A few days prior to the battle, Avatar Korra eavesdropped on a telephone conversation, in which Hiroshi Sato, owner of Future Industries, said that they would be ready to strike by the end of the week. Alarmed, she reported her findings to Chief Beifong and Tenzin. With the death of Yasuko, Hiroshi's wife, at the hands of a firebending criminal providing a possible motive for anti-bender sentiment, they deemed it worth looking into.