After my speech, I got everyone's blood boiling. And all of that happened without me having to use my bloodbending to actually boil their blood.
Anyway, I went straight back to the meeting room to meet the other leaders.
I had been quite doubtful about their gathering here.
After all, the continent was huge.
And the eclipse was coming soon — in less than two weeks.
So, how were they planning to dispatch to the right posts?
Maybe they had sent only half their armies here.
But still.
"So, you're going to kick them out on your own terms? I thought you were the peaceful man and I'm the crazy one," Bumi commented.
Those who had supported the peace treaty seemed to have changed their minds.
After all, even Iroh didn't trust Ozai to keep the peace.
And I believe everyone here knew about Sozin's Comet — just not the exact date.
"It's okay. We have to get victory by our own hand," I said. "This way, it's more guaranteed. We'd be risking fewer people."
To be fair, I wasn't happy about this. I don't like spilling blood for nothing or taking life without reason. But we didn't have a choice.
And I didn't.
"So, it's final. We're going to gather our forces and then attack."
"Yes."
The old leaders started discussing plans among themselves.
A very large map was placed on the table, with spots labeled as occupied.
These spots were already taken by the Fire Nation.
They were discussing how to disrupt their forces.
After all, the eclipse was temporary.
To make full use of it, they had to attack sensitive spots in these regions to reclaim them.
After that, we'd discuss the peace treaty — on our terms.
At the meeting, there was one spot that caught my interest. It was the farthest west, and I suggested I take it on alone.
Some, of course, objected.
But I said I had full faith in myself.
Besides, with my bloodbending, I didn't have trouble facing hundreds of benders — let alone weakened Firebenders.
Reluctantly, they agreed to let me go alone.
And I was quite excited to do so.
After gaining a lot of power, I still had more to gain. I had earned a huge amount of experience points, and my Waterbending was ready to level up.
And you know my system — with each level up, not only do the requirements shoot up exponentially, but so do the gains.
I wanted to test them.
"Alright." I placed my hand on the table. "Now that my role is clear, I'm going to rest."
"Are you sure?" Bumi waved his hand. "Many people want to meet you. It's better to stay here and then go directly to your room."
"Don't worry." I shook my head. "I can get away whenever I want. Besides, no one would recognize me."
"You literally gave a speech to everyone, and you expect them to forget you?" Bumi asked.
I reached into my pocket and grabbed something out of storage — a pair of glasses. I put them on.
"Here, no one would recognize me. Besides, everyone saw me from a distance, not up close," I said.
"You expect something like this to work? And here I thought you were smart… wait, why do you look like a different person — an intelligent, trouble-free peaceful man?" he said.
I smiled, lips twitching.
That old man was testing his luck.
Calling me different by saying I look smart and peaceful? Isn't that just another way of saying I'm usually an idiot and troublemaker?
Maybe he thinks I'm too stupid to understand that.
"Yeah. But on you, you'd still look like a crazy old man — and I wonder how you became king in the first place. But no one questions a crazy man and expects an answer," I replied calmly.
Then I walked away.
A few chuckles echoed here and there.
Bumi sighed. "No need to be mean."
I got out through the large door and made my way through the great hall, then slipped out of the palace by the back door.
"Ryuk, is that you?" a familiar voice called.
I stopped and turned to see Haru waving at me.
Next to him were a bunch of middle-aged men and women — the people I'd fought my first big battle with.
"It's you guys." I smiled and waved.
When you heal their brains twice a day for a week, you get to know everyone, like I did.
Man… no wonder my social battery's been drained lately. Thanks to these people, I've been exhausted.
Haru rushed to hug me, but I extended my hand and shook his instead.
"Come on, no hugs. It's just a bro thing," Haru laughed.
"Yeah." I replied. "It's been a long time. How have you been?"
"Very well."
"And you guys?" I asked, glancing behind him.
They said they'd never been better.
I counted them.
Not many seemed to have died.
That's surprisingly good — way better than I expected.
"So, how's everyone? How's your mom?" I asked.
"She's quite well now," Haru said. "Ever since I could afford a real doctor, things got better. And you? Last I remember, you and Katara seemed to be… you know."
"We're…" I mused for a second. "More than girlfriend and boyfriend."
"What's that?"
"Before husband and wife?"
"So, engaged."
"Hasn't asked her hand yet. Who asks a girl's hand when the war isn't over?"
He scratched his cheek. "Me?"
"Good lord. Who's the lucky one?" I teased.
He turned his face, cheeks blushing.
Man, it's funny teasing a shy guy.
"Some village girl I met on the road."
"Sure, don't forget to invite me to the wedding," I teased.
"You'll never be forgotten," he smiled.
It's not something to be embarrassed about.
I kept chatting with the rest of them, but since I was on a tight schedule, I excused myself.
"Sir Ryuk, you have visitors," a soldier said as he welcomed me.
"Who?"
"There's a bunch of people with the same tribal features as you, asking to meet you and Katara — claiming to be your family."
"Oh?" I tilted my head, suddenly remembering.
See, our families left us in the tribe to join the rebellion against the Fire Nation when I was ten or eleven.
That's about seven years ago, I guess.
"They didn't get kidnapped by the Fire Nation yet. Smart of whoever got them here," I said calmly, stretching my hands up. I walked with the guard to the guest room.
On one side, I saw Katara talking with an older man — the South Tribe Chief, and also her father.
Suddenly, for the first time in my life, I felt bad for leaving Sokka behind at the North Pole.
But on the other hand, Katara looked happy and talkative.
"Ryuk," an almost familiar voice called me.
I turned.
"It's you," said a manly voice.
A man in his forties who looked similar to me said,
"Dad?" I tilted my head.
Remember: I hadn't simply taken over this body. I'd just reawakened my memories from a certain point in my life, and I couldn't ignore my current life memories.
Next to the man who was 'Dad,' there was a woman in her thirties — I believe my mom. A blue-eyed, tanned woman who looked in good shape… fitness-wise.
That was Bruk, and my mom was Sakara.
I guess they really were fighting against the Fire Nation.
And lastly, there was a woman in her twenties — my older sister, Samara. Same features as me.
I guess Toph had a point when she said we all look the same.
"Hey guys." I opened my arms, feeling slightly warm.
Mom was the first to hug me.
"You've grown so much. Last time I saw you, you were so little," she said.
"And you still look the same," I replied.
A smack landed on my back.
"Look at him, acting tough all of a sudden, as if he'd just seen us yesterday," said my dad, tears filling his eyes.
I don't know if he expected me to cry — in my previous life, I was a very tough man who didn't cry even when my girlfriend broke up with me.
Don't get me wrong. I felt happy and relieved to see them safe.
But I wasn't very emotional in the first place, and even the smallest amount of emotion is enough — I'd been tempered by hundreds of kills and fights.
"I'm just glad to see you all healthy." Then I looked at my sister. "All of you alive. Though, I'm quite upset to be left behind."
"And you think we were having fun?" she asked.
"Not really."
"So, anyway, what have you been up to?" Dad asked.
I sat with them, and we talked about various topics. I was asked about the people back in the South Water Tribe. Apparently, every adult from my tribe was present at the palace — except those in the South Pole, and Sokka.
Man, I felt so bad.
But it was a heartwarming meeting.
I got to meet Katara's father, who then asked me about Sokka and why we left him behind. I only replied that I didn't want to disturb his honeymoon, hoping he'd say, "My boy became a man before I realized it. When are you going to become a man?"
And I simply replied, "That happened a long time ago."
"Oh, who's the lucky one?" he asked excitedly.
"You know, man, when you leave a woman with a man for seven years alone… her brother doesn't count," I smiled. "Don't worry about that, let's focus on the war for now."
"Hahaha… You're thinking like a leader. Maybe you want to become chief after me," he asked.
Was he passing me the tribal chief title, as his son-in-law?
"We'll talk about that later," I smiled widely.
"You little rascal," he said. "You better not have hurt my daughter yet."
"Dad!" Katara, standing nearby, yelled while blushing.
"I'm trying to protect you."
"I can protect myself!"
Seeing the father and daughter about to argue, I stepped aside quickly and said, "I'll go to the meeting room."
Then I left quickly.
It was already getting late. Time had passed very quickly while meeting all these people.
Most were already getting into bed.
I walked to the main hall, where I met Bumi, who was still awake.
"Hey, old man," I called.
"Come back tomorrow," he said nonchalantly. "Don't miss your bedtime, young man."
To be fair, I didn't need much sleep at all.
"I wouldn't be able to sleep if you don't tell me one thing," I said.
"What's that?"
"Most of the armies have gathered here. How are you planning to disrupt them in time?" I said. "We're on a tight schedule."
"That's why you shouldn't have left the meeting earlier," he sighed.
But to my defense, I only left three hours after it started.
Bumi continued, "We met a group of geniuses who had been working with the Fire Nation. After we freed them, they offered their inventions to us. One of these inventions is a ship that can fly!"
Hmm… so the airships, which canonically should belong to the Fire Nation, now belong to the Earth Kingdom — or to the Order of the White Lotus.
"Why aren't you surprised?" he asked.
"I'm so tired of meeting so many people I can't even form expressions," I deadpanned.
"Makes sense," Bumi said. "And don't make too many expressions. You'll look older quickly."
"I know." I replied. "So, these airships — what are they? A ship linked to a huge balloon with a fan behind it?"
"How did you know?" Bumi asked, surprised.
"I guess I read about something similar in Wang's library," I replied.
"So, you found the legendary library. Good, good."
"I told you about the eclipse after I found it."
"Now you mention it, I remember," Bumi replied.
Sometimes, you never know if Bumi is pretending to be dumb or genuinely is. But he's one of a kind — a schemer and a very patient man.
"Anyway… it's about to be over," I said.
"Hmm… I don't know about that."
"Is there something wrong?"
"By something wrong, do you mean a waterbender deciding to go to the most dangerous location on his own and conquer it?" he asked.