Chapter 48

"A hundred thousand gold coins from the Fire Nation, better dead than alive." I was quite surprised. "And one thousand gold coins from an Earth Kingdom city, only alive. I'm wanted on two sides?"

I guess the other earthbenders, who spread my teachings to the world, didn't steal the credit from me.

It was now obvious that I was known as the inventor of the metalbending training method. I had also made the earthbenders learn my teachings by hacking their brain chemistry—literally. So, I might even be wanted by allies.

I smiled, looking at the poster. I felt a sense of pride. My heart had toughened up from the many recent life-and-death experiences, so I didn't feel any fear.

'You know what? All I need is to wear a straw hat. I'll gather all the treasure I can, oppose the Fire Nation, and then call my treasure the One Piece. When I die, I'll yell that the One Piece is real. Sounds like an epic ending. Or better yet, I'll make a speech. Fame. Money… Power.'

Don't take my thoughts seriously. I was just having childish fantasies. What? At least it's not some Ecchi anime-type fantasy.

"That's quite a sum of money," Sokka commented exaggeratedly. "I think we should turn you in."

"You're not acting like a good brother-in-law, brother-in-law," I said, grimacing and calling him in the most annoying way I knew would trigger him.

"You can't seriously take a joke," Sokka exhaled a long breath. "I'd save you after turning you in, you know I would."

I put my hand under my chin. "Now that you mention it, a hundred thousand gold is a lot of money. The most I've collected from soldiers was silver, and only a commander or captain had a few gold coins. The warden of the prison, who had a village paying him high taxes, only had 30 gold saved. I mean, no one would earn a hundred thousand gold in their entire life working normally."

Katara looked at me with wide eyes. "Are you insane? They want you dead more than alive! What assures you they won't kill you on the spot? Matter of fact, if they cuff you and throw you in a metal prison, you're as good as dead."

"Katara, we're just joking," I sighed.

As for her question about what assured me I wouldn't be killed.

I may not be a bloodbender, but I can bend them nuts.

"Joking, my ass. I know my brother, and I know you. Neither of you was joking," she yelled.

I placed my hands on her shoulders. I could tell she was repulsed by my crazy idea.

I gave a side glance to Sokka, who just moved his eyes up and down.

We'd discuss a plan for that later.

Who knows? If we're patient, we might even raise my bounty.

"Sorry, mom," Sokka apologized. "It's not that serious."

"Yeah, Katara. You should know, when men joke, they act honest because they know they can't do it. So, even if they're honest, no harm can be done," I said, scratching my chin.

Her anger was justified. But come on. To make money, you need to take risks. High risk, high reward.

'If there's a chance on the day before we kick out the Fire Nation, I'd turn myself in…'

'By that time, I should be a bloodbender. And then, I'll steal their money.'

My desperation to become a bloodbender was stronger than Vegeta's desire to become a Super Saiyan.

I entered the city with the siblings and exchanged some of my money for Earth Kingdom currency.

Katara went to buy new dresses and other things. I helped her since she hadn't brought any money from the South Pole.

As for Sokka, he kept looking at me with puppy eyes the whole time his sister was shopping.

Out of pity, I gave him a T-shirt I had stolen from a Fire Nation soldier.

As for why I was buying clothes for Katara, it wasn't just for her joy. It was for mine. I wanted her to look good so I could enjoy staring at her more. As for Sokka, I had no use for him looking good or bad. All I needed was for him not to yap at me for not getting him anything.

"Aren't you being too harsh on him?" Katara whispered to me.

"He's a man. How many times does he change his clothes?" I asked.

"I get your point. Once or twice a week," she replied. "He can wear the same outfit for a month if I don't yell at him."

"He also needs to learn how to earn money," I nodded. "Anyway, I'll be walking around to buy a few things."

I needed some groceries and other items the market had to offer.

Since I had looted a lot of soldiers, I had plenty of money. Not as much as the hundred-thousand-gold reward on my head, but enough to last me a few years without worry. Maybe even a few decades. And what's the point of having money if you're not going to use it?

"Okay, be careful," she said, her voice tinged with concern.

I smiled. "That's for sure."

"No. There may be bounty hunters around."

"Free money," I shrugged.

"If it's you, I shouldn't be worried," she sighed and shook her head.

"We'll meet again at the entrance. Once you're finished, head there."

I then began shopping for what I needed.

As I was browsing, my aqua sense alerted me.

This new sense didn't just alert me to the shapes of things surrounded by water, giving me extra sight. It also picked up waves in the air, including sound from a distance. If I heard something interesting, I could focus on it.

"Yeah… smash him!"

"That's why they call me the Boulder…"

I need to learn how to shut it down, I thought to myself. Ignore it until you don't have to. I have six senses, or seven according to some. My brain can't process all of them at once… Wait a second, the Boulder. That sounds familiar.

The Boulder—I thought of the material earthbenders usually bend and throw. But the name reminded me of someone who always yells and makes funny faces, like a WWE wrestler. The only difference was that the latter followed a script.

"Oh yeah," replied a soft, girlish voice. "And I'm the Blind Bandit, the greatest earthbender."

"Greatest, my ass," he replied. "You can't even bend metal, and they say there's a bunch of them out there."

But soon, the Boulder seemed to regret his words.

"Oh… ouch… damn it!"

Sounds of the Boulder getting smashed and groaning could be heard.

"Sir, are you okay?" the merchant in front of me asked.

It seemed I was too immersed in the conversation, and he thought I was sick or something was wrong with me.

At the same time, he didn't seem to recognize that I was a wanted man.

"Forget it," I waved my hand, turned, and walked away while continuing to listen.

It was a no-brainer that the person I was hearing was Toph.

Toph.

Unlike what the Boulder said, she really was the greatest earthbender to exist. Someone who could learn metalbending just because she was teased into it.

Well, maybe since she's older now, but in canon, I didn't consider her the greatest—in my own opinion.

To me, for now, it was the mad king, Bumi, the greatest earthbender. But that could be different since Toph is older now.

Bumi had enough experience to bend earth while trapped inside a metal coffin, unable to move a limb.

That's what you'd call the greatest earthbender. Even during the Sozin's Comet in canon, when firebenders were on steroids, he was smashing them up.

The voices continued to echo amidst the cheering of the crowd.

"And I'll have you know, I see without my eyes what people can't see. Your ego is way bigger than your tiny worm."

"Waaa…."

Okay, enough using waterbending to eavesdrop on people's conversations.

Matter of fact, the fact that this girl can see you as if you were naked in front of her, see what's in your pocket, what's behind you, and all—not to mention she's an adult in this world—made me reconsider approaching her, fearing some harsh comments.

What use would I have for her anyway?

It's not like she could see the entire ground and underground, locate Wan Shi Tong's Library, and give me a good clue about when the comet would arrive, so I could know if I should prepare the metalbenders or strike the Fire Nation before it's too late.

Hold on a second.

She's not completely useless. I needed to know when the comet was going to strike. I had no way to find out, so I didn't think of it and focused on what I could control instead. And with her talent, she could take earthbending to another level. In the show, she was around 12 and could do a lot of things, already a master of earthbending. Now, she seemed older, and I didn't know her current level.

Katara, who had been clueless about waterbending despite not having a teacher, had discovered a few interesting moves when I arrived in this world. So, Toph could be way better now and more useful.

At the same time, this made me think of people like Azula, who were already monstrously talented in the show. And by monstrous, I mean her talent, not her looks. She already had the potential to be a stunning beauty at a young age. If she hadn't lost her mind by now, I wondered what she looked like and how skilled she was at firebending.

Also, she's a lightning bender—my perfect counter.

I exhaled a sigh, deciding to refocus on the topic at hand.

Toph could be useful.

And it's not like I had to worry about the canon and future events causing a butterfly effect. My existence alone had already destroyed all future events and thrown this world's fate into the unknown. So, no more harm could be done.

And so I had decided.