Bodyguard of Azula

by Deus Swiftblade

Naruto is banished from Konoha but gives them the slip and boards a ship. Soon after, he is shipwrecked on Ember island and is saved by Azula. Three years later, Naruto is Azula's bodyguard while she hunts for the Avatar, but did he see the last of Konoha?

9. Bridge and Old Friends

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or The Last Airbender.

Bodyguard of Azula

Chapter 9: Bridge and Old Friends

"Talking"

"Thinking"

"Bijū/spirit talking"

"Bijū/spirit thinking"

(Location: Earth Kingdom)

It had been nearly three weeks since Aang started Earthbending training. Since then, they've kept moving so Azula and Naruto wouldn't find them. So far, they had been lucky and had no encounters.

"Hey, look down there." Sokka pointed downwards, seeing something. Everyone looked down. and saw that they were passing over an Earth Kingdom military camp. "It looks like someone is trying to flag us down." A soldier was waving his arms, probably to get their attention.

"What should we do?" Katara asked. She looked over to Team Guy. "Should we land?" She knew that they had to keep moving, but somebody wanted their help. She could never just walk past when someone wanted her help.

"At the very least, we can see what they want," Aang said, like he was trying to convince them. Personally, the Air Nomad always wanted to meet new people, even more so if they needed his help.

"It is your decision to land or not, Aang," Guy told him. They were not in command of the group. They were just there to make sure they stayed safe.

"In that case, please land," Toph said. "I'd liked to feel earth beneath my feet again." She was used to flying on Appa, but prolonged flights made her want to start feeling solid earth again. And at this point in the flight, she was willing to jump off of Appa to feel land.

"Alright then." Aang had Appa fly down to the ground. They landed just outside the military base, getting the attention of all the soldiers in sight.

Almost immediately, a soldier came running out of the gate. "You're the Avatar, right?" he asked breathlessly, like he had run from the other end of the base.

"Do you not see the giant sky bison?" Sokka asked him, his own style of sarcasm was in full use. But that earned him a small scowl from his sister.

"Come with me," he told them, ignoring the barbed question. "The colonel will want to see you ASAP." He walked back into the base and everyone followed.

---

"We haven't seen the Avatar in quite some time," Naruto noted. It had been a couple of weeks since that little incident in Tu Zin and they haven't seen or heard a single sighting of the Air Nomad's group.

"Maybe he wised up and is evading us?" Mai suggested. It seemed like the logical reason to her. The kid had to wise up at some point, right?

Azula shook her head. Unlike her friend, she didn't believe that. "He wouldn't come with the idea himself, he's too naïve. One of the others must've come up with the idea."

He began to list them. "If it was my guess, I'd say it would be Sokka or—"

"The group who came after you in the forest?" asked Ty Lee, cutting him off and looking intently at him. When he saw that Mai and Azula had join her in looking at him, he simply nodded.

"Naruto, you can trust us. Who are these people?" Azula asked him. She wanted to know so she could help him.

He looked away so he didn't have to look at their eyes. "I knew them once…a while back. That's all I'm going to say," he told them, keeping his eyes focused on the wall of the car. Still feeling their eyes on him, he turned and walked away. "I'm going to check in with the engineers."

As she watched him disappear, she was reminded of the last time that happened.

(Flashback)

The boat was docked in the harbor and everyone disembarked. Zuko noticed that both Iroh and Naruto were heading in a different direction. "Uncle, aren't you coming with us?" he asked. He thought they were all heading to the Royal Palace.

Iroh shook his head. "No, Naruto and I must go somewhere." The blonde got him alone on the ship and asked him something. It might be a bit dodgy, but if he talked to the right people, it shouldn't be a problem.

"Where?" asked Ty Lee.

"I've decided to join the Fire Nation army," Naruto said before Iroh could even open his mouth.

They just stared at him in disbelief, not believing what he had said. "You?" snorted Azula. "Why would they take you?"

"I think you of all people would know why they would take me," he fired back. Instantly, she remembered that night on Ember Island and fell silent, seeing his point

"But you're our age!" Zuko protested. "The army won't take you, and besides, why waste your childhood on becoming a soldier so early?" They had rules about that stuff.

"I think they'll be able to make an exception this time," Iroh said. He would help him join. It was the least he could do for the blonde. After all, he saved his niece and nephew.

Naruto walked over to where Zuko and Azula stood. "For what it's worth, it was fun being with you guys on Ember Island." He gave them a hug, surprising them both. Before they could even protest or, in Azula's case, demanded why he did that, he and Iroh left.

"Hey, fox!" he called out as they walked away.

"What do you want, kid?" the Kyūbi replied, bored. He had been bored since they had left Ember Island and was about to take it out on his Jinchūriki (there's only so many naps you can take).

"Do you know anything about the shinobi arts?"

"…Do you not know how long I've been around?" he asked, completely offended by the blonde's words.

"No, because the last time I asked how old you were, you got all huffy and acted like an old woman!"

"No, I didn't! But to answer your question, yes, I do know about the shinobi arts. I know a lot about the shinobi arts. Why?"

"I want you to teach me to be a better shinobi. I'm going into a war and I need to be the best. Kami, I need to better then the best." If he wasn't, there was a good chance he would die. And if he went, so did the fox.

The Bijū thought it over and immediately came to the same conclusion. "Alright, then I'll teach you what I know. I just have one thing to mention."

"What's that?" For some reason, he had an immense sense of dread. And even though he couldn't see it, he knew that the damn fox had a very evil grin on his face.

"Gaki, you are going to feel my own personal brand of Hell."

(End Flashback)

"Hey Azula, what are you thinking about?" Ty Lee asked, noticing that her friend was staring into space. She had never seen her do something like that before.

She came back to reality when she heard the acrobat's voice. "Nothing," she said.

Before either of her friends could speak, Naruto came back into the car. "We may have a problem," he announced, sounding slightly worried.

---

"Greetings, young Avatar," the colonel in charge of the base said. "I am Colonel Qing." The man was sitting at his desk, which looked like was overflowing with papers.

"Hello," Aang replied as they walked into the colonel's office, a room that was big enough for a desk and several people able to stand before it. "What do you need my help with?"

"Ah, straight to the point," he said, standing up from his desk. "Tell me, Avatar, what do you know of the Fire Nation colonies?" He walked over to a nearby map hanging on the wall.

"Um…not much," the Air Nomad answered, a little embarrassed. It was funny. Half of the reason he was trying to stop the Fire Lord was because the colonies do not belong in the Earth Kingdom, but he didn't really know about them.

The colonel looked briefly irritated, but it passed. "There are three colonies that are the lifeline of the Fire Nation here in the Earth Kingdom. They are Yu Dao, Akawan and Kouzan." He pointed out the locations of the colonies on the map for them to see. "Yu Dao is the manufacturer and Akawan is the harbor. But Kouzan is arguably their most vital one."

"Why?" Katara asked him.

Guy was the one who answered her question. "It's where most of their resources come from, isn't it?" he asked the colonel.

Qing nodded. "Yes. Kouzan sits on top on what seems to be an almost endless amount of metal ore," he told them. "They mine the ore and send it to Yu Dao who, once they're done with it, sends it to Akawan so that it reaches the Fire Nation. For quite some time now, the Earth Kingdom army has been trying to disrupt the trade routes between the three colonies but has had little success. I believe we should go directly to the source."

"What do you mean?" Neji asked him.

"I intend to go to Kouzan and convince the Fire Nation colonists to leave. After which, Kouzan will be held by the Earth Kingdom and the Fire Nation will lose an important colony. I believe with your help, Avatar, we can take over the colony much more smoothly," he explained.

Sokka didn't know why, but for some reason, what the colonel said sounded…off to him. "Alright, I'll help," Aang said without hesitation, a big smile on his face. If the colonists left peacefully, he would gladly help.

"Excuse us," Sokka said to the colonel before looking at his friend. "Aang, can we have a moment in private, please?"

The Air Nomad nodded. The two of them, as well as the rest of the group, left the colonel's office. As they walked down the hall, the Tribesman saw an empty room. He quickly entered it and everyone else followed. "What's up, Sokka?" Aang asked him once they were in the room and the door was closed.

"I think we should move on," he began immediately. "Something doesn't feel right about what the colonel said."

"By the Spirits, Sokka, stop being so paranoid," Katara told her brother, her voice full of exasperation. She was beginning to get annoyed whenever he got like this. He usually would be wrong anyways. So why would he bother? "There is nothing wrong with the colonel."

"Yeah, we're just going to help him remove the colonists. That's all," Aang agreed with a smile. "It'll be completely peaceful. Come on, we have to tell him that we'll help." He left the room and the others followed, leaving Sokka and Akela alone.

"This is going to come back and bite us in the rear. I just know it," the Tribesman told the wolf, who seem to nod in agreement.

---

"What's the problem?" Mai asked, acting like she wasn't concerned. The thing sounded like it was running fine to her.

"According to what the engineers told me, the wheels and the tracks are getting rusty and, they don't have enough of the oil needed to clean them. And we're also low on supplies," Naruto explained. "If we don't find a place to fix all this, we'll be stuck. But apparently, we're an hour away from Kouzan."

"Then that's where we're going," Azula declared. He nodded and went to tell the engineers to head for Kouzan.

An hour later, the tank-train came upon the colony. It was located next to a cliff that dropped into a very deep and awfully long gorge. But what attracted a person's attention if they were to look at Kouzan at a distance was the large bridge that had been built across the gorge. It was a beautiful fusion of Fire Nation engineering and Earth Kingdom craftsmanship.

"You'll have to excuse me, Azula," Naruto said as they walked into the colony, leaving the tank-train outside the walls. "But I have to check on some things." He looked over to the other girls. "Mai, Ty Lee, keep her out of trouble." And with that, he simply vanished.

Since they were used to that, they weren't surprised. They just started walking down the street away from the gate. They made their way through the flow of people, staying within sight of one another. As they walked, the buildings gradually changed, becoming better maintained and built, showing that they were getting deeper into the colony. When they found the mayor's house, they went inside and made their presence known to the mayor. "It is a great honor to have you in my house, Princess Azula," he told her, bowing. "May I ask why you have decided to come to Kouzan?"

"We are tracking the Avatar but we have run short of supplies and need to restock," she told him, sitting in his chair, the perfect picture of a Fire Nation princess. "Once that is done, we will leave across the bridge." Once they were on the other side of the gorge, they could move more easily.

The mayor winced. "I'm afraid that is currently impossible, your Highness," he told her, sounding embarrassed. "The bridge was collapsed a few months ago by enemy Earthbenders. It's currently under reconstruction."

"Then I'll go talk to the builder." She stood up from the chair and walked out of the room with Mai and Ty Lee right behind her. They headed back into the streets. At the brisk pace they walked at, they soon arrived at the bridge. "Who is in charge here?" the princess demanded, looking at the construction that was going on.

"Who's asking?" a nearby burly worker asked, looking up from what he was doing.

"The princess of the Fire Nation," she told him. "Now where's the builder?"

The worker turned his head to where a young teenager and an adult were talking. "Hey, boss!" he called out. "Somebody wants to talk to you!"

Both the teenager and the adult turned their head to the worker. To the girls' surprise, it was the teenager who came over, not the adult. "Who needs to talk to me?" he asked.

"Who are you?" Ty Lee asked in a bewildered voice.

"My name is Inari. I'm the bridge builder here." He looked at the three girls. "What exactly do you need?"

"You're the bridge builder!?" Azula asked in disbelief. "You're a kid!" He was shorter than they were. Not by much, but he was still shorter.

He looked at her straight in the eye. "I'll admit that this is my first solo job, but I'd like to think I'm doing a good job. Now, what do you need?"

She regained her composure (it would not do for a princess of the Fire Nation to lose it over something like a bridge builder be younger than her). "How long will it be until construction of the bridge is done?"

He looked back at the bridge and gave it some thought. "It'll be about two days until we're done," he finally told her.

"That's impossible. You have a day to finish the bridge," she commanded, expecting him to salute and to bark orders to the workers.

He didn't. "…Did you just tell me what to do about my work?" he asked, like he didn't hear her right.

"Yes."

He looked her straight in the eye. "Look, lady," he said. "The bridge will be done when it's done, no sooner or later. So don't start telling me how long I have to finish it." He stood defiantly in front of her.

"Do you not know who I am?" she asked him, completely outraged. "I am the princess of the Fire Nation!"

"And you're currently standing on the bridge I'm working on, so that means I'm in charge," he fired back. "If you don't have anything to say or do, get off my bridge." Noticing something out of the corner of his eye, he turned to see all the workers looking at their scene. "Get back to work!" he ordered, which they promptly did.

"Why, you little—" She was about to set his hair on fire as a warning not to disagree with her when the end of a wooden staff appeared front of her face, blocking her whole vision.

"Lady, I would appreciate it if you didn't attack the bridge builder," a voice told her. Looking around the end of the staff, she saw a slightly older boy with brown hair, a green jacket, a long blue scarf, and the same headband the people from Omashu and Tu Zin wore.

Mai and Ty Lee would have reacted had they not felt the point of a blade in their backs. "It would probably be best if you ladies left," a boy wearing glasses and had a small drip of snot hang from his nose said from behind Ty Lee.

"We really don't want to cause an incident," a girl with two large orange pigtails spoke from behind Mai.

The tension was thick until Azula surprised them all. "Very well, we will leave," she announced before turning back to Inari. "I apologize for my rudeness. You are correct, this is your bridge and I have no business interfering with how it's built." She turned around and left with Ty Lee and Mai right behind her.

Once they were a safe distance from the bridge, Ty Lee opened her mouth. "Okay, Azula," she began. "What was that? There is no way you would have let somebody challenging your authority slide."

"I let it slide for a reason," she replied. "You two saw the headbands. If I had caused a scene, Naruto would have found out and when he did, he would have us leave and abandon the hunting of the Avatar. Also, there's a chance that group will find him and will want to fight him. So, if we keep quiet about the group while with Naruto and make sure that he doesn't meet the group, we'll be fine."

Both Mai and Ty Lee just stared at her for a minute, and then looked at each other. "Did she just give a valid reason for backing off when someone challenged her authority?" Ty Lee asked, like it was something they couldn't believe.

"Yes. Yes, she did," Mai answered.

"I did not back off!" Azula growled.

"Yes, you did," Ty Lee said in a sing-song voice, grinning widely at her friend.

Azula snarled. It was stuff like this that reminded her of when Naruto had just become her bodyguard.

(Flashback)

She walked back to her room after her Firebending lesson. It was a grueling one, so she was tired. She entered her room, ready to take a nap. But a small wooden ball flew out of nowhere and thwacked her on the head. "OW! What in Agni's name…?" she yelped as another ball hit her on the head. "Who's throwing those?!" She received no answer, only another ball hitting her in the head. She kept looking around; the balls never came from the same direction, but she didn't know where the person who was throwing them was.

Finally, another ball flew at her. This time, she dodged it by ducking. However, it didn't really worked as another ball came at her and hit on the forehead, making her fall to the floor completely. "Lesson number 1: Just because they're coming at you in one way, doesn't mean they won't come at you in another," a voice spoke from somewhere in her room.

She looked up to see someone that was both familiar and yet, unfamiliar to her. "Naruto, you…!" she growled. "What are you doing?" She tried to discreetly look for him, but she couldn't see him.

"Trying to teach you a lesson," he replied. "I don't know if it's working or not yet."

"Why are you here!?" she demanded, still trying to find him.

"…I'm here because I am your bodyguard," he said, making her remember the week before. How she fought against twelve opponents in an Agni Kai and lost to the one person who wasn't a Firebender.

"If that's so, then where have you been?" she asked, keeping low to the floor.

"Observing you from a distance," he told her. "To see if you have changed in any way."

"What do you mean, change?"

"Let me put it to you this way: would you still try and kill me if I was using your closet to hide from a rabid horde of girls?" It was an innocent sounding question, but she just knew there was a smirk on his face when he said it.

"Yes," she answered, standing up and lunging at the spot where she thought Naruto was hiding. Her hands grasped nothing and had she not stopped herself, she would've hit the wall.

"Lesson number 2: Just because you can hear someone, doesn't mean they're there," his voice spoke from the other side of the room. He sighed. "This might take some time."

(End Flashback)

"Never thought I would get used to Naruto's 'lessons,'" Azula thought to herself as she and the other two girls walked through the colony. But she did, in the end. And she was glad for it.

"Hey," Mai spoke up, "let's stop somewhere and get something to eat." She had just realized that it was around midday (a fact her stomach was reminding her pointedly.

"Ooh!" Ty Lee exclaimed. "That restaurant over there looks good!" She pointed to said restaurant. They went into the restaurant, sat down at available seat, and placed their orders, which were quickly delivered. As they ate, they listened to what other people were saying.

It was one such conversation that got Azula's attention. "Did you hear what happened at Akawan? Prince Zuko himself showed up and led the defenses!" a girl at a nearby table said excitedly.

"I heard that on the first day, he pushed the enemy out of the city by himself," another girl said.

"From what I heard, when he met with the 41st division, he got on his knees and begged them to forgive him. They were so moved that they put him in command," third commented.

"Fighting off a besieging army for days on end and then turning the tables by attacking the enemy forces and winning? Prince Zuko is so cool!" one of them squealed.

"I was told that he found a dragon that was held captive by the enemy. He released it and then set it free, telling it to find him when they were both stronger. The leader of the Yuyan archers was so moved by his actions that he immediately gave Prince Zuko the title of Dragon!"

"Yeah, I was told the same thing. Prince Zuko was to be known as the Scarred Dragon!"

It was then all the girls at the table (the ones who just listened as well) chorused, "Prince Zuko is so cool!"

As she listened on, Azula's expression got more and more murderous. "We're leaving," she suddenly declared, standing up from their table. She was out of the restaurant before Ty Lee and Mai could even get up from the table.

She walked away with an angry pace until she felt a hand on her shoulder. Whipping her head around to demand who touched her, she found it was Naruto. "Azula, what's the matter?" he asked her, concerned. When she was this mad, it was best to find out why fast.

"She's upset because she heard people talking positively about Zuko," Mai told him as she and Ty Lee caught up with the two.

"Meanwhile you're ecstatic about it, aren't you, Doom and Gloom?" She didn't reply, but there was a faint (very faint) smirk on her face. She might not have been ecstatic, but she was pleased.

"Why are they talking about him like he's a hero? He's a traitor to the Fire Nation. Why does he get the title of Dragon?" Azula demanded, annoyed and irritated. If anyone should've gotten the title of Dragon, it should've been her or her father!

"Because when he goes to fight the dragon, the only way he'll come back alive is if he defeats the dragon. That's the kind of drive Zuko has," Naruto stated. He might be in exile, but that was exactly the kind of drive the prince of the Fire Nation had. "Azula, why do you dislike listening to what happened at Akawan? Is it because of the fact Zuko might not have been as useless as you thought?"

That was the truth, but she wasn't willing to admit it. "It's not important anymore," she said, brushing it off with a shrug. "By the way Naruto, I want you to stay away from the bridge and the mayor's house." She told him, changing the subject before anyone could argue the fact.

He was confused by those words. "Why?"

"I think some of the servants at the mayor's house and the workers at the bridge are Fangirls of yours." She lied with a straight face. "So if they see you…" She left it hanging.

He quickly got what she was talking about. "We might potentially have another Great Chase on our hands which could possibly level the colony and/or destroy the bridge they're rebuilding?"

She nodded in acknowledgement. Suddenly, Naruto spotted what appeared to be one of the hawks that were normally used by Fire Nation officers. When it landed close to his arm, Naruto grabbed its message. After reading its contents, he exhaled and turned to Azula and her friends. "I'll keep an eye on you three after I am finished with something important." Azula glared at him again. "What? I'm not going after the group that is accompanying the Avatar. If anything, Kouzan is getting additional help."

"Additional help?" Mai asked curiously.

Azula nodded in agreement. "What kind of help, exactly? The Earthbenders are not going to attack an incomplete bridge at any moment."

"Let's just say that Kouzan is going to receive some unpleasant visitors. Plus, I have a meeting with Governor Shun as well." Azula and her friends nodded in agreement. "Let the mayor know that he is also invited to the meeting with the Governor as well."

"Will do, Naruto." As Naruto stepped into a nearby alley and was lost to their sight, Ty Lee leaned in close to Azula's ear. "That was a nice lie you came up with, Azula," She whispered.

"It wasn't exactly a lie." Azula whispered back.

Naruto watched them walk down the street against a ledge of a house. "Are you going to tell them why you up at night when the messenger hawk arrived?" the Kyūbi asked him as they disappeared. "Or why you were up the next night as well?"

"No, I won't," he told the fox as he moved to keep track of them. "It's not their concern."

"Kit, you need to talk to someone about it. It's not healthy to keep it bottled up like this."

"I talk to you, don't I?" he retorted. "Beside compare to me, Azula's issues are much more imposing."

"Funny. To me, both of your issues are on par with each other," the fox remarked drily. The dedication of his Jinchūriki would've been touching, if it was a different time. But it wasn't and therefore, his dedication wasn't touching.

"Enough, what has happened, happened. There's nothing I can do to change it."

"But what if you could?" the Kyūbi wondered aloud. "What if you could change what had happened? Would you do it? Would you leave Azula to go save him?"

"Why are you asking me these questions, Kyūbi?"

"I ask them because we share the same pain. Despite the fact that we didn't really like each other, the Akatsuki took my brother from us."

"…When you say 'us', do you the Bijū or the Jinchūriki?"

"Both," the fox told him solemnly.

He stopped talking to the fox and focused on watching Azula. He didn't want to talk about or remember the nightmare that he dreamt. He didn't want to remember how he watched as the Akatsuki had captured and killed Gaara by extracting Shukaku from him.

---

"It'll take us about two days to reach the bridge that connects the two sides of the gorge," Qing told the Avatar's group as he pointed it out on the map in his office. "By the time we arrive however, we should reach the bridge just as it's finished."

"Does the colony have a military force?" Guy asked. Odds are there were, but he had to be sure.

"Yes. But most have been put to work repairing the bridge. They will be tired and will be slow to respond. We can capture most of the soldiers on the bridge and force the colony into surrender."

"What do you mean by 'capture' exactly?" Sokka asked. Every time the colonel talked, his sense of unease grew. The colonel wasn't going to do what he said, the Tribesman just knew it.

"Just exactly that," he said, looking at Sokka. "I plan to capture them."

"Why don't I believe you?" His sister shot him a look of annoyance, trying to silently tell him to stop. He had no plan on doing that.

"Sokka, if you're going to be like that, perhaps it would be best if you left," Aang told him, flashing a quick apologetic grin at the colonel.

Sokka simply headed for the door and walked out it. The hallways and corridors were silently as he walked. He soon walked out into the open and saw that Appa and Akela were near. He went over to them, sat himself down against Appa's leg, and waited. He didn't have to wait long. "What has you acting so unyouthful, Sokka?" Lee asked him as the Konoha shinobi and everyone else arrived.

"I don't trust that guy," he replied, looking up at them all. "He rubs me the wrong way."

"Sokka, will you let it rest?" Katara asked. She was very annoyed with how he was acting. "The colonel is not a bad guy. He's loyal to the Earth Kingdom and his troops love him."

"Guys," Aang said, trying to make sure things didn't escalate between the siblings. "Let's just leave Sokka alone for now. If we give him some time to calm down, maybe he and the colonel will be able to get along." He believed. Really, he did. He just thought that Sokka needed some more time to get used to Qing.

The others in the group nodded in agreement and left Sokka alone. Aang was the last one to leave and he was the only who heard what Sokka said to Akela. "I'm not the one making the mistake here."

---

The sun had yet risen, but there was still light enough in the sky for Azula to stand in front of a training dummy in the mayor's backyard. Normally, when she could, she would rise with the sun and practice her Firebending. But this time, she wanted to practice something different. She could still remember the first time she tried it. Or rather, the first time Naruto made her try it.

(Flashback)

"What exactly are we doing in the training yards at three in the morning?" she demanded. Even though it wasn't winter, she still felt cold. She just wanted to go back and sleep a little longer, but Naruto depraved her of that when he had all but dragged her out of the bed.

"Lesson number 3," the blonde answered cryptically.

"What in Agni's name is Lesson number 3?" She was long past beginning to hate his lessons. She hated them with a passionate hatred that would've made her father proud.

"Just because you're good at one form of combat, doesn't mean you shouldn't try another," he told her. "Your Firebending is good, but you're a little weak when it comes to close combat." At that point, he pulled out two sheathed military daggers out of a nearby chest. "Therefore, you will learn how to use daggers in close combat to make up for this weakness."

She scoffed. What he suggested was completely ridiculous. "I don't need to learn how use these daggers, my Firebending is all I need," she told him defiantly.

"Didn't you say the same thing before I pinned you to a tree?" he asked with a straight face, making her remember that one day on Ember Island. "Besides, you're not leaving this yard until I'm satisfied."

"And what's stopping me from leaving?" She was sure she could take him in a fight. And if not, she was a good runner.

"The fact that the cooks will not serve you breakfast until I approve it. I won't stop you from leaving, but you'll just be hungry."

Snarling at him for the prospect at the loss of food, she yanked the two daggers out of his hands. "Alright, fine," she muttered. She drew the daggers and held them in her hands, their handles feeling awkward and heavy.

"You're holding them wrong."

"Do you want to be a eunuch?" she growled. She really didn't need his attitude at that moment and would follow through with her promise.

He snorted in derision and crossed his arms. "Please, you couldn't even touch me with those."

(End Flashback)

She hated it at first and she hated him for making her do it. But she eventually got used to it. She wasn't a master at it, but she could hold her own with the daggers. She held the daggers low in front of her and attacked the training dummy. Once she was done, she looked at where she had stabbed, sliced and nick the dummy. "I'm rusty," she noted. Due to the fact she was chasing the Avatar and her father had been keeping a closer eye on her, she didn't really have time to practice.

She practiced the motions again and again until she was satisfied. She put the daggers away and noticed the sun was rising. She closed her eyes and began to breathe. Slowly she breathed in and out as the sun rose slowly on the horizon. Once she felt ready, she began to practice her Firebending. She started slowly then began to get faster and faster until both the fire and she seem to be two parts of an intricate dance.

Finally, she finished the practice by again controlling her breathing. Once she was done, she walked backed into the mayor's house. As she made her way to her room, she passed an open door and saw something that caught her eye. Standing on a rack against the wall, stood a sword. But it was no ordinary sword. She knew a few swords that were as tall as a man, but they didn't have cut outs in them. This sword had two of them. One was a full circle near the tip of the blade and the other was a semi-circle near the handle. Handle from the handle by a strap was a mask with a red wavy design on the bottom and a symbol on the top. She walked into the room to examine the two things closer.

"May I ask what exactly you're doing in my room?" a voice to her side said. If it hadn't been for her training in Firebending and by Naruto, she would've leapt in surprise.

She turned around and saw that it was Inari, dressed for the day. "I'm sorry," she apologized as she tried to think of an excuse. "My brother is a swordsman, so your sword caught my eye. I've never seen anything like it before."

"Most people on this side of the world haven't either," he told her as he walked up to the sword. She stepped out of the way and watched as he took the mask off the handle and laid it on the bed. Then she watched as he took the sword off the rack and held it.

He held it for what seemed like a long time. In the end, he put it back on the rack and then hung the mask from the handle. Even though he wasn't breathing hard, she could see that he was sweating. "Is it heavy?" she asked.

"It's taken me three years just to hold the thing without dropping it," he answered, wiping the sweat off.

"Is it a family heirloom?"

"No…" He touched the blade gently, like he was remembering a memory. "It's more of a memento."

"Who did it belong too then?" There must've been a reason for him to keep it if it wasn't an heirloom.

"…A demon who died to defend my home." She would have asked more questions but the three children from yesterday as well, as a man with dark shades, a green jacket of sorts, and a bandana with the same leaf symbol the kids had on their headbands, appeared at the door.

"Hey Inari…" the blue scarfed one spoke up, only to trail off when he saw Azula. "You're that lady from yesterday!" He pointed at her with an accusing finger.

"My name is Azula," she told him with a little annoyance. "Who are you?"

"Huh?" He grew confused before realizing what she meant. "Oh right, we never told you our names. Well, my name is Konohamaru. This is Udon." He pointed to the other boy who had the glasses. "This is Moegi." He pointed to the girl with the orange pigtails. "And this is our teacher, Ebisu." He pointed to the adult.

"Good morning ma'am," Ebisu said to Azula. "I'm sorry, but we must go now."

"Don't let me stop you." As they left, she went back to her room. She took use of the nearby tub of water to wash and clean herself. She took some time as a bath was one of the few pleasures, she let herself indulge in. Once she was done, she got out and changed into fresh clothing. That was when she heard a knock on the door. "Who is it?" she asked.

The door opened and Ty Lee and Mai came in. "Hey, Azula!" chirped Ty Lee, who sounded both happy and excited. "What are you planning to do today?"

"I figured I get breakfast and then do some more practice. I need to work on my dagger techniques, I'm rusty," she told the acrobat. Being rusty was not something she would allow herself to be.

"You can work on those later!" her friend insisted. "Don't you realize what we have right now? We have a day off!"

Mai sighed at her antics. "Ty Lee, we're not in school anymore." When they had been, she would start getting excited when the teachers said that they could have a day off.

"A day off is a day off," she replied stubbornly. "Besides, I know the perfect thing to do today."

"What's that?" Despite asking that question, the knife-wielder already knew the answer.

"We can go shopping!"

The room was silent for a few minutes until Azula broke the silence. "I'm getting food first," she said before walking out the door. If they were going shopping with Ty Lee, it was best to put some food in her belly. "Don't forget that we are invited for dinner with Governor Shun."

"Why?" Ty Lee asked.

"Because it is rare for Governor Shun to meet some important people from the Homeland. Plus, I'm sure that he will explain to us as to why he requested extra help, guarding the bridge." Both Mai and Ty Lee grimaced before nodding reluctantly as they moved on.

---

"Is everyone on?" Aang asked from where he sat on Appa's head, the dawn breaking all around them. The colonel's forces were getting ready to move and they had too as well.

"Everyone except Sokka and Akela," Guy told him from the saddle.

"Where are they?" It wasn't like them to not be around when it was time to go.

"He said that he was going to march with the soldiers. He said he was going to practice for when we didn't have Appa," Neji answered.

'That's ridiculous. When would we not have Appa?" Katara asked. The sky bison was always there, alongside Aang.

"I asked him the same question, he told me that it's better to be safe than sorry." He shrugged his shoulders. "It's a good reasoning." It was never a bad idea to improve yourself and the Tribesman was doing just that.

"If he wants to walk, let him. It's his choice." Aang told them. "Appa, yip-yip," he told his sky bison. Appa was up and in the air as the soldiers marched. Some of them aboard the sky bison tried to look over the side to see if they could find Sokka, but they couldn't. He was lost in a sea of faces.

---

By the time Naruto arrived at a wild ravine, as per the written instructions, he looked around but saw no one. Not wanting to be caught off guard, he placed his hand on his jian and paused. A swinging rope with a pair of balls attached to it swung by him. He dodged, only to land close to where a mysterious object landed and moved to the side as said mysterious object suddenly exploded. He spotted a large, bearded man wielding a guan dao charging towards him, forcing him to deflect his attack with his jian.

Not long after he dodged the guan dao's strike, a flaming arrow flew towards him. He avoided one, only to have another come flying. He constantly dodged them until fatigue kicked in, allowing an unusual, bearded man to tackle him into the ground. The man with the guan dao aimed his blade into the blonde's throat as he struggled to free himself.

Just as when he was about to give up, the bearded man grabbed him and made him stand up again, at the same time giving a large grin. "That was an excellent sparring session, Lord Naruto," said Colonel Mongke amusingly.

Naruto was not amused. "It was, if you guys didn't try to kill me in the first place." But then again, that always how the Rough Rhinos trained, always going for the kill. He put his annoyance to the side and focused on what was important. "I didn't know that you guys were going to be the extra backup that Governor Shun requested."

Kahchi nodded. "After our failure to capture the Avatar, the Fire Lord saw another use for us. Governor Shun requested for extra reinforcements, and we were called up to help. However, from what Colonel Shinu had said in a message that we received a few days ago, there is an advancing Earth Kingdom army closing in on Kouzan."

"In that case, will Colonel Shinu bring in the Yuyan Archers then?" Naruto asked as he sheathed his jian.

"Yes." Vachir felt uneasy around Naruto, which the blonde noticed. "However distasteful it is for me personally, the other Yuyan Archers recognize your authority as the Paragon of the Fire Nation."

Naruto sighed. While he knew a bit about Vachir's past as a former Yuyan Archer, he did not divulge too deep into why he had ended up with the Rough Rhinos. Moreover, the Rough Rhinos were among the elite Fire Nation troops that did not interact directly with Naruto while the Fire Nation was on the march. Which meant that they developed their opinions on him from certain Fire Nation officers who did not like to take orders from a Paragon who was technically supposed to be their subordinate. Still, Governor Shun's request was rather important to both Naruto and the Rough Rhinos. So they marched back to Kouzan.

---

Azula and her friends spent the day at the stores, browsing, trying things on and just having a good time. Even Mai got into it after a while (once they found the weapons store). Azula smiled, she couldn't really remember the last time she enjoyed herself with her friends (training didn't really count).

In the middle of the afternoon, they managed to find themselves a clothes store. They went into the store and began to look around. "Hey Azula, what do you think of this?" Ty Lee called out. She was holding a dress in front of her that was a blinding pink.

"Try finding something that isn't an eyesore," she stated. She couldn't look directly at the thing. She was half-afraid that she would go blind.

"…It is a little too pink, isn't it?" the acrobat asked.

"That would be an understatement," Mai told her.

She huffed. "Fine, but I know what would look good on Azula." She put the pink dress back and reached for another one.

"What would that be?" Azula asked, curious about what her friend might show her.

"This!" she said as she showed the dress.

When she saw what it was, she was shocked. "Are you crazy!? I am not wearing that! It's hardly even decent!" she all but shouted at the acrobat.

"Okay then." Ty Lee walked over to the clerk. "We'll take it."

"No, we are not!" She tried to yank the dress out of her hands only to be held back.

"Oh, relax," Mai told her, holding her in place. "It's for your own good. You could use a dress like that." She was fairly certain that the princess didn't even have a dress.

Azula could only splutter as the dress was bought. "You'll thank us later, Azula," Ty Lee told her as they walked out of the store, the dress safely packaged away. "Probably when someone asks you out on a date or you ask him."

"Naruto is not my boyfriend!" Azula snapped. She was getting tired of them saying stuff like that.

Both Mai and Ty Lee smirked. "I never said Naruto or anything about a boyfriend," the acrobat said . She stifled a growl at her as she looked around. "You know, I kinda wish he was here right now. I want to know what he thought of what we got."

It was at that point a piece of paper floated down from the sky. Mai plucked it out of the air and looked at it. "Read this." she told Ty Lee. She took the paper.

Ty Lee

If I was actually with you three right now, the only way I would actually enter a store of my own violation was if your lives were at stake.

Naruto

"Well, that's a little rude," she huffed. "He makes it sound like we're going to torture him." Another piece of paper floated down from the sky. She grabbed it and looked at it.

Asking me of what I think of this shirt or these pants as you pose with them on, trying to get my "honest opinion" on some piece of lingerie or swimsuit, calling me a pervert if I accidently ogle you. Do I need to go on?

Naruto

"He has you pegged," Mai told Ty Lee.

"What I want to know is how he's doing that," Azula said. A third piece came floating down, this time in front of her. She grabbed it and read it.

Lesson number 4, Azula, Lesson number 4.

Naruto

"Ah, of course, Lesson number 4. Sorry about that, Naruto," she called out. A fourth piece of paper came down.

Apology accepted.

Naruto

"Hey Azula," Ty Lee said. "What's Lesson number 4?" As if to answer her question, a fifth piece of paper came down from the sky. Azula caught it and read it to the other two.

If you have to show people something, don't tell them how you did it.

Naruto

"Well, I still wish he'd come out and join us," Ty Lee said with a pout.

"Do you not remember the last time he walked into a clothes store with us?" Mai asked her. The three of them shuddered at the memory. He had picked out a shirt and gone to the back to try it on. But soon afterwards, a horde of his Fangirls had showed and besieged his dressing room, trapping him in there.

"It took us six hours to get him out of there," Azula said. They had tried to get through to him, but they had kept getting pushed back (despite how much she wanted to, the princess couldn't use her Firebending on them. It would've made an even bigger panic).

"But you have to admit, it was funny," Ty Lee replied with a small giggle. Just thinking about how the blonde had been trapped in that dressing room tempted her to laugh.

"It always surprises me how tolerant he is with the Fangirls, even with the Great Chase and the countless other times they've gone after him," Mai told them. Despite all that has happened to him when they came for him, he was still polite to them (when they were in small numbers).

Azula grew somber. "He's not always so tolerant. You guys know what happened at Shizhi as well as I do." They nodded gravely. What had happened at Shizhi reminded them that Naruto wasn't just a nice if yet mischievous guy. He could be a dangerous person. They were silent for a minute. "Let's go. We need to meet with the mayor before going to Governor Shun's mansion for dinner," she finally said. They nodded in agreement.

---

Appa had flown all day, keeping in sight of Colonel Qing's army. When night had fallen and the army had made camp, they landed away from them to make their own camp. Once they had finished, they all sat around the fire, just relaxing and eating dinner.

"Sokka and Akela are coming back," Toph suddenly announced, getting everyone's attention.

Sure enough, Sokka and Akela arrived. "Hey guys," He greeted as he sat down, taking a bowl from Katara.

"So, Sokka, how was marching with the troops?" Neji asked him.

"Tiring," he answered, looking up from his bowl. "After a while, you can't feel your feet. But at that point, your brain is on autopilot, so you just keep walking." His feet were coming back to normal, but he was being careful with them.

"It is still very youthful of you to have marched throughout the entire day!" Lee told him with the utmost conviction.

"Indeed!" Guy chimed in. "It proves that you are still in the springtime of your youth!"

"If you say so, I just feel tired." His attention went back to the bowl in his hands and began to eat. They all stared at him for a moment, waiting to see if he would say anything else.

"So…did you talk to any of the soldiers?" Tenten finally asked him, breaking the silence.

He looked up. "Why are you asking?"

"I'm just curious." Why else would he forgo riding on Appa for the day (even she could admit that it was slightly better and faster than running all day)?

Katara saw where the kunoichi was going with this and immediately scowled at her brother. "Sokka, did you ask the soldiers about Colonel Qing?" she demanded, cutting off Tenten's incoming question.

"Yeah, I did," her brother said, like nothing was wrong about what he had said or done. But her scowl deepened at his words.

"What did you ask them?" Aang asked, trying to ensure that a fight didn't break out.

"Just basic ones: what they thought of the colonel, is he a good leader, that kind of stuff." He had asked those question to a lot of soldiers, which had taken up the entire day.

"And what did they say?"

"That he was probably the best leader they ever had, he was a good tactician, and he cares about them."

"There, do you see that the colonel is a good man?" He knew that to be true, he saw when they had first met the colonel and talked to him.

Sokka shook his head. "It seemed like they were too energetic to talk and defend the colonel." He would've thought that there would be a few who disagreed with Qing. But all of his men loved him fiercely. He just knew that there was something wrong.

"For La's sake, Sokka, give it a rest!" Katara snapped. "There is nothing wrong with the colonel! He's a good man who just wants the Fire Nation out of the Earth Kingdom!" Why couldn't her brother see that?

"Did you know that he captured some of the colonists from Kouzan?" he asked. "They were two colonists who were hunting with their sons?"

"Yes, Qing told us that when we landed," Aang told him. "He said that when we arrived at the colony, he will release them after he convinces the other colonists to leave." The Airbender knew that the colonel would keep to his word.

"Right, after he 'convinces' them to leave," the Tribesman muttered. For some reason, whenever Qing used the word "convince" he didn't mean what the others thought he meant.

Unfortunately, his sister heard his mutter and decided to put her foot down. "Sokka, if you keep this up, I will have Appa take you back to the South Pole. That way you can act like a child there," she warned him.

When he heard those words, he stood up from where he sat. "Act like a child?" he repeated, anger evident in his eyes. his bowl fell from his hands and hit the ground. "Katara, just once, will you believe me? I don't know how, but the colonel is not what he seems."

She wouldn't have of his nonsense. "You're being paranoid and you're acting like a child," she told him, the fire making her eyes look seemingly harsher. "Grow up."

He stiffened at those words, looking like he was about to snarl at her. Then he looked around and saw that no one was on his side. He stifled the snarl that was coming up and walked away, Akela close behind him.

"What's up with him?" Toph asked as she felt the two of them leave the camp site.

Katara sighed in exasperation. Honestly, it was a full-time dealing with Sokka when he became paranoid. "He gets like when things don't go his way," she told the Earthbender. "Give him some time, he'll calm down."

---

Sokka stomped through a nearby forest, not caring if he was causing a racket. Akela trotted behind him, staring silent. "Stop acting like a child!?" he asked himself. "I haven't been a child since Dad left! Ever since that day, I have tried to protect her and my friends. But does she thank me? No! She just ignores me whenever I have a bad feeling!" He punched a tree. "Argh, there are some days when I just to want slap my sister!"

He kept walking until he stopped outside a cave. Suddenly, he felt a jolt of pain in his leg. Looking down, he saw that Akela had bitten him in the leg. They were like that for minutes until Akela let go of his leg. He sighed, the anger inside of him draining away. "Sorry about that, Akela. I was just…so angry." Akela gave his arm a lick. Looking down at the wolf, he realized something. "You've gotten big."

Akela gave him a look that was a combination of "No, really? What tip you off?" and "It took you long enough." The wolf now reached his waist. There wasn't any trace of the starved, soot-and-ash covered puppy he had rescued. "Sorry," he apologized, realizing what the look meant. "You know how things have been lately."

He looked around and finally noticed the cave. It looked like an ordinary cave but he felt like he should know what was in there, like he had to go in and go alone. "Akela, I want you to stay outside this cave. I'm going in to see what in there." Akela flattened his ears, let his tail fall, and whined. "I know, I know. You don't want me to go in there, but I feel like I must," the Tribesman told the wolf, kneeling and scratching him behind the ear. "Don't worry, I'll come back." He set off into the cave, leaving Akela behind.

As he went further and further in, he realized that it wasn't getting darker as it should've been. In fact, the light stayed the same. Looking around, he saw that torches were placed along the walls. They looked like they were recently put in and yet, he somehow knew they were not. He also noticed that as he went deeper into the cave, it was looking less and less like a cave tunnel. Finally, he arrived at the end of the tunnel, which now looked like a corridor. In front of him stood a door, a wooden door that seemed to be unlatched.

He reached for the door handle and as soon he touched it, the door swung open. "Well, that's not creepy," he said to himself. "Not creepy at all." He walked into the room. It was a tomb. The fact that there was a stone coffin in the room tipped him off. This coffin wasn't carved out of the rock and shaped it into a crude form. No, he would say that this was a coffin made of the highest quality of stone and was craved by the greatest stonemasons at the time it was created. It was made with both white and black marble. On top of the coffin, lay two swords.

The larger sword was the definition of "Oversized cleaver." It was big enough that the Tribesman was quite sure that even if he used both of his hands to pick the sword up, he would have a hard time holding it. The blade's edge curved inward at the top. Along its back was a thin, hollowed-out part. The second sword was smaller and looked more like a knife then a sword, with a guard over the handle, most likely to protect it. At the bottom of the slab covering the coffin, near the tip of the sword, were two inscriptions. One was long and the other was short, but they were both of foreign writing, so he didn't know what they say.

Suddenly the door behind him slammed shut and all but one of the torches in the room went out. The one remaining torched burned so low that it only barely illuminated the room. Sokka reached for his boomerang on reflex but stopped when he heard a rattling of coils. "It's been a long time since someone has entered this tomb willingly…and walked into my claws," a voice whispered from the darkness in the room.

"Who is there?" Sokka called out as he slowly brought his hand away from the boomerang. He could hear something moving, but he couldn't see what it was.

"Hmm…it seems that the Avatar didn't tell you about what happened to him at the North Pole." The voice sounded very amused.

He stopped looking and froze. In truth, Aang did tell them what had happened at the North Pole during the siege. And he also told them how to survive if they ever encountered the spirit he did. And now that spirit was in the tomb "You are Koh, the Face Stealer," he announced to the room in an emotionless voice and with a neutral expression. The rustling of coils quickened, and he was suddenly staring at an arrogant male face from the Northern Water Tribe. He knew that face was from the Northern Water Tribe because he had (unfortunately) known the original owner of that face. "Huh," he said neutrally. "So that's what happened to Hahn."

"Oh? You know this face?" Hahn's lips moved, but it wasn't his voice that was speaking. It was the spirit's voice, Koh's voice.

"Met him a while back, he was an ass," he said with a shrug, acting nonchalant.

Koh chuckled sinisterly. "Indeed, he was, and arrogant as well. He came into my territory and tried to challenge me." The face changed into a blue demon face, the lips surrounding blinking and the face changed. "One look at this and he screamed in fright. The sounds were so…satisfying." He looked at Sokka, who hadn't said a word in response. "You will not avenge your friend?"

"I never said that he was my friend. I said he was an ass." He looked at the coffin as Koh coiled around his body. "So, whose tomb did I walk into?"

The spirit switched his face to one that was painted white and had grey eye markings with red lips. He uncoiled his body and scuttled over the ceiling to look at the coffin from above. "The tomb of a…interesting man," he finally said. Sokka couldn't be sure but he could have sworn there was a tiny amount of sadness in Koh's voice.

"How was he interesting to a spirit?" the Tribesman asked with genuine curiosity. That was something he didn't know could happen (granted, his experience with spirits was rather limited).

The Face Stealer, having heard the curiosity in his voice, turned around and rushed towards him, wearing the face of a blue nose baboon. But Sokka still wore the emotionless face. Koh changed his face to that of an old man and began to chuckle. "Very impressive, boy, but how long can you last?" He crawled back to look at the coffin. "This man lived a long time ago, yet lived for a long time. He came to me once and demanded that I show him the way into the Physical World. I refused and he drew his blade. I found out two things that day: his blade could hurt spirits and that I could not take his face."

"So did you kill him?"

The face changed again this time into a brutal looking man. "On the contrary, I showed him how to enter the Physical World." The face turned back into the white mask. "And for many years afterwards, he would come visit either when he wanted a fight or to talk. It seemed that he could walk either world with ease."

"Why would he talk to you?" Why would anyone want to meet the Face-Stealer more than once? He certainly didn't want to. Once was enough.

"I had asked him that myself once. He told me that it's better to trust an enemy that you know then an ally you don't. When it came time for his death, he called me here to the Physical World and asked me to watch over his tomb from that day on. He trusted me to keep away and terrify those who would try to discrete his tomb." As Koh, his voice sounded sad. It almost sounded like he missed the person who was entombed. "…And do you know what that makes you?" he asked as he turned to face Sokka, once again wearing Hahn's face. "That would make you a desecrator. Your face will soon belong to me."

"But I didn't desecrate anything," the Tribesman objected. "And you can't take a face that doesn't show emotion."

The face changed again, this time into an owl. "I have ways of making you express emotion, boy. I will enjoy making you scream." The spirit coiled up to launch himself at Sokka.

"If you're going to kill me, may I ask a question?" he asked, catching the Face Stealer off guard.

"What would that be?"

He pointed to the inscriptions on the coffin. "Do you know what those words mean?" He wanted to know what they said.

"Yes, I do. But you don't need to worry about them now!" The spirit lunged at the Water Tribe Paragon when all the torches suddenly flared back to life, making Sokka cover his eyes and Koh to coil back with a hiss.

"Koh," a different voice, one Sokka knew well, spoke, "did you forget what I told you the last time you tried to take one of my Paragon's faces?" He opened his eyes and saw Sifu standing (or rather, floating) over a cowering Koh.

"S-sifu!" squeaked Koh, wearing the face of a child. It was probably to make Sifu think he wasn't dangerous. "We were just talking! That's all, I swear!"

"Koh, if you're not gone in the next five seconds…" Koh heard the warning in Sifu's voice. He hurled himself at the darkest corner in the room. Sokka didn't hear the sound of anything hitting the wall, so Koh must've fled back to the Spirit World. "There are days when I wonder why I let him exist," Sifu said, annoyed. He looked at the coffin. "So, you found him."

"Who is 'he?' Do you know him?" Sokka asked him. It seemed like everyone knew the man in the coffin, everyone except him that.

"Not at first. You know I was the last teacher of the first Paragons?" The Tribesman nodded. "Well, he taught them before I did. When I first met them, they were carrying swords that felt like they came from the Spirit World. Once they learned everything that I could teach them, I asked them where the swords had come from. They told me that they learned from a lost swordsman. I spent quite some time looking for that swordsman after that. He was difficult to track down."

"Koh said that he could move through either world easily," he commented.

"Which is probably why it was taking me so long to find him," he admitted. "By the time I found him, the first Paragons had already trained their successors and retired. And I found that he could do travel between the two worlds because he was essentially half-dead."

Sokka was confused by that. "How can he be half-dead?" There was either alive or dead. There was no middle ground.

"Don't know, I thought it was better not to push it. I asked him what kind of sword the first Paragons carried. He told me that they weren't just swords, they were Zanpakutō's."

"Zanpakutō?" repeated the Tribesman, trying the word out. It sounded foreign, but also like there was more to it than just the word.

"Yes. He said that a person creates a Zanpakutō from their own soul. Where he came from, it was a weapon used by the dead."

"Then how could the first Paragons create their own Zanpakutō if they were alive?" That was a contradiction if he ever heard one.

"I asked him the same thing. He said that a Zanpakutō can be created from a living person's soul, but they would have to anchor it. The creator would have to use their own blood to help create it. But they had to be careful. Too little, and the Zanpakutō wouldn't be created. Too much, and the person would die. It was a risky process and the swordsman only did it with five people, four of which were the first Paragons."

"Who was the fifth?" He doubted he would know the fifth person. He barely knew who the first Paragons were.

"Someone he taught long before the first Paragons came to him." The spirit chuckled as he remembered the man. "He was an interesting man. He was stubborn, short-tempered, strong-willed and always scowling. And yet to those who were his friends, he would have protected them to the end. He could have made a life for himself here."

"You mean he didn't?" Sokka asked him. It sure sounded like the swordsman had made a life here, if everything he had heard was anything to go by.

"He was not of this world and kept trying to find a way back to his own. When I found out that he was truly dying, he told me that with his death he could probably go back to where he belonged."

"Did he?"

"I haven't seen him in the Spirit World, and it's been a long time since he died," he said. It almost looked like he shrugged his shoulders.

Sokka walked towards the coffin and looked at the inscriptions. "Do you know what these means?" he asked the spirit as it floated behind him.

Sifu shook his head. "He never tried to teach his language and writing to anyone."

He reached out and touched the first inscription, feeling the carved figures beneath his fingers. When they brushed up against the larger blade, he felt a brief pain in his head and drew back his hand. After the pain had past, he looked at the inscriptions again. This time, for unknown reasons, he could read them. The first one said:

Here sleeps a man who fought against the one who wanted to sit on Kami's throne, who fought against those who wished to use his powers for themselves and who fought against the ones who wished vengeance on those he cherished.

Here sleeps a man who protected his friends' lives at the cost of his own, who went up against almost unbeatable odds to save a friend twice and succeeded and risked his own life so that the ones he guarded could live in peace.

Here sleeps the one who protects.

Sokk took his eyes off the first inscription and looked at the second inscription.

Abandon your fear. Don't give an inch. Advance and never stop. If you retreat you will age. Be afraid and you'll die.

He looked away from the inscriptions and saw that he was alone in the tomb. Sifu had disappeared. "Perhaps it's best if I leave now." He walked towards the door and then stopped. He turned back to face the tomb and gave the warriors' salute his father taught him to the coffin. He walked through the door and closed it behind him. He walked out of the cave and back into the forest, where Akela waited for him.

The wolf rose from where he laid and walked over to Sokka and woofed once. The Tribesman interpreted it as "You took your sweet time."

"Akela, you wouldn't have believed what I told about what happened in that cave," he told the wolf. "Let's get back to the others. I can almost guarantee that they'll be asleep."

Akela gave him a look that seemed to say, "What do you mean, almost?" He just smiled and walked back into the forest. The wolf followed him.

---

When Azula and her friends had arrived with the mayor at the Governor's mansion, they were surprised at how simplistic it looked. While Mai's family lived in a confiscated mansion back in Omashu, theirs were more elaborate, to signify their heritage. Governor Shun's mansion on the other hand, did not match the same elaborate decorations as any other home owned by any Fire Nation noble family. Rather, it looked dreary, almost foreboding. Upon arriving at the dining table, the governor saluted Azula, prompting her and her group to do the same. A few minutes later, Naruto appeared by himself, without the guards who brought him back here.

Azula could not help but feel intimidated by Governor Shun's presence. To her, it felt like she was staring at a long lost relative of her father, with his cold stare and emotionless facial expression. At the same time, Governor Shun was also unusual in that he kept no beard or goatee. The most important feature that Azula noticed in the Governor was his choice of a weapon. Instead of the usual jian, Governor Shun preferred the liuyedao as his weapon of choice.

"Good evening, Princess Azula. I assume that you and your group had arrived safely in Kouzan yesterday," Governor Shun spoke first. When Azula simply nodded, the Governor did the same. "Sorry for the incomplete state of the bridge. Recently, the Earthbenders have tried to destroy it, but our troops barely managed to hold them off. When I received word from Colonel Mongke about the advancing Earth Kingdom army, I understood why they did not come right away. Lord Naruto thought of an idea as to how to cripple their fighting ability."

Azula did not scowl, to anyone's surprise. She kept a calm posture throughout the conversation as the servants began to deliver their meals to them. "Hearing about Lord Naruto's exploits on the battlefield, I can understand why your father, the Fire Lord, chose him to be your bodyguard. However, most of the officers complain about him a lot." Governor Shun looked at Naruto. "Like why you aren't promoted to an officer's rank in the first place."

Naruto sighed. "I'm already a bodyguard to Azula, and a Paragon to boot."

"It doesn't matter. A Paragon is technically an officer in all but name, but I would prefer to see you command troops as an actual officer. You've made too many enemies within our nation," Governor Shun reprimanded him.

"My father has made it clear that unless Lord Naruto here," Azula turns to Naruto, who winced, "starts obeying his commands and gives him the respect he deserves, he will not be granted an officer's rank. Having someone who does not have a rank act as my bodyguard could be beneficial to my father, as he can simply reassign him elsewhere, without fear of repercussions."

Naruto glared back at Azula. "As I said in Omashu, the day I start to respect your father is when he starts to actually get off his butt and fight on the battlefield." Before Azula could protest, Naruto held up his hand. "Even former General Iroh himself, Prince Zuko, and yourself are out fighting the war, and hunting the Avatar at the same time."

"I'm starting to understand why you have a low opinion on your own liege lord, Lord Naruto." Governor Shun passed him a kettle full of tea, which he poured into their cups. "All the same, at the very least, for the Princess's sake, try to show some respect to her father and your liege lord."

Naruto sighed in resignation. "Fine, I will." He said here just to keep the peace.

"That's better. In any case, how goes the bridge?" Governor Shun turned to the visitor who arrived at the dining table. Inari bent the knee to the Governor, as a sign of respect.

"The bridge is complete, My Lord," Inari told Governor Shun. "I simply did my job, nothing more and nothing less."

Governor Shun nodded in approval. He gave Naruto a silent gesture for him to leave. As the blonde left, Azula got up and followed, but not before excusing herself to meet him in a small room. "You don't look happy at all," Azula commented dryly. "As if you've realized that to become an officer, you just have to give my father some respect."

"Azula, I only did that just so I wouldn't have the likes of that idiot Lieutenant back in Yu Dao get upset at me. Besides, there is a reason why Colonel Mongke isn't here right now." He looked at the assortment of weapons inside the room. To his astonishment, there was a small crossbow that hung over the wall, while another bow, this time like the ones used by the Yuyan Archers, also hung at a different area of the wall. Just as Naruto and Azula were about to leave the small room, Governor Shun entered. "Governor Shun, I did not know you were a connoisseur for such exotic weapons," he said respectfully.

"These weapons were like the ones taken from the Earth Kingdom soldiers," the governor replied. "However, the repeating crossbows like the ones I've kept for my collection have been kept by various former Earth Kingdom soldiers who defected to the Fire Nation." He walked over and touched the weapon briefly. "They mainly use them to help keep the peace between the colonies and help us gather intel." He pulled his hand back and faced Naruto. "So, I take it that you have a plan to defeat the incoming Earth Kingdom army?"

"I do, but right now, I can only share this with you and Princess Azula." Azula nodded and allowed Naruto to continue. "Colonel Mongke has mentioned that Colonel Shinu will also take part in the upcoming battle with the Yuyan Archers, and I have full confidence in his ability to lead them."

"It will still not be enough. There are approximately 9,000 Earth Kingdom soldiers bearing down on us, and we only have a third of its strength," Governor Shun insisted.

"The governor is right, Naruto. How can you pull this off?" Azula asked.

"Well, this is where my plan comes in." And with that, Naruto began to explain the details of the plan.

---

"So, how did a boy like yourself became a bridge builder?" Mai asked Inari. They continued to eat their dinner while Ty Lee moved beside him. "You're a bit younger than us, to be honest."

"Yeah, what gives?" Ty Lee interjected.

Inari chuckled. "Well, I've always been an apprentice carpenter. The truth is, my grandfather and I built our first bridge back in our world. Back then, I whined and cried about the injustice of this world, until someone told me that you need to summon enough courage to change it, instead of waiting for someone to save you."

"Wow, that is quite an epic tale!" Ty Lee smiled at Inari, although he got annoyed when she started to squeeze his cheeks.

"Hey! Cut it out!"

Mai glanced over. "Yeah, listen to the little bridge builder here, Ty Lee, and let him go." Ty Lee pouted as she reluctantly stopped. "Anyways, who told you to stop with the waterworks and just start changing for the better?" Inari grimaced and pointed at Naruto, coming back to the tabale with Azula and Governor Shun. "Naruto? Hold on a sec, how did you know him in the first place?"

"What's going on?" Naruto asked before turning to Inari and gave a warm smile. "Hey. I didn't expect to see you here, Inari."

"Likewise, Naruto. Just why didn't you tell me that you were banished from Konoha in the first place? We would have welcomed you back in the Land of Waves!" Inari shouted at Naruto.

Governor Shun was surprised. "You know Lord Naruto?"

"Yes, I knew him." Inari glared at Naruto. "And he did not tell me what the hell is he doing here in the first place!"

"Enough! Enough of this excitement for today!" Azula told Inari sternly. "I will ask Naruto another time about his connection to the people who are accompanying the Avatar, especially ones with the same headband as the ones we saw today."

She froze, realizing her bodyguard was still in the room."Is it the ones from Tu Zin? Or the one from Omashu?" Naruto growled.

But Governor Shun simply placed his hand on the blonde's back. "Let us focus on defending this colony, and then worry about your hidden past after that." Governor Shun led them back to the dining table and resumed eating. "Inari, isn't it?"

Inari turned to the Governor. "Yes, My Lord?"

"You've done Kouzan a great service. We shall open the bridge tomorrow if you will allow it," Governor Shun suggested. He also turned to Azula and smiled. "I would suggest that you and your group, plus Lord Naruto, spend the night here. Tomorrow, we will test the new bridge for its endurance. And this is not a suggestion."

"Of course, Governor Shun. I still have a lot to talk about with you regarding strategies," Naruto agreed.

---

The next morning, Azula and her group stood in front of the tank-train, with Inari accompanying them. A few hours before sunrise, Governor Shun gave Naruto a secret order to leave the town, intending for him to join with either Colonel Mongke's Rough Rhinos, or Colonel Shinu's Yuyan Archers. Azula noticed his absence at the dining table during breakfast, indicating that a part of his plan had kicked off.

"Actually, there is one thing I would ask of both you and Master Inari." Azula said to them, while supervising the loading of the tank train.

"What is it, your Highness?" Governor Shun asked her.

"Since the bridge is done, we should leave right now." While she had enjoyed her brief vacation in Kouzan, she had wasted enough time. She needed to get back on the trail.

Inari looked at Azula. "Are you taking that tank-train with you?" She nodded. "Alright then, it'll give us the chance to judge how the bridge handles that kind of weight."

"Then it's settled. I will have the engineers move the tank-train to the bridge and we will meet you there." She walked out with Ty Lee and Mai right behind her.

"Uh…Azula?" asked Ty Lee. "How are we going to get Naruto across the bridge if he's not with us?" That was looking to be a problem, at least to the acrobat.

"I'm sure he'll figure out that we're leaving, and he'll find a way across without anyone noticing him," she lied with the utmost confidence. Not even Mai and Ty Lee were told of Naruto's plan, since he was paranoid enough to keep the details of it closer to just himself, the Governor, and Azula herself.

---

The tank-train was lined up at the end of the bridge when Azula and her two friends arrived. They saw Konohamaru, Moegi, and Udon, but noticed that someone else was absent. "Where's your teacher?" Mai asked them.

Konohamaru shrugged. "I think he ate something this morning that didn't agree with him. He's been in bed since."

"That's too bad," Ty Lee said. While she didn't really know the man, it never hurt to be polite.

"Alright, here's what going to happen," Inari spoke up, getting everyone's attention. "We have Earthbenders on standby should any damage happen to the bridge. We're first going to send the tank-train over the bridge to see what happens."

He waved to the engineers in the tank-train. It started moving and was soon crossing the bridge. It cleared and kept going on its way to the camp site that had been set up the day before. "It seems that the bridge can hold the tank-train's weight and since right now, that's the heaviest thing we have on the bridge, I'd say it will be able to hold its own," Inari stated as he walked towards the middle of the bridge.

"You're the expert here, Inari," Konohamaru told him as they followed him. The Earthbenders on the other side of the gorge quickly crossed the bridge and made their way back into the colony, nodding briefly at Inari as they passed.

"Wasn't it a clear day a few minutes ago?" Mai asked aloud, looking around. They all looked around and saw what she was talking about. A few minutes ago, the day was nice and clear. But now, a fog was rapidly coming in. Within a few minutes, the fog had covered the entire bridge.

"What's going on?" Moegi asked as she and Udon pulled out a kunai and Konohamaru reached for his staff. As if to answer her question, two shapes appeared on the other end of the bridge, slowly getting bigger and coming towards them.

Inari realized something at that point. He had seen something like this before. He had seen it in the Land of Waves "This isn't a fog. This is the Kirigakure no Jutsu (Hiding in Mist Technique)!" he told them in a half-panicked voice.

Laughter was heard coming from the shapes in the mist. "Well, what do you know? The little bridge builder knows what the mist is. You don't see that every day, do you, Itachi?" one of the shapes said.

The shapes stepped out of the mist and to where the group could see them. One was a black-haired man and the other was a blue skinned man with a cloth-covered sword. They both wore headbands. The black-haired man wore the same one as Konohamaru and his teammates while the blue skinned one wore a headband that had the same symbol the mask in Inari's room. The difference in their headbands was that the symbol was slashed through. But what truly made them distinguishable were the cloaks they wore had red clouds on them.

It was the cloaks that made them instantly recognizable to the Konoha team. "They're from the Akatsuki!" Udon exclaimed.

"Let's see what we have here," the blue skinned man (who looked more like a shark, truth be told) said. "We've got the princess of the Fire Nation, her two friends, the little bridge builder…and three brats from Konoha."

"W-why are you h-here?" Konohamaru demanded, desperately trying to make sure his voice didn't squeak. He knew who Itachi was and was scared. But he couldn't run away. He had to stand his ground.

"Ah, look Itachi. The little brat is trying to act all grown-up," the shark-looking one said with a laugh, like it was an amusing thing to see. "Isn't that cute?"

"Kisame, enough," Itachi said. He walked forward a few steps. "Princess Azula, we do not wish to fight you. We came here for one thing," he said to her, sounding incredibly formal.

"And what would that be?" she asked. She had a feeling that this was not a person she could trust.

"Naruto Uzumaki."

Konohamaru and his teammates were shocked by what they had just heard, but Inari was not surprised, having met the blond the night before. Before he could do something, Azula had slipped into a Firebending stance, ready to fight. "Sorry, but I'm afraid you can't have him," she told him. Mai began to finger a handful of throwing knives and Ty Lee was ready to move.

"If you do not give him up willingly, we will kill you to get to him," Itachi replied coolly. His face didn't show any emotion. It was expressionless.

"You'll find that we won't go down that easily." She was confident that she and her friends could hold their own against the two of them.

"Are you sure?" He took a step back. "Kisame, don't kill them. We still don't know where Naruto is," he ordered.

The swordsman just grinned before charging at them all. He went after Azula first, ducking underneath a fireball she had bent at him and burying his fist into her stomach. As she collapsed to the ground, Ty Lee had flipped into the air, trying to jab the pressure points in his head and shoulders. He sidestepped her, grabbed one of her legs and slammed her down into the bridge. Mai threw knives at him, but he just swatted them away with his sword and then smacked her down with it. Swinging his sword low, he literally swept the Konoha team and Inari off their feet.

"And that was without a single use of jutsu," he boasted as the mist faded. "Now then, what body part should Samehada cut off?" He pretended to give it some thought. "How about a leg? That why it'll be easier to catch you if you run away." He swung Samehada down at Azula's leg, as if to cut it off. But that idea didn't work. Kisame was surprised at the loud clang, and backed up as to everyone's surprise, Governor Shun pointed his liuyedao at the two Akatsuki members.

"Who are you two, and what do you want?" Governor Shun asked.

Itachi walked towards him. "As we told the Princess there," he pointed at Azula without looking at her, "we want Naruto Uzumaki."

"I get that, but I won't negotiate with bounty hunters like you!" Governor Shun charged at Kisame, weapon in hand. Itachi stepped in and stopped his strike with his kunai. "I do not know your intention with Lord Naruto, but you two will not get to him!"

Itachi merely kicked the governor aside. "We have no choice. We have to eliminate you, the princess, her friends, and the Konoha team sent to accompany the bridge builder."

Just then, Kisame turned around and grabbed Itachi by the back. "Hey, Itachi!"

"Kisame, now is not the time," Itachi reprimanded him. Kisame simply dragged his partner and forced him to see what is happening. Once he did, he paid attention.

Governor Shun stood up and gasped as a large column of Earth Kingdom soldiers marched towards the bridge. "So, they're here." He turned to Azula and gave her a silent nod, indicating that the next step of Naruto's plan was set in motion. He walked towards the approaching Earth Kingdom soldiers, completely ignoring the supposed bounty hunters.

"Look up there!" Ty Lee shouted as she pointed her finger at what appeared to be a sky bison flying towards them. "Wow, it seems that the Avatar is joining in as well."

Azula laughed loudly, as Mai and Ty Lee were startled. "Isn't this exciting? The Avatar's appearance and these two freaks, in Kouzan on the same day."

Appa landed near the bridge, his passengers waiting for now. Colonel Qing stood in front of his army, leading them onto the bridge. Both Sokka and Akela stood just a little way behind him, their faces hard and somber. He stopped where the others could easily see him. Governor Shun sheathed his blade and turned his attention to the commanding Earth Kingdom officer .

"I am Colonel Qing of the Earth Kingdom and I demand the complete and unconditional surrender of Kouzan!" he stated outright, his voice echoing over the gorge.

"I am Shun, the Governor of Kouzan, and General as well. What makes you rockheads think we will just surrender this colony to you?" Governor Shun asked coldly.

"Your troops are tired from building this bridge. I could easily overrun this colony." He seemed completely confident about that.

"Perhaps. Let's put that to the test, if you may," Governor Shun mocked his Earth Kingdom counterpart.

He did not expect the next command that came out of Colonel Qing's mouth. "Bring forth the prisoners!" he ordered his second-in-command. The four prisoners, two men and their sons (one pair was Fire Nation and the other was Earth Kingdom, judging by their clothes) were brought forward and were forced to kneel before him.

"What is he doing?" Aang asked as he watched the whole thing. This wasn't supposed to happen. The prisoners were to stay behind until the colony had surrendered. They weren't supposed to be brought up front like this. When he looked at the others, he saw that they were just as confused as he was.

Qing walked behind the fathers. "Fire Nation citizens of Kouzan, you have profited from lands and resources that were never yours in the first place!" he shouted for the colony to hear. "Earth Kingdom citizens, I find you guilty of treason by allowing these charcoal-suckers to live here!" He drew out a knife and held it high. "This will be your punishment!" And without any more warning, he stabbed the first father through the back of the head, shocking everyone (except for his soldiers, the Akatsuki members, and the shinobi team on the sky bison) who could see it.

As the colonel pulled his knife out of the first father and walked over to the second father, Katara looked over to where her brother stood. "Sokka, stop him!" She shouted at him, her voice full of horror. But he didn't do anything. He just watched as Qing killed the second father.

It was when the colonel started to walk towards the children that Aang finally acted. He leapt off Appa and flew down, landing behind Sokka. He bent the air to push the colonel away from the children. The colonel fell to the ground and as he rose back up, Aang bent another stream of air to send the children over to the other side of the bridge. A side effect of that was Sokka and Akela were also sent that way.

As soon as the children landed in front of her, Azula got them on their feet and passed them over to Konohamaru's team. "Get them inside and find their mothers," she ordered. Konohamaru nodded in acknowledgement and began to herd the kids back into the colony with his teammates and Inari.

"What is the meaning of this, Colonel?" Aang asked Qing, standing in front of the man. "You said that you would try to convince the colonists to leave." There was supposed to be no bloodshed. It was supposed to be peaceful!

"They are Fire Nation! They don't belong here in the Earth Kingdom!" the colonel said as he stood up, his voice becoming angry.

"But what about the Earth Kingdom people who live here?" Surely, the man wasn't going to kill his own countrymen. He wouldn't do something like that!

"They are traitors!" he screamed, his calm composure, which he had kept ever since they had met him, breaking. They deserve to die for letting Fire Nation filth live instead of doing their patriotic duty and kill them all!" His eyes burned with a fire that Sokka (and much later, everyone except for Team Guy) would say was insane.

Aang turned to the soldiers. "Why haven't you arrested him?" he demanded. They should've done that the second Qing started talking like that. But they hadn't moved a muscle.

"Because Colonel Qing is right," one of the soldiers yelled out. "They are all traitors!"

He looked at them and realized that they all had the same kind of fire in their eyes as the colonel had. They would follow his orders and destroy the colony. "Please, Colonel." He begged. "You don't have to do this."

"Traitors and enemies to the Earth Kingdom are to be executed! If you're not going to help us, Avatar, then get out if our way!" Qing ordered him.

Azula smirked at what was happening. She could not believe what she is seeing: The Avatar and his so-called ally are having an argument over how the colony would be dealt with, while the Tribesman that Naruto often talked about wore a neutral expression, as if he expected something like this to happen. Suddenly, Naruto appeared atop an ostrich horse on Kouzan's side of the gorge. The ostrich horse raced across the bridge, stopping in front of Governor Shun and Colonel Qing.

Naruto climb down clapped his hands mockingly at the Air Nomad. "Congratulations, Avatar Aang," he said. "You have successfully brought an enemy force to a Fire Nation colony with the intention to raze it to the ground. You are taking an active part in the war." Aang winced at the implication. Meanwhile, Appa landed briefly, letting Katara and Toph to join him.

While this was all happening, Itachi and Kisame had joined them. "Look at the little Fishcake, all grown up," Kisame commented, and pointed Samehada at Naruto's head. "I suppose we should thank you for saving us the trip. Come with us now."

Naruto glanced their way. "How do you guys feel about a truce for now and help me with a massacre?" He made no effort to keep his voice quiet. Both sides of the bridge could hear him.

"Ha! You think you can slaughter my men; with the puny number of troops that you have in the colony?" Colonel Qing taunted.

He paid him no attention, focusing instead on Itachi. "Itachi…hasn't he killed you yet?"

"Naruto, come with us," Itachi replied, not answering his question.

"No."

"Then we will have to take you by force."

"No, you won't," the blonde said, mystifying them. "Not unless you want to miss the massacre."

Azula had had enough. She crossed the bridge, grabbed her bodyguard by his arm, and pulled him to the side. "This isn't part of the plan we talked about!" she hissed.

"Of course it's not. I'm just as surprised as you are, but those two could prove to be useful," Naruto whispered to her, before turning back to Itachi. "How about it? We call a truce, and you two can have fun with those troops there."

Governor Shun turned to Colonel Qing and scoffed. "Looks like you rockheads have lowered down to the same level as some of my 'colleagues' when it comes to coercion." There was no mistaken the disgust when he said collogues. "Very well then. We will show you no quarter." His side withdrew, moving quickly back to the colony.

Colonel Qing watched them go. "I will enjoy this battle, charcoal sucker," he said, all but spitting out the words before turning to his troops.

Sokka and Katara watched with fear as the two armies are about to clash. "Great going, Sokka!" Katara shouted down, glaring at her brother. "You led us into a battle instead of a peaceful withdrawal."

He did not say anything back, feeling unhappy with the sudden turn of events. At the same time, he was not surprised to see the outcome of the failed negotiations, but the appearance of Naruto had changed everything. Both the Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom soldiers aimed their arrows in the sky, and released it, while the Earthbenders bent a column to protect themselves from the barrage of arrows. Meanwhile, the Firebenders bent enough fire to burn down the enemy arrows. A few Fire Nation soldiers were struck by the barrage. Colonel Qing was pleased with the progress that his army was making, confident in his victory over the Fire Nation, while thinking of ways to deal with the colony as soon as his army conquered it. First things first, though. They needed to soften up the defenses.

Once he was certain they were softened, he signaled one of his subordinates. The man pulled out a horn and blew two blasts. His men started advancing across the bridge, right into Kouzan. This was it. They would overwhelm the meager defenses and take the colony.

Once the enemy army was on the bridge, Naruto signaled Azula. She bent out three small fire bursts into the sky. A few minutes later, a small explosion wenr off in the distance. One of the Earth Kingdom soldiers gasped as boulders had cut off their only path of retreat. Naruto singaled Azula again. She bent only one fire burst. Suddenly, five komodo rhinos appeared, bypassing the boulders and charged towards the Earth Kingdom soldiers, hacking their way through. The colony's defenses gave a cheer when they realized who were riding the rhinos.

Aang also recognized the newcomers. He wasn't filled with joy, rather shock. "It's those guys from the Chin village!" he shouted at everyone. He took off in his glider and flew towards the battle. He tried bending some air at Colonel Mongke but was nearly hit by Vachir's flaming arrow. Sokka on the other hand, was busy dealing with Kahchi as Katara and Toph worked together to avoid Ogedei's bolos. "What are they doing here?"

"Less questions and more fighting, Aang!" Sokka commanded as he barely deflected the guan dao's blade. He turned around and saw an incoming Fire Nation pikeman. He reacted instantly, bashed his club into the pikeman's head. It was one hit and the soldier went down. Blood had spurted from his head, staining Sokka's shirt.

Colonel Qing watched in fearful recognition at the sight of Colonel Mongke's men. "Of all the units of the Fire Nation, why did they have to send the damned Rough Rhinos to deal with us?" he asked. That was annoying.

"Colonel Qing!" one of the Earthbenders approached him as he pointed at the Fire Nation soldiers. "The enemy is exhausted!"

"Excellent." Colonel Qing looked at the boulders blocking their escape route. He then turned to the other Earthbenders and raised his hand. "Benders, clear the boulders! Nonbenders, turtle formation! Shields up, spears out!"

The Earthbenders ran towards the rubble and bent it out of the way, with one of their rocks narrowly missing Yeh-lu in the process. Colonel Mongke saw what has happened and gave two fire bursts, indicating the Rough Rhinos to retreat. Colonel Qing was torn between taking the colony and taking out the nearest threat. In the end, he opted to stay with half of his army, while the other half followed the Rough Rhinos.

"The Colonel may be smart to not chase after us, but I could not say the same regarding some of his soldiers!" Colonel Mongke remarked as their chasers quickly caught up. He gave enough of a fight to get some room and then he give out two long fire bursts. "Okay, boys, let's ride!" They pulled out of the fight easily and raced away. The Earth Kingdom soldiers again chased after them.

Which what the Fire Nation wanted. The Rough Rhinos swerved around the road, allowing their chasers to see a different company. "LOOSE!" Colonel Shinu commanded in a loud voice. The Yuyan Archeres fired upon the enemy. It wasn't even a challenge for them. As the Earth Kingdom soldiers died, the last thing more thana a few of them saw was how bored their enemies looked.

Once they were clear of the Archers, the Rough Rhinos turned around and joined at the rear. Colonel Mongke rode up to the front, just in time to see Colonel Shinu kill an Earth Kingdom junior officer with a shot in the throat. "Looks like I made it," he remarked as he lowered his bow.

"Thank Lord Naruto for this ingenious plan," Colonel Mongke commented.

"Where is he anyways?"

The rest of the Riders joined them. It was Vachir who answered. "Fighting the leader of this Earth Kingdom force alongside the Governor." The ex-Archer kept his eyes forward, doing his best not to look at of his fellow comrades.

Colonel Shinu gritted his teeth in frustration. "Damn it! General Shun doesn't know what he's dealing with."

"Governor Shun," Kahchi commented. "He's barely surviving the fight right now."

"We saw a bunch of bounty hunters with cloaks standing in front of the colony. I'm not sure what they want, but whatever it is, it isn't good." Mongke watched as the remnants pulled together and fled back to Kouzan. Calling them twenty men would've been generousl. "Shall we pursue them again?" Shinu asled/

"No need, Colonel Shinu. Those rockheads are stuck between us and the colony, and unless they wish to surrender, which they would not obviously do, they will fight to the death," he responded. The bridge was still in easy sight. He saw Naruto and Azula fend off an incoming attack with her Firebending and the blonde's close combat skills. To his surprise, the two cloaked figures also decided to join in the slaughter.

---

Back at the gates of Kouzan, Naruto took care as more enemy infantry began to converge on them. While the Kirigakure no Jutsu still covered the battlefield, it made his life a bit easier by wading through the clumsy attacks from the Nonbenders, before stabbing six enemy troops with his jian. He could hear Azula fighting nearby and it sounded like Ty Lee and Mai were close by. He was able to see the Akatsuki, unfortunately. Kisame slammed Samehada into a column of Earthbenders while Itachi used the Goukyaku no Jutsu to burn the Nonbenders. Any enemy that went up against them were handled with ease.

Naruto moved away from them, heading to the other sounds of fighting. He found Azula quickly enough through the mist. "Azula!" he shouted.

"What?" she replied, still fighting.

"Try launching a medium fire burst into the sky, and keep the pressure going!"

Mai and Ty Lee gasped in surprise. "Are you nuts!? Azula's going to be struck by the enemy before then!" Ty Lee told him. She crippled another Earthbender with her chi-blocking. Mai finished him off with a knife through his throat.

Naruto gritted his teeth in frustration and gave multiple fist pumps, rather insistently. He turned to Colonel Mongke, and gave the same multiple fist pumps, indicating that he should do the same as well. Reluctantly, both Azula and Colonel Mongke bent a large amount of fire into the sky and kept the burst for ten minutes.

Meanwhile Itachi and Kisame started to tire themselves out as well. "We did not come here just to die. Let us cut our losses and retreat," Kisame said. He was starting to feel a little drained.

Itachi shook his head. "Whatever Naruto is planning; we should wait and see."

Kisame noticed the sky darkening. He realized what Naruto's plan was: cause a sudden warmth in the atmosphere. The warm moisture would then help create a thundercloud. Personally, he thought it was a little odd and desperate. "What, does the Fishcake think lightning will strike these guys dead?" he wondered.

Meanwhile, Azula noticed several small raindrops falling. She realized what Naruto's improvised plan was all about. "Of course. My lightning might be enhanced by the energy in the sky!" she thought. "At the same time, is Naruto insane? I do not know how much lightning I can redirect, or if he is aware that I can't redirect lightning at all!"

The thundercloud started to rumble as lightning flashed overheard. Then Azula realized what Naruto's goal was, involving her ability to bend lightning.

(Flashback)

"It will still not be enough. There are approximately 9,000 Earth Kingdom soldiers bearing down on us, and we only have a third of its strength," Governor Shun insisted.

"The governor is right, Naruto. How can you pull this off?" Azula asked.

"Well, this is where my plan comes in." And with that, Naruto began to explain the details of the plan. "The Earth Kingdom's troops are expected to converge on Kouzan, but there is only one road towards it. The Rough Rhinos will block off their escape route, forcing the enemy to hunker down close to the city gates." Naruto moved a piece representing the Earth Kingdom's army into a map that Governor Shun had on his small desk. "At some point, the Earthbenders will try to force their way out."

Azula and Governor Shun nodded in agreement, but the former frowned at the same time. "How will you deal with the Earthbenders once they make their escape?"

"The Earth Kingdom's troops will then try to chase the Rough Rhinos, who will retreat, but while they are retreating, that is when another player comes in." He moved a piece representing the Fire Nation.

(End Flashback)

Azula and Naruto watched as more lightning flashed into the ground before bending her own lightning and launching it at the sky. Three minutes later, thunderbolts crashed down to the ground as small puddles began to form. At the same time, Colonel Qing grinned at the apparent tactical blunder Naruto made, which in his mind, only weakened the Firebenders' firepower with the rain. Azula's ability to bend lightning was surprising but he was sure it could be handled.

When the lightning in the sky flashed down once again, Naruto used his own fingertips to grab the lighting, before redirecting it at Colonel Qing, although he encountered some difficulties in attempting to redirect it. The sensation of it coursing through his body was surprising. Quite frankly, it hurts. Naruto gritted his teeth as he struggled to handle the lightning before remembering his close observation what Iroh told Zuko.

"Redirecting raw energy, such as lightning, require finesse and a sense of adaptability. Improper methods of redirection can be fatal."

He let the lightning passed down his arm, through his stomach, and up his other arm, which, albeit a little shakily, was pointed right at Colonel Qing. It struck him in the chest, knocking him down. He didn't get back up. However, Naruto grabbed on his arm and dropped to one knee. Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee rushed to shield him. But when they saw their colonel struck dead, theEarth Kingdom wavered, then ran.

Kisame and Itachi approached him, trying to take advantage of his condition Azula bent another batch of lightning and struck the ground close to them. "I thought you two wanted to cause a massacre, not steal my bodyguard," she snarled.

Kisame grinned. "Forgot about that, but our primary mission still stands." He turned around, flasaahing through handseals. "Doton: Dochu Senko!"

Both Azula's and Aang's group were stunned at what happened next. The ground liquified before their eyes and Kisame and the Samehada sunk below it. Toph bent the earth to stop him but to no avail, making her eyes widen. Next, Kisame created a pitfall trap, catching the retreating soldiers by surprise as he re-emerged from underground and formed another handseal. "Suiton: Dai Bakusui Shoha!" A large amount of water engulfed the ground, adding another layer of trap to the frightened Earth Kingdom soldiers as the giant body of water became a prison. He grinned as he formed another set of handseals. "Suiton: Sameodori no Jutsu!"

As they watched the Earth Kingdom soldiers struggle to break free from the water prison, both Katara and Aang were horrified. They had thought that it wouldn't be like this. The colonel was supposed try to peacefully take Kouzan. But he instead ordered its death and now that the colonel was killed, his army was receiving the same treatment. They wanted to look away (or in Toph's case, shut them out), but they couldn't, as the Earth Kingdom soldiers eventually died from drowning as a result of their failed attempt to free themselves. The two Akatsuki didn't even try to kill them. They just stood there, watching.

The Fire Nation soldiers, seeing the battle was done, began pulling back into the colony. Once Naruto wass sure they were all inside, he signaled Azula that it was time to go, to which she nodded. Getting across might be tricky with Itachi and Kisame there, but he was hoping they'd be busy.

They barely took one step across the bridge when a cry of "Wait!" stopped them. Konohamaru and his team was back. "Boss, is that really you?" Konohamaru asked, hope in his voice as he stared at the blonde's back.

Naruto stared to the end of the bridge in silence. "Will you turn to face them?" the Kyūbi asked .

"This is one meeting I didn't want to have, Kyūbi," he told the fox. But he did turn around to face the three who once looked up to him. It was a long second where no one said anything in the rain. "…You three have grown," he finally said. The last time he had seen them, they were practically shrimps.

The three of them had tears in their eyes at those words. "It's really you, boss!" Moegi happily said.

"Where have you been!?" demanded Konohamaru. The Konoha Eleven had been searching for him for the past three years and had no luck. Now, he just showed up out of nowhere.

"Why did you leave?" Udon asked, not bothering to wait for him to answer the first question.

He hesitated, unsure of what to say to them. He couldn't act like he would've with the other Konoha teams, they didn't deserve that treatment. "…For my own reasons," he finally told them.

"Will you…will you come back?" Moegi asked. She sounded hopeful, which hurt him more than any kind of weapon they could've thrown at him. It hurt to see and hear them hope that he would come back.

He shook his head. "No."

"But you're a Konoha shinobi!" Konohamaru told him.

"Not anymore."

He grabbed his staff and launched himself at Naruto. The blonde met him halfway and blocked his strike, grabbing hold of the staff. He was trying to hold it in, but the tears flow freely down his face. "Please come home, boss," he begged. He wanted to the blonde to come back. He wanted things to go back to the old days.

Naruto had a face of calm indifference, even though he knew what the young Sarutobi was thinking. "It's not my home anymore," he said with no emotion in his voice.

The sadness in the Konoha shinobi turned to anger. "If you're not going to come willingly, then I'll make you come home!" he shouted, yanking his staff out of the blonde's grip.

"Then try, if you can." Naruto took a step back and moved into an Airbending stance. Konohamaru replied with a barrage of staff strikes which he evaded or parried with his hands. "He's skilled with the staff," he noted. "I wondered if he has signed a contract with the Monkeys yet." If he did, he would certainly the Sandaime's grandson.

Deciding that using his staff wasn't enough, Konohamaru decided to use his grandfather's Taijutsu, the Saruken (Monkey Fist) with his staff. But still, Naruto evaded, dodged, and blocked the strikes. "Fight back!" Konohamaru yelled at him. "Fight back, Kami take it!" He knew that the blonde was holding back on him. He wanted him to fight back.

Naruto caught the staff strike that was aimed for his head. "As you wish," he whispered. He forced the staff back and moved into a Waterbending stance. Konohamaru swung the staff, which he caught and spun towards it, putting it across his back. He moved into an Earthbending stance and punched Konohamaru hard in the chest. As the young shinobi stumbled back, he moved into a Firebending stance and kicked him back to his teammates. Konohamaru hit the bridge hard, but he was still conscious.

"Listen you three," Naruto told the three of them as they helped Konohamaru back onto his feet. "Things are different now. Konoha is not my home anymore. This is your only warning: don't come after me. If you try to take me back, I will respond with lethal force and I will kill you." He walked to where Azula, Mai and Ty Lee were standing just at the end of the bridge. "We are leaving. Don't try to follow." They left the bridge and Kouzan behind them. Naruto kept looking forward, not looking back to see Konohamaru, Moegi, and Udon crying on the bridge. But he could hear them.

---

"I'm still annoyed that we had to leave after the killing spree," Kisame told his partner as they walked down a road. They left discreetly after finishing off the surviving Earth Kingdom soldiers who tried to surrender to them.

"If we had stayed, he would have turned on us." Itachi told him. It would've been the opportune moment to do so. And judging by how the blonde fought, he was certain Naruto would've done.

"And that's a bad thing?"

Itachi said nothing. He noticed that something was trying to obscure his vision. Grabbing the thing, he pulled a piece of paper out of his headband.

"What's that?" Kisame asked as he looked over Itachi's shoulder.

I knew you guys would leave early.

Listen up. I'm giving you this one warning: don't try to track me. Leave me alone and go back the Elemental Countries. You try to take me and you leave here with only your heads.

Naruto

"When did he…?" Itachi began to wonder. Then he remembered one point in the massacre when both he and Naruto fought close to each other. "Impressive Naruto, very impressive. You could have killed me but instead you gave us a warning. Now, can you back your words, or are you bluffing?"

"Well, what do you want to do, Itachi?" Kisame asked his partner.

"Perhaps it is best to contact our leader and let him know what has happened." He suggested.

"Hey, he put the thing in your headband, it's your call." He usually didn't make the decisions between the two of them. He left that to his partner.

"Then we shall make camp when it gets dark." They continued in silence.

---

After flying the rest of the day away from Kouzan, the Avatar's group set up camp on the edge of a forest as night fell. As they set up camp, Team Guy placed the same seal that Team Kurenai used in the swamp on the ground. Soon enough, the place was covered in smoke and all anyone could hear was a POOF! After the smoke cleared, Team Kurenai and Team Asuma joined in setting up the camp. Soon, the camp had been set and dinner had been eaten. Once they had eaten, they learned two different two stories about Naruto.

Kurenai told the first story. During one of his tours in the Earth Kingdom, Naruto and the division he was with were ordered to take the city of Tóng. The city was a matriarchal city and was a place where warrior women were trained, the only place that was better for training women in the art of war then Tóng was Kyoshi Island. When they arrived at the city, the commander of the division sent Naruto into the city to see if they were willing to negotiate surrender. He went into the city and didn't come back for the rest of the day. The next day, the commander and a few other soldiers could enter the city to discuss terms while also meeting up with Naruto again. When they talked terms with the young female leader of the city, one of the terms was that they kept Naruto.

The commander refused the term, which lead to insults which almost broke out into a fight. It was at that point when a drink of water was accidently thrown at Naruto, splashing him, and making him almost soaking wet. The sight of a wet and surprised Naruto stunned the room for a few seconds and then turned the Earth Kingdom women (who had been toeing the line ever since the blond came into the city) became full blown Fangirls at that point and tried to kidnap him at that point. The commander, Naruto, and the soldiers literally had to fight their way out of a city full of Fangirls. After they had managed to get out of there, the city surrendered on the spot. It was a humorous story that made some of them found funny. But the second was not humorous nor did any of them found it funny.

Asuma told them this. During the same tour, Naruto and a regiment were ordered to take the city of Shizhi. They arrived at the city and began to besiege it. Surprise occurred to both sides when the Fire Nation took a battering ram to the gate and it swung open on the first try. Taking advantage of the surprise, the Fire Nation stormed the city and easily took control. When they wanted to discover why it was so easy to take the city, the daughter of the city leader came to them and explained it.

She had imprisoned her own family, drugged the military leaders into unconsciousness and had left the gate, all with the help of all but the two maids that refused to cooperate, she was asked why she had done all of this, she looked at Naruto and said that she and her maids had done it for him. They had done to prove their love for him and that they were willing to share him with others if he would take them.

His response was to free the family from their imprisonment and then had the girl and her maids taken to the main square where everyone could see them. Standing beside them, he told the people of Shizhi what they had done. And then, in front of everyone, both Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom, he executed them. The only people who were spared were the two maids who refused to take part, and the people approved of what he did.

Once they were done, Team Guy quickly filled them on what had happened (they had agreed to tell the other teams about Itachi and Kisame later when the others had fallen asleep. That way, they could avoid unnecessary questions), as well as their failed attempt to capture Naruto when he suffered a minor injury on his right arm from a difficult attempt to handle electricity on the same arm.

"That massacre would not have happened had Sokka kept his mouth shut," Katara told them after the story was done. The horror she had felt had disappeared. In its place was anger.

"My mouth shut? My mouth shut!?" Sokka repeated, standing up from where he sat. "Are you saying this entire thing was my fault!?"

"Yes, it is," she answered. "It's your fault for letting those two boys' fathers die and killing every Earth Kingdom soldier there. It never would have happened if you didn't rile the colonel up!"

"It would have happened anyway!" he shouted at her. "I'll admit that letting the fathers die is my fault. I'll admit that killing those soldiers is on me as well. But blaming me for this? If anything, the fault belongs with you and Aang!"

"Me?" Aang asked, surprised by the Tribesman's words. "I didn't do anything!" He had tried to stop it!

"You brought the soldiers there because you were naïve enough to believe the colonel," Sokka told him, being blunt. "But Katara takes most of the blame!"

"And what exactly did I do that's made me get most of the blame?" she asked with a tone of self-righteousness. She believed that she had done nothing wrong.

"Whenever I let you know that I didn't trust the guy, you ignored me," he told her. "I knew that something was off when the colonel said he was going 'convince' the colonists to leave."

"Sokka, I heard his heartbeat," Toph told him. "He wasn't lying when he said that he was going to convince them." As far as she could tell, the man had been telling the truth the entire time.

"You heard his heartbeat, but you didn't hear what he thought," he said to the blind Earthbender. "If he were mentally replacing the word 'kill' with the word 'convince,' he'd had been able to get by you detecting him lying. I tried to tell you guys that but every time I did, Katara blew me off like I was only playing around. You even told me to stop acting like a child!"

"I said that because you were acting like one!" This wasn't her fault. She had done nothing wrong.

He got angrier at her words. "I've stopped acting like a child the day Dad left," he said to her. "I may have acted goofy, silly, or outright stupid when it came to some things, but the protection of the group always came first! I was suspicious of the colonel and all you did was told me to stop being paranoid!"

"You've been paranoid before and every time he's been wrong!" She could list the number of times he had been suspicious about someone, only to be proven wrong off the top of her head. It spoke for itself.

"I wasn't wrong about Jet," he reminded her. "You just like to think you discovered that yourself. Face the facts, Katara. If you listened to me, the colony wouldn't have been put in danger and all those soldiers that I had to kill wouldn't be dead!" He fell silent and in the silence, he looked at his arms and hands.

"Sokka, are you okay?" Aang asked. As if to answer his question, the Tribesman's arms began to shake badly.

"That face…" he muttered . "I can still see that pikeman's face. His blood…it's still on my hands. Must get it off. Have to stop seeing that face!" He fell to his knees and threw up violently. He fell to the ground and his body began to shake like he was losing control of his body.

"Sokka, what's the matter?" Katara asked, concern for her brother taking over her anger at him.

Ino was the first to reach him. "He's in shock!" she informed everyone, her hands beginning to glow with green chakra. The rest of the night was spent trying to make sure Sokka would be alright.

---

Naruto stared at the fire while he knew the girls were staring his way. They had gone after the Avatar but had no idea where he had gone to. Moreover, the Rough Rhinos had decided to stay for a few days in Kouzan, to rest and recuperate. So, they had stopped early and set up camp. But during the entire time, it just felt awkward between Naruto and the three girls.

"Perhaps it's time we went to bed," he suggested as they all sat in silence. He couldn't help but think about how the two Akatsuki members had shown up. He had played one hell of a bluff to scare them off and he wasn't even sure it had worked.

Azula scowled at his words. "We're not going anywhere until you answer some questions," she told her bodyguard. "You didn't act surprised when the bridge builder and the Konoha team saw you. How long did you know about them?"

"I found out they were here after you told me to stay away from Governor Shun's house and the bridge. I knew you wanted me to stay away from those places for a reason, so I went to the bridge to see what you wanted to keep secret from me," he explained, getting all the reasons out so this could end quickly. "Is that all?"

"No, that is not all." They had a lot more questions for him to answer.

"Why did Konohamaru sound like he knew you?" Ty Lee asked.

"I knew him three years ago. He looked up to me once." He looked at them. "Why are you asking me these questions?" They had never been this pushy before.

"Because, Naruto, we have been encountering people who know you and today we met two men who wanted to capture you," Azula said. "And all the while, we really don't a thing about your past."

"My past is exactly that, my pa—"

"DON'T GIVE US THAT!" she yelled, cutting him off. "For Agni's sake, Naruto, we just want to know at least one thing about your past!"

He was silent for a minute before speaking. "You want to know about just one thing about my past?" he asked them. They all nodded. "Then I'll tell you one thing about my past. I'll tell you about one of the men you saw. I'll tell you about Itachi Uchiha." He looked over at Azula. "I want you to imagine two things, Azula. First: I want you to imagine that the royal family is a family the size of a clan. Second: I want you to imagine Zuko as a prodigy."

"That's ridiculous," she objected. "Why would—"

"Just do it, Azula," he ordered her. "Imagine that Zuko is a prodigy in both Firebending and swordsmanship and that he has your father's favor. Imagine that you look up to him and that he cares about you. I want you to imagine that your dream to beat him someday. Do you have that in your head?" She nodded. "Now, I want you to imagine that you are coming home late one night from Firebending practice. You come into the Royal Palace and see members of your family dead on the ground. Bodies are everywhere. You are scared and frightened because you see people you had known. You rush to your parents' room, because you know your mother and father are there and you'll feel safe. You burst into the room, but you find that your mother and father are already dead and that their killer is standing behind them. You are shocked to see that the killer is the person you thought cared about you and his family. The killer is no one other than your brother, Zuko. Now the question is: What would you do if he had left you alive?"

"I would swear to track him down and kill him," Azula automatically answered. There was no question about it. She would hunt him to the ends of the planet and end his life if he had done something like that.

The silence that following was almost deafening. "…Itachi Uchiha is infamous where I come from because, in one night, he killed every single person of his own clan. He had left only one survivor," he told them.

"You mean his younger sister?" Ty Lee asked with horror.

Azula remembered what Naruto had said to Itachi on the bridge. "No, not his younger sister," she said. "His younger brother was the sole survivor, right?"

He simply nodded and looked away, breaking eye contact. "This is just one of the reasons I don't tell you about my past," he said. Again, silence filled the air between all of them. He was silently grateful that the engineers always chose to eat and sleep inside the tank-train. They didn't need to hear any of this.

"…You're right, Naruto," Azula finally said, breaking the silence. "We should go to bed." She got up and walked back to the tank-train. "Good night."

Ty Lee and Mai soon followed her into the tank-train, leaving Naruto alone with the dying fire. "I shouldn't have told them," he muttered so they wouldn't hear him. "I should have left it alone."

"You've made your choice, kit," the Kyūbi told him. "Now you will have to live with it."

He stared at the embers in the fire. "Tell me something that I don't know."

End

Author's note: Thank you for all the reviews you sent me.

Now to start off, don't get upset about Gaara being killed. That will be taken care of later. All I have to say is this: remember how he actually died.

Also, the thing between Katara and Sokka about his paranoia is not over yet.

This will not be the last time we see Azula working with daggers. Also, the dress that was bought for her will be back.

They never actually showed Hahn dying in the show, all we heard was a splash. I wanted to give him a more definite ending and I'm sure there is not one person out there that actually liked the asshole.

I have now given the backstory for the Zanpakutō idea. If you don't know whose tomb Sokka found, I highly recommend you read Bleach.

Next chapter, we're back to the episodes but we also see something beforehand.

NOTE From Beta Reader: As you may have guessed, the Soulbending portion of the chapter has been removed and replaced with a battle scene. As I have not been in the Beta Reader business for a long time, I am still a bit shaky about it at best. Therefore, the changes you will see in this fanfic will be of my own making, as well as helping the original author clean the fanfic up of grammar errors.

I'll see you all next chapter!