"It sure was a difficult moment."
"I... I was afraid, I never wanted responsibility, but things are never the way you want them to be. When I was named Avatar, I felt like everything had changed. My friends no longer saw me as one of them, but as someone superior. I couldn't come back to play with them. I didn't know I enjoyed it so much until I stopped doing it."
"…"
"At last the day came, the council of teachers said that the best thing would be to send me to the Southern temple, where my training would continue, and shortly after I would begin my journey to control the other elements. I... the idea of having to leave and leave everything behind, leaving Master Gyatso, who was the only person who still treated me as always, I got scared and ran away..."
"…"
"I don't even know where I wanted to run, I just know that I was caught in a storm and fell into the sea, and... you know that's the rest of the story." I carefully fanned the flames with a gust of wind, making the fire grow. "What's your story?"
"My story..."
"…"
"I was born the same day my home was attacked... many died, I think my parents did too, at least that's what the old man always told me..." Naruto felt a bitter taste calling him that, but the more he thought about it, the more It was difficult for him to see the old man with affection.
"I'm sorry for the loss of your parents."
"Thank you... eh, well, I grew up until I was 5 in an orphanage, until they kicked me out."
"What do you mean they kicked you out?" Aang didn't expect him to say something like that.
"The director of the orphanage and several of those who worked there threatened to resign if I did not find another place to live. They said that... my presence bothered them and that they would not tolerate me for another second."
"But... you were just a child, how can they do that?" Aang didn't believe there could be such cruel people, expelling a child like that just because they considered him annoying, it didn't make sense to him.
"Everyone hated me, Aang, my entire town did. I... I really tried hard to show that it wouldn't affect me, making jokes, annoying others, it was the only way to get attention, even if it was bad." To tell the truth, he didn't want to talk much about his past, especially when he was a child.
He didn't have good memories, most of them were bad, although there were others that he treasured.
"Do you really want to go back to the place that treated you like this?"
"Yo…"
The truth is that he didn't know what to say now, about a question that sometimes ran through his head, but he had never heard it out loud until the Avatar said it.
Did he really want to go back to the place that treated him like garbage for so many years?
Because?
"There are still people I love, Aang..." he knew that his village was not perfect, "Ayame-nee... old Teuchi, Grandma Tsunade, Shizune-nee, Ero-sennin, and more people. Sometimes a handful of people is enough to come back," he said with determination.
It was true, he wasn't coming back for the village, he was coming back for the few people who made it a home, all of them... represented and were worth so much to him.
He couldn't say what life would be like without them.
"No."
However, Aang did not think the same way.
"That?" Naruto didn't expect the monk to say that, he seemed very angry.
"You are one of the best people I have ever met, you don't have to endure the hatred of many for a few." Aang did not like the idea of knowing that if his friend returned home, he would continue to be treated like trash by the townspeople of that town.
A people like that did not deserve a person like him.
"But... in recent years, things have changed."
Naruto had hope.
He hoped that everything could be different, his heart told him so.
The third Hokage himself told him that he had to earn the acceptance of the people with his actions, to one day be Hokage who would have the love and respect of all the people.
It was what he longed for most.
"I can do it, you can make it-"
"Naruto…" Aang made his friend stop, the desperation and hope in his eyes backed by such pure words, "Don't do this to yourself…"
"…"
"We airbenders grew up with a simple belief: 'Treat those how you want to be treated.' I saw you in these months... you are kind, passionate, and always willing to help people in need. If your home doesn't treat you with the respect you deserve... then they don't deserve you."
"…"
"And the people you consider friends... I'm sorry, but I wouldn't let them treat you like that. If someone sees how they treat you like trash and doesn't say anything, they're just as bad a person as the rest of them."
The silence between both teenagers was long, you could only hear the blowing of the wind and the bursting of the embers of the campfire.
Aang felt bad for a moment, maybe he had talked too much, but he couldn't help it after what he heard. Naruto perhaps was a powerful warrior, very skilled and with brilliant moments that saved the day.
But, he had a big problem.
He was too good for his own good, he sought too much approval and affection from the wrong people.
On the outside he was one of the strongest people Aang had ever met, but on the inside he was still a child, who had nothing and was desperate to have something.
Whatever.
"I... I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that."
"No, Aang, you're right... you're right." Naruto had a lot to think about. He wanted to deny what his friend said, he wanted to say that if he tried hard enough, he would demonstrate with his feats that all those villagers, shinobi, the people who called him trash and a loser.
They were wrong.
He wanted to earn their respect.
He wanted to make them swallow his hurtful words.
He wanted… he wanted… he just wanted someone to love him.
What if he was wrong?
What if everything he was doing in the end was for nothing?
Was it really worth it?
"I'm scared Aang..."
"¿…?"
"That when the time comes to return, I will no longer be able to return..."
"…"
"Being with you... were the best months of my life, I really like having fun with you, eating, talking nonsense, I have had so much fun with you... that I feel that what I experienced in my home is slowly being erased... As if it weren't so important anymore."
"..." the monk could see the conflict in the shinobi's gaze.
"You know what's funny? That, if I had the key right now that would take me home... I don't think I would want to go back." Laughing half-heartedly, the boy ran his hand through his hair, almost tearing it off because of the strong emotions hammering in his chest.
"…"
"…"
"Naruto…"
The Uzumaki raised his hand to catch a leaf moved by a gentle blizzard, confusedly looking up to see the monk's smile.
"The heart of an airbender must be free of ties and worry, for you to have told me all this... You have kept it for a long time, right?"
"..." slowly the shinobi nodded his head.
"So now you can do it, just remember... 'The secret of being a good airbender is just to stop thinking, why once you are flying in the sky, only that moment matters, and you must value it'"
Naruto carefully stroked the blade between his fingers, the monk's gaze reflecting the trust he had in him.
Giving a soft sigh, he took the same posture as before and closed his eyes.
Calm your breathing.
Just relax.
And stop thinking.
He didn't know how much time must have passed, maybe just a few minutes, or several hours, but the shinobi concentrated, stopping thinking about everything that ailed him.
Don't think about Konoha.
Not about his friends.
Just… live in the moment.
The shinobi slowly opened his eyes, feeling a strange sensation between his fingers, it was a current of air very different from what the Rasengan was.
This one was much lighter, purer, and calmer.
Looking at Aang, he saw the big smile he had on his face, they both looked down to see the blade in his hands split in half, and floating on a delicate current of air, which made the parts of the blade.
They will move away into the distance, due to a gentle breeze.
For a long moment, the two friends looked at each other.
"Aang... I'm doing it... dude... I really am!"
Naruto had a smile that almost divided his face, at one of the greatest achievements of his life, which gave him a feeling of peace in his chest that he never hoped to feel in his life.
"Yosh!" Standing up, the Uzumaki slammed his fist against the palm of his hand, with a look full of determination and will, he looked at the Avatar, "Now we can begin the real training!"
"Wow! Don't worry, you just managed to awaken the element you manipulate." Aang didn't want to pour cold water on the fire of enthusiasm that burned in the shinobi, who almost seemed to jump with eagerness, "This takes time, it's impossible for you to learn everything in a short time."
"Impossible?" Naruto laughed at that word, as he high-fived his hands in a loud applause that was heard throughout the temple, forming the hand seal that characterized him.
Aang had to cover himself from the massive burst of white smoke, which reached every point of the enormous temple, his eyes widened in disbelief, when all he saw was orange and yellow.
Hundreds.
Maybe a thousand clones, who were everywhere, with those smiles and looks that only Uzumaki Naruto could have.
"There is nothing impossible for Uzumaki Naruto! Dattebayo!"
The collective scream of all the clones made Aang smile and stand up, taking his staff he hit it against the ground, causing a strong current of air to disperse the white smoke.
"I hope you're right! Why won't we get out of this temple until you're a great airbender!"
[ If you want to read advance Chapters then go to Pat reon and support me there.
PAT REON I'D:- Alzero ]