40: Sage vs Immortal.
"I ask, why is Shisui fighting an elder?" asked Ty Lee, looking at the scene dozens of meters in front of her.
Shisui and Lao Ge were a few meters away, standing at the edge of the Southern Water Tribe, staring at each other as they each made different moves. Shisui was doing small warm-up jumps, shaking his shoulders, while Lao Ge was thundering all over his bones.
"I don't know. They suddenly started laughing and then decided to fight," Azula replied, paying attention to Lao Ge.
She didn't know why, but that old man looked very strange and threatening to her, as if a powerful beast was hiding under his old skin. Even though he had the typical white beard, it only made him more menacing.
"This old man is powerful," Mai said, noticing the calm in Lao Ge's eyes.
In all the time she had watched Shisui fight, she could always see the fear or caution in her enemy's opponents. Mai could hit the nail on the head, and Lao Ge was not afraid of Shisui at all.
After living for four millennia, what scene had he not seen? Lao Ge saw Avatars smashing mountains, he saw Kyoshi separating an island from the mainland. Shisui? A tsunami could be threatening, but Lao Ge had seen hundreds of tsunamis in his lifetime, he was not surprised.
For him, this 'fight' was more of a game, he wanted to see Shisui's abilities, you could say this was a hobby of Lao Ge's own, to meet and fight some interesting or capable people.
Having lived so long, he had many, many disciples, some of them were Avatars, so he just wanted to trade blows with an outstanding young man of this generation, maybe he could get a new disciple? Who knows.
"It feels like a huge mountain," said Zuko, who couldn't help but put his hand on his sword, all because of the overwhelming feeling Lao Ge was giving off as he prepared.
"A large mountain," said Petra, who could feel Lao Ge's power directly.
She felt pressured, as if her Earthbending was no match for this simple old man. Even Shisui didn't give other Waterbenders that feeling, so Petra feared that Shisui would lose.
"Shisui won't lose," Azula said when she saw her friend's thoughts, taking note of Shisui's confident smile.
"My master is strong. Do you think Sage Shisui will win?" asked Toph, who was casting in the group.
As an outsider, she was able to fit into the group quite quickly; her outgoing personality made her 'friends' with Ty Lee, although the girl could befriend anyone she wanted.
But even Katara found this strange girl from the Earth Kingdom pleasant. Even if some of her manners displeased her, she understood that maybe it was the cultural difference, so she didn't get hung up on those details.
"Shisui is incredibly strong! Of course he'll win!" said Ty Lee before she looked at Katara, who was talking to this Kuzon guy.
"What do you think, Katara?" asked Ty Lee to the girl, causing Katara to think it for a few moments before answering.
"I don't know, we don't know anything about this old man, do we? And even though Sage Shisui has many accomplishments, maybe the old man is a hidden master?" Katara replied, adding some doubts of her own about the matter.
...
"The young men are arguing about who is stronger and who will win among us." Lao Ge could 'hear' the distant sounds by using the waves propagating through the ground.
So he found the comments among the young men quite amusing, although he noticed that many of them supported Shisui, and no wonder he was better known than Lao Ge, who had no fame or known accomplishments.
"It's normal, Everyone would have doubts if we suddenly got into a fight. Remind me: why do you want to fight me?" Shisui asked before a dozen super condensed water droplets emerged from his body and swirled on his back.
"Because I want to move my old bones." Lao Ge only needed to step on the icy ground for it to start shaking, and stone pillars easily emerged from the ice.
For him, the ice covering the South Pole did not exist; he could simply shatter it and get the land he needed. Shisui raised an eyebrow at this before the world completely changed in front of his eyes.
He would go all out. With a simple movement, the snow around him melted and floated towards his left hand, freezing into a two-meter-long spear. The rest of the water floated around the tip of the weapon, vaguely taking the shape of an oriental dragon.
"Well, I was getting bored after traveling for so long," Shisui took the initiative and ran quickly towards Lao Ge.
His feet were covered in swirls of water that propelled him forward, his gift allowed him to see the flow of different colors in Lao Ge's aura, but strangely, his aura was unusually orderly, unmoving, unchanging.
This indicated that the old man had proper control over every aspect of his being and that his mentality was technically hidden from Shisui, but considering that anything could happen in this world and that no technique or skill was ever invincible, Shisui did not feel nervous.
He could fight without his gift, but this special vision gave him additional advantages. Lao Ge watched his approach with a small smile, the rocks he had pulled from the ground transforming into creatures that seemed to be alive.
About three huge earth bears. These elemental constructs prevented Shisui from directly approaching Lao Ge, so he simply decided to smash them apart before moving on.
Seizing the momentum, Shisui kicked forward, drawing in the water he had propelled himself with and transforming it into a large water whip with a consistency similar to gel.
This whip enveloped one of the earth bears, which struggled to free itself, but Shisui simply clenched his fist and froze the creature. For the other two, he simply used his spear, which began to rotate in his palm.
The tip of his spear pierced one of the earth bears before the dragon-shaped water rushed in and then burst into spikes of earth, shattering its integrity.
As for the other bear that had come too close, intending to tear at him with its massive claws, Shisui simply pointed at it. One of the drops swirling around him snapped, releasing a thin stream of pressurized water that split the last bear in two.
"What a nice greeting. Now, let's get serious, shall we?" said Shisui, looking at Lao Ge, who was stroking his white beard.
"Okay, let's get serious..." Lao Ge said before dozens of earth pillars emerged from the frozen ground, half of them started to turn red, while traces of black particles came off the rest, taking on different shapes.
Weapons, weapons that had a metallic sheen. Shisui knew then that this old man was serious. How could someone 4 millennia old not do what Lao Ge had just done?
Although, as Shisui remembered, Lao Ge's immortality had nothing to do with the earth element; it had a lot to do with spirituality, and with four millennia of practice, even if he didn't have much talent, he could develop Metal-bending and Lava-bending with pure effort.
"Old man, it looks like I have something to prove too, or I'll look weak," Shisui said before the temperature around him rose.
Mists of steam resembling roaring dragons began to surround Shisui while chunks of ice swirled around him. Not only that, but Shisui reached into his pocket with his free hand and pulled out some seeds.
Thick vines grew from the seeds in Shisui's hand. Lao Ge recognized those vines as the ones in the Foggy Swamp. Not only that, along with the steam mist, there was also icy mist, and even the snow around Shisui began to swirl around him, circling him.
Then, Shisui's impulse went out of control, he didn't even bother to restrain himself or protect others, so everyone watching, be it some onlookers, his teammates, or even Hakoda and Zhao who were attracted by the extravagant display of power of both fighters, really felt Shisui's true momentum.
Crushing, pressure, no light, but also tranquility, diversity, life; showing the facets of the sea such as waves, the vastness of the sea, and its depths. Shisui usually shows the first part of his drive to crush his enemies, but this time it was more complete.
Shisui fully embodied the ocean at that moment, and even a certain spirit in the North Pole shone for a moment, as if sensing the actions of one of his children in the earthly world.
Lao Ge followed, showing his impulse like an ancient mountain, full of history, immovable, always watching the small creatures of the earth from its peaks.
The people had to beg, for not everyone could withstand such a display; only the strong ones who were present stayed, even if they gave more space to the fighters.
"Boy, my bones have been longing to fight someone for a long time. My last student decided to leave me alone because of 'balance.' I hope you can amuse me," Lao Ge said, and although he knew no one would understand much, Shisui nodded.
"Good, I hope you don't break." Shisui took the initiative again, this time simply walking toward Lao Ge.
There was no need to run or play tricks, at this point, their battle was no longer physical or with elements, but on a spiritual level. Lao Ge was also walking towards Shisui, holding a dagger that appeared to be made of iron.
Lao Ge was the one who taught Kyoshi the art of assassination, so the daggers felt quite comfortable and light in his hands.
Lava, water, ice, weapons, earth, snow, all began to collide, moderating each other as Shisui swung his ice spear at Lao Ge, trying to pierce his chest.
Lao Ge's dagger collided with the tip of Shisui's ice spear, stopping it completely, though the ground beneath him cracked, showing his control of the power, but also the power behind the Sage's attack.
The immortal pulled the spear away from Shisui and approached him with unusual speed for his age. Shisui simply turned the spear in his hand into a mirror of ice to protect himself before spreading the cold through the metal to freeze Lao Ge's hand.
The metal dagger vibrated intensely, shattering the ice covering it, but Shisui used this to shoot pressurized water from one of the drops floating behind him.
But when it hit Lao Ge's skin, it only made the old man look at Shisui arrogantly. The old man moved to the side and showed how pieces of what looked like porcelain fell from his body.
"Those water jets, I once faced a white-haired man with such a trick a thousand years ago, I suffered a lot, but I had time on my side to create an effective defense, what do you think?" asked Lao Ge, causing metal swords to cut through the vines that tried to trap his feet.
"That you're an annoying old man, but you're not that special to me," Shisui exhaled, and the icy mist around him spread towards Lao Ge, turning his white beard and hair even whiter.
A wave of lava created by Lao Ge made Shisui jump back, and the heat thawed the old man's skin, which soon regained its natural color.
Shisui took advantage of the distance to create his wave, which reached 10 meters in height. This wave fell heavily against Lao Ge, but the old man pushed himself upwards, creating a floating platform of earth.
"You won't be able to finish this so easily!" shouted Lao Ge, watching as Shisui also rose into the air, propelled by a whirlpool of water that covered his feet and kept him afloat.
"And that makes me happy!" said Shisui, and motes of Chi erupted from Shisui's body, causing Lao Ge to stare intently at this strange display of energy.
"Round two, then!" Shisui declared before charging at Lao Ge.
He was enjoying this fight!
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AN: A sudden fight. Why? Why not?