Kahn had been in this world for some time now, and the story of Journey to the West that he had been telling Zuko, Azula, and the others had finally reached its end.
"Tang Monk was named the Sandalwood Merit Buddha, and Sun Wukong was named the Victorious Fighting Buddha."
Kahn finally finished telling Journey to the West. After hearing the ending, everyone present felt some measure of loneliness and wistfulness.
"The Victorious Fighting Buddha. So cool."
Zuko looked entranced. Although he had no idea what a Buddha was, the name alone sounded impressive.
"That's it?"
Azula sounded rather dissatisfied.
"That's it? Sun Wukong actually let himself be bought off? I thought he'd kill Tang Monk, then plot to overthrow the Tathagata Buddha and the Jade Emperor. Wouldn't it be better if he became the strongest god himself and ruled the Three Realms?"
"Wouldn't that be a completely different story?!"
Kahn was speechless.
Do you understand that adaptation doesn't mean making things up at random, and elaborating doesn't mean talking nonsense?! (Tactical lean back.)
Azula was still muttering, lost in her own brilliant flight of fancy.
"Obviously, Sun Wukong should have brought all the factions along the way under his command and risen again, killing that eyesore Tang Monk while he was at it!"
Listening made Kahn's head ache and his hair stand on end. Azula's thinking was seriously dangerous, in every sense.
The others exchanged glances and established that they were all still normal. With unspoken agreement, they ignored Azula for the moment and continued chatting.
"Speaking of which, who's your favorite character in the story?"
Ty Lee posed the question, then eagerly answered it herself.
"My favorite is the queen of the Kingdom of Women. She was so devoted and so beautiful. It's such a shame that Tang Monk never accepted her love in the end."
"If he had, he would have failed his mission," Zuko said.
"I know that! What about you, Mai?"
Mai answered without a second thought. "Sun Wukong."
Zuko immediately looked delighted.
"You like Sun Wukong too?!"
"Well, of course you do. He's powerful, brave, and resourceful, and he punishes evil and champions good!"
Zuko was delighted that Mai had made the same choice as him, but Mai said flatly:
"I'd like a subordinate like Sun Wukong too. I could leave everything to him. It would save a lot of trouble, and I wouldn't have to worry."
"Huh?"
Zuko's expression froze. Wasn't Mai focusing on something a little strange?
"What about you, Kahn?"
"Sun Wukong, of course. The Great Sage Equal to Heaven is the coolest."
Kahn answered without hesitation.
What boy hadn't pretended to be Sun Wukong and swung a stick around as a child? The Great Sage Equal to Heaven's appeal was beyond question.
Zuko breathed a sigh of relief. At last, there was a normal person who thought the same way he did.
Kahn really was his best friend!
"Hah. What's so great about Sun Wukong? The Tathagata Buddha had him dancing in the palm of his hand from beginning to end, controlling him like a puppet on strings. In the end, he was even bought off and made into his subordinate."
At some point, Azula had finally returned to normal and joined the conversation. Her words were full of admiration for the Buddha, but what she admired were his supposed schemes and methods.
Kahn thought that, compared with the conventional version he had told this time, the conspiracy-theory version of Journey to the West dreamed up by people online would probably suit Azula's tastes better.
Perhaps the story's ending had stirred their feelings, for they went on to discuss earlier parts of the story. As they talked, Ty Lee wanted him to tell it all over again.
Kahn was somewhat reluctant. He did not particularly like repetition that was both pointless and a waste of time, but then an idea struck him.
"Maybe I could write this story down and publish it as a book."
As soon as he suggested it, he felt eager to try. If it hadn't been such a mismatch in style, he could have taken the literary plagiarist route too. That would count as exporting culture to another world.
At least, publishing a book struck him as pretty cooooool.
Everyone present voiced their support. Even Azula, the most sarcastic of them all, refrained from making any nasty remarks for once. They also thought it was an excellent idea.
When Kahn told Iroh about the plan, Iroh found it quite novel and likewise offered his support, provided that Kahn did not neglect his Firebending training.
He had heard some of the story Kahn told, called Journey to the West, and it was indeed quite interesting. However, he was often slipping off to the Council Chamber in the Royal Palace and had not heard much of it in full.
As for why Kahn could come up with such an interesting story, no one cared much. They simply thought he had a talent for that sort of thing. It was no big deal.
After all, this was merely a minor pursuit. Kahn's talent for Bending deserved far more attention.
Speaking of Bending, after fighting Kori for so long, Kahn had inadvertently picked up a few Earthbending moves by watching her. Then he had suddenly wondered whether he could use Earthbending moves to bend fire, so he experimented in the courtyard.
The result was clear: he could not.
However, Iroh happened to catch Kahn experimenting and said in surprise:
"Earthbending moves? Where did you learn those?"
As a former general of the Fire Nation who had fought the Earth Kingdom for years, he was naturally familiar with Earthbending moves.
Kahn briefly explained Kori's circumstances, then told him his idea before asking in confusion:
"What exactly is the difference between Earthbending and Firebending?"
"You actually thought that far. Not bad."
Iroh first praised Kahn's idea, then explained with a chuckle:
"The fundamental difference between the two doesn't lie in the Bending moves, but in their source-something akin to the fundamentals."
He conjured a ball of flame in his hand and explained:
"Even without using Firebending forms, we can still bend fire, because Bending forms are merely a way to help us control flames better. The same applies to Earthbending. As for why you can't bend fire through Earthbending, it's simply because their methods and principles differ."
"The ability to bend fire comes from breathing, so learning to control the breath is fundamental for every firebender. The ability to bend earth comes from the ground, and earthbenders sense the flow of energy through their feet touching the ground.
"The principles behind the two forms of Bending are completely different, so naturally, they can't be treated as the same thing."
Iroh discussed these theories with effortless fluency, fully demonstrating the profound understanding of Bending possessed by a Bending grandmaster. Questions others found difficult to understand presented no difficulty whatsoever to him.
Only then did Kahn catch his first glimpse of the tip of the iceberg that was the ability of the world's finest benders.
Most importantly, Iroh was his master.
Seriously, he had hit the jackpot.
Iroh's explanation made everything click for Kahn. His attention, however, was no longer on that question, but on one particular sentence.
"Bending forms are merely a way to help us control flames better."
In other words, the current form of Firebending was only one solution for using the ability to bend fire. Were there other solutions, then, or even an optimal one?
His thoughts began to branch out.
Before you continue