Chapter-103

The growth of the town was incredible.

Yuei and Yui were happy to see the changes that had occurred in the village where they spent their childhood. With all the earthbenders and civilians liberated by the Uzumaki boy, the village had come to life in just weeks, bustling with activity and tranquility.

It was amazing to witness the transformation of people who were once prisoners. Some were teachers, blacksmiths, artisans, and even musicians who had lost everything during the Fire Nation siege.

Security for the village was in the hands of earthbenders and those skilled in combat. The town was heavily fortified, protected by imposing walls that encircled it.

In recent days, there was a lot of discussion about a sensitive topic for the Kyoshi sisters.

What to do with firebenders?

It was tedious to monitor hundreds of enemy soldiers, providing them with food and water to prevent them from dying in captivity, and ensuring none of them escaped, though the latter seemed to be the least of their concerns.

"Sister?" The younger twin continued to stare silently into nothingness, turning her back on her older brother, who was accompanied by the leader of the improvised army of earthbenders, Roko.

"Yeah?"

"You're the only one left to vote." The older twin looked worried at her sister, who seemed deeply thoughtful.

"The Yuei warrior insists on the idea of parole release," the old earthbender growled, finding it foolish not to take advantage of the opportunity to control so many enemy soldiers. "We have to execute each and every one of them."

"They are just soldiers following orders," defended the older twin. Most of the firebenders had surrendered peacefully to Naruto.

"My son died before soldiers who were only following orders."

"And killing them all will make your son revive?"

"No, but it will prevent them from killing more."

"They have families too! Killing them won't make us any better than the Fire Nation!"

The intense gaze between the earthbender and the warrior made the atmosphere heavier.

It was broken by a soft sigh from Yui, who calmly approached the large statue that stood before her, a monument to the person that everyone in this town considered a hero.

"Do I need a reason to protect those who need to be saved?"

Uzumaki Naruto, the Orange Pillar.

The younger twin ran her fingers along the rock chest of the pre-teen statue. The monument, created with patience and ambition by earthbenders and artisans, stood as a worthy tribute to their savior. With one fist raised and a defiant smile, the statue was a perfect likeness of the boy.

"What would you do?" She asked herself, gazing at the statue. Months ago, she would not have hesitated to wield a sword and sever the heads of the soldiers who had caused so much pain in her life—her family, her parents.

But it wasn't hatred and revenge that liberated numerous prisoners and made an entire army surrender.

It was the kindness of a child, one who only sought to help those in need.

With a soft smile, the younger twin turned around to look at her sister and the earthbender.

"The prisoners will be released..."

"But-"

"It's decided," Yui interrupted Roko, who wore a furious expression. "But if they return with hostile intentions, they will be executed. There's no doubt about that. For those who want to stay, be part of this town, and leave this war behind, they will be welcome."

"You will regret this decision," the furious Master Roko turned to leave, leaving only the two sisters, who remained silent, staring at the statue of their savior.

"He would be proud," Yuei smiled happily, tightly holding her younger sister's hand, who smiled back.

Maybe... this is the beginning of something big.

Or not.

The small moment of contemplation and peace between the two warriors ended when they heard the explosion of the rock wall protecting the city.

Everyone witnessed part of the wall collapse, revealing a dark silhouette emerging from the dust cloud with each step.

2 hours later:

The flesh was torn.

Shòukǔ took one more bite of the meat he was eating, unaffected by the chaos around him.

Like a grim depiction of the apocalypse, there were hundreds of bodies piled up, some not even whole, or worse, deformed with fist marks on their bodies.

The earth was dyed red with the blood of both earth and fire benders alike—no one was spared.

Only the non-benders fled from the scene, fearing to share the same fate as the benders.

In the end, only Yuei and Yui were left, both lying on the ground at the feet of the invader, with several broken bones but still breathing. They were beaten to the brink of death by the monster a few meters away.

His question was always the same.

"Where is Uzumaki Naruto?"

Neither of them uttered a word. Even if they knew, they would refuse to say anything that could help this stranger find his savior, who might not be enough to face an opponent like this.

They both doubted there was anyone in the world who could.

The warrior looked up when he heard the heavy, mechanical sound of a large strange vehicle, a cylinder of titanic proportions, with the Fire Nation logo painted on its sides.

A hatch opened, and slowly one of the most important generals of the Fire Nation emerged.

Siu, general of the Fire Nation armies, right hand of the Fire Lord himself, second granddaughter of the same Avatar Roku.

Wearing her elegant armor and cape that fluttered in the wind, the beautiful firebender surveyed the landscape, reveling in the smell of death that would make anyone's stomach turn.

But for her, it was like a beautiful landscape that deserved to be portrayed and hung on her wall.

Nothing was better than seeing your enemies dead and still seeing the expression of terror on their faces.

At an elegant pace, she walked to where one of the most dangerous weapons was, both for the enemy and for themselves.

Shòukǔ.

Reaching him, she looked curiously at the two surviving Kyoshi warriors.

"War trophies?" She asked curiously. The truth is she didn't care if this guy took both women right now and tore off their clothes, to rape them here and now.

They were war trophies—that's what they were good for.

"No," but he showed no interest in that. He just continued eating, ignoring the firebender who was walking around him.

"So... wouldn't you mind if my men have fun with them? They've been lonely these past few weeks." With a cruel smile, he kicked Yui onto her back and mercilessly stepped on her chest, making a shocking crunching sound of her ribs.

He enjoyed seeing the suffering of his enemies.

"No one will touch them," said the warrior dryly, who stood up, and by simply squeezing the chicken bone between his fingers, he broke it into pieces.

"Then we have to put them out of their misery," the woman's fingers lit up with golden fire. When she was about to burn the two warriors, her wrist was caught in a steel grip, causing her attack to soar into the sky.

"..."

"..."

The gaze between the teacher and the warrior was deadly.

The tension was as solid as a rock, as the fire wrapped around the granddaughter of Avatar Roku, while the giant's musculature increased, with veins becoming even more visible on his arms.

Finally, the tension broke when she let the fire die down, and the warrior's grip loosened.

"You can keep doing this, going from one place to another, without a fixed path, looking for that brat, or you can come with me, and I guarantee you will find him, and you will do what you do best."

"And what do you gain from this?"

"The Avatar is next to that brat, even I would have problems facing both of them at the same time, I need a fighter, and I can only settle for the best"

"..."

"What do you say? Truce?"

"Truce…"

They both entered the armored train, which immediately set off, leaving behind what could have been a growing town, which was now only reduced to rubble and scattered bodies.

Two great threats crossed paths, and to make matters worse they were still together, only God knew how much damage they could do now.