Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Avatar the Last Airbender.
Chapter 1: Life in the Fire Nation.
A young blonde boy can be seen running away from an overweight man, who is wearing a fancy crimson robe, in the streets of a small island village called Shu Jing in the Fire Nation. "Get back here you little thief!" the fat man screams, his face red from running.
The boy looked and snickered, "No I don't think I will, you should try losing some weight and maybe you will be able to catch me." The blonde took off a shocking speed in front of the crimson robed man and ducked around the corner of a building.
The overweight man took the corner, but when he got there, the blonde was gone. "God damn it, the little bastard got away again," the man cursed and stalked away.
A little distance away from the village, you could see the blonde boy walking and swinging a bag of gold in his hand as he made his way home. A short while later, he was standing in front of a rundown hut. He went inside to find his small bed and the things he had stolen from the village (knives, food, tables, etc.). "Welcome home, Naruto," he said to himself with a sad smile.
Naruto then sat down to eat and began to recall how he ended up in this predicament. He recalled dying while battling the Otsutsuki King with his sons Kawaki and Boruto, only to find himself awakening in the arms of a dying woman who had just given birth to him. She kissed his forehead and simply urged him to live a happy life. As he grew up, there was an elderly woman named Granny Aoi who cared for him as if he were her own grandson; however, she passed away when he was five years old. Following her death, Naruto had to fend for himself and has been doing so for the past six years. the blonde did not have any friends on the island because he was an adult in mind and had nothing in common with children of his body's age. Occasionally, he would steal from wealthy Fire Nation nobles who abused their power over the poor. He would give some of the money to those in need within the village and keep the rest for himself.
Naruto then shook his head to get the thoughts of the past out of his mind. He had long come to terms with his past; since his life as Naruto Uzumaki had a tragic ending with him being unable to protect anything precious to him. He was now simply known as Naruto, a commoner born on a small island in the Fire Nation.
The blond then started to meditate and tried to see if he could draw on his chakra, but found that he didn't have any chakra like he used to in the past. However, he was able to feel another type of energy and, with some practice, he was able to flow it through his body. He heard noises coming from outside and lost focus, causing the energy to disappear.
The blonde man ran out of his hut and saw smoke rising from the village. Quickly grabbing a knife from his hut, the blonde man ran towards the village. As he got closer, he could hear the screams of the villagers begging for help or mercy. Upon reaching the village, he found burnt buildings and some people buried beneath large rocks. He stealthily looked around and found some men in Earth Nation Army uniforms making their way to a ship they had used to enter the village. He remained hidden until he was certain they were gone.
When he came out, he looked for the villagers but couldn't find them. He kept on searching until he found a man who was trapped under a boulder, barely alive, with half of his body crushed. "Hey mister," the blonde said, "Are you alright?" But he knew the man didn't have much time left to live.
"Cough, cough," the man replied in pain. "No, I'm not doing so well."
"Sorry for asking you this, but where is everyone? I haven't been able to find anyone." Naruto asked the man, knowing he was in pain, but you had to know in order to help the other villagers.
The man started to tear up, but not from the pain of being crushed; rather, it was something else. "Those monsters took my wife, daughter, and all the villagers," he said. "When I tried to stop one of them, they attacked me and threw this boulder at me." He continued, "Then I heard them gathering up everyone in the village, forcing them into a hole they made with their earth bending and burying all the villagers alive—men, women, and children, even though they were begging for their lives." The man screamed in rage and hate.
Naruto turned to see a plate of freshly dug earth and realized that all of the villagers were crushed to death. He looked at the dying man and offered, "I cannot save you, but I can end your suffering." The blonde showed him the knife. The man nodded, and Naruto brought the knife down, blood splashing all over him.
The blonde then looks at the place where the villagers were buried with empty eyes. "It is always the innocent people that suffer the most in war," he says softly. The blonde looks up into the night sky and knows that this is just the way of war.
The next morning...
The reborn blonde stayed up late into the night, looking to see if anyone was still alive, but found no one. He then gathered supplies from the village, having decided to leave the now-dead village behind. Naruto was able to find a small boat and placed his supplies in a backpack he found. He went to where the villagers were killed and said a prayer for them before setting off towards the Fire Capital Island. He planned to enroll in the Fire Nation Academy so he could learn more about firebending; his grandmother had told him that he was most likely a fire-bender, and the academy was the best place to learn all about it.
The trip on the boat was rough; the waves were violent. After a few hours, he finally saw land. as he made it to shore, he saw a busy marketplace with people moving up and down, buying and selling all kinds of different trinkets. he anchored his boat and took his backpack with him.
He turned to the closest person to him, who happened to be a girl around his age with classic Fire Nation features; black hair and eyes. "Hi," he said, "Can you tell me the name of this island?"
The girl looked at him for a while before replying, "You must be a country bumpkin; you're on Crescent Island." She turned her heel and walked away with her nose in the air.
The blonde took out a map he found for his island and found that he went in the wrong direction and was further for the fire capital. cursing the blonde sighed. he decided to look for a place to sleep but no one would give him a place to rest because the thought he was a trouble maker from just his looks. with no other choice the blonde had to camp outside. he walked into the wood after few minutes he stops and set up a make shift camp.
While sitting in front of a fire, the blonde started to plan what he had to do next. "Hmm, I think I should see if I can get some food from the village and then make my way to the capital," he muttered to himself.
Then, from in the dark forest, he heard someone ask, "Why do you want to go to that dreadful place?" Out came a man wearing red robes with white hair.
"Who are you and what are you doing so close to my camp?" Naruto fired back.
The man sighed and said, "You youngsters are so rude these days." The man stopped just as he got close to the fire and sat down across from the blonde.
"You didn't answer my question, old timer," the blonde demanded. "Who are you and what do you want?"
The man sighed again before answering, "My name is Shyu. I am one of the Fire Sages of Crescent Island. And as for why I'm here...I had a dream, and in it there was a powerful spirit that told me to wander this forest to find its champion."
"You're wandering the forest alone at night because of a dream?," the blonde repeated in astonishment. "Are you insane, old timer, or did you have one too many drinks today?" Naruto asked.
"You really are a disrespectful brat," Shyu said, but continued speaking. "The spirit said its chosen one would have hair as yellow as the sun, eyes as blue as the ocean, and his very name would be a force of nature."
The blond boy just stared at the old man as if he were high on the incense of whatever temple he had emerged from. "So you're trying to tell me I'm some champion of some spirit you dreamed up? Well, geezer, I think we should find a nice retirement home for you in the morning."
"The spirit also said that the old fox Kurama sends his regards," the man finished saying.
Now Naruto was speechless, for nobody in this world should know that name, but somehow this old man did. "How do you know that name?" the blonde demanded.
"As I told you before, I had a dream where a spirit came to me and requested that I find and train you," he said, growing tired of the back-and-forth. "So will you come with me to the Fire Sage's Temple to learn from me?" he asked.
The blonde's mind raced as he thought about the possibility that Kurama might be in this world too, but couldn't reach him or chose not to. In the end, the blonde simply decided that he isn't the type to think, but rather act; he wanted a teacher to help him become strong, and one had just appeared.
The young blonde faced the man and said, "I'll go with you, but if you try anything funny, you'll regret it."
The man just sighs and says "We will leave tomorrow." He then closes his eyes and starts to meditate.
The next morning.
The blond didn't sleep that night; his mind was still on Kurama and he did not trust the man across from him just yet.
The man suddenly got up and said, "Follow me."
"Hey, wait!" The blonde quickly packed up his things and ran after the man.
The two traveled in silence until the blonde asked, "So, what are you going to teach me, old-timer?"
"I will teach you all that you are willing to learn," he answered cryptically.
"Huh, do you mean Firebending?", the blonde questioned.
"Yes, Firebending will be among the things you will learn," he replied while he continued to walk towards their destination.
They continued walking for almost two hours before they came to a large temple that had guards stationed at the entrance. The old man approached the guards and spoke to them briefly before beckoning Naruto to follow him inside.
Accompanying Shyu, Naruto looked around and saw other elderly men, guards, and servants performing their respective duties before arriving at a door. The Fire Sage opened the door and the blonde followed him inside; it was a small room with a bed, a table in the centre, and a bathroom.
"You will be staying here from now on; I will have someone bring you something to eat and a change of clothes, and then meet me outside for training," he informed Naruto before leaving.
Naruto placed his bag down and flopped onto the bed. He started to wonder if coming there was the right choice, but he just decided to not worry about it. He had some questions for the old sage, but he would save them for later. A sudden knock on the door took him from his thoughts; then a servant entered. She was a girl around sixteen years of age, with brown hair and eyes. her body was quite developed with her wide hips.
"Excuse me, but Fire Sage Shyu asked me to bring you some food and clothes. He also wants me to lead you to the training yard. I will wait for you outside." She then went outside.
The blonde quickly ate and changed his clothes before going to meet the servant girl who was waiting for him outside his room. As they were walking to the train yard, Naruto asked, "So what's your name? Mine is Naruto, by the way."
"My name is Chia," she answered.
"So, Chia, what is it like living here" he asked, trying to get her to talk about herself and to get some information about this place.
"It's not bad; I am an orphan and was taken in to live here, so I don't mind living here. It beats living on the streets," she said.
"I'm also an orphan," he informed her. "I had to live on my own for most of my life, but I got used to it."
"I see," she replied. "So do you know why the Fire Sages brought you here? It's rare that they train someone. You must be special."
"I guess so," the blonde laughed, not really knowing what to say to that.
They walked the rest of the way in silence until they reached a large clearing. Shyu was waiting with closed eyes in meditation for them to arrive. As soon as they were within range, his eyes snapped open. He motioned for Chia to leave and for Naruto to step forward.
Naruto asked a question that was on his mind," old man Shyu you say a spirit told you to find me was it Kurama?". he asked.
"No, it wasn't," Shyu replied, "but the spirit didn't reveal its face or name."
"So wait, you're telling me you just followed the orders of some random spirit? How do you know it wasn't lying or sending you on a wild goose chase?" the blonde questioned.
Yes, I thought about it," the Fire Sage began. "Why would a spirit lie? What does it have to gain by doing so?" He paused for a moment before continuing. "In the end, I know the Fire Nation would suffer more if I did nothing, and so I decided to follow the spirit's instructions." The Fire Sage looked at Naruto intently. "It said the decisions I made would affect not only the Fire Nation, but the world."
The two looked at each other helplessly, but the Fire Sage just decided to start the lesson."Let's leave these troubling thoughts for later," he said. "Now, let's focus on seeing if you can fire-bend." Shyu said.
Naruto nodded, eager to learn what the sage could teach him to become strong enough to protect those precious to him this time around.
"First I want you to get into a mediation position," Shyu instructed the blonde, with Naruto taking the same mediation position as when learning Sage Mode in his previous life. "Good now feel the heat coming from the sun on your back, let it flow through you and combine with your chi," he instructed.
Naruto did as instructed; he felt the heat of the sun and he also felt his chi. He tried to combine them, but was having a hard time at first. However, after a while, he started to get the hang of it.
"Okay, next I'll show you some fire-bending forms," he went through the forms with the blonde, making sure he got them right. By then, it was getting dark.
"Okay, before we call it a day, I want to see if you can fire-bend. Put everything we've learned into practice and control your chi while in a firebending form," Shyu said.
The blonde followed the instructions, but nothing happened. He was getting frustrated, but suddenly, there were sparks coming off of his hands when he tried to create a fireball. The blonde looked at the Fire Sage to ask why he couldn't make fire, but instead, produced lightning. However, the sage was staring in awe.
Hey, old man, what's up? Naruto asked.
The sage snapped out of it and said,"I will have to discuss this with the other sages, for now you seem to be able to use one of the most advanced forms of firebending which is lightning bending for now we will stop for today."
The sage seems to rush back to the temple to inform the other sages of this development and instructs you to rest, as tomorrow's training will be more intense.
The blond went to sleep as it was already dark and he was tired from the day. The next day, there was a knock on the door and Chia peeked her head inside. Naruto grinned before stretching and greeting Chia.
"Good morning," she said, "is there something you need?" He asked, still sleepy.
Good morning, the Fire Sages requested your presence in the meeting room, Chia said.
"Okay, just give me a second," he replied, going to the bathroom. He then came back out and they headed to the meeting room.
"So how was your first day here?" Chia asked curiously.
"It wasn't bad," he said, "I learned some fire-bending forms, but I'm having some trouble making fire."
"I'm sure you'll get better; just hang in there," she said, trying to make him feel better.
"Thank you, I will do my best," he replied with a smile.
They reached the meeting room, and inside were all the sages. Naruto was beckoned to enter while Chia gave a bow and left. The sages were sitting in a crescent shaped table with the leader naruto assumed in the middle and shyu being next to him on the right.
"Naruto we called you here today because shyu said that you can lightning bend, can you please demonstrate your lightning bending for us," the sage in the middle of the table asked.
"Just do what you did yesterday when you were trying to firebend," Shyu said helpfully.
"Okay, I'll try," Naruto replied before assuming a stance to firebend. However, instead of flames leaving his hand, a spark of electricity appeared and vanished into the air.
"Thank you for showing me that; you may go to the training grounds to practice your bending. I will be with you shortly," Shyu said to the blonde.
The blonde left the room and Shyu looked around to find all of his fellow Sages in a state of disbelief. Not that someone could Lightning Bend, but because he was a new Fire Bender who could use it like regular bending without harming himself.
"You see what I'm telling you, Great Sage? He can somehow bend lightning; I believe he was blessed by a spirit," Shyu stated to the Great Sage.
"You may be correct," the great sage said, after recovering from his shock at the blonde's bend.
"So the question is how do we proceed," said the sage on the far right, who was another old man with long white hair.
"I think he will not be able to firebend like a regular bender, but he may be able to wield lightning like no one else has before," Shyu stated. "We can teach him what we know about lightning bending, and we'll see what happens from there."
"Should we inform the Fire Lord? one of the fire sages asked.
"I don't think we should right now" Shyu stated.
"Why do you think we should not tell the Fire Lord about this?" the Great Sage questioned, his loyalty to the Fire Lord surpassing all else.
"If you allow him to remain here and we train him, he may become an asset to the Fire Nation in the future; however, he is weak and useless to our Lord at present," Shyu stated, hoping to gain more time to train the blond youth to defend himself against whatever lay ahead.
" For now, we shall keep what we have seen to ourselves. You may begin teaching the boy Lightning Bending. And ensure he remains loyal to the Fire Nation and the Fire Lord. Am I understood? " The Great Sage ordered.
"Yes sir, I understand", Shyu replied.
"I will also be teaching the boy from time to time, but make sure you teach him to love the Fire Nation," the great sage continued.
"If there's nothing else to discuss at this meeting, you are all free to return to your duties," the great sage said.
With the meeting over, Shyu made his way to the training grounds, praying to whatever spirit that was listening that he had made the right choice, for if he hadn't, it might spell the destruction not only of the Fire Nation, but of the world.
"Sigh, I'm too old for this shit," Shyu complained.
When he reached the training grounds, he saw the blonde practicing the firebending stances; he already knew they were destined to meet and he is going to do everything in his power to prepare that blonde for what comes ahead. He would have to teach him the lightning bending forms he knew.
Chapter end...
AN: Chapters 2 and 3 being Edited but can be found on Pa-tre-on under SaintGreenz for Early Access and on Wattpad.