Chapter 12

Hakoda couldn't wrap his head around it. A fire bender in the small town. More importantly, a fire bender with that kind of skill at that age. Does that mean that there's more fire benders hidden in the town who are even more powerful.

'Judging from his looks, he should be about nine years old. Is he from some important family. No parent would let their child be this far away from home at night...that would be my assumption if he wasn't that strong.' He pondered.

He then looked back to the one who had previously spoken and asked. "Did you find out if there are others?."

Without needing further explanation, he answered. "He's the only one. He lives in a civilian home, whose patriarch is known for being a local ship captain. Apparently the kid came to this town a few years ago and stayed ever since."

Hakoda paused to think but the warriors hadn't finished his report. He shifted in place a bit before continuing.

"Chief, it seems that he doesn't have a good reputation with the populace. That's what made it easier to find him but...something doesn't feel right." The warrior said. Hakoda looked confused before inquiring.

"What do you mean by that?" Hakoda asked.

"When he first came to this town, nobody really cared or noticed anything abnormal. He just seemed like a normal kid. That changed after about a week." The warrior said as his voice became a bit confused.

"Rumors started going round that he was from the fire nation. After that, he was seen as a parasite. They would chase him out if it weren't for their in-built fear of fire nation retaliation."

"Did anyone ever actually see him fire bend." Hakoda asked.

"No. It's all rumors and speculation." The warrior said. Hakoda crossed his arms at the information laid on front of him before coming to a conclusion.

"Rumors don't just start from thin air. Someone is targeting him specifically. Tomorrow another group will head into town and see if we can gather more info." Hakoda said, dismissing them.

'There's a chance that the rumors are nothing but that...rumors. If not, then I can't imagine what would happen if he decides to come back for another fight...if we can even call it that.' He thought with a sigh.

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Sasuke sat in one of the tea shops in town. He was under the transformation jutsu so as not to be seen. Although he didn't care about what they thought of him, it got annoying after a while with wary eyes watching his every movement.

At the moment, his form was that of a brown haired young man in his early twenties wearing a straw hat. His transformed green eyes scanning his environment.

He let out a relaxed sigh as he sipped on the tea in front of him. Although the town is small and mostly underdeveloped, their tea was something of a constant relief for him. A cup of tea to relax his body and feel at peace.

His peace was interrupted by a customer taking a seat in front of him. His covered eyes snapped to the stranger. He wore clothes of light green shade and areas like his wrist or palms where skin was supposed to appear were covered by bandages.

It didn't strike Sasuke as weird seeing as how he also wore bandages but what stood out to him was the tanned skin and blue eyes that couldn't be hidden by bandages. Had he bandaged his face he would gathered more unnecessary attention.

'Water tribe...'

"Excuse me, is this seat taken?" He asked.

"You're already in it so why ask?" He replied curtly, now seemingly focusing on his tea. The disguised water tribesman was a bit stunned at his rudeness but managed to push it aside. He came here on a mission and he was going to see it through.

"Hey! If you keep staring so much you're going to find out how hot this tea is." Sasuke said, finally looking up from his tea, staring him dead in the eye. Almost choking on his saliva at the look he was receiving, he hesitated before trying to salvage the situation.

"S-sorry. It's just that you seemed like you were enjoying your tea. I'm a traveler staying in town for a few days and I'm a bit curious on this town's delicacies. " He said mumbling up an explanation.

Sasuke stayed silent for a few moments before he ignored him once again. The water tribesmen in front of him was currently engaged in internal warfare.

'This is not going well.' He thought. He wanted to ask for information but all that has happened so far is him annoying the man in front of him. To avoid another awkward situation and also looking suspicious -more suspicious than he already was-he ordered a cup of tea for himself.

Sasuke could feel the gaze of the companion on him for the past fifteen minutes and it was annoying. He came here for tea and instead he found an annoyance. Seeing that he was about to leave, the tribesman made his move.

"Sorry to bother you but can I have a moment of your time." He said, halting the disguised Uchiha. Hiding his annoyance, he rested back on his seat, nonverbally giving the other party a sign to continue.

"Has there been anything strange happening in town?"

"Strange how?" Sasuke asked in response to his question. Seeing that the other party didn't simply ignore him, he pressed on.

"On my way here I heard some people talking about a kid and from the sound of it, he's not liked much. What did he do that made people hate him?" He asked. There was silence for a moment it seemed like Sasuke wasn't going to answer.

Just when he was about to give up and try asking someone else Sasuke replied.

"I don't know the details exactly but there are rumors that he's a spy for the fire nation. Looking for the moment we're at our weakest to call for reinforcements." Sasuke said indifferently.

"Any ideas how the rumor started?" He asked carefully, smart enough to realize that the man in front of him could leave if he felt annoyed.

"Who knows..." Sasuke replied trailing off, leaving the tribesman in suspense.

"But you don't seem bothered by any of that."

The disguised form of Sasuke gave a mysterious smile before he got up from the seat, leaving the water tribesmen alone at the table.

Watching him exit the door, the water navy man released a sigh of relief. Throughout that 'conversation' he was on edge because of the aura that Sasuke was unintentionally releasing.

'I'm lucky that I even got him to answer me at all. He looked like a normal civilian yet it felt like I was on the battlefield. Maybe I'll try my luck somewhere else.' He thought as he got up to leave the shop, only for a burly hand to rest on his shoulder.

"Is there a problem, sir?" He asked confused, seeing the shop owner tightly holding him.

"Yes, there is! Your friend didn't pay for his tea before he left...meaning that the bill falls on you." The owner said with a frown.

The tribesman cursed the disguised Uchiha wherever he was, now understanding the meaning behind the mysterious smile. Black lines appeared on his forehead as he handed over the payment.

'Curse you!'