85: Princess Yue.

"What are they doing? He's already dead!" Pakku exclaimed, confused by Shisui and the other girls' attempt to heal the man.

He was surprised to see that both the Fire and Earth elements had healing arts, but what shocked him the most was seeing 'Sage Shisui' use water healing. That was a bad example! It was quite at odds with their culture.

After all, unlike the South Pole, which had few waterbenders, they had so many that they could segregate them into two groups according to gender: the fighters and the healers. They relegated the latter role to women while only men learned to fight.

"Surprised to see a man healing?" Shisui didn't turn to speak, but everyone could imagine the sarcastic expression on his face as he controlled the water, gently covering the man's skin and emitting a deep bluish glow.

"Those are skills for women..." Pakku held back his words as he felt Shisui's momentum bearing down on him.

"That's why I don't like this place, you know? Too backward with your stupid ideas," Shisui criticized, holding nothing back. Pakku's old face crumpled more, but he didn't speak because of what he was seeing.

"I glued his bones together the right way," Petra indicated. She had not only used earth healing but also manipulated the poor man's bones to reconnect them.

Inspired by bloodbending and Shisui's advice from long ago, she had been trying to control the minerals present in bones. Although many people thought it was unrealistic, she was able to accomplish it today.

Of course, she wasn't like Shisui, who could circumvent a person's chi field without them being able to resist. But since this man was in a terrible state, she was able to avoid that problem.

"I've healed his nerves, and I'm making his heart beat." Small electric sparks flew from Azula's hands along with fire.

As the princess of the Fire Nation, she couldn't ignore the healing power of her fire. She couldn't be left behind! Especially since her older brother had added a new type of fire to her arsenal, one that evoked the sun.

Although she had recently discovered her unique flames, she was still exploring their potential. However, the princess enjoyed the process of healing and saving others.

This was different from fighting or killing on the battlefield. For the first time in a long time, her flames weren't being used to burn others but to give them a new chance.

"Okay, I'm healing all the other wounds, but his brain..." Shisui examined the man's head. At least he could confirm that if the man woke up, he wouldn't be in danger. However, despite all their efforts, something seemed to be missing.

"You need a guide, Shisui." A female voice said. It was someone the Sage recognized, so without turning around, he answered her quite confidently.

"Then teach me!" Shisui brazenly asked his aunt, Princess Yue, who had approached them.

"Princess, I don't think it's right..." Pakku tried to stop Yue, but another woman's strong hand stopped him.

"Old man, stop being a nuisance for once!" Magallan, also known as Magalie, was a woman who, along with Chang'e, had broken the conventions and traditions of the Northern Water Tribe. She had trained herself to become a powerful warrior.

"You are about to see a miracle, Pakku. It is about to be performed by a man using the healing abilities of water. You constantly insist these abilities are only for women," the woman stated. She stared into Pakku's eyes. He remained silent. It seemed that, since Shisui arrived, this had become a habit with him.

"His spirit is dormant. He was hit hard by the dark energy and the rough control he was subjected to. You need to guide him and wake him up before he breaks out of his physical shell," Yue said, crouching down next to her nephew and admiring the collaboration between the three friends.

She noticed the similarity in the application of healing sub-bending in the other two elements used by both Azula and Petra. Although their technique was not particularly brilliant, someone as spiritual as Yue could notice the subtle differences.

"The nourishment provided by the earth and the rebirth of fire... Keep it up, girls," Yue said to the two girls, who smiled.

"Now, Shisui, you've already experimented with connecting to the chi of that dangerous woman. Try doing it with this man, but softly. Drip it slowly. Erod it. All to avoid damaging his vital essence even more." Under Yue's soft words, Shisui closed his eyes. He let his chi flow differently through the man's body. The water covering his skin seeped into his flesh.

"You've told me about your experiences. You know how to fish; do something like that. Use your chi as a hook. Slowly try to hook his spirit, and then stimulate him." Yue's blue eyes emitted a blue glow different from the white glow the Avatar emitted when using his maximum power.

Currently, Princess Yue was guiding Shisui's apprenticeship with the power that the Moon Spirit had given her. Many thought she was not a waterbender. But if Shisui had not been born, she would have been the most powerful in this realm.

How could someone who was directly blessed by the moon not be able to influence water? To think otherwise would be foolish! The key is that her abilities were well hidden and known only to a few.

However, this kind of concealment was no longer necessary, given the current state of the world. Under her spiritual power, Shisui took these steps and entered the place where this man's spirit dwelt.

Shisui had no definite form, yet he began to explore the area. He saw small flashes of light showing fleeting first-person images, the memories of this man, and he instinctively knew his name was Inuksuk.

He also saw bits of dark energy, traces of Vaatu's power. Shisui's ethereal form emitted a golden glow that cleansed the remaining corruption. During this process, he found bits of spirit and gathered them, hoping to find Inuksuk.

Finally, he came upon an image representing the spirit of Inuksuk, covered with cracks and missing pieces. With a gentle tug, Shisui drew the wounded spirit in and used healing energy to repair the damage.

He glued his parts together and began to slowly and gently guide him out, avoiding causing him further damage. Then, upon reaching a particular point in this strange space, which Shisui dubbed 'Spiritual Space,' Inuksuk reacted.

His previously lifeless eyes seemed to regain their vitality as he offered a small expression of confusion. With difficulty, he focused his gaze on Shisui, a mass of golden light that shone like a cold sun.

"Who are you?" Inuksuk asked. But Shisui was unable to speak in this state. He could only communicate in the old way, waving back and forth and up and down.

Still unable to communicate properly, Shisui simply hovered around Inuksuk, assessing his condition. Seeing that he was in good shape, Shisui decided to "wake him up," giving him a push.

In reality, barely a minute had passed. The gleam in her eyes faded as she looked at Shisui with a smile. Having seen how childish her nephew could be, she decided it was worthwhile to approach and guide him. However, she decided not to expose him.

Shisui pulled away from the man, sat down on the ground, and stopped waterbending. His breath hitched. Petra pulled away, too, wobbling a little, but Ty Lee held her steady. Azula, meanwhile, was held by Mai.

"Now it will be up to him," Shisui muttered, watching as Inuksuk appeared normal except for his closed eyes and normal breathing.

Suddenly, Inuksuk opened his eyes and forcefully sucked in air. His body went into a strong spasm, causing him to sit up quickly. A scream came out of his mouth.

"Young Inuksuk, are you all right?" Pakku reached over and patted the man's back. The man calmed down.

"Didn't I fall?" he asked, touching his neck as if he still felt uncomfortable. However, his body hadn't been this healthy in a long time.

"You were saved by... Sage Shisui, Princess Azula, and their friend." Pakku didn't know Petra's name, or at least he didn't bother to remember it, so he only gave her a slight glance. She simply waved her hand calmly in return.

"Just call me Petra. It's not like I did much. I just reconnected his broken neck," the Earthbender said, making Inuksuk wince as he felt a phantom pain in the back of his neck.

"Right! I... I...was under that thing's control, wasn't I?" Inuksuk muttered, lowering his head to hide the tears forming in his eyes.

"Don't be ashamed to cry, Inuksuk. Your experience was terrible. Don't hold back your feelings." Yue put his hand on the man's shoulder. The man trembled a little before starting to cry.

Pakku wanted to say that warriors don't cry, but he held back. He understood many things at that moment. For the first time in a long time, his frozen mentality began to melt and flow instead of stagnating.

"Thank you, Sage Shisui. Your healing abilities are as exceptional as your martial prowess and wisdom. I would like to apologize to you." Following Fire Nation customs, Pakku bowed to Shisui. The Sage didn't know how to reply, but he smiled.

"Old man, you should just stop being like an unchanging iceberg. You know, back home, we make fun of the fact that your waterbending women aren't warriors." Shisui said, making Pakku blush with embarrassment because he defended those traditions the most.

"HAHAHAHA! I wouldn't be surprised if it were like that. Boy, I like you!" Magalie patted Shisui's shoulder hard. Luckily, the sage's body was sturdy enough that he barely moved, even while sitting on the icy ground. This made the adventurer's blue eyes sparkle with interest.

"Uh, you're one of my mother's friends, aren't you? Sorry, but I already have a fiancée," Shisui scoffed in response. He had noticed that this woman was quite amusing and pleasant.

"But it's true. If we make fun of you, no offense," Zuko continued the theme started by Shisui. This caused the men and women present from the Northern Water Tribe to start murmuring amongst themselves.

"To say it's a tradition would be stubborn, wouldn't it? Many of my actions have caused trouble," Pakku said. This caused Shisui to narrow his golden eyes.

Pakku didn't like him; one reason was that he was among those who forced his mother to flee the North Pole, despite her status, because he had learned to fight using water.

Magalie was luckier because she was independent, but her mother was captured by General Sai, her father. Then there was Azulon. Shisui shook her head.

He didn't blame anyone for his mother's situation. However, Pakku made him uncomfortable because he noticed that the old man was his complete opposite.

While Shisui was like water flowing with the current, Pakku was an immovable, unchanging block of ice, though now it was cracking.

"Seriously, we even have dancers who know how to fight, even though they use fire as an artistic element in their dance moves," Azula pointed out with a big smile on her face. Besides, she had learned such dances for various reasons.

"There are female earthbenders among the Dai Li, and those guys are nasty," Petra chimed in. Consequently, Ty Lee did too.

"If the Avatar were female, would you refuse to teach her? Even if the Air Nomads lived separately by gender, they didn't refuse to give tattoos to those who deserved them." Ty Lee's words were the biggest kicker because they were essentially the truth.

If the extinct Air Nomad culture and the Northern Water Tribe were similar in any way, it was in their gender separation, though the former took it to an extreme; however, they did not forbid women from learning whatever they wanted.

In that sense, the Water Tribe was left behind. Now, both men and women can see a man, the strongest Waterbender today, using water healing, which they thought was only for women.

The blow was much stronger, adding to the arguments heard. Then, while people were still muttering, Pakku remained silent as always, and an idea came to Shisui's mind.

He was going to remind his people of the basics!

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AN: TheAnPlayer2 gave me a tip: Promote my original stories every 5 chapters. So, read my original novels: Steam and Heart, and Witch's Adventure. You may or may not like them, but give them a chance. c: