Boro, a warrior from one of the other villages, lunged forward, thrusting his spear at my unprotected chest. Calmly, I sidestepped the attack and waited for his follow-up. Another stab came, aimed at the side I was leaning toward. I spun, feeling the shaft of the spear graze my back. Using the momentum of my spin, I moved closer and attempted a roundhouse kick over his spear, it missed. Boro shoved his shield toward me, hoping to catch me off balance. I jumped, rolling my shoulders across the shield, and landed behind him.
He reacted instantly, swinging his spear in a wide arc. I ducked and swept his legs out from under him. He hit the metal deck with a loud thud and groaned. I smiled, the spar was over.
The crowd laughed at Boro's misfortune, particularly enjoying my flashy tai chi display. He would be grumpy for a few days, but he was a good warrior. I reached down and offered my hand, he accepted it, and I hauled him to his feet.
"Good fight," I said, slapping him on the shoulder. He growled, shook my hand off, and walked back to the railing where he had been standing.
Before I could move, a familiar voice called out.
"Up for another challenge?"
Hakoda, the chief, approached with a cocky grin and a spear in hand. He wore casual clothes suitable for the day, red, sleeveless, breathable shirt showing toned arms, and the usual Fire Nation pants and boots. I wore matching red pants and boots but was shirtless, my chest and arms showing the hard-earned strength of muscle and definition, a far cry from the skinny boy I had been when I woke up in this life.
"I'm not sure I should accept it, chief," I joked, loudly enough for the crowd to hear.
The crowd booed, and Hakoda shrugged, gesturing toward them. They wanted to see me humbled by the chief, and a part of me wanted the experience.
"Oh, I get it! You want to see the chief humble me, huh?" I called out, playing to the crowd.
The crowd cheered, enjoying the tension. I smiled, knowing this was part of a plan I had been crafting. My reputation among the warriors was that of a cocky waterbender, due to my cold personality, who acted as though the tribe needed me more than they did me. Socially, I had no footing, but this display of humility might help shift the balance. I needed to be liked, respected, a leader, not just a powerful waterbender.
"Alright then. I guess I'm up for another challenge," I said, moving toward the center of the deck.
"Just like the others. No bending. No weapons!" Hakoda tossed his spear aside. The crowd roared.
I dropped into my tai chi stance. Surprisingly, Hakoda mirrored me in a different stance.
"Ready?" he asked.
I nodded, bouncing lightly on my feet.
"Begin."
I sent a kick toward his liver. He blocked, but expected it to come toward his head. Already, I was setting up a question mark kick for the next move. Another kick followed, this time blocked by his knee and elbow. Using momentum, he leapt and struck with a superman punch to my jaw. I rolled the punch off my shoulder just in time.
I evaluated my strategy as we circled. Hakoda was quick. He feinted a left jab and then hit me with a brutal liver shot. Pain shot through my side, up to my ribs and chest. I dropped to my knees, gasping. The crowd murmured in sympathy, but I ignored them, focusing on recovery.
Hakoda extended a hand and hauled me to my feet.
"Everyone underestimates a well-placed body shot," he said, smiling.
Before I could respond, a shout rang out.
"Fire Nation ships!"
All eyes turned to the horizon. Three black dots approached. My heart sank, three ships was more than we'd faced before and these were bigger. The Fire Nation had either discovered our distress flares or were tracking us, intent on eliminating us.
I considered our options. Allowing them to dock was suicide. There is only one bender, me, there should be atleast 50 benders in all three ships combined, we couldn't hold them off all at once. Picking them off one by one seemed like the only viable strategy, but it would be exhausting and dangerous.
I turned to Hakoda.
He asked hopefully. "Do you think you could sink a moving ship?"
"Not at the speed they are going, I would only be able sink one at max by the time the other two reaches us. I will need more time, but yes I can." Isaruq answered. I began to catch on to what he wanted from me.
"Good." Hakoda said as he turned around and faced the Command Tower. There, another warrior was waiting on orders. Hakoda nodded to him and the man immediately left my view to go do something.
The light, that was used to communicate ship to ship on the open seas, began flashing in a completely different pattern. A pattern that I recognized as morse code. Although, I wasn't skilled enough with the communication method to decipher what was being said.
"It's telling them that we are grounded, and that there are rocks in the water beneath them. They'll be more cautious. It should buy you some more time, and slow them down." Hakoda told me.
A plan clicked into place. I realized that we could use deception and speed to isolate the ships, picking them off individually. Hakoda's signals would provide cover, making the first ship think we were grounded and slowing the others down.
I shed my armor and shirt, leaving only my pants and boots.
"It seems I must save your hairy asses again! See you soon!" I shouted, diving off the railing.
The water caught me, and I propelled myself forward like a torpedo, scattering fish as I went. I reached the first ship and positioned myself beside its hull. Carefully, I removed all the water around me in a bubble, making a bubble of air for me to breathe easily. A high-pressure water jet cut into the hull, then an ice spear rammed through it, flooding the ship. One down.
I moved to the next ship but was confronted by an enormous predator, an aquatic tiger-shark hybrid, with four limbs, sharp claws, and a shark's finned tail. Twice my size, it lunged, raking my back. Pain flared, but I ignored it, forming an ice spear and driving it through the beast. It sank silently as I rocketed to the next ship.
Using the same tactics, pressurized water and ice spears, I broken through the second ship's hull. I considered capturing all three ships, imagining the boon they could be to our fledgling navy. But realistically, the risk was too great. Attempting all three would stretch me too thin. Two ships sinking was a more achievable goal.
I surfaced briefly to catch my breath after the close call with that tiger-shark thingy, watching as the first two frigates began to list and take on water. The third ship, realizing the threat, began attacking. Fire arcs and arrows flew toward our ship, confirming that stealth was no longer an option. But the third ship could wait, I had already accomplished half the mission.
Taking a deep breath, I dove back into the water to prepare for the final engagement. The ocean was my battlefield, and I was its master.
The third ship moved faster than I expected, its crew having seen the sinking wreckage of the first two. Flames shot from its cannons, arcs of fire and arrows streaking across the waves. I surfaced just long enough to gauge the distance and saw a group of soldiers preparing to board our ship.
No time for subtlety. I dove, letting the water envelope me like a cloak. My arms sliced through the currents, propelling me toward the hull. Head-on attacks would get me killed, so I had to be clever, the ship was larger and better armed than the first two.
I swam beneath it, surveying the underside. The rudder and propellers were exposed, perfect weak points. Twisting my body, I shot a concentrated jet of water at the rudder, freezing it instantly. The ship's maneuverability vanished. Next, I bent water from the surrounding waves into sharp ice spears, lacing them with pressure so they could reach the soldiers above the deck looking down at what happened to the ship .
The crew noticed immediately. Soldiers dove overboard to chase me. Fools, trying to fight a waterbender in the middle of an ocean. One particularly large man lunged with a spear. I ducked and delivered a spinning roundhouse kick, sending him tumbling into the water. Two more followed, and I used their momentum to hurl them toward the ship's railing with a crushing wave.
The captain, a burly man with a scar running down his cheek, appeared on deck, shouting orders. Arrows rained down, but I bent small water shields just in time, blocking them. I rolled through the spray, keeping my distance, then used a wave of water to slam into the ship's side, making it float to the side and making everyone lose their balance. Some even fell into the sea.
Hakoda signaled from our deck. Our warriors were rowing quickly toward us in small boats. That's when I realized we didn't have to sink this ship, we could capture it. Using water and ice, I manipulated the currents to push the vessel toward our side of the bay. The disabled rudder made it nearly impossible for the enemy crew to correct their course.
As the ship scraped against the shallow reef near our side, I shot out of the water, landing on deck. The captain swung his sword, but I ducked and used a precise kick to knock him off balance. Soldiers tried to swarm me, but our warriors joined the fight, boarding the vessel. Ice pinned the ship in place while water jets knocked the enemy into submission.
The remaining crew, realizing they had no chance, surrendered. We tied them up and secured the deck. I bent the ice holding the ship and removed it and then killed or captured all those who feel in the sea.
Hakoda grinned. "Looks like we've got ourselves a new flagship for now."
I smirked, chest heaving, saltwater dripping from my hair. "Better than sinking it. We can use it to show the rest of the Fire Nation fleet what happens when they mess with us."
From that day, the captured ship changed the way we fought.
At dawn, we organized a mock battle to test its capabilities. The enemy's long-range cannons no longer intimidated us, the ship's height gave us a vantage point for spotting incoming threats. Our archers stationed on deck rained arrows with precision, protected by barricades we rigged using the enemy's own supplies.
When our smaller ships maneuvered for flanking attacks, the flagship would pivot to cut off retreat paths, forcing enemy vessels into narrow channels where our warriors could strike. I bent water beneath the waves, creating controlled currents that subtly guided the captured ship into the most advantageous positions without damaging its hull.
During the first real encounter with an enemy patrol, the flagship became the centerpiece. Cannons roared, boarding hooks flew, and the sight of our enemies' former ship now wielded against them sent panic through their ranks. We had the element of surprise and superior control, and it turned the tide before our fleet had even fully engaged.
Standing atop the deck, I watched our warriors coordinate flawlessly. The captured ship wasn't just a trophy, it was a weapon, a beacon of morale, and proof that we could turn our enemies' strength against them.
The sun dipped toward the horizon, casting gold and crimson streaks across the water. Our fleet, now bolstered by the captured ship, sailed into the evening with a newfound confidence, ready for whatever challenges lay ahead.