That evening, I planned to leave Kyoshi Island. I wanted to stop by the Earth Kingdom for a day or two—after all, it's fascinating to catch even a glimpse of how this nation lives.
So, I've already told Shizuka about the book. Now, I need to inspect the second part of the settlement for any issues and teach Suyuki some basic Earthbending stances. It definitely won't hurt, and who knows, it might even come in handy.
By sunset, I managed to finish everything on my list. Turns out, I know quite a few stances that make Earth energy more active. So, I used Waterbending to carve pictures of the necessary stances onto wooden boards. Suyuki immediately ran off to find some mixture to coat the wood, to preserve them for longer. She didn't let go of my carvings for a second, handling them as if they were a gift from heaven. It was amusing to watch the little girl huff and puff, trying her best but refusing to part with her load. Holding back laughter—after all, for a little girl, these could be real treasures—I offered to help her.
The sky turned a beautiful amber color, and the sun began to dip below the horizon, casting a melancholy hue over the island. It perfectly matched the mood of the villagers, who were sad to see me leave.
Every villager tried to give me something for the road. If I hadn't insisted it was impossible to carry so much, I'd have ended up flying with an entire wagon of supplies, clothes, and trinkets. The only things I took were small gifts from the children. Not all of them were pretty, and they weren't particularly useful, but I couldn't bring myself to refuse them. I also stuffed tea leaves into every pocket I had.
"We'll always be happy to see you return," Shizuka said warmly, as the villagers nodded in agreement.
"It's not a short journey here, but I'll try to visit as often as I can. After all, such beauties live here," I winked at the ladies, prompting an anime-worthy reaction of "oohs" and "aahs," complete with flushed faces. This world is pushing me toward becoming a harem holder...
After a stern glance from Shizuka, they quickly fell silent. The Kyoshi Warriors' leader is respected here, but also feared just as much. Warm farewells followed, along with more attempts by some villagers to hand me additional items.
As I turned toward the ocean to create a water platform, I felt a familiar chi signature behind me. Turning my neck, I caught only Shizuka's embarrassed face before her soft lips pressed against mine. Oh, these inexperienced girls—it's so satisfying to guide them toward pleasure. I wanted to say that Shizuka doesn't know how to kiss, but I can't interpret her still-tight lips any other way. No, this isn't a proper kiss yet. My moment has arrived, and the crowd watching us adds to the excitement. A kiss without tongue is like an iPhone without a charger, a Let's Player without swearing—you get the idea.
Placing my hands on her waist, I pulled her body closer to mine. It wasn't very comfortable—I hadn't noticed her armor—but we'll pretend that's how it was meant to be. As soon as my tongue entered the inexperienced mother's mouth, Shizuka followed my lead, trying to mimic my actions.
Shizuka breathes too well through her nose! The kiss lasted a full minute, and even the villagers started feeling awkward.
"Had enough kissing?" I asked the heavily breathing Shizuka, who by the end had lost all inhibitions, exploring my entire body with her hands. "That was the best farewell. Now, the villagers are waiting for you to share all the details. See you later," I said, realizing the headache the next few hours would bring her.
"Will Uncle Yuki be my dad?" Suyuki asked happily as I began to ascend. The mischievous girl said that on purpose, noticing my reaction. Glancing back one last time, I saw Shizuka surrounded by all the women of the island, while Suyuki waved at me with a cheerful smile.
"Bye, snake girl!" I shouted to Unagi, whose snout was peeking out of the water, watching my departure with almost tearful eyes. "Hey, don't cry! I'll be back often, and you'll get to take me for a ride again!" She reacts to me so adorably; I couldn't resist.
*
It's around midnight. The flight is stable, no turbulence, but visibility is poor. Unfamiliar stars try to guide me—thanks to them. Now the question is: "Why did I head into uncharted lands in the middle of the night?" Good question…
Tui and La, only you are with me. When I reach the North Pole, I'll bring you some worms. So boring…
"Water, water, water, earth," I muttered to myself. "Ah, earth," I sped up to my limit and finally landed on solid ground. After sitting for hours, my body was stiff. A quick warm-up, a surge of chi, and I was back in shape.
Everything can wait until tomorrow. Taking control of the earth, I quickly built a small hut. Now I can rest.
The next day, all I did was observe various living organisms. The fauna of the Earth Kingdom never ceases to amaze me. In just the first hour of walking, I saw pig-monkeys jumping through trees with colorful items in their hands—probably stolen from humans. Nature here knows how to be twisted. Turning ordinary monkey faces into pig snouts and giving these creatures red eyes—that's the work of a master.
In the treetops, the nocturnal inhabitants of this forest—cat-sows—slept, reminding me of a notable cartoon. Catdog, Catdog, the one and only Catdog. I loved watching it as a kid, but now I want to test my sanity. Watching that was clearly unhealthy. Especially since before them, my innocent mind was filled with Teletubbies and endless seasons of Power Rangers. Jetix—or Fox Kids, as older folks remember it—never let me down. Most of it was pure gold.
Right after the pig-monkeys, a Flopsy ran by—or rather, a relative of Bumi's pet. I feel sorry for the goat that gave birth to offspring from a gorilla.
Time flies when you're engaged in something interesting. I didn't notice how the entire day passed as I walked through the forest, simply enjoying the still-pristine nature. Today was a vegetarian day; I filled my stomach with whatever I found: nuts, berries, fruits. Thanks to the books from the library, I didn't get poisoned on the first berry.
The day ended with another pleasant event. Smelling the distinct odor of rotten eggs, I immediately thought not of the eggs themselves but of my visit to the mineral springs. And that's exactly what they were—the smell is awful, but the benefits are immense.
Just as I put on my underwear, dried my body with Waterbending, and restored my protective water layer, I sensed minor danger. I noticed the arrows flying toward me only at the last moment, when they hit my legs—but they didn't harm me. Good thing I always walk with a protective water film. There are unsavory people in this world willing to shoot such a handsome guy like me just for fun. Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody, your words have saved countless isekai protagonists. May your prosthetics never ache!
"Are you sick or something?! What have I done to you?!" I shouted at the top of my lungs. Five arrows mean five archers. They're definitely more than sixty meters away—my sensing limit, which I've managed to increase from fifty meters by ten recently. The darkness made it impossible to see the arrows' exact flight path, but the attack was definitely from above, so the enemies must be in the trees.
"Silent types, huh? Well, if you're not hiding, it's your fault," I muttered, gathering water from the springs to create water tendrils. Using them, I began climbing the tree. A water platform would scare them off, and I definitely shouldn't use light—even the most experienced masters of our tribe couldn't create it. It must be something unique to my nature.
As I climbed the trees, I noticed silhouettes jumping around me, sending more arrows my way. Slingshot, I choose you! Using the tendrils hooked to the trees, I launched my divine body directly at the nearest enemy.
"You'll tell me everything," I chuckled, freezing the familiar archer in place. These were Yu Yan archers, who could pin a fly from a hundred meters away and keep it alive—I believe it.
Seeing their comrade's fate, the archers began shooting even more fiercely, aiming not just at my legs. The second projectile was launched. While in mid-air, close to my new target, I considered taking control of the archer's blood but decided against it at the last second. A nagging thought kept scratching at me: "How can they move so quickly through the trees?"
Just as I was about to control the archer's blood, I noticed something unusual about his chi, and everything fell into place. These guys must have mixed up their fandoms—they're jumping between branches like ninjas from *Naruto*.
"You're not leaving here alive anyway," I said, creating a water platform. Their ability is too useful—I need to learn it! For the next fifteen minutes, I pretended to chase them at full speed, focusing more on how their chi circulation behaved during jumps from branch to branch. Exquisite control—these archers are too dangerous for ordinary benders. No one survives an arrow to the head. Fire Nation, enough already! You have the most destructive element and the most advanced technology. Can you at least leave the rest of the world some basic soldiers?
It turns out that during jumps and landings, they direct their chi into their feet, canceling inertia and temporarily sticking to surfaces, which helps with the next jump. They can't walk like this continuously, but for a few seconds, it's enough for the next maneuver.
"Alright, enough playing," I said, freezing the archers in ice. "Let's go get your friend and figure out your unhealthy desire to fill me with holes."
The higher-ups in the army fear a strong and unpredictable Waterbender like me more than anything. From the interrogation, I learned the reason for the attack. I'm a Waterbender—that's it. That was enough for them. They've heard about some strange events at the South Pole and wanted to capture me for information, hoping for a promotion. With their hawk-like vision, spotting my water manipulation was easy, even though I was just removing droplets from my body. Sharp-eyed jerks.
Their real goal was reconnaissance. They'd spotted deserters from Jeong Jeong's group in the area, and he's been a thorn in the Fire Nation military elite's side for years.
It's also worth noting that these archers were just recruits. The most experienced among them can slightly alter the trajectory of their arrows and have even sharper vision—physically impossible, which means chi is involved here too. There are far more Yu Yan archers in this world, and the command has rightly valued their effectiveness. But they couldn't mass-produce them—they don't know why, but I have a hunch. Sensitivity to chi—maybe some genius created these techniques, but only a few can use them in practice.
I should erase their traces by burning the warriors. Using Earthbending, I sent them deep underground. I'll try this technique later, but for now, I need to rest. Tomorrow's a full day of flying to the South Pole.