The screams were heartbreaking, reflecting the emotions they were dealing with.
Rage.
Rage.
Anger.
Hate.
Thirst for blood.
But there was also terror.
Frustration.
Pain.
Both sides clashed violently.
Fire against earth.
There was no mercy from either side, both fighting a battle that had a hundred years of history, a history stained with the blood of millions who had died on the battlefield.
And today, that number was going to increase.
Raijin, a young soldier of the Earth Kingdom, was 18 years old. A year ago, he had been just a high school student from a humble family in Ba Sing Se.
His dream was to become a great cook.
But he was drafted into his nation's army, which, in less than a year, trained him, armed him, and sent him to the front lines.
A good and peaceful young man with a bright future.
Now he was a soldier who, with a cry of fury, stamped his feet against the ground and lifted a stone stake, which flew toward the chest of one of the many soldiers of the Fire Nation.
The soldier could barely gasp when the great stake pierced his chest, causing blood and organs to burst from his back.
He died before he hit the ground.
Raijin stared at the enemy's body for what seemed like an eternity. He had killed a person, something he never in his life would have thought he would do.
He couldn't keep thinking about that.
He could only scream in agony as he was consumed by a gigantic blaze created by another soldier of the Fire Nation.
He was the younger brother of the soldier Raijin had just killed, and he was not satisfied until he had reduced his brother's killer to ashes.
Running forward, the younger brother used his spear to pierce the charred body.
Shortly after fulfilling his revenge, the earth beneath his feet split apart, and he was swallowed by the ground, which ended up crushing him into a stain of blood and broken flesh.
A Dai Li agent stood up and stared at the blood for a few seconds before continuing on his way, stepping over it, building a large wall, and striking it repeatedly.
Five Fire Nation soldiers had no chance to react when their bodies were torn apart by earth projectiles, leaving them lying in pieces. Rocks ripped off their arms and legs, while others, more fortunate, lost their heads.
They died instantly.
Others screamed in agony, having to watch their limbs torn from their bodies as blood poured out. They would die in a matter of seconds from blood loss and crushed organs.
"Fire!" Amid the bodies of his comrades, an armored tank advanced and fired a harpoon, which pierced through the Dai Li agent's defense as if it were paper, leaving him standing with a large hole in his chest.
"..." In shock, he saw his organs fall to the ground. His life ended when the tank continued forward and ran over him.
"Doctor!" A young Fire Nation cadet was dragging a comrade whose legs had been crushed. "Please, a doctor!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, on the verge of tears, trying to save her friend.
She had grown up with him her whole life.
She had gone to school with him.
She had gone to high school with him.
He was like a brother to her.
And now she had to see him delirious and horrified by the loss of his two legs.
She used all her strength to try to save his life, never ceasing to beg for help from a doctor in her troop.
The two of them didn't get far.
She ended up dying alongside him when a large rock fell on them both, a death as tragic as it was instantaneous.
In the distance, several earthbenders had to build walls above the city congress because of the attacks raining down on them.
From the balloons in the sky, people were firing upgraded firearms that could shoot hundreds of bullets in seconds, causing the earthbenders' defenses to begin to crumble.
And they would end up riddled with bullets.
The soldiers in the balloons began to reload their weapons, searching for what would be their next victims on the battlefield.
On the other side of the trenches...
One of the Fire Nation soldiers took the entire gunpowder charge from one of the destroyed armored tanks and tied it around his body.
With a trembling smile that reflected the fear of a boy barely 20 years old, he ran with all his strength, passing between the rocks and corpses.
Reaching one of the enemy trenches, he jumped onto several Earth Kingdom soldiers, who were unable to react in time when that soldier launched himself at them.
"For the Fire Nation!" He ignited his hands in flames, embraced the explosives, and the explosion was not long in coming.
The Fire Nation soldiers shouted in euphoria as they watched one of their brothers give his life to take down more than ten soldiers.
They would do no less than he had done.
In one of the many trenches, a terrified earthbender was cornered by five firebenders, who, with cruel smiles, raised their fists as a tornado of fire burned the soldier's flesh. He screamed in agony for several seconds until he finally fell.
Not far from there, a young firebender was crawling, trying to escape with her legs mangled and crushed. Behind her was an earthbender with a cold look in his eyes.
He did not hesitate to lift a huge rock and use it to crush the soldier, who could not even scream before her body was crushed.
"Help! Doctor!"
"Die, you son of a bitch!"
"No! Go away! Please leave me alone!"
"Die..."
Naruto stood where he was, his gaze unfocused and a heavy feeling in his chest, surrounded by the shattered bodies of soldiers from both nations.
Behind him, one of the air balloons fell, crashing into the middle of the battlefield. The resulting explosion of fire reached soldiers from both sides, who fled from the flames and destruction.
Stunned by the noise of explosions, screams, and blows, he lowered his gaze. Blood seeped between his feet, and he saw the hand of one of the soldiers clutching a necklace, surely a special possession given by a beloved relative. Even in death, he clung to it.
Was this war?
Everywhere he looked, there was only death and pain.
"Die!"
Naruto instinctively pulled out a kunai and threw it at a soldier who tried to burn him from behind. His weapon lodged in the soldier's shoulder, but he didn't stop. He raised his good arm to attack him with a large fireball.
It was dispersed by the Uzumaki, who was surrounded by a strong, small tornado of air.
The soldier didn't have time to make another attack when a rock stake emerged from the ground, pierced his chest, and lifted him off the ground.
Blood splattered across the teenager's face. He stared incredulously at the earthbender who had done it, who ran past him looking for his next target, not even seeming affected by having killed a fallen man.
More and more of the balloons kept falling.
His clones had to act quickly and sabotage those infernal machines, which gave the Fire Nation a ridiculous advantage, as they used those weapons to fire on Earth Kingdom soldiers who could not defend themselves against attacks from both the sky and the ground.
Naruto… had to make a difficult decision.
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PAT REON I'D:- Alzero ]