Ozai probably never imagined that the task he entrusted to Azula—recruiting Kahn—would end with her imdiately turning around and betraying his trust.
Nor could he possibly have foreseen that the relationship between Azula and Kahn was far more special than he realized.
If nothing unexpected happened, the matter would likely end there.
That said, no one could predict what Ozai might think in the future.
And now that Kahn had entered the Fire Lord's sight, these kinds of troubles would only continue to increase.
For the very first ti, Kahn genuinely felt a true sense of crisis.
Although he had always understood that he lived in a world consud by war, he was still living inside the prosperous Fire Nation Capital.
Everything he saw around him was peaceful and flourishing.
The concepts of global war and a chaotic era had always felt strangely distant to him.
Even though he constantly reminded himself of reality, those thoughts still floated only on the surface of his mind.
He had never truly felt them.
But the pressure Ozai brought him was real.
Far more real than the abstract idea of a world at war.
After all, no matter what, Ozai was still the Fire Lord of the most powerful empire on the planet.
That imnse pressure also beca imnse motivation.
As a result, during this period, Azula, Zuko, and Iroh frequently saw Kahn completely burying himself in training.
"What's gotten into him?"
Zuko asked curiously while looking toward Iroh.
Although Kahn had always been proactive and enthusiastic about learning firebending, this was the first ti Zuko had ever seen him this hardworking.
Had sothing happened to stimulate him?
"Who knows?"
Iroh chuckled knowingly.
At present, the only people aware that Ozai had taken an interest in Kahn were Azula, Kahn, and Iroh himself.
And since Iroh already knew about it, Ozai's plan had essentially failed before it even had the chance to begin.
The reason Zuko had not been inford was not because they distrusted him.
Rather, it was because Zuko lacked Azula's talent for deception and quick thinking.
If Ozai suddenly questioned him, there was a real chance Azula's betrayal would be exposed.
Thinking about it, Iroh could not help laughing inwardly.
Ozai wanted Azula to pull Kahn over to his side.
But he had absolutely no idea that Azula herself had already long been influenced by Kahn.
One could say Ozai had completely lost both the gamble and his dignity in the process.
And Kahn…
You truly are sothing else.
Iroh silently gave a thumbs-up toward Kahn, who was currently imrsed in his firebending forms.
Still, Ozai truly was a dangerous problem.
Iroh understood his younger brother's personality far too well.
If Ozai desired sothing, he would use any ans necessary to obtain it.
And if he could not obtain it, then he would destroy it.
To Ozai, obedience was natural.
Defiance, however, was an unforgivable sin.
If Ozai ever discovered that Kahn stood against him, he would undoubtedly resort to extre asures.
Naturally, Ozai would never dare do anything to Kahn directly under Iroh's nose.
That would not be calculation.
That would simply be stupidity.
But Iroh could not remain beside Kahn every mont of every day.
Thinking this over, Iroh glanced toward the many empty rooms around the courtyard and slowly sank into thought.
A solution did seem possible.
Before Ozai ascended the throne, Iroh had once lived in the Crown Prince's Estate as the rightful heir of the Fire Nation.
However, after Ozai took the throne, Iroh naturally lost his status and moved out of the palace grounds.
At first, he dismissed most of his servants.
Later, he dismissed the rest as well.
In the end, he left carrying only a single bag.
Still, because Ozai remained wary of him, the Fire Lord did not dare allow him too much freedom.
Iroh currently lived not far from the Royal Palace and was essentially confined within the Capital itself.
In truth, it was little different from house arrest.
However, Iroh was not soone easily bullied.
The reason he willingly accepted these restrictions was because he had reached certain agreents with Ozai in exchange for particular privileges.
For example, although he could not leave the Capital freely, he still retained unrestricted access within the city itself.
That included the Royal Palace, the war chambers, and the Royal Library.
Of course, he was not bored enough to casually wander around those places without purpose.
Realizing his thoughts had drifted again, Iroh returned to the main issue.
In short, he lived alone now anyway.
So where exactly he stayed hardly mattered.
"I'll be staying here from now on."
Iroh suddenly said to Kahn.
"Living here?"
Kahn paused in the middle of his training after hearing those words.
At first, he did not imdiately understand Iroh's aning.
But soon afterward, he readily agreed.
"Of course."
"No problem at all."
Even before moving in, Iroh already ca every single day to teach him firebending.
And after their lessons ended, if Iroh had nothing else to do, he would often stay around for quite a while before heading ho near sunset.
Moving in truly felt like the natural next step.
With Iroh around, learning firebending would undoubtedly beco even more convenient.
More importantly, as a firebending master whose strength was practically unfathomable, Iroh's presence gave Kahn an enormous sense of security.
Perhaps the reason Iroh proposed this arrangent in the first place was precisely because he was concerned about Kahn's safety.
Once Kahn realized that, the crushing pressure weighing on his shoulders instantly eased significantly.
Even his motivation for desperate training montarily weakened.
No, no, no.
I absolutely can't slack off now!
anwhile, after hearing their conversation, Zuko spoke enviously.
"I wish I could live at Kahn's place too."
That way, he could play with Kahn every day while studying firebending under Uncle Iroh together with him.
Unfortunately, that was impossible.
Forget living outside—
Zuko was only occasionally allowed out by Iroh in the first place.
Most of the ti, he still had to remain obediently inside the Royal Palace.
As Ozai's only son, he had royal lessons and responsibilities he could not avoid.
He was not like Azula, who recklessly snuck out whenever she pleased.
"That old man is moving in with you?"
Azula imdiately looked displeased.
Didn't that an she would have to see Iroh every single day from now on?
She disliked Iroh imnsely because his gaze always felt as though he could see directly through her soul.
It made her deeply uncomfortable.
Things had improved slightly lately, but she still had no intention of lowering her guard around him.
She could not defeat him right now.
But one day, she absolutely would settle the score.
"Then I want a guest room too!"
Kahn looked at her strangely.
"What do you need a room for?"
Then he suddenly seed to realize sothing and imdiately spoke in exaggerated horror.
"No way."
"Don't tell sneaking out to play isn't enough anymore?"
"You're planning to stay out overnight too?!"
"None of your business."
"Can't I use it to nap?"
Azula rolled her eyes impatiently.
You're asking what business it is of yours when I'm trying to live in your house?
"…Fine."
"Do whatever you want."
Kahn shrugged helplessly.
His house was large enough anyway, so he was not worried about space.
And just like that, Kahn's daily life gradually settled into a stable routine.
He attended classes normally, returned ho afterward, trained in firebending, spent ti reading in the library, and occasionally played around with Azula and Zuko.
Ty Lee and Mai also joined them frequently.
Before long, the five of them had naturally ford a close-knit circle.
As for Ozai, he made no further moves regarding Kahn.
The war situation had beco increasingly intense, and the Fire Lord had far more important matters demanding his attention.
A re commoner simply was not worth wasting too much energy on.
On the other hand, Iroh beca unusually concerned about the war itself and started going out much more frequently.
According to Azula, Iroh had recently been visiting the war chambers every single day.
She herself could not sneak inside, and listening from outside the corridors did not allow her to hear things clearly, so she was not entirely sure what was happening.
But judging from the expression on Iroh's face whenever he returned, the situation was likely quite grim.
Eventually, perhaps because he had gradually grown accustod to the reports—or perhaps because he had beco numb to them—Iroh slowly returned to his usual calm deanor.
Regardless, ti never waited for anyone.
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