Chapter-82

"..."

"What's going on?" Aang stopped the water balloon he was shaping with his hands as he saw Katara shivering uncontrollably. Her chill was so intense that it made her lose concentration, causing the water surrounding her to simply fall away.

A couple of weeks ago, they had arrived at the North Pole. They'd waited outside the lovers' cave for Naruto for three days. Even when they went to look for him, there was no sign of him. At the end of the third day, they had no choice but to leave, especially when a platoon of Fire Nation soldiers had arrived.

Leaving a friend behind weighed heavily on them, but they held onto the belief that Naruto, the strongest of their group, would be alright. At least, that's what they told themselves to ease their guilt. Their plan was to complete their time in the Northern Water Tribe and then return to find their friend.

"I don't know," Katara replied. She had a terrible feeling, an instinct that only a mother might understand, though it couldn't possibly be anything like that.

"Intruders!" The tribe's bells and alarms rang out, alerting everyone. Aang and Katara rushed to join the waterbenders preparing to face this unexpected threat to one of the safest places in the North.

"Is it... running on water?" Master Pakku had seen very few things that surprised him, but witnessing a child running on water like it was solid ground was certainly one of them. Lowering his telescope, he signaled to raise the main gate.

"What is it?" Katara couldn't quite make out what was happening, and even Aang, who was about to take the glider and investigate the intruder, was stopped by the tribe's general. He signaled for dozens of waterbenders to mobilize.

"It's nothing of importance," the general remarked.

"He crossed the barrier!"

"He's at the entrance!"

"He's inside the village!"

"He's not alone!"

"It's a terrible monster! Kill it!"

"Moron!" The last soldier received a hit on the head from his superior. "It's just...!"

"Child!" Master Pakku could barely see a flash of orange before he witnessed his two guests being grabbed and hoisted off the ground in a tight embrace.

"Naruto?" The two teenagers were shocked to see the blonde shinobi, who was hugging and shaking them as though they were mere ragdolls. "Down! Down! Down! You're crushing my back!" Katara struggled against Naruto's unyielding grip.

"Nope! I'm really happy to see you." Naruto's speech was a bit awkward, and his movements were far from steady. He let go of his two friends and turned to face Master Pakku. "Who's the bald man with the mustache?"

"Apprehend the intruder!" The elderly waterbender wasted no time in sending his soldiers to capture the boy. He positioned himself to do the same, but Katara stepped in the way.

"Wait, he's a friend! He's friendly!"

"Katara..." Naruto shivered as he felt the blonde's hands wrap around her waist, hugging her tightly. "I'm cold."

Katara eventually encased Naruto in a block of ice, her eyes filled with anger.

"Were you drinking alcohol?" Her tone sent shivers down Naruto's spine.

"No, no, no, no... well, yes."

"Go take a cold shower and brush your teeth! Then go to sleep!"

"Why should I?" Naruto questioned. Perhaps he was listening carefully, but this screaming woman dared to order him around? Not even Grandma Tsunade told him what to do. He wouldn't listen to Katara, not even if she created a massive tsunami coming right at him.

Oh, dear.

After being released from the ice with Aang's help, Naruto followed Katara's instructions, leaving many members of the Northern Water Tribe perplexed by all the commotion.

"I thought my mother was loud and annoying," commented Niisa, drawing the attention of everyone. She casually strolled among the tribe's inhabitants, who were giving her various looks.

"Princess Niisa... it's a surprise to see you," Master Pakku said, bowing along with the other waterbenders. This left Katara bewildered, as she couldn't help but draw a comparison between Niisa and...

"Sister!" Katara's response came as she noticed Yue standing a few meters away, gazing intensely at the woman now known as her sister.

"I had no idea she had a sister," Sokka remarked, quite taken aback by the reunion of the two sisters, especially considering how close they had become to Yue over the past two days. From the looks they were exchanging, though, it seemed their relationship was far from perfect.

"Uh... would anyone like some tea?" Katara offered, trying to ease the tense atmosphere. With a shy smile, she suggested preparing something to help break the uncomfortable situation.

….

The atmosphere was undeniably uncomfortable, especially between the two water tribe princesses. Sokka, Katara, and Aang found themselves at a loss, not knowing where to direct their attention.

"So, they are sisters..." Katara attempted to break the ice with a forced smile as she served tea for everyone.

"Yes..."

"Half-sisters. My father slept with my mother and then hers," Niisa's candid revelation was met with a frown from Yue.

"I never cared about that."

"Your mother did," the waterbender replied nonchalantly, her gaze shifting to her nails as if they were more interesting. "Well, I won't trouble you any longer. I wouldn't want to be here, anyway."

"That's not true."

"Don't start again with that 'family must stick together' thing. I feel like my period is coming, and I'll be too irritable to listen to your dull conversations."

"Okay, that was too much information," Sokka mumbled, earning a scolding punch on the shoulder from his sister.

"Then why are you here?" the younger princess inquired. Before Niisa could respond, the bathroom door swung open.

"Does it even make sense to take a cold bath in Antarctica?" Naruto, sporting a sour mood from the hangover and a frigid shower, grumbled as he joined the Avatar's team.

"Just for the heck of it," Katara replied with a casual shrug. She directed her attention to the irritable ninja, who settled down next to the group.

"This should help." Katara gestured with her hands, and a stream of water swirled around Naruto's head. In an instant, he felt some relief from the headache.

Nissa noticed this but remained silent for the time being, her brows furrowed.

"Boy, I want my gold."

"Oh, right. Sokka, give him the gold we had left from that scam with the pirates."

"The gold..."

"Yes, the gold."

"The gold we had left from that scam in which you turned into a sexy girl."

"Sokka, just give her the gold!"

With a sigh, Sokka checked his bag and retrieved a couple of gold coins. Naruto felt a shiver run down his spine, a result of Nissa's piercing gaze.

"I spent a bit of the gold these days. I went on a date with Yue, and, well, I had some money left over. Besides, I didn't know we could rent a boat until I bought it."

"That explains how you got the tribe's music band to follow us all night," Niisa reminisced with a hint of longing about the date she had enjoyed the previous night – a boat ride, dinner, and the company of the best musicians her town had to offer.

"..."

"..."

"I'll give you Sokka so you can do whatever you want with him." Without a second thought, Naruto offered up the boy as a sacrifice to the enigmatic waterbender.

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PAT REON I'D:- Alzero ]