Chapter-123

"Are you okay, Toph?" Sokka noticed the girl seemed more upset than usual; she hadn't said anything all morning.

"If you slept well?" Katara also observed it, momentarily looking concerned as Toph simply shrugged while continuing to walk beside her.

Everyone followed the map provided by the small refugee family, guiding them to the underground path leading to Ba Sing Se.

"Hello... I'm Naruto!"

On the journey, a smiling Naruto walked alongside the mute teenager, teaching her the basics of communicating through sign language.

"You learn quickly."

"They didn't tell me that as a child in the academy. Maybe now I learn better because I have a great teacher."

"You are very kind, thank you."

"Is it not cute?" Katara found it charming how Naruto could make friends so quickly.

"Yes, I have never seen Yoru communicate so much with boys her age." Yang, the pregnant woman, welcomed the relationship between the two. "Although it was expected; she admires that boy a lot."

"Do you know Naruto from before?" Sokka asked, interested in the influence and recognition Naruto had among these people.

"No, but we have all heard of his exploits—facing soldiers who wanted to harm an old man, confronting the daughter of the Fire Lord and her bodyguards, and his greatest feat, freeing people from one of the 'Fire Nation's Greatest Strongholds.'"

The legend of the Orange Pillar, spreading like the wind throughout the continent, became the first ray of hope for many in recent decades. The knowledge that the Avatar was now working together gave hope that this war would one day end.

"Yes, although some rumors are already very strange," the father of the family added. "They said he was more than two meters tall, with a stone-toned body worthy of the most barbaric warrior, with a heart of gold as pure as the mane of golden hair that waves in the wind, and eyes as blue as the sea."

"Hahahaha! Sounds like every teenage girl's dream. Ouch!" Sokka's laughter ended abruptly as he received a hard blow behind his head from his sister.

"Well, although his appearance is not as the legend describes, he seems like a good boy that a girl would love, and he is also cute."

"Yang, I'm still your husband."

"I know."

Toph didn't pay much attention to what the others were saying; she was too focused on 'seeing' through her feet. When passing through a shallow river, Naruto offered his hand to the girl to help her cross.

Was that necessary? The river wasn't even a foot deep.

"Oops!" Naruto ended up falling face-first into the river when a rock under the water rose and made him trip. Luckily, he only fell and didn't get Yoru wet. "What was that, Toph?!" He knew rocks didn't rise for no reason.

"I thought there was a snake, and I wanted to prevent you from stepping on it. They say thank you, ungrateful little girl."

That was obviously a lie, and everyone noticed since there was nothing in the water, and there being a snake in a flowing river made no sense.

"I'm sorry, Toph. Thank you," everyone seemed to notice, except Naruto, who thanked the blind bandit for the gesture.

"Hmmm," she responded with a snort as she crossed her arms. "The least you can do is help me cross," she said, feigning disinterest, while extending her hand for him to help her cross like the other girl.

"Why? You can build a bridge if you wanted. Don't be lazy, Toph."

Sokka, Katara, Aang, and the pair took a step back away from the earthbender, who had several veins pulsing on her forehead and an expression that would intimidate even the fiercest warrior.

"What's wrong with you? Are you bi-eeeehhh!"

Naruto was sent flying by a pillar of earth raised under his feet, which sent him into the forest.

As for the blind bandit, she slammed her feet against the ground, and a small river was divided by a rock bridge. Without saying anything, she crossed to the other side.

….

Night had fallen and before the campfire stood an angry Naruto, who kept his arms crossed while Katara healed the large bump on his head. He did not know whether to say whether the earthbender threw him with such precision as to make him fall on a rock that he ended up breaking in half with his head.

Did she do it on purpose or was it just bad luck?

Probably the first one, looking at Toph's face while she loudly ate an apple.

Being between them was awkward, with their intense glares.

"Will you tell me why you threw me 150 meters into the sky?"

"Suck my foot, Naruto."

"Damn crazy girl! You thought you broke my head!"

"Ha! I doubt there's anything that could break that big head."

"You… excuse me!"

"Make me little girl!"

With angry eyes, the two teens clashed heads, trying to make the other back away.

"You've had enough."

They got separated when Katara grabbed their ears, making them whimper.

"Katara! My ear! My ear!"

"Let go of me, woman with a mother complex!"

No matter how much they complained, they couldn't break free and had to sit back down.

"Don't be childish; behave. We are all friends, and acting like this when we have guests is rude. Now apologize, and everything will be settled."

"I refuse to apologize to the little girl!"

"I have no reason to apologize to this angry midget!"

A tighter grip made them scream.

"Sorry, sorry!"

In the end, they gave up and sat back down silently while Katara went back to stirring the soup. Even though they stopped fighting, they still glared at each other in silent fury.

...

Hours passed, and it got late. Naruto did a last surveillance round after training and left some shadow clones around the camp, following Kakashi-sensei's advice to be aware of surroundings.

Sitting under a tree away from the camp, he decided to take a break. A bath would be a good way to get rid of all the sweat and bad smell. Maybe eating something wouldn't hurt; Katara's soup wasn't enough.

He tensed at some noises but relaxed when he saw a shy Yoru walking up to him with a bowl of soup with some meat.

"I thought you would be hungry after training," she said through hand signs, giving him the bowl. Shortly after, she took out some water in a bamboo stalk.

"Thank you, Yoru!" Naruto happily took the plate and finished it in seconds. Unable to avoid it, he burped. "I'm sorry," he apologized, realizing it wasn't polite.

"No problem, but it was rude."

"Well, I never had to behave at mealtime. After all, it was always breakfast for one, lunch for one, dinner for one... I think you understand now."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"Meh, it's the past."

Naruto noticed something in Yoru's pocket, and apparently, she noticed too. She took out a hand-woven rag doll, an exact mini version of Naruto.

"It's mini-me!" Naruto was surprised that she made it in just one night. "Is it for me?"

"No, this one is for me." Yoru, a bit embarrassed, put the doll away. She then took out an orange bracelet with drawings of red swirls. "This one is for you..."

Carefully, Naruto took it, realizing it matched the swirl on his jacket. "Thanks…"

While they shared a nice moment, not far from them, among the trees, was a shadowy Toph. Holding some rice balls, she intended to offer them to Naruto for a late-night snack and talk, just like they did for the last few weeks when it was just the two of them. Without saying a word, she dropped the rice balls on the ground and stepped on them, heading back to camp, doubtful she would be able to sleep, no matter how much she wanted to.