Avatar: Fire Emperor Chapter 22 22 Unpleasant Ending

However, no matter how much they wildly guessed, they would never actually guess the truth.

Or rather, they wouldn't even dare to let their thoughts wander in that dangerous direction.

Unlike Zuko, who frequently dared to openly oppose Azula, the two girls who had played with Azula for a long ti knew her truly terrifying nature even better than Zuko or Kahn did.

Which is exactly why they couldn't possibly imagine Azula ever possessing a normal, vulnerable human side.

If Kahn actually knew about this profound misunderstanding, he would definitely sigh and think: Azula, just how thoroughly unlikable are you?

In Mai's cautious opinion, any person who could actually force Azula to change her behavior was probably even more terrifying than Azula herself.

Otherwise, why on earth would Azula ever willingly submit to them?

So, Mai firmly decided in her heart that she absolutely must not ever provoke this dangerous boy.

anwhile, Ty Lee's gaze towards Kahn beca even more intensely adoring.

She desperately wanted to be a brave, confident person exactly like Kahn: completely unafraid of Azula's intimidation, entirely unswayed by others, and able to live her life freely.

It must be said that the young acrobat's imagination was currently running a bit wild.

Kahn and Zuko continued chatting nearby.

"Are you actually studying Firebending directly with Uncle Iroh now?"

"That's so great; I really wish I could also study under Uncle Iroh."

After learning about Kahn's recent situation, Zuko spoke with genuine envy.

Kahn simply shrugged.

"If you really want to, just go and ask him directly."

"I seriously doubt he would ever refuse to teach you."

Zuko nodded initially, but then slowly shook his head in defeat.

"But my father would absolutely never agree to it."

"He really doesn't like Uncle Iroh very much at all."

"Is that so?"

Kahn actually understood the situation far better than he let on.

After all, Fire Lord Ozai and Iroh had just recently finished vying for the throne of the entire Fire Nation in a bloody, secretive struggle.

They certainly didn't seem like two brothers who could just peacefully get along.

In fact, if he actually had the choice, Ozai wouldn't even want Zuko to interact with Iroh in any capacity.

And it wasn't simply petty dislike that Ozai felt for his older brother; he currently had no other choice but to tolerate him.

Although Iroh currently seed to have lost all his political power and had beco a supposedly useless prince, he had still been the esteed Crown Prince for many, many years.

His legendary prestige within the Fire Nation military, his massive influence among the general populace, and his own overwhelming personal strength all demanded careful consideration and extre caution.

It could easily be said that as long as Iroh didn't choose to openly rebel against the throne, even the Fire Lord himself couldn't do much to stop him.

It was precisely for this exact reason that Iroh could still freely enter and exit the highly secure royal palace at will, and even casually bring a commoner like Kahn inside to play.

Speaking of Firebending, Kahn had originally made a secret agreent with Zuko.

Zuko would illegally teach him Firebending forms, and in exchange, Kahn would teach Zuko his 'unique martial arts move', the completely fabricated 'Yagami Iori's Scum Gale'.

But now that the Dragon of the West himself was personally teaching him Firebending, Kahn no longer needed to sneak lessons from an amateur like Zuko.

However, he fully intended to keep his end of the bargain regarding the 'Scum Gale', and Zuko had repeatedly expressed his imnse anticipation to learn it.

Perhaps because Zuko had been brutally defeated by that specific move, he genuinely believed that it was an incredibly powerful, secret martial art technique.

Kahn, however, deeply hoped that Zuko wouldn't expect too much from the training.

Otherwise, the prince would be profoundly disappointed.

After all, the true strength of the so-called 'Scum Gale' didn't lie in the actual technique itself, but entirely in Kahn's buggy, inexplicable physical talent.

At this mont, Azula, accompanied closely by Mai and Ty Lee, casually strolled over to where the boys were sitting.

Seeing them approach, Kahn asked a simple question.

"Why aren't you guys playing anymore?"

"It's boring."

Azula lazily crossed her arms behind her head, looking entirely disinterested.

Really? I literally just saw you having an absolute blast completely dominating the ga.

However, Kahn subtly glanced at Ty Lee, who was still clearly eager to keep playing, and roughly understood the actual situation.

This spoiled little princess just couldn't handle the fact that she was actually losing to soone else.

He chose not to directly expose her petty behavior, and instead asked a follow-up question.

"So, what do we do now?"

"I don't know."

Azula simply dropped to the ground and lay down right beside Kahn, closing her eyes to rest on the soft, green lawn.

Ty Lee sat down directly opposite Azula and Kahn, a short distance away.

Her bright eyes were twinkling curiously, as if she were intensely observing so fascinating new species.

Mai quietly walked over and sat down next to Zuko without saying a word.

The gentle afternoon breeze, the soft green grass, and the rippling, pristine turtleduck pond in the distance were all incredibly pleasing to the eye.

Such a rare mont of peace and quiet within the royal palace was indeed very pleasant.

However, after a short while, Zuko simply couldn't bear the heavy silence any longer and hesitantly suggested an idea.

"How about you continue telling us that story from before, Kahn?"

Azula, highly uncharacteristically, didn't imdiately object or mock him.

"That's actually a good idea."

Kahn thought about it for a mont and readily agreed.

"Alright, that works for ."

"A story?"

Ty Lee and Mai looked deeply puzzled.

"What story are you talking about?"

"It's... honestly a bit complicated to fully explain right now."

"You'll understand it better when you just listen."

Kahn casually brushed off their questions, then turned back to Zuko.

"Uh, exactly where did we leave off last ti?"

Zuko imdiately replied with eager enthusiasm.

"You were just talking about Sun Wukong ascending to the Heavens and finally becoming a true immortal spirit!"

"Oh, right."

"Last ti we talked about the Monkey King ascending to Heaven and being insulting appointed as the 'Protector of the Horses' by the Heavenly Emperor..."

As Kahn expertly narrated the ancient mythological tale, unknowingly, even Mai and Ty Lee, who had only heard this latter half of the story, quickly beca completely engrossed in the vivid narrative.

At this specific mont, these five children, gathered together for entirely different and complex reasons, seed unusually harmonious and peaceful.

However, no matter what happens, fate rarely allows things to go completely smoothly forever.

It will always try every possible ans to make the ongoing story more convoluted and dramatic.

"Oh?"

"Do we have guests today?"

Suddenly, a tall, powerfully built man in solemn, opulent royal attire appeared at the edge of the courtyard, stepping directly into the five children's line of sight.

When Zuko actually saw the newcor, the genuine joy in his young heart instantly froze completely solid.

Before he could even register an expression of fear, he simply stood straight up, lowered his head submissively, and called out in a stiff voice.

"Father."

Zuko's father...

Kahn, Mai, and Ty Lee all frantically exchanged panicked glances.

They imdiately scrambled to their feet and respectfully bowed, calling out in unison.

"Fire Lord Ozai!"

At the exact sa ti, Kahn's mind imdiately began rapidly recalling all the fragnted information he had gathered about this man.

Judging from Zuko's terrified behavior and the dark descriptions provided by both Uncle Iroh and Azula, this Fire Nation ruler absolutely did not seem like a good person.

Especially concerning the bloody night of the succession struggle that Azula had recently described to him in secret.

Even though the specific, grueso detail about Ozai personally stabbing Fire Lord Azulon to death with a knife was entirely made up by her, that horrific ntal image still stubbornly lingered in his mind.

Mainly because he couldn't help but associate Ozai with a long, infamous list of fictional 'filial sons' from his past life, like Arthas, Uchiha Itachi, and Eren...

Stop!

Kahn forcefully stopped his spiraling thoughts, desperately ensuring he maintained a perfectly blank, calm expression.

"Father!"

Unlike Zuko's terrified submission, Azula happily ran straight to Ozai's side, looking like a perfectly innocent child.

"Why are you back so early?"

Although the recent devastating matter concerning Ursa's exile had created massive, irreparable cracks in Azula's perception of her father, she didn't let it show.

It was precisely because of those cracks that Azula felt an even greater, desperate need to perfectly play the role of Ozai's 'good daughter'.

At the very least, she absolutely had to make Ozai firmly believe that she was still perfectly loyal.

"I still have many important matters to attend to."

"I simply happened to be passing by and heard that we had guests, so I ca to take a brief look."

Ozai affectionately stroked Azula's dark hair, his sharp, golden eyes casually scanning the three children who did not officially belong to the royal household.

He was certainly not unfamiliar with Mai and Ty Lee.

Their noble fathers had both eagerly beco his loyal subordinates long before he ever beca the Fire Lord.

Which was exactly why those two specific girls were even allowed to beco Azula's designated playmates in the first place.

So, his piercing gaze smoothly swept right over the two terrified noble girls and landed squarely on Kahn.

Their eyes instantly t.

Unlike the sheer, trembling awe and terror that Mai and Ty Lee clearly showed him, this boy was different.

Although Kahn's physical actions and required etiquette were perfectly respectful, the actual look in his dark eyes was completely calm.

There wasn't a single hint of genuine fear.

So, it's this child...

Ozai was not entirely unfamiliar with Kahn.

In fact, even before Kahn and Zuko had ever officially t, Ozai had already received intelligence reports that Iroh had inexplicably adopted a filthy commoner orphan.

He had even actively used that exact information to publicly mock his older brother in court.

Now it suddenly makes sense.

No wonder Iroh chose to adopt him.

Because this insolent child is just as deeply annoying as he is!

A brief trace of genuine displeasure flashed through Ozai's cold eyes, then quickly disappeared behind a mask of royal indifference.

But a dark thought suddenly blood in his mind.

If this commoner child were to suddenly drop dead... what kind of pathetic expression would that old fool Iroh show?

Just thinking about the potential emotional devastation was incredibly interesting to him.

Of course, this sadistic idea could only remain a fleeting thought for now.

It simply wasn't worth the massive risk of actively testing Iroh's absolute bottom line.

It definitely wasn't worth making the Dragon of the West turn actively hostile just to satisfy a little personal amusent.

At least, not while his own political position as the newly crowned Fire Lord wasn't entirely secure yet.

Sigh, what a pity...

Ozai's cold, calculating gaze sent a sudden, violent chill shooting straight down Kahn's spine.

The boy had no idea that he had literally just skirted the very edge of an abrupt, aningless death.

Although various highly malicious thoughts rapidly churned within his mind, Ozai showed absolutely no emotion on his handso face.

He ultimately just gave Azula a few simple, fatherly instructions and then turned on his heel to leave.

He truly was just passing by coincidentally.

At least on that one specific point, he wasn't lying.

As for Kahn, apart from that initial, terrifying scrutiny that made his blood run cold, the Fire Lord took no further actions against him.

After Ozai finally left the courtyard, Kahn covertly let out a long, shaky sigh of profound relief.

Although Ozai hadn't actually spoken a single word directly to him, the man still exuded an almost suffocating aura of lethal pressure.

He truly lives up to his legendary status as a massive, terrifying villain.

And the mont Azula saw Ozai completely disappear from sight, the innocent, happy smile in her golden eyes instantly vanished without a trace.

She silently spat in the direction he had gone.

Due to Ozai's sudden, terrifying appearance, the five children instantly lost any lingering interest in playing or hearing stories.

They quickly and quietly dispersed, all feeling deeply unhappy.

After finally returning ho safely, Kahn's mind continuously recalled Ozai's cold eyes and the dark, secret stories Azula had recently told him.

That night, he uncharacteristically suffered from a vivid, horrifying nightmare.

He dread that Ozai had sohow learned of his secret agreent with Azula.

In the dream, the Fire Lord brutally executed Azula, Uncle Iroh, and Zuko right in front of him, and then slowly tortured him to death with fire.

He woke up with a violently racing heart, drenched in a cold sweat, cursing fiercely into the dark room.

"That crazy old geezer!"