 7 had caused it. Even the drill's head stopped spinning, even though it had penetrated the wall.
Naruto balked and began wiping away the sludgy mud from his face, hair, and torso as Aang just wiped his face off and gave his wide, trademark toothy smile. Momo, who had timely flew off before everything happened, landed on the young Avatar's shoulder and began licking the sludge off his face.
"Nice job, Aang-oto-san," Naruto said as he began to shake off the sludge as if a dog would shake water off its body. "Though…couldn't it be a little less disgusting?"
On the now tilted bridge, gravity took affect on the sludge and Qin looked in disbelief as his mighty super weapon was rendered inoperable and unsalvageable. The Fire Lord…would have his head. And his body would burn if Ozai's heir, Azula, had perished…
Ty Lee spat out the sludge as she lay on her back and she sat up. Her body was still sore from Hinata forcibly closing her tenkatsus and she looked to see…Azula actually limping towards her and clutching what looked like an extremely injured left side. One of the pipes opened and Mai peaked out.
"We lost," Mai said, stating a fact.
The victors of the battle gathered on top of the wall…after getting cleaned up. It was kind of easy, with both Water and Earthbenders being there. Pretty soon, everyone had the offending sludge off their bodies.
"I just want to say, good effort out there Team Seven," Sokka said with a grin, and Katara crossed her arms and huffed.
"Excellent effort, you mean," Kakashi corrected him, and he looked around at all the young people. "You all performed admirably, and accomplished an nearly impossible mission. And you all showed your strengths, and how much you grown."
Feelings of pride swelled up in the pre-teens and teenagers. "Oh, Sakura…-chan, right?" Toph started, unsure she was using the right honorific. "Looks like I'll be teaching you some things."
"Huh? What do you mean?" Sakura asked, confused at what the blind Earthbending Master was saying.
"You can Earthbend, Sakura-chan," Toph stated simply. "To give yourself more leverage down there, you subconsciously bent some of the rock and stone around your feet. I could feel it all happening."
"…so you mean I can become a Bender too?" Sakura asked as a smile appeared on hers and Toph's face. "Okay, teaching you reading in exchange for you teaching me Earthbending, we'll both become stronger for it."
"Hinata-chan, how did you do against that Ty Lee girl?" Naruto asked with a grin, and she blushed at his question. "You kicked her ass like I thought you would, right?"
"H-Hai, Naruto-kun, I beat her," Hinata replied with a small stutter. "You really think I'm strong…?"
"I wouldn't say it if I didn't mean it, Hinata-chan," Naruto told her honestly. "And I meant it. If I didn't know better, you surpassed Neji when he fought me three years ago, probably even better than that now!"
Hinata blushed, and thankfully, she didn't faint. Naruto also didn't ask her if she had a cold. This was big for her. Kakashi and Yamato smiled at the interaction, it was definite the young jinchuuriki had gotten a strong attachment to the young Hyuuga Heiress.
'You'll be ready soon, Naruto. When you perfect your attack, I'll tell you the full story…of who your father is…' Kakashi thought as his eye wandered to his pouch, where he kept a special scroll which only he, Obito, or Rin could have opened, which Yondaime left his students…
To be continued…