Chapter-44

The shinobi was taken aback when two rock pillars caught his hands and his feet sank into the ground. He gazed up to find the formidable Avatar, who remained stoic despite his injuries.

Naruto's eyes glazed over when a kick to his chin sent him soaring off the ground. In the air, he struggled to regain his composure, but a strong current of air slammed him back to the ground. Finally, a towering earth pillar burst from the ground, brutally striking the Shinobi, launching him against the temple's walls.

Uttering no words, Aang moved his hands calmly. All the snow near him transformed into water, creating a swirling vortex around the bald man. His sole aim was clear: to capture the shinobi embedded in the wall.

However, Naruto's disbelief grew as he observed the events unfolding. "Ahg," he gasped in surprise when a massive whirlpool of water enveloped his opponent. In a twist of fate, the water froze, and thousands of stalactites were hurled towards him. Desperately, he tried to scale the walls to escape this deadly assault, but his efforts were thwarted when the wall became encased in ice.

The Uzumaki tumbled and crashed into a pile of snow, which, at least, cushioned his fall. Yet, the snow promptly transformed into water, engulfing him. Helpless, he was dragged closer to his adversary.

Aang's right hand was sheathed in ice, forming a long blade. Without hesitation, he hurled the blade towards the blonde's head. However, his wide eyes reflected astonishment as the attack pierced only a wooden log, splintering it into thousands of fragments. The real shinobi materialized behind him.

"Rasengan!" The chakra sphere collided with the Avatar's chest, searing it and making him feel as if thousands of blades crushed his organs. The airbender's body was propelled to the cliff's edge in an explosive manner.

"Was it enough?" Naruto inquired, his breath half-stopped as he struggled to regain his composure. The last few blows had nearly broken some of his bones, but at least he had avoided becoming an ice skewer thanks to his quick substitution jutsu.

Just as Naruto believed the battle was over, a blinding glint emanated from his opponent, and he quickly shielded his eyes.

Slowly rising to his feet, the Avatar's brilliance intensified. With deliberate motions, he briefly levitated, allowing the potent wind to envelop him. His glowing eyes seemed to pierce the silence. As he touched the ground, the entire earth trembled violently, causing hundreds of pillars to ascend. The shinobi had to leap and swiftly embed a kunai into one of the towering pillars to stay airborne.

With the battlefield set, the Uzumaki positioned himself on one of the numerous pillars. It didn't take long for his opponent to appear on another.

Both young combatants regarded each other in silence.

"Oh, come on!" Naruto exclaimed in frustration as he witnessed an enormous wall of fire hurtling toward him. Reacting swiftly, he executed the Kage Bushin no Jutsu, creating a multitude of smoke clones to help him ascend and evade the flames. Just in the nick of time, he managed to escape the fire that obliterated all his clones.

Soaring high in the sky and descending rapidly, Naruto retrieved a shield from the seal on his wrist to protect himself from the countless rock projectiles launched by the Avatar.

Aang arched his body and, raising his hands, he hefted a fifty-meter rock from a nearby mountain, hurling it toward his adversary. Lowering his hands, he believed the battle was over. However, he was taken aback when he witnessed the rock shatter into thousands of fragments.

With an Odana-Rasengan charged, Naruto streaked straight towards his opponent. In an instant, his attack reached its target. "I don't care that you're the Avatar!" Drawing closer, the blonde grinned as he noticed the surprise on his opponent's face. "That won't stop me from taking you down!" He swiftly unsheathed a kunai and sliced in half an earth spear sent by Aang, who was surrounded by a fiery vortex.

Before he could launch another attack, both adversaries collided head-on with such force that a small shockwave reverberated through the mountains.

….

Where was it?

Why did he feel so cold?

Why was everything so dark?

These were the initial questions that swirled in Aang's mind as he found himself in an infinite darkness, completely alone.

Drifting amidst the boundless void, memories of how he had arrived here resurfaced: fleeing the temple, soaring over the stormy ocean with Appa, getting caught and encased in ice, only to awaken a hundred years later at the edge of the world in a distant Water Tribe.

"Katara..." The image of the girl materialized before his eyes, and he could almost hear her voice.

But...

In the midst of the darkness, a silhouette gradually took shape, revealing a boy of his own age with strangely golden hair and marks etched onto his cheeks, reminiscent of some kind of animal.

"Hello..." Aang greeted the stranger with a smile, who in turn offered a friendly one in return.

"Hello... I'm Naruto," he replied, introducing himself. Aang felt a sense of relief. It seemed he wouldn't be alone anymore.

"I'm Aang."

In this boundless void, the two children shared smiles as if their situation were entirely ordinary, as though the troubles that had led them here had never happened. They were just two souls, finding solace in companionship.

Suddenly, numerous blue lights began to emerge around Aang. Perplexed, he watched as hundreds of small blue orbs of light emanated from his chest, each one growing into a distinct figure, each with its own unique appearance. Some were clad in armor, while others donned vibrant-colored garments. Each bore a unique identity yet shared an indefinable similarity.

The golden-haired boy gazed in awe at the multitude of people surrounding him—men and women, all past incarnations of the Avatar, each having once borne the same weight he did now: the responsibilities, blessings, and curses.

"Your presence poses a threat," declared one of the ancestral spirits, their voices resonating with strength and authority, albeit with a tinge of irritation.

"You jeopardize the balance..."

"What you are is a scourge upon this world..."

"You must be eliminated."

All the ancestors' eyes lit up brightly and each one was ready to attack the 'threat'.