Hello FanFiction! This is pain17ification posting the next chapter of "Mai's Teacher"!

Please note: pain17ification doesn't own Naruto or Avatar the Last AirBender

This is it! The last chapter before the canon storyline begins! Also, at the bottom will be assessments of Naruto and Mai's abilities ranked in strength since some people have asked for them. I held off on the assessments until after the three years of training were over.

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

"Higher Being Speech"

'Higher Being Thoughts'

"Jutsu"

(Technique Translations)

Scene or Time Change/Chapter Name

Chapter 5: Shinobi Way Year 3

About three months and two weeks after Mai showed her demonstration to the people of the capital, she and Naruto exited the ship that had taken them to one of the Fire Nation Colonies of the Earth Kingdom. The reason they were there was because they had finally begun to do missions to increase Mai's experience as well as allow her to see the world outside of the Fire Nation.

The mission was requested by an anonymous client who wished to speak to them in a small town called Hera that was near the Colony they deported at. Along the way, Naruto warned Mai that missions with anonymous clientele should always be taken with suspicion and caution. If they did not know their client, then they could be walking into a potential trap. Mai took his words to heart and kept her eyes open for anything suspicious while he led her through the Colony.

Before they arrived, Naruto had spent three months with his student helping her find her elemental affinity. At first, she was confused and thought that it would be fire, considering where she was born. Naruto immediately shot down that assumption when he informed her that, even though he was born in Hi no Kuni, he had affinities for wind, the rarest of the country, and lightning, the second rarest. When she asked if that was all he could use, his answer surprised her.

"I may have affinities for those two, but that doesn't mean I can't use the other three. You should be able to do the same, but the element you are aligned with will be much easier to utilize."

The immediate problem Naruto had with finding out Mai's affinity was that he had no chakra paper to see what it was. Thankfully, Kurama had a solution which was basically the same as when Naruto was helping Mai unlock her chakra.

Naruto placed a thumb on her forehead and her naval, much to her embarrassment, and let Kurama take over his body to sense out the affinity. To Mai, she found herself back in her sensei's mindscape and saw Naruto gazing at the happy people of Uzu in sadness while Kurama had two tail tips where Naruto's thumbs once were.

After what felt like ten minutes, Kurama finally spoke up. "You have a single affinity for lightning. Lucky for you that Naruto has quite a bit of knowledge on that affinity; especially since he was nearly killed by one in his youth."

That shocked the Nara descendant. "How did he almost die?" she asked hesitantly while watching her teacher as he continued gazing at his people.

The fox turned its gaze to its host and sighed. "It was by the one he once saw as a friend, a rival, and a brother in all but blood. Instead of me telling you," it then pointed a tail at one of the whirlpools and finished, "look for yourself."

Mai heeded the fox's words and gazed into the whirlpool which showed her the events of Naruto trying to stop Sasuke at the Valley of the End when the Uchiha was attempting to go to Orochimaru. She saw every detail of the fight from the words exchanged, to the blows dealt, and finally the finishing clash they had near the waterfall. Seeing Naruto change the trajectory of his attack from a killing blow to simply scratching the Uchiha's hiate made her respect for the blonde increase. Even when his friend expressed his desire to kill her sensei for power, Naruto still put their friendship above victory.

Unknown to her, Naruto had walked up next to her and watched the final clash between himself and his old teammate. "I should have stopped him that day," he said, making his presence known to her. "I could have if I wasn't so naïve and foolish. I once thought that everyone had the chance to change and better their lives, but I was wrong. It took me nearly my entire life before the end of the 4th Great War to finally see that there are some people who cannot change because they are too far gone. Sasuke was one of them, along with Obito."

Mai turned to her teacher sadly and asked, "Is there any hope, sensei, for true peace? You fought for peace for a long time, but it never came. Do you deny its existence now?"

Naruto was silent at the question while Kurama mentally praised the girl for the depth of her question and how close to home it hit Naruto.

"There never really was much hope back then…" Naruto answered truthfully before he gave a small smile. "Just a fool's hope, and back then I was the fool the world needed. However, I'm not sure if this time needs, or even deserves, my help; especially when the Avatar is absent from their duties. At least the world made a replacement for me when I sealed myself away. How can it make a replacement for the initial replacement?"

Mai nodded at the answer before she and Naruto got to work training her in Raiton chakra. The first thing Naruto had her do was learn something he felt would be extremely beneficial to her training: learn the Kage Bunshin. Mai was surprised that he would teach her something as useful as that, but Naruto reminded the girl that as his apprentice, he planned to teach her as much as he could from his skills.

It took half a month for Mai to successfully complete the jutsu, but she was only able to make two clones at the most before she felt incredibly drained. For the training, Naruto had her only use one clone to lessen the chakra and mental strain. Her first task was to use Raiton chakra to magnetize two small pieces of metal together. With the clone's help, she was able to get it down in a little more than a month, leaving her with about a month and a half to learn the next step. Said step of her training was creating a current of lightning from one hand to the other using pure Raiton chakra. She started from the tip of her middle finger, through her arm, down to her naval which was the main source of chakra, up to the next arm, and to the tip of her other middle finger (1).

It was extremely difficult for her to do this step, and even at the end of the month and a half she wasn't quite there yet. Naruto had her practice it more during their two week boat ride to the Fire Nation Colony and she progressed a little more, but not by much. She was able to send the current from her fingertip to her stomach, but bringing it back up the other arm was the challenging part for her.

Unfortunately, she was unable to continue her training seeing as she and her teacher had arrived in the town where they would meet their client. They were to meet them in a small pub in the town for the details concerning their mission, much to Naruto's annoyance since pubs and bars were where the most deceptions happen on anonymous missions. As the duo stepped into the pub, they saw that it was mostly empty save for the bartender, a few patrons, and a cloaked individual sitting at a table in a darkened corner. The figure beckoned them over and master and apprentice sat across from them.

"I appreciate you accepting my request, Lord Uzumaki," said the figure in an older feminine voice.

"A job's a job," he replied simply, "even if we are unaware of the identity of our client."

"Forgive me for the secrecy; however I cannot reveal myself to you just yet. All I can show you to prove that I am trustworthy is this," she replied while showing Naruto a Pai-Sho tile in the design of a lotus flower.

Naruto and Mai stared at the game piece before Naruto nodded to the woman, much to Mai's confusion. "While this helps, I need more. So, answer me this: who knocks at the Guarding Gate?"

The woman's reply was immediate, "One who has eaten the Fruit and tasted its Mysteries."

Once again, Mai was left confused while Naruto relaxed his guard slightly. "Alright, I'll hear you out. What is it you need done?"

"A friend of mine is to be hung at dawn tomorrow in front of the people of Terrachia Town about 20 miles from here. I have tried to appeal her case, but they refuse to listen to me."

"What case and who is 'they'?"

"She was accused of murder and treason against the mayor of the town. But I know that she's innocent! She was on her way to Terrachia on the night of the murder; at least 2 miles away from the city. She couldn't have done it! But the people of the town are too caught up in finding an outlet for their anger at the death of their mayor that their willing to hang her unjustly."

"I assume that you want us to not only stop her hanging, but find the real killer?"

"If you do find the real killer, then that will be all the more helpful. However, my main request is saving her from death."

Naruto nodded and turned to his apprentice. "What are your thoughts on this?"

Mai took some time to quietly think it over while the cloaked woman smiled fondly beneath her cloak. She couldn't believe how beautiful Mai had become since seeing her so many years ago as a young girl. Thinking about that made the woman think back on how Ty Lee, Azula, and Zuko were doing. She missed the children greatly and wondered if Zuko had finally gained the recognition he wanted from his father. She gave a quiet sigh at her musings before she shook herself out of her thoughts. Unknown to her, Naruto had sensed her emotions and was curious as to what exactly her connection was with his student and her friends.

"I think we should do it, sensei. I can't just sit by knowing I could've done something for this woman," Mai answered after going over the mission details.

Naruto nodded at his student before turning attention back to the cloaked woman. "Alright, we'll get your friend out of there."

"Thank you for this, Lord Uzumaki. I promise to pay you for your assistance as soon as you bring her back safely."

"Of course… By the way, we need the name of your friend so that we know who to look for."

"Yes of course. Her name if Eva, a young nurse from the Earth Kingdom. Please bring her back safely."

The two shinobi nodded before departing for Terrachia Town.

Near Dawn the Next Day (Terrachia Town Square)

In the center of the town, a young woman with black hair and forest green eyes stood next to a rope noose with her wrists and ankles bound. Her face was covered in dirt and grime while her once decent clothes were reduced to rags. Her eyes were puffy from recent tears spilt and her aura read someone who had lost hope. The people yelling for her death did not care though. All they wanted was to see the 'murderer' of their beloved mayor hung.

Up in a tree near the edge of the town square, Naruto stood next to Mai who had an arrow readied in her bow. They watched on as the executioner put the loose rope around Eva's neck and readied to knock the stool out from under her feet. Naruto immediately saw where Mai should aim at: the knot in the rope that was about 6 inches above Eva's head. He gave a sideways glance to his student and saw her adjust her aim for the knot as well, making him mentally praise her. However, he saw her hesitate slightly with the arrow.

"Relax Mai, you can do this. It's a clean shot," he reassured her.

He saw her struggle slightly with her aim before asking what the issue was. "I'm worried," she answered nervously. "I mean, what if I hit her?"

Naruto gave a small smile at her dilemma and placed a comforting hand on her back. "You can do this Mai. I know you won't hit her because I have faith in you. Now, just relax. It's one clean motion; no hesitation."

She nodded before readying her arrow again and releasing it. The projectile flew through the air before the tip sliced through the knot above Eva. Due to her surprise at this and her loss of balance, she began to fall backward off of the stool. Naruto took this chance to disappear from the tree and catch Eva in a burst of speed. Everyone in the square, besides Mai, looked on in shock at what had just happened while Eva had a blush on her face at the sight of her savior.

The guards shook themselves out of their shock and readied their weapons around the spiky blonde. "You there, release that woman so that she may pay for her crimes!" ordered one of them.

Naruto gave them a bored look before a copy of him and Eva appeared behind the guards and townsfolk. As the one surrounded by the guards faded into nothingness, the guards all flew back as if they were hit by invisible blows. Eva looked on in amazement at what her savior did before she began to feel dizzy and passed out from the mix of high speed and lack of food. The townsfolk foolishly decided to try and take the blonde down themselves after seeing the guards get knocked aside, but they were stopped when Mai appeared in front of Naruto with an arrow drawn and aimed at the people.

"Not another step closer," she ordered with her eyes narrowed.

Naruto turned to the people and stated, "You all truly are fools… To falsely accuse a woman who had no chance to kill you mayor just so that you could have a way to vent out your anger… Disgraceful…" He then glared at them with a small burst of killing intent, making them all freeze in fear. "Here's some advice: before you start accusing, look into all of the facts so that innocent people like this woman in my arms don't get killed unjustly."

With his final piece said, he told Mai to grab onto his arm before the three of them disappeared in a swirl of wind and static.

When they reappeared near the outskirts of Hera, Naruto immediately began performing medical jutsu on Eva to fix any broken bones or injuries she had received during her confinement. He was relieved to see that the worst thing she had was slight malnourishment which could easily be remedied with some food. After healing her up, he began to carry her into town with Mai in tow.

Once they reached the center of town, the cloaked woman from before ran to them to check on her friend. When Naruto informed her of all that had happened, the woman led them to a small hotel where she was staying and had them lay Eva down on the bed in her room. Once she knew her friend was okay, she turned to Naruto and Mai and bowed to them.

"I can't thank you enough for your help. I hope this will be sufficient payment?" she asked while handing them a small bag of coins. Naruto looked inside and counted about 20 silver pieces before nodding to the woman.

"Yes, this will do just fine. If that is all, then we need to be getting back," Naruto stated as he and Mai made their way out of the room.

"Wait please!" called out the woman before they reached the door. When they turned around, Mai gasped in shock at the revealed identity of the woman.

"L-Lady Ursa…" she whispered.

Ursa appeared to be a healthy looking woman with black hair tied in a single tail, amber eyes like many other citizens of the Fire Nation, and a caring aura. To Naruto and his empathic senses, the aura felt incredibly motherly and subconsciously reminded him of how it felt when he met his mother Kushina for the first time. He had also heard of the banished wife of Ozai through gossip around the town and from Mai herself when she told him about the current events of the world a couple years back.

"So… The lost mother of Zuko was our client. I have to say, I was not expecting this in the slightest," he commented.

Ursa gave Mai a kind smile and commented, "It's good to see you again after so long, Mai. And I'm impressed with your growth. Of course, that goes without saying since Lord Uzumaki here is your teacher."

"Please, Ursa-san, do not call me 'Lord'… That title is reserved for the Kami and the Spirits themselves. No mortal should ever hold it."

"Is that why you don't refer to Ozai by that title?" asked Mai.

"No, the reason I don't refer to him as such is because Ozai is a manipulative bastard who would put honor and status above family. That man does not deserve his position or my respect," he answered before turning to Ursa. "No offence to you, Ursa-san."

"No offence taken, since I agree with you completely," she replied much to Mai's surprise. "I loved Ozai once, but after marrying him and seeing the future my children would live in, I couldn't believe who I had married. I hold no love for Ozai, but I do still care for my children."

"I'm pleased to see that you feel that way, Ursa-san. Especially since your son has been banished for over a year due to 'dishonoring' his father during a war meeting."

Ursa gasped in shock at the news and asked worriedly, "Is he alright? Is he safe?"

"I wouldn't know seeing as I've been focused on training Mai here. However, you should know that Zuko was burned and scarred by Ozai during an Agni Kai in front of many people in the capital. Iroh has gone with him as he searches for the Avatar in hopes of 'regaining' his lost honor."

The banished mother lost strength in her legs and sat down in a chair in shock. "My little Zuko…" she whispered while a stray tear fell down her cheek.

Mai's heart went out to her friend's mother and she consoled the woman with a comforting embrace. Ursa broke down in Mai's arms while Naruto quietly waited for the woman to calm herself. Due to his empathic ability, he felt waves of sadness and anguish roll off of the woman and he silently wondered if his mother felt the same as she told him her final words before the Kyuubi was sealed into him.

'I guess I will never know… I can't return to the past and even if I was able to…I probably wouldn't since the man I am now would have never existed if I did so…

"If it makes you feel better, your parents showed nothing but love and regret before they died. Their love for you was unparalleled as was the regret of not being able to stay with you," commented the fox to its container.

Naruto gave a soft smile at that and replied, 'Yea, it actually does make me feel better…'

After Ursa had calmed down, Naruto and Mai told her of what else had happened in the Fire Nation after Zuko's banishment. Much to the woman's surprise and slight amusement, when they told her of the banquet and how the two had danced under the moonlight, Ursa saw a faint coloring of Mai's cheeks as well as a slight aversion of eye contact with the woman. She smiled softly at how much Naruto had done for the girl, both as a teacher and as a friend.

"Well Ursa-san, we really should be getting back to the capital. While Ozai has no power over me, he could make things bad for Mai and her family if we don't return."

The woman nodded before she remembered something important and handed the Uzumaki a scroll from her cloak. When he raised an eyebrow at the scroll, she elaborated, "That is what I have been able to find out about the happenings of the Earth Kingdom from other members. I hope it's sufficient enough for you."

He nodded in thanks before he and Mai bid the woman farewell and returned to the ship. During one night on the return trip to the capital, Naruto approached Mai on the ship's deck to ask her something important.

"Mai, I need to know something. Before I ask, I need to tell you that I want your completely honest opinion and answer." At her hesitant nod, he asked, "If I were to leave the Fire Nation and go against Ozai, would you come with me? Would you be able to forsake your home and follow me?"

Mai was shocked at the question and her mind raced with possibilities as to why he would ask such a thing from her. Her mind kept pointing out that Naruto was against Ozai and the war he was making would cause far more harm than any other, except the Shinobi Wars. Her mind also told her that her loyalty should be to her home and her family there; however her heart cried out to her just as loudly as her mind. Her heart told her to follow Naruto and to go against Ozai for the sake of the world; for a better future. And in the very depths of her heart, it also said to her to follow Naruto because she had never connected with anyone so deeply before. He was her teacher, her friend, a person she could turn to, and the only person who truly understood her.

"I… I don't know…" she whispered. "I have no idea if I would follow you or not…"

Naruto sensed her emotions raging within her as she had thought of her answer, and when she had stated that she did not know, he was proud of her. She was fighting an internal battle of the mind and the heart and she was soon approaching a crossroad in life: duty to her nation or following a friend and mentor. If she had rushed into a decision, he had no doubt that she would regret it for the rest of her life.

"I didn't expect an answer from you now, Mai. Whatever you decide, I will respect your decision and support you. However, sooner or later you will come to a point in your life where you will have to choose. I hope you are content with the choice you make in the future."

After he left her to her thoughts, she turned her gaze to the cloudy moonlit sky and wondered, 'What should I do? What would you do in my place, ancestors?'

One thing Mai knew for sure was that she had two weeks to think about her dilemma before her training resumed.

Three months after return (five months left of the year)

Naruto was currently watching Mai go at it with one of his Kage Bunshin while focusing on using her Nara techniques and her newly learned Raiton technique. They had recently said their farewells to Ty Lee who had chosen to join the Circus in hopes of finally being able to become her own person and not part of a 'matched set' with her five other sisters. Naruto and Mai had wished her all of the best.

During the boat ride back home, Mai had practiced her Raiton manipulation enough to finally complete the step she was on. She was able to successfully create an electrical current from one fingertip to the other one on her other hand. Naruto was pleased with her results and started her off on a jutsu of his own creation; a C-Rank jutsu called Den'atsu Muchi (Voltage Whip).

The jutsu was just as the name implied; a whip made of pure Raiton chakra formed from her pointer and middle fingers. The length of the whip, as well as the level of voltage, depended on the chakra output Mai released. Right now, she was using the whip to try and strike the clone who avoided the strikes with ease.

"Mai, burst your chakra when the whip cracks for a higher release of electricity," Naruto advised. Mai nodded and swung the whip at the clone once more. As soon as the whip hit the ground where the clone dodged, Mai flared her chakra and the whip cracked with a small discharge of electricity. A stray bolt hit the clone on the wrist, resulting in slight numbing of the area before it healed up. The original Naruto nodded and said, "Good work. Now, I want you to show me how far you've gotten with the Ryūsei Ame (Meteor Rain)."

Mai nodded once more and flew through handseals before sending a bolt of lightning to the sky. The lightning stirred up some of the clouds and had them form overhead into storm clouds. Mai then held her hands in the 'dragon' seal and yelled, "Raiton: Ryūsei Ame no Jutsu!" The storm clouds began to fire small shots of lightning at the clone. The clone weaved around them easily, much to her annoyance, so she kept up the assault. However, she soon felt her reserves nearly depleted and she released the jutsu to rest.

The original Naruto was proud of his student's progress. Over the months, she had brought her basic skills to an art form, her archery level was incredibly high, her skill with the Nara techniques was around high Chunin in level, and her Raiton skills were about high Genin to low Chunin. Not to mention that her Kage Bunshin limit had increased by one making it a total of three solid clones. The next thing he would have her do would be to sign the Gama Contract and get her to summon at least up to a small battle toad before the end of the year.

"Alright Mai, we'll resume training tomorrow. Go home and rest." Mai nodded and bid Naruto goodbye before she left for home. The blonde then narrowed his visible eye and turned to one of the treetops. "You may as well come on out, Azula. I can sense you after all."

The princess slowly got down from her position and glared at Naruto with her hands on her hips. "I see Mai has learned quite a bit from you. I still don't see why you only focus on her when you can train others to use these gifts as well."

Naruto kept his eye narrowed at her and retorted, "Why would I waste my time on mindless fools who only live to lick the dirt off of your father's boots? At least Mai has the ability to show free will and expression; not mindless and blind loyalty to one's country."

Azula grit her teeth at his words and her hands began to heat up with flames, making Naruto ready his guard slightly. "And just what is so wrong with wanting to fight for one's country?"

"I said blind loyalty, where one obeys and serves even though they know what they're doing is unjust and wrong. Surely you must see that the Fire Nation is destroying the world, Azula! Don't you realize that if your father continues this war of his, then the world will fall?! And it won't be by the Fire Nation's hands, but something much more deadly and evil!"

"What exactly will destroy us then, huh? Your little pet you keep locked up inside of you?" she sneered making Kurama roar within Naruto.

"How dare that little brat call me a pet! I should take over and kill her now!" it raged from within the mindscape.

'Calm down, Kurama! No need to waste your time on a naïve child such as her,' he admonished before glaring at Azula with a slitted blue eye. "You should know by now that if I wanted to destroy this world, I would have done it years ago. No, the threat I speak of is one on a spiritual level; one that affects us all and that even I will have trouble with!" he yelled making her take an unconscious step back. "If this war continues, darkness will spread and increase the chances of this threat becoming real. And when that happens, you, me, and this whole damn world will fall into the depths of destruction and despair!"

By this point, chakra and killer intent were slowly leaking off of the blonde making Azula have trouble breathing and standing. She was amazed at the power the blonde had, even though it was nowhere near its peak. But still, his words got her to think about the war itself. She saw the harm it caused for other nations, but she saw it as just in the eyes of the Fire Nation. What did this relic from the past know about her country and the war that they fight in every day?

Naruto sensed her thoughts and stopped the flow of his energy while giving Azula a disappointed look, making her glare at him. "Even though this is not my time, I'm going to prevent this world's destruction, Azula. And if that means going against you, your father, and the entire Fire Nation…" he then stared at her with a Kyuubi-enhanced eye, "so be it."

He then faded into a flock of crows before Azula that flew through the skies and out of her sight. The princess kept glaring at the crows until she lost sight of them before thinking, 'This could be bad for us, and for father. I better warn him about this and about Mai's possible change of loyalty before it's too late.'

Nearly five months later (three days before the end of the year)

Naruto stood before Ozai with Mai who had greatly exceeded his expectations. Over the time spent training, Mai had signed the Gama Contract and had officially become a summoner of the clan. At first, she was like Naruto had started; tadpoles and baby toads. But after a month of trying, she had accomplished in summoning a man-sized battle toad to fight alongside her. Still, even with low Jonin level reserves, summoning took a lot out of her and she was not ready to try and summon one of the clan that was the size of Shun.

Her Raiton training had also increased with her learning two more jutsu. The first one was called Jibashi (Electromagnetic Murder), a technique that released a wave of lightning to her opponents. The second one Mai had begun to learn, but was not quite there yet due to her hesitation in learning it. How could she not be hesitant seeing as it was a technique that nearly killed her teacher when he was younger than her? After all, the Chidori was not a jutsu to take lightly.

Naruto knew of her hesitation and kept reminding her that Sasuke had misused the jutsu, which was created for the sake of defending comrades; not running them through. However, even with the reassurance, Mai was only able to create a small ball of lightning that would only pierce into a boulder and not through it.

Her Nara techniques had increased in strength to low Jonin status and she had even begun to create her own unique jutsu: Kage no Kusari (Shadow Chains). Like the name implies, Mai uses her shadow to create chains in a similar fashion as the Kage Nui is used. However, unlike the Kage Nui, the chains were able to wrap around her targets as well as stab into them.

Lastly, her previous skills had all increased greatly. With her weights on, Mai was as fast as Rock Lee when he wore his own weights. Her speed without them was only slightly slower than his when his weights were off, but she was improving. Naruto had also placed seals on her left arm to hold her bow and quiver for quick access while also placing seals on her wrists that held senbon and shuriken in them. Each seal held 20 shuriken and 45 senbon for her to call upon.

All-in-all, Mai was a high Chunin bordering on low Jonin in Naruto's eyes; a perfect place to be at for what he had planned. The previous night, Naruto had received a vision in his sleep concerning the awakening of the long-lost Avatar. In the vision, he saw two shadowy figures approach a large dome of ice that held two other figures; on the size of a person and the other the size of a large beast. The person-sized figure in the ice opened its glowing white eyes before the vision faded.

Throughout the morning, Naruto had felt a growing source of power from the south that had him slightly distracted since he knew that the Avatar must have been in that direction in their icy prison. When he informed Mai of this, she asked if he was going to leave, which he gave affirmation to as well as telling her that her crossroad was upon her. This made Mai nervous and worried as they stood in front of Ozai in his throne room.

"So, you mean to tell me that you plan to leave in search of the Avatar, Uzumaki?" asked the Fire Lord after hearing of Naruto's plans for departure.

"Yes, that is my plan. The world is in jeopardy and I need to make sure that the Avatar is ready enough for the trials ahead."

Ozai then turned his gaze to Mai and questioned, "And what of your student? Surely you don't plan to just leave her here?" Internally, Ozai was hoping that the blonde would do just that so that he may influence Mai into teaching his soldiers how to use chakra and jutsu.

Naruto narrowed his eye at the man and answered, "That is her choice to make. Whether she stays here or goes with me is her decision."

The two men then turned their gazes to Mai who was desperately trying to come up with an answer. Obey her country, or follow her heart? It was the biggest decision that she had ever come across and it was slowly tearing her up inside. However, as she was thinking through this, she heard a voice say to her, "If you stay here, then you will never have someone as close to you as Naruto has been. You know this… After all, it is what you are most afraid of; being alone in this world once again… You know what you want, so go for it you troublesome girl."

Mai looked back to the men in front of her, eyes full of determination, and spoke. "I choose to follow Naruto-sensei on his search for the Avatar."

Naruto smiled at his student while Ozai seethed on his throne, causing the flames in front of him to rage. "I guess I have no choice then… Guards, seize the girl! She is a beneficial and irreplaceable asset to our military!"

Mai tensed as the guards surrounded them while Naruto glared at Ozai in rage. Placing a hand on Mai's shoulder, he whispered, "Do you trust me?"

Immediately, she answered, "With my life."

"Then brace yourself," he ordered before she turned to see his eye change into the Mangekyou. The next thing she saw was a distortion in the space around her before she disappeared before the eyes of everyone in the room. While Ozai and his guards stood in shock, Naruto cracked his neck and pulled out a kunai before his blue eye became slitted. "You won't stop me from leaving with my student, Ozai."

He then flew through handseals before he summoned Gamashun in the throne room, who obliterated the roof due to his enormous stature. Naruto stood atop the toad's head and ordered, "Shun, we're leaving! Make your way towards the South Pole!"

"Why there, Naruto-sama?" asked the Gama Chief.

"Because someone of great importance is there and I need to see them."

The toad nodded before he tensed his legs for a large leap. "Hold on, Naruto-sama!" he called before he bounded into the sky, avoiding many blasts of fire from Ozai and his guards, and landed near the town. In another leap, he landed in the waters of the ports before he kept moving south as he was ordered.

Along the way, Naruto released Mai from the Mangekyou Realm and helped her steady herself on the toad's head. "Are you alright?"

She slowly regained her bearings before she answered, "Yea, I'll be okay. What did you do to me?"

"I basically removed you from the area and kept you safe in my eye's realm so that Ozai's men wouldn't take you." He then looked back to the city getting smaller and smaller upon the horizon. "We're long-gone from the capital now, Mai."

Mai turned her own gaze to the distancing city before she sighed in slight exhaustion. When Naruto looked to her worriedly, she smiled to him and surprised him by embracing him in a hug. "Thank you for everything, Naruto. For teaching me, befriending me, and taking me with you," she said while embracing him.

Naruto smiled warmly to the young woman and gazed to the southern horizon. "You don't need to thank me, Mai. That's what teachers and friends do. Still though, I am glad that you took me up on my offer to train you."

Mai let go of him before she sat next to him and stared at the horizon as well. "So, what now, Naruto?"

Naruto chuckled and answered, "Now? Now, we begin your first ever S-Rank Mission: finding the Avatar and seeing if they have what it takes to protect the world."

(End)

(End)

1~ Think of Iroh's "lightning channeling" technique, but with Raiton chakra

And that was chapter five! I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and the future chapters to come! If you have any questions or concerns, PM me!

Now please: Review! Review! Review!

Current ages:

Naruto: (physical) 26; (actual) 5116

Ozai: 45

Ursa: 42

Iroh: 64

Lo and Li: 81

Fire Nation Girls: 17

Zuko: 18

Aang: (physical) 12; (actual) 112

Assessments:

Naruto Uzumaki: SSS Rank

Taijutsu: ANBU
Genjutsu: Mid Chunin (only can detect and remove)
Ninjutsu: Kage
Fuinjutsu: Master
Summoning: Sennin of the Gama Clan
Jinchuriki: Fully Realized
Sharingan: Mangekyou Level

Mai Nara: B Rank

Taijutsu: Mid Chunin
Genjutsu: Mid Genin (due to Naruto being unable to teach her anything but basic Bunshin)
Ninjutsu: High Chunin
Fuinjutsu: Adept
Summoning: Mid Level Summoner of the Gama Clan

I hope you guys like the rankings for them!

Next Time: Search for the Last AirBender! Stay Tuned!

-pain17ification