43 Chapter-43

"Ehhhh… I think I stained my pants."

"It happens often," Naruto replied with a smile as he gently lowered the rock and extended his hand. Sokka accepted the hand and pulled himself up.

"Who are you?" Katara asked, her initial shock fading as she regarded the newcomer.

Naruto remained silent, merely watching as the Avatar slowly ascended into the air.

"This is the oddest thing I've seen yet," Naruto thought to himself, a frown forming as he observed the strengthening winds. Retrieving a kunai from his pocket, he hurled it at the bald boy, but the weapon never reached its target as it was repelled by the air bubble. "This is going to be complicated."

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?" The girl seemed ready to employ her waterbending abilities to freeze the newcomer, but a firm hand on her wrist stopped her.

"Katara…" Sokka wisely backed away, pulling his sister with him.

Aang, lost in his tumultuous state, had been oblivious to his surroundings until an unfamiliar weapon was aimed at him. The wind that enveloped him deflected the weapon, but the paper attached to it caught fire and emitted a bright light.

The ensuing explosion was so powerful it shattered the wall of wind.

"Well, that was surprising, bald!"

Aang, still suspended in the air, was left stunned by the explosion. However, a powerful blow to his cheek sent him plummeting to the ground, and he skidded across the earth before splashing into a pool.

Naruto, who had landed on a marble pillar, felt a sense of accomplishment as he managed to separate the glowing boy from the other two. However, his satisfaction quickly turned to bewilderment as he noticed the water in the pond vibrating. In an instant, a geyser erupted into the sky.

"Oh, no..." Naruto exclaimed just before being struck by the geyser, which sent him hurtling through several walls of the temple. He finally came to a stop in a hallway, brushing debris off himself.

Aang, with his eyes shining as intensely as his arrow marks, stood just a few meters away from him.

"No hard feelings?" Naruto stammered, smiling in a state of panic. He watched as Aang raised the ring finger of his right hand, and with a simple gesture, Naruto's body was sliced by a sheet of wind. The slicing wind not only cut through Naruto but also through walls and a significant portion of the floor.

Aang's unreadable expression shifted as he witnessed Naruto's body turn into a pile of rubble. Then, hands seized Aang's feet, and he was lifted off the ground. He found himself at the head of a chain of Naruto clones that slammed him into several pillars of the temple. Soon after, the roof succumbed, losing its main supports.

The massive structure collapsed over the mountains, and for a moment, silence reigned.

Naruto remained serious as he stood on a wall. That bald man was undoubtedly tough and strong. With a frown, he jumped down to land in an open field that seemed to be a training ground for airbenders.

Raising an eyebrow, the blonde observed as the Avatar emerged from a cliff, encased in an air bubble and surrounded by rings of water. It was the first time the shinobi had witnessed someone wielding two elements, and he understood why Yui and the old man had spoken so much about this guy.

"So, you're the Avatar?" Naruto's words were more of an obvious clarification than a question. He now understood why Yui and the old man had talked so much about this individual. Naruto continued, "I'd like to know..." He smiled, his hand tightly gripping a kunai from his pocket. His hands trembled uncontrollably, and sweat trickled down his forehead. "…what the difference is between a Shinobi and the Avatar." He took a step forward.

Aang retreated to avoid a slash from the ninja's weapon, which grazed his cheek and left a slight cut. He raised his right hand, enveloping it in flames. However, his surprise was evident when his wrist was seized, and he was lifted and slammed into the ground, creating a small crater.

The ground shook, and a pillar of earth swiftly lifted the bald man upward. Naruto felt mortified as the ground beneath his feet behaved like water. His legs and torso sank into the ground, leaving only his head above the surface.

The wind blew gently through the valley, leaving only the Avatar visible as he peered at where his opponent had been buried alive. But the silence was shattered when the ground beneath his feet split open.

With a furious expression, Naruto erupted from the ground to deliver a devastating right blow to the bald man's jaw, sending him soaring into the sky.

His flight didn't last long before the blonde appeared above him and delivered a powerful kick to his head, sending him hurtling back to the ground. Aang conjured a massive blizzard from his hands, which halted his crash course, allowing him to land gracefully.

However, before he could react further, he received a punch to the face, forcing him back, followed by another blow to the back. Dozens of copies of the Shinobi attacked the air nomad from all directions with a flurry of punches and kicks, gradually inflicting injuries, and soon, blood became visible.

After taking a kick to the chin, the bald man was lifted off the ground by a clone that clung to his back, while several other clones held onto each of his limbs with great force.

"This is the Uzumaki combo, bitch!" The original Naruto leaped between the clones, ready to deliver the finishing blow to the Avatar. He was mere inches away from landing a powerful right-hand strike to his opponent's face when he was abruptly halted by a fierce blizzard.

The airbender's eyes glowed with intensity as a colossal tornado formed around him in mere seconds, enveloping the entire battlefield. The clones began to disappear one by one, unable to withstand the powerful winds that grew stronger with each passing moment. At the center of the immense tornado, Aang hovered.

On the ground, Naruto buried his hands deep into the earth, channeling all the chakra he could to his feet and hands to anchor himself and prevent being blown away. But as the ground beneath him began to crack, just as he was about to take flight, the wind ceased abruptly.