Toph scowled as she was being led through a large crowd of people, with a wide variety of loud noises going on around her. In front of the blind Earthbender, June held a large stuffed Platypus Bear with one arm, had all manner of cheap jewelry on her fingers and wrists, with a few fire bead necklaces around her neck, and a roll of cotton candy in her spare hand. Kegare, despite earlier objections on hiding out in a Fire Nation colony, also seemed to be enjoying himself at the circus.
While June had been winning prizes at every booth, be it fairly or cheating, Kegare had been enjoying different and new foods specifically from the Fire Nation. Toph had trouble 'seeing' with the hundreds of people walking around in every single direction, while the whistles, cheers, and constant chattering rendered her acute hearing next to useless to help her.
"So where to next," June asked, her gleeful eyes beaming between game booths to sucker out more cheap novelty prizes.
"How about the exit," Toph spoke up, a sour expression on her face while she looked in the direction of her teammates.
"Oh come on Toph. You can't tell me you don't enjoy this? The lights, the air-,"
"The loud and annoying sound of you talking," the blind Earthbender snapped. Kegare simply smirked in his fellow Earthbender's direction.
"I at least gotta see this self proclaimed 'greatest show on earth,' and this prized acrobat they got," June stated, pointing to a nearby poster.
"Oh come on! What fun could there be for me with some girl running around on a tightrope? I can't SEE if she falls and dies!"
"No, but you can feel the splat if she hit the ground," Kegare pointed out. Toph went mute as she pondered Kegare's statement for a moment.
"I'm gonna be mad if she doesn't hit the ground," Toph finally said.
June led the way towards the giant circus tent before someone slammed into her. The young man spun around and fell to the ground, while June stood up straight as if she had just brushed past someone. The hooded boy quickly got up and ran off.
"Well…that was weird," Kegare stated. June's eyes narrowed for a moment. Her body stiffened at a realization, something which Toph noted.
"What's up S-and-S?"
"THAT PUNK STOLE MY WALLET!" The two Earthbenders simultaneously tilted their heads to the side in confusion, wondering how June knew her wallet was gone without even feeling for her pockets. "Hold my stuff!" June tossed her armful of winnings on both Toph and Kegare before racing through the crowd.
"Why do I have to hold this crap," Toph shouted, struggling to keep her balance and everything in hand.
"I'M OLDER THAN YOU BOTH," June shouted from a distance, jumping over a small crowd of people.
The hooded young man slipped behind a tent on the outskirts of the circus. He panted lightly before opening up the wallet he stole from the young woman earlier. His eyes feasted upon a shining pile of gold and silver pieces, with a few trace copper pieces. "She was loaded," the boy murmured to himself between breaths.
"Yes, I was." The young man spun around, seeing June hunched over the top edge of the tent. The bounty hunter hopped down and landed on her feet. She placed a hand on her hip and gave off an air of unwavering, and well founded, confidence. "Hand over my wallet and I might let you walk away. Otherwise you're going to lose your dignity by getting your butt whupped by a girl."
"Please, it's not like this is your money." June arched a questioning brow as she wordlessly questioned the boy before her. "It's obvious you're not a citizen. No normal citizen carries around a whip and a large number of knives hidden below their clothes."
The bounty hunter lowered her eyes for a moment to her visible whip before mentally praising the boy for noting the hidden knives. June moved her eyes back up to the boy before grabbing her whip, "And normal thieves very rarely carry a pair of broadswords for simple pick-pocketing." The boy huffed before reaching to his waist with his free hand and pulling out a sword from its scabbard. June shrugged casually. "I don't care how I get my money back, so I guess I got time to kill.
The hooded boy charged forward, screaming as he pulled his arm back. June shook her head. She lifted her arm up and blocked the boy's strike at his wrist. June reached to the boy's side and grabbed a handle. The hooded thief jumped back, unsheathing his second sword for his opponent. June smirked cockily before twirling the blade around as if she had wielded it herself for years.
The thief growled before rushing forward again. The boy swung his sword about with precise skill and speed. June however managed to block and parry all of his attacks with seemingly no effort. The bounty hunter's eyes focused on the boy's movements, which allowed her to predict the thief's next move.
June spun the blade around and held it in a reverse grip. She fell to one knee and blocked her opponent's strike. The boy pressed down with all of his might, keeping the wallet held back as far away from June as possible. The bounty hunter grated the swords against each other, and guided the thief's blade into the ground. The boy gasped before June spun around and delivered a powerful kick to his chest. The force of the blow lifted the thief off of his feet and sent him soaring backwards. June then pulled out her whip and lashed it towards the thief. It wrapped around her wallet and relieved the thief of her possession.
The thief hit the ground with a hard thud, his hood falling off of his head to reveal his face. June caught her wallet in her hand while her whip draped on the ground around her feet. The young boy sat up and scowled furiously at June. The boy had shaggy black hair, pale skin, and a pair of ember eyes. June soon noticed a strange, identifying feature on his face. The left side of his face, around his eye socket, had been burned terribly.
June simply kicked the dual swords at the thief, turned around, and walked away. The scarred boy glared angrily at the bounty hunter. Bitter over his defeat, the boy limped over towards his swords and retrieved them. He turned around and walked away as well, accepting his defeat.
June put her wallet back in her pocket and jogged to rejoin Toph and Kegare. She met up with them sooner than expected, as she stood before a wall of her prizes. Without waiting for a greeting, both Earthbenders tossed June her prizes. The bounty hunter swiftly and expertly caught them all in a few short seconds before letting out a small sigh of relief.
"So where's this circus at," Toph asked Kegare casually. The two Earthbenders walked on ahead. Behind them, June fumed in anger as she carried all of her prizes by herself.
A few burly looking men were angry that June took so many seats for all of her prizes, but they were quickly 'persuaded' by June to find other seats and stay quiet. The bounty hunter crossed her arms as the two men walked away to lick their newfound wounds.
"Explain to me why I followed you two along to watch a show I can't see," Toph bitterly questioned.
Kegare lifted his hand up and then quickly slapped his hand on the seat next to him, "Splat!" Toph grinned mischievously and began rubbing her hands together in anticipation.
"Good evening ladies and gentlemen of the Fire Nation," the ring-leader shouted. "We have a very special show for you all in attendance today! Our experienced, master acrobat, the lovely Ty Lee, will perform amazing feats of gravity defying skills, without a safety net to catch her!" Toph's grin widened, and her hands rubbed together with such vigor that Kegare wondered if they'd combust. The spotlight moved up towards the ceiling, as did everyone's attention. A young woman with brown hair and a large smile on her face waved to the audience below before swinging out forward.
June leaned against the vacant seat behind her with a bored, pouty look on her face. Her eyes traveled all around the circus tent, noting small details about the foundation and the people around her. Nobody of real importance, which meant nobody with bounties on their heads. While it wouldn't be the first time June had taken a bounty on a Fire Nation citizen's head in the middle of Fire Nation occupied territory, she voted against the idea since she didn't want the two Earthbenders with her to get in trouble.
June's eyes twitched a bit before her arm shot down, grabbing a hand that belonged to someone below the seats. Furious that her wallet had almost been stolen twice in one day, June pulled the hand up violently, causing whoever the thief was to bash their head in on the wooden seat.
The force of the victim's crashing with the seat nearly caused both Toph and Kegare to be lifted off of their seats. The two Earthbenders both turned to the bounty hunter who glared angrily at the seats as she dropped her prey.
"Be right back," June told them before slipping down below the audience seats. June landed in front of the thief, who was now on the ground, groaning and rubbing his head in pain. The bounty hunter's eyes widened as she saw the same scarred boy who tried to take her wallet earlier. "You just don't learn do you!" The boy looked up, a look of confusion equally June's just moments earlier.
"What're you doing here?"
"I'm trying to enjoy the show before some pick-pocket tried to take my wallet! AGAIN!"
"I didn't know it was you alright? Trust me I wouldn't have bothered if I knew it was you!"
June started to crack her knuckles as she scowled angrily, "You're not getting off so easily this time. I'm going to teach you a lesson about not stealing people's money while they're trying to enjoy a show!" The thief pulled out his dual swords and prepared to fight. Before he could move though, the earth beneath him reached up and wrapped around both of his feet. Both June and the thief were baffled before the former turned around and saw her Earthbending pair behind her.
"Sheesh, you just have all sorts of fun without us don't you," Kegare asked.
"Earthbenders," the thief muttered.
"The GREATEST Earthbender alive right here punk," Toph corrected, as she furiously pointed at the thief, "And don't you forget it!"
"Thanks guys, but I could've handled this."
"It's never a matter of you being able to handle it or not…we just want you to have all of the fun," Kegare said jokingly.
"And so help me if I miss the acrobat girl falling and going splat on the ground, I'm personally going to pound you and this thief into the dirt!"
"Well that's a first," the former Earth Kingdom soldier muttered, "she's threatened two people and neither of them were me."
The thief's eyes narrowed upon Toph's comment. The boy swung his swords down, cutting the earth that bound his feet to the ground. The trio turned to the thief, all preparing for him to attack. The thief spun around with his swords outstretched, crouching down to the ground as he spun and released a wave of fire from his swords.
Kegare and June's eyes nearly shot out of their heads before the Earthbender lifted up a wall of earth to shield the Team from the fire. The burning element died against the wall of earth, but the rest of the wave went past the trio and caught the wooden seats on fire.
"Crap," the trio snapped in unison. Kegare lowered the wall of earth and saw that the thief was gone.
"Okay, why didn't you tell us we were dealing with a Firebender," Toph asked, pointing at June.
"I didn't know! He never used it the first time he stole my wallet!"
"Ladies, a little less yelling and a little more running?" Team Toph quickly ran towards the exit as the fire grew, and the audience started to scream with fear.
A few moments later, and the entire tent had been evacuated, the fire had been put out, and the show had been canceled for the night. "I want whoever started that fire in shackles," the ring-leader shouted as a small number of the work staff followed their furious boss. "Get all the Firebenders involved with the show to me now! I'll find out who ruined my show!"
The Team however had sat off on the outskirts of the crowd and tried their best to avoid the eyes of the Fire Nation soldiers that had arrived to help find the pyro who started the fire. Apparently it wasn't the first time the circus had been 'attacked' before. Traveling mostly to Fire Nation colonies in the Earth Kingdom, it was usually target for many of the Earth Kingdom citizens who were forced from their homes.
"Okay, so…leave now before the Fire Nation decides to take us," Kegare asked as he moved his eyes between the two women.
"I feel like we need to find that little pick-pocket and teach him a lesson," June hissed angrily. "Please tell me we're going to find him." Toph crossed her legs and arms, closed her eyes and thought hard to herself. June and Kegare looked over to the blind Earthbender and waited for her tie-breaking vote.
"This is tough…on the one hand I don't feel like fighting my way out of a large number of Fire Nation soldiers again. On the other hand…I can't stomach the thought of siding with Man-Boy." Kegare's face fell in disbelief while June's lit up in unbridled happiness. Toph jumped off of the crate she sat on and pumped her fist in the air when she planted her feet on the ground. "Let's go kick some butt!"
"We found him!"
"LET GO OF ME!" Team Toph turned their heads around, seeing two Fire Nation soldiers pulling a scarred young boy out from hiding.
"Awe man," June muttered in disappointment.
The scarred thief threw his body to the side, pushing one Firebender off balance. He then swung his leg up and kicked the other soldier in the face. The thief then spun around and threw the last soldier on top of his partner.
More soldiers showed up and surrounded the boy. The thief pulled out his swords and scowled at the soldiers around him.
"That's him," the ring-leader asked as he stepped into the circle. "He's much younger than I thought. And uglier, what with that scar on your face." The thief frowned angrily at the smug man. "Turn yourself in before this gets ugly boy."
"Never!" The ring-leader huffed before offering a careless shrug.
"Very well. You gentlemen can kill the bo-,"
"No wait!" The Fire Nation soldiers, ring-leader, thief, and Team Toph all turned their heads, seeing a young girl with brown hair run towards her boss. "What do you think it'll do to the reputation of this circus if you killed a kid like him in front of all these people?" The ring-leader thought about this for a moment before turning his head and he saw just how many people were watching the disturbance. "Just capture him. There's no reason for someone to die right?" The ring-leader smirked before he threw his head back and laughed loudly.
"Ty Lee my dear, you're far too sweet for your own good. Very well, capture the young boy gentlemen! No reason to get the ashes of the dead scattered amongst my honorable show."
The trio narrowed their eyes at the young star acrobat, smelling something fishy about. Toph could feel the girl trembling as she pleaded with the ring-leader. June knew a strong bond when she saw it. Kegare also noted how she cared for some thief that she seemingly had never met before.
The Fire Nation soldiers bended at the boy and advanced, slowly but steadily overpowering him. In less than a minute, the thief had been captured, shackled, and was being dragged towards the main tent.
The ring-leader's smile vanished before he looked down to Ty Lee. The girl had a look of worry in her eyes as they watched the thief get dragged off. The ring-leader grabbed the acrobat forcefully by the arm, causing her to yelp in surprise. Her boss leaned forward, their noses inches apart from one another.
"I know you well enough to tell when you're keeping something from me girl." The ring-leader dragged Ty Lee away, despite the young girl's struggling.
June and Kegare both watched with narrowed eyes. "Well, job well done everyone," Toph exclaimed. "The thief has been captured and there's nothing else to worry about!" Without a response, the bounty hunter and former soldier moved forward to help Ty Lee. Toph sighed, slouching over and embittered by the fact that she was now outvoted.
The ring-leader stepped into his office/tent and threw Ty Lee into the nearest chair. The young acrobat was held down by two clowns who watched their boss.
"Let me go," Ty Lee shouted.
"Who is that boy! How long have you been sheltering him in MY circus?"
"I-I don't know what you're talking about!"
The ring-leader backhanded Ty Lee across the face, "You're a horrible liar at best Ty Lee! Tell me what I want to know!" The acrobat's eyes stayed averted from the ring-leader, and her mouth was kept shut. The ring-leader huffed bitterly before turning around, "Fine then. I'll just cut him up until he tells me himself."
Ty Lee whirled her head around, "Leave Zuko alone!" The acrobat yelped in fear before pressing her lips together. The ring-leader's entire posture turned rigid as he froze in place. Slowly, the master of the circus turned around with a blank look on his face.
"Zuko…as in…prince Zuko? The Fire Lord's rogue nephew?" Ty Lee stayed silent, not daring to say another word. The ring-leader soon grew a devilish grin across his face as his eyes lit up with malice, "Oh this is a wonderful turn of events! Think of the reward I'll get for turning in the Fire Nation's greatest traitor!"
"He's not a traitor," Ty Lee finally screamed. "You have no idea what he's gone through!"
"Oh I don't care! The Fire Lord himself will praise me and my show! My circus will be the greatest show on the face of the earth!"
"Leave him alone!" The ring-leader spun around and lashed out a fire-whip. The burning whip narrowly missed Ty Lee's head and snapped on the back of the chair, causing the acrobat to yelp in fright.
The ring-leader continued to smile, "I really must thank you for delivering such a prize to me Ty Lee. But you still have to learn some respect…" The ring-leader pulled his arm back, ready to give the acrobat a lashing. Ty Lee closed her eyes tightly and prepared for the searing pain.
"You call that a whip?" The two clowns and the ring-leader both turned their heads before a leather whip wrapped around the ring-leader's wrist. "THIS is a whip!"
June pulled forward on the leather weapon with all her strength, pulling the ring leader off of his feet. The bounty hunter spun around and delivered a well deserved kick to the man's face. The ring-leader cried out in pain and flew back, slamming into one clown. The other looked over in shock before he moved his eyes to Ty Lee. The young acrobat hopped up out of her seat, spun around and slammed the clown onto the hard floor below.
June started to roll up her whip around her arm as Ty Lee looked up at the bounty hunter. "So…the renegade prince Zuko huh?"
"We're trying to do the right thing remember," Kegare murmured as he stepped into sight. "Besides, not giving the father of the guy who used you his renegade nephew is a good thing right?" June turned her head around and gave a confused look to the male Earthbender. Kegare looked back at June with questioning eyes.
"You could've just said this is my way of sticking it to Lu Ten." Kegare shrugged, offering an apologetic smile.
"Who are you guys," Ty Lee asked.
"Name's June, bounty hunter extraordinaire."
"I'm Kegare, draft dodger…not really extraordinaire."
"And I'm Toph," the blind Earthbender shouted as she stepped into the doorway, "the greatest Earthbender alive!"
"Earth Kingdom?"
June raised her hands up to calm the Fire Nation acrobat down, "Whoa girl, hold on. We're here to help you."
"Then you'll help me get Zuko right?"
"Now let's not go that far," June bitterly snapped through her teeth. Ty Lee gave a confused, almost hurt look to the three Earth Kingdom residents. "He tried to steal my wallet…twice…in one night. I'm not exactly too eager to go find him."
"Please, you have to. He only steals money so he can survive."
"So you were sheltering him," Kegare pointed out. Ty Lee nodded as she put her hands together as if she were going to pray. "Why though? You had to know who he was and what hiding him would do."
"I knew who he was and what would happen to me if he were found."
"That didn't matter? You willingly harbored a fugitive of the Fire Nation, a personal target of the Fire Lord himself for what," Toph asked. "And please tell me it wasn't for the cheesy emotion called love…"
"N-no it wasn't. Look, Zuko has been through so much. I was friends with him back when we were children. He just wandered from place to place before he stumbled into the circus." Ty Lee closed her eyes and held her hands to her chest as she remembered finding the young prince that fateful night. "He was starved…driven to the edge of madness because he was run out of every town he went to. He had to steal to survive. I took him in to help him, to keep him from dying. He's been through enough as it is, we can't let the Fire Nation take him back to his uncle!"
The Team fell silent, each thinking about whether or not to help the young girl.
"He stole from me," June repeated. "TWICE!"
"Oh whine about it later Sweet-and-Sour," Toph ordered. "We're helping her." Kegare and June both snapped their heads to Toph in surprise. Ty Lee grinned and squealed in happiness.
Toph smiled and turned around to head off to the main circus tent. June and Kegare turned around as Ty Lee walked outside. The three of them all gapped as they saw the main tent behind them up in flames.
"Toph," June shouted, "the tent's burning down!" Toph skidded to a halt and noticed the painstakingly obvious amount of heat coming from in front of her.
"No, Zuko!" Ty Lee ran forward with June and Kegare quickly following behind her. Toph looked confused as she felt the three of them run past her before she chased after them.
A few Fire Nation soldiers and circus staff stumbled out of the burning tent, covered in soot and coughing out smoke. "That damn brat," one soldier coughed.
"What happened," Ty Lee asked him.
"The thief is a Firebender! He started a huge fire and then ran away to leave the rest of us to die!" Ty Lee smiled and let out a small sigh of relief.
"Awesome, great, can we go now," Toph questioned rather hurriedly.
"STOP THEM! They're sheltering the rogue prince Zuko!" All heads snapped around to see the circus master stumbled out of his quarters.
Ty Lee quickly kicked the Fire Nation soldier in the stomach and turned to the trio behind her, "RUN!" Kegare and Toph both lifted a wall of earth between them and the Firebenders who immediately shot at them.
June and Ty Lee headed towards the nearest opening of land, which was blocked by the circus trainer, four clowns, and the ring-leader himself. June swung her whip forward, wrapping it entirely around one clown's entire body. She pulled forward on the whip and then sprung into the air. June slammed her foot into the clown's stomach and slammed him onto the ground. Ty Lee cart wheeled forward and landed between two other clowns. One swung his fist at the acrobat, which she nimbly dodged and countered with four quick, lightning fast jabs all over his side. The clown groaned softly and fell to the ground completely paralyzed. Ty Lee then turned around and did the splits under the second clown's punch. She did the same lightning fast jabbing process from the man's stomach all the way up to his neck before he doubled back and fell unconscious.
The circus trainer lashed a fire whip at Ty Lee from behind, catching the acrobat by surprise. The flaming whip was cut short when June's whip cut through the fire. The man scowled at the smirking bounty hunter before the ground beneath him opened up. The man screamed as he fell into a hole, which immediately closed in around his neck. Kegare ran up and then lightly kicked the man in the side of the head before running towards his escape.
Toph shot a pillar of earth beneath her feet up to propel herself forward. She moved her arms in front of her face as she slammed into the last clown's stomach and rolled over his unconscious body, squaring off with the circus master.
The older Firebender screamed as he lashed his fire whip at the blind girl. Toph rolled to the side, making sure to keep either her hands or feet touching the ground so she could 'see.' On all fours, Toph quickly shot her arms up with her hands hanging down before she twisted them up and jutted her hands forward. A massive pillar of earth shot out from under the man and sent him flying through the air. Toph turned her head and cupped a hand over her ear as she listen to the ring-leader screaming as he sailed through the air. She lowered her head to match the man's screaming before the circus master slammed into the ground with a forceful, painful impact.
"YES! I got my splat!"
"Come on you sadist," Kegare snapped as he grabbed Toph's arm and yanked her in the right direction.
The rest of the circus staff as well as Fire Nation soldiers came chasing after them. June reached into her belt, pulling out a handful of small balls. She jumped into the air, spun around, and threw them all at the ground. Each tiny bomb erupted in a blinding flash of light, which caused their pursuers to become temporarily blind.
"Great," Kegare exclaimed, "Fugitives from the Earth Kingdom AND the Fire Nation! I swear, this 'Team' is cursed!"
"Hey, at least there's never a dull moment," Toph pointed out with an excited tone. Kegare narrowed his eyes at the blind Earthbender.
"You're enjoying this…"
"Hey, I got to feel someone go splat on the ground! I'm happy!"
"But we lost Zuko, and he's out there alone now," Ty Lee stated with a saddened tone.
"Hey, I'm not the best bounty hunter ever for nothing! I should be able to track him."
"REALLY?"
"Absolutely. We'll find you're hot-headed boyfriend." Ty Lee blushed and frowned at the now grinning bounty hunter.
"He is NOT my boyfriend!"
"Jeez, now you're sounding like Toph here," June said as her eyes shifted over to the blind Earthbender.
"So help me, you call Man-Boy my boyfriend ONE more time and I'm going to drop you June!" Kegare meanwhile stared at the three girls running ahead of him.
'Three girls, and the only one that could be considered normal has a thing for a renegade prince. Maybe I'M cursed.'
"Hey, get your head in the game Man-Boy," Toph snapped. "We got a lotta distance to put between us and them!"
"Yeah, yeah, keep your pants on, PLEASE." June and Ty Lee both giggled a bit at how much Kegare over exaggerated the last word.
"Trust me, you'd like what you'd see if my pants weren't on!"
"You can't see to begin with! How do you know if I'd like it?"
Toph blushed furiously before turning her head around at her fellow Earthbender, "Cause I said so alright!"
"They make a cute couple," Ty Lee whispered to June.
"That's what I said," the bounty hunter whispered back.
A few hours after the commotion had settled, every inch of every booth and tent was being examined by a group of Fire Nation soldiers who had just arrived. The circus master approached the commander in charge.
"C-commander Zhao, to what do I owe this prestigious honor?"
"One of the soldiers stationed here told me about the chaos caused by the rogue prince." Zhao moved his eyes towards the cowering circus master. "Apparently, your circus was sheltering him."
"N-no my lord! It was Ty Lee! She was hiding the boy from everyone in the circus! I had no idea that he was here." Zhao hummed quietly to himself before moving his eyes back forward. The ring-leader carefully observed the commander, wondering what he was thinking.
One Fire Nation soldier approached Zhao and saluted him, "Sir, we've searched every inch of this place, but we've found no sign of Zuko."
Zhao scowled a bit, his nostrils flaring in anger, "Very well…"
"Also, a few of the soldiers stationed here claim that the acrobat girl had some help escaping from a pair of Earthbenders, and a young woman in all black carrying a whip." Zhao's eyes brightened up a bit with this bit of news. The commander wondered for a moment if it could be the same group that gave Lu Ten so much trouble.
"If I could capture the rogue prince…as well as those three…"
"S-sir…?"
Zhao looked up at the soldier, "You're dismissed. Gather every last soldier here, included those stationed to protect this circus. We're heading towards the Si Wong Desert." The soldier nodded then turned around to gather the troops.
"A-all the Firebenders? But what about the circus? We'd be defenseless without your soldiers!"
"Your circus was harboring a known fugitive of the Fire Nation," Zhao stated without turning towards the ring-leader of the circus. "You should be grateful I don't burn you down where you stand. You and your people will be sent back to the Fire Nation, where your fate will be determined by the Fire Lord himself."
"B-but I tried to capture the rogue Zuko!"
"The Fire Lord will decide your fate." Zhao turned around and began to walk away from the circus master, who fell to his knees in grief. Zhao meanwhile, had his sights set on something higher. Capturing Zuko, and dealing with the three Earth Kingdom commoners who disgraced Lu Ten in battle would bring the commander an immense prestigious honor. Not only that, but whatever information the Spirit Library would hold could give the Fire Nation an immense victory against both the Earth Kingdom and the Waterbenders who harassed them.
Zhao smirked as he planned for his future victories.