Chapter. 53.6- And so the Dragons Danced

XXXXXXX- TOJI

“So what are you going to do?” Toph asked.

“Throw a party of course.” He replied, looking over at the comet as it flew past them. Zhufu was busy taking deep breaths as she tried to adapt to the new feeling of overwhelming power, so it was only the two of them who got to just enjoy the comet for what it was— a beautiful natural phenomena that they could just enjoy with the thought that somewhere under this same sky, Natsu was bringing pain, blood and tears to their enemies. There was no better feeling.

“A party for what?”

“Conquering the Northern Water tribe” he said like it was obvious, because it truly was. It wasn’t like they had much else to celebrate.

“We haven’t even gotten news from Natsu” Zhufu cut in. Toph scoffed, and he smiled. She, at least, understood how things worked. Natsu didn’t lose. It was just one of the few inescapable truths of life. And on a day where firebenders were guaranteed to be at their best? He pitied those who stood in his way even more than he usually did. At least in the past, they would have had a slim fighting chance of escape. Now? Well, inescapable and unstoppable were one hell of a combination. He was even more sure of it as he watched Zhufu rise from her meditative posture and begin to go through a kata.

She moved smoothly and elegantly with a grace that Nnatsu would never have been able to simulate. Watching natsu had taught him a lot about firebending, probably more than that most people knew. Natsu was flexible, agile, and quick, but he was not graceful. His movements were a display of ruthless efficiency. Not a second was wasted, not a movement was unnecessary as he moved from one motion to the next. Zhufu was the opposite of that. Where he stabbed and jabbed, she poked and prodded. She was not as forceful with her motions as he tended to be, and she was far more inefficient. She added a flair to her bending that Natsu’s lacked. She spun when spins were unnecessary. She jumped when she ought to have remained grounded and covered the distance with two quick steps. She did everything wrong, and yet it was beautiful.

Fire roared into being around her and she bent massive amounts of flames that he would have never expected from her. Zhufu was a talented enough bender, but she was far from people like Natsu and Maki when it came to raw power. She made up for it with grace, and now under the comet, her power was amplified to a level that he wouldn’t have been surprised to see coming from Natsu. Yeah, he decided mentally. The Northern Water Tribe was doomed. If the comet could turn someone of Zhufu’s calibre to becoming comparable to Natsu’s raw power, then what would it do to Natsu himself. He remembered the comet was said to make firebenders better based on their inherent potential. Sozin was given so much power under the comet that he and his dragon had been able to smite the air benders, the original rulers of the skies and their Bison out of the air when they tried to escape his purge.

“We don’t need news from Natsu. I know he’s not going to lose” He said.

“And that solves our problems how?”

“We need Mako to tell us which noble hired him, and there’s no easier way to ensure that every noble and retainer in the capital is in the same place than a big enough party” he said with a smile. Zhufu ended her kata with a series of three spinning kicks that sent fire screaming through the garden over their heads in concentric circles. So much fire, so beautiful.

“Then let’s do it” Zhufu said after she stopped and took a deep breath to end her kata.

“Good. Time to plan a party”