The Rough Rhinos: Final Part

Soldiers who could firebend were brought out into the front ranks while nonbending soldiers remained in the back, which could be roughly counted with two hands. They slammed their feet onto the ground and fired surges of destructive flames at Naruto. Naruto took in a deep breath and quickly raised his hands above his head. Suddenly, a wall of golden fire surged up into the sky like a spouting geyser and shielded him. Flames crashed into each other like ramming bulls, and the wall barely withstood the combined assault of trained firebenders.

Sweat trickled from his forehead as Naruto counterattacked with a multitude of fire bullets. However, it could not stop a squad of firebenders hell bent to take him down. Stray flames blackened the streets and buildings as an onslaught of destructive fire continued to dance between two sides. Taking on multiple enemies was a lot harder than Naruto thought. He felt his breath grew rapid as time went on, and Naruto knew he couldn't keep going on like this.

Soldiers charged in with spears, aiming to pierce through his soft flesh. Naruto ducked and swerved through scores of spears that tried to riddle him with gory holes. Gold flames wrapped around his fists as he struck against a few unfortunate ones. Naruto did everything he could to stave off most soldiers, but he couldn't avoid all the hits that came at him.

"Ngh!" Naruto groaned in pain as he took several punches and kicks to his body.

He grit his teeth and quickly spun around, creating a ring of fire that expanded outwards. Soldiers closest to him were knocked down as the flames burned their fragile skin. Fallen soldiers moaned in pain while the remaining ones stood with full caution and weariness. Blood trickled down Naruto's mouth as he quickly retreated to a safe distance.

"I admit, your firebending isn't like anything I've ever seen before," Mongke watched the battle with praise. "But, face it, kid. Even with your strength, you can't take on a whole army."

Naruto needed to escape now; there were just too many soldiers for him to handle. The girls were probably long gone, and he can rest assure that they were safe. He retreated backwards until his back was up against the wall of a building. Soldiers arched around him, cutting off all escape paths as they slowly approached. Naruto was a cornered prey in the midst of savage predators.

"Jokes on you, I don't need to take on the whole army," Naruto glanced at the soldiers with a sly smile. A powerful jet of fire blasted below his feet and propelled him up to the roof before torrents of fire crashed into the wall where he stood before.

"Ciao," Naruto stuck his tongue out and ran off. The soldiers gawked at Naruto, and his insane firebending. They had never witness anything like that before.

"Uh... can anyone else do that?" A random soldier asked. However, silence was the only answer he got. They were just normal soldiers with minimal combat training; some had just joined the army with little to no experience at all.

Mongke's eyes twitched uncontrollably, "That damn kid! Split up and find those damn brats!"

The soldiers immediately ran off in separate groups to search for the four adolescents. Meanwhile, Naruto dashed across the roofs with incredible agility. He hopped down on the rail of a balcony and flipped down onto the ground. Naruto quickly pulled his hood back up and walked through the crowded street.

'Now, where did they run off to?' Naruto thought to himself.

As Naruto walked through the streets, he was suddenly pulled into a dark alleyway by his arm. He was about to attack the perpetrator until he noticed who it was. Azula.

Without warning, Azula slapped Naruto across the face before squeezing him into a tight hug, "Don't you ever leave me like that again."

Naruto stood there in complete silence. Azula really was worried about him, and he couldn't help but feel a tinge of regret. However, Naruto would still do it again to ensure her safety, even if it meant that he had to risk his life.

Naruto leaned in and softly hugged her back, "I made a promise, didn't I?"

Azula pulled away and inspected Naruto with a frown. His new clothes had small tears and dirt while Naruto's face had cuts and a few purple bruises.

"You're injured," Azula said with worry.

"It's nothin' that can bring the great Uzumaki down, dattebayo!"

Azula moved closer and suddenly touched his busted lips.

"Ow!" Naruto cried in pain.

"Uh-huh," Azula rested her arms over his shoulders. "Does the great Uzumaki show no pain as well?"

"Well, I never said that..." Naruto rubbed his neck.

Suki felt a bit irritated at their sudden affection towards one another and tapped her foot with crossed arms. However, Azula and Naruto wasn't letting go of each other, so Suki had to be bit more forceful this time.

"Ahem," Suki coughed in her hand. "Shouldn't we plan our escape already?"

Naruto quickly pulled away from Azula, "Oh, I guess you're right."

"Where should we go now?" Tenten asked.

"Going through the front gates is an obvious no," Azula replied. "And, there are guards stationed at the wall, so it will be difficult to scale it."

Naruto thought about it for a moment; perhaps, there was an easier way to sneak through the front gates instead of scaling the walls. However, both of them were highly risky.

"We can try to sneak on a caravan," Naruto suggested.

"And where do we find one?" Tenten asked.

Now, that was the tricky part. They didn't know if any caravans would still leave Yu Dao around this time. During the evening, bandits would scour the area beyond the town, and the merchants or civilians wouldn't risk going out unless they hired mercenaries.

"Psst," A voice called out to them from the depths of the alleyway. "Ova here!"

Naruto turned towards the voice with slight vigilance. Should he trust the random stranger? The sound of soldiers slowly approached near Naruto's gang. They searched the streets, looking through barrels and food carts. Some entered random houses and interrogated those who were suspected of hiding them. Naruto's gang was on the verge of being found out.

"Hey, Hong," A soldier said. "Go check that alleyway over there."

"Why don't you do it?"

"Because I said so, now go."

"Just because you're two months my senior doesn't mean you can boss me around like this," Hong said with a tinge of anger.

"By Agni, just go!"

"Fine!" Hong walked towards the alleyway.

Naruto peeked through the corner with nervousness. They can't risk being confronted with Fire Nation soldiers anymore. He have to take the chance and trust the mysterious person.

"Quick, before they come!" The voice called out again.

Naruto nodded his head at the girls, and the four of them ran deeper into the alleyway where they spotted a decrepit door just at the end. They entered through it before Hong casually strolled into the alleyway. He took quick glances around the alleyway and walked out.

"Found nothing," Hong said with a shrug.

*****

Tenten breathed out a sigh of relief, "That was a close one."

Naruto glanced across the room. A variety of weapons lined the walls of the room ranging from swords, pole arms and spears. This place resembled more of a weapon shop than a regular home. A fire pit was located near the corner of the room with an anvil and an assortment of tools needed to craft weapons.

"Them pesky fire-breathers won't find y'all here," The old man with a long, white beard said. "Name's Temujin, by the way; make yerselves at home."

Temujin limped across the room and sat down in front of his anvil. He pulled out a flask of wine and chugged it down.

"No way, you're THE Temujin?" Tenten's eyes sparkled with delight.

Temujin raised an eyebrow, "Ya know of me, lass?"

"You're the legendary blacksmith!" Tenten excitedly nodded her head. "I heard all about you from my dad!"

Temujin gave a chortle, "Looks like my reputation exceeds me."

"I was hoping you could craft a weapon for me," Tenten clasped her hands with glee.

"Tenten, you can't just ask him to make one," Suki reprimanded.

"She's right, lass. Ya gotta give me a bottle of booze as an offering, then maybe I might consider it," Temujin nodded sagely.

Naruto walked towards the walls and gazed at the line of weapons with interest. They were sharp and intimidating; only those with exceptional skills would be able to wield these powerful weapons. However, his eyes trailed towards a set of strange weapons on top of a barrel. He recognize these weapons from anywhere; Pervy Sage always had these on with him. These were kunais.

"Boy, you interested in them?" Temujin suddenly asked.

Naruto nodded, "Pervy Sage would use these all the time."

"What's his name, by any chance?"

"Jiraiya."

Temujin's eyes widened a bit before clearing his throat, "Hey, kid. How would ya like ta have them?"

"Really?" Naruto asked with shock. "But, I barely have experience with them."

"Give em' to me," Temujin beckoned him over. "I'll give ya a little demonstration."

Naruto walked over to him and handed Temujin a kunai. Temujin held the kunai and steadily aimed it at a small piece of paper that was hung on a wall. He quickly threw it with incredible precision, and the kunai imbedded itself right in the middle of the paper.

Temujin laughed, "I still got it in me!"

"Woah, that is awesome!" Naruto's eyes sparkled with delight.

It was just like how Pervy Sage would have done it. He had to learn how to use these kunais; it would branch out his combat ability, and he wouldn't have to rely too much on his firebending during his time hiding in the Earth Kingdom.

"So waddaya say?" Temujin smirked. "Want it? The weapon of shinobis?"