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Chapter 21 (Toph), Chapter 22 (The Chase), Chapter 23 (Iroh and Zuko), Chapter 24 (A Little Secret), Chapter 25 (The Library), and Chapter 26 (Hashirama's Legacy) are already available for Patrons.
"Hm...It's pricey. But, Ido likes it." Sokka mumbled as he examined the purse bag. They had stopped at another earth kingdom village to resupply and hopefully spot any potential earth-bending masters for Aang, who was still wearing the straw hat. Katara patted Sokka on the shoulder with a smile.
"Then you should get it. You deserve nice things." She added helpfully. They had been at this stinking market for 15 minutes already, just staring at this bag. It was a green, of course, purse thing with the earth kingdom symbol on the front.
"I do...but, no. It Is too expensive. I shouldn't." He weakly protested, turning his back to the bag. Naruto groaned and grabbed Aang and Katara by their arms. He pulled them away with him as he walked away.
"Then don't," Katara stated bluntly over her shoulder at him. Naruto could hear him beginning to trudge after them before suddenly turning around.
"You know what? I'm gonna get it!" He announced. Naruto rolled his eyes. Sokka was the most indecisive person ever.
"All this for a purse?" Naruto grumbled.
"Manly Handbag." Sokka insisted, sending a glare his way as he paid the shopkeeper.
"Whatever." His sarcasm was interrupted as some random guy suddenly appeared over his shoulder.
"Pst, hey, you kids like earth bending? Do you like throwing rocks? Try Master Yu's Earth bending Academy." He insisted, handing them a little coupon before disappearing again. Naruto thought for sure he was going to try to sell them shady stuff like drugs or whatever.
"Hey, this coupon gives the first lesson for free," Aang announced, flipping the piece of paper over to read it. He hummed in thought as he looked at the picture of Master Yu.
"...He looks old," Naruto stated simply. Katara ignored him as she put her hand on Aang's shoulder.
"Who knows, maybe this Master Yu is the earth-bending master we've been looking for."
As Aang went to try out his earth-bending lesson, Naruto went off to a secluded square to try and meditate. He still hadn't heard from Kyoshi for a while now.
"Avatar Kyoshi?" Naruto asked, now standing in a much different place.
"Yes, Grandson?" Kyoshi asked as her form appeared in front of him, sitting crossed-legged, her body made out of blue light.
"There's something I have been thinking of. A few days ago, I fought someone, and during the fight, a piece of rock flew when I launched a Fire Blast." Naruto explained, remembering the little rock flying toward Azula. Thankfully it seemed the Princess hadn't noticed it.
Kyoshi had a thoughtful look upon hearing that as if thinking about something before she talked. "Bending Wood itself is not something people are usually able to do. I think your bending might be special. Your woodbending might allows you to bend earth and perhaps water, too," Kyoshi suggested.
This took Naruto by surprise. Being able to firebend was one thing, but Earthbending and perhaps Waterbending as well.
"Why? I'm not the Avatar. Why can I do this?" Naruto asked, focusing on his great-grandmother, who closed her mouth.
"I don't know. I'm afraid you will need to find the answers on your own." Kyoshi said with a sad smile before disappearing.
Naruto opened his eyes back to the real world, his mind full of thoughts. What does this all mean? He thought, scratching the top of his head.
Stretching his arms above his head, he groaned as he went back over to where Aang had just walked out of the academy.
"Eh...I don't think he's the one." Is all he said, shaking dirt out of his ear. Their attention was drawn over to the entrance as two teenage boys stepped out.
"-The Boulder is gonna win back the belt at Earth Rumble VI!" One of them stated. He stared at his hair. It looked like someone had taken a grey pile of grass and just clumped it on the center of his head.
"He's gonna have to fight his way through some of the best earth benders in the world to even have a shot at the champ." The other one countered. Aang immediately brightened up and ran over to them.
"Excuse me, but where is this earth-bending tournament held?" He asked politely. The two boys just stared down at him.
"It's on the island of Nunya. Nunya business!" Grass head shouted rudely. They laughed at Aang as they walked away smugly.
"Hah, Nunya business...I gotta remember that one!" Sokka chuckled. Naruto glared at him and smacked his arm.
"Ow!"
Katara just patted Aang's shoulder with a smile.
"Don't worry. I got this." She announced before running after the two boys. Naruto had the feeling she wasn't going to use her 'feminine charms' for this one.
"What was I thinking?! I don't need a new bag! Why did you let me buy this?" Sokka exclaimed. He dumped the bag onto the floor with a hmph and turned away from it. Momo happily jumped into the bag, curling up.
"Looks like Momo likes it," Naruto said, petting the lemur's head. Suddenly Katara ran back over to them with a triumphant smile.
"Are you ready to find an earth-bending teacher? Cause we're going to Earth Rumble VI!" She stated happily. Aang just stared at her with wide eyes as Sokka attempted to relinquish the bag from Momo.
"How'd you get them to tell you?" Aang questioned.
"Oh, a girl has her ways..." Katara explained innocently, smiling off to the side. The boys just shrugged before beginning to walk away. Naruto leaned over to Katara.
"You water bended them, didn't you," Naruto whispered with a smirk. She just winked at him making him laugh. He held up his hand for a fist bump.
Later
"Hey, front-row seats! I wonder why no one else is sitting over here." Aang said as they sat in the empty section. The tournament was taking place basically hidden within the mountain. The entire side of the stadium they were on was empty. Suddenly a giant boulder crashed right next to him, making Aang jump onto Sokka.
"Guess that's why," Sokka stated simply. They looked to the center of the stage and saw a very muscular man make quite the entrance, sending boulders everywhere.
"Welcome, to Earth Rumble VI! I am your host, Xin Fu!" He announced, pumping his fist in the air. Katara sighed loudly.
"This is just gonna be a bunch of guys chucking rocks at each other." She grumbled, looking at her nails in disinterest.
"That's what I paid for." Sokka agreed with a giant grin.
"The rules are simple. Just knock the other guy out of the ring, and you win!" Xin Fu added before launching himself over to a podium out of the way. Two contestants walked onto the stage next. One was insanely muscled; the other was just insanely...big.
"Round one, the Boulder vs. The Big Bad Hippo!" The crowd cheered for the contestants.
"Listen up, Hippo! You may be big, but you aren't bad. The Boulder's gonna win this in a landslide!" Boulder announced. Why was he speaking in the third person?
"Hippo mad!" He exclaimed. Okay, why did all these guys talk weirdly? Suddenly Boulder launched a bunch of rocks at Hippo, hitting him. But Hippo simply shook it off, even chewing some of the rocks. These guys are insane! Hippo started to jump up and down, which caused the entire stage to rock.
"Incredible! The Hippo is rocking the boat!" Xin Fu commented. Boulder almost fell off, but at the last minute, bent a slab of earth behind him and through it at Hippo, hitting him square in the back. Lifting his hands above his head, he watched in awe as Boulder lifted Hippo on a pile of rocks into the air. He threw his hands forward to send the Hippo off stage.
"Boulder wins the match!" Xin Fu announced. The crowd went wild as the Boulder lifted his arms in victory. Katara looked over at Aang.
"What about the Boulder? He's got some good moves." She shrugged.
"I dunno...Bumi said I would need a teacher that listened to the earth. This guy just listens to his big muscles. What do you think, Sokka?" They looked over at Sokka, just to see him screaming like the rest of the crowd. Naruto gave him an unimpressed look.
"Yeah, I don't think we're gonna get anything intelligent from him," Naruto stated simply.
"What about you? What do you think, Naruto?" Aang questioned him next. He just shrugged.
"It's really up to you, Aang. If you meet the right person, I'm sure you'll know."
The rest of the tournament basically went as the Boulder dominating everyone. Naruto was sure Sokka had found his new hero. He smacked him multiple times to try and make him chill, but Naruto was sure he was a lost cause. Finally, it was time for the championship battle.
"Now, the moment you've all been waiting for! The Boulder vs. your champion, the Blind Bandit!" Xin Fu announced, pointing at...a young girl? She looked about his age. Sweet. Girl power!
"I'm voting for her!" Naruto exclaimed loudly. Sokka looked at him like he had killed his pet dog.
"She can't really be blind. It's just part of her character, right?" Katara asked with a frown. Looking closer, Naruto could see that her eyes were slightly clouded, looking nowhere in particular.
"I think she really is blind. Look at her eyes." Naruto explained.
"I think she is going down!" Sokka suddenly shouted right next to him. Naruto elbowed him in the gut and ignored his grunt of pain as the match began.
"The Boulder feels conflicted about fighting a young, blind girl," Boulder announced. The Blind Bandit just smirked.
"Sounds to me like you're scared, Boulder!" She teased mockingly.
...
...
"The Boulder is over his conflicted feelings and is ready to bury you in a rockalanche!" Boulder shouted, pounding his fists together.
"Whenever you're ready, the Pebble!" She replied before laughing almost evilly. Hm...he liked this girl. Boulder went to take a step forward as the Bandit just stood there, almost...waiting. Suddenly, as Boulder went to take another step, Blind Bandit kicked her foot forward. The rocks shifted under Boulder's foot just as he stepped down, causing him to be forced into a split position. He let out a squeal of pain as he began laughing hysterically at Sokka's devastated expression. With one more swipe of her hand, Blind Bandit sent the Boulder flying out of the ring.
"Wow, that was the fastest round yet." Naruto whistled.
"Your winner and still reigning champion, the Blind Bandit!" Xin Fu announced as the girl just smirked. Katara stared in awe.
"How did she do that?" She whispered. Aang stared at the girl in equal amounts of awe.
"She waited...and she listened." Naruto smiled. His eyes widened. Did that mean he was going to recruit her as his master? Well, he was all for it. Xin Fu jumped down into the ring, a bag of money in his hand.
"To make things a little more interesting, I'm offering this sack of gold pieces to anyone that can defeat the Blind Bandit!" He shouted. His offer was met with silence.
"What? Does no one dare to face her?!" Just as he said that he felt someone landing in the area.
"I will!" Naruto announced, walking onto the stage. Xin Fu jumped back out of the ring as Sokka cheered wildly next to him.
"I wanted to go there," Aang said with a frown; Katara patted his back as Sokka cheered for the blonde.
"Wooo! Go Naruto! Avenge the Boulder!" He exclaimed. Naruto rolled his eyes. Sokka got weirdly attached to that Boulder guy.
The blonde turned his attention back to the girl who despised her size was strong. I shouldn't underestimate her. She could kick my butt. The blonde thought as he took a stance in front of her.
"Do people really want to see another one lose within a minute?" The girl said.
"I like confidence in a girl. What's your name? My name is Naruto." Naruto asked, his eyes narrowed at the girl, who suddenly got serious.
Immediately Sokka booed at Naruto. "No talking!" Leading to Katara and Aang smacking him.
"Don't boo at him!" Katara scolded. Aang just nodded, focusing back on the match.
Naruto went to step forward when suddenly, the ground beneath him shot up. He jumped upwards before it could hit him. Blind Bandit seemed lost for a second before zeroing in on Naruto once he touched the ground. Huh, so she can tell where people are using the earth. Naruto thought. The girl made another move, and the blonde dodged just in time before slamming his hands on the ground. Vines immediately started forming around the arena.
The girl got lost for a moment, feeling multiple trees suddenly growing around her. "What is this?" She asked; despite his feet being on the surface of the trees he had grown, it seemed the girl could still know where he was as she launched a boulder at him.
Naruto jumped away before sending multiple trees towards the girl, who quickly raised a pillar beneath her, raising her above the ground to escape the trees.
"It's Woodbending. I'm sure this is the first time you fought this." Naruto said with a smirk as he rose himself above the ground using his trees.
"Ahh, this is a new one for me. I didn't know Woodbending was possible, plantboy." She said with a smile that Naruto thought was quite beautiful.
"Thank you for the compliment, mooneye," Naruto said with a nickname of his own. This made the girl stop for a moment before tilting her head to the side, smiling.
"Mooneye. I like it." She stated before launching the pillar she was standing on toward Naruto, who quickly jumped from the tree towards the girl who didn't know where he was. The moment he touched the ground, the ground opened before closing quickly, trapping his feet.
"Game Over," Toph announced before launching a boulder at Naruto, who smirked; thinking fast, he quickly grew a tree between his legs, releasing himself as a Wooden shield blocked the boulder.
Naruto jumped in the air again, confusing Toph. Still, this time just as his feet would touch the ground, one of his trees touched the ground instead, making Toph immediately launch a boulder toward the tree instead; Naruto landed on his feet, slamming his hands on the ground.
Toph felt her legs tightened by vines before raising her above the ground, leaving her upside down. Much to her horror, she couldn't see anymore due to her feet no longer touching the ground, she couldn't bend the damn tree, and none of her body parts were touching the ground.
Seeing that she was defenseless, Naruto launched her out of the arena.
There was a shocked silence before everyone began to cheer crazily. Naruto ran after the girl. Hoping to help her. Just as he reached her, she stood up.
"You won. Leave me alone." She shouted, walking away from him.
"I still want to know your name?" Naruto asked. This made the girl stiff for a moment.
"Toph." That's all she said before walking away and blocking the way with her bending.
Xin Fu was there holding the champion's belt and the sack of gold, which Sokka immediately grabbed.
"Way to go, champ!" He cheered, throwing his arm around Naruto. Aang looked at the ground sullenly as he patted his arm.
"Don't worry, Aang, we'll find her."
"You know, now I'm actually thrilled I got the bag. It matches the belt perfectly!" Sokka exclaimed. Naruto has no idea why he was the one wearing the belt. Then again, he has no idea why Sokka really does anything.
"I am so relieved..." Katara stated very sarcastically.
"If we're gonna find the Blind Bandit, the Earth bending academy would be a good place to start," Aang stated simply, walking through the entrance. Inside, they found the two teenagers from before punching jars of sand. They looked up at them and immediately glared.
"Oh great, you again." Grass head sneered. Katara just took one threatening step toward them, making them shriek and cower.
"That's what I thought." She smirked. The boys looked at Naruto suddenly with wide eyes.
"Hey, you're the kid who beat the Blind Bandit!" They said in awe.
"We need to find her. Do you know where she lives?" Aang questioned them. "I don't think this girl was advertising her living area, but we could try," Naruto said with a shrug.
"The Blind Bandit's a mystery. She shows up to fight, then disappears." Grass head explained. Katara just stepped up to the other guy.
"You're not telling us everything!" She pointed in his face. He leaned back with terrified eyes.
"No, no! I swear it's the truth! No one knows where she goes or who she is!" He insisted. Naruto pulled Katara back.
"Easy there, tiger. I think they're telling the truth. I doubt this girl would really give out information. Lots of defeated fighters would probably want revenge or something. The Blind Bandit's probably just an alter ego." Naruto agreed. Aang snapped his fingers.
"In my vision, the girl was wearing a white dress and had a pet flying boar. Know anyone like that?" He asked. The boys thought for a second before answering.
"Well...the flying boar is the symbol of the Beifong family. They're the richest people in town. Probably the whole world." Grass head explained. The other guy popped out from where he was hiding behind his friend.
"Yeah, but the Beifongs don't have a daughter." He protested. Aang just shrugged.
"Flying boar is good enough for me. Let's go check it out!" He stated as he ran out of the academy. Katara glared at the boys as she walked out.
"Hey, I'm watching you." She threatened. Sokka smirked at the guys.
"Water tribe..." He whispered, walking out next. Naruto rolled his eyes as he followed him.
"Right, like you did anything..."
Later
"That's the flying boar! Let's go check it out." Aang whispered as they looked down at the luxurious estate. Wow, these people were loaded. There was a stone wall surrounding the area with guards posted around. They quickly snuck to the back—Aang, and he bent themselves over the wall while Katara and Sokka climbed. Naruto had only taken a few steps forward when the ground suddenly burst beneath him, sending them flying. Katara, Aang, and he landed in bushes while Sokka hit the floor.
"What're you doing here, Plantboy?" A familiar voice demanded. Naruto looked in front of him to see the Blind Bandit, in a white dress, standing in front of him.
"How did you know it was me?" He questioned, climbing out of the bush. Sokka glared from the floor.
"Don't respond, plantboy! It's not manly!" He protested. Naruto threw a stick at him.
"Right, like you're the master of manly Mr. Purse guy," Naruto stated, brushing off his top. The girl turned towards Sokka.
"That's a purse? I thought there was something funny." She smirked. Sokka went to argue, but she had already turned towards Naruto.
"How did you guys find me anyways?" She questioned.
"Blame Aang," Naruto said, pointing at the Avatar, who chuckled nervously.
"Well, this crazy earth king told me I had to find an earth bender who listens to the earth. And then I had a vision inside this magical swamp, where I also met a spirit friend. Then-." Katara cut him off before he sounded too crazy.
"What Aang's trying to say is that he's the Avatar, and if he doesn't master earth bending soon, he won't be able to defeat the fire lord," Katara explained. The girl just shoved her hand in front of Katara's face.
"Not my problem." She stated simply.
"Eh, kinda you're problem since the fire lord's trying to conquer the world and everything," Sokka added with a shrug. She just shot him a glare before beginning to walk away.
"Whatever, just get off my property before I call the guards." She insisted. Sokka went to try one last time.
"Listen, we all have to do our part to win the war. Yours is to teach Aang earth bending." He insisted. She was silent for a moment before suddenly shouting.
"Guards! Guards help!" Naruto immediately ran towards the wall, the rest of the gang following him. They all got themselves over just as guards ran up to the girl.
"Toph! What is it?" They questioned.
"I...thought I heard something. I got scared." She replied in a very childlike voice. She was completely different from what she had been before. He watched as the guards led her away from the garden.
"I think we threw a bit much at her all at once. Probably a bad idea to ambush her like this." Naruto sighed, sliding down the wall.
"Now, what are we going to do?" Katara questioned. Naruto looked over at Aang, who suddenly donned a devious grin.
"Uh oh, do I even want to know?"