"Okay, girls," I said as I floated near the Fire Nation's naval base, catching the attention of Toph and Katara.
I needed to give them a heads-up about what was about to happen.
To be honest, even I was hesitant about what I was about to do.
But it was a necessary evil.
"What is it?" Katara placed her hand on my shoulder, her tone laced with concern.
"For the next few hours, I'm going to turn into someone I don't like. Please… don't think it's really me. I'll be pretending."
I had already given them a heads-up about the plan—well, the end result anyway. The goal was to drive someone to the North Pole. According to an ancient scroll I got from Wang, the result would be a significant power boost. They were aware of the comet too. If we didn't gain that power before comet day, the whole continent could be doomed.
And in this timeline, even Toph and Katara were more… open to killing. It honestly surprised me, especially from 17-year-old Katara. But to be fair, her mother had been killed by the Fire Nation, and she hadn't met Aang or absorbed his monk-like morals.
"Oh, just that." Toph waved a hand dismissively. "I was afraid you were gonna say something like… you were gonna be gay or something."
What a taunt. I gave her a wide-eyed glare.
She noticed. Her smile widened.
"Did you just open your eyes wide?" she asked, trying to confirm the light signals firing through her brain. After all, she hadn't used her eyes in a long time. It was fair to say she was like a toddler seeing the world for the first time, trying to figure it all out.
Katara clenched her fist and punched Toph in the shoulder. She clearly wasn't a fan of that comment.
Toph just giggled, clearly enjoying herself.
I turned and sighed. "Whatever, girls. Just do your parts. Kick some ass. Toph, you take care of the metal base. Katara, this is your chance to practice bloodbending."
Katara bumped her fist into her palm. "Leave it to me."
It didn't take long to fly five kilometers. Soon, we stood before an island-shaped base with a fortress in the center.
I flew over the metal walls and jumped off the cloud.
As we landed, we spotted a few soldiers standing around, chatting. They stopped and turned toward us.
"Finally, I can see well," Toph smirked at the soldiers in front of her. "Boo," she said calmly.
One of the soldiers screamed like his life depended on it.
"An enemy is invading!" he shouted.
And I let him shout.
He ran to the nearest bell and rang it.
I clapped my hands. "Toph, Katara—work together. I'll knock down whoever gets in my way and leave the rest to you."
Soldiers began gathering from all directions.
There were dozens.
Then they became hundreds.
And they just kept coming.
Hands in my pockets, full of confidence, I walked forward.
"Look at that idiot, thinking he can take us all on his own."
"Should we fry him or grill him?"
"I don't know. Turn him to ashes. That's what he deserves."
The firebenders took their stances, preparing to strike.
But alas for them…
They couldn't move.
I smirked as I stared at the army in front of me.
Had it been any other day, I wouldn't have even thought about taking on this many.
But this was a full moon.
And we were above the ocean. My waterbending was naturally boosted.
Not to mention—it was night. Firebenders are strongest in the sun.
Which meant only one thing: they were at their weakest, and I was at my peak.
The bloodbent soldiers in the front line began to twitch and twist, their limbs contorting as they groaned in agony.
"This... this is too much pain…"
"Why can't I control my body?!"
"Someone help us!"
Then they dropped, unconscious.
I kept going, taking down hundreds at once.
God, I loved bloodbending. It was the most broken form of bending.
"Girls, take care of whoever's left," I said, hands still in my pockets as I walked toward the eastern part of the base. I could sense the soldiers' quarters—and in one of the homes, I sensed a family.
It was time to insult everyone here.
[Ding. You have defeated 300 soldiers in one go]
[+350,000 accumulated experience points]
[Waterbending +200,000 EXP]
Okay, that was a huge gain for very little effort.
Toph and Katara looked at me strangely… well, Toph had her eyes closed, but I could feel her stare.
Katara shrugged. "He did say we wouldn't recognize him."
"Yeah… Ryuk never provokes first. Or spares people on purpose." Toph nodded. "Seems like he's here to flex."
"I trust him," Katara said.
"I can tell he's uncomfortable with this whole act," Toph agreed.
"Anyway, looks like we've still got some left." Katara extended her hands and moved her fingers. A few firebenders started levitating—bloodbending was nearly second nature to her now.
As for me, I headed toward the residential area. I found a house that was way more luxurious than the rest.
I walked up and knocked.
A man in servant's clothes answered. And by "servant," I don't mean tux and gloves—he wore plain Earth Kingdom attire.
"Who are you?! Do you know who lives here?!" the man yelled.
"Didn't you hear the bells?" I asked. I mean, seriously—there were hundreds of soldiers gathering outside.
"Well… what bells?" he asked.
"Hell's bells," I tilted my head and smiled.