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The Following FIVE Chapters are already Available for Patrons.
Chapter 19 (Naruto vs Azula), Chapter 20 (Blind Bandit), Chapter 21 (Toph), Chapter 22 (The Chase), and Chapter 23 (Iroh and Zuko) are already available for Patrons.
Naruto sighed as he lay down in Appa's saddle. After leaving, what he dubbed the cave of death, they started heading to Omashu to get Aang, an earth-bending master in Bumi. He kind of missed that crazy guy. He definitely kept things interesting. He turned towards Sokka, who was steering.
"I blame you for all that, by the way," Naruto stated simply. He turned towards Naruto with wide eyes.
"Me?! What'd I do?!" Sokka questioned with a huff. Naruto rolled his eyes.
"You were all like, 'what's the worst that can happen?' and jinxed us! The universe hates you, Sokka; remember that." He explained, sticking his tongue out at him. It was true. He always ended up jinxing them. Sokka opened his mouth to retort, but Katara beat him to it.
"Actually, he's not wrong, Sokka." She agreed with a smirk. Sokka huffed and turned away from them, ignoring their accusations. Aang laughed into his hand as Katara bumped fists behind his back.
"Well, whatever! I said before that the trip to Omashu would be fine! Despite the little hiccup in the mountains, nothing really bad has happened. So hah!" He announced proudly. Uh oh, he really shouldn't have said that. Naruto immediately covered his head, expecting lighting to strike them down or something. Sokka stood up with a smirk as they began to fly around the last mountain on their way to Omashu.
"Now, I present to you the great city of O-...Oh no..." Sokka stopped as they all stared in horror. Omashu, a once proud and strong earth nation city, was covered in metal structures with smoke pouring out of them. Hanging on the front of the main gates was a giant fire nation flag. Naruto punched Sokka in the arm hard.
"I told you not to jinx us!"
"This isn't my fault!"
After seeing the city, they quickly flew Appa down and landed on one of the ledges sticking out of the mountain. Aang immediately jumped down, and the rest of them gave each other a look before following. Aang stared at the city with a frown on his face.
"I can't believe it. I know the war spread far, but Omashu always seemed...untouchable." He muttered in disbelief. Naruto put his hand on his shoulder as Sokka nodded.
"Until now, it was. Now, Ba Sing Se is the only great earth kingdom stronghold left." Naruto stated with a frown. He thought about it, and he was right. The war has taken all the other strongholds in the earth kingdom now. Thinking about how much control the fire nation had was pretty scary. Nearly everyone alive today wouldn't be able to remember a time when there was no war.
"This is horrible..." Aang whispered. Katara put her hand on Aang's other shoulder, a sympathetic look on her face.
"It is, but we need to move on." She said gently, pulling lightly on his shoulder. He frowned.
"We can't just leave without trying to do anything. We could at least try to help the people." Naruto insisted. There were probably hundreds of captured Omashu citizens sitting in the dungeons and just stuck in the slums. Aang nodded in agreement.
"He's right, and I'm going to find Bumi," Aang said in determination, walking forward.
"Aang, stop. We don't even know if Bumi's still...if he's still..." Sokka paused in his statement.
Aang tensed and looked like he was about to snap, but he grabbed his arm and shook his head. It was a possibility, after all.
"Aang, I know you had your heart set on Bumi. But, there are other people who can teach you earth bending." Katara insisted. Aang turned back towards the city. The look on his face told Naruto there was no talking him out of this, not that he would try to.
"This isn't about finding a teacher; it's about finding my friend," Aang stated with finality. Naruto smiled. Well, it looks like we know what we're going to do now.
Later
"A secret passage? Why didn't we just use this way last time?!" Sokka questioned as they stood in front of a large pipe entryway. Katara, Sokka, and Naruto were all putting on cloaks while Aang pried the block in front of the pipe off. Immediately they all jumped back as sludge and sewage poured out. Oh gross...
"Does that answer your question?" Aang asked smugly. Honestly, he looked a little too happy to be going into the sewage. Aang jumped in first, with Katara behind him, Naruto behind her, and Sokka at the end. Aang air bended a ball in front of him that blew the sludge around him, and Katara held Naruto next to her as she uses her other arm to bend the liquid around them.
Probably for the best that he didn't bend in here. He doubted that burnt sewage would be any better than the regular kind. He heard a bunch of garbled sounds from Sokka as he basically drowned. He hoped he was okay...
Finally, they reached the end as Aang blew air up at a vent above them. He climbed out first before Katara and Naruto followed.
"That wasn't as bad as I thought it would be," Katara stated as she shook her feet a little. Naruto nodded in agreement before a giant mass of moving sludge caught his attention. Oh, look, Sokka caught up. Katara quickly blasted him with water before Aang dried him off with air. Naruto smirked as he saw the little pink creatures attached to Sokka's face. He made some friends.
"AH!" Sokka immediately began freaking out and trying to pry the things off his face, but those little suckers were strong. Aang tackled Sokka into the wall to shut him up.
"Sh! Stop making so much noise. It's just a purple pentapus." Aang explained before stroking the head of one. Instantly it made a happy noise and released its grip on Sokka. They left behind little red marks all over his face. Suddenly a voice rang out.
"Hey! You there!" they all tensed as a couple of fire nation soldiers approached them. Aang quickly covered the arrow on his head with some weird, turban-like hat.
"What? Where did that even come from?" Naruto questioned. Aang just smiled at the blonde before turning back to the soldiers.
"What are you kids doing out here past curfew?" The frontman asked. Oh, gross, the people here have a curfew now. He never listened to that rule.
"Sorry, sir, we were just heading back," Katara explained before pushing them in the opposite direction. They began walking away, but then the man stopped them again.
"Hey, what's wrong with your friend?" He asked as he pointed at Sokka.
"A lot of things," Naruto whispered to Aang. He chuckled into his hand as Sokka sent them a glare.
"Uh...he's sick! It's pentapox." Katara stated nervously. The soldier frowned in suspicion and got closer.
"It's very contagious!" She added. The soldier stopped his approach and looked at them. Sokka suddenly began groaning and holding his hands out like a zombie.
"Ugh, it's so awful! I'm dying!" He moaned as he wobbled towards the soldiers. Wow, that acting, though. The men immediately began backing up in alarm.
"Didn't your cousin Chang die of pentapox?"
"We'd better go wash our hands!"
"And, burn our clothes!" They all ran away quickly as Sokka started coughing at them. After they were gone, he immediately stopped. Aang picked up one of the purple creatures and stroked its head.
"Thank you, sewer friend," Aang said happily. He grabbed one and stuck it smack dab in the middle of Sokka's face. Katara raised an eyebrow at Naruto as he shrugged.
"It would look less suspicious if the dots were covering his whole face?" Naruto offered. Katara merely sighed and went to help Sokka.
They ran further into the city. There were metal scaffoldings everywhere as they ducked behind some metal boxes. A couple of soldiers walked past as they hid.
"Let's just find Bumi and get out of here," Katara whispered. The blonde frowned.
"Shouldn't we do something for the people here?" Naruto questioned. Sokka shook his head.
"We don't even know if the fire nation is still keeping the people here or if they've all been kicked out. The best thing to do right now is to see if Bumi's here. Where would they keep him?" He questioned, turning to Aang.
"Somewhere, he can't earth bend. Somewhere metal." He stated. He looked around at all the metal structures and materials.
"Well, that narrows it down..." Naruto muttered with a sigh. You know, I've always been a little curious about earth bending. Shouldn't earth benders be able to bend metal? Sure, it's not straight-up rock and dirt. But metal is another form of earth, a more purified version. Ice is another form of water, and water benders could bend that. He mentally gives major props to whomever figures out how to do that.
They continued walking forward until a rumbling sound caught their attention. Looking up the ramps in front of them that were metal versions of the mail chutes, Naruto saw a boulder sliding down. At the bottom of the ramp was an approaching group of fire nation people. Aang instantly jumped forward and swept his staff out, destroying the rock and causing dust to fly everywhere.
"Uh oh, they saw us!" Sokka exclaimed as the lady pointed up at them. A girl, who looked a little older than Katara, stepped forward with a smirk and flung her arms at them. Sokka squeaked as arrows flew out of her sleeves and shot at them. He ducked last minute as the arrows struck above his head.
"How is that even possible?!" Naruto questioned. He didn't know people could shoot weapons from their sleeves! They immediately began running away from the crazy girl. Katara water bended a couple of the soldiers out of their way before Aang slammed his staff it a bunch of metal shelves. Naruto used his wood bending to create a cover behind them from the crazy lady. They collapsed behind them, blocking the girl's way. She flung a knife at Aang, who managed to catch the thing on his staff before she sent another volley of arrows at them.
"How many of those things do you have?!" Naruto shouted out. The girl didn't answer Naruto as they prepared to block the arrows. Suddenly, he gasped as the floor was literally pulled out beneath them, and they were taken downwards. Naruto grunted as he landed on the ground roughly. Rubbing the back of his head, he slowly sat up and saw the others in the same state. Feet approached them, and he looked up at the earth nation men in front of Naruto.
"Sokka! I found the refugees!"
The men took them to the giant cavern that was holding all the citizens of Omashu. Aang looked around in curiosity.
"So, is Bumi with you? Is he leading the resistance?" Aang questioned eagerly. Everyone immediately got quiet, and Naruto saw even a few looks of disdain.
"Of course not! The day the fire nation arrived, we were prepared to fight with our lives for our city and our freedom. But, before we even had a chance, King Bumi...surrendered." The man in front of them stated. He glared at the ground as Aang frowned in disbelief.
"It doesn't matter now. We have to fight for our freedom. And freedom is worth dying for." The man insisted. He looked at Aang.
"If you're dead, are you free then? You guys are outnumbered, and most people here aren't fighters. They're civilians." Naruto stated, pointing down at the people. Many were frail and had the look of the poor shopkeeper rather than a hardcore soldier. Trying to fight the fire nation soldiers head-on would lead most of these people to their deaths. And Naruto personally wasn't in favor of that.
"Naruto's right. There's another path to freedom. You could leave the city and survive to fight another day!" Aang offered. Naruto nodded. It was a good idea. The man looked like he was about to argue, but he looked around. The people were all murmuring, and they seemed to like the idea. He supposed they weren't really keen on dying either. The man looked down with a sigh.
"Fine, but there are thousands of citizens that need to be evacuated. How are we all going to leave the city?" He questioned. Sokka snapped his fingers.
"Suckers!" They all stared at him like he'd finally lost it, and he started to explain.
"You're all about to come down with a nasty case of pentapox," Sokka stated. He stared at him before smiling.
"This is the one and only time I'm gonna say this, but that's an excellent idea."
"Oh, what was that? I couldn't hear you."
"Don't push it."
They grabbed buckets full of pentapi and began sticking them on each other. People were getting spots all over themselves. Sokka stood at the front and looked around.
"Okay, now you look sick. But, you have to act it too." Suddenly an elderly man hobbled by, moaning and groaning in pain. Sokka stared at him before smiling in approval.
"Now that's what I'm talking about!" He announced. The man smiled at him before tapping his wooden peg leg.
"Years of practice!" He insisted. As the people began to leave, Katara and Naruto turned and saw Aang leaving.
"Aang, where are you going?" Katara questioned.
"I'm going to find Bumi. I'll meet up with you guys later." He said before running down the alleyway. Naruto stepped forward, intent on coming with him, but Katara grabbed his arm.
"I think he needs to be alone for a little, Naruto. It'll be easier for him to look around secretly on his own. Come on, let's go join the others." Katara said with a smile before walking away. He looked in the direction Aang had gone in before turning to follow her. He'll be okay; Naruto knew it.
Everyone wandered into the city, wobbling and acting really sick. The soldiers all started to panic.
"Plague!" Naruto heard one person yell. Wow, he can't believe this is working! Everyone was really getting into this. He even saw one guy pretend to collapse onto the ground. Now that's commitment. The front gates opened as soldiers began surrounding the team, trying to flush the sickness out. They all managed to exit the city safely. Immediately as the gates closed behind them, he smiled as everyone cheered happily. They were free, and everyone was alive.
They all traveled down into the valleys and set up camp as the night set. They were all eagerly awaiting news from Aang. He sat up quickly as Naruto saw him approaching with Flopsy.
"How'd it go?" Naruto questioned with a frown. But he knew the answer. He didn't have Bumi with him.
"We looked everywhere...no Bumi." He mumbled, downcast. Katara pulled him into another hug as Sokka hugged a depressed Flopsy. He pet the creature's nose as one of the resistance men walked up to them.
"We have a problem. We just did a headcount." Naruto sighed. Katara immediately looked over in concern as she let go of Aang.
"Oh no, did someone get left behind?" She questioned. He shook his head.
"No, we have an extra." He pointed over at a small baby who was currently hugging the life out of Momo. Naruto sighed.
"Uh oh, we're kidnappers now."
Later
They all sat around the fire as they looked at the little fire nation baby. The infant crawled over to Sokka's weapon and stuck the tip in his mouth. Immediately it was grabbed away from him, and Sokka frowned.
"No, bad fire nation, baby!" He exclaimed. The baby started crying, and Katara smacked Sokka upside the head. Naruto reached into one of their bags and pulled out a rubber ball. He usually used it to play with Momo. Naruto gave that to the baby instead. Probably safer than handing him a weapon. The baby brightened up and happily threw the ball up and down while giggling. Katara cooed and bent down to hug him.
"Aw, you're so adorable!" she squealed, kissing him on the forehead.
"Just wait. When he grows up, he'll join the fire nation army. He won't be so cute, then. He'll be a killer." The resistance man said with a frown. Yeesh, paranoid much? Katara held up the baby.
"Does this look like the face of a killer to you?" She questioned as the baby began drooling. The man's face stayed unchanged. He rolled his eyes.
"Not everyone in the fire nation is going to turn into some power-hungry killer. There's good and bad in every nation." Naruto insisted.
Guys like this are going to make our job very hard after the war...Naruto mused with a sigh. Suddenly the sound of a bird squawking caught their attention. Looking to the side, they saw a fire nation hawk.
"It's a messenger hawk!" The resistance man exclaimed. Aang ran over and pulled the message from the pouch, and opened it up.
"It's from the governor. He thinks we kidnapped his son. He wants to make a trade, his son for...King Bumi." Aang gasped. Naruto frowned at that. Well, they kinda did kidnap the baby. If this guy was a good dad, it would make sense that he wanted his son back enough to hand Bumi over.
It looks like we're making this trade.
In the morning, they all headed out for Omashu once again. They flew to the top of the city where the trade was supposed to take place and waited on a large platform. At the other end of the platform, Naruto could see three girls heading their way. Okay...that wasn't what Naruto was expecting.
The girl in front of Naruto was recognized as the arrow girl from before. She also had very recognizable buns on her head. The girl on the left looked like some sort of acrobat with her cropped top and loose pants. The girl on the right had a sinister smirk on her face, and some sort of fire nation hair band held up her top knot. Naruto felt like he had seen her before. And geez, she has some scary-looking fingernails. Despite the way they were arranged, Naruto could tell that the scary girl was really in charge. But the blonde couldn't help but like her looks. She wasn't that bad looking. She was quite pretty.
"Do you have my brother?" The girl in front asked. Oh, so she was the baby's sister. Aang stepped forward. Naruto noticed the girl looking at him, her eyes showing a hint of recognition as if recognizing him, before shifting to Aang.
"Yes, we're ready to trade," Aang announced. A metal coffin-like container was lowered from above as they spoke. Bumi's face was sticking out of one side. Well, he guesses that's one way to trap an earth bender. Suddenly the mean-looking girl on the right turned towards the one in the middle, that looked depressed.
"I'm sorry, but something just occurred to me. May I?" She questioned with a slight smirk.
"Of course, Princess Azula." What? This girl was a princess! That meant...she was Zuko's sister?! Oh wow. Any fire bender in the royal family was going to be tricky. And Azula looked a tad bit more menacing than Zuko, in his opinion. But maybe that's just a girl thing. And she was far better looking than Zuko.
"We're trading a baby for a powerful, earth-bending king. It just doesn't seem fair. Don't you think?" Azula asked with an 'innocent' look on her face. The girl in the middle seemed to think about it before nodding and stepping forward.
"The deal's off!" She announced and made a hand motion. Guess who's not getting the best sister award. Bumi immediately began laughing as his metal coffin was taken back up again. Aang looked up in alarm.
"Bumi!" He leaped forward but was stopped by a wave of blue fire. Naruto stared at the princess. An involuntary smirk worked its way onto Naruto's face. Blue fire vs. Black fire, what an exciting battle ahead.
Aang quickly jumped over the fire and bounded off the structures next to him. He unfolded his glider in midair, but as he flew, the cloth wrapped around his head came loose, exposing his tattoo. There goes the secrecy. In all honesty, she probably would've figured it out after seeing the air bending anyways.
"The Avatar, this is my lucky day!" Azula exclaimed. She was about to chase him when a blast of black flames stopped her. She quickly jumped away but felt the heat from the dangerous flames despite the distance.
When she landed, her eyes settled on Naruto, who was smirking at her. "I have my Black Flames. Let's see which one is better?" Naruto challenged, his hands being engulfed in flames.
Azula licked her lips slightly. She was quite intrigued. "I saw your poster. You're quite famous. I'm quite excited for this Duel."