The Last Woodbender Chapter 38 (Avatar's Anger) (Patreon)

Naruto clenched his teeth as he pushed further. Soon, he destroyed another wall, and what he saw on the other side made his skin crawl. In front of him was a large square room full of girls repeating the exact same words. Over and Over.

"I'm Joo Dee. Welcome to Ba Sing Se."

Naruto's eyes widened; he almost couldn't believe what he was seeing; even Kyoshi fell silent at the sight in front of them; they knew they were dealing with bad people as always, but not something like this. Naruto stepped into the room, his eyes scanning the faces of the girls. Except for a wide, plastic grin stretching from ear to ear, their expressions remained eerily stagnant, devoid of genuine emotion. It was almost as if the smile had been plastered hastily onto their faces, camouflaging the emptiness that lurked beneath. Their eyes resembled vacant voids, sucking in all surrounding energy without giving anything in return. A shiver ran down Naruto's spine as he gazed into those emotionless eyes, the depths of which seemed to descend into an abyss of nothingness, leaving an unsettling feeling in his gut.

Naruto walked further into the room; the chanting continued, their eyes focused forward, not one single glance towards Naruto as if he wasn't even there.

What is this? Naruto thought, feeling disgusted; he knew Long Feng was their enemy and someone who wouldn't hesitate to kill even the Avatar just so Ba Sing Se could keep living a big lie, and he could keep pretending that there was no War out there.

But enslaving and brainwashing other people just crossed a line. Naruto wondered what he was supposed to do in this situation; it was clear that there were other girls in other rooms, perhaps suffering the same fate. Naruto didn't know how he would fix this, but he wanted to save them all, and he would kill every Dai Li in front of him.

"Naruto, I don't think you can do this yourself. For all we know, this whole place is bigger than the palace." Kyoshi suddenly spoke in his ear after being quiet for a while.

"What then? Should I just act like I didn't see anything here?" Naruto retorted with a much harsher voice than he had wanted, regretting it right away.

"That's not what I meant, but these are Dai Li agents; yes, you were able to kill many of them, but I bet that there's a whole army waiting to ambush you in this place. You're good, but you are not that good yet." Naruto heard every word she said; a part of him wanted to say that he was powerful enough, and a part of him wanted to dismiss her words, but he knew Kyoshi had much more experience than he did.

"What should I do?" Naruto questioned as he walked out of the room; he quickly noticed that all the girls were apparently looking at one specific spot in the wall; he slowly approached the wall, trying to see if he could perhaps find something useful.

"Naruto, you need to talk with Aang." The moment he heard that name, Naruto was ready to refuse. He wasn't in the mood to talk with him, and with the way they had been with one another since arriving in Ba Sing Se, Naruto wasn't sure if Aang would even believe any words he said.

"Before you refuse, remember that Aang is the Avatar; his return has brought hope to everyone. Yes, he has made mistakes, but we all did. Yangchen, despite her status as one of the best Air Nomads Avatars, still made horrible mistakes with the spirits, and Kuruk was forced to clean her mess. And I made mistakes too, plenty of them." Kyoshi spoke with a softer voice and a hint of regret.

Naruto had never heard her talk like that ever before; Kyoshi was always cold and calculated but never emotional before. "You made mistakes?" Naruto questioned as he tapped the thin stone wall with his knuckles, hearing a sound coming from the other side.

"Yes, plenty of them. Including the creation of the Dai Li." Kyoshi said regretfully.

"Wait! You founded this group? Why?" Naruto could hardly keep his voice low as he placed his hands on the wall, sending a wave through it.

"They were supposed to be a team of elites, much better than the soldiers that are part of The City's Shield, and the Dai Li were supposed to protect the Royal Family. That was their job, but I'm afraid it all went downhill." Naruto didn't know what to say, so he forcefully slammed his hands onto the ground's surface.

Veins erupted with extraordinary force. Bursting forth in a vibrant display of nature's power, these slender extensions sprouted relentlessly, expanding their reach towards every inch of the room's walls. Their tendrils spread like wildfire, winding and intertwining with a singular purpose – to envelop the entire space in an otherworldly embrace.

As the network of verdant tree veins gradually extended and flourished, it seemed as if the very essence of the room had been seamlessly melded with a mystical woodland. The once plain walls now became a mesmerizing tableau, covered entirely in a meticulously woven tapestry of emerald foliage.

"What are you doing?" Kyoshi asked, a little confused; her confusion grew even more when the girls started dropping down unconscious, one by one.

"Securing proof. I will convince Aang to come here when he sees what Long Feng has been doing to the city. He will agree that killing him is the best option so the King can take back the control of Ba Sing Se." Naruto explained as he walked out, closing the small opening. The wood he had grown was the thickest he had in his possession.

"What if the Dai Li try to enter that room?" Kyoshi questioned, seeing the logic in showing Aang the truth; perhaps it could work on the little disagreement they had with one another.

"They can't; that wood is the best one I can use. The only way they can enter is if they start hitting it with swords and other blade weapons, but even then, it would take weeks. So, unless they have a Firebender in their army, then we have enough time for Aang to come and see with his own eyes." Naruto explained as he quickly ran through the corridor towards the exit. Kyoshi remained silent after hearing his explanation; she just hoped that this whole thing wouldn't get even more complicated than it already was.

"Naruto, I'm not entirely sure the King can help much in this situation." Kyoshi suddenly told him, which caused Naruto to pause momentarily before he started climbing using the ladder.

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked with curiosity lacing his voice as he finally reached the top of the stairs. As he ascended, the sun's warm rays filtered through the windows, casting a soft, golden glow upon the room above him. Rays of light danced across the walls, revealing intricate patterns and casting shadows that seemed to come alive, but the wall he had destroyed when coming inside was fixed; Naruto knew someone had been there to fix it, so the civilian wouldn't notice it.

"Back in my day, the King was the leader of Ba Sing Se; plain and simple, the small council helped him rule, but in the end. He was the superior figure; all took orders from him, but in this situation, with the amount of power that Dai Li had in the city and the way they tried to assassinate all of you. There are two conclusions I'm reaching." Kyoshi spoke with a grave voice. Naruto knew what she was about to say was probably bad, but it was something he himself had already figured out.

"You think the King might be in with the Dai Li, that Long Feng is his servant, or the King is a Figurehead, and the men with the real power is Long Feng." Naruto answered for her as he stepped closer to the wall, his palms gently pressed against the rough surface, his fingertips exploring every inch of its sturdy structure. With a confident sweep of his hand, he conjured an invisible force, unleashing a surge of energy that flowed through his fingers. His senses heightened, detecting the subtle vibrations beneath his touch. And there it was, a tinge of vulnerability. Without hesitation, he balled his fist, positioning his knuckles precisely over the weakened spot. Powerfully propelled, his knuckles struck with precision, the sheer force causing the entire expanse of the stone wall to shudder violently. The powerful impact reverberated through the air, cracks spiderwebbing across the surface, reaching out like fractal patterns. Like a cascade of delicate glass shards, the once-solid structure succumbed to the immense pressure, crumbling down.

"Yes. I'm not sure which one is worse." Kyoshi told him as Naruto walked outside, quickly rushing towards the house where the others were living.

"Why? If Long Feng is the one in charge, we just need to make the King see the truth." Naruto answered, a little confused.

Kyoshi couldn't blame him; after all, Naruto had nowhere near the experience she had, and he was still young. "Naruto, this Long Feng most likely has complete control over the entire Ba Sing Se; every smaller lord in this city is probably in his pocket. He controls every soldier, and I bet he has his hands on the founding of the city, the money, and the economy. I'm sure someone like him has already made plans in case he was found out. The Commander of the City is probably in his pocket, too. That means he has over one thousand soldiers of the City's Shield on his command, not counting the Dai Li. And if I was in his place, I would ensure that the king is as little informed as possible and that his education is just the bare minimum." Kyoshi's words made Naruto stop dead in his tracks; if what she was saying was true, then the situation in the city was far bleaker than he had anticipated.

"What am I supposed to do, Kyoshi? The Comet won't wait for us to clean up this city's corruption. And this feels like something that might take a while." Naruto almost shouted in frustration. Before arriving in the city, all he heard was that 'Ba Sing Se' was the only secure place in the world from the Fire Nation. While the city had done a good job so far, everyone inside it was terrorized and living a lie.

"That's not even the worst part." Naruto wasn't sure if he wanted to hear what she meant by that, but he nodded nonetheless.

"If Long Feng is in charge, then it is possible that the King is uneducated and probably a fool on top of that. Even if the King knows the truth, he could get easily played by the people around him, and even if he doesn't, I doubt he can contribute much to the War." Naruto took a deep breath to calm himself but knew Kyoshi was making a good point.

If the King was smart, then even without education, he would eventually start asking questions, and the wrong questions asked could easily lead to trouble and death. Naruto felt a headache; suddenly, he wished that Toph was with him; her personality always managed to cheer him up.

As Naruto briskly walked through the bustling streets, his mind preoccupied, he suddenly collided with someone unexpectedly. Caught off guard by the sudden collision, Naruto's reflexes kicked in, and he instinctively prepared himself to apologize profusely for the accident. However, to his surprise, the stranger, a middle-aged man, simply turned and wordlessly departed, leaving Naruto momentarily bewildered.

Naruto narrowed his eyes, his hand searched deep into his pants pocket, and just as he suspected, his fingers found a piece of paper. Naruto glanced furtively around the street; he quickly noticed two Dai Li agents patrolling, standing tall like two pillars.

Despite Naruto's initial decision not to pull out the letter, his curiosity led him to reconsider as he continued walking away from the agents. When he deemed them far enough, he finally retrieved the piece of paper from his pocket. As his eyes scanned its contents, a perplexed expression overtook his face. The paper displayed a meticulously drawn illustration of the grand museum of Ba Sing Se. However, Naruto's confusion arose from the presence of another drawing alongside it. Within this second depiction, a magnificent dragon statue was captured, adorned with intricate details, but it was the red circle painted specifically on the statue's mouth that piqued Naruto's curiosity to an even greater extent. Naruto wondered what he was supposed to find in a museum and why the man gave him the letter.

Naruto decided to discuss it with the group once he reached the house; whatever was at the museum, he knew Toph's feet would be able to detect everything.

Spirit World

"Kyoshi, you know you shouldn't talk with that boy. You are completely ignoring Aang." Roku told her the moment she was back in the Spirit World, much to her annoyance. Kyoshi glared at him furiously, looking down at him; she was easily one of the tallest Avatars.

"This is none of your business, Roku. Naruto is my family, and I can advise him as much as I want." Kyoshi shouted at one of the few Avatars that she really didn't like one bit.

"Kyoshi, I know that, but you don't see me advising Zuko, do you? He's my great-grandson, but I know that my duty is with Aang as a previous Avatar, and you should realize that too." Roku told her with his usual calm voice.

"We are not the same, Roku. Unlike you, I get the job done." Kyoshi spars the words with venom. She still remembered when they discovered that the entire Air Nation was destroyed. Yangchen had cried for days, and Kyoshi knew Yangchen still felt heartbroken but tried to hide it as best as she could.

"Are we seriously going to have that discussion again?" Before Kyoshi could throw another insult at Roku, it seemed someone was getting tired of their little argument.

"Are you two done?" Yangchen's voice came as she walked up to them, looking at both Roku and Kyoshi.

"Is Roku's fault." Kyoshi answered right away, with Roku rolling his eyes.

Aang

"Aang, I really think you need to calm down," Katara repeated the same words for the tenth time now. Aang wasn't sure how many, but he couldn't find it in his heart to calm down. He tried to, but he couldn't; he felt stuck.

After returning back home after his talk with Zuko and Iroh, they both agreed to come to the little festival tonight. After returning home, he had hoped that spending time with Appa would help, but even after spending time with him, he found himself still angry with Naruto and the King.

Upon returning home, Aang had told Katara to come with him upstairs; the latter had looked at him confused but followed him nonetheless. Upon entering his room, Aang explained everything to Katara; once he told her, she was quick to find some excuse to justify what Naruto had done, but Aang wasn't really in the mood, and now he was waiting for him to return.

Aang wanted an explanation; he knew Naruto was different from him, and he didn't see this 'War' in the same way; that much was clear, but he was using the 'War' as justification to do whatever he wanted. No, Aang wouldn't allow that; he was the Avatar and would do his job as one.

"Do what you believe is right," Aang remembered Szeto's words, which gave him strength and determination. Aang remembered how he had abandoned the Air Nomads. He regretted leaving them behind; perhaps if he had been there, something would have changed, but he had made that mistake, but he wouldn't allow a similar mistake to be repeated; he would do his duty as the Avatar and save the World, from anyone, and not let people die needlessly.

"Aang." He escaped his thoughts once he felt Katara's hand on his shoulder from behind.

"Don't do anything rash. Naruto has been with us since Kyoshi Island. You know he has protected us many times, has done too much for us, and hasn't hesitated to risk his life for us and the world. You owe to him not to judge him without any solid proof." Katara reminded, but Aang hardly heard her; the only thing he could think at the moment was what Long Feng had told him.

Aang knew he shouldn't trust the man; he was a stranger to him, and Naruto was someone he had known for a very long time. But Aang had been there when Naruto destroyed an entire drill full of people, perhaps two hundred of them, and Naruto didn't seem to care; he just shrugged it off as a 'Casualty of War.'

Aang had been there when Naruto killed and tortured Dai Li agents, so what Long Feng told him wasn't something that Naruto wouldn't do; after all, he would simply say that they, too, were Casualties of War.

Suddenly, he heard the door open downstairs; Aang stood up, shrugging off Katara's hand from his shoulder as he opened the door and walked downstairs. Aang saw Naruto showing a piece of paper to Sokka while describing it to Toph, who was standing right beside Naruto.

"I'm not sure about this, Naruto. For all we know a trap is waiting for us down there." Aang heard Sokka say as he handed the piece of paper back to Naruto.

"I know, that's why we have Toph. She will be able to tell if there's an army down there waiting for us." Naruto quickly suggested while pointing a finger at Toph, who suddenly had a look of pride on her face.

"I appreciate your compliment, plant boy, But if there's a tunnel under the Museum, then I might be able to feel them, but if the tunnel goes more than a hundred meters down, than I won't be able to feel anything." Toph explained, her hands resting behind her back as Aang approached.

"What is happening?" Aang spoke with a slightly commanding voice; Naruto turned to face him, and he simply gave him a piece of paper.

"I bumped into a stranger on the way back, and he put this letter in my pocket." Aang looked at the drawing. He wasn't sure what to make of it, but right now, he needed to deal with something else.

"Naruto." His voice was sharp and commanding; suddenly, it felt like the room was colder.

"Yes?"

"Were you in an underground bunker today?" The question made Naruto look at him, confused for a brief moment before his demeanor changed.

"How do you know that?" Upon hearing Naruto's question, Aang's grip on his staff tightened; he quickly tapped the bottom of his staff against the floor as he looked up at Naruto with growing anger.

So Long Feng wasn't lying, Aang thought, remembering his words, telling him how he had just got a report that his friend had entered a secret bunker without authorization, and when asked to leave, Naruto had not left and instead had attacked the Dai Li agents without cause. Aang hadn't wanted to believe it, but hearing Naruto's question, Aang knew Naruto had been there.

"You answer my question, Naruto," Aang spoke threateningly; Naruto's eyes narrowed toward him. Sokka was standing near both of them but not yet intervening, and Toph was standing beside Naruto.

"Yes. I saw a Dai Li agent and decided to follow him. He made a hole in one of the ring walls, and I followed him in an underground tunnel." Naruto explained, looking straight at Aang, who glared back at him. The Air Bender could feel the way the ground shook under his feet; Naruto eyed him warily.

"So you killed whoever was inside. You attacked them without provocation." Aang spat the words with accusation as he stepped closer towards Naruto, who didn't seem intimidated by him.

"Aang. I don't know who told you that, but you're wrong. They attacked me first. I defended myself." Naruto quickly said, almost dismissively.

"How am I supposed to believe you?" The words rolled off his tongue before he could stop them, but Aang quickly looked at Naruto. Whose eyes widened slightly for a brief moment before glaring down at him, his face slightly red with anger.

"Believe me? Aang, I might be many things but never a liar. Tell me who told you this." Naruto demanded as he took a step forward. He knew someone had talked with Aang and had tried to play with him, and Naruto could think of only two people right now. The King or Long Feng.

"Why would I tell you that? So you can kill him too?" Aang's question caused Naruto's glare to intensify; Aang was prepared to fight; his friend could grow all the trees he wanted, but he was an Air Bending Master, and Air Bending in close quarters was devastating.

"Aang, this is not the time for this. Do you even realize that we are on borrowed time right now? We all came here to get help, and now we come here to realize that the entire city lives a lie, but instead of trying to help, you are butthurt that I don't follow the same rule book as you do." Naruto's words were filled with venom.

Naruto wanted to slap some sense into him, but he remembered Kyoshi's words. Aang was the Avatar, not him. The Avatar was needed for the future, and despite how strong Naruto was, he knew he stood no chance against the Avatar State.

"Butthurt?! Is that what you are calling it? Is that what you are calling it now?? You are killing people without thought, and the worst part. You try to justify it. That you had no other choice." Aang spoke almost with mockery, but he was furious for the first time in his life. Aang wanted to attack first; every other time before, he had always defended himself and got on the offensive only to force someone away, never to hurt, never to attack first. But at this moment, it was taking everything for Aang not to attack Naruto.

Even if Naruto somehow got the upper hand in the fight, Aang knew he could somehow get into the Avatar State to flip the table completely.

"You don't even care about all the people you have killed. You just try to justify it in any way possible." Aang continued, both glaring at one another.

"Aang, Naruto. I think this is enou-" "Sokka stay out of this." Both Naruto and Aang said that before he could continue, Naruto quickly leaned closer to Aang with rage. He knew he killed people, but he wasn't a psychopath; he didn't do it because he enjoyed doing it, but it was necessary.

"You tell me that my hands are filled with blood, but at least my hands are not filled with innocent blood like you,"

"What DID YOU SAY?" In a commanding tone, Aang issued his demand, causing a momentary transformation in his voice that resembled the collective voices of numerous individuals speaking in unison. Simultaneously, an ethereal white glow emanated from Aang's tattoos and eyes, intensifying the power within him. However, despite the display of power before Naruto's eyes, he remained resolute and unwavering, refusing to retreat or yield under any circumstances.

"Do you remember back when we visited Jeong Jeong? General Zhao was there too. I had the opportunity to end him, to kill him, but you told me to let him go, you had the opportunity to kill him, but an Airbender doesn't kill. The same Zhao led the conquest against the North Pole, how many Waterbender warriors and innocent died that day. Their ships threw stones with their catapults, I watched as many families were crushed by the rocks. Those people wouldn't have died if you had just allowed me to kill Zhao. You say you don't kill people, but your pacifist decision led to those people dying."

Upon hearing his words, Katara gasped; she quickly placed her hand on Aang's shoulder, hoping to calm him down. Sokka quickly got in between them, using his hands to move them away from each other, while Toph tapped the ground several times, ready to stop both of them from fighting.

Naruto looked conflicted. He hadn't wanted to bring that up, but Aang needed to realize that his pacifist way had already caused the deaths of people, even if that hadn't been his intention.

Naruto watched as Aang's eyes widened, filling up with tears, but before he could say anything to make the situation somehow better, Aang's eyes glowed, as did his tattoo. "Aang, Wait!!!"

The explosion was heard miles away as a burst of Wind Wave obliterated the house...

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