"Although what you said was very imposing, and I do agree with you, but—"
Kahn awkwardly interrupted Azula's speech, carefully probing her intent.
"You're not actually planning to make help you investigate this, are you?"
Azula raised a delicate eyebrow.
"Mm-hmm."
Kahn stared at her in sheer disbelief.
"How old are you this year?"
Kahn asked flatly.
"Seven, why?"
"You are seven, and I am nine."
"Do you really think two underage brats like us should be investigating a matter like this?"
Kahn emphasized their young ages, then pointed directly at himself.
"Moreover, you need to clearly recognize that the person sitting in front of you is just an ordinary commoner."
"You ca to for help?"
"Do you honestly think I can play any sort of role in this?"
Look at the identities of the people involved in this deadly incident.
The late Fire Lord Azulon, the forr Crown Prince Iroh, the current Fire Lord Ozai, and Ozai's wife, Ursa, who should logically be the new Fire Lady.
Even Zuko and Azula were the current Crown Prince and Princess of the Fire Nation.
Out of those six people, which one of them did not possess a prominent, royal status?
Wait a minute...
Kahn suddenly realized sothing incredibly strange.
Iroh was his guardian.
Zuko and Azula were his friends.
Ursa had always been incredibly kind to him.
Besides the late Fire Lord Azulon and the current Fire Lord Ozai, he was actually directly connected to almost everyone else involved!
Damn, what are the odds!
"I don't care."
However, despite Kahn's perfectly reasoned argunts, Azula remained completely unmoved.
She crossed her arms defiantly.
"That sounds like your problem."
What the heck!
Kahn imdiately covered his face with both hands, feeling an imnse, throbbing headache coming on.
A strange, depressing tune uncontrollably looped in his mind.
It's a long, long way to Ba Sing Se...
Actually, Kahn wasn't the only one in pain; Azula was also feeling incredibly uncomfortable.
One shouldn't be fooled by Azula's current spoiled, hot-headed, and completely unreasonable appearance.
This was rely a mask she deliberately wore to protect herself.
It was a heavy shield ant to conceal her deep inner panic and utter helplessness.
Even though Azula's intelligence far surpassed that of ordinary people, at her core, she was still just a seven-year-old girl.
She had just discovered that the father she had always admired and trusted was completely unreliable.
For the very first ti, she was actively defying Ozai's will in order to uncover Ursa's true whereabouts.
Because of this rebellion, Azula quickly realized just how precarious her current situation truly was.
Her proud talent and incredible wisdom seed entirely ridiculous when pitted against the overwhelming power of the Fire Lord.
It was then that she truly realized that everything she believed she possessed originated directly from Ozai.
Without her father's backing, she felt entirely powerless.
This massive disparity between her psychological self-image and the harsh reality of the world brought her imnse, crushing pressure.
It made her feel an unprecedented level of helplessness and sheer panic.
Under normal circumstances, Azula would have been forced to bury the idea of finding Ursa deep within her heart.
She would have grown up strictly following the dark path arranged by Ozai, constantly burdened by that heavy emotional suppression.
She would have increasingly identified with Ozai's ruthless ideology just to cope with the pain.
Eventually, that path would have left her crushed, twisted, and increasingly extre.
She would have fallen into total madness before finally burning out and eting a tragic end.
That is, if nothing unexpected happened.
Fortunately for her, sothing entirely unexpected did happen.
Amidst her internal panic and profound helplessness, a specific figure inexplicably appeared in Azula's mind.
It wasn't Zuko, nor was it either of her two noble playmates, Mai and Ty Lee.
It was Kahn, a commoner boy she had known for less than a single day.
Kahn had been deeply impressed by Azula's prodigious talents, so why wouldn't Azula feel the exact sa way about him?
Among all the peers she had ever t, he was the very first person who wasn't terrified of her.
He was the first person who could actually defeat her in combat.
He was the first person who acted just as brilliantly as she did.
He was the first person who had ever stepped up to defend her.
He was the first person who didn't speak ill of her behind her back.
And he was the first person to actively and genuinely praise her.
Despite having spent less than twenty-four hours together, Kahn had already left an incredibly deep impression on her heart.
Therefore, being as decisive as she always was, she went straight to his front door without a second thought.
Consequently, she placed a massive burden of stress right onto Kahn's shoulders.
"Hahahahahahaha!"
Watching Kahn's despairing expression as he visibly doubted his own life choices, Azula finally couldn't help but burst into genuine laughter.
Small tears of mirth even began to glisten in the corners of her golden eyes.
This was the very first ti she had felt this happy since the bloody succession struggle began.
Although she hadn't made any actual progress in finding her mother, simply speaking with Kahn had drastically lessened the heavy suppression accumulating in her heart.
Deciding that she shouldn't tease him any further today, Azula smiled and spoke.
"I never said I wanted you to find her right this second."
"I am simply keeping you inford for the ti being."
Hearing Azula say that, Kahn paused and cast a sideways glance at her.
"Really?"
"Mm-hmm."
"But if you sohow had the ability to find her right now, I would obviously be quite happy."
"I also think it is much better to plan for the long term."
"We should investigate this completely under the radar, and then shock everyone when the ti is right."
Kahn quickly clarified his stance, speaking with utmost earnestness.
"Investigate quietly, tsk."
Thinking about how her current miserable predicant was entirely because of Ozai, Azula couldn't help but feel a wave of sheer disgust.
However, she quickly reigned in her emotions and regained her royal composure.
"Anyway, that is all I had to say."
"I am going back to the palace."
Having delivered her piece, Azula didn't drag the conversation out any further and directly turned to leave.
Before Kahn could even say goodbye, Azula skillfully scaled the courtyard wall in two or three agile leaps.
Half-crouching like a tigerdillo on top of the wall, she suddenly turned back to ask one last question.
"If you were Ursa, where would you hide?"
Kahn thought about it seriously for a mont before answering.
"If it were possible, I would naturally run as far away as I could."
"Preferably to sowhere the Fire Lord's influence could never reach."
"Of course, there is also the old saying that the most dangerous place is also the safest place to hide."
As he spoke, he suddenly rembered that this world possessed all sorts of spiritual and bending abilities, so he quickly added a caveat.
"There might even be so esoteric bending technique or spirit magic that completely conceals a person's presence, who knows."
"Is that so."
Azula gave a noncommittal reply and gracefully leaped off the other side of the wall.
A place his power cannot reach, the most dangerous place, a spiritual ability... Mother, which one did you choose?
Can you really stay hidden forever?
"Couldn't she just use the front door like a normal person?"
"That crazy girl."
Looking around the once again empty courtyard, Kahn shook his head in exasperation and returned to his room.
Wait a minute, didn't I explicitly want to avoid getting involved in this ss?
How did I suddenly end up agreeing to help her?
I must be losing my mind, right?
No, no, no, logically speaking, I was basically coerced into this, right?
Coerced by a terrifying seven-year-old brat... Honestly, I'd rather just be crazy.
At that mont, he suddenly rembered an old proverb from his past life.
The inherent temperant of people is to always seek reconciliation and compromise.
For example, if you declare that a room is too dark and demand to smash a hole in the wall for a window, everyone will fiercely oppose you.
But if you instead threaten to tear the entire roof off the house, they will imdiately rush to compromise and gladly help you open that window.
How incredibly true.
Speaking of which, a bloody succession struggle, endless palace conspiracies, and a prodigy princess searching for her exiled mother—is this the main plotline of this world?
But according to all the legends, the Avatar is supposed to be the absolute protagonist of this world, even though one hasn't been seen in nearly a hundred years.
So, does this Fire Nation royal drama only count as a side quest?
Ha, maybe we don't even count as supporting characters in the grand sche of things.
I'm definitely overthinking this.
Flop!
Kahn threw himself face-first onto his mattress.
"Ti to sleep!"
Exactly five minutes later, Kahn sat right back up.
Why am I trying to go to sleep in broad daylight?
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