With the situation deteriorating more and more, the month before the Pro-Bending Championship finals was a busy one for everyone.
Jin scoured the city and later provided maps of the underground tunnels used by the Equalists—meeting and training sites, and most importantly, their supply warehouses. It would be much easier to deal with them if they had no bikes, no electric gloves, no combat gadgets, and no training.
During the raids, Lin "lost" several metalbenders whom Amon had imprisoned, and by the time they were rescued several days later, they had already lost their powers.
Jin restored their bending one night, using mild sedatives while they were hospitalized. He sneaked into their rooms to undo what Amon had done, and then informed Lin, who quickly began to think about how to exploit that blind spot.
Those metalbenders later acted as nonbenders, working office shifts during the day while "recovering," always looking tired—then, at night, they worked under Jin's orders to sabotage and arrest Equalists.
But above all, their priority was to take down illegal facilities and destroy supplies in large quantities.
Korra, Mako, Bolin, and Asami were busy trying to deal justice to the Equalists on their own, but following Jin's advice, they avoided the areas where Tarrlok operated so that any shady actions he took would fall squarely on his head and no one else's.
Asami actually used those outings to relax a little, since between her training, the quiet measures to prevent the worst-case scenario, and making sure her father had more administrative work so he'd spend less time in his "hidden workshop," she was one of the busiest of them all. She couldn't even go on dates with Jin—only make the occasional visit so they could keep each other updated without arousing suspicion.
Oh, and Mako and Bolin were, in the end, funded by Asami just like in the original timeline—since thirty thousand yuans was less than what her jacket cost anyway.
Jin visited the tailor who had made him the clothes for his dinner with Pema and asked him to do a certain job—something that would be very useful when the championship final event happened, and of course, lucrative for the old man.
…
"Welcome, everyone, to the Pro-Bending Championship Finals! I'm your commentator, Shiro Shinobi, and tonight, I'm here to bring you this thrilling match live, where we'll find out who are the best players in the world of Pro-Bending!"
The arena was packed to the last seat despite Amon's threat to shut it down, and security had been reinforced by Lin's metalbenders—along with a few others hidden among the civilians.
"The day has come," Jin murmured as he scanned the arena. "The Equalists blend surprisingly well with innocent people… if I didn't know who they were, if I couldn't sense what set them apart, I might be fooled too."
Among the crowd, there was a group of people scattered around with two things in common:
First, a discreet dark scarf, which they would use to cover their faces once the game ended and the action began.
Second, a large box of untouched popcorn at their feet—with an electrified glove hidden inside.
If it hadn't been to avoid triggering their alarms, Jin would never have agreed to sell popcorn for the finals, whatever excuse he'd have to invent.
Where would they have hidden the gloves otherwise? He didn't even want to imagine.
As for the match itself, Jin had made it very clear to the referee before the game that the moment he failed to do his job properly (remembering the bribe from the White Falls Wolfbats), he would be punched straight into the water below the field—and fired on the spot.
Then he would take over as referee.
Thus, the match was carried out fairly—unlike how it was supposed to go originally.
The result?
The Fire Ferrets lost.
You could say the team didn't perform well, but that wouldn't be accurate—they simply weren't expecting the opposing team's strategy. The three rivals focused on eliminating the Fire Ferrets one by one after realizing the referee wouldn't play along after the first foul.
Their first target? Mako, who fell into the water within 27 seconds.
He was followed by his brother Bolin, and to Korra's credit, she managed to hold her ground against all three for several minutes before taking one down—only to be caught off guard by the opposing earthbender.
They were really close to turning the tables and winning.
No sooner was the victory declared than Lin's subordinates began collapsing to the ground, struck by electric shocks through their metal armor.
Jin could feel his niece getting hit, and he almost crushed the perpetrator on reflex—but remembering the plan, he held back and waited for Amon to appear.
In the meantime, he solidified the salt around Bolin and Korra, who were still in the water, to minimize the damage they'd take even as they screamed in pain.
Mako? If he was in the water too—well, so what?
"Ladies and gentlemen, it seems there's some kind of electrical problem in the stands!" Shiro continued his commentary like a consummate professional. "The police metalbenders are dropping like flies! There appear to be strange individuals among the crowd holding some kind of unknown device—ah, the door behind me just opened and—one of them has entered the booth, folks! He's pointing one of those things at me! I believe his intention is to electrocute me and… I'm going to need a change of pants, urgently!"
Amon and six of his Equalists quickly neutralized the championship winners and tied them up, preparing for his grand show.
Their leader begged for mercy and offered all the prize money—he just wanted to avoid losing his bending.
Amon slowly raised his hand and—
"I don't recall authorizing any of this."
Jin's voice echoed through the arena, making Amon stop mid-motion when he heard it.
Jin appeared, floating above them with his hands clasped behind his back, tilting his head slightly as if his blind eyes could see straight through the lies behind Amon's mask.
The Equalists threw cable boomerangs to bring Jin down, but not a single one came close—each one was deflected and sent back, trapping its thrower instead.
"You must be the new owner of the arena, Jin Beifong, correct?" Amon's calm voice resonated through the air, while behind the mask he analyzed the uninvited guest. "Will an old relic like you interfere in our affairs?"
"So, you do know who I am," Jin said—though Amon had no idea what kind of mistake he'd just made. "And even so, you dared to stage this? You electrocuted my niece and her men? You interrupted the sport I created?" Jin's eyes began to glow as chi visibly poured from his body. "I think your lie has inflated your ego far too much… Noatak."