"Yue, calm down!" Arnook exclaimed, sensing the pressure his daughter was emitting. The rest of the people were only experiencing the residue of this impulse, and even Shisui was amazed by it.
The Sage could see the table and floor cracking from the princess's actions. This was undoubtedly a sign of her power, as she was able to affect reality in this way.
'It's obvious she can do this. Were you human all this time?' thought Shisui. He felt that Yue was part of the answer he had wanted regarding the spiritualization of human beings.
"Father, you still won't answer my question." Yue's eyes turned completely white, and the pressure increased, leaving Arnook barely able to move, feeling nervous.
"Yue... is this your true power?" Arnook whispered, amazed at how capable his daughter was. This was the first time he had seen and experienced such strength. However, he was also glad because his fears of Yue suffering because of politics had been erased.
After all, you don't simply inherit the position of village headman from your father or mother; you must be strong, fight, and prove your worth.
Only the strongest can remain in office. Was he stronger than Pakku? Who knows? But the last time the chief of the Southern Water Tribe was elected, that man had chosen to stand aside, allowing Arnook to demonstrate his strength.
Only a person with great power and vision can rule. If you have only one of these qualities, no one will follow you. Strength without wisdom is dangerous, and wisdom without strength is harmful.
Maybe that's why Pakku chose not to participate. He knew he wouldn't be able to lead the whole tribe, so he let the most capable people take charge. He could only become the most powerful figure at the North Pole if someone who had both aspects in balance got the job.
Of course, there was also the small matter of receiving acceptance from the Ocean and Moon Spirits. Despite their limited physical forms, their senses extended beyond the oasis.
"I had a silly idea that Shisui should have a stronger connection to our tribe. But I see that it's unnecessary. The right person to succeed me was always by my side." Seeing his daughter's threatening gaze intensify, Arnook quickly gave Yue the answer she wanted.
Yue did not expect this response from her father. Since she was a child, Arnook had overprotected her due to the special conditions of her birth and subsequent status as an incarnation of the Moon. However, that never stopped the princess's wild spirit.
He never talked to her about taking over the leadership of the tribe, always wanting to keep her in the castle, away from the world. Of course, she proved to him that his attempts to hold her back were fruitless. Since she didn't need a teacher to learn waterbending and could do whatever she wanted with water, Arnook couldn't stop his daughter from becoming an excellent waterbender.
He then tried to arrange her marriage, but it was obvious that the princess, while perhaps attracted to a boy or two, would not let her father control her life in this way.
Perhaps because of what happened with his eldest daughter, Arnook was less insistent in these matters. He loosened the control he was trying to exert over his daughter. Not that it worked, but because of this, the relationship between him and Yue relaxed.
However, what Arnook didn't know was that Yue had taken an interest in one of the boys he had introduced her to. She had encouraged him to become stronger the previous day. That surprise would come to him in the future.
With the answer and unexpected validation from her father, Yue's anger subsided. Her hair fell, returning to its natural state, and the pressure that had made the city uncomfortable disappeared as if it had never happened.
But the cracks in the ice and surrounding objects were evidence that what had just happened was real. Many people were interested in what had happened, spreading rumors and treating it as a mystery to be solved.
"Now that was scary. Remind me not to make you mad, Auntie," Shisui said, wiping the sweat pouring down his forehead. Yue burst out laughing at the sight of him, still nervous.
"Then you have to bring Terumi for a visit, OK? I want to spoil my niece!" said the princess, obviously happy. But her words reminded Arnook of another important issue, and a very urgent one at that.
His grandson was going to have a baby!
"Right, Shisui.... Are you going to be a father? Is that what her name will be? Terumi?" Arnook asked with curiosity and joy.
After all, the desire to continue the family line is ingrained in humanity, so Arnook was very interested in Shisui's future daughter and wanted to know more about her.
"Oh, I thought Zuko told you about that. Yes, Azula is pregnant. Yue says it will be a girl. Then my fiancée and I thought of many names last night before we came up with Terumi," Shisui answered. Arnook nodded, thinking of all the gifts he would give his granddaughter from her birth until she turned 18.
When his granddaughter turns 18, he plans to throw a gigantic party. The whole town must celebrate, no, the whole world must celebrate! For the first time, Arnook felt a strong longing for peace, not to avoid the loss of life, which was important, but so he could interact more with Terumi.
With the war paused, no one trusted each other too much because the conflict could reignite and plunge the world back into slaughter. However, people were already emerging from the numbness brought on by the previous 100 years.
Now, knowing his future granddaughter would likely spend a lot of time in the Fire Nation, Arnook knew peace had to be achieved, at least between his tribe and his grandson Shisui's people.
"Speaking of Azula, shouldn't we introduce her to Chang'e? Preferably before lunch," Yue said, snapping Arnook out of his thoughts. The idea had already been planted in his mind, though, so he would follow up on it later.
He was also going to get to know his grandson's fiancée properly!
...
"What was that scary thing earlier?" Azula, who had recently been writing in her journal, was finally able to speak after the terrible pressure disappeared.
She didn't know what had happened, but it had stimulated the new fire under her control. Flames of a different shade of blue than usual covered her hair, making her experience much milder than that of the others.
This discovery interested the princess. Was her Fatuous Fire a special form of defense? This thought made Azula's golden eyes glow brightly!
She began to play with these special flames. However, she could not bring about those changes in this instance. This did not matter to her. She entertained herself by creating accurate flame figures of herself, Shisui, and a small figure next to them.
The princess's gaze was filled with love. She brought one of her hands to her belly and felt the slight temperature rise caused by her body to nourish the sprout growing inside her.
She felt someone approaching her room, but did not become alert because she was accustomed to the signs indicating it was Shisui. Perhaps this was a sign of the power of love? Who knows!
She was interested, though, because she could hear two other people. She used Firebending to observe the heat. She noticed that a man and a woman were coming with Shisui. Azula checked her appearance, making sure her clothes weren't wrinkled.
Luckily, she had changed completely because she had gone downstairs for breakfast and only returned to her room because she wanted to write in her diary. She didn't expect her fiancé to return, so she approached the door and opened it just as Shisui tried to do so.
"That's scary," Yue said confidently, causing Shisui to shrug in response.
"Let's just say Azula likes to take the initiative," the Sage replied nonchalantly. He entered the room and went straight into Azula's arms. He kissed her deeply, oblivious to the two outsiders present.
"Ehm.. I see why they're so young and will be parents." Seeing the couple's actions, Arnook tried to cough to make them realize they were not alone.
"If I hadn't taken the initiative, this big fool wouldn't have proposed to me," Azula commented after breaking away from Shisui's kiss. She held onto him as if she didn't want to let go.
"Hehe... Yesterday, you didn't finish telling me about all the things Shisui did as a child!" Yue walked into the room and placed herself close to Azula, deftly placing her hand on the Fire Nation princess's shoulder. Since yesterday, the gossip about Shisui had made them quite close.
"Yue, concentrate. We must meet Mom first." Wanting to prevent his childish embarrassment from being revealed, Shisui decided to speed things up, not even letting his grandfather properly introduce himself to Azula.
"You won't change anything! You're just delaying the inevitable. Take Dad and Azula by the hand." Also, concentrate. Touching more spiritual mysteries can serve you well," Yue said, finally prompting Arnook to enter the room.
"Hm... hello? I'm Arnook, Yue's father and Shisui's grandfather," the old man said, introducing himself to Azula. Before answering, she looked at her fiancé, who nodded. Neither needed to speak; their unspoken understanding was that strong.
"I'm Azula, Shisui's fiancée. Did you think it would be a good idea to marry my man to your aunt?" At first, Azula's introduction seemed normal, but her final question, accompanied by the fatuous fire that covered her hair, made Arnook realize that writing that letter with such a proposal was extremely stupid.
"It was just an old age lapse! After arranging peace between the two nations, I will cede the position to the strongest and most capable person in the tribe, who seems to be my daughter," Arnook pointed out to Yue. Perhaps because the atmosphere was relaxed, the apprehension in the man's mood softened.
"Perhaps that was the best decision you could have made, old man," Yue said with a sarcastic smile as she took the hands of her father and nephew.
This gesture caused the others to hold hands as well, knowing that what was about to happen was important. Shisui had already whispered to Azula what was about to happen, which made the princess quite interested because, technically, what they were about to do would be special.
"I had originally intended to simply summon my sister, but wouldn't it be better to bring the whole group to her?" Yue's previous smile now conveyed a different feeling, one full of mischief. Azula instinctively sensed that Shisui was about to do something foolish.
Aunt and nephew smile very much alike! Before she could complain, Yue's white hair fluttered, her eyes glowed white, and a strange connection formed between them through their hands.
Shisui closed his eyes and concentrated on experiencing this strange connection, knowing it had to do with energy bending. If Toph could develop this kind of connection, why couldn't he? Although he didn't care about the state of the world or the supposed future, he was pragmatic in recognizing certain pieces of knowledge.
He never blindly believed those pieces of information; he sought to confirm them for himself. Yesterday's experience, coupled with what was happening today, gave the Sage a much clearer idea of the concept of energy and its connections.
"Son... Are you going to be a father? I didn't believe it when I heard!" A voice brought Shisui out of his stupor. He wasn't uncomfortable with the interruption because the previous experience was etched in his mind forever.
"Mom, I hope you don't spy on me at inopportune times!" Shisui complained, opening his eyes to see his mother hovering in front of him.
"Oh, of course not, but you should relax. Even if you're a Waterbender, doing it so many times will cause a deficiency!" joked Chang'e, causing Azula and Yue to burst out laughing. Arnook simply looked at his daughter, feeling a knot in his heart.
Chang'e noticed her father, but though she was no longer angry with him, she first focused her attention on her son before moving on to Azula. She approached Azula and gave her a tight hug.
"I've seen a lot of you! You don't know how scary it was when your Avatar ancestor questioned me about watching you. But I've also heard a lot about you from Shisui. It's nice to meet you, Azula. I am Chang'e, but you may call me Mother," she said, hugging the princess tightly, rubbing her face against her chest, and giving her all her affection.
Azula felt suffocated, not because she was nervous about meeting her future mother-in-law, but because Chang'e's ample bosom was choking her. Still, this was a good way to meet her fiancé's mother!