Avatar: Invincible Sokka

Leaning on Appa's fur while looking at the sky, a figure suddenly blocked my vision.

And she is looking at me with a frown.

Thumb...

"Why don't you help us pack instead of sitting there, Mr. Warrior?"

Katara placed an item on my chest aggressively.

"Ouch. I can't even take a second of rest these days."

Saying that, I climbed on top of Appa's back, placing the item according to my liking.

It didn't take long for us to put all our stuff on Appa's large saddle, which was carefully arranged.

As I looked around, satisfied with my arrangements, I suddenly noticed a crowd surrounding us.

I quickly slid down to meet them for one last time.

I don't know when I will come back here again, but it's guaranteed to be long.

So all the people in our camp, including kids, were here to give their farewell to us. Some even cooked some meals for our journey, which is something we really appreciate.

I looked at Gran-Gran and noticed her looking at us with a proud and happy expression.

Gran-Gran approached and spoke to us.

"How much the time has flown. I have seen the two of you grow from babies to this age. Now I have seen you leave for your journey with the Avatar. I'm proud of the two of you, and I know that your parents will be proud as well. I just hope that you three will be safe on your journey."

Katara and I hugged Gran-Gran, feeling sad that we would be parting from them for a long time.

Tears fell from Katara's eyes as she said.

"We will, Grandma. I promise that I will always protect Sokka and prevent him from doing many stupid things."

I turned my eyes to her reluctantly.

"Hey, I'm the one who should protect you!"

At the sight of me saying that, Gran-Gran couldn't help but laugh. Then the kids and the adults also started laughing at us.

'Ah, I will miss this...'

A family that doesn't share blood but has a close connection to each other.

A family you can rely on without any hidden motives.

A true connection.

As I was looking around with happiness, I suddenly felt a tug on my pants.

I looked down and saw a small girl tugging my pants while biting her small fingers.

'So cute.'

I lifted the girl into my arms and asked.

"Do you want some toys when I return, huh?"

"Yesh!"

"Alright, Brother Sokka will get it to you!"

Hearing my words, other kids started approaching me.

"Me too, Sokka!"

"Me too, please!"

"Haha, alright, I will bring toys and unique foods for everyone when I come back!"

They cheered in unison, which I found amusing.

I lowered my head a little and whispered to them.

"Why don't you also ask Katara and Aang so you guys can have triple the amount of toys?"

Then they eyed the two who were confused.

Fire Nation Ship.

Zhuuuu!

A fireball formed on Zuko's fist and was fired into the sky, disappearing many seconds later.

"Haaaa!"

Zuko fired another one again.

He was clearly tired, but he didn't even notice.

'Avatar! Sokka!'

He kept repeating the scene of his defeat in his head, fueling his rage more and more.

It's been two hours of nonstop training, his body is tired and defeated, but the rage in his mind kept pushing him.

'How can I defeat the Avatar who can master all the elements when I can't even defeat a non-bender?!'

Then the words of his Uncle Iroh yesterday went through his mind.

--The boy may look weak, but he certainly trains far more than most people in this world. He was inexperienced in battle, but his training is more than enough to defeat new benders. Given enough time, he will be stronger than the strongest non-bender I know.

--A pity that he can't bend, a talent like that is blessed.

But he was not a new Fire Bender! He trained since he was a kid, then trained even more when he was banished by his father.

Yet, how can he easily be defeated?

Iroh sighed as he looked at the enraged Zuko.

He had seen the boy since Zuko was a kid. He had turned from a cheerful child who always had a kind expression to what he was now.

It was rare for him to see Zuko smile or be happy ever since he was banished by his father.

Iroh sighed again, signaling for the officer to give them his favorite tea as he sat in front of a small table.

Seeing Iroh sit down, Zuko calmed down a little before sitting in front of his uncle, taking it as a small rest.

"Uncle, please teach me something new today. A technique that could help me defeat the Avatar and Sokka."

Iroh pretended not to hear that as he watched the officer place the teapot on the table.

He smelled the aroma that was coming out of the pot and then looked at Zuko.

"Have you finally calmed down a little?"

Zuko closed his eyes, then took a deep breath before speaking.

"Yes."

Iroh started pouring the two cups of tea while speaking.

"Rage is the fuel to our bending, that's what most soldiers understand now. But to me, it's the strong will of someone to get something or complete something. He lost a limb? If he can overcome that and gain more will because of it, he will become stronger. But if he surrenders to himself and thinks of himself as weak, then he is truly weakened."

He drank the tea before continuing.

"You lost yesterday, yet why are you destroying your body for nothing? You forgot the teachings that I taught you because of rage. Even if you train for hours, but you're enraged, then you're not training, but venting. You are training in vain because there's little to no benefit. I see no improvements to your techniques even after training for hours."

Zuko looked down and clenched his fist hearing that.

Yes, he was just venting.

Even he felt no improvements, just pain all over his body.

However, his rage clouded his mind, preventing him from stopping.

"I'm sorry, Uncle, it's just hard to accept my defeat yesterday..."

"I understand that, but defeat is meant to make you stronger, not destroy you."

"I understand."

"I will teach you a technique tomorrow, for now, join this uncle in drinking this tea."

As Zuko and Iroh were drinking tea, a figure suddenly caught Zuko's eye, causing him to look at the sky.

'What is this?'

The figure wasn't in the shape of a bird but was more like an animal that should be on the ground.

Zuko immediately ran towards his small telescope and aimed it towards the figure.

"...!"

There, he saw something that was astonishing. A giant animal was flying without wings.

But what surprised him more were the two figures sitting on top of that animal.

"Sokka and the Avatar!"

He immediately looked at his officers and ordered.

"Go and follow the Avatar!"

Zuko looked towards his uncle and saw him just drinking the tea with a peaceful expression, causing his excitement to go down.

'I should only be happy once I am able to defeat the Avatar and Sokka!'

Getting bored, I looked down and saw a black ship on the ground.

'It must be that guy's ship.'

The person named Zuko who was defeated by me yesterday.

Seeing me look down made Katara also look down.

"Isn't that a Fire Nation ship?"

Hearing the word 'Fire Nation,' Aang also looked down.

"Yeah..."

"Shouldn't that be bad if they know about Aang's return?"

I shook my head.

"No, they probably already spread it to everyone in the Fire Nation, so the only thing we can do is hide from them for now since we are just weak compared to their army."

Aang nodded and made Appa fly with more speed.

I also noticed that Zuko's ship, which was not moving earlier, started moving again.

'They have noticed us...'

Fortunately, Appa's flying speed is quite fast.

Moments later, as Aang and Katara were resting, I suddenly spotted an island not far away from us.

"Aang, Katara! Wake up! I found an island!"

Katara and Aang opened their eyes and looked at the direction I was looking.

Aang then made Appa fly towards the island.

Appa slowly descended to the ground, and upon touching the ground, he fell asleep.

"Get a good rest, buddy!"

I grabbed my spear and some other weapons before jumping to the ground.

I looked around the island.

It was just a simple small island in this vast ocean, but it was the perfect temporary resting place for us.

There were no houses visible from the sky, and I saw some animals running around earlier.

Perfect for hunting.

"Katara, Aang. I will survey the surroundings of this island and maybe hunt some meat for our stock."

"You will go alone?"

"Yeah, don't worry about me. I will be able to handle myself, and you should start preparing so we can all eat early."

"Alright, be careful."