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Chapter 24 (A Little Secret), Chapter 25 (The Library), Chapter 26 (Hashirama's Legacy), Chapter 27 (The Truth), Chapter 28 (To Ba Sing Se), and Chapter 29 (A Wooden Dragon) are already available for Patrons.
"What a mess!" Mai said blankly, watching as blood leaked from the crushed machine, they were ten people there, and the machine was now the size of a small bed.
"They don't matter. We need to find the Avatar." Azula said, watching the blood leaking from the top with a hint of amusement. Just how powerful is he?
Naruto
"...I know you're following me." He stopped abruptly as Toph's voice rang out from up ahead. Oops, it looks like he was caught. Not that he expected to hide from an earth bender. Especially one like her. Naruto jogged to catch up to her and shrugged.
"Eh, figured you might need a traveling buddy." He suggested sending her a smile. She didn't say anything for a second before she started walking again.
"Fine, but I'm not going back." She muttered.
"I wasn't gonna tell you to. They were a bit out of line." He nodded. Toph just snorted.
"A bit? They were blaming all our problems on me!" She glared. Naruto didn't disagree. They were doing that.
"You and Katara are bound to clash. I think it'll just take some time to get used to. Aang wouldn't have snapped if he was thinking clearly, but he's exhausted, and Appa is his best friend." He tried to explain their behavior. If Toph continued to travel with them, he did not doubt that there would be many more fights between her and Katara. Hopefully, they would just get less malicious.
Toph didn't answer that, but she suddenly stopped in her tracks. She motioned for him to be quiet as she glanced around. Naruto examined their surroundings, ready to attack at any minute. Toph kicked her foot into the ground and sent a wave of rocks towards a boulder to their right. Dust filled the air as it hit, and he heard a man grunt.
"Oh...that really hurt my tailbone." A very familiar voice groaned. His eyes widened, and he quickly ran around the boulder.
"Iroh?" He questioned in shock. Sure enough, there was the old fire bender. He was dressed in a green tunic and looked like he had been out in the woods for a while. He turned towards Naruto in surprise.
"Naruto? Is that you? Well, what a surprise to see you out here!" He greeted cheerfully, waving at Naruto. He waved back but glanced around nervously. If Iroh was here, then Zuko couldn't be far away. Seeing his wary gaze, Iroh merely shook his head.
"Don't worry. My nephew is not around currently." He explained. He smiled, but it looked a bit pained. Naruto just nodded. It wasn't his business where Zuko was. Well, unless he was off attacking Aang.
"You know this guy?" Toph questioned, stepping forward. Naruto nodded as he reached down to help Iroh up.
"Yeah...it's a long and complicated story." He sighed. He really didn't feel like explaining why he was on good terms with the uncle of their enemy. Iroh smiled down at Naruto as he waved his hand to the side.
"It's been a while. Why don't we all talk over a nice cup of tea." He suggested. Naruto looked to Toph, who merely shrugged before turning to him with a smile.
"Sure, sounds good."
The smell of tea wafted through the air as Iroh poured out some into cups for Naruto and Toph before pouring himself one. He handed them the cups before sipping lightly from his own.
"So, where are your friends?" He questioned, sending Naruto a look. He groaned at that and rubbed his forehead.
"Probably sulking and being remorseful about now." He smirked, nudging Toph slightly. She nudged Naruto back harder, but he saw a small smile on her face.
"Are you traveling with the Avatar too?" Iroh asked Toph this time.
"No."
"Yes." They answered at the same time. She shot Naruto a glare, but he just whistled innocently, looking off to the side. Iroh smiled in amusement before nodding.
"Alright, so you're not. You look a little young to be traveling by yourself." He examined as he leaned back on his palm.
"You look a little old." She retorted and sipped from her tea. He chuckled heartily in response.
"I guess that's true." He sat silently as he watched him. Naruto wondered where Zuko had ended up. If Iroh was traveling alone now, something must've happened.
"I know what you're thinking. I look like I can't take care of myself. You wouldn't even let me pour my own cup of tea." Toph grumbled as she looked slightly to the side. Naruto stared at her. Is that what this has been about? Proving she can take care of herself?
"I wasn't thinking that. I poured your tea because I wanted to and not because of anything else." Iroh responded with a confused look on his face. Naruto nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, he's one of those people that likes to do nice things for people. Weird..." he said sarcastically with a smirk on his face. The floor beneath Naruto suddenly rose up, causing him to fall onto his face with a yelp. Naruto glared at Toph, but she was still facing away, sipping her tea. A deep chuckle drew his attention back over to Iroh.
"It seems like you two are quite good friends. Young lady, there's nothing wrong with letting those who care about you do things for you. It doesn't make you weaker. In fact, I think it's what makes people stronger." He explained in his sagely way. Toph seemed to think on this for a second. If anyone could knock some sense into her, it was Iroh.
"So, where is your nephew anyways?" Toph questioned, breaking the silence. Naruto looked over at him as well.
"Yeah, I was wondering where Zuko was."
"Wait, Zuko is his nephew? Evil ponytail guy?" Toph turned towards Naruto with wide eyes. Naruto nodded in affirmation.
"Shocker, I know. I still can't believe they're related." He patted Iroh on the shoulder to emphasize his point. He seemed amused by Naruto's statement but looked sadly down at the ground.
"He really isn't so bad. He's just lost his way at the moment. I'm actually following his trail right now. I know he doesn't want me there right now, but if he does, I'll be there when he needs me." His eyes were filled with determination and a fierce protectiveness
"Thank you for everything. It's...helped me, I think." Toph suddenly stated as she stood up. A small smile formed on her face as she swung her bag around her shoulders.
"Does this mean you're going back to the group with me?" Naruto asked excitedly. She shot Naruto a wry smirk and punched him lightly on the shoulder. At least, her version of light. He was sure a bruise formed immediately.
"Well, I should hear out their apologies after all." She said, making Naruto roll his eyes. That is such a heartfelt statement.
Suddenly a huge explosion sounded in the distance. Naruto spun around to face the sound and saw a large plume of smoke rising.
"Uh oh, that does not look good..." he said, just as a lightning bolt flashed in the air along with blue flames. "Yup, not good at all." Great, Azula was here.
"Hm, I think we may be heading in the same direction. Where Azula is, the Avatar is. And where the Avatar is, my nephew won't be far behind." Iroh stated as he crossed his arms. Naruto nodded in agreement.
"Alright, you up to save the idiots, Toph?" Naruto questioned, shooting her a smirk over his shoulder. She grinned back at Naruto.
"Definitely, they can't apologize if they're captured after all. Let's go."
Toph used her earth-bending to lead them to where the destruction was coming from. Naruto glanced around as they ran into what looked like an old town. Well, good thing this place was already abandoned. The fire climbed up the walls of most of the houses, and they all had large gaps in them.
Naruto groaned as he ran face-first into a body. They both fell onto the ground. Luckily, he landed on top of them.
"Ow! What the-Naruto?!" Sokka shouted from below Naruto. He looked up at him with wide eyes and quickly stood back up.
"Hey, Sokka! Brought some backup." He jabbed a finger over his shoulder towards Toph. Iroh had run somewhere else to look for Zuko. Sokka sighed in relief.
"Oh good, we could use all the help we can get." Just as he said that, Katara ran out of the building across from them, blue flames shooting out after her. Azula was hot on her trail. As soon as the princess exited the building, he leaped at her, shooting blasts of flame at her. She ducked on instinct and rolled out of the way.
"And here I was hoping you had some unfortunate accident." She sighed.
"I'm pretty hard to get rid of, Princess."
"So I've noticed." Their little fight was cut short as Toph shifted the earth under Azula's feet, causing her to fall over with a gasp. She quickly recovered and retreated through an alleyway only to run smack into Iroh's belly.
The blonde stood next to the others as Iroh and Zuko joined them. They slowly backed Azula into a far corner of a destroyed building. Naruto stood in between Zuko and Toph. This was the first time he had actually seen her a little nervous. She quickly covered the expression with confidence.
"Well, look at this. Outcasts and enemies working together. You've got me. I surrender." She lifted her hands above her head in a placating manner. But her voice was anything but sincere. Naruto saw it in her eyes. Azula was never the type to give up. He stayed ready and especially kept his mind open.
...
As soon as he saw the slightest movement from Azula, he followed her line of sight. Iroh. No way was he letting her get him. Without warning, he dove past Zuko and stood in front of Iroh, bringing up his hands to redirect her flames. Except, it wasn't flames.
His eyes widened as sparks began to form on her fingertips. Oh crap. A boom rang out in the air as he heard shouts of concern from his friends and Zuko as well.
He ignored it all. Pain radiated from his left shoulder. The lightning had clipped Naruto. He gripped it tightly with his right hand in agony. The area still felt hot, and it felt like thousands of needles were jabbing him at once.
"Naruto!" Toph screamed the loudest, her eyes welling up with tears.
Now that the adrenaline was wearing off, it was beginning to hurt a lot more now. He heard a huge explosion. The blonde expected to see Azula's corpse, but it seemed she had run away. I will kill that bitch. The blonde thought, furious with himself for allowing himself to get burned so badly.
A hand gripped his good shoulder and turned Naruto towards them. Katara looked down at him with concern and watery eyes.
"Naruto! Are you okay?" She questioned, gently grabbing the hand over his wound and prying it off. He took a moment to examine his own wound. There was a slight divot in his shoulder that showed where the lightning had cut through and cauterized the flesh. The area around it was red and...yeah, okay, I'm done looking at it.
Katara swept some water out of her bag and laid her hand on his injury. He sighed as instant relief filled Naruto. He only let it continue for a minute before pushing her hand away.
"I-I'm fine." He tried to say, but a jolt of pain made him clench his teeth.
"Stop moving. It will only get worse." Naruto heard Iroh's voice, who was standing close to the blonde, the same as Katara and Toph. Zuko was standing further away, looking a little annoyed.
"Your niece is Crazy." He japed, he didn't know how he got the strength, but he did. This actually earned a chuckle from Iroh, who nodded in agreement.
"Indeed, thank you for protecting me." He said as Katara was trying to heal his wound.
"Think nothing of it, old man. Just serve us tea, and we are square." Naruto said Toph was sitting near him, watching him with concern.
Iroh laughed before nodding, "I will prepare the best tea in the Earth Kingdom." He promised before standing up and walking over to Zuko. The blonde watched Iroh lead his nephew a bit further away, talking in hushed tones.
"What do you think they are talking about?" Sokka asked no one in particular, eyeing Zuko with suspicion. Aang shrugged his shoulders. Toph was the only one who didn't care what they were talking about. They received his answer when Iroh walked up to them with a smile while Zuko was sulking alone.
"Avatar Aang, we both would appreciate it if we could come along." Iroh requested, bowing his head at Aang. The latter looked surprised, while Sokka was the first to voice his protest.
"Absolutely Not. Do you think we want him anywhere near us?" Sokka shouted, pointing an accusing finger at the fire bender.
"Same here. I wouldn't want to sleep anywhere near your stinky tent." Zuko countered, pinching his nose as if trying to block an unpleasant smell.
"I smell like flowers, you ponytail." Sokka countered, smashing their foreheads against each other.
Naruto was watching their little fight with amusement. "Should we do something?" Aang wondered out loud.
"I'm just enjoying the show," Naruto said, earning a burst of laughter from Aang.
After bickering for ten more minutes, they were exhausted to argue more.
"Iroh, you and Zuko are welcomed to come with us," Aang said, accepting the offer. Iroh bowed his head again.
"Thank you, Avatar Aang."
Katara looked uncertain, but she trusted Aang's judgment, and Naruto was more than enough to handle Zuko if he betrayed them. Toph was busy watching over Naruto. The earthbending girl didn't know why she was so concerned for the stupid blonde.
After healing his wounds, Naruto climbed up onto Appa's saddle with Toph's help. With a yip yip, they were back into the air. Instantly Katara's hands were on his injured shoulder, making Naruto jump in surprise.
"Hold still." She commanded. Relief filled his shoulder as he sighed in contentment. Naruto hadn't realized how much it had been hurting until now. They stayed like that for a couple of minutes before he felt her remove her hands.
"There, how's that feel?" Katara asked. Naruto rotated his arm a little, smiling when the most he felt was a slight pinch.
"Much better, thanks, Katara." He smiled at her before growling as he was promptly smacked on the back of his head.
"Don't do anything stupid like that again." She added, glaring at Naruto heatedly. He chuckled nervously and rubbed the back of his head.
"Yeah..." Toph nudged his shoulder with her elbow.
"Good save, though. How'd you know what she was going to do?" She looked in his direction with a raised brow. Naruto tapped his forehead lightly.
"Got spirits in my head, remember? They give me tips every now and then. Some helpful, others...not at all." She just 'ah'd in understanding as Aang peeked over from where he sat at the front.
"I'm sure glad you guys showed up when you did. Things were getting messy." He shivered at the thought. Katara sighed as she glanced at Toph.
"Yeah, about that. I'm sorry for what I said, Toph. You weren't responsible for all our problems, and I shouldn't have blamed you like that." She apologized, setting a hand on the girl's shoulder.
"Hey, I was acting pretty snappy too. I guess I'm just not used to working in a team yet. I'm sorry too, Katara." Toph shot her a smile. Naruto jokingly sniffed and grabbed threw his arms over their shoulders.
"Aw, we're bonding! I'm so proud of you guys!" Naruto hugged them tightly. Katara laughed as Toph grumbled some unkind things his way. Naruto pulled Sokka in by the shirt as well, causing him to knock them over.
"Ow! Sokka, get off of me!"
"I can't! Katara, get your elbow out of my side!"
"This is why I hate group hugs, losers!"
"Dying...stuck...at the bottom...help!"
"What? Group hug? I'm in too!"
"Aang, no!"