Although Kahn didn't know what secret technique made Azula so confident today, he was equally confident—his confidence came from the Earthbending-based thermal extraction technique he had mastered recently.
And so, the two of them—both burning with pride—met at the training ground and began their long-awaited sparring match.
Then—
"What the hell is this!?"
Azula stared in disbelief as the terrifying fireball she had launched suddenly shrank mid-air, becoming an adorable little fireball.
Kahn chuckled but didn't explain.
Instead, he merged the extracted thermal energy into his own flames, boosting their power and forcing Azula into a messy dodge.
She quickly realized it wasn't just a single attack.
Every Firebending strike she unleashed weakened in front of Kahn, while his own flames surged unnaturally strong. Anyone could tell something was off.
But how was he doing it? Even Azula, a prodigy, couldn't figure it out.
This is cheating.
Azula cursed inwardly but couldn't do anything about it.
She had come here planning to make Kahn suffer with a new move, but instead, she was the one getting humiliated.
Meanwhile, Kahn was extremely satisfied.
Thermal Energy Firebending wasn't as world-shattering as he had hoped, but against Firebenders, it was terrifyingly effective.
He could strip away the heat from his opponent's flames while adding that same energy to his own attacks.
One side weakens, the other grows stronger—the combat gap widened instantly.
Just like now.
He and Azula were once evenly matched, but with Thermal Energy Firebending, Azula was practically unable to fight back.
It felt exactly like their first duel—except their roles had completely reversed.
If Azula struggled this much, then other Firebenders didn't stand a chance.
To put it bluntly, Kahn was the bane of Firebenders. To inflate his ego a bit, he could even call himself one of the strongest Firebenders alive—
Then he remembered Iroh existed and silently corrected himself.
But Azula saw Kahn smirking happily, and her already sour mood plummeted. Unable to hold back anymore, she unleashed a fierce attack.
With both hands, she conjured a sea of flames—massive, blue, and scorching—filling Kahn's entire vision.
The heat felt like death's embrace, ready to swallow him whole.
Kahn remained calm, preparing to weaken the flames again with Thermal Energy Firebending.
But then, his newly awakened Spiritbending alerted him—just a faint, inexplicable sense of danger.
He tried to dodge, abandoning his frontal counterattack—
Too late.
I fell for it!
A flash of white light burst out from inside the flames. It struck him faster than his eyes could track.
A sharp sting exploded through his body. His limbs went numb. He collapsed helplessly.
Only then did he realize what that flash had been.
Lightning.
Had she really struck him with a bolt of lightning?
As the flames faded, Azula stretched her arms lazily, all her irritation gone as she looked down at Kahn, who was still twitching on the ground.
She walked over with her signature wicked smile, crouched beside him, and pinched his cheek.
"You were laughing so happily earlier. Are you still happy now?"
"Hahahahaha!"
"@#$%… (Hands off!)"
His protest only made her pinch harder.
By the time she finally let go, the tingling sensation in Kahn's limbs had faded enough for him to sit up again.
He looked at her, stunned.
"What was that move you used!?"
Azula flicked her hair. "Which one? I used plenty."
After teasing him a little longer, she finally pressed her index and middle fingers together.
In front of Kahn's shocked eyes, she casually flicked a bolt of lightning into the empty air.
"Are you talking about this one?"
Kahn exhaled in relief—so he wasn't hallucinating.
A bolt of lightning.
He had never seen anything like it. The Four Arts were Air, Water, Earth, and Fire. So where did lightning fit in?!
Azula's explanation shattered his worldview even further.
Lightningbending was a high-level technique within Firebending, also known as Lightning Fire.
Good heavens—how does lightning count as fire?!
He didn't understand, but it didn't matter. He wanted to learn it.
It was too damn cool.
And not just cool—deadly. Azula admitted she was only beginning to master it.
That last blast had been intentionally weakened. If she'd used full power, he'd probably be dead.
Azula learned Lightningbending directly from Ozai. His lightning supposedly resembled true natural lightning—devastating and absolute.
But could Kahn learn it?
Lightningbending was an advanced Firebending technique, yet he had never heard of it.
Clearly, this wasn't something ordinary Firebenders could learn.
He suspected it was a royal secret, tightly controlled.
So he hesitated, unable to bring himself to ask.
Better not embarrass her.
But Azula had long since noticed his conflicted expression. Just as he sank into disappointment, she suddenly chuckled.
"If you want to learn it, it's not impossible. But you'll need to trade me that move you used earlier—the one that weakens my flames and strengthens yours."
"Really?!"
Kahn hesitated.
"But what if your father finds out…"
Azula snorted. "Do you think I'm afraid of him? Just don't tell anyone. Are you going to talk?"
"Of course not!"
Kahn finally smiled in delight. No man could resist Lightningbending.
Even though exchanging Thermal Energy Firebending for Lightningbending felt like a terrible deal on paper, he had nothing else to offer, so he silently decided to repay her kindness later.
With his days now filled with studying Firebending, Spiritbending, and Lightningbending, Kahn felt like he could already glimpse a bright, unstoppable future ahead.
But at that exact moment, unexpected bad news arrived.
"Zuko is in trouble!"
...
Author's Note:
The full completed version of Avatar: Rebirth of the Strongest Firebender — Part 1 Completed (ATLA) is now on Patreon!
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