Inside a temple at the Eastern Air Temple, Iroh was taking part in a meeting.
"How many branch bases have responded to us?"
"Only a dozen or so, but there are still some branches we haven't been able to contact yet. If we had a little more time..."
"We can't wait any longer. The longer we drag this out, the weaker we'll become. What about Zuko?"
"Things haven't been going very smoothly. According to Prince Zuko, only a small portion of the Resistance Army is willing to cooperate with us. The vast majority refused outright as soon as they heard our name."
Sigh.
Hearing this, Iroh couldn't help sighing and said helplessly:
"We expected as much. In that case, have Zuko come back for now. We can only hope the coming battle will restore some of our reputation."
"Also, is there still no word from the branch bases in the Fire Nation homeland?"
"None."
The meeting yielded almost no good news, but those present didn't become any more dispirited. They had already grown somewhat numb.
Or rather, considering the recent situation, the fact that they could still hold a meeting here was already incredibly good news.
Just then, a commotion suddenly came from outside. Before long, a member of the White Lotus Society entered the meeting room and reported:
"The Avatar and Kahn are here. They're outside, asking to meet us!"
"The Avatar?!"
"Kahn?!!"
Discussion immediately broke out in the meeting room. Iroh sprang to his feet and headed straight outside, ignoring the chair that had toppled to the floor behind him.
"Are you sure this really isn't a den of thieves?"
Toph asked somewhat doubtfully:
"It's not that I don't trust you, but you know, the White Lotus Society has a really terrible reputation, so..."
"At least there shouldn't