Setting Sail: Final Part

The cold morning soon passed as the sun rose up midway, heating up the wintry lands below. Although there were no snow present in the midst of winter, the freezing cold was still present in the near northern part of the Earth Kingdom. The once quiet streets now bustled with trade and chatter as more people went outside as the weather warmed up.

Everyone was present on the deck of the ship except Suki and Tenten. They were inside the cabin of the ship to store away all the supplies while the rest remained at the deck. Unfortunately, the caravan was too big to fit onto the boat, so Yulah had to sell it off, earning a decent amount of money.

"Hoist the sails, brat!" Tazuna shouted at Naruto. He stood at the aft of the boat as he overlooked the entire operation.

"How bout ya ask nicely!" Naruto shouted back.

"Just do it!"

Naruto grumbled to himself as he moved hand over hand to hoist the sails. The sails unrolled and quickly spread outward with the help of the blowing wind. Azula helped out to hoist up the other sail with relative ease. As the wind blew against the sail, the boat slowly moved away from the port.

"Alright, there we go," Tazuna said. He spun the wheel and directed the boat towards the river. "Set sail to Ba Sing Se!" He said with a grin.

Unbeknownst to them, a smaller boat followed after them from afar.

Hours passed as the boat trailed along the calm river. Naruto stood at the bow, glancing at the river's reflection below. Occasionally, fish swam past by the boat, some had jumped out of the water from time to time. Once in a while, he enjoyed the peace that came along with the journey. It helped keep his mind at ease and forget all the bad in his life.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?"

Naruto looked beside him and noticed Suki leaning across the edge of the bow with him. She wore a longer green dress to battle against the chilly air.

"Yeah, it is," Naruto turned his attention to the river again. This wasn't a river that simply carried water; life flowed through here. It was a natural road that connected civilization together. It flowed like time, only moving forward and never stopping for anyone.

Naruto wondered what it was like to bend water. To control the flow of clear crystal must have been awesome. His sensei, Jiraiya, had once told him that some firebending forms that were taught to Naruto derived from waterbending.

"It reminds me of home."

"Where did you live?" Naruto asked.

"Kyoshi island," Suki responded. "Tenten and I grew up together there. Our village is small, but everyone is like one big family. And there's a river nearby that Tenten and I usually swam at."

"Woah, that's amazing."

"It is," Suki smiled, reminiscing her memories of the past. "That's why I trained to become a Kyoshi Warrior in order to protect my village."

"Now, that's definitely a goal to strive for," Naruto gave her a thumbs up. It was amazing that Suki had a noble goal to work towards. Whether she asked or not, Naruto would help her every step of the way.

"What about you, Naru?" Suki asked. "What do you strive for?"

"I want to be the strongest and use that strength to protect those I care about like you," Naruto raised a thumb over his heart. Suki suddenly giggled, much to the embarrassment of Naruto.

"What... what's so funny?" Naruto stammered out.

"Nothing," She continued to giggle. "That's just so like you, Naru."

"Yeah? What about it?" Naruto crossed his arms with displeasure.

Taking the chance, Suki approached closer to Naruto. Their shoulders touched as they gazed into each other's eyes. Naruto couldn't help but gulp as Suki practically leaned on him. He could feel the warmth of her body.

"I think it's really sweet, though," Suki said.

Hearing Suki say that made Naruto turn red with embarrassment. However, it was nice at the same time to hear praise from someone else. Naruto suddenly felt Suki's hand over his.

"That's what I like about you, Naru," Her mesmerized eyes kept gazing into his soft eyes. Perching her lips, Suki couldn't help but bring herself closer to his face. She wanted to kiss him.

"Hello, Foxy," Azula suddenly said.

Suki suddenly pulled away from Naruto, her face was bright red. She couldn't help but feel both embarrassment and anger.

'Damn it, why the hell would she come now!" Suki inwardly screamed to herself.

Azula walked forward and wrapped her arms around his neck. She finally turned to Suki, giving her a smirk as if she had gained an upper hand on her.

"Ah, I didn't see you there, Suki," Azula lied. "You two seem to have such a wonderful time together, so I couldn't help but join in on the fun."

Suki eyebrow twitched uncontrollably. This little swine thought she was so slick.

"No, not at all, Azula," Suki said with a shit-eating grin.

Azula held Naruto's arm and pulled him closer to her, "So, Foxy, what were you two talking about?"

Not understanding the situation, Naruto responded as if everything was normal, "Well, we were just talking about our future goals."

"Future goals?" Azula tapped on her chin with a smile. "Well, I do have one in mind."

"Oh, please, princess," Suki grit her teeth. "Why don't you kindly share it with us?"

"I don't know..."

Naruto quickly nudged Azula in the ribs, "Come on, Azula. Tell us!"

"Well, if you say so, Foxy," Azula brushed her bang to the side. "Well, my goal is quite simple, actually. To live a relatively peaceful life with the one I dearly LOVE." She emphasized that last word towards Suki, irking her even more.

"You know what," Suki said, folding her arms with the other arm of Naruto. "That doesn't sound like a bad goal at all. I may have to add that one to my bucket list." Suki quickly pulled him over with a little bit more strength.

She wasn't going to back down now. They may have started over as friends, but when it came to love, all gloves are off.

"I don't think he even likes brunettes," Azula said with contempt, pulling Naruto towards her with more force.

"Like black hair is any better," Suki responded with a bit more aggression, pulling him back again.

They were quickly ensued in a tug-of-war much to Naruto's complete confusion. Tenten sat at the edge of the ship with a bamboo fishing pole in hand. Next to her sat Temujin, fishing next to her as well.

"There they go at it again," Tenten groaned. She may have feelings for Naruto, but she wouldn't go that far to openly fight over him. Now, that was just embarrassing.

"Lucky sonuvabitch," Temujin said.

"Hah?" Tenten stared at Temujin with confusion. "What on earth are you talking about?"

"Lass, ya wouldn't even know how incredibly hunk and handsome I was back in my younger years!" Temujin arrogantly said. "But, even I can't swoop in women left and right like this bastard!"

Tenten quickly rolled her eyes, "Now, you're just getting ahead of yourself."

Tenten suddenly felt a tug on her bamboo rod. An excitement gripped her mind as she hurriedly pulled back the rod. A fish launched out into the air and flopped onto the wooden deck.

"Alright!" Tenten shouted with joy.

"Nice catch," Temujin praised.

However, her excitement was short lived as a large cloud of mist suddenly surrounded their boat. The air suddenly tensed as a deathly silence choked the atmosphere.