Passion

"I honestly don't know, I'm quite lost according to one of my companions," Said Madara while closing his eyes.

Shinzu chuckled "Yes, I bet you are, you look like you are waiting for something. Then let me ask you this, what do you like in life?"

Madara stops to think for a second "I like many things, tasty food along with the many luxuries that money brings, I also like traveling around like I'm currently doing, to be honest… the list is just too long to just speak it out loud like this."

"What is your biggest fear in life?"

"Death" Madara answered right away, it was always death, he survived hiding from the world for nearly 30 years in order to keep his life, transmigrating or not, that fear was part of him.

The man nodded satisfied "Good, now tell me, what things in this life would you put your life on the line for in order to achieve?"

Now Madara had to think for a bit "I don't think that there are many things, to be honest, I'm a very detached individual overall."

"Take your time to think about it."

Madara kept thinking and he sighed "I have a young little sister, and I fought for the sake of protecting her… no…" his eyes suddenly widened "No that's not it, I did rush to protect her but I could've left that fight at some point... yet I didn't…"

Shinzu's smile grew "And why didn't you?"

"I felt my blood boiling, I felt excitement in battle… I did battle before but it wasn't like that, no, that one was special… it was a battle that managed to put all my abilities and techniques to the test, that was the first battle that I didn't have certainty of victory... it was a… worthy battle."

Shinzu chuckled again "It seems that it was an amazing fight right there."

Madara nodded "It was, it made me stay in bed for 3 months but I never once regretted it, I liked that battle, no… I feel that I needed that battle…"

The man nodded as well "That's good, very good, especially for you young firebender."

"H-how did you…."

"Your stance, the way you walk and move… after a certain level of mastery every single one of your movements carries certain patterns, it's a sign that you progressed very far, far enough to be considered a Master, but at the same time is a sign that is telling you to work on yourself, anyone with a keen eye would be able to notice after all."

Taking a deep breath Madara asked, "Why is it especially good for me?"

"Different elements require different behaviors, and firebending, contrary to the common belief, is not based on anger… it's based on passion, as long as you don't find your passion… your bending will never progress after a certain point."

"… passion …."

Shinzu nodded again "Yes, you need to find what makes your blood boil, and it seems you had it all along and just didn't notice."

Madara instantly sat down cross-legged and closed his eyes while mumbling "The thrill of battle was something that brought me so much excitement that… I completely disregarded my biggest fear."

After a few minutes of silent meditating, a near-invisible wave of red spiritual energy left Madara's body and spread in all directions, like when a pebble falls on a body of still water.

Madara felt it deep inside his soul, all his muscles tightened, his blood pressure rose, he started to sweat, and he felt something coming from the base of his spine spreading through his body, strengthening his organs and blood.

Cough! Blood came out from Madara's mouth 'I hate this, I really hate this… fuck this stupid cultivation crap!'

"Very interesting… I don't quite know what you did but your chi feels more… free and refined…"

Opening his eyes while breathing heavily, a satisfied smile blossomed on Madara's face 'I did it... Earth Chakra unlocked!'

Standing up Madara bowed towards the man "Thank you for your lessons, teacher!"

Shinzu laughed "Hohoho, look at you… it seems you finally found a path"

Madara nodded "Yes, I will enjoy every day of my life just like I enjoyed every second of that battle, although it's not really a goal or a dream… it's something that I was really lacking."

Smiling, Shinzu replied, "You don't need to be in a hurry to find a dream or a goal Mr. Uchiha, it's not something that appears out of nowhere, it grows from our experiences, you are quite young so don't you worry about it so much, hurrying is the enemy of perfection."

"Teacher I want to pay you for your lessons, you deserve it."

Waving his hand Shinzu stood up "It won't be necessary, I don't teach for the sake of money, I teach because I like teaching and because I want to spread my knowledge. Now go, I have to clean this nasty blood from my floor."

Giving a wry smile Madara replied, "At least let me clean it, teacher."

Shaking his head the man said, "Go, Mr. Uchiha, I'm the teacher and my word is final."

Sighing, Madara gave the man one final bow before leaving the school, he felt that he was feeling lighter, happier, and freer… this feeling is something that he never knew he wanted.

'What an interesting young man' thought Shinzu as he watched Madara leaving 'I believe you will bring many changes to the world, Mr. Uchiha, I hope I will still be alive to watch them unfolding'

Walking on the streets of Misty Palm Oasis slowly, he had one final tour around the city before going through the city gates towards the canyon, he didn't rush it, he took his time while sightseeing with a satisfied smile on his face.

"Time to check on my team, let's see what they are up to."

Inside the canyon loud noises echoed, taking a closer look anyone would be able to see that a battle is taking place, with at least 3 bodies laying down on the floor while the final showdown between two groups of two people took place.

Lei and Kaliya were slightly dirtied but with very few injuries on their bodies, on the other side a duo of cloaked figures, with clothes and turbans that resembled old Saharan clothes, adorned with goggles… Sandbenders.

One of the sandbender's waved his hand and sent a compacted missile of sand towards Lei, who dodged by doing a sideways somersault, and instantly dashing towards his opponent once he landed.

The other sandbender tried to add pressure on Lei, but Kaliya instantly sent a whip made out of water that slapped the man's hand, sending it backward and stopping his bending instantly.

Hitting his opponent with a knee on the chin, Lei grabbed him by his collar as his head bent backward, and once the sandbender recovered and leaned his head forward, Lei slammed his forehead against the sandbender's, knocking him out instantly.

Kaliya kept her opponent from moving freely, but she was very limited to the small amount of water that she carried inside her little canteen, with no big moves available to her she tried to go for precise strikes.

She dodged wave after wave of sand, jumping and rolling around, doing a circular movement with her arms the water rotated around her and formed a ring shape.

Lei took advantage of the last opponent's attention focused on Kaliya and went behind him, hitting his back with a loud kick that sent the sandbender stumbling forwards.

Noticing her chance, Kaliya shouted while crouching low enough to be below the water ring's height.

"Jackie, DUCK!"

She froze the ring of water and sent it forward while spinning it like a frost saw blade.

Lei went down as the ice ring went past him inches above his head, and when he looked up, he saw the last sandbender split in half.

"Phew.. this was an… interesting… exercise." Said Lei while panting a bit.

"Aye, ye did good there Jackie, never knew ye head was so hard that ye could knock someone out…" She said while chuckling and sitting down to rest.

"My head, just like any of my limbs, is a deadly weapon!" said Lei while puffing his chest out in pride.

"Yeh, either that or ye brain is so small that your head has to be twice as thick to compensate for the empty space." She laughed.

Getting triggered, Lei snapped "You fucking bitch, come and try me! I'm gonna kick your ass!" he took pride in his intelligence, she went too fucking far!

She just ignored him and went to grab something to drink.

Lei calmed down, he knew it was just some teasing, but then he asked "Was that really necessary? I mean to split that man in half… it's a very nasty sight." He had to avoid looking at it and he was fighting to not throw up right now.

"In a battle, we don't always have the privilege of choice, sometimes we do what we gotta do to finish it fast," said Kaliya while pouring some soju for herself. "Want some?" she offered.

Contemplating for a bit, Lei nodded "Aye." He really needed a drink right now.

Both of them were drinking in a comfortable silence until they heard some footsteps, looking towards the source of the sound they spotted Madara walking towards them with his hands behind his back and a very serene expression.

"It seems you guys enjoyed quite a party while I wasn't around." He chuckled looking around.

"Well, these fuckers are all over this goddamn desert, they spotted us a while ago and tried to ambush us, luckily ye sent Jackie back here six days ago. This ain't the first wave of sandbenders we had to take down, Boss."

"Any survivors?" asked Madara.

"Yes, Mr. Uchiha, but it's not relevant… they say nothing, we tried every trick that you taught us and they just didn't say anything." Said Lei a bit frustrated.

Just shrugging Madara walked towards the airship "Alright I'm going in, and since they don't talk, finish them off, we don't want our tracks to be exposed more than they already are."

"Aye," said Kaliya while finishing her drink.

When Madara leisurely walked inside Lei turned to Kaliya and asked.

"Is it just me or does Mr. Uchiha seem… different? He looks and behaves in a more… calm and serene way than before?"

Kaliya just smiled, she noticed it too and she was legitimately happy for her boss "It seems he found some answers that were plaguing him for a while." She stared at the airship entrance for several seconds before slapping the back of Lei's head "Alright Jackie, let's go back to work and leave this damn canyon… "

Lei stumbled forward and looked back with a hateful expression "What the fuck was that all about? Why are you slapping my head you damn brute?!"

"Did it hurt?"

"Of course it did, you barbarian woman!"

"I thought ye head was so strong that it could rival ye limbs in battle… well It seems like a false advertisement to me." She shrugged and moved towards the corpses and passed out sandbenders to finish her job.

"…" Lei could just move his mouth, trying to formulate a snarky comeback but failing.

"Hey! If you are done trying to figure out some snarky one-liner, get your ass here and help me out!"

…. "Aye…" …