After several hours of waiting for Che to return, he finally slipped in, sitting against the wall and sighing.
"There you are; what happened?" Aang asked in a hurry. "Can I see Jeong Jeong now?" He added, wanting to start his training as soon as possible.
"He won't see you," Che responded sadly with a little shake of his head before looking at Naruto. "Either of you. He's very angry that I brought you here. He wants you to leave immediately." He added, looking at both Aang and Naruto.
The blonde was ready to say that he would visit him anyway...
"Finally!" Sokka said, relieved. "Let's hit the road." He had wanted to leave this place from the beginning.
"Why won't he see me?" Aang prompted, his voice sounding desperate.
"He says you're not ready," Che said. "Says you haven't mastered water bending and earth bending yet."
"Wait, how does he know that?" Aang asked, confused.
"He saw the way you walked into camp," Che said. "He can tell."
"And what about me?" Naruto asked, pointing at himself; he needed to master his Firebending not to harm anyone, and one more thing, why can he even firebend in the first place.
"He says your firebending is something that should never be used," Che said grimly; Naruto narrowed his eyes at that; just because his fire was black didn't mean anything; he had heard of people before that had different fire colors other than orange.
"I'm going in anyway," Aang said, not bothering to have permission; he needed a fire-bending master, unlike a Waterbender and Earthbender master; finding a Firebender who would willingly teach him was already hard enough; he knew the chances of finding another master somewhere just waiting for him were slim, close to zero.
"Right behind you," Naruto said, following him out of the building and toward Jeong Jeong's.
"They are both relentless," Sokka remarked with a pout before wincing in pain, looking behind to see Katara glaring at him.
When they got there, Naruto stopped Aang before he could walk inside. "You go there first," the blonde suggested; Aang reluctantly nodded before stepping inside, leaving Naruto outside alone in his thoughts.
"Get out," Jeong Jeong said, sitting inside a ring of candles on the far side, not facing him.
"I need to know fire bending in order to defeat the fire lord. Please master. You're the only one who can." Aang begged.
"Only a fool seeks his own destruction," Jeong Jeong said, still not facing the Avatar, as the flames of the candles around him got wilder.
"I'm the Avatar; it's my destiny-"
"Destiny?" Jeong Jeong snapped, the fire rising, creating a large shadow behind the master. "What does a boy know of destiny? Nothing! If a fish lives its whole love in this river, does it know the river's destiny? No! Only that it runs on and on beyond its control! He may follow where it flows, but he cannot see the end. He cannot imagine the ocean." He spoke with a slight sneer on his voice, facing the Avatar with an indifferent look.
"Okay, but it's the Avatar's duty to master all of the bending disciplines," Aang prompted; he didn't try to figure out what the master was trying to say; at this moment, he hoped Naruto was here, his blonde friend would probably know what he was talking about.
"To master the bending disciplines, you must first master discipline itself," Jeong Jeong explained with a proffered tone. "But you have no interest in this. So I have no interest in you. No, get out!" He shouted at the last part, hoping to get his point across, but it seemed his words fell on deaf ears.
"Please, I have to learn," Aang insisted even more. "This could be my only chance."
"Are you deaf!?" Jeong Jeong snapped, twisting, the flames reacting to his anger as they almost reached the top of the tent; Aang silently prayed the tent wouldn't start burning. "How can I teach you if you refuse to listen!? Before learning fire bending, you must learn water and earth. Water is cool and soothing. Earth is steady and stable. But fire. Fire is alive. It breathes. It grows. Without the bender, a rock will not throw itself. But fire will spread and destroy everything in its path; one does not have the will to control it! That is its destiny! You are not ready! You are too weak!" He snapped, tired of him.
As he finished, the candles all blazed to life for a moment before shrinking back down. Jeong Jeong sat in silence for several seconds.
"You think I'm Weak?" The firm voice of Avatar Roku reached him as Jeong straightened up himself, his forehead sweating slightly at the presence of the Avatar.
"No, of course not," He said respectfully, bowing his head at the man.
"I have lived a thousand times and learned firebending a thousand times; if I have to learn it again, I will do it. You will teach The Avatar Firebending," Roku spoke before making a tree caught on fire, the flames beautiful.
The firebender master bowed his head at the Avatar. "What about the boy? You know what the black flame means?" He asked carefully, knowing this could be a sour topic.
Avatar Roku had no visible reaction to his words, but inside he was worried; for a long time, Woodbenders had been allies of Avatars; they had been a strong clan, all of them warriors, trained since they reached six years old, but what happened to them was a tragedy, and in the center of all of it, Naruto.
"You will teach him self-control. I believe Kyoshi will not allow her great-great-nephew to lose control," Roku spoke, knowing from Kyoshi herself that her husband had been a Woodbender named Hashirama, someone that, according to Kyoshi, was stronger than her even in Avatar State.
Jeong simply nodded, accepting the task in front of him, his last student was a disappointment, but maybe the Avatar and his friend could prove him wrong.
"I will teach you," Jeong Jeong said.
"Really? That's great!" Aang cheered.
Then, he grinned sheepishly, putting his hands back on the floor, Jeong Jeong sighing.
"Tomorrow morning, at sunrise, meet me at the river," Jeong Jeong said. "Now, tell your friend to walk inside. I need to talk with him," He said, sounding more like a command.
Aang wanted to know what his reason was for meeting Naruto but decided not to ask since the master would most likely not tell him.
Aang stood up before walking outside; his eyes saw Naruto sitting with his legs crossed, meditating, a leaf in front of him, Aang could catch a glimpse of fire in the middle, but the leaf mainly was growing rather than burning.
"The master wants to see you; he agreed to train me," Aang spoke; Naruto opened his left eye, and a sigh of relief escaped his lips; the most challenging part was done; standing up, the leaf was blown away from a gust of wind.
"That's good," Naruto said before stepping inside the tent; Aang took a few steps back, not wanting to eavesdrop accidentally.
His eyes looked at the master firebender, whose eyes lingered at Naruto's blue ones; his eyes narrowed slightly, eyeing him up and down.
"You can sit," The master spoke, seeing that Naruto was not sitting down, hearing that, Naruto sat on the carpet, he wasn't sure why, but the flames on the candle turned into a bright red when he got closer, one of them turned almost black.
The master glanced briefly at the said candle; the wax was already melting much faster than normal; give it a few seconds before...
Stop, Naruto thought; the black flame suddenly turned back to normal orange, and so did every other candle flame.
"Black flames! You know I have read about that but never thought I would live long enough to see someone use it," The master said with a hint of admiration but mostly wariness.
Naruto looked at his hand; he still didn't know how it was possible for him to firebend; he was a woodbender.
His eyes moved from his hand to the master. "How can I do this? This shouldn't be possible for me?" Naruto asked, his voice low and bitter.
The blonde hoped the Fire Bender master would have answers...
"I don't know, but what you have is extremely dangerous; it can cause great harm; if you want my advice, you should never use it. This fire is dangerous; you can easily harm someone with it," the master warned him. Personally, he doubted his teaching could help much; he always wanted his student to learn self-control but controlling these flames was impossible.
"Is impossible for you to control them; you should give up," The master spoke; the flames of the candles suddenly died out before burning again, revealing someone else...
"You think my nephew is Dangerous?" Avatar Kyoshi suddenly spoke, her figure standing where Naruto was a second ago.
"Avatar Kyoshi, I didn't mean any offense, but you know the black flames are dangerous. They have..." "I know what they are. That's why Naruto needs to learn how to control them. One day, he might need them; if he doesn't, what happened before will happen again," Kyoshi interrupted with a firm tone, her figure menacing to anyone.
"I will, Avatar Kyoshi," He spoke, bowing his head; the figure nodded before it disappeared, revealing Naruto looking at him.
"Thank You, Master," Naruto said respectfully with a bow of his head.
The master sighed, tired of this; now he needed to deal with not one but two idiots. Walking outside, Naruto saw Aang waiting a few meters away from the tent.
"He wasn't joking about fire or about discipline," Naruto said; he had heard what the master talked with Aang. "Fire is the most dangerous of all the elements. If you're not careful, you could hurt yourself. Or Katara." He added at the end with a grim tone.
Aang swallowed hard, not wanting to imagine himself harming Katara even if it was accidental.
"You need to focus," Naruto said. "And you must remain calm, disciplined, and controlled at all times while learning. And most importantly, do not do anything without Jeong Jeong present. If you make a mistake, he can counter it before it does too much damage." Naruto advised Aang, who listened closely.
Aang nodded, and they returned to their building, going to sleep. Just before sunrise, they were woken up by Che, and they all headed to the river. Jeong Jeong was already there, meditating. As they arrived, Jeong Jeong directed Aang to a small rock sticking out of the water.
"Stand with your feet apart, fists by your sides, elbows and knees bent," Jeong Jeong said, looking at the Avatar with a calculating look.
Aang did as instructed, or at least he thought he did.
"Widen your feet more," Jeong Jeong said with a louder tone, Aang doing so. "More! Bend your knees! Concentrate." He added, his voice seeping with annoyance.
"What next?" Aang asked with annoyance.
"Silence! Talking is not concentrating! Feel the heat of the sun. It is the greatest source of the fire. It is perfectly in tune with nature." He advised, his tone sounding normal again.
"So when do I get to make a fire?" Aang asked impatiently, not realizing that he was doing the exact opposite of what the master was telling him to do; Naruto face palmed, forcing himself to look away but listening closely to the master.
"Silence!" Jeong Jeong shouted, losing his composure with the young Avatar.
"Aang, be patient," Naruto said. "Unlike with the other elements, in which you learn to move the element before you learn to control it, with fire bending, you have to learn control before you learn to create. If you don't, the fire will burn everything."
Aang stared at him for a moment before nodding, dropping back into his stance, and closing his eyes. As he did, Jeong Jeong told Naruto to sit down and meditate.
"Your situation is special; unlike everyone else, you need to have complete control before using Firebending. You are a naturally powerful fire bender. But you lack true control. What does a fire need to exist?" Jeong Jeong said, looking at the way Naruto was meditating; better than the Avatar.
"Oxygen, heat, and fuel," Naruto said, still meditating.
"And knowing that with which aspect does your problem lie?" Jeong Jeong asked.
"The heat," Naruto said. "When I fire bend, it burns my hands and cooks my insides a little."
"No," Jeong Jeong said. "The heat is not a problem. The damage is from a lack of control."
Naruto remained silent for a moment. "The fuel. Fire needs something to burn, such as wood or paper. Yet, as fire benders, we're circumventing that by creating a fire that we can manipulate without a fuel."
"Wrong!" Jeong Jeong said. "That is your problem! You believe that there is no fuel! And in doing so, you have allowed your body to become the fuel!"
"Then, what is the fuel supposed to be?" Naruto asked.
"Your will!" Jeong Jeong said. "You must control fire with your will! Your spirit! You command the fire! You move it according to your will. But you must have reason to use it. Without reason, without fuel, you will burn away to ash."
"Reason," Naruto said, brow furrowing. "You mean...like protecting my friends?"
"Perhaps," Jeong Jeong said. "Or perhaps your reason could be to avenge a death. Or to be powerful. Or, to be cool. It matters not what your reason is. Only that you have one."
"But, I had one," Naruto said. "When I used my firebending, I wanted to protect my friends."
"No!" Jeong Jeong snapped. "You do not understand. That is not a reason! That is purpose!"
Naruto blinked in confusion before closing his eyes and taking a long, slow breath.
"Reason is your will, your drive," Jeong Jeong explained with a softer tone. "Meditate until you understand."
Naruto remained silent, meditating. But he didn't get any closer to understanding. After hours of sitting there, once the sun was high in the sky, Jeong returned, getting both and leading them up a mountain and at the very top, explaining that a fire bender's power comes from breathing. Then, he had Aang and Naruto both take the usual training stance, then inhale through their noses and exhale through their mouths. Then, he turned, walking away. After hours of squatting there, Aang groaned.
"Enough of this!" Aang snarled, standing up.
"Aang," Naruto said, making Aang stop. "I once heard a story about a fire bender and his master. The master was the greatest in the world. No one could defeat him. However, he hated fire. Truly. He had lost everything to fire. And it was his own fault. He had been in a rush to learn how to actually create fire, as you are now."
"What happened?" Aang asked, dropping back into his stance.
"He learned how," Naruto said. "But because he hadn't learned control yet, he wasn't able to control the flame he created. It grew rapidly, engulfing his house. He escaped. And then he stood there, watching the house burn to the ground, watching the people around him try desperately to extinguish the fire or use fire bending to remove it from the house, listening to his wife and children scream as the flames consumed them."
Aang stared at him, horrified, losing all the color from his face.
"When they found their bodies, they were barely recognizable. They were charred and had cooked together to the point that they had to put them all in the same casket, or else they'd have to chip the children's corpses from their mother's. The master vowed never to fire bend again. But one day, he had to in order to save a friend. But he realized something. As he had grown older and had gained discipline, he had also gained control. He trained for years to gain perfect control of his fire bending. Not to get stronger, only to control it. And for it, he became a true master. Eventually, he found a student who was also impatient. He thought maybe he could train the student and teach him that control was more important. But instead, that student simply continued to rush. All that student wanted was the power to burn away any obstacles he met, not caring about what else he burned. So after that student, the master vowed never to teach another to fire bend, praying that one day fire bending would simply die out." Naruto explained with a sad tone as if he was somehow familiar with the tale.
"That's a great story and all, but-"
"The master was Jeong Jeong," Naruto interrupted Aang, who gasped. "That's why he doesn't want to teach you and why he's forcing you to focus on discipline so much."
"I see," Aang said with a downcast look, settling into his stance, eyes staring straight ahead.
Hours later, Jeong Jeong returned, collecting them and heading back down the mountain.
"Aang, tomorrow, we will be working with fire," Jeong Jeong informed him with an unusual little smile. "For now, go and rest."
Aang nodded, branching off. Jeong Jeong stopped, turning to him.
"There was a spy in the village," Jeong Jeong said. "The Fire Nation is on their way up the river for the Avatar. I cannot teach him for much longer. You must take over for me or find someone else. Which means you must find your reason." He explained with a neutral look, not showing fear.
"I will, Master," Naruto said, bowing. "And thank you."
Jeong Jeong nodded, and Naruto returned to the others as well, both he and Aang going to sleep instantly. The next day, they met Jeong Jeong in the usual place, Jeong Jeong picking up a leaf from the ground and igniting the center, passing it to Aang. The Avatar gripped either side of the leaf and looked up at Jeong Jeong in confusion.
"I want you to keep the fire from reaching the edges of that leaf for as long as possible," Jeong Jeong explained, pointing at the leaf. Then, he turned, walking away. "I leave him to you, Naruto."
"Yes, Master," Naruto bowed respectfully. "This is a lesson in control. Once you've mastered this, you'll be holding a fireball in your hand as long as you can." Naruto said with a smile.
"I can already do that, watch," Aang said, concentrating.
"Aang, don't you dare," Naruto warned him with a serious look.
Suddenly, the leaf burst into a ball of flames which Aang began to juggle.
"Stop that right now!" Naruto ordered, Aang ignoring him.
"I wonder how that juggler did it," Aang said, before spinning, arms out to his sides.
The fire shot outward in a ring, Naruto leaping back and looking to the side where the flames were shooting at Katara. He turned, sprinting toward her and ramming her out of the way just as the flames reached them, missing Katara by a hair's breadth but only because they caught Naruto instead.
"Naruto!" Aang shouted, the fire vanishing instantly as he sprinted over. "Oh no! I'm so sorry!"
"I...told you...to stop!" Naruto growled, his shirt ruined and burns covering his right shoulder and the right side of his torso in front and back. "Now...do you...understand?"
"I...I'm so sorry!" Aang said with tears in his eyes. "It was an accident!"
Naruto stood, staggering a couple of steps before dropping to the ground, halfway in the water and shouting in pain. Katara and Sokka hurried over, helping him into the water, Naruto clenching his teeth as his body stiffened before slowly relaxing. Suddenly, Katara's hands began to glow. She began to pull them back, but Naruto caught her wrist. She stopped as the water around him began to glow as well, the burns slowly receding. Then, Naruto stood, sighing.
"Well, Whataya know," Naruto said with a bitter chuckle. "You're a healer."
"Healer?" Katara asked, confused.
"Some water benders are able to use water to heal injuries," Jeong Jeong suddenly said behind them, walking over, not looking at Aang. "The Fire Nation is here. You must pack your things and go."
They nodded, and they all ran to their building while Jeong Jeong ran the other way. While they were packing, Aang suddenly turned back around toward the river.
"I can't leave him," Aang said. "I have to help him!"
"Aang, don't!" Sokka said.
"Sorry, Sokka," Aang said. "I gotta go!"
He ran off, and Sokka growled in annoyance before climbing onto Appa, sitting down, and crossing his arms.
"Aren't you going to stop him?" Katara asked, looking at Naruto.
The blonde simply stretched out his arms before following Aang.
Aang was busy fighting with the idiot general; Meanwhile, Jeong had disappeared from sight, and six Firebenders soldiers were chasing him behind, but they stopped when Naruto stood in their way.
"Move out of the way, boy, before we burn you," one of them warned, preparing to burn the blonde. Naruto simply scoffed before slamming his hands on the ground, followed by trees growing all around him, before moving towards the soldiers who tried to burn them only to be caught by the trees; the trees moved around their bodies, completely blocking them as the pressure building up was enough to break bones.
Screaming in pain, some looked at Naruto with fear, knowing their lives were in his hand.
"Please, Please, No," they begged as they desperately tried to burn the wood that was slowly crushing their bodies.
Naruto narrowed his eyes, preparing to close the gap, making all their ribs smash inside, killing them...
"Stop," Aang suddenly shouted, looking at Naruto from behind, who for a few seconds was silent, thinking that it was better just to kill them; they wouldn't show mercy if the roles were reserved.
"Don't be like that, Naruto, don't be like the Fire Nation," Aang begged, walking closer, step by step in a calculating way.
Naruto wanted to shout that killing them wouldn't make him like them, but since they were in a hurry, he decided to comply.
Putting his hand down, he left the firebenders there, still trying to get free, some throwing fire at the wood, but soon found out that it wasn't that easy to burn wood that thick.
"Very well," Naruto said before both of them ran away, not wanting to hang around more than they needed to.
Appa, Sokka, and Katara reached them soon, with Sokka offering them a hand, Katara holding the reins.
"Aang, Naruto, quick, get on!" Sokka shouted, with Naruto jumping high in the air, landing on Appa.
Aang leaped onto Appa as Appa took off. "Wait, where's Jeong Jeong?"
"He disappeared," Sokka said sadly, looking down. "They all did."
Aang nodded, and they flew away. Katara looked at the firebender soldier, still not free from Naruto's trees; she had seen the situation from afar, not sure who was right?