"This, uh…this is the new assistant, Long Feng?", Toji raised an eyebrow at the slight disbelief in the older teenager's voice while Long Feng stood at the young teen's side with a smile.
"That is him, your Majesty. Toji is a prodigy of remarkable talent and I believe he may become quite the invaluable addition to your staff."
"…He looks like a student."
"That's because I am, your Majesty. However, I am a student that studies matters of great relevance such as logistics, governance and history. I will do my best to be of use to you," Toji spoke with a bow, catching Long Feng's slight nod while the Earth King smiled.
"Very well. You may take your position at my side. Make sure that you observe for today."
"As you wish, your Majesty," Toji answered as he walked over, standing on the Earth King's left side at the dais while watching as the King looked to Long Feng who cleared his throat.
"For the first order of business, we call forth the Minister Shao of Agriculture," A lanky man walked through the crowd, his face fixed in an expression of nervousness yet stoic as Toji studied his body language.
"Your Majesty, we've received troubling news from the Agrarian Zone. Due to the meteor shower a few nights ago, the spring planting has been disrupted and a few of our fields have been laid to waste. Unfortunately, that means grain yields are expected to be reduced by at least 30%."
'Meteors? When were there…? Ah, I get it. He's in control of the court and he doesn't want the Upper Ring to know that the Fire Nation is attacking so he says that it's meteor showers. Not bad, Long Feng.'
"That sounds bad, does it not?", The Earth King asked with a frown as he looked to Long Feng, who nodded gravely as Toji kept quiet while Minister Shao hesitated before continuing.
"It is, your Majesty. If we do not secure imports or reallocate stores from regions and/ or reserves that have a surplus, we risk shortages and potential riots in the Lower and Middle Rings within the coming three months at the earliest."
"Hmm, three months is a very short period," Toji heard the Earth King murmur, watching as the rest of the nobles looked just as concerned before being a bit bewildered as the teen turned to him.
"Toji, you said that you have been studying matters related to logistics and governance, yes? How would you deal with this?"
'Put me on the spot straight away, huh? Well, it's a good thing I got that report from June.'
"Well, your Majesty, I have reviewed the regional harvest yields for each Ring for the past two years. There is a known surplus of grain in the districts along the Inner Wall. Due to last year's long growing season and thankfully low demand for export, the warehouses near the walls are currently sitting on stores projected to last well into the next planting cycle."
"B-But are those not meant for trade with Omashu and Gaoling?", Minister Shao asked wit a frown and Toji nodded.
"Yes, but unfortunately, they themselves are unavailable which is also something that you, Minister Shao, recorded in your own quarterly report under the exact phrase 'logistical redirection in light of hostile maritime interference, yes?", Toji asked, nodding as Minister Shao just nodded slowly before turning back to the king.
"If we issue a limited reallocation directive now, targeted only towards the areas facing the most severe crop damage, we can bring both stability to grain distribution and avoid the civil unrest. On top of that, instructing the officers in the Lower Ring to implement rationing schedules for high-demand households will help us preserve the emergency stores until the secondary harvest later this year by the royal harvesters."
"The plan is quite sound, your Majesty. It accounts for our existing supply routes, avoids the excess military transport and maintains the illusion of stability across the three Rings, something that will also help lower the chance of an unrest," Long Feng spoke in agreement and Toji hid his smirk as the Earth King looked at him with an impressed smile.
"You've thought this through."
"I try to stay informed of the comings and goings, your Majesty," Toji answered, drawing a chuckle from the King while Minister Shao looked dismayed as Long Feng nodded.
"The boy is correct, minister. I propose that we follow his suggested course if that is what you choose, your Majesty."
"Indeed it is. Go forth this plan," The King spoke and Toji watched as Long Feng nodded, gesturing for Minister Shao to step back as the next stepped forward.
"The second item of the day: General Rhao's plan to simulate an emergency drill across the three rings."
'…Well, this is just getting longer and longer by the second.'
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It was three months later that Toji found himself seated in an office chamber within the palace, close enough to the throne room to be at the service of the king yet far enough that he was 'out of the way'.
'Long Feng most likely planned it. I have to admit that the man has a choke hold on the political side of Ba Sing Se,' It was not just in the political scene as Toji had found some Dai Li agents walking into Long Feng's office with scrolls that had Fire Nation sigils on them and in the past couple of months, he had not heard a single word of the siege currently being laid to the Outer Wall.
That led him to one simple conclusion. Long Feng was making sure that no information of the siege was getting to anyone important and causing a panic amongst the common populace.
Hell, the only reason Toji was even able to find out that the Fire Nation army was almost winning the battle was because of June, who had decided to nab a hidden message the Dai Li had meant for Long Feng to copy its contents and bring to him for a bonus.
'She is working a bit harder than she needs to. Guess she really wants that 10%,' To be honest, he didn't mind the past two weeks as most of this days were stuck either listening to people of the Lower Rings pleading with the king for more food or those from the Upper Ring begging for more food.
In other words, the exact same.
"Assistant Toji," Toji looked up as he heard a knock at his door, standing up from behind his desk and opening his door to see a young teenage boy with dark brown hair and brown eyes looking nervous.
"The Earth King has asked for your presence in the gardens."
"…The gardens? You're sure he said the gardens?", Toji asked, wanting to make sure he heard that right considering that the man in question never liked going outside let alone the gardens.
He watched as the servant nodded before letting out a sigh, closing the door behind him and following the serveant as they made their way through the hallways and out into the vast garden behind the royal palace.
As he walked out into the garden, Toji raised an eyebrow at the sight of the king standing at the bottom of the steps, his eyes focused on the gardeners going about their duty before turning when Toji walked down the steps.
"You called for me?", Toji asked, the king having gotten used to Toji not using his titles when it was just the two of them talking to each other and not Long Feng with them.
"I did. I've been thinking about the city and what it means."
"And what have you discovered from those thoughts, my lord?", Toji asked with a raised eyebrow, watching as the teen turned and looked forward at the gardeners once again.
"I've never left the walls, not once in my life, and today, one of the merchants from the Middle Ring told me that his sister had not written to him in weeks. He spoke of how her village was gone, burned to the ground, but what stumped me was the fact that he said that her village was one of the few on the outskirts of the Outer Wall."
'Ah, then she's probably been killed by now,' Toji thought with a subtle frown, which vanished as the Earth King sighed and turned to look at him.
"Do you believe his word, your Majesty?", Toji asked and the Earth King looked at him before nodding slowly.
"Long Feng said that it was most likely just a mining accident, but I want you to investigate it for me. Find out if something is happening beyond the walls and if you do find something…"
"I come directly to you and no one else," Toji spoke with a nod, the Earth King nodding with a smile before looking back forward and Toji turned and began walking back up the steps.
As he walked towards his room, though, the boy hid his subtle smirk as he shook his head and chuckled softly.
'As if I was going to do that. No, by the time you figured it out, I would be gone. Now I do believe June is still in the Upper Ring, so perhaps I'll put her to work?', After all, June said that she wanted another 2% with her payment so she might as well help him for it.
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"No signs of an explosion, the ash is pushed to the edge more instead of being spread out evenly and the weapons are of Fire Nation make," June explained as she put the scroll down in front of him, Toji staring at both it and the metal spearhead she had put down which had the Fire Nation insignia on it.
"So, they're already inside, then?"
"Not particularly. Are they inside the Outer Wall? Definitely, but they're not even close to breaking through the Agrarian Zone let alone the Inner Wall considering how tightly packed the Ba Sing Se defences are right now."
"And the report?", Toji asked and June just smirked as she reached into her pouch and took out the scroll, the boy taking it and unfurling it on his des with a smirk.
Disruption has been minimized. The Fire Nation patrol that did it has been eliminated. Unfortunately, no survivors and village is decimated.
The Dai Li report was quick and to the point, making Toji hum as he read through it before looking up to June who was sitting on his desk.
"How many more villages have you heard of?"
"Five or six, I think. The Dai Li are tightening any kind of moving between the Rings to stop the flow of information. All I've figured out is that they take out the earthbenders around a village, let the Fire Nation take out the villagers and then take out what's left of the patrol unit. I think they're stalling the Fire Nation near the outside to boost the defences of the interior rings."
'Hmm, if the Fire Nation are already through the Outer Wall, then the real fight is about to begin. The Dai Li are going to be spread thin along the border of the Upper Ring and the royal earthbenders are going to be busy trying to protect the Earth King from their onslaught. I suppose it's time to move onto Phase 2, then.'
"June, I'm going to give you five hundred gold coins and no, it is not for payment."
"Aw~ You sure know how to hurt a girl's feelings," June grumbled, but Toji just rolled his eyes as he reached under his desk and took out a key that he tossed to the bounty hunter.
"That goes to a secret vault in my office back home. Take fifty for yourself and spread the rest amongst servants from both the Lower and Middle Rings that come into the Upper Ring."
"Vault access, huh? Okay, and what exactly am I to tell them?"
"Tell them to talk about whispers. The villages going quiet, rumours of the Fire Nation at the walls and the food rations growing thinner and thinner by the day. They don't have to be true, but just enough to unsettle and stir the pot."
"Hmm, turn the city against itself, eh?"
"No, just against Long Feng. With the Dai Li stretched thin, I need Long Feng to start losing his control and once people start doubting him, the Earth King is going to start asking the wrong questions."
"And then? You going to replace him or do something like rule the city?", June asked with a smirk, to which Toji scoffed as he shook his head.
"Please, I'm here to take out my targets and get out. Nothing more. Once Long Feng is gone, the Dai Li wand the royal earthbenders will scramble for power with the added absence of the Council of Five. The nobles and the poor will tear themselves apart trying to find balance again and all I have to do is make sure I'm far enough to watch it all go down."
"You are one fucked-up kid, you know that?", June spoke with a sharp laugh and Toji smirked as he nodded.
"I am, but I'm also going to be a rich, clean and more powerful bastard when I leave this place. Now go."
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The corridors of the Earth King's palace were silent as Toji moved through the shadows, crouched low and avoiding the royal earthbender guards patrolling the hallways.
It has been two years since he sent June on her little expedition to cause disarray and chaos amongst the populace of Ba Sing Se and considering there was another riot, it was time to finally put an end to this contract and take out Long Feng.
Was it going to be an easy assassination? Hopefully, but Toji knew that the man still had his slight suspicions even after everyone had forgotten about the 'Wraith of Ba Sing Se', so Long Feng was most likely going to be on guard.
As he turned a corner, he rushed into the shadows and vanished before the three Dai Li agents against the pillars could even notice him, taking out his dagger while running up against one of the walls.
With a jump, the first Dai Li agent had their throat slit, but Toji was already on the move as he fired his crossbow while throwing his dagger towards the final agent.
Rolling as he landed, Toji rushed to the first agent he got and caught them with ease, catching the other two as well as placing their bodies in the shadows before a single sound could be heard.
Taking out his dagger and bolt and cleaning both, he placed them back in their holsters before making his way to the final chamber, slipping on the oni mask he had bought before slowly opening the door.
There was no creak as he entered, frowning as every shadow had a candle in it while Long Feng stood with his back to him.
"Hmm, strange. I felt no tremor and no shift in the stone. You are quite the capable young man, aren't you…Toji?", Long Feng spoke and Toji just smirked under his mask as he slowly unsheathed both his dadao and butterfly sword.
"Like you said, I'm a prodigy of remarkable capabilities."
"I assume the Council of Five was you as well?", Long Feng asked as he turned around, a glare in his eyes as Toji nodded.
"Hmm, you've been quite the thorn, Toji, but I have to say…that even the sharpest thorn cannot pierce the strength of the stone," With a stomp, the smooth floor cracked before stone needles shot from the walls.
With a step, Toji shot forward, twisting and spinning through the barrage while his two blades deflected the ones that tried to slip through. Closing the distance fast, he went to lunge at Long Feng right as the man lifted a fist and a rock wall rose with it.
Already having planned for it, Toji folded over the wall before it could close off the rest of the room from in, Long Feng dropping to a knee and punching the ground to raise a pillar at the spot where he would have landed.
However, Toji curled into a ball and barely flew past the pillar, landing and kicking off the ground towards a wall before pushing off of it as Long Feng punched numerous sharp tiles at him.
Surging forward while dodging the numerous rock tiles shot at him, Toji unleashed a flurry of slashes when he got close, but Long Feng quickly covered his arms in stone-like armour while weaving and dodging around Toji's attacks.
A slash to the neck resulted in Long Feng moving back and shooting a stone spike from the floor. Toji dodged it while throwing his dadao into the air as a distraction, shooting at the man's head who blocked it with his rock hand while the boy hopped to the side as Long Feng tried to crush him with a stone slab from the ceiling.
However, the quick exchange soon ended as Long Feng brought the large wall down and stomped at the same time, collapsing the floor around him and making Toji grunt as he fell into it.
Exhaling slowly as he watched the boy disappear into the shadows, Long Feng clapped his hands together to bring the floor back together only for his eyes to widen as a crossbow bolt was shot from the darkness and into his arm.
The man grunted in pain as it stopped his motion momentarily, which was what Toji needed as he ran along the side of the pit back up to the surface. Hopping out as Long Fang stomped to bring the floor back together, Toji rolled while catching the dadao that he had thrown and slashed through the side of the man's knee.
Long Feng gritted his teeth as he felt his knee buckling, but Toji didn't stop when he saw the rock spikes erupting from the ground, barrel-rolling through the gap while stabbing Long Feng in his other knee and forcing the man to the floor.
Rolling with his momentum and spinning around, Toji grunted as Long Feng punched the ground before thrusting both hands towards him, the floor shooting up the form of a dozen large stone hands trying to crush him.
However, he quickly grabbed at his side and threw down three pellets, a cloud of thick smoke swallowing the room while Long Feng frowned as he opened the ceiling above slightly to let the smoke ou.
"You…are a bit better than I expected, but-!"
"Just shut up," Toji whispered as he appeared behind the man, his dadao stabbed through his spine while the butterfly sword was through his neck. He enjoyed the look of shock on the man's face when his body slumped, pulling out both weapons before using both weapons to cut through his neck with ease.
"Well, that was a bit hard," Toji murmured as he cleaned off his blades and sheathed them once more, picking up Long Feng's head before putting it into the black satchel he had brought along.
Looking up as he heard several explosions in the distance, Toji smirked as he walked out of the room and silently began making his way to the exit points.
'But first, gotta stop at the house to get the rest of the souvenirs I got from the Council of Five.'
A/N: And like that, Toji's missions is over. Like I said, it might take ten years to complete, but I've decided that's far too long to stay in Ba Sing Se so we're going with three years.
That's still a long time but not as long. Anyway, Toji is done and now he's going to get his payment, but is it going to be that easy? Let's find out next time!
Also, to help, Toji is about 12 right now.
Next chapter: Yeah, saw this coming.
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As always, read, enjoy, review and until the next one...
Ba-Bye~!