Rise Of The Lightning General (CH 18)

A/N: This story is rated M for mature content and may not be suitable for children.


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Chapter 18: Ba Sing Se


Earth Kingdom....


Naruto was heading to the city of Ba Sing Se, With him was an elite group of over 100 firebenders. His mission was to infiltrate the capital of the Earth Kingdom and either capture or eliminate the Earth Monarch, Kuei.


This action will cause the Earth kingdom to destabilize, as everyone will try to claim the throne for themselves, leading to civil war.


Naruto was actually surprised by Azula's decision. Instead of attacking with all the might of the Fire Nation, she instead chose the option he presented to her.


Flashback...


Fire Palace [War Council Chambers]...


Naruto and the rest of the Fire Nations General waited for Azula to make her decision on what actions they will be taking against the Earth Kingdom.


Azula stole a glance at Naruto, something that most of the generals noticed; before she spoke.


"I think we should go with Naruto's suggestion," Azula said, surprising many in the room.


The room was silent due to everyone's shock at Azula's somewhat uncharacteristic behavior, the new Fire Lord was the aggressive type who would usually attack the enemy until they were eliminated.


So, with her now choosing to do something other than completely destroying the enemy, that threw them all into a loop. But soon, everyone regained their senses, and the generals started to voice their complaints.


"This action is foolish," said the aging general. No one can quite remember his name.


"Yes, we should attack the Earth kingdom with all our forces and destroy it," Another said.


Azula listened to their shouts with a wicked smile on her face. She listened to what they had to say before she spoke again.


"Well, if you all think that this plan is foolish, you should challenge the man who suggested it to Agni Kai," Azula said plainly, looking between Naruto and the generals.


It amuses the Fire Lord to watch all the color drained from the general's face as they all look at Naruto, who looks back at them with an emotionless expression that frightens them. The room falls silent as no one has the nerve to challenge him after he killed the Fire Lord, the strongest firebender in the nation.


"Now that that's settled, I will send Naruto to infiltrate Ba Sing Se and assassinate or capture the Earth Kingdom leader." Azula said. "Also, I will dispatch 500 soldiers to each of the remaining colonies for protection."

Flashback End...


Naruto shook his head as he started to form a plan on how he and the 100 men with him will infiltrate Ba Sing Se. There were two methods that he could come up with as they are heading there now.


One was a frontal assault using his lightning-bending. He can attack the walls of the city, but there is no guarantee that he'll be able to get inside. The earthbenders can use their earthbending to repair the wall as fast as it's damaged. That is the reason why the city is still standing today.


The next method is a more stealthy one. He and a group of his men could try to sneak into the Earth Kingdom and destabilize it from the inside. Let his other men come in and do as much damage while he goes after the leader of the nation and assassinates him. Ideally, he wishes to capture him as a bargaining chip.


The blonde figured he'd have to use the second method, as it would be nearly impossible to infiltrate the Earth Kingdom with a frontal assault. They would just use their Earth-bending to keep on repairing the wall as fast as he damaged it. Since he is the only one who can lightning bend naturally for extended periods of time, without damaging himself, and there are literally an army of Earthbenders behind the wall, his stamina would eventually run out, and they would lose the battle.


Naruto's mind then wandered back to Kya and the mother-daughter pair he had at home, making the Lightning General rub his forehead in frustration.

Flashback...


Fire Nation [Naruto's Home]...


Naruto was sitting at his dining room table with Kya to his right, Sah to his left and Mira at her daughter's side.


They were all eating while the discussion of taking them back to the respective homes came up again. Naruto understood why Kya might be reluctant going back to her home but he assume that if she explained that she had been raped and abused they might have some sympathy for her and allow her back.


Then Kya brought up the fact that she was not going back home alone. She would be pregnant with a child of the fire nation which she was sure they would pull her unborn child out of her and destroy it without a second thought.


Then Naruto suggested that after she gave birth she can return to the water tribe by herself and he would take care of the child here. This caused Kya to look at him in shock. Then a look of rage came over her face as she slapped him across the cheeks, making his head snap to the side.


"You fool, what mother would abandon her child if she could help it," Kya said. "You're trying to send me back without my child. I wouldn't stand for it."


"But you have other children, don't you? Aren't you abandoning them by staying here with me?" Naruto stated. Kya looked hurt at what he had said before her face looked determined.


"I do have children but by now they have grown and don't need me anymore since I was gone for so long," Kya said sadly. "Besides, I am not the same woman that they all knew. I have become... someone else."


Naruto gave up when he saw the look on her face and realized that Kya would not return to The water Tribe willingly. It made him secretly happy on the inside that she would not be leaving him.


Naruto then turned to Sah and her mother as he offered them the same deal as Kya to take them back to their homes.


Mira looked happy that she would finally be able to return home, but Sah was hesitant as she glanced between Naruto and her mother.


"Do you hear that, honey? We're finally going to be able to return home," Mira said to her daughter, but she didn't respond.


"I'm not going back, mother," Sah said, looking away from her mother.


"What? Why? Why don't you want to return home? We'll be safer and happier there," Mira said.


"I am pregnant mom," Sah stated. "If I return to the Earth Kingdom, they would at least try to get rid of the baby in my stomach."


Mira thought about it for a second before she came up with an idea. "We could always find you a suitor and blame the pregnancy on him." The mother said.


Naruto nodded, acknowledging that Mira's plan had some merit. If it worked out, both mother and daughter could live happily in their own nation before long.


Sah shook her head as she shot down the idea. "I'm not going back home, and I'm not going to pretend that my child was fathered by some other man other than it's real father." Sah stated with conviction.


"Why are you being so stubborn? Why do you want to stay in the Fire Nation, where we're pretty much slaves." Mira shouted in frustration and anger.


"Let's all take a deep breath," Naruto suggested, but it might have been the wrong thing to say because Mira's sharp eyes turned on him with a scowl.


"You did something to my daughter, didn't you?" The woman screeched.


Naruto looked shocked at the woman who accused him of doing something to her daughter that made her want to stay in the Fire Nation.


"Stop it, mother. He didn't do anything to me. I'm just thinking about what's best for me and my child," Sah said.


"Why are you being so stubborn about this? How can you want to stay in a nation that killed your father and made us into sex slaves?" Mira shouted.


"And do you think that returning to the Earth Kingdom will make a difference? Father will still be dead. Do you think that you could go back to a normal life anywhere in the Earth Kingdom? They will think we're either spies or traitors and kill us," Sah replied calmly.


"Then what are we supposed to do? Are we supposed to just stay in a nation that ruined our lives?," Mira said as she started to think about her daughter's words, which were true: no place on Earth would probably accept them.


"We start over and make a new life for ourselves here. It may be me being selfish for saying this, as I'm carrying a child of one of the Earth Kingdom's most dangerous enemies. But I think we'll be safe here," Sah said to her mother.


Mira looked at her daughter for a few minutes before she lowering her head. The room became silent with no one speaking for the rest of the day until everyone retired to their own rooms without a word. Sah led Mira to her bedroom, and Naruto and Kya went to his.


Sah watches Naruto and Kya go to his room with a look of longing and envy, but he had to take care of his mother and couldn't let her own desires come before his mother's mental health.

Flashback End...


Naruto shook his head from the memory and focused on what he was going to do to get into Ba Sing Se. The blonde figured his best bet was to infiltrate the city alone and later find a way to get his men inside.


The only problem is his blonde hair, which makes him stand out too much, but thankfully he can either shave his head or dye his hair, so that one problem is solved.


The only issue the blonde had was that the mission might take a while to complete. He would have to hide his identity and adapt to Ba Sing Se while he was sure that he and the refugees he planned to hide among would be closely watched. So he had to be very careful.


Meanwhile, he would have his men go to one of the Fire Nation colonies to wait for his signal and assist in protecting the colony while they wait.


With a head full of black hair and some clothes he stole from a real refugee, Naruto made his way to the entrance of Ba Sing Se.


Ba Sing Se was surrounded by massive walls that was created using earthbending and the gate was a massive steel construct that would take some effort to break by any benders standard.


"Halt! What is your business here?" a man dressed in Earth Army armor asked.


"I am here seeking refuge. My village was attacked by Fire Nation soldiers and I have nowhere else to go," Naruto said in a pitiful voice.


The guard looked at Naruto for a second before turning his head and yelling out an order. The giant gate of Ba Sing Se opened, and the guard ushered Naruto inside. He dealt with the other refugees.


Naruto was quite surprised at how easily the guard let him into Ba Sing Se, but he concluded that there must be some kind of safety measure in case of spies or enemy combatants sneaking into the city. The blonde soon realized that he was right.


As Naruto walked inside, he could sense that he was being watched from the shadows by the Earth Kingdom's elite guards. It made Naruto slightly nervous, but as he continued walking inside, he realized that the guards were watching everybody, not just him, for any suspicious behavior.


The blonde quickly figured out that the inside of Ba Sing Se was divided into several layers. The first layer was where the refugees, like him, lived amongst the poor. Then there were those who were middle class. Then there were the nobles. Finally, in the middle, was the Earth King.


Naruto knew that in order not to be seen as suspicious, he had to adapt to the city and find a role for himself.


When the blonde saw a sickly looking refugee, he helped him to the nearest medical clinic for treatment. It was an old man who was apparently alone. He was having a mild heat stroke.


He came to a small building made of stone, which was used as a medical clinic.


As he entered the building, he was greeted by a young woman with brown eyes and hair. She was probably around 18 years old, and he had seen a similar woman, but she was older. So we can assume they were either mother and daughter or sisters.


"Hi, my name is Song. How can I help you?" The young woman asked.


"Hi, my name is Naruto. I'm helping this old man here because he seems to be feeling sick. I was wondering if you could heal him," the blonde replied.


"You're a kind person for helping a total stranger," Song said with a gentle smile. She urged the blonde to take the old man to a nearby bed.


Naruto watched as the young woman treated the old man. He was about to leave when he heard someone call out to him.


"Do you mind giving me a hand with some other patients? I know that you don't have any obligation to, but I would really appreciate it. We are really understaffed here," Song pleaded.


Naruto thought about it for a second. This would be the perfect cover while he was in Ba Sing Se.


The blonde lightning bender nodded his head and Song a bright smile. She led him to another patient who was badly burnt and unable to move. So she had Naruto gently lift the patient so that she could rub ointment on his body to treat the burns.


It would be hours later when the blonde would finish helping Song. The young woman was finishing up and asked the blonde to wait.


"Thank you so much for your help today. It really lightened my workload," Song said with a small bow, showing the blonde how grateful she was.


"It was nothing. I was happy to help," Naruto said, rubbing the back of his neck.


Song got a thoughtful expression on her face as she looked at the blonde in the eyes before she spoke.


"How would you like to volunteer your time here? We can't offer you much money, but I could make your lunches and it would only be part-time." Song said.


Naruto acted as if he were thinking about it, but in reality, he was happy on the inside because now he would be able to blend in more easily and soon, when the elite surveillance team that had been monitoring all the refugees would ease their surveillance of him. He would then be able to complete his mission and infiltrate the Earth King's palace.


"I'd love to help you here," Naruto said with a wide smile on his face.


Song expression brightened as she was happy that she was getting such a good person to help her here.


The two parted ways, each going their own way. Naruto saw that it was getting late. So he tried to find a place to spend the night and would return to the clinic in order to help Song and maintain his new cover. All in all, it was a good day.

Chapter End...


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A/N: Naruto's time in Ba Sing Se begins, with the next chapter being a continuation of his mission.