Playing Waterbending (Avatar: Last Aibender SI)-Chapter 59 -

I greeted Cai with a smile.

But the reason for my smile wasn't happiness.

The moment I saw him, I remembered the stunt I had pulled on him with the "National Medical Association."

He had been very wary of them. After I took over that village, he had been demanding that I bring those thieves to justice.

Well, too bad for him.

I'm the head of that association—and its sole member.

"Oh, it's you, Ryuk," said Cai. "Great timing. Come and help me push my cart."

I gave him a blank expression.

Did he seriously expect me to help him?

"Sorry. I have some business to attend to with the soldiers," I said.

"Oh, that's too bad," he replied, putting a hand on his back and grumbling. "My back has been hurting me so much. But well, what can an old man like me do without the help of a brilliant young man like you?"

"I'm really busy," I waved my hand dismissively.

"Ryuk! What kind of man are you to let a helpless old man suffer like that?" Katara interjected. "Can't you see he's in pain?"

'Oh, Katara. How gullible can you be?' I thought as I exhaled a long sigh.

Cai gave me a knowing smirk.

"Oh, right," I said. "Your cabbages have healing properties. You should eat some..."

"Don't..." Cai's eyes widened.

I smiled. "Remember Haru's mom? She was so sick. After you sold him the cabbage, she got healed. I should have never doubted you. And you should never doubt your cabbages."

I left Cai staring at me with wide eyes.

I believe he was afraid that people might overhear and his cabbages would get stolen again.

I turned to Sokka and grabbed a few silver coins. I tossed them to him.

"Go help the old man, Sokka," I said.

Sokka looked at the money in his palm and clenched his fist.

He then smiled at me and said, "Sure thing, boss." He walked over to Cai and grabbed the cart.

It was a refreshing sight to see Sokka next to the cart without destroying it.

"Please, Sokka. Just call me 'brother-in-law,'" I teased him.

Katara, who was standing behind me, giggled. She liked it whenever I called Sokka that. It was as if I was calling her my wife.

Sokka rolled his eyes and said, "Your name is Cai. Let's move."

Cai grabbed the other side of the cart, and they pushed it together.

"Who is that?" Katara asked. I believe she had never met the cabbage seller in this world yet.

"Nobody important. Just some old man you'd meet on the road," I said.

"He seems pretty familiar with you," she commented.

"Meh..." I shrugged, not knowing what to say.

"So, am I going to meet the king now or what?" I turned to the captain behind me.

"Not yet," said the captain of the Earthbenders. "We have strict orders..."

"Strict orders for what?" I asked, furrowing my eyebrows. Bumi might be an ally to the Avatar, but he was called the Mad King for a reason. And these people weren't to be underestimated.

The captain forced a smile and put his hands on his crotch.

"To show you good hospitality. I believe after days—or weeks—of travel, you must be tired. Why not have some food and a bath, and after you rest, you can meet the king?" he said.

"Dude..." I sighed. "The way you started, I thought you were going to throw us in jail or something for further investigation."

"Hahaha... Why?" the soldier leader asked with a polite smile.

"The tone. It matters," I replied, shrugging my shoulders.

"Well, that's how we deliver good news here," he said.

"Anyway... I might have a favor to ask you," I said to the captain.

"Sure, ask anything. If it's within my power, I'll help you," he replied.

"My brother-in-law... When he comes back, let him get lost around town for a bit," I said, rubbing my chin.

"Why is that?" asked the captain.

"I just like to tease him," I replied, not entirely honestly.

You know, traveling with your woman and her brother can be a real drag.

Now that I had the chance to enjoy a bath and a nice bed after a long journey, I'd appreciate some privacy. You might think, "You're a waterbender; taking a bath isn't a problem." But it's not about the bath—it's about who you take it with.

Just a fantasy from my previous life.

I could see Katara, with my waterbending sense, nodding behind me.

Toph was giving me a sharp gaze, as if she could see through my scheme. But as she realized I was looking back at her, she turned her head away. I couldn't tell if she was blushing or not, as my aqua sense didn't allow me to see colors.

"You and the king will get along well," the captain said.

"I hope so," I replied.

To be honest, I wasn't here to make friends with Bumi.

I was here to teach him—and his army.

They would then become an unstoppable force capable of pushing back the Fire Nation and reclaiming occupied lands.

This way, I could ensure the Fire Nation wouldn't even dare to target the South Pole, as they'd have bigger problems to deal with.

We were then guided to a hotel.

I secured a few rooms for us and went to Katara's room. We talked about the last battle and shared some romantic moments. Since there was a bath pool, I managed to convince her to try it, and we enjoyed our time together.

Occasionally, I tried to spy on Toph, who was in a nearby room. To see better, I closed my eyes...

I could see her changing her clothes and trying on new ones. She paused for a moment, smirked as if she could see me, and said, "Hey, it's not polite to spy on a lady, Ryuk... I know you can hear me..."

I opened my eyes wide, cutting off the view. As enticing as the view was, how in the world could she sense me watching her?

Anyway, I felt things were taking an awkward turn with Toph.

I remembered earlier that day when she opened up to me, and I asked her about her feelings after she teased me and me suddenly feeling Fire Nation soldiers lurking. It had led to a confession.

I put my hand on my forehead and clenched my teeth.

'I should have used a full sentence. Instead of saying, "Aren't you feeling anything?" in that context, I should have said, "Can't you sense anything?"'

I looked up at the ceiling.

No matter how good I was at waterbending, I was still a novice when it came to talking to girls. I didn't even know how I managed to win over Katara, other than the fact that I was the only boy around her for over a decade — You're guaranteed to a win a race when you're the only competitor.

Speaking of waterbending... Over the two weeks I had been traveling and practicing bloodbending, I had gained a significant amount of experience. The last battle had also earned me a lot of points. While it wasn't enough to level up, it was enough to reduce the amount of accumulated experience points I needed to spend.

I opened the system and checked my accumulated points.

Fair enough, I could level up a few skills.

[Chi Bending leveled up to 14]

[Waterbending leveled up to 15]

[Sub-skills significantly improved]

[Chi usage significantly reduced]

[You have gained the sub-skill: Bending your own blood to fly]

'Nah. Bloodbending hurts... I have a better idea.'

[You can now bend with thought]

[Martial Arts leveled up to 10]

I sat up from the bed, and Katara clung to my arm. I gently pulled away, covered her with the blankets, dressed, and prepared to leave.

I was well-rested—well, not really. I was just in a good mood after leveling up and... other activities. So, I felt it would be a waste to sleep now.

Maybe I should request an audience with the king or something.

I didn't plan to stay here long. At best, I'd stay for a week or so to let Toph teach them metalbending. After that, I'd take her near the desert to find out when Sozin's Comet would arrive.

If the comet was a year or more away, it might be best to return to the South Pole and search for the Avatar. With my upgraded water sense, I could locate the Avatar easily.

The only problem was that this was quite an alternate universe. You know, when a plane shifts its direction by just 1%, it can land in a completely different country. And the South Pole wasn't just a tribe or an island—it was an entire continent.

It's okay, I thought as I walked down the street. My waterbending sense had improved. Not only had my range increased, but I could now see people's internal systems and how their blood flowed. If I wanted, I could even hear their pulse. And I could control when to activate this sense.

On the other hand, if the comet was due to arrive soon—say, within a few months or less than a year—the Avatar wouldn't be able to do much.

He didn't have the heart to get his hands dirty—AKA, killing.

He had lost all his temple family but hadn't processed the news yet, which would take time.

And he needed to open his chakras or something to enter the Avatar State at will.

With less than a year, he wouldn't master all the elements in time.

Not to mention, he believed in some kind of jinx and insisted on learning the elements in order.

I might be able to teach him waterbending, and maybe bring Toph along.

But the problem remained: where could I find firebenders to teach him? Where could I find that crazy monk to teach him the Avatar State? And in the original timeline, it took him a significant amount of time to master all four elements.

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Maybe it's not necessary after all... I looked at my hands. They might appear clean, but they've been soaked in blood.

I tried to think of something to do... Hanma Yujiro. In the Baki timeline, whenever the USA gets a new president, he breaks into the White House and threatens them to do them Diddy. Not that I was seriously thinking of doing it. Just threatening the Fire Lord would do.

I put my hand under my chin. 'That might work... With my bloodbending, it's very likely to happen.'

Suddenly, someone was about to bump into me from behind.

I tried to avoid them before it happened, but they shifted their fall and continued stumbling toward me.

"Ouch... Young man, you should watch where you're standing," said an old voice.

I turned to see an old man.

He appeared short, tanned, and very old.

I narrowed my gaze.

The old man wasn't short—he was squatting under his robes, making him appear shorter.

'This crazy man, delaying a meeting with me just to pretend to be helpless old man.' I knew exactly who this man was.