73 Chapter 73

It was morning, and Haru was lying on the top of his ship. He was in quite a good mood. The satisfaction he'd gotten from Kyoshi was enough for him to keep his mental health on this trip, crossing the sea. At some point, after crossing halfway, he planned to use the Earth Board to cross the remaining distance.

"Haru, I feel some spiritual energy. Some ships are coming on our way. An old man seems to have the ability to see me. I wouldn't underestimate him if I were you." Kyoshi said as she appeared from thin air next to Haru.

"I can say as much." Haru shook his head. He sat up on the bed, and he reached beneath the bed, taking some milk for himself to drink.

He turned to Kyoshi, and he thought of her words. It seems that Iroh was near this place. Meaning that Zuko would be here. Since Iroh was his alley, it would be good to play ignorance. Iroh would act like a member of the Fire Nation so that he wouldn't appear as a traitor. Haru may play with the act, but he'd have to act a bit softer than usual.

"By the way, is that old man half bald."

"Yes. How did you know."

"He's an ally to us." He said. "I guess I would only kick the ass of his crew."

"I don't know," Kyoshi said. "The ship is being led by a scarred young man. He is so rude. If I were alive, I would have spanked him many times to teach him some manners. He doesn't respect his old uncle and talks loudly to him."

Kyoshi's attire and look changed to the Kyoshi Warrior outfit. This change meant that she subconsciously was in the mood for battles.

"What a pain." He sighed. "I would just deal with them."

He turned his head to the left, and he could see across the horizon a black smoke. The little ship below the black cloud was growing bigger as it was approaching his ship. When it got nearer, a man on its top raised his hand, stopping it from moving.

He seemed to be Haru's age, being one inch shorter than him. He was lean and had a shaved head except for a ponytail on the back of his skull. His left eye was scarred. It was a miracle that his eyes could function.

Without the need to be introduced, this was the banished Prince Zuko.

One of the characters Mike felt sorry for. So did Haru after learning what this little guy had been through. He was the definition of pathetic. His life had been worse than the citizens of the Earth Kingdom.

Yeah, he was so pitiful.

Seeing that Zuko was staring at him for a long, he said. "Hey! Why are you staring at me? Are you looking for your Daddy's lost honour in my boat?"

Zuko's jaw dropped.

"That was…" Kyoshi turned to Haru. "Not so bad line."

The crew of the larger ship were drawing "o" shape with their mouths.

"The Earth King. I've heard about you." Zuko said, clenching his teeth. "Now you dare to insult my honour and my father's honour. I will only have to kill you."

Zuko squatted, taking his bending stance. When he punched, a compressed fireball flew at Haru.

Extending his hand, a piece of metal formed a blade in Haru's hand. He waved it, dispelling the fire in instant. It was a trick he'd learnt from Kyoshi's warriors. One can use the air from weapons and fans to dispel a fire attack. Of course, there are other methods such as using palms. But that requires exceptional strength, which Haru had.

"Hey, be careful, I have just bought this bed." He then jumped. "I don't want it to get burned."

He landed in front of Zuko, who took his stance and kicked at Haru. Taking a step to the side, Haru dodged and palmed Zuko, sending him flying to the cabin's metal door.

The remaining crew of the ship started attacking Haru, who didn't even have to use his metalbending. He parried the strikes with amazing swiftness, and he punched with monstrous raw power. Haru was like a blur, a demon impossible to catch, and his heavy armour added to his weight that it made his strikes more damaging.

[Martial Arts up to level 13]

That was the notification Haru had heard when he was done. He then started punching in the air. From under his sleeves, flew a piece of metal, which wrapped the crew of Zuko and shackled them.

"You my friend." Came an old wise voice from the side. "In times like this, you don't make wars.

Haru turned to the familiar figure.

It was Iroh, who continued. "You make tea!" he held it up and he smiled.

Zuko, who was shackled by metal, yelled. "Uncle! Stop playing! Attack him! He's The Hundred Man Haru."

Haru and Iroh ignored Zuko's pleas.

Looking at Iroh with a stern expression, Haru exhaled a sigh and said.

"Well, I've just woken up, and I would like for some."

"That's a good man. Please sit." Iroh smiled and offered a seat for Haru. "We may play Pai Sho."

"Seriously!?" Zuko, who was inside the cabin, yelled. He looked astonished. What shocked him didn't seem his uncle's gesture. It was Haru's accepting the tea, sitting down across Iroh, and smiling.

"So, how has been your journey." Iroh poured jasmine tea for Haru. "I guess it was quite rough for you to unite the Earth Kingdom?"

"This is just a bad dream." Zuko sighed and lowered his head.

Haru ignored Zuko and responded to Iroh.

"I planted the seed of union. Soon, the whole Earth Kingdom would gather."

If that happened, Haru would get a notification. He would gain a few Item Boxes and an Epic box with experience that's enough for him to level up.

"That's good." He said. "Not having to rely on the Avatar."

"Uncle, are you with us or them."

"I'm with the people," Iroh replied to Zuko.

"I should have expected that from you," Zuko said.

"Should I cuff his mouth?" Haru offered Iroh, who shook his head.

"Just let him. You'll get used to that."

-x-X-x-

Meanwhile, Aang had been flying on the back of Appa. They had been moving just like his teacher Haru had told him. To Aang, he felt that he still had a lot to learn as the Avatar. He'd lost to an Earthbender, who won by mocking him. Aang, with the three elements, couldn't do a thing against Haru. What's more, Haru had been teaching him during the battle. Aang had decided to take that as a lesson in humility. It reminded him of the monks' teaching.

Currently, Aang and his gang came across a unit of the Fire Nation. They were led by a beautiful princess, who had started chasing him as soon as he and his group tried to rest.

Knowing that Appa was tired, Aang took his fighting stance, looking at the fire nation woman. Next to her, there were two other women, who happened to be fast and strong. Sokka's attempt to throw his boomerang was reflected by the tall pale girl. As for Katara's bending, it was stopped by the brown-haired little girl.

Just as Aang was about to bend earth, the black-haired woman raised her hand. She made a sad, yet friendly expression that made anyone trust her.

"Stop. I didn't come here to fight you, Avatar. I'm here to ask you for help."

Aang narrowed his eyebrow. "What do you mean by asking for help? Is asking help gonna revive my dead friends."

"That happened 100 years ago." She said. "We're a different and peaceful nation now. We are fighting the Evil."

Sokka and Katara looked at each other. They were in disbelief.