Chapter 9: The True Rulers of Ba Sing Se
Ba Sing Se, Earthbending propelled tram through to the Inner Walls
Gliding over the plains of the outer ring of Ba Sing Se, the Earthbending powered tram glided over a elevated track that was the equivalent of a monorail in a modern city. The monorail bridge itself vaguely resembled a Roman aqueduct, complete with arches. As the tram glided over the plains of the Outer Ring of the city, grazing antelope glanced up at the tram, one of the many they have seen in their lifetime.
A pair of Earthbenders propelled the rock tram car that Team Seven was riding on. Naruto, Hinata, Aang, Katara and Kakashi sat on the left side of the car, Sakura, Sokka, Toph, and Yamato were sitting on the right side of the car. Refugees of every walk of life were also on the tram car, some were sleeping, some were standing, and they were all wearing some type of pale green garment that seemed to be standard of the Earth Kingdom. Naruto's bright orange over black jumpsuit, and Aang's yellow and orange monk clothing made them stand out like sore thumbs. Katara was rubbing her shoulder, which was sore from sitting in one place for such a long while, looked out and her eyes brightened.
"Hey look! The Inner Wall!" Katara cheered as she placed her hand on Aang's shoulder, and everyone looked out as the rock tram steadily moved closer to the Inner Wall. "I can't believe we made it to Ba Sing Se in one piece!"
"Yeah," Naruto said with a grin, looking out at the wall. "Again, these guys know how to out do Konoha in fortifications."
"Hey! Don't jinx it!" Sokka told them as Sakura and Hinata sighed. "We still could be attacked by an exploding Fire Nation Spoon or that the city's been submerged in killer shrimp."
"You've been hitting the cactus juice again?" Toph asked as she held Momo on her lap.
"Or probably got into Kakashi-sensei's sake scroll?" Naruto added, making Kakashi look up from his book momentarily. "We all know you keep a few summoning scrolls with sake in them."
"I'm just saying, weird stuff happens to us," Sokka said with a shrug, and to emphasize his point, a fat man with a pineapple in his mouth sat down in between him and Toph.
Hinata looked out at the wall and looked back at Naruto. "…It looks inviting, doesn't it?"
"Yeah," Naruto said as he clenched his fist. "Though I hope they don't coup us up into one place, I won't be able to train and we probably won't be able to get back to Konoha that way."
"The question is will we be able to get back home at all, Naruto," Kakashi said seriously, but he didn't glance up from his book. "If you were right that Orochimaru was the one that sent us here, we might not be able to get back, whether on accident or on purpose."
"Ero-sennin and Oba-chan are probably working on getting us back though," Naruto said with utmost seriousness. "They've been able to figure out the Snake Bastard's tricks before, and they'll be able to do it again."
"You know, most of the time we've been traveling together, you guys haven't told us who this 'Ero-sennin' or 'Oba-chan' are," Toph said as she glanced at Naruto.
"He means Jiraiya and Tsunade of the Legendary Three," Sakura explained, with a hard look at Naruto. "He shouldn't be talking about them with such disrespect. Tsunade-sama is the Hokage! Tsuande-shishou is the greatest in our village."
"Don't worry Aang, we'll find Appa," Katara told the young Avatar.
"We'll check everywhere, Aang-kun," Sakura assured him, and he just sighed again.
"It's such a big city…" Aang said, sounding defeated already.
"So what?" Naruto snorted, and Aang looked up at the biologically older boy. "You're not going to give up, are you? And you haven't forgotten my promise, have you?"
"Besides, he's a giant bison, where could someone possibly hide them?" Sokka asked as he climbed onto the other side of the car just as the tram passed threw the tunnel of the Inner Wall.
Everyone's eyes widened as they saw the sheer size of Ba Sing Se. For the Konoha Shinobi, even Kakashi, it was almost overwhelming. While their village was technically a city, due to its size, influence, and population, it wouldn't even fill in a quarter of the sprawling inner city that they were seeing. Blacksmith Factories were pumping out smelting smoke, endless green rooftops of houses, shops, and other buildings were in their vision.
The tram took a left and soon pulled up in a station. The size was comparable to a modern train station, but it lacked the electric lighting that made train stations bright. Instead, it had a dull green lit from lanterns, which were covered by the same green tint that all the buildings had. Naruto looked around. Bushy Brow would like the Earth Kingdom and Ba Sing Se a lot…it is covered in his favorite color.
They all stepped out of the tram, and Naruto and Sakura decided to stretch their legs as they stood out on the rocky pavement of the tram station. The jinchuuriki, the medic, and Kakashi looked extremely different compared to their native companions, and from hair color alone it made some of the strangest things the citizens of Ba Sing Se ever saw.
"Ah…back in the city…great," Toph said disappointedly.
"Something wrong, Toph-chan?" Hinata asked as the blind Earthbender shrugged and pat Momo's head. "It is pretty amazing here…Konoha isn't anywhere near this large…"
"That's an understatement, Hinata-chan," Naruto added as his eyes wandered around the area, and he saw a woman walking towards them from the other side of the tracks.
"It's just a bunch of walls and rules," Toph told them as she continued to rub behind the flying lemur's ear. "Just wait, you'll all get sick of it soon."
Aang held out his hand, inside of it was his bison whistle. He lifted it up to his lip and blew it. Nothing happened, and he put it down depressingly.
"I'm coming for you buddy," Aang said, and he looked back at Naruto. "…I'll find you; I promise…" the young blonde's attitude and 'nindo' were proving infectious. "…and I'll never go back on my promise."
Katara placed her hand on his shoulder. "He's here, I can feel it."
The tram pulled away at extremely fast speeds, blowing the woman's hair like it was caught in a gust of wind while she looked at the group. She had an extremely creepy smile on her face…and sort of a vacant look on it. She was wearing a pale yellow green dress with a dark green scarf under her black hair. She then walked to them with her arms crossed behind her back.
"Hello…my name is Joo Dee, I've been given the great honor of showing the Avatar around Ba Sing Se," the woman said cheerily and she looked at Aang's friends. "You must be Sokka, Katara, Toph, Haruno Sakura, Hatake Kakashi, Yamato, Hyuuga Hinata, and Uzumaki Naruto, correct? Welcome to our wonderful city!"
"…are you okay, lady?" Naruto asked, and Sakura glared at him. "What? She looks like she's drugged up or something! No one is that cheery!"
"You're not supposed to say that out loud, idiot!" Sakura growled, squeezing her fist and making the young jinchuuriki cower.
"Oh, no, I am not 'drugged up' as you say, I am just happy to welcome you to the city, Naruto," Joo Dee told him, her weird smile not wavering. "Shall we get started?"
"…yes, we have information about the Fire Nation Army that we have to deliver to the Earth King immediately," Sokka replied with a grin, proud of what they accomplished, they'd be able to end the war when this information.
"And we have to get it there, soon," Kakashi said as he closed his book. "We have a time limit for this war now."
"Great…lets begin our tour," Joo Dee said as she looked at them. "Then I'll show you to your new home here. I think you'll like it."
"You do realize this information could mean the Earth Kingdom would stand or fall in this war, don't you?" Yamato asked, but Joo Dee had already started to walk away. Sokka span around to them and moans.
"Maybe you missed what we said, we need to talk to the king about the war, it's important," Sokka told her and Naruto also walked up.
"Don't you care?" Naruto asked as she smiled at both of them.
"You're in Ba Sing Se now, everyone is safe here," Joo Dee told them, and everyone looked at her in disbelief. She had completely ignored what they were saying, and looked like she was banking on the 'invincibility' that was being pushed about the city.
They followed her to a carriage, and Kakashi held back to talk to Yamato. "So…what do you think? Could she be brainwashed?"
"That would be my first guess, considering how she smiles and doesn't seem to hear any military information. However, it might be patriotism, or a combination of both. Ibiki-sama could tell us for sure," Yamato replied as they followed Joo Dee into the carriage.
After a few moments, they were on a street of the city, sitting in the large carriage as Joo Dee gave their tour.
"This is the lower ring," Joo Dee told them cheerily, still giving them her freaky smile.
"What's that wall for?" Katara asked as she looked out the window and pointed out at another wall.
"Oh, Ba Sing Se has many walls, there are the ones outside, protecting us, and the ones inside, that help us maintain order," Joo Dee replied, and Naruto frowned.
"'Maintain order'? What does that mean?" Naruto asked as their tour guide smiled at him. "And stop doing that! It's creepy!"
"It helps keep the population in line, and gives us our unique caste system," Joo Dee replied sweetly, like she was reading a passage from a pamphlet. They looked out to see an old woman shopping for food; they were apparently in the marketplace part of the Outer Ring. "This is where our newest arrivals live, as well as our craftsmen and artisans, people that work with their hands. It's so quaint and lively."
"You mean you don't try to help the impoverished in this city?" Hinata asked, remembering that even the poorest in Konoha were assisted.
"…we do all we can," Joo Dee replied, searching for an answer to her question. They looked out to see a man, presenting a very large scimitar to what looked like a prospective buyer, he and the buyer than looked at them. "…it works, most of the time. You do have to watch your step though."
"Why are all these poor people in this place of the city?" Katara asked, still confused why there was this caste system in the city.
"…this is why I never came here before, I always heard it was so different from how the monks taught us to live," Aang said somberly, reflecting on the Hyuuga Heiress's and the female Water Bender's earlier questions. He looked out the carriage's window and side.
"It just isn't right," Naruto said, looking out. "Some of these people have it worse than I did, back before I became a shinobi…"
"A shinobi? And what is that?" Joo Dee asked, ignoring the poor problem to get to another question.
"…we are warriors, who fight in the shadows," Naruto replied with pride, showing off his headband. "We do recon for the Daimyo and Shogun and other nations, assassination missions, escorts, bodyguard missions, hell, even walking dogs and tilling fields is part of a shinobi, or ninja's duty."
Joo Dee nodded as they entered the middle ring through a tunnel between the walls. They entered an cityscape with many canals, the arched Earthbending tram lines, and fancy buildings that had Chinese style roofs. The carriage clapped over a small, arched bridge that was above one of the canals.
"This is the Middle Ring of Ba Sing Se," Joo Dee told them, again, like she was reading from some handbook. "…home to the financial district, shops and restaurants, and the university."
Sokka looked back from looking out the window to try to make her understand why they needed to see the Earth King ASAP. "Yeah, we met a professor from Ba Sing Se, he took us to a ancient underground library where we discovered information about the war…" he then leaned closer to their grinning tour guide. "…that is absolutely crucial for the king to hear!"
"Isn't history fascinating?" Joo Dee asked, not even acknowledging what he was saying, and then she pointed out the window. "Look, here's one of the oldest buildings in the Middle Ring, Town Hall."
She then got up and walked out of the stopped carriage, still wearing the insanely creepy grin. "Is that woman deaf? She seems to be only hearing every other word I say."
"It's called being 'handled', get used to it," Toph told him as she huffed and crossed her arms.
"More like brainwashed," Naruto said absentmindedly. "Come on, you're all thinking that. No one is this vacant on something this important!"
They all shrugged at that, the blond was probably right. Kakashi and Yamato already suspected it and more and more, Joo Dee was confirming their suspicions. The ANBU captain began wondering who did the brainwashing…and if it could be broken. The carriage continued down the road, going towards yet another tunnel in the walls.
"…it seems this city is beginning to get an overpopulation problem," Kakashi commented, looking at the massed houses of the Middle Ring. "There is no room for new construction, they have to construct on the walls themselves. These streets are only wide enough for a single carriage as well…"
People moved out of the way of the carriage as if they were overhearing what Kakashi was saying. They actually had to squeeze up against the walls of the street so there would be enough room for the carriage. Hinata, Naruto, and Sakura frowned at this…if the war wasn't ended soon, the city would become so over crowded that Ba Sing Se would be forced to surrender to displace all its new inhabitants.
"Hey, Joo-san, how is the King dealing with all these migrants?" Naruto asked, surprising the pink haired kunoichi. Jiraiya hadn't only taught him ninja techniques, he had drill the boy in politics and population management since his dream was to become Hokage. "Ba Sing Se, as big as it is, can't handle the entire Earth Kingdom fleeing behind its walls."
"Ba Sing Se is a very large city, Naruto, travelers are always welcome," Joo Dee replied, completely ignoring the question. "Oh look, the tunnel. We'll be entering the Upper Ring shortly."
"…she ignored Naruto-kun's question without even a proper excuse…" Hinata whispered to Sakura, who nodded. "…this city is starting not to sound very good…"
"Your telling me," Toph said near the Hyuuga Heiress. "I already hate this place."
"…I miss Konoha," Sakura said as she looked around. "No over population, people know what they are talking about, and people that are more than willing to help once you prove yourself an ally or friend…."
All the Konoha Shinobi agreed with the pink haired kunoichi, and Aang, Katara, Sokka, and Toph started to agree too. Konoha wasn't sounding all that bad, even though, from what they gathered previously, it was militarily driven. The way the Konoha Shinobi talked of their homeland and village made the Katara and Sokka yearn for home, and Aang yearn for his people once more.
When they got a good way into the Upper Ring, Joo Dee decided it was time to start talking again. The Upper Ring was much less congested; its buildings were much more spread out and had orange tiled roofs. There was a massive amount of gardens and lakes in this ring, as well as more, elaborate arches that were showing where the streets went down.
"This is the Upper Ring, home to our most important citizens. Your house is not too far from here," Joo Dee told them as they past the arches, the Ostrich Horse's feet were clattering on rocky road. They turned down another road towards the downtown portion of the Upper Ring.
The carriage passed a massive building that had a tiered opening with three doorways with the Earth Kingdom Symbol over it, as well as the oriental arches over the three doorways. The building was built like a fortress, and guards were constantly patrolling it, as well as strange men wearing black hats resembling a pointed jingasa, with a arrow on top, as well as wearing black robes with a gold circle with green in the middle around a center point on their chests.
"Man…that looks like a fortress…" Naruto said as he looked over at the building.
"What's inside that wall?" Katara asked as she looked over, and the strange men looked at the carriage.
"And who are the mean looking guys in robes?" Sokka added as the men continued to stare at the carriage, and Yamato met their gaze, his eyes instinctively narrowing.
"Inside is the Royal Palace, those men are Agents of the Dai Li, the cultural authority of Ba Sing Se, they are the guardians of all our traditions," Joo Dee replied as she looked at them with a smile.
"'Guardians of all your traditions', huh?" Yamato asked, surprising their tour guide as he spoke. "They have the look of ANBU; something tells me they are much, much more than what you are telling us."
"Oh, no, they protect us and our traditions. It is their job, and they do it with pride, Mr. Yamato," Joo Dee said, but she could tell her answer was no where near good enough, so she keep smiling blankly.
"Can we see the Earth King now?" Aang asked her offhandedly as he glanced at her.
"Oh, no, one just does not 'pop in' on the Earth King," Joo Dee replied in her creepy, cheery manner.
Naruto and the young Avatar shrugged. "What kind of ruler doesn't want to talk with guys that have info that can save his or her city and nation….?"
"…it's not like he doesn't want to talk to you!" Joo Dee replied cheerily. "He is just extremely busy! Surely your 'Hokages' are the same."
"The Hokages have time for their people," Naruto retorted sharply. "They live to protect the village, since the village is their family."
Joo Dee's eyes search left and right, trying to think of something that wouldn't put the Earth King in even worse light than the city's visitor's eyes. "Very fascinating, oh, look, we're going down the road to your house now."
A little while later, the carriage pulled up near a large, one story house with orange, oriental tiled roofing. There was a deck made out of marble in front of the doorway, and there was very intricate sculpting work on the deck. When they exited the carriage, Momo flew up, circled about them, and landed on the roof.
"Here we are, your new home!" Joo Dee told them as Naruto glared at her.
"Our home is back in Konoha, this is just a house," Naruto told her, and everyone looked up at the house.
"Yeah," Sakura added, agreeing with the blonde jinchuuriki. "Our home is in Konoha, this is just temporary."
Joo Dee was shaken, the people from this Konoha place weren't impressed by the city, it seemed like they were annoyed or even offended by it, and offended by the King as well! Suddenly, a man in green robes ran over to her, carrying a scroll, which she took and opened. "…more good news! Your request to see the Earth King is being processed, and should be put through in about a month, much more quickly than usual."
"A MONTH?" Naruto, Sokka, and Sakura yelled at the same time.
"…six to eight weeks, actually," Joo Dee corrected herself, and she smiled blankly at them.
A little while later, they had entered the house. It had a spacious living room, three different bedrooms, a kitchen with running water, and two bathrooms. It was very well decorated, with ornate lights on the ceilings, portraits on the walls, and other fancy things were scattered around the room.
"Isn't it nice? I think you'll enjoy it here," Joo Dee asked cheerily as she looked at the group.
Hinata, Katara, Sakura, and Toph were sitting on the pillows around a table, Naruto was standing near Sokka near the windows, Aang was standing near the door, and Kakashi and Yamato were conversing about Joo Dee on top of the next level near the rooms. Their tour guide still wore her stupid, blank expression.
"I think we would enjoy it more if we weren't staying so long," Sokka offered, looking around at his friend's expressions. "Can't we see the King any sooner?"
"And, like I said, this is no Konoha," Naruto said as he leaned against a wall and started to glare at their tour guide.
"The Earth King is busy running the finest city in the world, but he will see you as soon as time permits," Joo Dee told them, and she looked at the still glaring Naruto. "As much as I would love to hear about your homeland, I must be going, unless you need anything, Avatar?"
"If we're going to be here for a month, we might as well spend our time looking for Appa," Aang said as he turned to the window.
"I'd be happy to escort you anywhere you like to go," Joo Dee told him as she bowed with her hands covered by her sleeves.
"We don't need a babysitter," Toph said as she got up.
"We'll be able to cover more ground without you," Kakashi told her as he walked down to the lower level. "You don't have a fighter's, bender's, or ninja's speed."
"Oh, I won't get in the way," Joo Dee said as she stepped in Toph's way. "And to leave you alone would make me a bad host."
"By getting in the way of Toph-chan, you've already gotten in our way," Sakura said as she stood up, and Joo Dee smiled at her. "Look, we just need to find Appa-chan and get to the Earth King to tell him our info, why can't you pull some strings and do that for us?"
"…where shall we start?" Joo Dee asked them, completely ignoring what the pink haired kunoichi said.
Everyone sighed; they were not going to get rid of their 'host' as easily as they thought. The shinobi would be able to elude her with ease, but Aang, Katara, Toph, and Sokka wouldn't be able to do that. They all sighed, and allowed Joo Dee to join them in their search…
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ba Sing Se, Inner Ring
In the Inner Ring of Ba Sing Se, near the Earthbending Tram's monorail, the group and their 'host' went into an animal trade shop to see if he had seen Appa. Momo hopped up to a bird feeder and began stuffing his face with the seeds in the low set bowl. Suddenly, one of the cat owls shrieked and flapped its wings angrily at the flying lemur, which scrambled away in fear. Up at the desk, Naruto, Aang, Hinata, Sakura, Katara, Toph, Sokka, Kakashi, and Yamato had finished what they knew of the Flying Bison's capture, and Joo Dee stood behind them, grinning blankly.
"So have you seen any trace of a ten ton, six legged bison with a beaver tail and an arrow on his head?" Naruto asked the shop owner.
"I'm sorry, but I haven't heard anything about a flying bison," the shop keeper told them, looking around. "I didn't even know there were any."
"If someone wanted to sell a stolen animal without anyone knowing, where would they go?" Aang asked him, hoping to learn anything.
"Is there a Black Market in this city for this type of stuff?" Kakashi asked as the man looked up at the silver haired jounin.
"And who runs it? Come on, you know!" Sokka yelled as he pointed at the shop keeper, and Joo Dee's eyes followed his movements unknowingly.
"You idiot, that's no way to get information!" Sakura told him as she pulled the young Water Tribe warrior back. "Sorry about that, he forgets his manners…a hell of a lot. Mind telling us any information you have, please?"
The shop keeper looked around at them, and then he started sweating when he looked at Joo Dee. Kakashi and Yamato noted this, and even Naruto saw the way he started to act when he focused in on their host. The silver haired jounin's eye wandered back to judge what Joo Dee was doing. She was smiling broadly and shaking her head.
"That would be illegal, I'm sorry," the shop owner said as Kakashi's eye focused back on him. Suddenly a commotion was heard from the cages. "You'll have to leave now. Your lemur is harassing my sparrow-keets."
Momo was eating from the Sparrow-keets bowl as the birds tried to push and pull him off. The flying lemur ignored them and continued to stuff his face.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Middle Ring, Ba Sing Se University
At the University of Ba Sing Se, where Professor Zei taught, the group decided to ask any of the students or teachers if they knew anything about the Sandbenders who stole Appa, or information to get to the Earth King faster. In the center of the university, in front of a giant statue of apparently a great Earth Kingdom King, Philosopher, Professor, or all of the above to talk with a student. Two other students walked passed them, chatting about something while one ate an apple.
"I've never seen any Sandbenders or nomads around here, you should ask Professor Zei, he teaches the class on Desert Cultures," the student told them after hearing the story, and he pushed his glasses up.
"You sure you haven't seen anything?" Hinata asked quietly, and the student looked at her and he subconsciously blushed when he saw the Hyuuga Heiress.
"Right…and which of your professors can we ask about the war with the Fire Nation?" Sokka added, not as politely as Hinata as he loomed over the student, who suddenly felt very small.
Sakura started to stomp towards him, but Naruto sighed. "He didn't learn then and he doesn't seem to be able to learn now, Sakura-chan. It'll be just a waste of energy."
The pink haired kunoichi sighed. "You're right, Naruto. Thanks."
"Uh…" the student stammered as he looked at Joo Dee, and Yamato noticed his gaze. The woman again shook her head while grinning blankly, but Sokka caught it and looked back, and she immediately retracted her stance. "I don't know. I'm not a political-science student. I have to get to class," the student told them as he got up and began scrambling away, until he tripped and fell, spilling the scrolls he had onto the ground.
Naruto growled, and looked back at Joo Dee. "Lady, you said you wouldn't get in our way of finding Appa, yet you are."
"What do you mean, Naruto?" Joo Dee asked a miniscule amount of sweat dropping from her brow, hardly noticeable even for a ninja.
"Whenever we see someone with info, and talk to them, you start shaking your head," Kakashi interjected, and their host looked at him. "Why are you doing it, miss?"
"I do not know what you're talking about," Joo Dee said with her stupid smile as the university student finished picking up his scrolls and ran away. "Let's head back to your new home, you can continue searching tomorrow."
Naruto's brow furrowed in annoyance again, and he looked at Kakashi and Yamato. "Very well, then. We'll continue our search tomorrow," Yamato told their host, and he put on a weird smirk. 'It'll give me time to research this Dai Li you told us about, and I'll perform my own search at night.'
The carriage came around and picked them up. Aang sighed in defeat, he was starting to doubt again they would ever find Appa, but Naruto put his hand on his shoulder. The biologically older boy gave the young Avatar strength and encouragement; it was really like having a brother. Hinata gave a sideways glance at the blond haired jinchuuriki, and a faint blush appeared on her face.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ba Sing Se, Upper Ring, assigned house for Team Seven
The carriage dropped the group off at their assigned house in the Upper Ring. Naruto looked on angrily at the woman in the carriage, Hinata kept a look of annoyance at their host, her arms crossed and eyes slightly narrowed, Sakura and Katara wore the same annoyed look as the Hyuuga Heiress, Sokka wore a look of annoyance and disappointment, Kakashi had taken out his book to try to show he was disinterested, and Yamato kept a look of solid indifference not to rise suspicion from their host. Aang and Toph just looked at the carriage, both with looks of annoyance and disappointment.
"Well, I'm sorry no one has seen your bison, why don't you go get some rest, someone will be over with dinner later," Joo Dee told them, feigning a look of disappointment while still keeping her weird smile on her face. The carriage began to pull away, and the group looked at it disappear down the street.
Sokka then noticed a person peeking out of the door window at them, and when they all looked in his direction, he peeked back into hiding. The Water Tribe warrior's eyes guided to the elder men in the group, who nodded.
"Hey, come with me," Sokka told them as he stepped forward and pointed at himself, and they began walking towards the house across the street.
The young Water Tribe warrior knocked on the door. The man walked up to the door like he didn't know they were there, and slid opens the door slowly and began smiling at them.
"You're the Avatar!" he said smiling. "I heard you were in town, I'm Pong."
"Nice to meet you Pong," Aang said as he returned the smile.
"Pong-san…" Hinata started before Sokka could speak. Kakashi looked at the young warrior, and he got instantly why the Hyuuga started talking instead of him-she was more polite, and could ask gently. "Can you tell us more about this city? Why does everyone seem so frightened to talk about the war?"
"War? Frightened? What do you mean?" Pong asked her, as his eyes wandered around nervously, as if he was under constant surveillance.
"I can feel you shaking," Toph interjected without even looking up at the man.
"Look, I'm just a minor government official, I waited three years to get this house, I don't want to get into trouble," Pong told them in a whisper, glancing around left and right, like someone else was looking at him, and he smiled when he realized no one was looking at him.
"Get in trouble with who?" Katara asked, and the Earth Kingdom official shushed her, telling her to lower her voice.
"Listen, you can't mention the war here, and whatever you do, stay away from the Dai Li," Pong warned them, and then slammed the door shut.
Everyone looked at each other, processing what the man just told them. Yamato pursed his lips…the Dai Li were definitely not like ANBU, they seem to oppress the people they are suppose to serve…They sighed in resignation, and returned to their house.
"It seems like those fricking Dai Li are going to stop us from telling the Earth King anything about the war and finding Appa…" Naruto said under his breath, squeezing his fist. "But they won't stop us for long; no…we're ninja, people they never encountered before."
"Tonight, I'll perform my own search of the city," Yamato told them, and Kakashi shook his head.
"I think that might be a bad idea, Yamato, until we get more information about the Dai Li, we shouldn't do anything rash," Kakashi said as he put his book away. "We might as well make use of these new accommodations."
They nodded, and Yamato sighed as he pulled off his independent investigation and they all entered the house. Naruto went into the kitchen, and began digging out anything that he could make ramen with. Sakura and Toph went to one of the tables to start up the reading lessons again. Hinata and Katara started the small scaled waterbending training in the backyard. Aang went to mope in the room that was made for the guys. Sokka and Kakashi started talking about the city, which they agreed wasn't the paradise all the Earth Kingdom refugees were pegging it as. The Konoha Shinobi hoped they would be able to return to Konoha soon, the village would need them if Orochimaru was behind their transport to this world.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ba Sing Se, Upper Ring, Avatar Groups Temp House, morning
Katara had woken up early to get some more training in with Hinata, and the two of them had finished up for the morning. After changing out of their wet clothes, they walked out onto the deck and stretched. The young Waterbending Master looked at the mailbox to find a scroll in it. She took it out and opened it for both her and the Hyuuga Heiress to read. Their eyes widened, Katara rolled up the scroll and they ran back into the house.
Naruto was still sleepy eyed; before he had gone to bed he spent most of the night practicing with his Rasengan elemental training. Using three Kage Bushins, he almost achieved a seamless blend of the chakra, however, he dissipated it after started to get unstable. One of his clones had also achieved a feral look, his eyes had turned red and his whisker birthmarks had widened. The Kyuubi was still trying to make sure his chakra was used, but Naruto would not have it. He will the demon back, dissipated his clones, and nearly collapsed on spot due to the expending of chakra he used. He was sitting near Toph, slurping a bowl of noodles, which he was able to spice up to give it a taste of real ramen.
Toph was sitting with Sakura, learning some new brail, Aang was resting on the rail and Sokka was sitting upside-down against one of the wall murals, looking up at the ceiling. Kakashi was reading his book in one of the corners, and Yamato was sharpening one of his kunai knives.
"We know how we're going to see the Earth King!" Katara told them as Hinata and herself ran up the small stairway towards the 'living room' of the house.
"I think Pong-san provided it," Hinata added and Toph looked at them.
"How are we supposed to do that?" Toph asked as she sat up and began to mimic Joo Dee. "'One just doesn't pop in on the Earth King!'"
"The Earth King is having a party at the palace tonight for his pet bear," Katara told them as she read off the scroll.
"You mean, Platypus-bear?" Aang asked, and Naruto was confused by his question.
"No, it just says bear," Hinata replied, reading off the invitation again.
"Certainly you mean his pet Skunk-bear," Sokka said as he looked at them.
"Or his Armadillo-bear," Toph added.
"Gopher-bear?" Aang asked, and both girls shook their heads.
"Just…bear," Katara replied as she held out her arms.
"This place…is weird," Toph stated with a sigh.
"What's so weird about having a bear-bear?" Naruto asked them, and Aang, Sokka, Katara, and Toph glanced at him. "We have those types of bears in our world, none of the hybrid animals you have."
Katara sighed, deciding to get to the point. "The Palace will be packed; we can sneak in with the crowd."
"Won't work," Toph stated as she leaned back on her pillow.
"And why is that, Toph-chan?" Sakura asked as she rolled up the brail scroll and placed it back in her pack.
"Well no offense to you simple country folk, but a real society crowd will spot you a mile away, you've got no manners," Toph replied as she one of the biscuits that were in the bowl next to her.
"Excuse me?" Katara and Sakura asked at the same time, the Waterbending Master putting her hands on her waist. "We've got no manners? You're not exactly 'Ms. Fancy Fingers'."
In response, Toph burped and gestured with her hands. "I learned proper society behavior and chose to leave it. Aside from Hinata, you never learned anything. And frankly, it's a little too late."
"Manners are one of the skills all kunoichi must master before becoming genin!" Sakura told the blind Earthbender indignantly.
"…you learned it, you can teach us!" Sokka said as he sat up.
"Yeah, I'm mastering all the elements, how hard can manners be?" Aang asked as he got of the railing and started to grab one of the drapes, but Naruto stopped him.
"You really won't push our case by doing that, otosan, but you gave me a good prank idea if we can't crash the Earth King's party," Naruto told the younger boy, who nodded.
Toph had gotten up after hearing what the blond jinchuuriki told the young Avatar. "Katara, Hinata, and Sakura could probably pull it off, but you three would be lucky to pass as bus boys."
"And us, Toph-chan?" Kakashi asked as he and Yamato walked over.
"You two can pass as bodyguards. You'll fit in, because if Katara is right, the entire upper class will be there, meaning there will be a lot of bodyguards," Toph told them, and Naruto gawked at her.
"Why can't I pass for a bodyguard then?"
"Simple, you're too loud," Toph replied as the jinchuuriki sighed.
"I wouldn't underestimate Naruto's ability to be quiet. True, he's hyper, but when he sets his mind to it, he can be quiet," Kakashi told the blind Earthbender as he looked up from his book. "Though it's your decision, you know the best."
"…he'll be an escort," Toph said as Naruto looked at her. "Just don't make a ruckus. You'll be able to come in this way."
Naruto smirked and gave thumbs up. He knew the blind Earthbending Master couldn't see it, but it showed he agreed. A little while later, Toph had pulled the girls away to get ready for the party for that night. It would take longer since, to disguise herself, Sakura would have to dye her candy pink hair black to blend in with the Earth Kingdom citizens. The jinchuuriki decided to start looking up a good disguise to turn into as a escort for the girls.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Later that Night
Naruto had finished his research of how to model himself as an escort for the girls, and was watching Aang and Sokka play Jan ken. The Avatar countered the Water Tribe warrior's scissors with rock, and won. The blond jinchuuriki then looked up as the changing room for the girls opened…revealing the four of them. Hinata was trying to hide herself, as per Sakura's suggestion, behind Sakura and Katara. All four girls were dressed in formal green Earth Kingdom robes, which looked like the Chinese Raqun, and all were light green in color. On their heads were flower hairpieces, and they were all wearing makeup. Sakura had, of course, dyed her a shade of black similar to Toph's, and had combed and brushed it down so it wasn't sticking up as much, and she had put a braid in it. They all were carrying green fans, which they were using to cover their faces.
"You guys look great," Naruto said with a grin, and he noticed Aang's jaw dropping when he saw Katara.
"Yeah…you look really…beautiful…" Aang added as Sakura chuckled.
"Come on, Hinata-chan, you have to show how you look too," Sakura told her friend, and she pushed the Hyuuga Heiress into the open.
Naruto's eyes widened. He thought Sakura looked…awesome and pretty, but Hinata…he blinked. Hinata was wearing a pale green Raqun like the other girls, but it slightly showed off more of her curves than the others did. She still wore her two bangs, yet her long hair was up in braids around her floral headdress. Her pale skin and eyes were accented by a faint amount of blush. She looked…beautiful, more than that…gorgeous.
"N-Naruto-kun…?" Hinata asked under his scrutiny.
Sokka walked up and tapped Naruto's head. "I think you broke him, Hinata."
Naruto then shook his head. "Y-Y-You look…really pretty…really, really pretty, Hinata-chan…"
The Hyuuga Heiress began blushing under her makeup, and lifted her hands to her face in an attempt to hide it. 'Naruto-kun thinks I'm…really, really pretty! Say something!' she looked at him, and he was starting to blush too. "T-Thank you, N-Naruto-kun…"
"So have you decided on your disguise, Naruto?" Kakashi asked as he and Yamato walked in from scouting out good disguises. "We have ours."
"Oh, yeah, almost forgot," Naruto said as he rubbed the back of his head. He began to build up chakra and closed his eyes. "Henge!"
With that, his hair changed color to black, his skin color changed and his whisker marks faded. His orange-black jumpsuit was changed into a formal green shirt and white pants, and his skin wasn't tanned anymore. He grinned as he showed off his disguise; he kept his blue eyes since they were common enough in the city.
"Good one, right guys?" Naruto asked them, and Sokka's jaw dropped.
"How did you do that?" Sokka asked.
"Henge no Jutsu, academy level technique, good for infiltration," Kakashi said as he looked around. "We're all ready?"
"Yes," everyone replied.
"We'll get into the party while we figure out a way to get you inside," Katara said as she walked with Toph, Hinata, Sakura, and the transformed Naruto to the door.
"Since your bodyguards for this…what are you going to look like?" Sokka asked as Kakashi and Yamato smirked. Suddenly, in a puff of smoke, their normal appearance was covered in Green Robes, they grew two more feet and became extremely muscular under their robes, and they had long black hair in a pony tail. "Ah, so you're passing for Earth Bending Bodyguards."
"Yep, just don't blow our cover," Kakashi told him under the henge he chose. With that, they walked out of the house, leaving Sokka and Aang to get themselves ready.
Momo walked around with a draped wrapped around his small shoulders like he was a king. Aang couldn't help but laugh at the lemur's antics. A carriage had been summoned and the two boys leapt onto the back, diving into the trunk to keep themselves hidden until they got to the party.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Earth Kingdom Palace, 'Official' Dai Li Headquarters
The carriage they hired dropped them off at the pathway to the palace, and Naruto, Sakura, Katara, Hinata, Toph, Kakashi, and Yamato walked up the lit pathway to the line of true guests. Each lantern gave off a pale green glow as they stepped up. As the line thinned and they reached the door, the guard looked at the two imposing Jounin in their disguises, and the blind Earthbender, the Water Bending Master, the Jinchuuriki, the medic, and the Hyuuga Heiress walked forward.
"Invitations please," the guard said as Toph took out her Bei Fong papers.
"I think this will do," Toph said as the Guard shook his head.
"No entry without invitation. Step out of line please."
"Look, the Pangs and the Yun Suu Hongs are waiting in there for us, I'm going to have to tell them you didn't let me in," Toph countered him with a threat of her aristocracy, putting her hands in her sleeves authoritatively.
"Step out of line, please," the guard ordered sternly, and the seven temporarily gave up and walked out of line.
Suddenly, Sakura and Katara noticed a very well dressed middle aged man walking towards the line. He was dressed in an extremely formal Hanfu that was dark green in color with golden embroidery on its sleeves, collar, and button line. There was no belt accompanying his hanfu, so he was wearing formal green pants. He had shaved his head so only the back had hair on it, which extended into a long pony tail, and he was wearing a goatee, mustache combo on his face.
The girls walked forward, with Naruto behind. "I'm sorry to bother you, but my cousin lost our invitation, she's blind," Katara asked the man sweetly, leaning forward to whisper Toph's 'condition'.
"Do you think you can help us?" Toph added, trying to sound as cute and helpless as she could.
"I-It would be much appreciated sir," Hinata said as she purposely added the nervous stutter.
"Please…?" Sakura asked sweetly, and the man looked at them.
"Uh…we would really be thankful sir," Naruto added, silently cursing his lack of formality. He hoped it wouldn't blow their cover.
"Our family's inside and I'm sure they're very worried," Katara added sweetly, trying to make their 'sob story' work.
"I'd be honored," the man said with a bow, which on Hinata and Toph's prompting, they all returned. "Please come with me."
With that, the well dressed man escorted the seven of them to the door, and Toph, Katara, Sakura, and Naruto stuck out their tongues and blew, giving the guard an angry raspberry. Kakashi and Yamato excused themselves since their bodyguard work was over for the day-that was the official story at least. They were in reality checking the crowd out and scouting for the Earth King. Since they were grown men, their escort let them go, and they activated a stealth jutsu to drop their henge and climb the walls unnoticed.
The banquet hall was massive, and hundreds of people were in the room. Green and yellow green lights lit the room, and the five young people looked around in awe at the sheer size of the room, and then they glanced at the table. It was as long as the room, and on it there were dishes of food, but to Naruto's later disappointment-no ramen. However, they glanced at the head of the table, there was the massive bear dressed in Earth Kingdom clothing munching on some meat. Two nobles were sitting next to the massive animal, dodging the slobber.
"He's taking all the good stuff!" the older noble yelled as he leaned forward.
"Quiet! You don't know what I had to do to get seats this close to the bear!" the younger noble told the older, and the bear swiped at the meat, knocking it at the older, roared, and dived onto the table, getting all the meat.
By then, the five of them had entered the main hall of the banquet, still being escorted by the Earth Kingdom Noble. "It's beautiful, isn't it? By the way, I'm Long Feng, I'm the Cultural Minister to the King."
"I'm Kua Mei, and this is Dong," Katara told the Minister, and Toph immediately pulled her hair. "And these are our friends, Hana," moving her hand to Hinata. "Saku," she moved her hand to Sakura. "And our escort and long time friend, Uzuu." Finally moving her hand to Naruto, who grinned.
"Now where are your families? I'd love to meet them," Long Feng asked, and the Waterbender rubbed the back of her neck.
"I'll find them sir. It's my job, after all," Naruto said, covering for Katara, who mouthed a thank you. "I don't see them right now, but I'm sure we'll find them."
"Thank you for all your help," Katara added as the five of them walked off, hoping to lose the Minster in the crowd.
However, once they walked a way forward, with the swiftness and skill of any Jounin in Konoha, Long Feng appeared right in front of them. "Don't worry, as one of your escorts, it'd be dishonorable to abandon you ladies and your young male friend without finding your families first. We'll keep looking."
With that, Long Feng started walking ahead of them, leaving Naruto slack jawed. "Sakura-chan…he did that as fast as Kakashi-sensei…" he said in a whisper.
"Yeah," Sakura returned as they continued to walk behind Long Feng. "We have to keep a closer watch on him. Hinata-chan, how well can you keep the Byakugan up?"
"As long as my chakra holds you, Sakura-chan," Hinata replied as she carefully moved her fan up. "Byakugan."
With a whisper, her kekki genkai activated allowing her to have nearly 360 degree vision. She found where Kakashi and Yamato were hiding, using the Meisaigakure no Jutsu (Hiding Camouflage Technique), and she could see Aang and Sokka sneaking up outside, waiting for them. She suddenly saw Long Feng standing before her, and she deactivated her Byakugan and lowered her fan.
"My dear, are you alright?" Long Feng asked, and Hinata gave her best smile.
"N-No sir, just a little overwhelmed by how many people are here," Hinata replied, her eyes darting to her friends.
"Very well then, but you shouldn't keep such an exquisite face hidden behind a fan," Long Feng told her with a smile, and Naruto felt a tinge of jealousy at his comment about the Hyuuga Heiress.
'You better keep your hands off her, ya bastard,' Naruto thought as his eyes hardened at the Minister, who looked at him. His slitting eyes returned to normal, keeping their blue coloration.
"Uzuu, is there a problem?" Long Feng asked, and Naruto slowly shook his head.
"No, let's just keep moving," Naruto replied as they kept walking forward, and he shoved his hands into his pockets.
They continued walking and Hinata was a bit wary of activating her Byakugan again. Kakashi and Yamato then went to the door, still covered in their stealth technique and peered out to see if Aang and Sokka had gotten into position, as well as keeping a constant watch out for the Earth King.
Aang and Sokka had crawled up from where the carriages had parked, being careful not to be seen by the Earth Kingdom guards. They reached the opening that lead to the doors of the palace, and they hid behind a stone statue.
"Where are they?" Aang asked in a whisper to Sokka as they ducked behind the statue's base again.
"Look, I came up with a backup plan," Sokka told the young Avatar as he picked up Momo. "Look we dress Momo like a ghost, okay? He flies by the guards creating a distraction, then we blast a hole in the wall…"
Aang thought about the plan as he stood up, and saw several caterers unloading food and other supplies off a carriage, and he smirked. "Or we could go in with these guys," he said as the young Water Tribe warrior took a look. "Toph said we could pass as bus boys."
With that, they stole a few spare uniforms and quickly put them on. Grabbing a pot and a tray, they walked in disguised as caterers, following the real ones pass the guard into the building. The Earth Kingdom guard raised and eyebrow and he watched as the two boys walked into the building.
Inside the main banquet hall, the two disguised boys played the parts of waiters for a few hours, looking for their companions. After scouting out the crowd, they went back to back as they continued to play the part of a waiter. Aang poured some tea into a patron's cup while Sokka carried crab puffs to other guests.
"Where are the others?" Aang asked the older boy, who had his nose up in an attempt to emulate the waiters.
"Forget about them, just keep an eye out for the King," Sokka told him as the young Avatar looked into the group.
"I don't know what he looks like," Aang replied as he looked around.
"Royal, flowing robes, fancy jewelry," Sokka told him as he grabbed Momo's tail and squeezed, making the lemur scream in pain and he pulled his tail into his robes.
Aang looked around, and everyone fit the Water Tribe warrior's description. "That could be anyone…"
"Another crab-puff please," Toph's voice asked and they turned around to see the rest of the group, and Sokka presented her with a tray. Toph took a crab-puff and Hinata also took one. "About time you got here twinkle toes."
"Had a hard time getting past that guard?" Naruto asked as he took one too as Katara and Sakura walked over.
"Yeah, thanks for letting us in," Sokka replied sarcastically.
"Sorry, but the guy who escorted us in won't let us out of his sight," Katara told them with a sigh.
"What guy?" Sokka asked as he peered beyond Naruto and Hinata's heads, and they turned around.
"Damn…this guy does have Jounin Level skills," Naruto said as he looked around, his head shooting left and right.
Suddenly, a movement from one of the guests caught Hinata's eyes. It was Joo Dee, and the Hyuuga's Byakugan scanned around…she wasn't here at the party when they got in at all.
"Joo Dee-san…" Hinata said as the rest of the group turned towards their host hurried towards them.
"What are you doing here?" Joo Dee asked them frantically. "You all have to leave immediately or we all will be in terrible trouble!"
She then ran up to Sokka to start pushing him out when he blocked her with the empty plate. "Not until we see the king!"
"You don't understand, you must go!" Joo Dee told him as she continued to push.
"Why?" Naruto asked as the Water Tribe warrior pushed back.
Yet…their host pushed back and Sokka tripped and slammed into Aang, who accidentally spilled the tea onto a very well dressed lady. She gave a surprised shriek and turned to the young Avatar, thinking he was just a clumsy bus boy.
"S-Sorry! N-No, don't shout!" Aang said as he panicked and accidentally used his Airbending dry the well-dressed lady off with a blast of wind from his feet and hands.
The lady seemed to stick to the ground as the wind hit her, drying her off…and sticking her clothes and hair in place. Naruto slapped his face. 'Damn…there goes our cover…'
With his hat off, exposing his arrow, the lady blinked. "The Avatar…I didn't know the Avatar would be here!"
At the mention of his title, everyone in the banquet hall turned to see Aang. Joo Dee's normally weird smile turned to a frightened frown. She had…failed in her mission to keep the Avatar under wraps and away from influencing the Earth King. She was…in big trouble. Aang continued to look around as all the Earth Kingdom nobles circled around him and Momo dived into his fallen hat to hide. He then chuckled weakly, blushed, and waved at them.
"Naruto, you and Aang keep their attention while I search for the King," Sokka ordered as Naruto looked over. "You heard me. You're good at distracting people."
"Watch this everybody!" Aang yelled as he spread his hands out and leapt out of his clothes. He leapt to the other side of the room and landed on the table. He began to Air and Waterbend the teas and other drinks into a swirling ball of multicolored water ball and everyone clapped, ohed, and awed. The bear roared in amusement of the show.
"Okay everyone, watch this!" Naruto yelled as he crossed his hands and dropped the henge, revealing his true appearance. "Konoha's number one unpredictable shinobi is here!"
Everyone gasped, and then clapped when Naruto revealed his true appearance. He then created multiple Shadow Clones and began making a clone pyramid, which everyone clapped for.
After a few minutes, Kakashi and Yamato reappeared in their normal forms. They saw that either Aang or Naruto blew their cover, and they both sighed. Everyone then looked over to see a covered throne being carried into the dining hall. This was it, the Earth King had arrived.
Naruto dispelled his clones and Kakashi gave him a disapproving look. "Hey, don't look at me. Aang broke out cover."
Behind the curtain veil the Earth King looked at the guests and was lead to the table. Sokka poked out of the crowd, still trying to pass as a waiter as he followed the direction of the throne. It was put down several seconds later, and a wall of Earth Kingdom Guards separated the king from crowd of guests.
"Hey, the Earth King!" Sokka whispered loudly to Aang, who stopped playing with the bear and dispelled the playful balls of liquid by evaporating them.
"Greetings your majesty!" Aang said cheerily as he rolled over on his air ball over the table towards the direction of the Earth King.
Four guards directly walked into his path as the King was then led away. Sokka tried running after him, but two guards came out of the shadows and grabbed him. Out of the shadows, a man in robes threw out his hands and pieces of rock flew off and covered Toph's mouth, pulling her back. Sakura then looked over as a hand of rock grabbed her and pulled her into the shadows before she could summon her immense strength. Katara was nabbed the same way, but Hinata's Byakugan warned her and she ducked, yet another rock hand grabbed her by the waste and the other by the leg and pulled her away.
Kakashi and Yamato decided not to put up a fight and waste chakra, even though they destroyed the capture rocks without even trying and two guards led them away. Momo was trying to scurry away when another man in robes, now identifiable as a Dai Li picked up the hat over him and grabbed the little lemur. Naruto was suddenly seized by two guards and picked up.
"Hey, what the hell are you doing? Let me go!" Naruto yelled as he struggled in the guard's grasp.
Aang reached the end of the table, meeting the wall of guards. Suddenly, the man who escorted Naruto, Hinata, Sakura, and Toph in went up and talked to him.
"Avatar Aang…it is a great honor to meet you, I am Long Feng, Grand Secretariat of Ba Sing Se and head of the Dai Li," Long Feng introduced himself as Aang dropped his arms. "I'd like to talk to you; your friends will be waiting for us in the library."
With that, he began to walk away with the young Avatar following. They walked to the library, and the door slammed shut with a loud creak to prevent anyone, especially the Earth King from hearing. Inside, Long Feng walked over to a bench and sat down by an eerie green fire. Aang, Sokka, Naruto, Hinata, Sakura, Toph, Katara, Yamato, and Kakashi were standing directly in front of him.
"Why won't you let us talk to the king?" Sokka asked as he stepped forwards, as fed up with the constant blocking to talk with the Earth King. "We have information that can defeat the Fire Nation!"
"And finally put an end to this damn war!" Naruto added as he stepped forward too.
"The Earth King has no time to get involved in petty political squabbles, and the day to day minutia of military activities," Long Feng told them calmly as he looked at them.
"So, let me guess, you want the Fire Nation to win?" Kakashi asked in an equally calm manner.
"Of course not," Long Feng stated in his calm manner.
"But this could be the most important information he's ever heard," Aang said as he tried to convince the Secretariat.
"The most important thing to his royal majesty is maintaining the cultural heritage of Ba Sing Se, all his duties relate to issuing decrees on such matters," Long Feng told them. "It's my job to oversee the rest of the city's resources, including the military."
"So the King is just a figurehead!" Katara gasped as she got what they were being told.
"He's your puppet!" Toph yelled as she threw her arms out angrily.
"So you don't give him any power? That sucks!" Naruto added.
"Oh, no, no, his majesty is an icon, a god to his people, he can't sully his hands with the hourly changes of an endless war," Long Feng told them as he waved his hands.
"But we found out about a solar eclipse that will leave the Fire Nation defenseless, you can lead an invasion-!" Sokka started as he walked forward.
"Enough!" Long Feng commanded as he stood up, and Naruto began to squeeze his fists. "I don't want to hear your ridiculous plan! It is the strict policy of Ba Sing Se that the war not be mentioned within the walls. The constant news of an escalating war would throw the citizens of Ba Sing Se into a panic."
"Yeah, in outrage," Naruto said as the Secretariat looked at him. "They learn how weak their paper government is and that there is no way to win the war, sure, they'll riot in outrage, because they would never be able to return home. I'm tired of listening to your bull; you're working for the Fire Nation aren't you?"
"No, I'm not. And think about the other effects of such outrage, our economy would be ruined, our peaceful way of life, our traditions would disappear. In silence in talk of conflict, Ba Sing Se remains a peaceful, orderly utopia, the last one on Earth," Long Feng told them with a proud grin.
"You're a fool if you think that'll last," Yamato said, finally speaking out. "You aren't working for your people, you're working against them. This is a dystopia that the Fire Nation will conquer if you just sit back and not do a thing!"
"You can't keep the truth from all these people, they have to know," Katara added, trying to get her say.
"It is only right. They need to learn that action is needed if they ever want to save their city," Sakura said as she squeezed her fist. "It's wrong keeping it from them."
"And what kind of leader separates himself from his people? This city is a bunch of crock," Naruto said, his words starting to annoy the Secretariat.
"I'll tell them!" Aang told Long Feng as he stepped forward. "I'll make sure everyone knows!"
"Until now you've been treated as our honored guests, but for now on you'll be watched every moment by Dai Li Agents," Long Feng told the Avatar as he sunk down to his level, and started to walk away. "If you mention the war to anyone you will be expelled from the city. I understand you've been looking for your bison, it would be quite a shame you would not be able to find him."
Naruto bore his teeth angrily, and squeezed his fists even tighter. 'This guy is so low! Using Appa to keep our mouth's shut!'
Kakashi stood silently, formulating a three pronged plan. 'We need to get the word out, somehow. Not only to find Aang-san's bison, but to inform the King about the war and its status. As well as to get the general populace on our side about taking action against the Dai Li…'
Long Feng walked over and sat down on the bench in front of the green fire again. "Now Joo Dee will show you to your new home."
As he said that, the door opened…revealing a different woman than the Joo Dee they knew. She walked to them with her hands covered by her raqun's sleeves. Stopping directly in front of them she bowed to greet them.
"Come with me please."
"What happened to Joo Dee?" Katara asked in shock as everyone got a good look at the woman's face. She had the same wide smile, but a wide nose that was different from Joo Dee's, short dark hair and dark blue eyes, where Joo Dee was the exact opposite in look.
"I'm Joo Dee, I'll be your host as long as your in our wonderful city," the woman told them as she bowed, leaving the youths confused and disoriented, but Kakashi and Yamato knew this strategy well.
'They train or brainwash hundreds of women to think they are Joo Dee, hence escorting and keeping their eyes on 'important' or 'threatening' guests to the city to see if they follow all the rules,' Kakashi thought as his visible eye hardened. 'Such…barbarism was outlawed by the original Kages nearly seventy years ago when the Ninja Villages were founded!'
With that, they were escorted out following the woman claiming to be Joo Dee. Long Feng shot a look at Naruto, who returned it with equal intensity, and then the Dai Li head looked at Hinata. From what his men told him, she would be the hardest to monitor due to a special ability she had to see practically 360 degrees around her…and thus a threat to continued monitoring of the Avatar. He had to formulate a plan to neutralize the visitors who were with the Avatar…if the cultural heritage was to survive.
To be continued
Definitions:
Hanfu-Traditional Chinese Han Dynasty clothing worn by men. Popularized in many Wire Fu movies.
Raqun-Traditional Chinese Han Dynasty clothing worn by women, similar to the Hanfu. Popularized in many Wire Fu movies.
What it looks like: http://upload.