As Azula had said, Ozai was indeed very pleased.
Not only had they forced Jeong Jeong, who ca to rescue Devon, to return in defeat, they had even driven him into a desperate retreat and captured the support team he brought with him.
That achievent far outweighed the simple capture of soone as insignificant as Devon.
Before his defection, Jeong Jeong had been one of the Fire Nation's undisputed firebending masters, a powerful and high-ranking admiral of the navy.
After his defection, he beca one of the Fire Nation's most wanted fugitives, moving unpredictably and leaving the Fire Nation unable to deal with him.
No matter how one looked at it, the na Jeong Jeong carried considerable prestige and influence within the Fire Nation.
He was also one of Ozai's long-standing concerns.
And now such a formidable enemy had suffered a setback at the hands of Ozai's own daughter, Azula.
How could Ozai not be pleased?
His only regret was that Azula had not killed Jeong Jeong outright, allowing him to escape.
Who knew whether such a good opportunity would ever co again?
Of course, even the harshest person could hardly demand that a girl not yet twelve years old kill an elderly firebending master.
Azula's performance was already more than enough to satisfy him.
Although her strength was still not fully matured, Ozai believed that in just a few more years, Azula would undoubtedly beco his greatest asset.
He did not forget Kahn either.
After all, this ti it had been Azula and Kahn together who repelled Jeong Jeong.
Kahn's performance so far had not disappointed him.
In strength and talent, he was not inferior to Azula at all.
One could only say that he truly deserved to be Iroh's personal disciple.
Iroh, at least, still had so judgnt.
And when Ozai thought of how Iroh's own disciple was now working for him—even beginning to suppress Iroh's remaining influence—his mood beca even better.
In addition, he had heard certain rumors from his subordinates.
Azula's attitude toward Kahn did not seem like her attitude toward an ordinary subordinate.
There even appeared to be a trace of favoritism.
So suspected that Azula might harbor other feelings for him.
That sounded rather interesting.
Ozai ignored those comnts and never asked Azula about them, as though silently allowing the matter to continue.
In truth, he was happy to see it happen.
If the two of them truly ended up together, then Kahn would be firmly tied to his warship from then on, leaving almost no hidden danger.
And with their talents, if they grew up smoothly, the two would undoubtedly beco his strongest right and left hands on the path of conquest.
If Azula and Kahn were not still so young, Ozai would not even mind arranging their engagent directly, just as his own had once been arranged with Ursa.
Moreover, both Kahn and Azula possessed extraordinary bending talent.
If the two of them were joined together, who knew what sort of monster their bloodline might produce?
The thought alone made him faintly expectant.
But the mont he thought of Ursa, Ozai's expression imdiately beca unreadable.
No one knew what was passing through his mind.
When Azula and Kahn returned to the capital this ti, they were once again watched and noticed by the common people.
The story of how they had encountered Jeong Jeong's ambush and defeated him quickly spread.
This ti, at least, it was no longer solely Azula's performance being discussed.
Kahn's na was ntioned as well.
Of course, the focus of the tales still remained on Azula.
Compared to the minor matter of capturing an unknown rebel unit, an encounter with a famous figure like Jeong Jeong was naturally far more talked about.
As a result, almost no one cared what happened to Devon.
Ozai did ask about the secret Devon had been hiding.
Azula omitted the matter of the White Lotus, but aside from that, she told him everything she knew, explaining the entire situation honestly enough that she aroused no suspicion.
As for the Iroh supporters Devon had claid were still hiding within the army before his death, Ozai clearly took the matter to heart.
One could imagine that a bloody purge would soon follow.
Kahn could do nothing about that.
He could only wish those people luck.
Afterward, Kahn spoke with Iroh in the Spirit World about the recent events.
When Iroh heard that Kahn and Azula had worked together to repel Jeong Jeong without even using their full strength, even he could not help being shocked.
"I never expected the two of you to have grown to this extent."
"It truly makes an old man feel his age."
Iroh sighed despite himself, especially when he thought about how young they still were.
Kahn rolled his eyes at him and said,
"You know perfectly well that my abilities naturally counter firebenders."
"That doesn't really count as my true strength."
"Are you trying to praise into an early grave?"
"No."
Iroh's expression turned serious.
"Although it is often difficult to compare different kinds of benders, I believe that with your current strength, you can already be considered among the top tier of benders in the world."
"There is no need to belittle yourself."
"Is… is that so?"
Kahn froze slightly at Iroh's words, feeling oddly unaccustod to such praise.
Returning to the main subject, Kahn had co to Iroh to discuss this incident.
Iroh first confird Devon's information.
Jeong Jeong was indeed an elder of the White Lotus, just like him.
Before Jeong Jeong's defection, the two of them had often communicated in secret, and Iroh had even spoken to Jeong Jeong about Kahn.
But after Jeong Jeong defected and began wandering the world, their contact beca far less frequent.
As for this rescue operation, Iroh truly had not known about it.
He assud it must have been planned independently by Jeong Jeong's side.
Unfortunately, not only had they failed to save anyone, they had lost their own people as well.
It had been a terrible exchange.
Of course, the soldiers Jeong Jeong had brought would not be allowed to die.
Like Li Dun's n, they would be scattered to different labor sites.
Then other mbers of the White Lotus would infiltrate those places, make contact with them, care for them, and wait for the right chance to strike back.
As for Devon, Iroh was truly unfamiliar with him.
He had never imagined that soone like that had once existed among his subordinates.
He was also relieved that Kahn had successfully stopped Devon's plan.
If a man like that had managed to infiltrate the White Lotus, it would have been the sa as planting a bomb inside one's own ho.
It could have exploded at any mont.
As for Jeong Jeong, Iroh would also find a way to contact him and explain the situation clearly.
That way, they could avoid the tragedy of attacking their own allies in the future.
Speaking of which, after this battle, Kahn could not help asking curiously,
"How many elders does the White Lotus actually have?"
"Are they all from the Fire Nation?"
If that were true, the Fire Nation would be far too miserable.
"If the opportunity cos, you will learn about the others later."
Iroh smiled and shook his head, refusing to answer directly while looking every bit like a man speaking in riddles.
Kahn was already used to that expression.
But then he suddenly rembered that Iroh liked speaking in riddles, while Jeong Jeong spoke in strange abstractions, and both of them were elders of the White Lotus.
Was that the selection standard for White Lotus elders?
The image of the White Lotus in Kahn's mind grew increasingly bizarre.
Before parting, Kahn suddenly hesitated and said,
"By the way, Uncle Iroh…"
"I've decided to seek instruction in spiritbending from Guru Pathik."
"You've made up your mind?"
"That's good."
"Don't worry. The guru truly isn't so kind of voyeur."
Iroh only thought Kahn was still troubled by privacy concerns and smiled reassuringly.
Kahn opened his mouth, wanting to say sothing, but stopped himself.
In the end, he said nothing.
I'm afraid of losing you, my golden lifeline!
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