Chapter-62

For several hours, the small group of four people ventured through the caves in an endless death march, walking through the corridors for hours without any results. Mai left some marks on the walls with her blades to create references in the labyrinth.

However, her frustration grew as she noticed that new tunnels were forming, as if the labyrinth itself was alive and the tunnels changed places to confuse and disorient them. This increasingly worried Mai.

"We should rest," she suggested, stopping to the confusion of the others.

"But we can't afford to stop; we should keep going," Naruto replied. Despite his words, the fatigue showed on his face, and the fact that Ty Lee was sleeping on his back was proof that this journey had been exhausting for all of them.

"Please, you must rest. If you collapse, I can't guarantee that I can help you," Mai warned seriously. "If you fall, I'll have to choose whether to wait for you to wake up or take Ty Lee... and I don't want to leave anyone behind."

"Okay," Naruto agreed, looking into Mai's eyes. He sighed and carefully placed the circus girl on the ground. As soon as he knelt down, his legs began to shake uncontrollably from fatigue.

"Here," Azula handed him a cantinflora. Her expression was serious. "You're of no use to me dead, so take it." She offered him a drink from her cantinflora with a somewhat cheeky smile.

For several seconds, Naruto just stared at Azula's face before finally saying, "Okay." Surprised by his response, Azula approached and drank from her cantinflora.

She couldn't help but feel a mix of emotions. How could someone still smile in a situation like this? Why was he smiling at her after what had happened earlier? Did what occurred hours ago not matter to him? Or was it just a tantrum on his part?

Azula had no answers to these questions. She watched as Naruto took the time to set up the fur bed they had packed. After a while, he placed Ty Lee on it so she could rest more comfortably.

Nearly half an hour passed as they sat around a lamp that illuminated the dark cave. Ty Lee woke up to eat with her friends, and the silence was uncomfortable as they consumed pieces of dried meat and bread.

"Why don't we get to know each other better?" Azula broke the ice with a slight smile, looking at the only boy in the group.

"Get to know each other?" Naruto was confused, tilting his head. "You want us to get to know each other better?" He asked, his smile growing. This made Ty Lee and Mai exchange glances.

Mai discreetly gave the fire nation princess a death glare. She knew exactly why Azula suddenly wanted to start a conversation – to gather information from Naruto and potentially use it against him.

Azula was no different from her father, and with the limited information they had about people, they could manipulate and mold them as they pleased. A few years ago, Ty Lee had discovered that Azula had approached her not to make friends, but to seek influence and power. Azula was the daughter of a wealthy man in charge of the main coal plants in the Fire Nation. She was, at her core, a bad person who lacked empathy and pity for her enemies or allies when they made mistakes.

Zuko knew it, old Iroh knew it, as did Ty Lee. Although Ty Lee couldn't bring herself to admit it because she genuinely believed they were friends, she couldn't find the heart to tell him how Azula was willing to let them die just to achieve her goal.

The girls were snapped out of their thoughts when the boy struck a thoughtful pose and, after a few seconds, smiled. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto! I love eating ramen and playing pranks. I dislike many things, like waiting five minutes for the ramen to be ready and people who don't value the bonds they have. My dream is to become the Hokage, the greatest of all time, and show everyone that I can be someone important, someone who can protect those in need, even if it costs me my life! Dattebayo!"

The three girls remained silent, exchanging strange glances. None of them had expected such a determined and eloquent speech from Naruto.

"Play pranks? Ramen? Protect?" Azula felt confused by this unexpected revelation. How could she use this information to her advantage? Perhaps she should continue the conversation. "That's interesting... My name is Azula. I dislike many things, and there's nothing I particularly like. My dream is to become the next leader of my nation."

"You only told me your name..." Naruto pointed out.

Azula couldn't help but feel tempted to shoot the boy with a bolt of lightning, but she resisted. "But... it's a great dream," he added, stopping her in her tracks. She felt a strange feeling in her chest when she saw his cheerful smile. "I hope you make it!"

"..." Azula didn't know how to react to that. Her face turned blank as she stared at the boy.

It was the first time someone had said something like that, encouraging her to believe in her dream.

"Though you've got to work on your attitude and think about your friends, remember this, bossy princess..." Naruto got up, pointing his finger at Azula with a very serious expression, more serious than they'd seen before.

"…"

"People who break rules are bad, but... People who leave their friends behind are even worse!" Naruto's words were aimed directly at Azula, and her eyes slowly lost their fire. Her expression grew dark.

"Azula! Stop!" Mai and Ty Lee stood up, concerned, as Azula and Naruto faced off.

Both locked eyes for several tense minutes, creating an intense atmosphere. Neither of them backed down. Azula's eyes were full of anger and hatred for the boy, while Naruto held a more passive yet determined look.

How could he? Who did he think he was? This kid had called her trash right to her face. Unforgivable. She'd never tolerate such disrespect, not even from her father. She wouldn't let herself be insulted by a mere child.

Her anger was so intense that her hands were wreathed in blue flames, and her eyes sparkled with electricity. Her two companions were too scared to say anything, watching their usually composed friend in this furious state was unsettling.

"You... you don't know what I've sacrificed to get here! You don't know what I've done to make my father proud of me! I was born with one purpose, to rule over others! Only I can lead! Only I can surpass my father and gain recognition from my nation, from the whole world!" Her voice wavered, and she felt a painful lump in her throat from shouting so loudly.

"Then what?"

"What?"

"What will happen once you achieve your dream... if you don't have anyone to celebrate it with you?" Naruto didn't flinch as a bolt of lightning missed his head by an inch. He couldn't even if he wanted to; he was tired and in pain. If she decided to attack him now, he wouldn't be able to defend himself. Yet, he stayed quiet, watching the girl shaking with anger.

"You don't understand... you don't know what it's like to live up to everyone's expectations. I have to be the best, I have to be perfect!" Her whole life, since she was a kid, had been about trying to be perfect. Hours of studying until her eyes hurt, repeating the same moves countless times, trying to be just like her father, thinking like him. All of it to one day be better than her worthless father and become a great leader.

She believed she didn't need friends, company, or love. Not even her mother's love. She had everything she needed inside herself.

"..." Minutes went by in the dark cave, lit only by the flames in Azula's hands. Her anger clouded her vision, and she felt pressure building in her head. The fire she held started to die down.

She felt confused as the fire dwindled. Her tension spiked when a warm hand touched hers. She looked up and found Naruto staring at her with sadness in his eyes. "You don't have to be perfect... you just have to be yourself," he said softly, holding her hand firmly despite the flames trying to burn him.

"I'll go explore," she said coldly. She pulled her hand away and backed off slowly, disappearing into the darkness of the cave, the flames in her hand flaring back to life.

Naruto stood there, watching Azula leave. She left behind a trail of fire to show her path.

"Damn..." He staggered, almost falling to his knees. He rarely felt so scared. That girl was truly terrifying, even scarier than Sakura-chan when she was angry.

"Dude! That was awesome!" The circus girl flopped onto her back and gave him a tight hug, filled with excitement at what she had just witnessed. She never thought there was someone in the world who could calm Azula down and make her step back without a fight.

"That was really cool, Naruto," Mai chimed in. She, too, was surprised by what had just happened. The boy had managed to make the princess back down with just his words, something they hadn't expected at all.

"Yeah..." Smiling as best he could, the blonde didn't mind Ty Lee continuing to hug his back. He felt his hands gradually stop shaking, and he finally started to relax. Although...

"I think I got caught in my pants…"

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