Bending the Jutsu

by Son Kenshin

NaruHina Kaatang Sukka SasuSaku The Avatar has reawakened. He now has to struggle with the fact that he is, in the eyes of the world, 'Dead', while Zuko returns to the Fire Nation...

16. Crossroads of Destiny

Chapter 16: Crossroads of Destiny

Earth Kingdom, location near Ba Sing Se

Appa gave a low groaning roar as he flew over the landscape as an ostrich horse drank from a river. It looked up as the 10 ton bison, with his passengers, flew towards Ba Sing Se. Aang, Naruto, and Sokka were sitting on Appa's head, while Kakashi and Kurenai were on the back of the six legged bison.

"So what kind of trouble is Katara in?" Sokka asked as he started to plan a strategy.

"I don't know, in my vision I just knew she needed help," Aang replied as he looked down.

"That really doesn't give us a lot to go on…" Naruto said with a sigh. "How about the other girls, Hinata-chan and Sakura-chan, and Yamato?"

"I don't know…" Aang replied and Naruto nodded.

"It'd be really nice if your Avatar powers could be more specific from time to time," Sokka complained as he crossed his arms and looked at the ground, and he saw a rising plume of dust moving at high speed on the ground. "What is that?"

Kakashi leaned forward as Appa descended to catch up to the dust cloud. Kurenai let out a small gasp as they came closer to the cloud to see a young girl…looking like she was skiing on a bulge of dirt. She looked to see that the others on the flying bison's back recognized the young girl.

"Need a ride?" Sokka and Naruto asked at the same time, and the girl lost her cohesion with the Earth and her bulge exploded. "Ow…"

Appa landed where the girl had lost control, and she shook her head fiercely to get the rocks out of her hair. "Hey, what was that for?"

"Calm down, Toph, we have to get back to Ba Sing Se ASAP," Kakashi said and Toph nodded as she got up.

"Yeah…yeah…oh, thanks for the help busting me out of that metal box…" Toph said sarcastically as she got onto the back of the giant bison.

"Oh, this is Yuhi Kurenai, Hinata's teacher," Kakashi said, as the older woman leaned forward, and offered her hand.

"Nice to meet you Toph," Kurenai said as Naruto helped the Earthbending Master shook the Genjutsu Mistress's hand.

"Nice to meet you…now what is the problem?" Toph asked, turning her head to address Aang, Naruto, or Sokka…instead she looked directly at Appa's tail. "Well…?"

"…Katara's in trouble, that means the others in Ba Sing Se might be in trouble too," Aang replied, and his blind friend gulped and turned to face him. "Yip, yip!"

Appa growled as he took off from the ground and started to fly towards Ba Sing Se. Aang explained his vision to Toph, who nodded and crawled onto Appa's head. She wrapped her arms around Sokka's arm to keep herself from falling off. The city began to come closer into view…

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Beneath Ba Sing Se

In a massive chamber, adorned with statues of Badger-moles in an eerie green glow, all the Dai Li of the city were assembled for a meeting with their 'temporary' new leader…Princess Azula. At her left was Ty Lee, and at her right was Mai, both still disguised as Kiyoshi Warriors. Sasuke was absent, interrogating his prisoner. The Fire Princess's garb had changed; she was wearing a Dai Li uniform, with a yellow under tee shirt, a dark green vest that broke to the light green, and the circle symbol that was the symbol of the Dai Li on her chest, and finally there was a green Earth Nation hairpin in her hair. Her arms were folded behind her as she addressed her small army.

"The Earth King and the Council of Five do not trust the Dai Li, they imprisoned your leader, Long Feng, soon they will turn on all of you," Azula stated as she addressed the agents in the room. "…and eliminate you. Seizing power today is a matter of life and death." She started walking forward down the small staircase she was on as one agent looked down in hesitation. "This coup has to be decisive. The Earth King and the Five Generals must be taken out simultaneously. Long Feng has placed you under my command while we overthrow the government. Any hesitation, any weakness at all…I will snuff it out."

She said after walking down the line of agents, stopping directly in front of an agent who had a scar on his right cheek. He looked doubtful, nervous. He wasn't sure what to do, but he couldn't help but think this was wrong.

"That is all," Azula finished as she walked back in front of the army of Dai Li, who began to file out.

Azula walked back up onto the platform she stood on initially, and Ty Lee began pouring her some tea. "Nice speech, Azula! It was pretty and poetic but also scary in a good way."

She handed the cup to the Fire Princess as Mai let out a laugh. "Yeah, I thought you were going to make that one guy piss his pants."

"There is still a few loose ends, the Avatar, that…demon child, and my brother," Azula stated as her eyes darted back and forth. At the mention of Zuko, Mai's eyes went to the ground.

In the dungeons of the Palace, Hinata let out a scream of pain as she was put threw a torture genjutsu that Sasuke was using. She thrashed, making the chains clatter and clang, and closed her eyes, trying to summon the chakra to activate her Byakugan to break the illusion. From the shadows, Sasuke looked at his victim thrashing and attempting to break his jutsu. He shut the technique off as his Sharingan faded out of his eyes.

"You will tell me where Naruto went," Sasuke said firmly, walking over and grabbing the Hyuga's throat. "You will tell me everything you know."

"A-As N-Naruto-kun'd…say…bite me…" Hinata said weakly, before blacking out. The Uchiha frowned, his mind searching for the reason why the Hyuga was defending his rival and former best friend so ardently.

He walked away from her just as the prison door opened. Looking up, he saw three Dai Li agents. "What the hell do you want?"

"Lady Azula has ordered your captive to be sent to a more secure location," one of the Dai Li informed him. "You will be able to continue you're…"

"Just take her, I'm done," Sasuke replied as he walked to the door. "And tell your leader I'll be patrolling the grounds."

"Y-Yes...master Sasuke," one of the Dai Li said, walking over to the unconscious Hinata, and unlocking her chains.

The Uchiha left the prison as the three Agents picked up the unconscious Hinata. The girl groaned weakly as she was put in rock cuffs, and she mumbled 'Naruto-kun' before passing out of unconsciousness completely.

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Palace of Ba Sing Se

Out of a carriage that was brought from the Jasmine Dragon, Prince Zuko and former General Iroh disembarked. They were dressed in fine Earth Kingdom clothing; dark orange and then a light orange, and finally a dark orange pattern belted robe was what the exiled prince wore, it almost looked like a kimono. The former General wore a white robe underneath a green and yellow green vest that extended down below his waist, with a belt keeping it up, and finally a green with a yellow green pattern vest was over that, extending down to his knees. As the two stepped away from the carriage, it pulled away and Iroh carried the ingredients for his famous tea in a fancy white box with a gold trim.

"Many times I imagined myself here, at the threshold of the palace, but I always thought I'd be here as a conquer," Iroh said as the two walked to the entrance. "But now we're the King's personal guests, here to serve him tea. Destiny is a funny thing."

"It sure is, Uncle," Zuko said with a smile. Ever since his 'false awakening', he had been cheerful, finally at peace, yet a nagging at the back of his mind made it seem…unreal, and then they reached the doorway.

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Outer Wall of Ba Sing Se

Appa let out another one of his guttural growls as the group reached the limits of the massive city of Ba Sing Se. Kurenai, despite herself, couldn't help but gape in awe at the size of the city. Naruto grinned, commenting that they had the same reaction when the first saw the city.

"So how did it go with the Guru?" Toph asked Aang. "Did you master the Avatar State?"

"Uh…" Aang's eyes shifted as he remembered Pathik's words "If you leave now, you'll never be able to enter the Avatar State at all!" and he remembered that that Naruto, Kakashi, and Kurenai saw that, and he gulped silently.

"Aang, are you okay?" Sokka asked.

"I'm great, it went great with the guru, I completely mastered the Avatar State," Aang said quickly, trying to sound convincing. "Yeah…"

"Well…what about you Naruto?" Sokka asked, looking at his blond friend. "Did you complete your attack with that…Jiraiya guy?"

Naruto grinned proudly. "Yep. Plus…I learned something…"

He dug into his pack and brought out a photograph. In it, was a man who looked like an elder Naruto, grinning proudly next to a beautiful woman with long red hair and green eyes, in a hospital gown…holding an infant with blond hair.

"That's me, that's my mom and dad; I finally know who they are!" Naruto grinned showing his friends. "My dad was Yondaime, the Fourth, Hokage!"

"Wow! That's awesome Naruto," Sokka said, looking at the picture, looking at the man and woman in it. Aang saw the picture of Yondaime, and he looked at Naruto again. "I have to say he really looks like you."

Naruto grinned, and turned to Aang. "So anyway to know how to know how the others are doing?"

"Well…there might be…one way," Aang replied, thinking back to what he learned in the Foggy Swamp. "Hand me something that belongs to either Sakura or Hinata."

The blond jinchuuriki pursed his lips as he searched his pockets and…wait… "Oh, yeah, Hinata-chan gave me these…" he dug out a bracelet with shells on it. "I…bought it for her during our first 'date'…and she gave it to me while we were recovering from Lake Laogai."

The young Avatar nodded with a smile, taking the bracelet into his hand. Closing his eyes, he reached out threw the spirit world, trying to find Hinata. 'Where is she…?'

Suddenly, an invisible line of chakra pointed directly at the palace of Ba Sing Se…and under it. Aang's brow furrowed as he probed deeper and deeper…to see Hinata, unconscious, in a prison room, then she was being taken away... He also saw…a man with red eyes…like Kakashi's Sharingan, observing her.

"Hinata's in trouble," Aang said, his eyes snapping open. "But I can't find out exactly where she is."

Naruto gritted his teeth. 'Damn…' he looked at his young friend. "What else did you see?"

"…a man…no a teenager…with eyes that looked like Kakashi's," Aang replied, and a collective gasp came from the jinchuuriki, Kakashi, and Kurenai. "What?"

"Uchiha Sasuke is here…and Hinata-chan fought him?" Kurenai asked out loud, blinking. "How did he get here? And what's Hinata-chan's condition?"

"I don't know the first one…but…Hinata's just unconscious. I didn't see anything on her that's really damaging," Aang replied, his eyes searching back and forth. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be, you just gave us information we needed," Naruto said, looking at the city. 'Sasuke…you're here…damn it…and you hurt Hinata-chan…'

He willed his anger down, trying to remember the promise he made to Sakura. It was maddening now, however, since the teme had injured the woman he loved. His normally gentle, calm blue eyes took on a sharp, focused look as narrow, cat like slits appeared in his sky blue pupil. Sasuke was going to pay for this…and his betrayal…and for making Sakura cry three years ago.

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Upper Ring of Ba Sing Se, Earth Kingdom Palace

In the tea room of the Earth King's palace, Iroh gently poured some of his famous tea into one of the golden cups at the corners of the table where he and Zuko knelt. The two were looking around, waiting for the Earth King to arrive. For some reason, the Fire Prince felt uneasy, especially since the King hadn't arrived yet.

"What's taking so long?" Zuko asked as he knelt next to his uncle.

"Maybe the Earth King overslept?" Iroh offered, looking at his nephew as several footsteps were heard.

A few seconds later, several Dai Li agents walked in, their hands folded behind them. "…something's not right…"

All the agents surrounded the two Fire Nation refugees, and two more people walked in. One was a young woman with striking yellow eyes wearing a female version of the Dai Li uniform, and the other was a young man with a white, opened shirt, black pants, a purple belt like thing, and a sword on his back.

"It's tea time…"

"Azula!" Zuko roared as he stood up.

"Have you met the Dai Li? They're Earthbenders, but they have a killer instinct that is so Firebender, I just love it," Azula asked calmly as she glanced at her companion. "And according to Sasuke, here, they are even better than the standard Earthbender in the army…"

Sasuke merely nodded as Iroh stood up calmly, taking his tea into his hands. "Did I ever tell you how I got the name, the Dragon of the West?"

"I'm not interested in a lengthy anecdote, uncle," Azula said in disinterest as she looked at her hand.

"Its more of a demonstration really," Iroh told her offhandedly, and he sipped his tea. Sasuke felt an upsurge of chakra coming from the former general's chest, and he activated his Sharingan.

Zuko smirked, and ducked behind his uncle as the old man prepared. He spread his legs out, held up his arms in a guard stance…then he breathed a blinding ball of fire all around the room, making the Dai Li members duck or dodge to avoid the hot flames. Sasuke copied the technique with his Sharingan, and smirked when Iroh used it to destroy the canvas wall of the room.

The two Fire Nation refugees began running out of the room, and two Dai Li members, with Sasuke, filed out to attack them. The Dai Li shot their hands out, making the rock gloves on their hands fly off like bullets, which slammed into the wall where Zuko and Iroh once were. The two ran down the hall as Sasuke went threw the seals very quickly.

"Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu (Fire Style: Grand Fireball Technique)!" Sasuke called out as he took chase. Bringing his hand to his face, he blew out a massive fireball from his mouth at the pair of Fire Nation fugitives.

"Uncle, duck!" Zuko yelled, pulling Iroh down to avoid the massive fireball which slammed into the nearby wall. The two scrambled back to their feet and kept running.

Finally, they got to a wall, and Iroh, while running charged up his fingers and shot a moderately sized bolt of lightning at the wall, blowing it out. The former general leapt out immediately after doing that, landing on a soft rock statue which cushioned his fall. Iroh chuckled as he looked up to see Zuko pausing.

"Come on! You'll be fine!"

"No, its time I faced Azula," Zuko told his uncle as he turned around and walked back to the enemy. Iroh slapped himself on the forehead when that happened, then he took off running.

"You're so dramatic," Azula told her brother, standing next to Sasuke and her Dai Li agents. "Do you want to challenge me to an Agni Kai?"

"Yes! I challenge you," Zuko replied with a snarl.

"No thanks," Azula said nonchalantly, shrugging like it was no big deal. Her brother however snarled.

He formed a massive ball of flame in front of him, and pushed it towards Azula, Sasuke, and her Dai Li agents. The fireball was as massive as the Goukakyuu, and the Dai Li had to react quickly to block it. They ran ahead, thrusting their hands up, dislodging a huge section of floor out of the ground to block the fire blast. They retorted by firing their rock gloves at Zuko, pinning his feet to the ground, and a third shot out and pinned his hand to the ground. The Fire Prince growled and tried to get lose. Azula couldn't help but smile at her brother's predicament, and then she turned to walk away as

Sasuke looked at Zuko with his normal eyes, and the Dai Li finished the Fire Prince off with two more gloves of rock.

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Konoha, Fire Country

A loud crash was heard from the Hokage's office, and Shizune ran in to see Tsunade, enraged, leaning over the splinters that were once her desk. The elder apprentice to the Sannin sighed, noticing that Tsunade didn't like the report of the recent battle. Shizune bent down to start picking up the papers that were now scattered around the office.

"Damn that Ryusen, I warned him not to attack that Fire Nation position without Shinobi aid!" Tsunade roared as she grabbed the second sheet. "2,280 Samurai lost, all were killed in the battle, and there are only 120 survivors…that battle was a debacle!"

She read the report of Commander Hiroue, of the Tabakana province of the Land of Fire. Pursing her lips, she could see how the battle could have been won if Ryusen had called for reinforcements and shinobi aid. The start of the battle was chronicled by Hiroue's report…

Northern Fire Country, three days previously

In the main camp of General Ryusen's force, the general knelt with his officers in planning the attack on the Fire Nation camp. In the middle of the tent was the map of the area, showing where the Fire Nation force was going to come. From initial scouting reports, there were 1,400 Fire Nation soldiers making their way into the valley towards several Land of Fire towns. They either needed to be held back, or stopped.

Ryusen's force was dispatched to prevent the Fire Nation advance. However, he…proved to be somewhat difficult to talk to.

"I do not care, Tsunade-sama, I cannot hold off waiting for your…teams to arrive! We need to attack to catch these Fire Nation wannabes off guard!"

On the other end of the radio, Tsunade growled in frustration. "Ryusen-san…if you go in without proper intelligence, you don't know what they have in advance!"

"We have more than enough troops to wipe out their position…"

Another grunt of frustration was heard. "Ryusen, you are neglecting the intelligence about these firebenders! You're going to lead your troops into a…bzz…you…bzz…me!"

"Oh, what was that, Tsunade-sama? You're breaking up…" Ryusen said as he purposely adjusted the channel to create static. "Well, Tsunade-sama, I'm going to break off from you now…"

With that, he shut off the radio with a small laugh. Hiroue, the General's second in command pursed his lips. "Ryusen-sama, shouldn't you wait for Shinobi…"

"We don't need shinobi aid, Hiroue, and you will do well to remember that. We will defeat these Fire Nation upstarts, and I shall gain favor with the Daimyo," Ryusen cut him off, picking up his helmet. "Organize the men."

"Yes…Ryusen-sama…" Hiroue said reluctantly, putting on his helmet and exiting the tent.

On the outskirts of the camp, two Fire Nation scouts sent messenger hawks back to their base, to tell the commander to prepare for battle. They watched as the samurai organized their army to six companies of four hundred men each. They watch as General Ryusen rides out with a company of 50 horsemen.

At the Fire Nation camp, the smaller army began to prepare for the Samurai onslaught. Hiding their Firebenders, 500 in all, divided into companies of 250 in the woods, the main bulk of the Infantry made a buffer. They would surround the Land of Fire's samurai force in a pincer movement, whittling down their numbers to almost nothing. Then the tanks, numbering 120 units, would come in and finish the samurai off.

The Samurai Army marched towards the Fire Nation Army, with the confident General Ryusen leading them. The sound of swords being drawn were heard from the samurai position, as well as the twinge of arrows being loaded onto the longbows that the samurai archers were carrying, and the sound of the Fire Nation troops drawing their weapons was heard. The standard Fire Nation infantry was armed with polearms called guandao for their standard weapon, and for their secondary were swords called a dao.

Ryusen raised his sword up high as the archers leveled their weapons. "Wait for it…fire!"

He dropped his sword in a vertical slash as a command, and the archers let loose with a volley of arrows. They arrows slammed into the front of the Fire Nation line, and the soldiers grunted as their armor was penetrated by the arrows. Several men fell over dead, and were replaced by the line behind. The archers launched another volley, decimating the second line.

The cries of pain and the smell of blood quickly filled the valley, and Ryusen looked on confidently. "Now…men…charge! Push them out of our country!"

The samurai yelled a war cry, charging at the reforming Fire Nation line. The first company slammed into the reforming Fire Nation line, and began hacking away. Samurai met Fire Nation soldier, and the result was bloody. Limbs were chopped off; soldiers and samurai alike were stabbed, skewered, or impaled. In response to the charge, the Fire Nation soldiers thrust their guandao's into the nearest samurai. Blood squirted out as the samurai were killed, being tossed off the axe-spears.

"Keep pushing them back!" Ryusen ordered as he made his cavalry charge to support the infantry.

The superior numbers amassed at the Fire Nation line made them start giving way, being pushed back and losing ground. Ryusen smirked as he hacked off a Fire Nation soldier's arm, then he beheaded him, letting the blood soak his armor. The samurai had cut a bloody swath threw nearly a third of the Fire Nation's center, and they were prepared to go even further…

Then a massive fireball slammed into the Fire Country Samurai's flank. Ryusen's head snapped to see what looked like Fire Nation reinforcements. Several of the Fire Nation soldiers threw out punches, which launched torrents of explosive flame into the right flank of the Samurai position.

"Stay firm men!" Ryusen ordered as he tried to calm his horse as it neighed and lifted its legs up. "Calm…"

Suddenly, several more blasts of flame exploded into the left flank of the Samurai Army. Cries of pain were heard when the blasts of fire exploded. In the confusion, the back line of the Fire Nation army took out several glass vials with a purple liquid and a lit the wick sticking out of the cork. They tossed the vials into the Samurai front, obliterating several of them with a few blasts.

The color drained from Ryusen's face when he realized how much he was caught. He tried to rally his men, ordering another archery barrage. The archers managed to hit several firebenders and troops, but it still wasn't enough to change the tide now. He growled, charging forward on his horse, slashing at the Fire Nation troops under him, liberating them of their heads or arms.

One guandao was thrust into his horse, making it neigh in pain and he was thrown off. Rolling, he brought out his wakizashi, and began to fight his way towards the grenadiers. He blocked the axe-staffs; stabbed and slashed his way threw the now never-ending numbers of Fire Nation soldiers. A blast of fire slammed into his side, and he rolled out of the way, panting and spitting out blood. The color drained out of his face again when one of the vials landed at his feet, and exploded!

"Ryusen-sama!" Hiroue and several Samurai called out as their leader was blown up from the waist down. He could tell that the General was dead, and he turned to the survivors. "Everyone fall back before they box us in!"

And so, the retreat began. Several samurai were cut down, burned to death, or blown up in the retreat. The smell of death was rank in the air. Hiroue ordered the archers to cover the retreat, providing much needed covering fire.

Eventually, during the retreat, the survivors met up with the teams sent to support them. Sai, Kiba with Akamaru, and Shino formed Team One, while Team 10 had come as backup for them. Choji of team ten increased his size and began using his staff to bat the Fire Nation pursuers away. Eventually, the Fire Nation retreated before the Ninja could really cut loose.

The surviving Samurai were escorted back to Konoha; the entire army was almost gone. From 2,400 soldiers, there were only 120 left. When they arrived at the village, the hospital was on full standby to receive the injured…

Tsunade growled in anger again. "That moron, Ryusen! If he hadn't been so arrogant, that battle could have been won!"

"I know…Tsunade-sama," Shizune said as the Hokage sat down in the chair with a plop. "The survivors are healing now. Most are practically begging to be sent back out onto the front."

"Tell them they are staying here until they are fit for combat," Tsunade said with a sigh. "Get me on the line with the Daimyo. The only way to win this war is if military command is passed from the capital to Konoha."

"Hai, Hokage-sama!" Shizune yelled, as she ran off to find the nearest phone for the leader of the village.

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Earth Kingdom, Ba Sing Se, Palace

Appa let out his trademark guttural roar as Aang pushed on his reins to start the descent to the ground. They landed, and the Earth King's soldiers came and took the flying bison to a stable to be fed and watered. The group walked into the throne room, and Kurenai couldn't help but marvel at the size of the building, and of the city.

They entered the Earth King's throne room, and Aang explained his visions, both of which were Hinata and Katara in danger. "Katara and Hinata are fine, you have nothing to worry about," the Earth King told them.

"But…in my visions...I felt so sure they were both in danger," Aang said stepping forward.

"Well they met with the Council of Generals to plan the invasion, and since then, they've been off with your friends, the Kiyoshi Warriors," the Earth King told him after rubbing his chin.

"See Aang, they're with Suki, they're probably back at our apartment right now talking about makeup or something," Sokka said with a smile, starting to think nothing was wrong.

"…okay…maybe you're right," Aang said as Kakashi stepped forward, since he wasn't convinced.

"Do you know where Sakura-chan and Tenzou are? Probably they can tell us more," Kakashi asked as he stepped forward.

"Sakura said something about two Firebenders already being in the city, but nothing was found, she went back to your apartment with Yamato," The Earth King replied. "Trust me, if there was any danger at all, Bosco's animal instincts would sense it."

Bosco lifted his head up and gave a low, questioning growl, as if he didn't know what his master was talking about. A sweat drop appeared behind Naruto, Kakashi, and Kurenai's heads, noticing the bear might not be a good danger detector…

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Ba Sing Se Crystal Catacombs

Katara walked threw the brightly light catacombs of the city above. She was looking for Hinata, since she had a feeling she was tossed in there too. Once she found her friend, they'd both be able to escape together. She then looked to see Hinata, propped up with her eyes closed under a rock pillar.

"Hinata!" Katara yelled as she ran over to her friend, and she shook her gently. "Wake up!"

She could tell Hinata was breathing, but she wouldn't wake up. She popped the cork on her flask, and she bent the water out onto her hands, and she put them on the Hyuuga's body to see what was wrong with her.

'That's strange…I'm not seeing any physical damage…she's already healed from what knocked her out initially…' Katara thought, withdrawing her hands.

"She is suffering from the effects of my genjutsu, girl, I had just finished putting her threw another interrogation," a male voice said from behind Katara, and she spun around, ready to fight with the limited water she had. Her jaw lowered slightly when she saw the young man's…piercing red eyes with strange marks on them. "She will be conscious again in twenty minutes."

"Y-You…were with Azula up there…" Katara started, trying to shake off her fear of being looked at by those eyes. "Who are you…why do you have…the Sharingan like Kakashi?"

The man's brow furrowed. "I am Uchiha Sasuke, and you don't need to know more."

With that, Sasuke started to leave. Katara growled, and she formed the water in her hand into icicles, and tossed them at the Uchiha. Sasuke seemed to let himself be hit in the back by three of the icicles, and the Waterbender grinned…until his body started change into a giant mass of green, and…dissolved into thousands of snakes. Katara felt bile welling up in her stomach after seeing that, and the snakes slithered away, then they puffed into smoke.

'That's…the creepiest thing I ever saw…' Katara thought as she looked up to the rock opening of the prison, seeing two Dai Li agents.

"You got company," The Dai Li agent told her roughly…pushing…Prince Zuko in.

The Fire Prince grunted as he tumbled down the hole, and Katara gasped. "Zuko!"

Zuko managed to get onto his knees, and he looked up at the now angry Waterbender. He glanced over at Hinata's unconscious form, and a spark of recognition hit him, he knew that girl, and the friend she was with…. The Dai Li agents slowly moved the opening, leaving the three alone.

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Upper Ring of Ba Sing Se, Avatar Residence

Appa landed with a bump on the tiles of the road, and the group disembarked off the flying bison's back and head. They ran into the house, hoping to find all three girls and Yamato there. When they got in, Momo flew onto Aang's shoulder, and Naruto looked up to see Sakura running into the room.

"Momo!"

"Katara-chan, Hinata-chan…" Sakura started, looking at the group. "What are you doing back here already?"

"…Aang…he told us Katara-chan was in trouble…and we found out Hinata-chan was too…" Naruto said, squeezing his fists.

Sakura looked at him, then Aang. "I knew Katara and Hinata were in trouble!" Aang said.

"The last time I saw them was before we got to a tea house…then we split up," Sakura told them, and Kakashi's sleepy eye looked at his former student.

"Where's Tenzou?" Kakashi asked Sakura.

"He told me he was going to watch the Dai Li, in case they try anything," Sakura replied as Toph felt two things at the door.

"Wait, someone's at the door," Toph interjected, pointing at the door of the house and walking over as it knocked. "Actually, I know who it is. It's an old friend of mine," she opened the door, revealing…general Iroh, his hands in his sleeves. "Good to see you again!"

"Mushi? Damn, it's been a while," Naruto said, remembering the old man's alias.

He smiled at the two, and then his expression turned grave. "I need your help."

Toph waved with a grin on her face next to Naruto, but Sokka and Aang screamed in surprise as they held up their hands.

"You guys know each other?" Aang asked accusingly at his blond friend and blind earthbending teacher.

"I met him in the woods once and knocked him down, and then he gave me tea and some very good advice," Toph explained casually as Iroh bent down.

"And Hinata-chan and I met him when we went out for the day two weeks ago, he gave us some really good tea," Naruto said with a grin.

"May I come in?" Iroh asked as the blind Earthbender nodded, and he walked into the room.

Kakashi looked at him. "Ah, you're the same old man I met in the marketplace nearly two weeks ago…"

The veteran smirked, took a deep breath and began. "Princess Azula is here in Ba Sing Se."

"She has captured Katara!" Aang snapped.

"And Hinata-chan too…" Naruto said a little more calmly than his friend.

"And my nephew as well," Iroh finished and the young Avatar looked at him.

"Then we'll work together rescue Hinata, Katara, and Zuko," Aang surmised, and Naruto nodded, but Sokka started walking towards them with his hands up.

"Whoa there, you lost me at 'Zuko'," Sokka said as he walked forward to the old General.

"I know how you must feel about my nephew, but believe me when I tell you there is good inside him," Iroh told the young Water Tribe warrior, grasping him on the shoulder.

"Good inside him isn't enough!" Sokka retorted, pulling the old general's hands off his shoulders. "Why don't you come back when it's outside him too, okay?"

"Katara-chan and Hinata-chan are in danger, Sokka, all of Ba Sing Se is in danger, we have to work together with this guy, it's our best chance," Naruto interjected, and Sokka sighed in resignation.

"I brought someone along who might be able to help us," Iroh told them with a smirk, and he walked out of the house to a captured Dai Li Agent.

Toph threw her hands out and stomped once, making pillars of rock jut out of the ground and pin the agent in standing position. He gave a small yelp as the group walked over to him to start asking him questions.

Iroh took off the cloth that was being used to stop his cries for help, and he immediately caved. "Azula and Long Feng are plotting a coup; they're going to overthrow the Earth King!"

"My sister, where is she?" Sokka asked angrily, pointing his sword at the Agent. "Where are they keeping Katara?"

"And Hinata-chan too…" Naruto added, his eyes narrowing and his pupils turned red and his whisker marks widened.

"In the crystal catacombs of Ba Sing Se, deep beneath the palace," the agent replied immediately, and the group ran off.

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Earth Kingdom Palace, Long Feng's Cell

A single Dai Li lieutenant reported to his leader in the prison complex of Ba Sing Se. Long Feng sat with his legs crossed in his cell, meditating. The Agent took a few quick looks around; to be sure no one was listening in.

"The movements of all the generals in the Earth Kingdom have been plotted out step by step."

"Good…and the Fire Nation Princess is cooperating?"

"Oh yes, more than cooperating, she's really taken charge," the Agent replied, looking into the cell. "She's terrifying and inspirational at the same time, it's…hard to explain."

With that, the Agent began to walk off, leaving his leader to contemplate the effect that Azula was having on his men. He began to think of a plan to double cross her. Little did he know, his support was starting to dwindle in the ranks of his agency.

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Crystal Catacombs

Zuko looked down at the ground as Katara loomed over him, barely able to control her anger. He glanced up to see the unconscious Hinata, remembering her and Naruto from the tea shop. He briefly thought how she had gotten mixed up with this.

"Why did they throw you in here?" Katara asked, breaking the silence as she stomped about. "Oh, wait, let me guess, it's a trap. So when Aang and Naruto show up to help us, you can finally have Aang in your little Fire Nation clutches!"

Zuko glanced back, thinking a retort, but Naruto's name seemed to make him pause. Instead of talking, he just turned back and looked at the same spot he was before.

"You're a terrible person you know that?" Katara snapped, looking at him with venom in her eyes. "Always following us, hunting the Avatar, trying to capture the world's last hope for peace? But what do you care? You're the Fire Lord's son, spreading war and violence and hatred is in your blood."

"…you don't know what you're talking about," Zuko retorted calmly, glancing back at her with his scarred eye.

"I don't? How dare you, you have no idea what this war has put me through, me personally!" Katara yelled, pacing in a circle before sitting on the ground and pulling her legs up, and she began crying as she put her hand on her choker. "The Fire Nation too my mother away from me!"

Zuko looked at her, and for the first time…actually found some common ground. "I'm sorry…." He started as she wept, and he turned around slightly. "That's something we have in common." Katara looked up in surprise at that, and she wiped her eyes from the tears on her face.

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Palace, right above the Catacombs

Toph had knelt down on the stone pathway in front of the massive staircase of the palace. The others were getting ready, Naruto was checking his kunai and shuriken reserves, Aang was talking with Iroh, Kurenai and Kakashi were getting the radio network set up, Sakura was pulling her gloves on, and Sokka had taken out his whale-tooth sword. Appa was just standing there with Momo on his horn.

"Well what do you know, there is an ancient city down there," Toph told everyone, a bit surprised that the Dai Li agent was telling the truth. Sakura walked over to help make the path. "It's deep."

"Not too deep for us," Sakura grinned at her Earthbending teacher. The two young women stepped back, throwing their hands out, and the stones rippled and moved until there was a cratered hole in the Earth.

"We should split up," Sokka said, after taking his hand off his chin. "Naruto, Aang, you go with Iroh to look for Katara, Hinata, and the angry jerk, no offense."

"None taken," Iroh said with a smile.

"And I'll go with Toph and Sakura to warn the Earth King of Azula's coup…" Sokka started.

"And we'll scour the city with Yamato-san, when we find him, and try to save the Generals from the Dai Li," Kurenai suggested, and Kakashi and the young Water Tribe warrior nodded.

A little while later, Naruto, Aang, and Iroh were walking down the tunnel that Sakura and Toph had started. The former General had used his firebending to create a small, candle-size ball of flame in his hand to light their way. When they got to the wall of Earth that was still between them, Aang stomped his foot and moved his hand, pushing it back quite a bit.

"When I saw you in the tea shop, I had no idea you were from the Fire Nation, Ojisan," Naruto said with a grin behind Iroh, who also grinned. "You're nothing like the psycho bitch or the soldiers inside the drill."

"I'll take that as a compliment, Naruto," Iroh said goodheartedly. "It was also a bit of a shock that you were with the Avatar, and we had no idea of that."

Naruto shrugged, smirking. They began to walk down further into the hole.

"So…Toph thinks you give good advice…and great tea," Aang started, rubbing the back of his head as he walked next to the former admiral.

"The key to both is proper aging, what's on your mind?"

Aang momentarily stopped, moving his arms and then he pushed out, pushing the earth back again. "Well…I met with this Guru who is suppose to help me master the Avatar State…and control this great power. But to do it, I had to let go of someone I love…and I just couldn't."

Naruto stopped, hearing what Aang just said as they got to the wall. "Protection and power are overrated, I think you are very wise to chose happiness and love," Iroh told him as he pushed the earth back some more.

"But what happens if we can't save everyone and I can't beat Azula? Without the Avatar State, what if I'm not powerful enough?" Aang asked the old general, feeling doubt welling him his body.

"I don't know the answer, sometimes life is like this dark tunnel, we can't always see the light at the end of the tunnel, but if you just keep moving…" Iroh said as the young Avatar pushed out his hands, and luminous green light started shining through, and finally the wall of Earth exploded back, revealing the Catacombs, and he put out the flame in his hand. "…you will come to a better place."

"Aang," Naruto said finally, making Iroh and Aang look at him. "Even though you didn't master the Avatar State, you have the strength to beat Azula, Ozai, or whoever…" he looked down for a second. "During my first real mission…I met someone who viewed himself as a tool, a weapon that only someone could use, yet he was content, happy, because he had a purpose…protecting the person who was most precious to him…"

"…then what happened?" Aang asked the young jinchuuriki who was like his elder brother.

"…it was after training I met him. His name was Haku, and he was picking herbs to make a healing salve. He asked me why I was training so hard, and after I told him I wanted to get strong, he told me I seemed strong enough, but I wanted to be even stronger than that," Naruto continued, giving a sigh as he remembered the person who inspired his nindo, who could have been a friend if circumstances or fate wasn't cruel. "He smiled at me, and then asked me if I had anyone precious to protect. I told him that I didn't know, and he smiled again, telling me that true strength comes from protecting the people precious to you…that, that would be the only true way of getting strong…"

Aang nodded slowly, taking what Naruto said in. "You have many people to protect, Aang, many of which are precious to you…so you'll be okay," Naruto finished, flashing his trademark smile.

"…what happened to Haku?" Aang asked, and Naruto sighed.

"He died, protecting his precious person from Kakashi-sensei's attack. After he died, his master, Zabuza, a missing-nin from Kiri, went on a rampage to get to his former employer, Gato, who disrespected Haku's corpse," Naruto replied, and he looked down again. "Both of them died that day…and I decided that I didn't want to be a tool as well, that no ninja should be tools for other people…so I came up with the nindo of never giving up…and eventually protecting people."

Iroh nodded slowly. "A difficult, but rewarding path you are on, Naruto."

The jinchuuriki grinned and nodded at the compliment. The three started to walk further into the catacombs, searching for their friends.

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Earth Kingdom Palace

Above the catacombs, group two had made it up the stairs of the palace. Momo chattered behind them as he flew up. Sakura, Sokka, and Toph made it to the top stair, and the young Water Tribe warrior saw General How making his way out of the throne room past the pillars.

"There's General How!" Sokka yelled, but then he held up his hand to stop Toph. Sakura stopped automatically, and narrowed her eyes.

'Two Dai Li…' Sakura thought as she ducked behind a pillar, and she began to pull on her gloves. "When should we move, Sokka?"

"Not yet…" Sokka replied, taking out his boomerang.

The Dai Li Agents then leapt down from the pillars, and shot out their hands, sending chains flying towards the General. They latched onto his wrists, and began pulling back, restricting his bending. How growled and struggled against the two agents, and a third leapt down from the ceiling.

"What's going on here!" How snapped at the Agent.

"You're under house arrest," the Dai Li agent replied.

"The coups happening right now…" Sokka whispered nervously to Toph.

"Well this part is about to end," Sakura said, rushing in with her fist cocked. A Dai Li Agent looked as she slammed her fist into the agent standing in front of How, delivering a powerful blow that sent him flying.

A rock then jutted out at the one on the left, slamming into his chin. Finally a blue boomerang arched down, slamming into the last agent's head. Sakura formed chakra into her hands, and she shattered the chains that bound the General.

"No time to explain, How-sama. Just get out of the city as fast as you can, Ba Sing Se won't be safe," Sakura told him, and the general nodded, still a little shocked at the attack from the Dai Li.

"Now lets go warn the Earth King!" Sokka told them after Sakura had tied up the three unconscious agents.

They ran into the Throne Room, not knowing that the coup was going on as planned. All four of the remaining generals were captured in various parts of the city, and then they were taken away to a location to be locked up. Finally, they reached the Throne Room, seeing two out of the three 'Kiyoshi Warriors' standing at one part of the room, then the King on the Throne with Bosco laying at his feet.

"Thank goodness we're in time!" Sokka yelled as one of the 'Warriors' glanced back at the Water Tribe Warrior.

"In time for what?" The King asked.

"Yeah? What are you in time for…" one Kiyoshi Warrior asked, before hand springing towards Sokka, landing right in front of him. "…cutie?"

"Uh…I'm kind of involved with Suki…" Sokka told her, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Who?" the 'Warrior' asked, before Toph turned throwing out her hands, and then she stomped, sending a pillar of rock at the faux warrior, who back flipped in mid-air and landed on the badgermole statue.

"They're not the real Kiyoshi Warriors!" Toph told them.

The Earth King gasped, as the other Warrior, now clearly seen as Mai, tossed several butterfly shuriken at the three. Sakura took out her own shuriken and tossed them into the path of the Weapon's Mistress, and they clanged as they were deflected at each other. Toph stomped her feet and launched a slab of the floor at Mai, who jumped to leap over it, but was sent flying by a pillar shooting up from underneath her.

Ty Lee however went after Sokka giggling. She began throwing jabs at him, aiming for his tenkatsus. "Ooh, it looks like we're dancing together!" she squealed as the Water Tribe warrior avoided another blow.

"Sokka, move out of the way!" Sakura yelled from above him, and he glanced up to see her foot cocked in a type of kick. "Tsuuten Kyaku (Painful Sky Kick)!"

Sokka rolled out of the way and Ty Lee started to cartwheel away before the pink haired kunoichi's heel slammed into the ground. The resulting impact made her…lose balance as the ground cratered…all the way down to three meters deep and nine meters wide! Sokka, Ty Lee, Mai, the Earth King, and even Toph gaped at Sakura's insane strength.

"This fight is over," a voice said from the throne. Sakura, Sokka, and Toph looked up to see Azula standing right behind the Earth King, a blue flame flickering over her fingers. Two Dai Li guards stood by, having just arrived.

Begrudgingly, Sakura, Toph, and Sokka lifted up their hands in defeat. Ty Lee jumped in, hitting their pressure points and knocking them out. Momo flew around in panic, and one of the Dai Li just shot out his hand, sending his glove flying out and it opened and wrapped around the winged lemur, making Momo drop to the ground, bound.

"Get them all out of my sight," Azula said coldly as she pushed the Earth King away, and Sasuke dropped off of the ceiling.

He glanced at Sakura, being dragged away by two Dai Li as Ty Lee and Mai dragged Toph and one other agent dragged off Sokka, and one escorted the King and his bear. The Uchiha started to leave as Long Feng entered the throne room with a battalion of Agents at his back. Azula's eyes narrowed seeing the leader of the Dai Li in front of her.

"Now comes the part where I double-cross you," Long Feng told her calmly as he crossed his hands behind his back, and then looked up. "Dai Li, arrest the Fire Nation Princess!" When the Dai Li didn't budge, he turned around. "I said, arrest her!" When they still didn't move, he growled and pointed. "What's wrong with you?"

"It's because they haven't made up their minds, they are waiting to see how this is going to end," Azula replied confidently, knowing the Dai Li's divided loyalties.

"What are you talking about?" Long Feng snapped at her in disbelief.

"I can see your whole history in your eyes, you were born with nothing, so you had to struggle, and connive, and claw your way to power. But true power, the divine right to rule; it's something you're born with," Azula told him with contempt, her eyes narrowing. "The fact is they don't know which one of us will be sitting on that throne, and which one is going to be bowing down! But I know, and you know." She then walked backwards and sat on the throne gracefully, and then she crossed her legs. "Well?"

Long Feng did the unexpected; he walked over to the throne and knelt before Azula. "You have beaten me at my own game."

"Don't flatter yourself, you were never even a player," Azula told him with contempt, and then the coup was finally complete.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Crystal Catacombs of Ba Sing Se

Katara had knelt before Hinata, checking to see if she was going to come to soon. She looked up to Zuko. She stood up, and put her hands behind her back sheepishly. The Hyuga groaned, indicating she would become conscious again soon.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you before."

"It doesn't matter," Zuko assured her, looking away.

"It's just that, for so long now, when I would imagine the face of the enemy, it was your face," Katara continued, and the Fire Prince looked down at the ground, and she glanced at him.

"My face? I see…" Zuko said as he turned away, putting his hand over his scar.

"No, that's not what I meant…" Katara told him, walking towards him.

"Its okay, I used to think this scar marked me, the mark of the banished prince, cursed to chase the Avatar forever, but lately, I realized I'm free to determine my own destiny, even if I'm not free of my mark," Zuko told her in an almost enlightened voice.

"…maybe you could be free of it," Katara suggested, remembering the item Master Pakku had given her.

"…what?"

"I have healing abilities," Katara told him.

"It's a scar, it can't be healed," Zuko retorted, and the young Waterbender reached to her neck and pulled out a little vial.

"This is water from the Spirit Oasis in the North Pole, it has special properties so I've been saving it for something important," Katara told him as she walked to him. "I don't know if it would work, but…"

Zuko nodded, and he closed his eyes. If it worked, he would be very grateful to his former enemy. Hinata groaned again, and her eyes fluttered open as Katara placed her hand on the Prince's scar. Suddenly, a rumble began to be heard coming from the stone and crystal walls behind them and it suddenly exploded. All three of them looked back to see dust billowing out of the large hole, and there was Aang and Naruto there, as well as General Iroh.

"Aang, Naruto!" Katara yelled in joy and relief, running over to both of them.

"N-Naruto-kun…?" Hinata asked in a groggy voice, and as her Waterbending Teacher hugged the young Avatar, Naruto ran over to her.

"Hinata-chan…!" Naruto yelled, dropping to her side and wrapping his arms around her. "Are you alright?"

Hinata returned the hug, and she smiled. "I'm better, Naruto-kun…and…it was Sasuke who did this to me…"

Naruto nodded as he helped his girlfriend up. "I know, Aang used a spirit technique he used to find out you were in trouble."

He looked over to Zuko, who was being hugged by Iroh. He noticed that the Prince and the Avatar were glaring at each other.

"Aang, I knew you would come," Katara said happily as she hugged Aang again.

"Uncle, I don't understand, what are you doing here with the Avatar?"

"Saving you, that's what," Aang replied smartly, and Zuko growled and started to lunge at him, only to be restrained by his uncle.

"Zuko, it's time we talked," Iroh told his nephew sternly, and he looked over at Aang, Naruto, Katara, and Hinata. "Go help your other friends, we'll catch up to you."

Aang bowed in thanks, and Naruto flashed his trademark smile. "You better, Ojiisan!"

With that, the group began to leave. Katara looked back, wondering what change Zuko had gone threw, since he wasn't pursuing. She disappeared into the tunnel behind her friends.

"Why, Uncle?"

"You're not the man you used to be, Zuko," Iroh replied simply. "You are stronger and wiser and freer than you have ever been, and you have come to the crossroads of your destiny. It's time for you to choose, it's time for you to choose good."

Suddenly the ground rumbled and the crystals under them grew and expanded, trapping Iroh in a bunch of clear rock spikes. They both looked over to see…Azula, Sasuke, who immediately took off in the direction the Avatar and Naruto had fled, and two Dai Li agents slid down the embankment into the prison area.

"I expected this kind of treachery from uncle, but you, Zuko, Prince Zuko, you're a lot of things, but you're not a traitor," Azula said in contempt, walking towards her brother and restrained Uncle. "Are you?"

"Release him immediately!" Zuko commanded in anger.

"It's not too late for you Zuko, you can still redeem yourself," Azula told him unexpectedly, making his eyes widen momentarily.

"The kind of redemption she offers is not for you!"

"Why don't you let him decide, Uncle? I need you, Zuko; I plotted and planned every move of this day, this glorious day in Fire Nation History. And the only way we win is together. At the end of this day, you will have your honor back, you will have father's love, you will have everything you want," Azula tempted him.

"Zuko, I am begging you, look into your heart and see what it is that you truly want," Iroh told him gently, and Zuko looked over at him, then at the ground and he closed his eyes.

"You're free to choose," Azula said as she raised her hand, and the Dai Li stamped their feet and raised their hands, sealing off the exit as she walked off.

Zuko looked down, conflicted what he should do. Should he side with his sister, earning his father's love, or side with the Avatar, helping end the war…? He didn't know, and struggled to make one of the most important choices of his entire life.

Naruto and Hinata, they had split up with Aang and Katara to throw off any pursuit in case the Dai Li found out about the escape, and ran threw the underground passageways of the Crystal Catacombs. They were trying to find a way out, since the way was blocked by Dai Li. Next to them was a large canal, carrying vast amounts of water throughout the entire underground city. Suddenly, a massive blast of fire slammed into their path. The blond jinchuuriki pulled his girlfriend down, to avoid the explosion. Naruto's eyes widened, seeing his former best friend standing up on a crystal, his Sharingan eyes blazing.

"Sasuke…" Naruto growled as the Uchiha leapt down from the crystal, landing on his feet and drawing his chokuto from his back. "You hurt my Hinata-chan…damn it…if it wasn't for the promise I made to Sakura-chan, I'd be killing you right now."

"…big talk," Sasuke stated, looking at Hinata as she sunk into a Jyuken stance, and the Uchiha smirked. "Planning on fighting me together?"

Naruto glanced back at Hinata, and as if she predicted what he was going to say, she shook her head. "Naruto-kun, I'm not running. Sasuke is strong, and you'll need help to beat him."

Sasuke looked at her with emotion devoid from his face. "If you think you can help him, then Naruto will surely die by my hand."

"Shut up, teme!" Naruto snapped, drawing a kunai. "Alright, Hinata-chan, we both take him together."

Hinata smiled at that, not only because Naruto was acknowledging her strength, once again, but he seemed to know that he might need help beating his former best friend. The jinchuuriki was determined on using his own strength, instead of the demon fox, in fighting the fallen Uchiha.

The fight seemed to start in slow motion. Sasuke leapt into the air, throwing out a kick and a blue blast of flame was thrown out. Naruto leapt back, copying the defensive movements he had been taught to by Aang, waving his hands in a circle and drawing the air around them, to make a shield of wind. It deflected most of the blast, but he flew back, finally landing on his feet after a back flip.

Hinata ran towards the canal to start helping Naruto. She leapt onto the water, lifted her hands, and bent a massive wave of water at the Uchiha. Sasuke momentarily dropped his sword and began doing the hand seals of horse and tiger. Pulling his hand to his face, he took a deep breath.

"Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu (Fire Release: Grand Fireball Technique)!" Sasuke called out, breathing a massive ball of flame into the wave. The two elements collided with each other, exploding into steam.

"Kage Bushin no Jutsu!" Naruto called out, making 15 clones. They all took out their kunai and charged the Uchiha.

Sasuke lifted his chokuto again, and began to engage all the clones and Naruto in a massive melee. Whenever a clone tried to block the Uchiha's blade with his kunai, the knife usually ended up either breaking, shattering, or being sliced clean threw. Because of this, many clones were dispelled in the first few seconds.

Naruto roared, rallying his remaining clones to him. Hinata leapt off the water, bending a few gallons out with her, and she prepared to do Katara's favorite style-Octopus Form. The water landed around her in a circle, and she used her chakra to make it form long, but thick, arms. Naruto decided to go in with his clones, charging again as the Hyuuga prepared to cover him.

Sasuke prepared himself for another assault, gently putting his left hand on the hilt of his sword, and he spread his legs out into a more defensive style. His eyes analyzed Hinata's style as Naruto closed in. He prepared himself for another round of melee combat when the jinchuuriki and his clones just threw up their hands. A wave of air came up from all of them, battering the Uchiha and pushing him back.

'So this must be the airbending that Azula had spoke of…' Sasuke thought as he narrowed his eyes. When two of the clones got close, he opened them. "Chidori Nagashi (One Thousand Birds Current)!"

The clones were hit by the blast of paralyzing electric chakra, exploding into nothingness as their bodies were overloaded. However, as soon as Sasuke deactivated his attack, two clones burst out of the ground and…actually landed two punches on his face. He looked surprised and shocked, but Naruto grinned cockily.

"You haven't been the only one training for two years, teme! I've gotten even better with my clones and how to use them!"

Sasuke snarled, but he leapt out of the way as a tentacle of water shot at him. He rolled to the ground, throwing out his fist to send a bolt of flame at Hinata. The Hyuuga waved her hands and the tentacles responded, blocking the blast of flame. The Uchiha was starting to lose patience as his blast turned into nothing but smoke from the water.

'She's in her element, I see, that's why she's stronger here than in the throne room when she just had a limited amount of water…' Sasuke thought as Hinata glared at him.

"Sasuke, give up. Between myself and Naruto-kun, you can't win," Hinata told him seriously, but a small, confident smirk appeared on the Uchiha's face.

"We're just getting started, Hyuuga," Sasuke retorted. 'If fire doesn't work against her…'

He held up his hand, and electricity sparkled into it. Suddenly, it formed into several…thin spikes. He tossed them, and Hinata's eyes widened-he had decided to switch from fire to lightning to deal with her. However, before the senbon lightning spikes could hit her, Naruto ordered two of his remaining clones to intercept the attack.

Sasuke gritted his teeth, and launched another barrage. Naruto pulled his arms back, and then he pushed them out at the same time, sending a blast of air into the lightning senbon. The senbon were rattled and finally redirected by the wind, slamming into a crystal and shattering it. The Jinchuuriki then took out a scroll.

"Hinata-chan, cover me," Naruto said, doing three hand seals before opening the scroll. Suddenly, in a puff of smoke, a kodachi came out, and Hinata nodded. 'His kusanagi chokuto may have the reach of a katana, but it's not as fast. Using this I hope I can actually land some more hits…and beat him without using the Fuuton: Rasengan yet…I have to get him to use the Chidori…'

With that, Naruto charged, holding his new blade up high in a vertical position, ready to drop it down in a slash. Sasuke lifted his chokuto up to block the kodachi, and the blades clashed and clanged as they hit each other. Hinata froze some of the water in her tentacles, and shot them out as deadly spikes towards the Uchiha. Without even trying, Sasuke slashed threw the spikes, shattering them, and effortlessly blocked Naruto's blade.

Naruto swore, barely avoiding being hit by the chokuto. 'He's reading my every moment! There has to be a way to break threw his defense!'

Sasuke used that moment to charge his former teammate, slamming the butt of his sword into Naruto's face, making him tumble onto the ground as blood flew out of his mouth. Hinata's eyes widened as Sasuke flipped his sword so it was facing the ground and he lifted it high into the air to stab right threw Naruto's stomach.

Naruto's eyes widened, and he reacted quickly. Before Sasuke to plunge his sword down, the jinchuuriki kicked out his right leg, sending a blast of air which threw the Uchiha back. Naruto then spun, forming a dome of air around him before standing up. Sasuke growled, and was then slammed in the side by a wave of water.

'Damn it, I forgot about her,' Sasuke thought as he avoided several icy projectiles Hinata was now tossing at him.

Naruto roared, charging back into the fray. In one movement, Sasuke sheathed his sword and began doing the hand seals. "Katon: Housenka no Jutsu (Mythical Fire Phoenix Technique)!" Sasuke called out, taking a deep breath, and then he blew out multiple fireballs at Naruto.

"You're going to have to do better than that, Sasuke!" Naruto yelled, throwing out his hand and using the wind to blow out the flames…then his eyes widened when shuriken appeared in the flames.

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata called out, moving quickly into position. "Shugohakke Rokujuyon Sho (Protection of the Eight Trigrams, sixty-four palms of the hand)!"

She began moving her hands rapidly, and bolts of pure chakra shot out. Naruto was getting into defensive position to block the incoming shuriken…only to have them shot out of the air by Hinata's defense. Sasuke actually roared in frustration at that as his attack was defeated.

"Enough of this…" Sasuke snarled, his Cursed Seal activating. Hinata gasped when black marks that looked like fire began to spread across the Uchiha's body, and his chakra capacity nearly tripled. She heard Naruto gulp, and saw him clutching his blade nervously.

"Hinata-chan, be careful, he's activated his cursed seal…" Naruto said, tightening the grip on his blade.

Before Naruto could blink, Sasuke had appeared before him. His jaw slowly lowered as the Uchiha's fist slammed into his face. He cried as he slammed into a stalagmite, and it shattered. Hinata brought all her tentacles up to block the next assault as Sasuke flew through the hand seals.

"Katon: Karyuu Endan (Fire Dragon Projectile)," Sasuke said simply as he took a deep breath, and a massive blast of white flame shot out at her.

Quickly, she rose her hands up high to summon more water, but it wouldn't be enough. The fire slammed into her tentacles and temporary wall, burst threw losing some of its power, and slammed into her, making her crash into the water. When she screamed, Naruto pulled himself out of the debris that covered him.

"…you're going to pay for that!" Naruto roared, resisting the urge to use the Kyubi's chakra, and he charged Sasuke again.

The Uchiha threw out his chokuto and blocked the jinchuuriki's slash, and pushed him back. Hinata groaned as she got to her feet again, bending more water to her and reforming her tentacles. Sweat dropped down her forehead, and she wished she had some water jutsus to use.

Sasuke batted Naruto away again, twisting his arm a little bit, but it was enough to disarm his former comrade of his blade. The kodachi spun in midair and slammed into the ground about five meters away. Naruto glanced back, and his hands shot up.

"Kage Bushin no Jutsu!" Naruto called out, creating a dozen clones. A smirk appeared on Sasuke's face, and he flicked his blade. "Formation one, guys!"

"Got it!" the clones yelled as they ran around Sasuke, encasing him in a circle.

"…the Rendan? You're going to have to do better than that," Sasuke told him after predicting his next moves.

Naruto gritted his teeth, and all of his clones began pulling their arms back. The Uchiha raised an eyebrow, seeing the chakra being bent around the air, and he widened his stance. Suddenly, all 12 clones and the original threw their arms out in a down sweeping motion, creating a massive blast of wind around Sasuke, which began to push him up. The Uchiha gritted his teeth as he was launched into the air, but he managed to turn himself around to look down to see several of the clones missing. His eyes widened, realizing what they done, and he slowly looked up to see several of the clones and Naruto preparing to attack.

"Uzumaki Naruto Fuzei Rendan (Uzumaki Naruto Air Rendan)!" Naruto and his clones called out as they battered Sasuke with their fists and feet.

Blood flew out of the Uchiha's mouth as all the punches and kicks slammed into him, sending him crashing into the ground, impacting it hard, forming a crater. Sasuke groaned in anger and irritation, rising to his feet. His eyes then saw three tentacles of water lash out at him from Hinata's direction. He jumped into the air, formed chakra into his feet, and landed on the tentacles and began running towards the Hyuuga.

"You're becoming annoying…" Sasuke growled as he rose his blade into the air, preparing to strike Hinata down.

"I don't think so, Sasuke!" Naruto yelled as he was tossed by his clones, and he was launched at Sasuke.

Before the Uchiha could even reach Hinata, Naruto slammed into him, tackling him to the ground. The jinchuuriki pulled his fist back, and slammed it into Sasuke's face. Sasuke then roared, launching his hand and grabbing Naruto's neck, and he began to crush the jinchuuriki's windpipe.

"Naruto…die!" Sasuke roared, leaping to his feet and tossing his former comrade into a nearby rock wall. He did couple hand seals. "Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!"

He rose his hands and blew out a massive fireball at where Naruto had crashed. Naruto looked up. 'Oh…crap…this is going to hurt…'

The fireball slammed into Naruto as he attempted to form a bubble of wind to deflect it. Instead, it plowed threw his defense and slammed him threw the rock. Hinata's eyes widened.

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata yelled as she used her Byakugan to check where he was. She breathed a sigh of relief when he was starting to get up. His clothes were burned and he was covered in bruises and scratches, and blood was trickling down his lip, but other than that, he was okay. She then glanced at Sasuke, noticing his chakra levels were increasing.

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Ba Sing Se prison complex

Sokka's eyes darted left and right, looking for the guards. For some reason, the hallway was deserted. Sakura cracked her knuckles, waiting for the Water Tribe Warrior's signal.

"See any Dai Li Agents?" Toph asked in a whisper.

"All clear," Sokka replied after a few more looks. The young Earthbender cracked her fingers after she stopped leaning on the wall, and walked to the door.

She put her hands on the metal, feeling for the Earth in it. She then bent it towards her, and the iron door began to creak and splinter after it was pulled off it's hinges. Toph then pushed out, and the door went flying to the side.

"Lets go!" Sakura and Sokka told them at the same time, pulling the Earth King out with them.

"I'm not leaving without Bosco!" The Earth King told them as he tried to keep his hat on his head.

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Ba Sing Se Catacombs

Sasuke finished roaring in frustration, and Naruto finally got to his feet. He chuckled weakly, putting his hand to his shoulder. Looking at the Uchiha, he gave his trademark smirk.

"One thing hasn't changed, Sasuke, you're still good," Naruto said as he straightened up. "But this time, I'll win."

"The only way you could do that, dobe, is if you use that damn foxes power," Sasuke said, as he began to taunt his former comrade.

Naruto gritted his teeth. "I don't need the bastard fox to beat you, Sasuke."

Sasuke grinned, and then did the hand seal sequence Naruto knew all too well. "Shall we test that out…?"

Naruto knew those seals all too well, and he threw out his own hand. As sparks began to gather in the Uchiha's palm and the sound of a thousand birds chirping was heard, chakra swirled in the jinchuuriki's palm until a compact ball of chakra that was constantly spinning appeared Naruto's hand. Sasuke and Naruto's eyes narrowed as their respective techniques finished charging up.

"Chidori!" Sasuke roared as he charged.

"Rasengan!" Naruto roared as he met the charge. 'I have to save the Fuuton: Rasengan as a trump…'

The two attacks slammed into each other, instantly splintering the ground underneath them. Hinata's eyes widened as she saw the power of their techniques collide, making the ground splinter, then crater, as they pushed against each other. Naruto bore his teeth as he tried to push Sasuke back, but due to the Cursed Seal, the Chidori was just too strong.

'Damn it!' Naruto thought, breaking the clash before the two colliding chakras could explode, and he slid his leg out and tried to duck to the side. Sasuke however, kept on charging, and the Chidori…it ripped threw the right side of his bicep near his shoulder like a hot knife threw butter, a fist-wide sized chunk was missing near his shoulder. "AH!"

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata called out as the man she loved rolled off to the side, clutching his arm. She drew more water out of the river and used it as a wave to go over to his side.

"I'm okay…Hinata-chan…" Naruto said between pants. He took his hand off his wound, and it was drenched with blood. Near his shoulder, the bicep was burnt and the wound was open, but it was already starting to heal, yet it was numb around the impact area. "Though at this rate…I'll only have one hand to use against him…like the last match…"

Hinata nodded, bringing the water to her hands. "I'll try to heal you; Katara-chan taught me a few things about Waterbending Healing…"

"No…I'll be alright," Naruto told her as her hands began glowing, and she gently applied the water to the wound. He winced, but a soothing sensation quickly replaced the pain.

"How is that?" Hinata asked as a little sweat dropped trickled down her forehead.

"Better…thanks," Naruto replied as he stood up next to her. "Though my arm's still numb…it feels like the time he nailed me with that Chidori Nagashi of his…"

Hinata nodded as Sasuke began to smirk. The Uchiha felt that victory was near, but he wanted to speed it up, he wanted to end his rival's life quickly. The cursed seal spread over his whole body, and his skin began to turn an ashy gray. His hair grew longer and spikier, and it turned a dull blue color. His canines grew into fangs, and his lips turned blue as a four pointed star mark appeared on the bridge of his nose. The whites around his eyes turned completely black, except for his Sharingan pupils. Finally…two horrific looking wings, which looked like hands, burst out of his back. Hinata's eyes widened, seeing the demonic look of Sasuke's Cursed Seal Level Two.

"This is about to end…I am not going to lose…" Sasuke told them as Naruto looked at his former comrade.

"…you may be stronger now, Sasuke…but…" Naruto said, glaring at the Uchiha. "You still haven't taken Sandaime's words to heart…you'll never gain true strength…"

Sasuke suppressed a laugh, and he flexed his wings. Balling his hands into fists, he watched as Hinata activated her Byakugan again, and drew the water around her. Naruto then clenched his remaining fist, knowing the battle was drawing to an end.

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Ba Sing Se Palace Throne Room

In the throne room, Mai and Ty Lee were still there, guarding the Earth King's bear, Bosco. The dreary girl was lounging on the steps to the throne while the cheery one was trying to encourage Bosco to do something.

"Come on, it's easy," Ty Lee told the bear gently as she put her hands to the ground, and lifted her legs up so she could start walking with her hands. "All you do is walk with your front paws instead of your back, like this!"

Suddenly, after a few steps, the earth rose up around her arms, encasing her hands. She then leaned forward, her feet touching down, and suddenly they were encased in rock again as well. Bosco clapped his hands as Mai and Ty Lee looked over to see that Toph, Sakura, Sokka, and the Earth King had broken out.

"You're right, that was a nice trick!" Toph said as she stomped her foot, levitating a rock and Sakura cracked her knuckles.

"Surely you'll have more to show us this time," Sakura added as she squeezed her fists, and Sokka got out his boomerang.

"…just take the bear," Mai told them, knowing they weren't going to win this fight.

The Earth King ran over and embraced the bear. "Bosco!"

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Lower Ring of Ba Sing Se

Kakashi sidestepped an rock glove and charged the agent. He threw out his hands in a few quick jabs making the Agent step back to avoid them. Suddenly Kurenai appeared from behind the agent in a flurry of cherry blossoms, and slit his throat. The agent, still avoiding the copy ninja's blows stumbled back as blood squirted out of his neck.

"Did you find out where they took General Sung?" Kakashi asked the female jounin.

"Sorry Kakashi, I didn't," Kurenai replied as she saw several more Agents coming out. "Any idea where Tenzou-kun is?"

"None, he probably already saw the coup happening and is probably infiltrating the Dai Li as we speak," Kakashi said as he brought out a kunai. "More of them will be coming. It'll be better to fall back to the upper ring now, and rendezvous with the others."

"Agreed…" Kurenai said as she began doing several hand seals of one of her signature genjutsus. "Kakou no Sakura (Fall of Cherry Blossoms)."

Cherry blossoms seemed to fall around Kakashi and Kurenai as the Agents reached them. By the time the Dai Li attacked, the two had already fled. The two Jounin leapt from building to building, making their way to the Inner Wall so they could cross into the Middle and Upper Rings.

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Ba Sing Se Crystal Catacombs

The sound of blows, explosions, and cries of pain echoed threw the caverns of the catacombs. Naruto's eyes bugged out as Sasuke's fist slammed into his gut, and blood flew out of his mouth as he was sent flying into the air. Hinata desperately tried to attack with her Jyuuken, launching her palm out. Yet the Uchiha's demonic wing shielded his body, then he flicked it out, making her fly in the direction of Naruto.

The jinchuuriki groaned as he rose to his feet. "Ouch…forgot how much Sasuke's punches hurt in that form…"

Hinata nodded with a groan. A little blood trickled down her bruised lip. "He's…strong Naruto-kun. Should we…withdraw? I don't think we can win."

"…that's not an option, Hinata-chan," Naruto told her gently, but sternly. "We have to bring him back now, or else Orochimaru will possess his body."

The Hyuuga nodded slowly, and she focused her Byakugan at Sasuke. "You're right, Naruto-kun…we have to beat him now, or never."

"We will…" Naruto said as he flashed his trademark smile. 'I'll defeat you, Sasuke…'

Sasuke began laughing. "Better use the Kyubi now, Naruto! Or else you'll stand no chance against me."

"Oh yeah, teme? If you're so strong, why aren't you finishing us off now?" Naruto asked him. "Is it because you can't? What was that about before, telling me that now you could 'end my life on a whim'?"

Sasuke gritted his teeth in frustration. "…so eager to die, are you? Fine…with your death, I'll finally get the power necessary to defeat Itachi…." He then began to do the hand seals, and lightning began to spark in his hand, then…it turned black. "Chidori…"

Naruto's eyes narrowed, recognizing what he was doing. He was channeling the dark chakra of the Cursed Seal into the Chidori, and from what Kakashi told him about shape and form of chakra, the Uchiha was changing the form of the attack. He then knew, it would be now or never, and he opened his right hand, and he created a clone.

The Rasengan formed in his hand, and the clone began to add the wind chakra into the attack. Hinata watched in awe as the ball of chakra began glowing in a white light, and four blades of wind began forming around it. It gave a sharp contrast to the dark Chidori that Sasuke was loading. Finally, with both attacks ready, Naruto and Sasuke looked at each other.

'I will win!' they thought, and they charged at each other.

Sasuke flapped his wings to increase his already incredible speed as he charged Naruto. The jinchuuriki began to run faster as a result. Finally, both of them threw their hands out, sending their attacks crashing into each other. Hinata deactivated her Byakugan and closed her eyes as the light from both attacks became blinding.

"Chidori!" "Fuuton: Rasengan!" Sasuke and Naruto roared as they pushed their attacks into each other.

However, this clash was completely different from the one before. The Fuuton: Rasengan seemed to begin spinning faster and faster, it's blades of wind cutting threw the lightning that sparked from the Chidori. Sasuke's eyes widened in shock as his attack began to be pushed back.

'N-No…that's…no!' Sasuke thought as he tried adding more lightning chakra into the Chidori, but Naruto's new Rasengan just kept cutting threw it. 'This can't be possible…he stayed in Konoha…he should be weak! He should be as weak as the last time we met! This isn't possible!'

"YOU LOSE!" Naruto roared, taking one more confident step towards Sasuke, and he pushed his hand out hard.

With that, the Chidori was completely evaporated by the Fuuton: Rasengan, and Sasuke roared in pain as his arm was cut up and slashed by the blades of the ball of chakra. Naruto let go of the attack, panting as it continued to push Sasuke all the way back to the wall, finally making him crash into the rock. The Rasengan stopped spinning and faded away, and Sasuke panted in disbelief. His Cursed Seal began to recede, and his eyes were open in shock.

"How…why…?" Sasuke asked as Naruto straightened up, and looked at Hinata. "You…stayed with Konoha…you shouldn't be…this strong…"

"…you forget, Sasuke…that if you have someone to protect…you can gain true strength…" Naruto told him, groaning in pain, but he continued to stand.

The Uchiha's eyes widened, and his vision became blurry. The Sharingan faded out, revealing his normal black eyes, and he slumped on the wall. After a few more seconds of panting, he finally blacked out. Naruto had did it, he had finally beaten Sasuke, fulfilling his promise to Sakura. Hinata walked over to him, and he smiled.

"I did it…Hinata-chan…" Naruto said and she nodded happily.

"You were great, Naruto-kun," Hinata told him, and suddenly the ground began shaking. "What the…?" She activated her Byakugan, expanding its range out. "It's Aang-kun! He's entering the Avatar State!"

"What? Are you sure?" Naruto asked and his girlfriend nodded. 'I thought he couldn't do it anymore.'

"He and Katara-chan are surrounded by Dai Li Agents, and Azula and Zuko are there too…wait…oh…know…" Hinata said as the sound of thunder was heard, and she saw Aang being shot in the back by Azula's lightning.

"What's wrong?" Naruto asked, seeing the look on her face.

"Aang-kun…he's been shot down! Hit by lightning!"

Naruto's eyes widened, and he ran over to Sasuke, lifting the unconscious Uchiha onto his shoulder. Without a word, they began running in the direction of Aang and Katara's fight with the Dai Li and Azula. The Hyuuga saw Katara creating a tidal wave, which smashed threw the Dai Li…and Zuko…as she made her way to Aang. She managed to catch him, and Iroh came out, telling them to run.

As soon as they got to the room where they reached the room, they noticed that Iroh was fighting off several Dai Li. Using that distraction; they ran over to the waterfall and used their remaining chakra to run up the water after Katara and Aang. They didn't see, as the former General was captured, Yamato pulling his captured Dai Li hat down. He'd follow Iroh, just in case the former general would want to break out. As soon as they were gone, Iroh halted his attack, and allowed himself to be encased in crystal. Zuko looked at him, but he closed his eyes and looked away in shame.

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Ba Sing Se

Appa flew over the countryside as a Fire Nation flag was draped over the Palace's Earth Kingdom symbol. Sakura's eyes were wide in shock when she saw Sasuke, unconscious, on Naruto's shoulder when they arrived. Kakashi and Kurenai looked on in concern, seeing Aang's lifeless form, and the genjutsu mistress was slightly shocked that Sasuke was there in the city. Naruto groaned, putting his hand on his sore arm as he looked at his adopted little brother. Hinata put some healing water to her boyfriend's wounds, and he nodded thanks. Aang was in dire straights, he wasn't breathing and there were strange bags under his eyes.

Katara was on Appa's head with the unconscious Aang. She was looking at him, hoping he'd wake up. She then took out her last resort, the vial of Spirit Oasis Water that she was going to use on Zuko's scar. She pulled him up, bent the glowing water out of the vial, and put it into the burnt flesh on the young Avatar's back. When nothing happened, she pulled Aang close and started crying, but suddenly the tattoos on the young Avatar's body glowed brightly, and the bags under his eyes disappeared. He then groaned, and Katara's eyes widened and she pulled away momentarily. Tears of joy streamed down her face at that moment, seeing that he was conscious, and he smiled weakly at her. She then pulled him into a hug, and she was extremely relieved that he survived.

In the Palace, Zuko and Azula stood in the ruined Throne Room, looking at the damage. The Prince was unsure what would happen now, and he felt extremely bad for betraying his Uncle. However, the Fire Princess was confident and happy, that her ultimate goal had been achieved, even though one of her allies from Oto was captured by the enemy.

"We did it, Zuko, it's taken a hundred years, but the Fire Nation has finally conquered Ba Sing Se," Azula told her brother as she sat on the throne.

"…I betrayed uncle…"

"No, he betrayed you," Azula retorted, looking at him with what looked like a face of concern, and then she stood up. "Zuko, when we return home, father will welcome you as a war hero."

"But I don't have the Avatar, what if father doesn't restore my honor?" Zuko asked her as Ty Lee and Mai, finally in their normal clothing, watched on from the left side of the room. Mai blushed, seeing the man she had a crush on again.

"He doesn't need to, Zuko," Azula told her brother gently, putting her hand on his shoulder. "Today, you restored your own honor."

Zuko looked away unsure, staring at the floor. He wasn't sure he did the right thing, that he made the right choice. Is this what he really wanted?

The Earth King looked down at the Lower Ring of his city, and looked down depressingly. "The Earth Kingdom…has fallen…" Katara looked up as they passed over the Outer Wall, and out of the city…

To Be Continued…

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Author's Note:

Who-wee! What a chapter eh? Sorry for the long wait for it, it was just a matter of getting the motivation to write. I hoped you liked the Naruto and Hinata vs. Sasuke battle, I really worked hard on it. Those clamoring for them to use their bending styles in battle, I hope your happy . Now for the jutsus used:

Hebi Bushin (Snake Bushin): A jutsu Sasuke had created with his time with Orochimaru. It basically summons thousands of small, green snakes, who all perform a henge to look like the user. When attacked, the henge wears off, and the bushin becomes a mass of snakes, which either attack, or return to the Spirit World where they were summoned from. C-Rank Ninjutsu

Uzumaki Naruto Fuzei Rendan (Uzumaki Naruto Air Rendan): A combination between his airbending and clone jutsu combos. A group of clones surrounds the target with the original, and they use a down sweeping motion towards the target, launching target into the air with powerful gust of wind that is like an updraft. Then the original, with a group of three-six clones, leaps up to attack the target while he's falling with either a punch or a kick. B-Rank Ninjutsu or C-Rank Taijutsu

Kakou no Sakura (Fall of Cherry Blossoms): A distraction genjutsu that simulates cherry blossoms falling to escape from an enemy. D-Rank Genjutsu

Finally for this post, I have a challenge for all my readers. Well two challenges actually:

The first is to create a story like Bending the Jutsu, however, using the Pre-Timeskip cast of Naruto and Season 1 of Avatar: The Last Airbender. Basically, Naruto, Hinata, Sakura, and Sasuke are sent to the Avatar World (you create the means of how they get there), ending up in Aunt Wu's village after the GAang gets there. You have to also find some way of sending the Sound Four/Five after them, and get Orochimaru and Akatsuki involved. You have to carry the fic threw that episode, and eventually through all the other episodes until the series finale. Pairings must me, I'm afraid, Naru/Hina, Sasu/Saku, and Kataang. If anyone's interested, PM me and I'll try to help out. Or post in my Naru/Hina forums.

The second is to create a Full Metal Alchemist and Avatar: The Last Airbender crossover. Basically, Ed, Al, and Winry all arrive in the Avatar World at the beginning of Season 2, right outside of General Fong's base. Carry on the story, with the Alchemist group, to the series finale. Plus, have fun. PM me if you're interested.

Thank you for reading, and please review.