Tu

:This article is about the merchant. For the criminal, see Tu (criminal).
Tu is an Earth Kingdom fruit merchant native to Ba Sing Se and the son of Chow and LiLing, as well as the cousin of Mako and Bolin.
== History ==
=== 171 AG ===
==== Meeting Mako and Bolin ====
In 171 AG, after having spent the night on the streets of the Lower Ring of Ba Sing Se, Bolin and Mako were arguing as to whether they should pull a scam and steal some fruit from a stand. They were overheard by Tu, who challenged them to steal the food while simultaneously attempting to discourage them, leaving the brothers confused. Utilizing the confusion, he jumped over the stand and pinned both Mako and Bolin to the ground. Their scuffle ended at the feet of Tu's father, Chow, whom Tu immediately informed about the situation. As opposed to helping his son punish the would-be fruit thieves, Chow identified Mako and Bolin as his nephews, Tu's cousins, much to everyone's surprise.
The brothers accompanied Chow and Tu to their home. Standing on the porch, Chow praised Bolin and Mako for their success in Republic City, to which Tu sarcastically congratulated his cousins and affirmed that he could just be as successful if provided with the same opportunities as them.
Later, when the brothers asked the family about the new airbenders in Ba Sing Se, Tu told them of a rumor that the Earth Queen was locking them up and experimenting on them, resulting in him being scolded by his grandmother, Yin, for speaking negatively of their ruler.
The next day, Tu managed to get two passports for his cousins to return to the Upper Ring to warn Avatar Korra. Bolin praised him as a good cousin before the whole family shared in a group hug. Sometime later, Tu was listening to a citywide announcement by Zaheer over the radio with the rest of his family at Yin's house and was shocked to hear of the death of the Earth Queen.
==== Escaping Ba Sing Se ====
As Ba Sing Se was slowly being consumed by chaos, Tu and the rest of his family tried to convince Yin to leave their family home, though with no success. When Bolin dropped in and announced that there was an airship on the roof to evacuate them to safety, Tu notified his cousin that their grandmother refused to leave. However, after Bolin picked Yin up and carried her out, Tu followed suit. Once on the airship, he thanked his cousins for the rescue, although he added that he could have probably handled it himself if they had not come along.
Upon hearing from Mako that they were looking for the wreckage of the airship that was supposed to take Korra to Ba Sing Se, Tu scoured the Si Wong Desert with a telescope. He found some metal remnants, which prompted them to follow the tracks leading toward the Misty Palms Oasis, where they made a bumpy landing. There, he warned his family in alarm to watch out for an excited Naga, whom he referred to as a "giant dog beast thingy".
After the insurrection of the Red Lotus, Asami let Tu, along with the rest of his family, to stay at the Sato estate.
=== 174 AG ===
==== Meeting Prince Wu ====
Tu was surprised to discover Prince Wu on the Sato estate's doorstep and watched his grandmother faint upon being bestowed a kiss on the hand by the royal.
Later, Tu accompanied his grandmother to the estate's gym, where his cousin had knocked down Prince Wu during their self-defense training. He subsequently listened as Mako relayed part of his past to Wu, though when he told them he had kissed Korra after going on a date with Asami, a surprised Tu interrupted the story, pointing out that he had been under the impression that Mako was dating Asami. Although his cousin ordered him to leave, Tu stayed and noted Mako was in denial by saying that he was not dating Asami when he had kissed Korra. He agreed later on with Wu that Mako's breakup with Asami did not really sound like a breakup and when learning Mako had later gotten back together with Asami, though did not tell that to an amnesic Korra, Tu noted that his cousin was so afraid to disappoint anyone, that he ended up disappointing everyone anyway. He high-fived Prince Wu, who readily agreed with his statement.
==== Evacuating Republic City ====
Weeks later, Tu, together with Yin, joined the last group of citizens set to evacuate Republic City. They became stranded at Central City Station, however, when Kuvira attacked the metropolis and had her army destroy the train tracks. From atop the station's observation deck, he noticed a platoon of mecha suits heading their way and warned the others. In an effort to find a way out of the city, he followed Wu to Republic City's zoo, where the prince sang to two badgermoles, bringing them under his control. Tu and Wu each climbed one of the animals and rode them back to the station. When the group was later cornered by a trio of Earth Empire mecha suits and Prince Wu readily offered himself as a prisoner in order to save the other evacuees, Tu rushed to the royal's side and implored him not to surrender. He was baffled, however, when Wu suddenly resumed his singing and started to dance with renewed vigor, which commanded the badgermoles to attack the soldiers and crush their machines. Afterward, upon resurfacing and reuniting with the rest of his family, Tu told Mako how level-headed the prince had been during the entire evacuation.
====Post-Earth Empire====
Three months after Kuvira's defeat and the Earth Empire's dissolution, Tu attended Wu's address alongside his grandmother, where the king announced his plan to step down and abolish the monarchy. When Yin loudly booed the king and proclaimed her support for the monarchy, Tu asked her to quiet down, reminding her that she promised Mako and Bolin that she would behave herself.
== Relatives ==
== Appearances ==
== Trivia ==
* Tu () is Chinese for earth.
== References ==
de:Tu
es:Tu
fr:Tu
pl:Tu
ru:Ту (Легенда о Корре)
Category:A to Z
Category:Characters
Category:Earth Kingdom characters
Category:Earthbenders
Category:Legend of Korra characters
Category:Merchants and businesspeople
Category:Minor characters (Legend of Korra)
Category:Minor graphic novel characters (Legend of Korra)
Category:Ruins of the Empire characters