The Avatar and The Revolutionary

by Agurra of the Darkness

Behind the mask wasn't a fraud trying to incite war, but a visionary hoping to inspire change. Someone truly chosen by the spirits, but besieged by those who would misuse their power. Could he make the world truly equal for all? Or would his vision become another crusade snuffed about before it was finished? Let this Amon try to make a better world.

2. Chapter One - A Lay of the Land

Chapter One- A Lay of the Land

-One Week Later-

It was a warm sunny day in Republic City as the people moved along in the usual soup and chaos of life. As the children played and the adults went to work, one eighteen year old man was busy moving his noodle cart into a favorable street to conduct business.

It was true what they said about location. It made the difference between making money and acquiring information. And in the case of this particular vendor, acquiring information was the true end goal.

"Guess things are a bit busier today. Might as well try my luck at the park." The vendor mused as he pushed his cart along in the direction of the park gates.

One of the benefits of having a mobile business was that almost no place was off limits and made finding a change of scenery very easy. And in this case, it was especially advantageous for other reasons.

"Probably should check up on how that rally is going on. Guy might be a loudmouth, but at least he's spreading the message."

Pushing his cart along, Naruto's eyes would drift about in various directions around Republic City, taking in the many inhabitants going about their daily business. In many respects it truly was a marvel that deserved much of the praise it had gotten over the years, a far cry from the more segregated nations that had existed only a couple decades ago.

Still blew the boy's mind this place used to be a simple fishing village known as Cranefish Town.

Sadly for all its positives there were still far more problems than many would care to admit. Something he was reminded of by the sound of a police siren from a nearby Satomobile sounding off.

As he walked past it, his pace slowed slightly, allowing him to listen in on the radio.

"All Officers, crime currently in progress. Creeping Crystal Triad members raiding the warehouse district on Unagi Street. All Metalbenders dispatch as soon as possible."

Naruto frowned as the officers quickly got in their vehicle and rocketed off, leaving him to glare angrily in the direction they were heading, his grip on the handle tightening.

"Damn Triads. Can't go a day without screwing someone over." Naruto had to fight back a growl as he pushed onwards, knowing full well there was little he could do…yet.

Leaving that alone for the moment he continued, selling some noodles here and there before finally arriving at the pristine gates of Republic City Park.

"Time to see whether he managed to drum up any supporters or not. But first things first."

Quietly he pushed his cart over to a nearby pond, more specifically a nice sized bush just next to it before bringing it to a stop. Without saying a word he quickly started boiling some noodles and mixing some ingredients up.

"Oh, that smells heavenly. You've got a new recipe this time around?"

Naruto smiled at the voice coming from the bush as he pulled out some noodles and poured them into the bowl before adding some broth and seasoning. "I tried adding some possum chicken with lobster crab. The meats go together surprisingly well if I do say so myself."

Once everything was mixed together, he broke a pair of chopsticks and handed them to the bush, an arm quickly reaching out and grabbing it, before a fairly dirty looking man in an brown vest, pants, unkempt hair and a beard popped out, taking a long whiff of the stew.

"Ahh, living off the land certainly has its perks. But nothing beats a good bowl of noodles every now and again." The man quickly took a seat and started slurping the noodles down while Naruto simply looked upon him with a hint of sadness.

"You know Gommu, you don't have to live in a bush. The offer at the shelter is always open."

The vagabond simply held up a hand in a halting gesture. "I appreciate it Naruto, I really do, but I'm fine the way things are. Living free and where I want, it's just how I am. That said…" He quickly took a hearty sip of his bowl, before holding it out to Naruto. "I'm also not opposed to seconds."

"Nice to see your philosophy on life still allows for handouts." Both men chuckled at the comment as Naruto prepared to pour another helping. Gommu started licking his lips while he prepared the next meal-

"What are you talking about? Bending is the coolest thing in the world!"

A rather loud voice immediately drew Naruto's attention to the side.

"Oh yeah, let me guess, you're a Bender."

And his face immediately fell into a frown at the second voice entering the conversation.

"Oh Spirits, don't tell me." Quickly handing Gommu the filled bowl, he immediately rushed up the hill to get a look at the source. When he did he felt his annoyance rise at the sight. "Yup, always the loudmouth."

In the distance, he could see a small group of people congregating around a makeshift stage, with a large backdrop poster behind it featuring a masked man with a hood. More noticeable however was the man in a black hat and green robe currently yelling his head off with a megaphone to the crowd.

Naruto had to fight back a facepalm at the situation. "Is this his idea of spreading awareness? Picking fights with random benders? And who the hell did he piss off now?"

The answer proved pretty easy to find, since there was only one frowning girl in Water Tribe attire seated atop a giant Polar-Bear Dog.

"Wow, never seen a Polar-Bear Dog before." Curious now, he watched as the pair continued to argue with each other.

"Yeah, I'm a bender," She said with a confident smirk, which caused the heckler to turn smug.

"And I bet you'd just love to knock me off this platform with some Waterbending huh?"

"Buddy, I wanna knock you off that platform right now." Naruto mumbled to himself, already mentally going over how he was gonna verbally tear into the guy when he got the chance. However, the Water Tribe girl managed to beat him to the punch.

"I'm seriously thinking about it."

That actually got the blonde to chuckle a little. Sure it was kind of proving his point, but the guy was acting like a complete ass, so it wasn't like he wasn't asking for it. Plus, it was pretty clear she wasn't gonna make good on the threat anyway, mainly just proving she wasn't gonna take his crap.

Sadly, Big Mouth just had to go and ruin it.

"This is what's wrong with this city. Benders like this girl use their power to oppress us." His comment immediately got the rest of the crowd to start angrily yelling at the girl, who quickly lost a bit of her cocky attitude.

"I'm not oppressing anyone, you're oppressing yourself."

Again Naruto chuckled a little at the admittedly weak retort, but also frowned at the angry frenzy the crowd was worked up into.

"Yeah, gonna need to have a talk with Liu later about this guy. He's way more of a zealot than I expected."

His eyes quickly shifted to the girl on the Polar Bear Dog, quickly riding away from the still yelling crowd, frowning at the display.

"Real shame about that girl." Naruto flinched as he had been so focused on the display that he hadn't noticed Gommu walk up next to him, handing Naruto back the now empty bowl. "Spoke with her a little before you showed up, nice enough if a little wet behind the ears. Probably just arrived this morning, didn't even have money for some decent food yet gave me some of the fish she caught not ten minutes ago."

Giving the girl another glance and then at the protester yelling with his megaphone, Naruto quickly headed back to his cart.

"Sorry Gommu, gotta cut this conversation short. Seems like I've got another customer who is in need of some proper Republic City hospitality. I'll come by tomorrow with another new recipe for you to try."

Naruto quickly started pushing his cart while waving at Gommu who returned it in kind. "I'll look forward to it kid."

-Scene Change-

"Great first day in Republic City huh?" The young Water Tribe girl mumbled to herself as she led her massive companion through the streets of the city, still stewing over what had just happened. "And what was with that jerk anyway?"

Her question was a bit louder, mostly rhetorical, but her Polar-Bear Dog did look at her as if attempting to answer.

"I mean, what's all this Bender Oppression stuff he's talking about. I'd never use my bending to bully someone. You know that, right?"

Again, her companion gave no answer, though it did quirk its eyebrow ever so slightly, almost as if judging her master.

The girl in question immediately gave her pet the proverbial stink eye at the nonverbal accusation. "Okay, maybe I did want to slap the guy around a little, but I didn't in the end. Plus, I wouldn't even have to use my bending to teach that jerk a few manners. So there."

Cue a flat look from the dog that was so clear its intent couldn't be more obvious.

"Ugh, see this is why I don't come to you for advice. You have nothing helpful to say."

A loud growl from the girl's stomach immediately shut down any further comments, matched by the sound of her companion as well.

"And on top of being lost, we're starving too." She groaned almost in defeat, looking at the long path ahead. "Think maybe the police will chase us if we fish near docks?"

"No, but given the run off from the ships and some of the factories I wouldn't recommend it."

Her eyes shot open with a jolt as the pair did an about face to find a small noodle cart behind them, and a young man. around her age, with spiky blonde hair, blue eyes and bizarre whisker marks on his face, clad in an orange shirt, black pants with green lines on the sides and matching shoes, offering the pair a polite wave.

"Hi."

The girl slowly and awkwardly waved back. "Uh, hi…nice day?"

The young blonde chuckled a little. "Sure is."

There was silence for a moment as neither side made a move or said a word following the pleasantries. The newcomer to the city found it incredibly awkward considering how at ease he seemed.

"So, um, I'm sorry, who're you?"

He chuckled again as he pushed the kickstand and walked out in front of the cart. "Name's Naruto and I'm just a humble food cart vendor, selling my noodles wherever people need them. And I heard from a particular bush dweller, you're in need of a meal right about now, or am I wrong."

Another loud stomach growl answered his question. "I figured as much."

Almost immediately the girl quickly waved her arms with a look of panic. "No, I mean yeah I'm hungry and everything but um….I don't have any money." Her mind immediately fell back to a similar encounter earlier where she was acquainted with the concept of money and how it was kind of important….shame the White Lotus never mentioned it to her.

However, Naruto again just laughed a little as he returned behind his cart and started boiling some noodles.

"That's not a problem, I'm not one to turn away a hungry customer. Plus after that whole episode in the park, figured I'd show you not everyone is as charming as that guy was."

Korra winced a little at the reminder of her little demonstration of her acumine in terms of debate. "You saw that?"

"Pretty much the whole thing." He said as he mixed up the broth and chopped some bits of meat. "Don't let what that guy said get you down. He's got a massive chip on his shoulder and wants everyone to know it."

Pulling out a bowl, he quickly added some noodles before finally pouring the broth on top of it, his potential customer unashamedly drooling a little at the smell.

"Wow… that looks delicious."

"It is. It's a family recipe." Naruto spoke with a bit of pride as a small gust of wind blew the steam from the bowl into Korra's face, increasing her look of desire. "You gonna stand there gawking… or are you gonna have some?"

Again she hesitated, despite her stomach still screaming in protest.

The woman looked at him and spoke. "No… I can't do that…"

However, Naruto again smiled reassuringly. "It's okay. No one should live hungry and ill."

Naruto placed the finished bowl on the counter with a smile as the young woman continued to eye the meal in wonder. She spared a look up at Naruto and he nodded as she rushed in like lightning, already seated and most of the noodles being shoveled into her mouth.

If there was ever a boost to your self esteem, it was watching someone shovel down your food like it was the best thing in the world. The qualifier that she was probably starving didn't even ruin it.

She swallowed her mouthful and let out a sigh of delight, "Ohohoho, man, t-that might be one of the best meals I've ever had!"

"Glad to hear you like it." He chuckled heartily as he watched her slurp up the noodles and broth like they were saving her from demise. Quickly he followed up by pulling out another, slightly larger bowl and dumping some leftover meat into it before putting the bowl down near the girl's companion, who immediately started eating with gusto.

The duo devoured the food before them in seconds, the girl leaning back and sighing with satisfaction. "Never thought a bowl of noodles could taste so good. You really saved me and Naga there."

Naruto looked at the only other individual with them and pointed to the dog in question. The girl quickly realized in all the excitement she'd kind of neglected to introduce herself, and had the decency to look embarrassed at the fumble.

"Right, uh, that's Naga and my name's Korra. Sorry for the late introduction."

Naruto simply scooped up the two empty bowls and brought them over to the small sink of his cart. "Hey you had a rough go around and were starving, plus I'm not a stickler for manners anyway…still."

Once the bowls were out he held his hand out to her, which she happily accepted.

"Nice to meet you Korra. I'm Naruto, and I guess I can officially welcome you to Republic City."

The pair broke the handshake, only for Korra's stomach to again growl, apparently not satisfied.

"Don't suppose I could ask for a second helping?" Korra already felt bad before, now it just felt like she was taking advantage.

"Eh, normally I'd be opposed to giving too many handouts." Despite his word choice, his tone made it painfully clear he was being sarcastic as he was already pouring ingredients. "But, since you've been such nice company so far, I'd say that earns you another free bowl."

Korra in turn smirked and decided to play along. "How fortunate, guess I must be one lucky girl."

The two paused and shared a laugh at the attempt at humor as Naruto kept mixing ingredients, Korra meanwhile taking a moment to look around the city proper.

"So what brings you to Republic City, Korra?" The Water Tribe native perked up at Naruto's question, the noodle maker looking at her genuinely interested. "I mean, I've been living in this city for a while and I don't remember seeing any Polar Bear Dogs running around, so I'm guessing you just got here right?"

Korra took a glance at the bowl in front of her before drifting to the water visible just in the distance. "Yeah, I've actually been looking for a way to get to Air Temple Island, but haven't exactly had the best of luck."

"Air Temple Island?" Naruto's eyes widened at the name, suddenly far more intrigued than initially. "That's a little surprising? Do you know Councilman Tenzin and his family?"

"Yeah, I actually learned Waterbending from Master Katara back in the Southern Water Tribe, and I got to meet Tenzin and his family when they'd visit from time to time."

Naruto let out a small whistle, stunned that the woman in front of him had such a pedigree. "Getting trained by one of the heroes of the Hundred Years War. Gotta admit, I'm a little jealous."

Korra immediately perked up a little. "Are you a Waterbender too, Naruto?" She'd wondered where exactly he was from given his hair, though his blue eyes had made her consider perhaps he was Water Tribe.

Naruto simply chuckled. "Heh, nope, I was born in the Earth Kingdom, and no I'm not an Earthbender before you ask, or a Firebender either."

Korra's smile quickly started to drop a little. "So, you're a Non-bender then?"

"Yup."

Immediately the mood seemed soured as Korra quickly recalled the sizable crowd that came to the heckler's defense and feared perhaps her new acquaintance shared his views.

"I don't think that way just so you know." Naruto leaned back against his cart, sighing a little. "Like that guy in the park."

And that bit of insight naturally caused Korra to have a different reaction. "Uh…are you some kind of mind reader?"

That merited a hard laugh from Naruto. "I wish, wouldn't have to ask for orders then. But no, you kind of wear your emotions on your sleeve…metaphorically anyway."

Again that comment got a couple of chuckles from Korra, being reminded that save for arm and wrist bands, she didn't have sleeves.

Naruto himself continued to smile, effortlessly disarming the growing unease of the situation. "Plus, after what just happened I wouldn't blame you for thinking that way."

"So, you don't think bending is evil or oppressive?" Korra couldn't help but push a little more, not quite satisfied with his answer.

Naruto in turn was slower to respond, his left hand tightening a little as he gazed back at the city. "I believe bending is like a lot of things in this world, it can do great good or cause great harm, which one ultimately depends on the bender in question."

Korra felt herself flinch as Naruto's eyes hardened a little. "And I've seen more than my share of benders all too happy to abuse what they were born with."

His answer hung like a dark cloud over the pair as Korra mulled over it for a moment before reading another response…only for the sound of a horn to direct her and Naruto's attention as his expression fell into a frown.

"And speak of the devil. Look who decided to show up."

Korra turned in the direction he was facing and saw a custom red Satomobile with a gold plated grill shaped like a Lion Turtle of all things.

All around people started to quickly flee, running past the cart or simply hiding in some of the nearby buildings, practically leaving the street empty.

"What's going on, who is that?" Korra asked, looking both concerned and a little unnerved when she saw the visible anger all over Naruto's face.

"Triads." His voice was low, practically a snarl, his expression hardening considerably when the door to the vehicle opened and three men of various heights, builds and attire walked out, approaching a nearby shop, the owner, a rather frail looking man visibly shaking as they approached.

The sight practically set Naruto's blood to a boil, as he struggled to keep his emotions in check. "They're called the Triple Threat Triad, one of several bender criminal gangs that use their abilities to bully, extort, injure and even kill whoever they want, though they tend to target non-benders since they can't fight back. Prime example of people who abuse their bending for their own benefit."

As if to illustrate his point, the lead goon, likely a Waterbender by his attire, approached the owner and began asking for money, while another goon, a Firebender, immediately summoned a fireball with his bending.

Korra felt her own anger start to flare up at the display, eyes drifting through the street for someone trying to help the man, but none came.

"Isn't anyone gonna try and stop this?"

"Republic City's a big place…too big unfortunately." Naruto's tone was bitter as they watched the Firebender smash a phonograph the owner offered as potential compensation. "Often the police can't get to the locations fast enough and the Triads are long gone before they can do anything. And this district is mainly populated by non-bending civilians, meaning they wouldn't stand much of a chance in a fight."

By now the Triads were looking to get physical with the owner and Naruto prepared to take a step forward, only for Korra to beat him to the punch, rushing forward towards the gang without hesitation, her intent clear.

While the sight of Korra rushing to the man's defense raised Naruto's opinion of her, he knew things were likely to get dicey. Rushing back to his cart, he quickly opened a small compartment near the bottom and pulled out a small receiver attached to a miniature radio.

"Liu, can you hear me?"

A brief moment of static on the line sounded before a voice was heard. "I read you Sir, what's the matter?"

"Triple Threats, trying to extort Old Man Chung in the Roku District. Gonna need some clean up and almost certainly back up as well." Naruto watched the bout closely, Korra having already called attention to herself from the Triad, who laughed at the teen's attempt to look threatening.

"I have a few of our members nearby, we can be there in five minutes."

Naruto prepared to say something, only to watch with surprise as Korra easily caught the lead goon's, pretty sure his name was Viper, water blast before throwing it right back in his face, encasing his head in a block of ice.

"Might wanna make it ten Liu, someone's got it handled already." Naruto again felt himself grin a little at seeing the gangster get a literal taste of his own medicine, and almost laughed when Viper stumbled forward, straight into a roundhouse kick from Korra that sent him crashing head first into the front of his car.

"Someone else is handling it? Who?"

Naruto prepared to answer, only for his words to die when the third goon, an Earthbender by his attire, prepared to attack Korra….only for her to earthbend first, sending him skyward. Almost immediately Naruto felt his entire world go silent, his vision narrowing to only focusing on Korra, who quickly erased any doubts when she started to out firebend the last goon.

And in that moment Naruto could only mutter out a single sentence.

"It's the Avatar."

All at once Naruto's senses dulled, as he kept watching Korra use three of the four elements. Just from her movements he could tell she was very experienced, as one would expect from an Avatar, though even then her talent was evident, able to easily overpower the three criminals with barely any effort. Once more she was able to seamlessly switch from one element to the next as if it were second nature.

However, the thing that most caught his eye wasn't her bending, her movements or her admittedly impressive physique now that he was looking more closely…rather it was her attitude.

One would expect facing off against three relatively experienced benders and known criminals a person would be a little afraid, especially after admitting to just arriving in Republic City for the first time. However, she'd never lost the cocky smile she'd had since starting the fight.

This wasn't a possible life or death struggle, it was a warm up exercise to her.

That observation made Naruto's eyes narrow a little, which only grew a bit more annoyed when after charging at the remaining goon, the Firebender, who'd made a last ditch attempt to attack her, she easily bent his own fire out of the way, grabbed his hands before hurling him straight into the windows of the shop she'd been trying to save.

The sound of glass and various phonographs shattering finally brought him out of his little trance and allowed him to finally realize Liu was still trying to call him.

"Sir, sir, are you absolutely sure you found the Avatar?"

Naruto didn't respond at first, watching as the Triple Threats attempted to flee in their car, driving past Korra, and from her expression Naruto knew that wasn't gonna fly.

"Oh no you don't." Korra yelled angrily before stomping the ground, sending a tremor of earth through the street and under the car, flipping it into the air before landing back to the ground and crashing finally into another shop.

"Okay, maybe it was gonna fly." Naruto absentmindedly noted before confirming that things were over, at least in one sense.

"Yeah, it's the Avatar alright. She's a Water Tribe girl named Korra, riding around on a Polar-Bear Dog called Naga. And she just stopped the Triple Threats, along with causing quite a bit of property damage."

"I'll make sure to get in contact with a larger clean up crew and arrive shortly." Liu spoke on the other line, a brief sound of a pencil against paper confirmed he'd noted everything said.

Naruto nodded as he saw Korra look over her handiwork. "Right, I'll be waiting…though not before I have a word or two with our Avatar."

Liu sounded like he was gonna argue, but Naruto quickly hung up and approached Korra, who turned back to him with a giddy smile on his face.

"Heh, looks like I caught the bad guys. Bet that loud mouth in the park will have to change his tune now huh?"

Naruto however, didn't share her enthusiasm. "Actually, I'm pretty sure you just gave him more material to work with Korra."

Korra seemed perplexed by his answer. "Hey, what's with the sour look, I stopped the criminals didn't I?"

Rather than answer, Naruto simply pointed behind her, causing the Avatar to turn around and quickly feel her smugness drop after getting a clear look at the now heavily damaged street and store she just saved.

"Oh…" Even though he wasn't there right now Korra could practically feel Tenzin's judgemental glare on her back. "I mean…it's not that bad. No one was hurt and we did stop them." Korra gestured to the still downed criminals, stumbling to get up from their ruined car.

Naruto groaned a little at the sight, more specifically the extensive damage to the interior and window of the second shop she wrecked. "Yeah, catching criminals is good and I'm glad you didn't accidentally hurt somebody, but that's not really the point Korra."

The young avatar still looked a little confused. "I mean, yeah it's not great but isn't stopping them what matters in the end?"

Despite her earlier cocky and somewhat arrogant attitude, Naruto could tell there was genuine confusion at his remark and it was starting to make a bit more sense.

"Korra, tell me something. Have you lived in the Southern Water Tribe your whole life?

Korra nodded. "Born and raised. This is actually my first time leaving there."

"Well, back there pretty much all the buildings are made from ice right? And with plenty of Waterbenders around, I imagine fixing them if they get damaged only takes a short while right?"

Again Korra nodded, still not putting the pieces together.

"Well here in Republic City, buildings and such are made of all kinds of things. Stone, plaster, wood, just to name a few. Not to mention the windows and everything else that all together costs a lot of money to fix and can't all be repaired with bending."

The road itself wasn't that big a deal, a fewEarthbenders could fix it in a couple minutes. The shops however, just a quick look made it clear it'd probably cost several thousand yuans to fix, likely a significant amount for two relatively small stores.

And finally Korra seemed to realize a bit more how much damage she caused and regret quickly started to form across her face.

"I messed up, didn't I?"

"Oh, in a pretty big way." Naruto's tone was more matter of fact than harsh, which at least seemed to make Korra lighten up a little.

"Not even gonna lie to make me feel a little better?"

Naruto chuckled at the comment. "Sorry, but I'm always honest with everyone and unfortunately, that includes you."

Though that did get her to grin a little she still looked a little bummed over her misstep, causing Naruto to put a hand on the Avatar's shoulder and offer a comforting smile.

"Well, lucky for you I know a couple guys who'll help out with the repairs, so it's not too bad. And since you're kind of a country bumpkin and a shut in, I think we can give you a slap on the wrist here."

His sentiment seemed to be shared by several of the people present, most notably Mr. Chung who approached the duo.

"Miss Avatar….thank you for saving my store." He bowed to the young girl, who now looked a bit more shook at realizing how overzealous she'd been, causing her to bow in response.

"Sorry about the damage, I'll pay for it…assuming Tenzin doesn't chew my head off for it."

The sight of her humble shift made Naruto feel a bit more at ease. "A little brash and cocky, but seems to be willing to own up to her mistakes, at least when she's made aware of them."

Naruto prepared to say something else, when a loud siren overhead immediately caused his head to snap up and him to bite back a curse.

"And things just keep getting better today."

Korra followed Naruto's line of sight up and was awestruck by the massive airship above them, coated in a dark green with metal lining all across it. Her awe grew when several men lept from the massive air vehicle, releasing long cords that hooked to nearby telephone cables before dropping to the street, revealing their entire bodies coated in light gray armor.

"Woah, Metabenders." Korra looked positively giddy having only heard about Metalbending back in the South Pole.

Naruto however groaned at her lack of situational awareness. "Seems humility isn't the only thing you're gonna need to learn while you're here, Korra."

The Metalbenders quickly took stock of the situation, more specifically the three criminals currently lying flat in the broken window. With a simple nod, two other benders quickly set about tying the men up, before the leader approached Korra, taking a glance at Naruto before focusing on her.

"Tell me Miss, are you responsible for the damage here?"

Korra quickly shrunk as again she realized what exactly Naruto was trying to tell her a few minutes too late. "I mean…yeah but I was only trying to stop those guys from causing damage and hurting anyone."

The sound of another few pieces of glass and rubble falling in the shop seemed to only highlight Korra's recklessness.

"Seems you did plenty of damage yourself." The officer said with a stern voice, again making Korra wince a little, only for Naruto to step in.

"Maybe if you guys got here a little quicker then she wouldn't need to step in."

The officer didn't look especially thrilled at being called out. "She should've waited for us to arrive and let us do our jobs."

Naruto however, wasn't gonna take it, stepping forward and pointing at the damaged shop. "Those Triple Threat assholes were threatening to burn down Mr. Chung's shop before she stepped in. If she'd done nothing, we'd be waiting for the Fire Department to show up instead of you guys."

The officer looked borderline livid now, while Korra looked a little flattered at Naruto coming to her defense. Regardless, the situation was getting a bit more tense.

For a brief moment Naruto wondered if he'd get arrested, his eyes shifting slightly to behind the officer where he spotted a few seemingly innocuous civilians nearby looking at the situation with baited breath. However, one of the civilians started to pull up on his neckerchief, revealing a prominent red symbol on the front.

With barely a twitch, Naruto gestured his fingers downward, telling the group not to act as the officer finally seemed to calm down.

"Regardless of what could've happened, the fact of the matter is she still damaged property and we're taking her in. And unless you want to join her I suggest you step aside."

Naruto briefly weighed his options, knowing this could easily lead to a full blown scuffle that'd be counterproductive to his group. However, before he could say anything, Korra stepped forward.

"I'll go."

The officer's prior tension seemed to die down a little as did the civilians in the back, while Naruto looked a little surprised Korra was so quick to change her mind. "Huh? Are you sure?"

"I mean, I did cause some damage, so probably wouldn't be very smart to make things worse by running and possibly causing more damage."

Naruto remained stunned before a small smile appeared on his face. "Well how about that, she can be taught after all."

Korra quickly gave him the stinkeye but laughed with him as she was led towards an arriving Police Wagon.

"I'll see you around Naruto. Maybe drop by Air Temple Island if you can." Korra said as her head was pushed into the cart, the noodle shop owner watching as she was carted away.

Naruto offered a wave back, trying to key up a positive facade. "I'll look forward to it Korra."

Seeing the situation defused for the moment, Naruto walked back to his barren noodle cart, though he wasn't alone for long as an older man with short black hair along with a prominent and long mustache, clad in green and gray attire with green glasses, approached the shop.

As Naruto slowly started putting away his cooking equipment he could feel the man's eyes on his back. "I already know what you're gonna say Liu, so can we just skip it?"

"You need to be more careful, Sir. What if things had escalated further?"

"But they didn't," Naruto said firmly as he loaded his bowls and pots. "And I told you don't call me Sir. Especially not in public, it's weird."

"Fine….Naruto. So, that girl was the Avatar?"

"Yup, way different from what I was expecting."

His second in command's eyes narrowed at the direction the police wagon had left in. "Do you believe she'll be a problem?"

Naruto's hands stopped moving as he mulled over everything he'd learned about the Avatar so far. "Hard to say; she's impulsive, reckless and a bit arrogant, also extremely naive…but she's also compassionate and seems like she is willing to admit when she's wrong, with a little pushing. For now, same as before, we wait and see."

The young leader quickly put away the last bit of his equipment and finally turned to look his companion in the eye. "On that note, is everything ready for the Revelation?"

"Almost, though we're still lacking for the demonstration."

At the mention of that, Naruto's eyes drifted to the Triple Threat members being loaded into their own wagon.

"Well, I think I might've just found some volunteers."