Chapter-114

"Do you think your private parts are bigger than usual?"

"Hmmm... Yeah, I guess so."

"Does your super-fast metabolism make you pee a lot?"

"About six times for number one, and at least once a day for number two."

"Does your group have a name?"

"We are... A shinobi race?"

"How interesting!"

"If I hear more about your body, I'm gonna throw up!" The blind bandit covered her ears, trying not to hear the professor's weird questions and the Uzumaki's answers, which weren't any better.

He didn't hold back.

Since leaving the small tourist center, they struck a deal with Professor Zei, who told them about a big library with info from all over the world—something they needed, from maps of the Fire Nation to possible weaknesses. Flying on the giant flying bison, they soared over miles of endless desert.

"Miss, sorry, but this would be my first time talking to a person from the 'shinobi' race. I need to know everything; I've never seen or heard of anything like you," said the scientist seriously, pointing to his next book, "Are You From a Lost Tribe or Are You the First of Your Kind?"

"Well, in my home, I was the only Uzumaki," muttered the thoughtful blonde, who couldn't quite remember where he fit in. As a kid, he thought maybe his parents could have been Yamanaka; they were the only ones with blonde hair and blue eyes in the whole village.

"Hey, you've never talked about home. What's it like?" Katara was curious this time, wanting to know about the home of the most hyperactive member of the group.

"Is it full of sorcerers like you?"

"I told you we're ninjas, Sokka. Well, my home... it's called Konoha, the Village Hidden Among the Leaves."

"Let me guess, they live among the trees?" Toph mocked, still lying on the saddle with her feet up.

"Very funny, but... I think so. Our village is surrounded by giant trees and a great wall that protects us. We're divided into civil, commercial, and clan zones."

"Clans?"

"They're like big families with incredible abilities. I have friends from different clans—Shikamaru can manipulate his shadow and others, Choji can turn into a giant ball and roll, Ino can get into the minds of others, Kiba can make his dog transform into him, Hinata can see through things hundreds of meters away at a 360° angle, Shino can have insects inside his body and use them in combat, and..."

Naruto had to stop when he realized everyone was staring at him as if he had grown a second head.

Maybe I talk too much.

"You have a very peculiar home," Katara said uncertainly. She had no reason to doubt the boy's words, but everything he said made her worry, and she wasn't the only one.

"Wow! Wow! What kind of place is that?!" Sokka was more paranoid. The idea that a place like that existed, with people having those powers, was crazy. "At least tell me you're the strongest there and on our side!"

"Actually, I was the loser of my class, not to mention my sensei, the Jounin-sensei, Ero-sennin, and grandmother."

"We are doomed!"

"Hey, calm down. You don't have to worry about that..."

Everyone noticed Naruto's change of mood. It was strange to see him with such a sad and downcast look, but he raised it when he felt a hand wrap around his own in a gentle squeeze.

"Naruto... Where do you come from?" Katara asked the question everyone was wondering.

And the shinobi had no choice but to tell the truth.

"I... I am not from this world."

"…"

"…"

"I had a fight against someone I consider a friend. We were both giving our all and used our most powerful techniques..." He remained silent for several seconds, looking at his right hand.

"…"

"I... I didn't want to kill him. I had the opportunity, but I couldn't, and in the end, he hit me in the chest, and I fell... I fell for I don't know how long. When I woke up, I was almost dead, and luckily, an old man found me and helped me. That's all I remember about that day and how I got here."

The rest of the trip had only been silence. They had a lot to think and process from what they had heard.

….

The journey was taking a while, and they had to go on different paths to stay away from places where the Fire Nation was.

A big bunch of people who had to leave their homes was moving forward. They weren't going fast, but they were making progress. There was still a lot to cover before they could reach where they were heading, and among them were kids and old folks who couldn't keep up with the grown-ups.

"Let me help, miss," Iroh said, offering to carry a tired young woman with a baby. She happily accepted, running over with her few things to take a break.

"This is slowing us down," Azula complained. It was the third time today her uncle stopped to help one of the many refugees.

"You should never be too busy to stop and help," he said, smiling as he kept pulling the cart. "If we don't help others, who will?"

"But why bother? They won't help us back. We'll never see them again."

"Daughter, you should help just because it's the right thing to do, not for something in return," her uncle replied.

Azula rolled her eyes; her uncle always had these sayings you'd find in self-help offices.

"Everybody, stop!"

The refugees stopped when they saw a bunch of soldiers. At first, they thought they were safe, seeing the soldiers from the Earth Kingdom. But their hopes dropped when the soldiers smiled, and it wasn't a good kind of smile.

"There's a new rule. All foreigners need to pay at least one Gold coin to pass through here!" shouted a soldier, holding up a scroll with the new law.

"Where are we supposed to get that money?"

"We have nothing! The Earth Kingdom is supposed to let us stay for free!"

"Please! We have kids here!"

The refugees didn't have that much money, and even if they did, it didn't make sense to give it away since it was all they had to start a new life.

"Then you're not going anywhere! Check your things; you must have something valuable to give to enter Ba Sing Se!"

"Excuse me," Iroh stepped forward among the refugees, smiling. He went up to the general holding 'the new law.' "But this is fake. A note from the king would always have his seal. This looks handwritten instead of printed, and also... taxes don't have an 'H.'"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"Cheaters!"

The 'soldiers' were overwhelmed by the refugees' shouts. Even though the refugees didn't have special powers, they armed themselves with tools like machetes and axes.

"You did it your way; now let me handle this."

The supposed soldiers stepped aside when a big figure appeared among them—a tough-looking woman in heavy armor with a large club.

"Hmm..." Iroh looked small next to the tall woman. She was about eight feet tall, with short brown hair, eyes as hard as her steel armor, and a big spiked club. "Can we talk about this, miss?"

"I'll make a bra out of your old skin."

"That would be an honor," the old Dragon of the West replied with a calm smile, standing strong in front of the Amazonian woman.

The other refugees kept their distance, surprised at how calmly the old man faced a small army and a woman who could easily crush him.

"But we have a long way to go. I suggest a deal: join us for a better tomorrow on our trip to Ba Sing Se," Iroh offered with a smile. He didn't think these people were bad; otherwise, their attack would have been meaner and without asking first.

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PAT REON I'D:- Alzero ]