A/N: Naruto does not come from Canon Naruto in this story. He comes from a shinobi world very similar to Naruto Canon, but there are some fundamental differences that will be revealed over time. Don't worry about him being some broody emo Naruto though, I won't turn him into a Sasuke. This chapter will be short and introductory; You can expect following chapters to be much longer.

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"It is an honor to welcome you to the outer wall young avatar, but your help is not needed." Aang gave the general an incredulous look. "Not needed!"

"Not needed." the general re-enunciated. "I assure you the situation is under control. The fire nation cannot penetrate this wall. Many have tried to break through it, but none have succeeded." He stated proudly.

Toph stole his thunder. "What about the Dragon of the West? He got in." The general visibly deflated.

"Well, technically yes, but he was quickly expunged." He tried and failed to regain his bravado. "Nevertheless, that's why the city is called Ba Sing Se, It's the impenetrable city. They don't call it Na Sing Se!" He briefly laughed at his own joke before deadpanning. "That means penetrable city."

Toph wasn't impressed. "Yeah, thanks for the tour, but we still got the drill problem."

"Not for long!" Declared General Sung cheerfully. "Young Master Uzumaki here is more than enough to take care of it." He gestured to a youth gazing passively at the drill.

He was wearing a black trench coat with red flames licking the bottom, along with a black and orange tracksuit underneath. A strange metal plate on a cloth was fastened to his forehead. He examined the gaang with piercing blue eyes before donning a cheerful smile. He strode up to Aang and extended his hand.

"Yo! Name's Naruto. Uzumaki Naruto. And you must be the Avatar! Nice to meet you."

Aang grabbed his hand with a similarly amicable look and gave it a shake. "Likewise. My name's Aang." He took a step back before rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

"But, if you don't mind me asking, how are you gonna stop that drill all by yourself?" Naruto chuckled.

"Oh you'll see."

General Sung threw in his two copper pieces. "Oh indeed you'll see! Master Uzumaki in action is truly a sight to behold. He's been a magnificent help since he arrived here."

Naruto laughed. "You flatter me general." He took a few steps forward before crouching down on one knee facing the drill. He glanced over his shoulder at Aang before commenting. "I've been looking for you and your group, by the way. There's something I believe a past life of yours could help me with."

With that, he gathered an enormous amount of chakra into his legs and lept as high as he could towards the drill. Ignoring the amazed cry of Sokka below he gathered swirling chakra into his right hand as he arced lazily through the sky toward where the drill bit met the rest of the machine. By the time he arrived an Odama Rasengan was ready in his hand and extended toward the base of the drill bit; the weakest part of the drill's external structure.

An ear-shattering screech filled the air as Rasengan met drill, and a blinding explosion ensued as the swirling mass of chakra utterly decimated the metallic structure, completely separating the drill bit from the machine behind it. Shrapnel filled the air as Naruto quickly Shunshinned away to the base of the wall unscathed.

He dusted his cloak off before smiling at his handiwork. He turned and dashed all the way up the wall before jumping over the top of it and landing in a crouch in front of the gaang, arm extended behind him, and a shit-eating grin on his face. 'Damn I look cool.'

Sokka was the first to shake the stunned expression of his face and speak. "How... What was... But you... and that... aaagh!"

Naruto stood up chuckling and put a hand on Sokka's shoulder. "Take a few deep breaths man, then ask your question again." The grin never left his face.

"That was incredible!" Exclaimed Katara. "The most amazing thing I've ever seen! How did you do that!"

Toph chimed in. "I couldn't see you while you were in the air, but I'm also pretty curious how you made that huge hunk of metal just blow up."

Aang had only one thing to say. "Whoa..."

"I told you we didn't need help." Chimed general Sung smugly.

Naruto took a few steps away from the gaang. "Well, I'm starved. Let's get some lunch, and I can answer all your questions while we eat."

Sokka was instantly alert at the mention of food. "Well, sounds good to me! Let's go guys."

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The gaang watched in stunned silence as Naruto inhaled vast amounts of a noodly broth none of them had come across before. General Sung had led them to the soldier's mess hall atop the wall, where at least twenty bowls of the stuff had been waiting for him on a table, steaming. He instantly tucked in without saying anything and had been devouring non-stop since.

"So... Naruto, was it?" Katara hesitantly began.

"Mmph." Naruto acknowledged through his noodles. Katara continued. "Well, Aang introduced himself, but the rest of us never got a chance. I'm Katara." She gestured to herself. "And this is my brother Sokka."

Naruto slurped the broth from the bottom of his current bowl before slamming it down. He saluted them with two fingers. "Nice to meet ya'!" He immediately tore into his next bowl.

"And I thought I ate a lot." Sokka commented.

"And this is Toph." Katara finished her introduction. Naruto looked up and gave her a noodle-filled smile and an "Mmph!" before finishing the bowl. He reached for the next one, only to find he had just finished the last one.

"Oh... It's gone..." He whispered wistfully with a lone tear dripping from his eye.

"I... didn't think it was humanly possible to eat that much." Aang said.

Naruto waved him off. "Bah! I get that all the time. Alrighty then, question time. What do you guys want to know?"

Aang spoke up first. "How did you jump that high? And what was that glowing ball of energy in your hand?"

Naruto stroked his chin. "It's complicated. I'm not a bender per se, what I am is called a shinobi."

"Shin-what-now?" Sokka chimed.

"Shinobi." Naruto confirmed. "It means that I don't manipulate the elements, at least not directly like a bender does, but I shape my own internal energies to manipulate myself and the world around me. We shinobi call this internal energy 'chakra'. I channeled my chakra into my legs to boost how high I can jump, then I externalized pure chakra into the palm of my hand and spun it really fast in a lot of different directions, creating that glowing orb you saw. That attack is called 'Rasengan' by the way."

"That's incredible." gushed Katara. "How come we've never heard of shinobi before, if they're so powerful?"

Naruto turned melancholy. "As far as I know, I'm the only one in the world right now."

Katara covered her mouth with her hands. "I'm sorry, I didn't know - "

"It's alright." Naruto interrupted. "It's not quite what you think."

"How so?" Toph spoke up for the first time.

"It's actually why I need your help." He turned to Aang. "I don't know if I'm from the far future, the distant past, or another dimension entirely, but whatever the case may be, this world is completely unfamiliar to me. I wound up trapped in this world almost a year ago now, and after a lot of fruitless searching for answers about where and when I am in relation to my own home, I decided to seek out the Avatar. I thought maybe you, or a past life of yours, might know something about my home."

"Whoa whoa wait just a second - back up!" Sokka exclaimed. "You actually expect us to believe that! That's ridiculous!"

Naruto sent him a flat look. "More ridiculous than one person blowing up an entire gigantic metal drill by himself with one blow?"

"He has a point." Toph chimed. "Besides, I can feel when people are lying. There's a physical reaction when somebody lies. He's telling the truth – or he at least thinks he's telling the truth."

"I believe him." Aang added. "I've never heard of a shinobi before, and I was around a hundred years ago."

"I realize it all sounds a little outlandish." Naruto assented. "But it's true. Besides, what motive could I have for lying to you?"

Sokka grunted. "Points taken."

"Well I don't know how much help we'll actually be." Katara said softly, rubbing her arm.

"You see, I don't exactly have control of the Avatar state," Aang explained. "and I've never really summoned any of my past lives to talk to. They sort of just come to me when they have something to talk to me about."

"I see." Naruto stroked his chin again. "Well, I hate to ask, but could I travel with you then? I could be of use to you guys; and if I stick around with you I have a better chance of getting some useful information about my home."

Aang grinned. "Sure! I don't have a problem with that." He turned to the rest of the gaang. "any of you have an objection?"

"I don't know." Sokka said suspiciously. "Did he fill out an application to join Team Avatar?"

"Sokka!" cried Katara, smacking him on the back of the head. She turned to Naruto. "I have no problem with it. You seem like a nice guy, we'd be happy to lend a hand." She smiled at him.

Toph waved a hand around lazily. "Sure, he seems fine to me."

"Well, it's settled then." Sokka stated in his most 'official' voice. "Welcome to team Avatar."

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A/N: I'm pretty new to writing, and this is my first fanfiction story, as well as the first story I've posted somewhere it can receive public criticism. I'm not asking for 'gentle' reviews though, quite the opposite. If you're kind enough to take the time, I'd love for you to pick my writing apart and tell me what I could have done better. Thanks!

- Simon Riley