Naruto… had to make a difficult decision.
His clones smashed their Rasengans against the balloons' fabric, causing them to burst and fall.
Unfortunately, he could do nothing to prevent the helium from coming into contact with the firebenders' flames.
He had caused the deaths of many people.
Perhaps he didn't bury a knife in their hearts, but he did bring them to the edge of the precipice, ready for a fatal fall.
"First time?"
"..." Slowly, Naruto tilted his head to look at the imperturbable Shòukǔ, who broke the heads and bones of the corpses under his feet with each step he took. The blood, the smell of burnt flesh, and the screams of all those soldiers...
They were music to the ultimate warrior.
"Are you surprised by what you see? Yes, when I was a child, I had to see it too." With a nostalgic look and a dark smile, he took a deep breath, breathing in the stench of death in the air. "Our home was located near the battlefields. My father made me watch how people like these massacred each other day and night. He always told me, 'Get used to it'... He was a man of few words and a bad father."
"..."
"But a good fighter, who always prevented my younger sister and me from getting caught in the crossfire. You have no idea how many times my father had to go out and finish off those soldiers so they would stop making noise and let my sister sleep peacefully. Sometimes, he would let me accompany him. We both lived to make her life less hellish."
His words were vague as he continued walking, killing the dying soldiers who were still begging for help.
"..." Naruto couldn't move. He knew he had to attack him. He had to stop him from trampling on the lives of those soldiers, who, at the end of the day, were people like him. Their lives had value.
But his feet felt like lead, and his hands wouldn't stop trembling.
"Why do you have that face? Is reality too harsh for you?" mocked the warrior, amused by the brat's swaying posture. "At your age, I already enjoyed spilling the blood of my enemies because I understood how the world worked; there is neither good nor evil..."
"..."
"All our lives, we have been told that we should be good. Who defines what good is? The truth is, good is a matter of perspective. Remember this, Naruto: 'Your enemy always thinks they're doing the right thing, that they're the heroes and you're the villains.' Just look around you!"
"..." Naruto could only witness the chaos that surrounded him, not only what his eyes saw, but also the memories of his clones, who continued fighting to disable as much machinery as possible.
He witnessed the deaths of those soldiers, both enemy and ally.
There was no mercy on either side, only the desperate need to eliminate their adversaries, one way or another.
"There is no good..." Walking again, Shòukǔ approached the child, who was just standing there with an empty look in his eyes. "There is no evil..."
Each side had its own beliefs and objectives.
The Fire Nation sought the unification and domination of lands that would allow them to continue growing.
Their resources were dwindling, and the industrial revolution they had started needed all the labor and raw materials that other continents could offer.
For a long time, there had been the failed illusion that there was a balance between the four nations, none above the other.
There always had to be someone on the throne, someone above everyone else so that the world could keep moving forward.
And there had to be a sacrifice.
The soldiers of the Fire Nation fought so that their families could have a better future, a bright future where they wouldn't have to fear being attacked by another nation.
A future in which the technological and mechanical advancements they possessed would give them the equality of conditions that their Fire Lord had promised them.
The soldiers of the Earth Kingdom fought for self-preservation, refusing to become just another missing link like the Air Nomads.
They fought to prevail, for their families, for their flag.
Each person had their reason for getting up and bringing out the worst in themselves in order to protect what they loved.
"There are only two types of people in this unjust world: the weak and the strong."
"..." Naruto was overshadowed by the warrior's silhouette, but he never stopped looking him in the eyes.
"I'm tired of being weak. That's why I've trained all my life, to become the strongest and change everything. I won't let you stand in my way!"
His time to think ended when the ground shook. By reflex, Naruto expelled a powerful gust of wind that at least cushioned the powerful blow from Shòukǔ, who smashed his right fist toward his face.
The Uzumaki barely managed to tilt his head and let the blow leave only a cut on his face.
The warrior was lifted by a great blizzard, which barely suspended him for a few seconds above the ground.
Creating a clone, Naruto launched himself with all his might and smashed his right fist into the warrior's face, who barely flinched and took only a few steps back.
Although the attack was far from over. Using his staff, the boy became a yellow flash running across the battlefield, with wind coming from every part of his body and raising a large cloud of dust that reduced visibility to zero.
"..." Shòukǔ closed his eyes for a few brief seconds and leaned forward as five clones rushed at him. The clones didn't even get to touch him before their chests were pierced by blows too fast for the human eye to see.
Turning around, the ultimate warrior caught the boy by the neck as if it were nothing, just as Naruto tried to ambush him from behind.
"Stupid," he mocked, referring to Naruto's attempt to distract him so he could attack through his blind spot. But it was useless; he could hear him, he could smell him, he could anticipate him.
However, there was no fear in the teenager's eyes. He opened his jacket, revealing several papers that were already burning.
"Boom, you son of a bitch."
The explosion shook the entire battlefield, and although it sent more than one soldier flying, that did not stop them from continuing to attack each other. If the two strongest fighters on their sides were facing each other in a battle to the death, they would not disappoint.
Shòukǔ stood in the middle of a large crater, without even a scratch from an explosion that could easily have wiped out a ten-story building.
Moving his neck, he saw a yellow blur running in circles around him. No, it wasn't just one.
There were hundreds of clones running in a perfect circle around the warrior, who belatedly realized the teenager's objective. In just seconds, a tornado had formed around him.
Trying not to be swept away by the wind, even after planting his hands and feet firmly against the ground, he was ripped from it like a tree caught in a hurricane.
The tornado rose along with rubble and the bodies of soldiers who had been caught by it, continuing to grow until it surpassed the great wall of Ba Sing Se.
The warrior's head jerked as one piece of debris was replaced by one of the clones, who used a rock half his size and smashed it over his opponent's head. Shòukǔ was overwhelmed as hundreds of clones appeared and disappeared among the debris and bodies scattered through the air.
Kunai.
Shuriken.
Stones.
Trees.
Punches and kicks.
The attacks were as ferocious as the tornado itself.
Suddenly, it was dispersed by a clap from the giant, who slammed his large hands together with brutal force, creating a shockwave that made all the clones disappear.
Suspended in the air, Shòukǔ's face was illuminated by a white glow as a strong wind swept the dust from the battlefield.
"Focus!" Just a few meters above his opponent, Naruto had an expression of fury, with veins standing out on his forehead and right arm. In the palm of his hand, he held a Rasengan that, unlike any he had made before, had small blades spinning around it and glowed with a white light. "Focus!"
The Uzumaki's hand seemed to be burning as those small blades cut into him and blood ran down his arm.
"I have to dodge it!" Shòukǔ couldn't take any risks; his sixth sense was screaming at him that this attack was not something he should take head-on.
Naruto's eyes narrowed as the ultimate warrior threw a right hook straight at his face.
But before it could touch him, a clone appeared in a burst of smoke and took the blow, shattering instantly. That small obstacle gave Naruto the opportunity he needed.
"Wind Release:..." The smoke dissipated, and Naruto kicked the warrior's fist away as Shòukǔ tried to use his other arm. Another clone appeared and lunged forward, grabbing the original and pushing him upward, making the warrior's knuckles barely graze the Genin's chest. Naruto twisted in the air and aimed his attack at his target. "...Rasengan!"
The result was devastating.
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