Ba Sing Se

As the black-colored airship approached the massive walls of Ba Sing Se, the small group within could already see the sprawling city on the horizon.

"I can't believe people could build such a thing!" Shouted Xi in excitement, almost jumping from one side to the other while trying her best to memorize every single detail.

"This is absurd…." Yue also was gawking at the view, she lived in a capital and knew how large they were, but this… this is on another level.

"It is indeed something…" Said Madara nonchalantly while grinning, but to Nari who was observant… she could see a certain fierceness in his onyx-colored eyes.

"Mr. Uchiha…"

"We are piloting all the way in, i am sure that they already know the airship and our mansion is large enough to house and protect it, don't worry Nari," Madara said with a confident tone.

Nari on the other hand shook her head "It's not the airship that I am worried about…"

Madara stood in silence while observing the city below.

"Look at that! It must be the transport that Lord Madara talked about!" Xi continued with her fangirling while watching the stone rails that cut through the capital.

"Alright girls, get ready" Madara interrupted them as he walked towards Kaliya, who also was very nonchalant about the whole thing "After we land, we will eat and sleep earnly, in the morning you and Jackie are coming with me… we have a meeting to attend tomorrow."

"Ya, sure thing Boss!" Replied the waterbender while enjoying her expensive sake.

Although the crew was enjoying the view from above, they could clearly see the disparity of the three "Rings" that formed the massive capital.

The Lower Ring, being home to the poor classes of the society made up almost half of the size of the city, it obviously didn't house only the poor, but also newcomers and a multitude of refugees.

Ironically the Lower Ring is also where the biggest market in the Earth Kingdom was located, since it was not cheap to get permits to the other rings, most merchants decided to settle here, the profit wasn't bad and honestly… most merchants didn't have goods of enough quality to warrant the cost of going to the Middle ring.

The Middle Ring was considerably more well-put together than the lower one, houses here were made of bricks, with green and yellow colored roof tiles, and many man-made canals cut through this area of the city, adding a more refined upscale lifestyle feeling, with many bridges and greenery.

Here the businesses were located in shops and specialized houses, unlike the open outdoor market of the Lower Ring, everything here screamed slightly affluent middle-class life, from the clothes to the buildings, a comfortable place to live and the dream of MANY Lower Ring residents.

Then there's the Upper Ring, the richest area of the capital, consisting of a mere ten percent of the whole land.

Tall luxurious manors with massive yards, their own stables, and even extra housing for houseworkers since the upper echelon of the city didn't allow the rabble to cross to this area, it was impossible to enter here unless you were already someone.

As Madara already was one of the richest men in the world at this point, he obviously had his own "humble abode" located on the Upper Ring, on a tall hill that could overlook the whole district, his very own pond, and an empty space for his airship (considering that he already planned ahead of time for this situation).

Ironically his closest neighbor was the Beifong Manor, only thirty minutes away! It's totally a coincidence and no one can prove that Madara did it just to piss off Poppy Beifong… NO SIR!!

As for other people that lived here? Rich, Entitled, Pompous, Military and Government, and more often than not… all of the above…

As the airship finally landed and they could see the massive manor with a huge Uchiha Fan symbol etched on the gates, the group was received by an already prepared group of servants, members of Oniwaban of course.

""Welcome to Ba Sing Se, Lord Uchiha!"" All of them said simultaneously while being properly aligned before bowing in perfect coordination.

Madara simply nodded and signaled for his team to follow him. The first time this happened, he had a talk about it with Nari, it was years ago now and he was very uncomfortable about it… but that woman… she had in her mind that he was akin to royalty and refused to change the training of their personnel.

As the group walked towards the manor, Xi and Yue started squealing about a herd of Fox Antelopes that lived within Madara's lands, they couldn't hold back and started chasing and playing with them while Madara could only sigh and shake his head.

'Kids…'

Kaliya was already in her own dimension and didn't pay much attention, but Jackie and Nari couldn't help but chuckle, they too owned a large house in Ba Sing Se, but on the Middle Ring, very close to the Upper Ring wall, it was quite luxurious for a Middle Ring house, but they rarely ever visited there, only when they went off on their own trip as a couple. If they came with Madara, they would always stay in the Upper Ring with him.

"How soft and cute!" Squealed Yue as she held a Fox Antelope fawn within her arms, petting it like it was some sort of house pet.

"Right?!" Replied Xi while petting the grown-up ones, which already had gotten used to humans at this point after so many years of living here and being fed by Madara's people.

If that wasn't annoying enough, they also freaked out about a colony of cats that lived in the manor, all fluffy and very chonky at this point, they didn't even react when the girls grabbed them and played with them for a whole hour!

With that Madara decided against telling them about the other animals that resided within his lands, Fire Ferrets, Llamapacas, Turtle Ducks, and even a couple of very friendly but a bit old Tigerdillos and their cubs.

Look… He is an animal lover, okay?!

It was already sunset when the group finally entered the dinner room, which was already properly set and displayed a massive feast with all the most delicious barbecue one could possibly want.

Animal lover isn't equal to vegetarian, okay?!

They don't butcher the animals that live in the land, they buy stuff from the market!

After an amazing feast, the group decided to go to sleep, only four rooms were prepared of course, one for Xi, one for Yue, one for Jackie and Nari and the master bedroom for Madara and Kaliya.

The dawn finally approached and Madara woke up in a great mood, it was legit the first time he and Kaliya actually had sex in this mansion, and there was no holding back!

"What a great day…" Madara said while looking out the window, the gentle breeze, the sun rising casting a shade of red on the horizon… "Today will be a great day…"

As he got dressed with his kimono and haori, he walked towards the entry room and was immediately caught off guard by the presence of one of his guards escorting a tall woman with black hair and a huge creepy smile.

"My lord, this is an envoy that was sent by the Earth King to welcome you to Ba Sing Se." The guard said while bowing.

The woman displayed an excited face and bowed as well. "Hello, my name is Joo Dee! I have been given the greatest honor of welcoming Lord Madara Uchiha to Ba Sing Se! On behalf of our King, I welcome you to our wonderful City!"

"…" Madara's eyebrows trembled a bit 'You gotta be fucking kidding me…'

…

On top of a hill, a duo of firebenders could be seen drinking tea while facing each other, one old and short, one young and tall, both wearing worn-out clothes with faded colors.

"Lightning is a pure expression of firebending, without aggression. It is not fueled by rage or emotion the way other firebending is. Some call lightning the cold-blooded fire. It is precise and deadly, like Azula. To perform the technique requires peace of mind." Said a short and "well-built" old man, eyeing a tall teenager with short black hair and one scorched eye who was sitting right across from him

"I see! That's why we are drinking tea, to calm the mind!" Said the teenager with a sagely nod while enjoying his own cup of tea.

Raising an eyebrow the old man replied "Oh yeah, good point! I mean… yes!" his face became sage-like and he even added a nod.

"There is energy all around us. The energy is both yin and yang. Positive energy and negative energy. Only a select few firebenders can separate these energies. This creates an imbalance since the energy will always seek to restore balance, and in the moment that positive and negative come crashing back together, you provide release and guidance, creating… lightning…"

The old general stood up and walked a few steps before extending two fingers from each hand, slowly doing circular movements, and the young prince could see lightning crackling on each hand. When they connected… he saw his uncle simply pointing forward and unleashing a loud forked lightning that traveled far.

"I'm ready to try it!" Said Zuko.

Iroh nodded and gave a few words of wisdom "Remember, once you separate the energy, you do not command it. You are simply its humble guide… Breathe first."

Zuko took a deep breath, slowly imitating Iroh's form and posture. Unfortunately, instead of lightning, a loud explosion launched him back and Iroh shook his head in disappointment.

A few hours went by and after seeing that he had made no progress, Zuko couldn't help but ask;

"Why can't I do it? Instead of lightning, it keeps exploding in my face … like everything always does…"

"I was afraid this might happen," said the old wise General "You will not be able to master lightning until you have dealt with the turmoil inside yourself."

"What turmoil?"

"Zuko, you must let go of your feelings of shame if you want your anger to go away."

"But I don't feel any shame at all! I am as proud as ever!"

"Prince Zuko, pride is not the opposite of shame, but its source. True humility is the only antidote to shame…"

That made the prince stop "Source of shame and humility, huh?"

Zuko kept staring at the skies remembering a few words from his teacher, once upon a time… he wasn't very… friendly… and decided to show Madara that he was good enough to learn more than just physical exercises from him…

He still has nightmares about that day… but that day Madara gave him a piece of his mind and he still remembers the words…

-"Feeling proud, aren't ya? A firebending kid that believes himself to be tough… let me help you erase that pride from your soul, you wanna be treated like a big man? fine, I will treat you like a big man… and then you will cry like a little baby."-

That day he was humbled so hard that he would never dare to ignite a flame in front of Madara ever again!

He still remembers that feeling, that feeling that he was nothing, that his journey didn't matter, that his own talents and strengths were irrelevant, that day he learned a very important lesson, according to his uncle and teacher of course.

That feeling of being nothing…

Taking a deep breath and doing his best to reenact said feeling he repeated the moments of lightning generation one more time.

But this time, to Iroh's shock and surprise, sparks of lightning could be seen on the tips of Zuko's fingers.

It was faint, it was weak, it was nowhere near enough to be used...

But he somehow did it... Zuko managed to generate lightning.