บท 3: Chapter 3
"Eight days after the murder of the merchant and his son, I was walking along the road. I kept walking until I stumbled upon a city. The city, again, wasn't the largest, with a fairly large population, but it didn't compare to the bigger cities. However, I happily entered and decided to stay there for a while.
'After the murder of the merchant and his son, there was no news about you for quite a while,' First said to me. 'They were searching for you in the vicinity, and you were right here in the city all along.'
'Yeah,' I replied. 'When I found out about that, I couldn't stop laughing at the Fire Nation soldiers.'
'What did you do there all that time?' Second asked.
'What else could I do? If you practice, waterbending makes a great tool for pickpockets. You can make a precise cut and remove a wallet, or simply cut the bottom of a wallet, drop the money into the water, and bring it to yourself using waterbending. I lived for a week and a half without money, and all I did was practice with my thin water whip. I had my first successes after six days, and I hadn't eaten anything for a day, having consumed all the food I brought with me. That's when I tried my new trick for the first time. I lay on the roof above a stall, carefully cut a piece of fabric, and watched the merchant. I distracted him in various ways, and when he wasn't looking and there were no customers, my water whip quickly snatched the food and brought it back to me. I survived the first three days this way, stuffing myself until I couldn't eat anymore. After over a day of fasting, I realized the beauty of being completely satiated.'
'And then you started stealing? WAIT! I remember hearing about an elusive pickpocket in Otoro, someone they could never catch! Was that you?' the first voice asked.
'Wow! I became famous even then. Funny, I never received that information about myself,' I chuckled.
'Then, three months later, a gang started operating in the city, led by a guy they called Elusive Joe. He got that nickname from his own gang members.'
'Ha-ha-ha-ha!' I couldn't help but laugh, remembering how I introduced myself as Elusive Joe. 'Oh yes, that was a lot of fun. It all started two weeks after I successfully amassed my fortune. I remember I had just cut a wallet from a careless rich man. The money I got from him would have sustained me for a month, maybe a month and a half. But I was saving up. I wanted to buy myself a house with a big basement. A really big one. So I could practice waterbending properly, although practicing with water whips was also yielding great results. After nearly a month of constant use, I realized that controlling water in the familiar volumes had become much easier! And by that time, I had three water whips. That's three times more wallets at a time! One time, as I was returning to one of my hideouts to take some of the money I had accumulated, I saw nine guys, each ranging from eleven to sixteen years old. And these scoundrels were dividing MY money!'
'Hey, listen! Are you completely out of your minds, touching my money? You better put it all back right now, and if I don't count every coin, I'll slice all of you into pieces!' I shouted at the guys. They jumped when they heard a voice behind them, but when they got a good look at me, they calmed down and started to smile.
'Are you going to cut us up? There are nine of us to your one, and you're just a kid!' the oldest of them said, although I was older than at least two members of their gang.
'Are you sure you want to find out if I can cut you up or not? Keep in mind, and all of you should keep this in mind,' I looked at the rest of the guys, then back at their leader, 'you're responsible for everyone. And you'll bear the consequences as well. Ready to take on this challenge?'
The guy glanced at the others, then looked back at me, smiling widely.
'Well, go ahead, give it a try...' he began to say but never got to finish.
After standing for another second, maybe two, the upper part of his head rolled down the lower part, following a slanted and smooth cut. The upper part of his head, part of his nose, and one ear fell to the ground, and then his body fell due to his crooked legs. I continued to stand there with my hand raised, with a barely noticeable water thread at the tip of my middle finger."
"Well, you tried. Now, hand over the money!" I shouted at the other guys who were in shock, wide-eyed, and staring at the corpse of a guy who wasn't much older than themselves.
However, my words snapped them out of it, and they immediately started scattering.
I specifically chose locations for my hideouts that met two conditions: there was a recess for some large containers nearby, and there was one, at most two entrances/exits.
Since I was standing on one side, they all ran in the opposite direction. But I lunged forward, raised one hand upward and scooped up the water from a large basin covered with a lid. Continuing the motion, I used my other hand to support and push the mass of water as if from below. A large water tentacle burst out of the basin, merged with the second from the neighboring basin, and this stream of water raced across towards the guys. Upon hitting the ground in front of them, the water splashed and turned into ice, blocking one of the two exits with an ice wall. The other exit was behind me. Just to be safe, I glanced behind me to see if anything might happen or if someone might appear there. But there was no one behind me, so I turned back to the guys who were staring at me in fear. Taking the water from the last basin, I covered my hands with it, forming two large and thick tentacles that almost touched the ground. At the same time, the water was quite condensed, and there was a fair amount of it. I intentionally stole such containers and placed them in the right spots.
'It seemed to me that I told you clearly what you need to do. But if you're so eager, I'll just kill all of you and take the money back myself.'
The guys were trembling with fear, clearly not expecting to encounter a waterbender, let alone that I would be that waterbender. Right now, they began huddling closer to each other out of fear. In that moment, I was only concerned with one thing - what to do with so many bodies? That question worried me quite a bit. I could quickly hide one, maybe two, at most three bodies...
However, the problem was resolved on its own when one of the guys stepped forward on trembling legs. I thought he was desperate and decided to attack me, but he surprised me even more by kneeling and bowing so low that his forehead touched the ground. He was saying something, but I could hardly hear.
Taking a step forward, I extended the tentacle and used it to lift the guy.
'What are you mumbling over there? If you want to say something, speak clearly.'
'Please, let me join your gang! Don't kill me, I beg you!' he shouted after taking a deep breath.
'Hmm?' I looked at him in amazement and then glanced at the others.
They followed the daring guy's example, falling to their knees and bowing their foreheads to the ground.
Lost in thought, I contemplated the advantages of having a group of guys around my age. After a moment of reflection, I realized it was actually a pretty good idea.
'Alright. I accept you. But remember, whoever tries to run away or betray me, don't complain from the afterlife!' I smiled at the guys who would now be under my command.
I hope they won't try to betray me.
'Now, guys, I'll ask you once more politely: hand over the money to our base!'"
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