"Fuck, how can it possibly be colder here? Aren't there even supposed to be trees and land at the North Pole?" Ty Lee complained, wearing a black coat to withstand the cold.
They had barely landed, and she was already complaining about the weather. Earlier, she had complained about the hot weather in the Fire Nation; after all, the capital was located near a volcano. Now, she understood the truth: It was better to be covered in sweat than to be on the verge of turning into an ice cube.
"You should use some of your Chi to warm up. It's easy," said Mai with a tone of disdain. Although she was as cold as her friend, she had a trick up her sleeve:
Zuko. Mai clung tightly to her boyfriend, whose good control of Firebending kept his body temperature warm. He had gotten used to it at the South Pole and was now wearing the clothes of a Fire Nation prince without a coat.
Azula followed her example. Even now, when she breathed, she emitted blue flames that writhed like snakes under her control. She did not want to suffer in the cold North Pole weather and did not mind using her fire for warmth and practice.
After seeing Shisui's performance against the Kraken, the group's desire to become stronger grew stronger. They knew he was strong; they had seen him fight and heard his ideas. But that day?
It was like watching a water spirit unleash its fury against the world. The pulse of energy released by the Sage during that fight was felt not only by them but also spread throughout the world. Many sensitive people knew about it.
Therefore, when the Fire Nation retinue descended into the harbor, it was not just anyone who appeared before them, but Pakku, the best Waterbender of the North Pole until Shisui arrived.
He was an old man, his hair and beard white with age. Despite this, he walked towards the group with his back straight. His hawk-like eyes assessed the young men standing in front of the Fire Nation entourage.
Having grown up in and participated deeply in the Northern Water Tribe environment, he couldn't be blamed for focusing his attention on Shishio or Zuko; after all, he was used to them holding the power.
With his life experience as a warrior and a bender, Pakku assessed Crown Prince Zuko and could tell that this young man was exceptional. His regal bearing and upright stance caused a certain pang of danger.
The old man knew that he could only win a fight against Prince Zuko by drawing on his experience. However, he would probably end up badly injured or even disabled. This said a lot about the young man's power. After all, he was the one wielding the golden flame.
However, when he focused on Shisui, his blue eyes narrowed. He sensed that the Sage was no big deal because he saw the young man whispering in someone's ear. The person seemed to be Princess Azula. They appeared to be a couple in love, ignoring everyone else.
However, Pakku dismissed those thoughts. How could Shisui be normal? The fact that he didn't sense anything from the Sage was significant because it meant two important things.
First, Shisui had very good control of his presence and could diminish it to appear as an ordinary person. Therefore, he must be stronger than the rest, including the experienced elder himself.
Only someone stronger could see through Shisui. The boy had recently discovered this while exploring Life-Bending. Now that his Chi had finally calmed down, he could control his body's natural impulse better. This 'presence' made him stand out.
Shisui did not quite master it. If he had, he could have stood next to someone, and they would have probably subconsciously ignored him because he would not have attracted their attention or made a significant impact on the world.
For Pakku, this was a mixed blessing. He always advocated that Shisui return to his roots, especially after discovering that he was royalty. However, some of the Sage's ideas clashed with his view of things.
Yes, he was of the White Lotus, but even there, there are divisions. Why did the organization split into a group of radicals so long ago? Pakku was not as open-minded as Iroh, who embraced Shisui's ideas.
Pakku felt that the Sage's knowledge should be guarded and used by a select few, or at least released slowly. He was especially concerned about one terrifying invention that had changed things so much.
Firearms. This invention frightened those old benders who took comfort in the strength they gained from harnessing their natural abilities. The game was partially balanced; now, a nonbender could not only better harness his chi to fight but also pull a gun out of nowhere and kill you with one shot.
Despite everything, however, Pakku was willing to change—not for nothing was he an excellent waterbender. When he arrived in front of the group, he extended his hand to Prince Zuko.
"Welcome to Agna Qel'a. I am Pakku, and I will be responsible for receiving you," the old man said, nodding in acknowledgment. Zuko responded with the same greeting he had learned long ago in the South Pole.
Zuko already knew this man: a mighty warrior of the Northern Water Tribe who fought against the Fire Nation and was a companion of Zuko's uncle, Iroh. It was under Pakku's teachings that Iroh developed the ability to redirect lightning at a time when no one drew inspiration from other elements to improve their bending.
"Thank you for having us. I'm Zuko. I hope we're not a bother," the prince said with a smile. The mood was good until a disruptive voice spoke up.
"Huh, do fire thugs know how to greet properly? What a surprise! I thought they would greet us by burning our people or something!" A young man stepped out from the group behind Pakku and looked at Zuko with irreverence and contempt.
"And you are...?" Zuko tried to be polite, keeping to the manners he knew, but the man seemed genuinely dissatisfied with the prince's presence at the North Pole.
"Hahn! Fiancé of Princess Yue and the next true leader of the Water Tribe—not a traitor like the scum over there." Hahn looked at Shisui with a pout, but Pakku put his hand on Hahn's shoulder and pressed him.
"Hahn, calm down. Remember, this is an important, diplomatic event," Pakku said firmly, making the boy reluctantly look at him. But Shisui spoke up.
"You can't betray something that never had your allegiance. According to the Northern Water Tribe culture, I can oppose your marriage to my aunt, can't I? I do. I object." Shisui stopped playing with Azula and walked over to Hahn. He stood in front of the man.
"What gives you the right? You weren't raised here. You forgot us, and now you're back! Is it because you tasted a Fire Nation woman's pussy that you remember your roots now?
"I'm not surprised. Your mom was the same way with that Fire Nation guy. The son of a despicable woman..." No one knew if this guy had been stung by some kind of poisonous insect, but he dared to say those words. Luckily, he couldn't finish.
He was hit by a fist orbited by several specks of Chi. Shisui didn't hold back; he used all his strength and his technique to break the limits from the brain to the muscles. For more power, he pushed his arm using steam.
The seemingly simple blow was accompanied by a terrible impulse tainted with murderous intent. It was no longer the abyssal depths of the ocean that wanted to crush everything; it was the dark abyss in the depths that wanted to consume everything and let nothing out.
No one expected Hahn, Yue's fiancé and the prince of the Northern Water Tribe, to be so rude. Although he was usually awkward and conceited, everyone thought he knew how to control himself despite his opinions about Shisui.
But they also didn't expect the Sage's blow to be fatal! There was a terrible crunch, teeth flew, blood spilled, and a body flew out to sea. It crashed into the metal fuselage of one of the Fire Nation ships, denting it completely and burying Hahn's body inside.
Suddenly, the atmosphere became tense. Shisui's momentum was unbridled, and everyone could feel the sage's anger. No one dared to speak or raise their guard. Even Zhao, who should have been secretly happy about this, looked at the situation with anguish.
He didn't want to get on the bad side of one of the strongest people present. Having seen the power Shisui could unleash in person, why would he push his luck?
"By the moon... Sorry, it looks like Hahn is drunk," Pakku quickly explained. But Shisui shook his head and walked slowly toward Hahn. As he reached the edge of the icy beach, he pointed his hands at the boy.
"I'm performing natural selection on this one, but something's off. I felt it when I hit that bastard," Shisui said before using Life-bending to intermingle with Hahn's Chi field. He entrenched his influence in Hahn's being, flesh, and blood. Then, he pulled on it.
Hahn's body flew toward the sage, who simply stepped aside and dropped the guy's body on the ground. Soon, people gathered in a circle, watching as Shisui knelt beside the man and scowled.
"What's wrong?" asked Azula, approaching her fiancé and noticing that his eyes were duller than usual—a sign that he was using his 'gift,' that special vision that allowed him to see auras.
"Although his words were likely something he meant, something else compelled him. Someone did this to him." Shisui then drew water from the environment, finding that he didn't need to use the reserves he always carried with him.
The water floated in circles over Hahn and began to glow, bathing his body. He began to writhe and scream. His veins stood out on his face as he twitched and tried to scratch himself, but Petra was quick.
Despite being colder than the South Pole, the North Pole had land. Not for nothing was it said that there was a place with grass and trees, as well as ice-free islands with crop fields and cattle. More of these islands had been discovered in recent years, making the North Pole more prosperous.
The Earthbender created rock shackles to prevent Hahn from hurting himself. Shisui used purification and healing arts simultaneously, extracting something from Hahn's chest.
It was a black blood clot with red lines that throbbed. Though it looked like a tumor, Shisui knew it was blood. He could even feel traces of two spiritual energy signatures infused into the liquid; one of them was quite familiar.
'Vaatu and... who used blood to control this guy?' thought Shisui. Finding no answers, he was nonetheless attracted to the idea of bloodbending at the North Pole.
"What is this dark energy?" asked Pakku, worried and alarmed. Although he had several ideas in mind, especially because of the rumors and events that had spread some time ago, he wanted confirmation from Shisui.
"Dark spirit energy... You must know about dark spirits. After all, the Poles are spiritual places, right?" Shisui stood up, ignoring the comatose Hahn.
Shisui healed him, removing the bruise from his face and the broken ribs. However, his teeth were a different story. Shisui's blow had mostly broken them. In the end, though, that was not the Sage's problem. He had done what was asked of him by saving his life and removing the hold they had on him.
On the other hand, Shisui was interested in the murmurs of the people around him. They were talking about broken, dried-up corpses and a 'Man-eating Witch' roaming around.
'Vaatu... Is this what you were talking about? Does being sealed make you so idle?' Shisui looked at the black blood floating in front of him and had a strange realization.
'That guy seems to have a weakness for waterbenders, and this blood is deeply mixed with the chi of that other trace... Bloodbending? But who?' He wouldn't be surprised if someone had developed this sub-bending. But, hearing the words of these people, only one person came to mind. Would it be Hama?
'Why Katara's problem is now mine?" Shisui wondered, looking at Pakku.
"It looks like the North Pole hasn't been too quiet. You tell me?" The smile on Shisui's face caused the elder Waterbender to hesitate. Why was Shisui happy?
The answer was simple. Having known the extent of his power, Shisui wanted to demonstrate it on a human, not a beast. He wasn't arrogant, but he was intrigued by the connection between Vaatu, a possible bloodbender, and Hama.
...
"Uh, it seems you've found me. As expected of my divine Shisui." Hama's voice echoed through the snow. Yakone, who was still recovering from his injuries, listened to his words with intrigue.
"Can you control others from a distance with bloodbending?" the teenager asked quietly. But Hama shook his head.
"It's not that simple, Yakone. Besides, it's not controlling; it's influencing. I found that boy interesting on one of my hunts and left a trace of my blood on him as an experiment. I never thought it would end up like this.
However, the fact that Shisui discovered my tricks is impressive. He is worthy of being the person I chose to accompany me. What do you think my children will be like with him, Yakone?" Hama began to chatter to herself, completely ignoring Yakone. Her thoughts were running rampant, but having been taught a profound lesson recently, she could only lower her gaze before answering.
"They'll be pretty, but I heard he already has a fiancée..." When Yakone said that, the snow melted and turned into spikes of ice. He had to defend himself from being impaled as best he could.
"THAT VILE FIRE NATION PUSSY! HE DOESN'T DESERVE MY SHISUI!" Hama looked like a witch right now, standing in a field of ice spikes, her hair flailing wildly, dark energy surging from her body, and a raven resting on her shoulder.
"I must kill that bitch," the woman declared, sentencing in her heart the woman who dared to take away the love of her life.
She had already regained her youth; even her formerly white hair was now black. Her body contained the digested vitality of dozens of lives she had consumed, which gave her back her attractiveness and a strength she had never had before.
It was time to inflict deeper pain on the North Pole. No more rumors or horror stories, but genuine fear provoked by the carnage she wanted to unleash.
Also, she wanted to capture Shisui's heart, either metaphorically or literally.