Each step was getting slower; he could feel it.
"Come on, Toph… we're not far away."
They couldn't stop now; they didn't know if that woman had more people or those machines. She couldn't rest without risking an attack in these conditions.
"My... feet, they hurt."
Toph was tired. The hard work of moving the ground and burying Shòukǔ was the toughest thing she had ever done. Now, they had been walking for hours without water or food, not even a break.
"Just a little more, Toph." Naruto was also feeling tired and sore from the battle. His quick healing didn't help if he didn't rest for a few hours.
"Naruto... I..." Toph fell with a thud on the ground; she had fainted.
"Shoot..." Cursing, the boy knelt down and carefully lowered his friends. He had to check on Toph and see that—
*Crack*
Naruto stiffened due to the painful cracking of his ribs. His chest contracted, and he began to cough uncontrollably. His hands became stained with blood as he tried to cover his mouth. It wasn't until a minute later that he stopped coughing.
On his knees, the boy looked around. Everyone was hurt and not doing well, and only he was standing. It was obvious what he had to do.
Slowly, the boy took off what was left of his shirt and tore it into several strips. While he worked, the sky darkened due to the storm cloud on the horizon.
It didn't take long for the heavy rain to fall.
And in the middle of the empty space, Naruto was walking, ropes tied around his back, dragging an improvised stretcher where Sokka, Aang, and Katara were, while Toph was in his arms.
"Come on..." With every step he took, he felt his muscles throb with pain, and his bones were about to break even more.
With the ground turning into mud, he continued walking along the path. If he remembered correctly, this was the route to get to Bashin Se.
Refusing to fall and pushing his limits, Naruto walked, dragging his friends, and they wouldn't stop until he found a safe place for them.
….
The rain falling on her face was a horrible way to wake up for Siu.
Dazed, the general stood up from the muddy ground. Looking around, she realized that she was alone.
"No, no, no, no, no, no!" With a scream of fury, she shot a gigantic flame of fire high into the sky. They were gone, all of them. "I curse you, Naruto!"
That kid attacked him before he could hurt the Avatar.
That boy cost him one of the Fire Nation's biggest victories.
He would find him and kill him in a horrible and slow way, making him beg for death.
Under the rain, Siu began to walk. It didn't take long to reach the center of the ruined city.
The woman's throat and stomach clenched when she realized that she had almost fallen down a well.
No, it wasn't a pit; it was a damn crater almost as big as the town!
Siu looked in disbelief at what was at the bottom of that crater. There was her ally, crossing his arms and looking lost.
Did he do this? Just with his strength?
The firebender was in pain, only to watch as Shòukǔ calmly left the crater, starting to walk in a random direction. Seeing that she didn't have many options, she decided to follow him.
He is alone, was the defeat of his first battle, but in the end, the war would be his victory.
….
Several kilometers away, the large crowd of refugees welcomed back their savior with shouts of joy; the threatening black smoke on the horizon had disappeared.
"Do you have a brother? He's so cute!"
"Yes... hello." Zuko tried to maintain his composure, but it was difficult with a woman who could burst your skull in her hands.
"You're cute, but not as cute as Lady Zu."
"Thank you?" It was the first time since Ty Lee that Zuko had seen someone look with so much respect and admiration at her younger sister, not with fear or trepidation. It was strange.
This giant was like an armored version of Ty Lee.
"Ahhhhh~ this is life." Iroh did not complain about being pampered by several women who took care of his wounds and old bones. Nothing like drinking delicious tea with the company of beautiful women who will take care of you.
Azula ignored everything around her. They recently caught up with the caravan thanks to Zuko's giant bird, which carried the three of them. And well, here they were.
The tent protected them from the rain, and she stayed at the door, just looking at the dark sky illuminated from time to time by a flash of lightning. The rain was not letting up; it was a deluge.
"I hope to see you... in better circumstances, Azula."
Why couldn't she stop thinking about him? Why did seeing him affect her so much? Confused, the girl lazily leaned against the door and silently watched the storm. Hearing the raindrops fall was very calming.
The pain in her feet did not compare to the pain in her head.
Toph got back up as best she could. If she wasn't mistaken, she was lying on a sleeping bag. When her feet touched the ground, she sighed in relief as she felt the heartbeats of light feet, Sokka, Katara, and...
"Naruto?"
The shinobi's name echoed in the cave they were in.
"Please don't get up; you may still have severe exhaustion chaos."
The blind bandit remembered the voice of the pregnant woman, who was accompanied by her husband and her younger sister, all of whom were in the cave with them.
"Ahhgg..." Katara gasped in pain at the cold water that covered and healed her chest, where she had a slight burn mark. She was lucky that only a small fraction of that beam hit her, or she doubted that she would have survived.
Beside her was Sokka, who was awake, staring at the ceiling with a vacant look. His chest was covered in bandages, as were his hands.
Then there was Aang, who, unlike the others, was not that hurt, just the occasional burn and wound, all already treated.
Toph was glad they were okay, but there was someone else she had to check on, and she didn't have to look hard.
His heart, which he always characterized as beating with the force of a beast, could now hear how weakened it was.
The shinobi was lying in a corner of the cave, on a makeshift bed of leaves. He was covered from head to toe with bandages and some wooden barrels that kept his left arm in place.
At his side was a sad Yoru, who with a damp cloth was wiping the sweat from the teenager's forehead; the fever had not yet gone down.
"What happened?" Toph still felt very disoriented; the last thing she remembered was falling against the ground exhausted.
"He brought them," Ying murmured softly.
They were left by the clones at the foot of the mountain, not far from their destination. They warned that they had little chakra left and had to disappear.
They were unsure of leaving behind the young people who had helped them so much. In the end, fate took a strange turn, causing torrential rain to fall and forcing them to camp in a cave.
They were long hours of uncertainty until they became nervous when a dark silhouette was seen outside the cave, who, as soon as he set foot inside the cave, had collapsed.
"He brought all of you here, and when he saw us... he passed out exhausted," the pregnant woman carefully stroked the hair of the Uzumaki, who was still fast asleep. "We treated his wounds as best we could with the little we have; he should be good."
The Avatar team was wrapped in a dead silence; none of them knew what to say at a time like this. It was the first battle in which they did not come out as well as usual. They were wounded; some were even defeated and ended up being a burden.
Naruto had to push himself beyond his limits, so in the end, they would win. Yes, but at a great price.
"..." Toph moved to sit next to him, frowning as she reached out to grab his hand tightly, he had watched her back many times, now it was her turn.
I had to take care of him.
[ If you want to read advance Chapters then go to Pat reon and support me there.
PAT REON I'D:- Alzero ]