After listening to everything Kahn had endured, Iroh's expression grew complicated.
But in the end, all of his emotions condensed into four simple words, spoken with a quiet sigh:
"You've worked hard."
Kahn was still so young. He shouldn't have had to shoulder such heavy burdens.
If he hadn't become entangled with Iroh, his Earthbending talent alone could've led him to a bright future — not the quagmire he was trapped in now.
Iroh felt a twinge of guilt.
But who could've predicted things would unfold like this? Life rarely follows the path one expects.
"It was very hard!" Kahn admitted immediately, rolling his eyes.
"You know I'm terrible at all these schemes and political games. And Ozai—gods, that guy isn't just black-hearted, his brain is also… not right."
He then launched into a rant, cursing Ozai eighteen ways over, ending dramatically:
"One can only say people are pushed to their limits!"
But even while complaining, Kahn's mindset was far more optimistic than Iroh's.
He had never once doubted whether meeting Iroh was a mistake. That thought was pure idiocy.
People would kill to have a powerful master like Iroh.
Who would ever despise him?
Even after everything that happened, Kahn still felt it was worth it.
If he had to do it a million times, he'd latch onto Iroh's leg every single time and shout:
Iroh is forever the GOAT!
"But even though it was rough," Kahn continued, "the plan succeeded. And looking back, it wasn't that bad."
Then he grinned.
"And it's only going to get better."
His expression shifted to seriousness.
"I've thought about it carefully. As a team, we can't do the whole 'lone hero' thing. The important thing is division of labor and cooperation."
"Now that you can't provide direct help, Uncle Iroh, you'll handle planning and strategy. I'll handle execution."
He nodded proudly.
"Perfectly perfect."
Iroh flicked his forehead, laughing. "You really said it all, didn't you?"
But seeing Kahn so relaxed, Iroh felt relieved.
Kahn hadn't suffered any irreversible mental blow.
As for the division of labor, Iroh eventually agreed. He wasn't comfortable with Kahn carrying everything alone — not when his opponent was his own brother, Fire Lord Ozai.
"This time, it was also thanks to Azula's help," Iroh said with amusement. "I didn't expect the two of you to team up to fool Ozai."
"Speaking of which, she must have helped design that 'bitter-flesh scheme.' It suits her perfectly."
"Huh? Ah… yeah… sure…" Kahn's expression stiffened.
He quickly changed the subject.
"Anyway—Uncle Iroh, how's Zuko doing?"
"He's doing quite well now."
Iroh shifted smoothly, unaware of the dodge.
Compared to his initial despair, Zuko was much better. Although his temper had become slightly gloomier, improvement was improvement.
At one point, Zuko wanted to use this exile to find Ursa, but that was far too dangerous. Iroh had stopped him.
Even though they looked like wanderers, they still had to return regularly to report their movements and gather supplies. And there were soldiers shadowing them. They couldn't falsify anything.
Later, once Zuko's mood improved, he began training in Firebending under Iroh.
Iroh hoped this would temper Zuko's impulsiveness.
His recent calamity had come precisely from that flaw.
Fixing it was now urgent.
Kahn deeply agreed.
Hearing about Zuko's progress, he finally felt relieved. With Iroh by his side, this seemingly endless exile could actually serve as a meaningful tempering journey — if Zuko seized the opportunity.
"Oh, he also asked me to pass along a message."
Iroh cleared his throat.
"'I still don't know what I truly want, but I won't be dejected anymore. I'll use this journey to understand the world and this nation. And… please take good care of Azula.'"
"That's what he said."
The words were simple and plain, not princely at all.
But their sincerity made Kahn smile.
"I get it. Tell him I will."
"But I didn't expect him to worry about Azula. Seems he's grown a bit."
Iroh chuckled but said nothing.
They continued chatting about recent events.
Iroh and Zuko had stayed near the Western Air Temple, a ruin of the Air Nomads.
Now completely isolated and reclaimed by nature, the area held little but the bones of the past.
Kahn, meanwhile, mentioned that Ozai seemed ready to groom Azula as his successor, using the recent incident to build momentum for her.
Iroh wasn't surprised and asked for Kahn's thoughts.
Kahn shrugged.
"I think it's fine for the Fire Lord to be you, Zuko, or Azula. As long as it's not Ozai."
"It's 'fine for you,' isn't it?!"
Iroh flicked his forehead again.
Kahn's sense of belonging to the Fire Nation had always been oddly low. That had been true since childhood. It was the one thing about him Iroh couldn't fix.
Setting that aside, Kahn suddenly remembered something.
"By the way, my Spiritbending can now travel between worlds. So… what's the next step in cultivating it?"
Iroh answered calmly:
"I don't know."
"…Hah?"
Kahn froze.
"You— even you don't know?!"
Iroh rolled his eyes.
"Do you really think I know everything? People's knowledge and time are limited. My own Spiritbending attainment is not as high as you think. And I never fully dedicated myself to mastering it."
He stroked his beard.
"Being able to traverse the Spirit World is more than enough for me."
But it's NOT enough for me!
Kahn nearly cried.
You promised so much!
Now you tell me you don't know?!
Iroh burst out laughing at Kahn's expression.
"Relax. I don't know — but someone else does."
"If you want to advance further, I can introduce you to someone. A true Spiritbending Master. I studied under him for a time as well."
And just like that, the path forward opened.
...
Author's Note:
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