Playing Waterbending (Avatar: Last Aibender SI)-Chapter 79

I stood in the center of the training ground. At the end, Pakku and I agreed to have this battle between us.

More people started gathering to witness a waterbending battle between the famous grandmaster and the rising force—me.

I couldn't believe I'd used the title I wanted to get rid of. By that, I mean the "Nutcracker" title, not one of my system's titles.

And Pakku had earned himself a good beating.

So, I would have to fight the only grandmaster in this world.

On the other hand, I had long surpassed the Grandmaster level. I had reached Great Grandmaster, and even Great-Great Grandmaster.

I had been anticipating the "Ancestor Grandmaster" level from the system, but I ended up at the King level. And I was halfway to the next level.

I wondered what the title would be. Could it be Emperor Grandmaster?

"Hey, are you ready, or are you going to keep staring at the sky?" Pakku asked in an annoyed tone.

I was looking at the sky, deep in thought. His voice pulled me back to the present.

I guess getting distracted by weaker opponents was my bad habit.

But, in my defense, I had an extra sense, and I could see without needing to use my eyes.

"I'm ready. Just attack me." I waved my hand.

"Quite arrogant. But since you're strong and young, it's quite logical—there's no one else around to teach you a lesson," Pakku said.

To be honest, I was quite grounded.

I wasn't arrogant.

I didn't think I was too strong for him.

But it's simply a fact that I couldn't deny.

"Please, I'll be in your care," I cupped my hands and gave a bow.

You might wonder why I was acting like this. I thought it would be amusing to pretend I was the weaker one before smashing him.

Pakku gave a satisfied smile and said, "But you gotta pay up for your bet."

"You have my word, as long as I have yours," I replied, suppressing a laugh.

"Don't worry. As long as you don't use vicious bending, I'll pay you 60 gold," Pakku said, stretching his hands forward and waving them, creating a tornado of water that enveloped us.

'Not a bad trick. He's using minimal movement to control most of the water. Impressive, old man, very impressive,' I thought, praising my foe.

Some might think it's logical for me to hate him, after all the things he said about Katara being weak and the time he tried to weasel out of the bet. But he was a very good person, willing to give me sixty gold for free.

I took a step forward, and the water tornado split in half and dispersed into droplets.

"Not bad skill," Pakku replied, waving his hand forward, sending blades of ice from the ground.

I moved my hand lazily, shifting the trajectory of the blades.

At the same time, I noticed the ice was shaping around my feet.

He was trying to trap me in place.

I looked at him, and he smirked as if to say, 'Gotcha!'

"Oh no, you got me," I deadpanned dramatically.

I had a hidden ability: bending with thoughts. No—at my current level, it was more like bending with my mind. I could bend water as effortlessly as walking, without consciously thinking about it. I just thought about the outcome and let my brain do the rest on its own.

I waved my hand at the ice around my feet, which felt warm, and then started running toward Pakku.

The old man tried to move his foot.

But then, he couldn't.

And since he was a bender who depended on dancing to bend, shackling his foot or limb would interfere with his technique.

"Son of..." he muttered.

"60 gold," I interjected, standing in front of him.

He tried to move his hand and send a water wave at me.

But, unfortunately for him, more water surrounded him and froze around him.

I controlled my freezing ability at the early stages. If I pushed it to the max, Pakku wouldn't simply get frostbite. He'd turn into a statue that could break into shards.

Grinding his teeth, Pakku melted the ice prison around him. He wore a serious expression and jumped at me, launching his bending with every movement, controlling the icy ground and water in the air to attack me from all directions.

I put my hands in my pockets and controlled the water around me as well.

And I could say proudly that I had three to four times the amount of water under my control than him.

The waters clashed, and I won the confrontation, sending Pakku flying.

He landed hard on the ground and coughed violently.

He stared at me, wide-eyed.

I wasn't making any moves, yet the water still circled around me.

"Impossible. You're not moving at all, yet you can do this advanced form of bending?" he said in shock.

"Yeah, one of my special talents," I said, rubbing my ear, and the water continued to swirl around me.

I expected the old man to be in denial.

Everyone watching was, even Katara.

I could hear mutters about how this level of waterbending had never been seen before.

Some even started saying I was the Avatar.

But that's not it.

Pakku, contrary to my expectations, stood up and bowed deeply.

"Please, take me as your student," he said. "I was always praised as Master and Grandmaster, but compared to you, I'm still a novice. Please, train me in your ways of waterbending."

His voice was full of humility.

"Ah..." I didn't know what to say and just kept staring at him, feeling bad for making an old man bow to me.

'If you think, you son of a... that I'll forget about the payment because you're asking to be my student, then you'll have to know, no. 60 gold is too much money even for me.'

"First of all, you said you would give me 60 gold," I demanded, extending my hand toward him. The water around me calmed and joined the ice on the ground, but my glare was furious.

"Sure," Pakku said, closing his eyes tightly, as if he'd eaten a lemon. "But what about becoming your student first?"

"Can't train more people right now," I replied dismissively.

The only people I train are the people I'm involved with.

Somehow, that sounded wrong.

But it's my life, and I'll do whatever I want.

I'll put my needs and desires above what others think. After all, nobody dies thinking about how others see them.

Okay, I think the power is getting to my head.

I needed to calm down before I became arrogant.

-x-X-x-

Captain Zhao was on his deck in a not-so-fancy suit.

His wife had gone back to her house in the Fire Nation.

As for him, because he'd been embarrassed, the Fire Lord demoted him from Commander (soon to be Admiral) to a mere captain with a ship and crew.

To redeem himself, he decided to end the war in one swift move and take over the North Pole. To achieve that, he planned to kill the spirits that were giving the waterbenders their power. At the same time, he got intel that Ryuk was very likely in the North Pole, spreading the teachings of bloodbending.

That would be perfect. He would burn those pathetic, powerless waterbenders, and all they'd be able to do was run away.

Then, he would be considered a hero in the Fire Nation, and he'd regain his title.

He would also take Ryuk back as his slave for the rest of his life, to be tortured by him and his wife. Even his son would get a piece of the cake.

After all, Ryuk had crossed the line when he taught his son to call him "daddy."

Zhao looked at the ocean, which was growing colder. His face twitched repeatedly.

'That damn bastard. Every time I think about him, my blood pressure rises,' he thought to himself.

-x-X-x-

"Okay, a total of 60 gold," I counted easily.

Pakku simply forced a smile.

I turned to him, now that we were alone and chatting.

"You're not going to complain now, old man?" I asked.

"I was taught a very good lesson and learned to be more humble. Why would I complain?" he asked back.

"Aren't you a grandmaster or something?" I tilted my head. "Shouldn't you have an inflated ego?"

"For me, when I reached master level, do you know how I surpassed that?" Pakku asked.

"More training?" I said.

"Must be nice to be monstrously talented," Pakku shook his head. "No. By reflecting every day on my mistakes and areas I could improve, only then was I able to take my waterbending to the next level. To do that, you have to lower your ego and accept that you make mistakes. Otherwise, you'll never get better or surpass that point."

'Feels like I'm in a Kung Fu movie...' I thought to myself.

"But I guess a young man like you is smarter than the rest of us to need to be taught that," Pakku replied.

I pretended to be an old soul and said, "Yeah. But some people spend their whole lives without learning that. Good for you, Master Pakku."

"Please, call me just Pakku. I don't deserve to be called that by you."

"And now, tell me, what do you think about Katara?" I asked, trying to change the subject. I was in a good mood after getting that sixty gold. Motherfucker, I'd gamble it later in the Earth Kingdom. It may sound bad, but I was planning to cheat anyway.

"As much as I hate to admit it, she's suited more for the battlefield now that I've seen it. In fact, the only obstacle she may face is when facing a bunch of female firebenders, and the Fire Nation has plenty in their army. However, she's very good at waterbending, so you don't have to worry about her," he shared his opinion. "Anyways, do you think our people can learn your bloodbending technique?"

"I'm sorry, but bloodbending has very harsh requirements. You've seen how much more water I can bend than you. It reflects the amount of spiritual energy you have. Without it, you can't even attempt to dream about learning bloodbending without the full moon, and you'd have to start with ants."

I said, throwing in half-truths and a small lie.

"I see," Pakku nodded and didn't press further.

And to be fair, I didn't want waterbenders learning bloodbending.

You know what they say: Knowledge is power. And I'd like to remain powerful enough.

Also, if someone mastered bloodbending, they could cause havoc. And the only way to stop them would be with plot armor, like Korra had against Amon.

If there were a hundred bloodbenders spread across the world, it would be devastating. Anyone with that kind of power could turn the world upside down, controlling mercenary or criminal organizations. So, no, I wouldn't teach it to anyone else, except my children, and I'd keep it for myself and Katara, since I didn't want to worry about her safety.

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"Pakku, are you ready?" I asked, turning my head.

"Ready for what?" he tilted his head.

Thanks to my extra sense, I could pick up distant sounds.

I could tell a supply ship was approaching, and it had been discovered by the Fire Nation fleet surrounding the pole.