"Wait, you actually have a komodo rhino you ride on? Our informants weren't lying to us?" Liu asked with a raised eyebrow as he and Toji dropped out of the sewer gates, both of them dripping with blood as Toji snorted while shaking most of it off.
"Yeah, stole him from a Fire Nation Army sergeant that destroyed my village."
"Ah, not bad. I got my dadao swords from a Fire Nation soldier that killed my dad. The old man got his leg so I just finished the job and took them for myself." Liu explained as they both hopped onto a passing chute cart and Toji hummed as they used the white linen inside the cart to wipe off the blood.
As soon as they neared the next earthbender point, both Toji and Liu rolled out and dropped onto another cart, riding it only for a few minutes before Toji pointed at the small house in the far distance.
"Right there. That's the spot."
"Good, but where's the exit point you spoke of?" Liu asked before blinking at Toji's grin as he pointed to the far west of the city, right on the opposite side of the house they were heading towards.
"Right there. The patrol on the western side of the city walls are not as good as they are on the other side so if we time it right, we can make it past."
"Okay, and how do you expect to get through the walls that are fifteen feet thick?" He asked and Toji just grinned as they dropped down, sliding down the roofs before hopping off of them.
"That is why we have him."
"Oh, that is most definitely a komodo rhino." Liu muttered with an impressed smirk as Iron slowly woke up, the beast rumbling and shaking its head.
"Yep. Hey, Iron. Wanna see if a wall can stand against you?" Toji asked and Iron looked at him before the boy grinned as he huffed.
"I still think that the wall is going to win this, but I suppose we ain't got any other option. Unless you want to leave him here and try to escape on our own?"
"Eh, not really. I've grown attached to the little demon." Toji spoke with a grin as he patted Iron's side, the beast rumbling and nudging him back while Liu just shrugged.
"Hey, just an option. Although, if you want to go with us, we most definitely don't have the ability to keep such a beast in our custody."
"Well, that's okay. I'm not going to be a part of your crew for long so I don't really need to stay there long." Toji said with a shrug as he hopped onto Iron's back, Liu doing the same while a bit bewildered at his words.
"What exactly are your plans with our crew?" He asked and Toji just grinned as he kicked at Iron's side, which was the signal as the beast snorted before slowly beginning to charge towards the spot they needed to hit.
"Oh, that's a proposition for your boss only. For now, all you need to hear is that if this goes as planned, I'll be on my way and your captain will be the new one in charge."
"So, you're just after the big fish, eh?" He asked as they continued through the city, Towa taking off his bow and loading it in preparation as he heard the earthbenders drawing closer.
"Yep. I'm not getting paid enough to risk my life against an entire armada. If I was, I would most definitely be going after your entire team."
"Hmm, then I suppose it's a good thing we got you on our side. Now, let's get this show on the road." The moment he finished speaking, Liu punched upwards to the right while Toji shot to the left.
His crossbow bolt pierced through the earthbender's skull while the other earthbender screamed as the flames washed over him, Liu snuffing out his flames as they picked up speed before lying flat against Iron right as the beast slammed horn first into the wall with a roar.
However, Liu's eyes widened when the wall parted in front of them, Toji grinning as they charged through before it shut behind them right as they began charging down the mountain.
"What the…?"
"Wait, you thought that Iron could actually get through that?"
"You hired someone, didn't you?" Liu spoke with a grin before shaking his head as Toji shrugged.
"Of course. I hired a few guards before I came to meet you guys in the sewer. That's why you also only heard a few voices as those are the guys that were supposed to go tell Bumi about our little 'fight'."
"You little sneaky shit…Ha! I respect the play!" Liu couldn't help but be impressed and Toji grinned as Iron slowed down when he got to the bottom.
Both grunted as the beast charged through a few boulders to do so before he finally came to a stop, Toji stretching as he turned to Liu.
"So, where to now?"
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Days passed as the trio made their way through the mountains, Toji grunting as he hopped over a boulder before rolling his eyes as Iron just snorted while lifting it out of the way and sent it rolling down the mountainside.
"That's a family of four you just killed, you know?"
'Does it look like I care?' Iron couldn't talk, but from the way he snorted in amusement while continuing on, Toji knew that that would be exactly what the beast would say.
"Trouble in paradise?"
"Shush, you. Where the hell is this place anyway?" Toji asked with a frown as they slowly walked across the side of a mountain, to which Liu just snorted while pointing down.
Looking over the edge of what the man just pointed at, Toji blinked before slowly looking at Liu, who just grinned as he was already taking off his shirt and boots.
"Oh, you're being serious?"
"As a heart attack. We have a deep entry to make sure the Earth kingdom can't find us."
"…That's a fifty foot drop." Toji spoke even as he took off his shirt and Liu grinned as he took deep breaths.
"You scared?"
"Not in the slightest. Iron, looks like this is the end of the road for now. Remember, protocol Stowaway." Toji spoke as he stood in front of the beast, softly rubbing its horn and chuckling as Iron poked his chest before slowly turning around.
"You sure you want to let him go? You don't even know if you're going to be accepted." Liu spoke, watching as Toji just stayed silent before his eyes widened as the boy turned and dove head first off of the cliff.
'Do not hesitate. Do not fear. Never surrender.' Toji thought with a smile as he flipped over before straightening his legs, taking a deep breath right as his sturdy legs pushed through the water and let him sink in.
He knew that his time with Iron would someday come to an end and while he did enjoy the beast's company, he did agree with the fact that one should not make too many attachments in this world.
'Besides, having him with me is just going to be another distraction so it's a good thing we left him.' Swimming up to the surface, Toji watched as Liu sunk in deep before smirking as the man swam to the surface with a frown.
"Really?"
"Eh, you were taking too long." Liu just rolled his eyes as he turned and began swimming towards the waterfall, Toji humming as he slowly swam after the man before blinking as he watched him sink into the water.
Following after, Toji was surprised as he saw the hole right underneath the waterfall, Liu gesturing for him to follow as the two swam through before Toji swam towards the surface, thankful for his enhanced lung capacity as he let Liu breach first before going after.
The moment he did, he had to admit he was a bit impressed by the dozens of ships all around the inside of the cavern and while most of them were just simple metallic sailing ships, there was one that stood up.
Nearly the same size as a battleship, Toji admired the trebuchets and the one massive ballista on the front of the ship, its design sleek yet armoured as Toji saw the segmented layers bulging its size out slightly as well as the gnarly design of its ramming bow.
"Damn, that's one good ship right there."
"The Dirty Noble, the flagship of the Dancing Nobleman Fleet and Captain Mosi's personal ship."
"I'm guessing that there's a few secret rivers flowing in and out of the cavern considering all of these ships are here?"
"Yep, but that's not your concern. Come on." Liu spoke as he began walking towards The Dirty Noble, Toji watching how most of them immediately ceased their business and turned their gaze towards them.
"Hey, Liu. What happened to the rest of the crew?"
"This here is Toji Fushiguro, the guy that wiped out the Renegade Phoenix along with their captain."
"Considering his head is not chopped off and in a bag, I'm guessing that he's here with a proposition for the captain?"
"A good one for the Dancing Nobleman Fleet from what I've put together." Liu answered, Toji deciding to stay silent as the guy that seemed to be one of the commanders just nodded and gestured towards the flagship.
"He's busy with tea so wait before you talk, understood?"
"Sure thing, sir."
"Wait, you haven't said what happened to the crew?"
"I killed them all." Toji answered simply as he began walking towards the ship, the tanned man raising an eyebrow and his brown locks bounced slightly as he turned to Liu who gave a shrug.
"Now you understand why I brought him here."
"Very well. I'll come with."
'Of course he is.' Toji thought with a sigh as he moved to the side slightly, letting the big guy walk past and lead them up the stairs before he rolled his eyes as the man spoke.
"The name's Raggul. I've been one of the best fighters of the fleet for the past decade."
"One of? Not the best?" Toji asked and the man snorted as Liu just smirked.
"Nah, that belongs to the bastard next to you. Despite his age, he's a real menace on the battlefield. Kind of like you."
"Oh, he's nothing like me." Toji spoke with a shake of his head, making both men raise an eyebrow before Liu shrugged as Raggul looked at him.
"Well, you'll have to show that to us for us to believe it. Now remember that the captain is going to be enjoying his tea so make sure to speak plainly."
"You won't find such a problem with me." Toji spoke with a shrug and Raggul looked at him before nodding with a grin.
"Then all I can say is good luck."
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"I thought I said I didn't want to be disturbed?" The moment the three of them stopped behind the man's seat, Captain Mosi spoke up despite not turning in his chair.
Toji decided to stay silent and let the other two do the talking, Liu staying still as well as Raggul walked closer before whispering something to the man.
"The bounty hunter that killed Captain Tengfei is here."
"…So, kill him? Do you need me to tell you that?" Mosi asked and Toji realized he would like the man's blunt tone more and more as Raggul sighed.
"He says that he's here with a proposition for you."
"I do not care for it if it can't make me money."
"How about becoming Captain of the entire Crimson Sails Armada?" Toji asked, making Liu raise an eyebrow while Raggul blinked as Mosi slowly turned in his chair.
The man's one good eye shone with an ominous hazel as he looked at Toji, his head completely bald while he had a goatee that he stroked with a smirk as he simply hummed.
"You expect me to believe that you want me to be captain?"
"That's why I took out Tengfei first. To make sure she wasn't there to stop me from killing Kangana since the Renegade Phoenix are her biggest supporters."
"I see. And what makes you think I'll even consider this offer let alone take it?"
"Because you're a man of opportunity. You know what you want and what you want is money. If you become captain of the armada, you will no longer have to worry about Kangana stopping you from robbing the bigger ships, which means more money going into your pocket."
"…That's a good offer right there. Just one problem, though."
"And what's that?" Toji asked and watched as the man unsheathed his jian before holding it to his neck.
"I quite enjoy my position in Kangana's army and if I were to take this offer and you lose, it's my head on the table."
"Oh, you won't have to do anything. You just need to tell me where she is."
"Again, only the captains know of that location…Well, we could say that you tortured Tengfei for the location. No, that girl is far too crazy and loyal to be a snitch."
"Oh, I have my ways to make sure someone talks so we can go with that." Toji answered and Mosi raised an eyebrow at him before nodding.
"Good. Then, that just leaves the last step. Kangan's location."
"Which is?" Toji asked before smirking as Mosi smirked back while scratching his head.
"It's quite hard to remember right n-!" Mosi blinked as a pouch was thrown at him, opening it only to grin at the fifty gold coins shimmering in front of him.
"Remember now?"
"She's on Razor Reef, healing from a few wounds after our battle against the Fire Nation Navy a few days ago. Some of her officers were hurt in the battle, but all of them are battle-ready and on edge. The reef is to the south-west of here in the Mo Ce Sea and she's situated on the north-eastern side of the island. One can't get to it as the rocks are far too slippery and too hard for any weapon to get through it. I'll lend you a ship and you'll have to go ashore on the south-eastern coast before making your way inland."
"But since I'm using that, I'm guessing they're going to be protecting that area as well." Toji spoke with a knowing look, which Mosi matched as he nodded.
"Precisely."
"Okay, then. Let's get me that ship."
"Before you go?" Mosi asked and Toji turned around only to shift himself to the side as the jian barely missed him, raising an eyebrow at Mosi who did the same with a smirk.
"I know of talented kids and I know of prodigies. You, Toji, are something far beyond them."
"I know. Was that all you wanted to do or can we get back to business?"
"If you do manage to beat Kangana, she has a nice jian you can replace your dadao with." Captain Mosi spoke with a smile as he sheathed his blade, Toji just rolling his eyebrows before nodding to Raggul and Liu.
"See you when you get back…or not. Who knows if you'll die on this job or not?"
"Fifty gold coins says I'm making it back alive."
"I like those odds!" Mosi shouted from where he was walking off of the ship and Toji grinned as he swiftly followed after the man.
'Looks like I'm getting that incentive to finish this mission after all.'
A/N: Finally~! The second-to-last chapter! Next time, if I try to write an arc this long again, feel free to stop me before I go too far.
Anyway, Toji now has everything he needs and is on his way to finish off his actual target. Will he do that or will he die? We'll have to wait and see.
P.S. Don't worry about Iron. He is coming back. After all, what Avatar character doesn't have their own mount? He's just going to be busy on his lonesome for a bit.
And now, like always, you can go to my Pat-reon-.-com-/-KingCrimsonNova to read ahead on this as well as many other stories. If you want to, you are free to, but if you don't want, all's good as I will still be uploading here. This is just me trying to get some extra cash.
As always, read, enjoy, review and until next week...
Ba-Bye~!