Cool, still darkness began to cascade down onto the Nexus; a lone Ninja was already in bed. He had a big thing tonight; he was going on his very first duel…a mortal duel. He was going to challenge this mutant turtle known as Leonardo. The Ninja hadn't consulted his father, nor did he need to, he had this under control. This was his business, and his alone.
Waking up after a few hours of rest, the Ninja jumped out of bed and quickly put on his ninja attire, and gave himself a quick shave, a little too quick, he accidentally cut his cheek a bit. Ignoring this, he just put on his red mask, took his paddle-drum and vanished.
He materialized about 10 feet from where Leonardo and his 'family' stood, talking, laughing, and having fun, how pathetic. Narrowing his green eyes, he reached to a compartment in his cloak and pulled out a small, yet sharp, deadly knife known as a kunai. Jerking his wrist back, and then forward, propelling the knife as if flew swiftly through the air, it sounded like a hissing snake, ready to bite its prey. It neared Leonardo, about to strike…yet just a nanosecond before it could make contact Leo turned around and caught the knife rapidly between his hands. No! Leonardo and his family begin to talk among themselves, their voices frantic.
The Ninja felt his heart racing, now, NOW was the chance to reveal himself.
"Young warrior. The one called Leonardo, I have come to this dimension to battle Oroku Saki, the Shredder", the announced as he stepped out of the shadows.
The Ninja expected Leo to react, but instead Leo stood there, there was a clear look of confusion on the turtle's face.
"But you stole that honor from me when you defeated the Shredder in combat, and so, for fame and glory, I must destroy you in his stead. I challenge you, young warrior, to a duel", The Ninja spoke as he pointed his index finger towards Leo, but still, clearly none of it made any sense to the turtle.
"Hold on, whack bag! If you mess with my brother, you mess with ME!" A turtle with a red bandana spoke out, clearly one of Leonardo's brothers. Interesting.
"You mess with ALL of us!" A human called, another friend?
The Ninja was shocked, "These are not the rules", he stated coolly.
"Yes I know", came a calm, steady reply from somebody the Ninja knew, a rat named Splinter. When the rat had spoken, Leonardo let out a shocked gasp.
The Ninja gave a slight bow, to the elderly rat; it was proper respect, courtesy of the Japanese culture.
Reaching inside his mantle once again, the Ninja retrieved his paddle drum, using it to summon his referee, a Gyoji a masked transparent figure floating up in the air and sitting in a lotus position.
The Ninja looks expectantly at his Gyoji, he had instructed him what to say, the Gyoji nods slightly, as he prepares to give the ultimatum.
"If the warrior named Leonardo refuses the match, then your lives are forfeit".
The Ninja felt some pride begin the well up, "And if he accepts and loses, then his life is forfeit", the Ninja tells Leo's family; his words dripping out of his mouth like poison.
Leo turns to confide with his master, and his master gestures him, to obviously go ahead with the duel, that is their only choice anyway. Good.
"So noted. Challenge accepted. Duelists prepare!" The Gyoji publicizes.
The Ninja smirked behind his mask, no one could see him, and no one could see his facial expressions.
"Soon warrior, you shall chase defeat", the Ninja promised the turtle. For a moment, there was a look of uncertainty in the turtle's eyes, as well as fear, but it quickly vanished, he turns away from the group.
When all seems well, the rat walks up to the Gyoji and tells him he demands a full observance.
"Full observance accorded", the Gyoji says nonchalantly.
The Ninja felt a spark of anger rush through him; the Gyoji was disobeying direct orders! The Ninja abruptly turned around.
"A full observance? I-fine old one! Observe all you want; it shall not change the outcome!" The Ninja spat as he disappeared.
The Ninja appears in Central Park and waits anxiously for his victim to arrive. Precisely, a few seconds later, the Ninja's green eyes spot his green-colored adversary. The Ninja sees Leo walking around; completely unaware he's being watched. What a blind fool. The Ninja starts to zigzag about the trees and the turtle tries to see him, but he can't. The Ninja then turns his body invisible but not his robe, so he floats through the air, landing right at Leonardo's feet, but the only thing Leo can see is his robe. So the turtle turns around, the Ninja sees his chance and he rises up of the ground and prepares his assault.
The Ninja begins his attack while he tries to punch Leonardo in the head to make him unconscious; unfortunately, Leo ducks. But the Ninja doesn't stop there, he wants fame. He starts to punch Leo; Leo blocks some of his punches but not all of them, the Ninja then kick the turtle so hard that it sends him reeling into a lamppost.
The young Ninja then pulls out his kusari-gama, swinging; it at his opponent, his intent was to kill him.
Much to the Ninja's dismay, the turtle wakes up and moves just in time before his foe's weapon gashed him.
Leo then takes out his own weapons, two twin katanas and starts to fight the Ninja back.
The Ninja throws his kusari-gama a few more times at the reptile, hoping to strike him. But the Ninja was so enraged that he threw his kusari-gama in a sloppy movement and it got entangled with the turtle's katana. Before the Ninja realized what was happening, the turtle jerked his sword back, pulling the man off the ground. Since the Ninja was tightly clutching his weapon, Leo pulled his enemy towards him and kicked him forcefully in the groin. Ouch. The Ninja grimaced as he felt pain shoot up his body as he collided into a tree, for a moment, the impact was so hard that the Ninja couldn't breathe, Leo had knocked the breath out of him. But this had happened to the Ninja many times. The Ninja heard the sound of metal clanging, and then he knew… Leonardo had thrown away his kusari-gama! The Ninja quickly went onto a small bridge and jumped onto the top of a passing truck. HA! The Ninja stands there for a few seconds; he had a magnificent view of everything. That was the only moment that the Ninja felt like a powerful man. Suddenly, he hears a noise that breaks away his thoughts, what does he see? Leonardo! He'll pay!
The Ninja reaches back to retrieve his own set of katana, the turtle charges at him and they begin their bout. Their weapons clang against one another. The Ninja had some trouble blocking the turtle's attacks, the Ninja swipes over this head with both of his swords, hoping to kill him, but the turtle dodges and does a ground-swipe kick and trips the Ninja, his back collides against the metal as he falls. He lets out a moan of pain, and he looks around and then he sees the turtle in the air jumping towards him with BOTH his swords drawn! I'll be dead! The Ninja hastily pulls his robe around his body and disappears, he reappears behind his enemy. Smirking, the Ninja then kicks him from behind, Leo falls forward while his katana remain stuck in the truck.
The Ninja then begins attacking him, trying to strike him with his swords. Eventually, Leo stands up again, and the Ninja continues his assault and the Ninja aims at him again and again, his intent was not to strike him, but rather force him to the edge of the moving vehicle so the turtle would fall, THEN the Ninja would finish him off. Swiping at his enemy once more, the turtle completely lost his balance and started to fall, but a second before his did, he caught sight of the Ninja's grappling hook which hung from the young man's belt. Not wasting a second, Leo immediately snatched it and jumped back, he twirled the grappling hook in the air like a lasso and then threw it so it got stuck on the truck, he then swung around on it like a jungle vine and kicked the unsuspecting warrior squarely in the chest, the Ninja fell off landing hard on the asphalt; Leo stood up in his fighting stance and so did his adversary.
The two quarreling males were just about to fight when they heard the honking sound of a car, and it was just behind the Ninja! It was about to make contact, but using his lightening fast reflexes and powerful muscles, he sheathed his swords and jumped up and grabbed hold of the ropes on Brooklyn Bridge, Leo followed and did the same. Once they were up, the Ninja pulls out some his clawed glove and maze, he rushes towards Leo and strikes him hard, knocking him unconscious. But Leo wakes up just before the Ninja could batter him and Leo kicks him hard and sends him flying through the air landing abruptly on the ground. He just lays there for a couple of seconds; unmoving.
Meanwhile, the force-field and the referee emerge on the bridge, along with Leo's friends and family. Everyone is happy that the tide of battle has turned to Leo's side.
But that changes quickly, the Ninja stays down, but he grabs a handful of green dust from his pocket and throws it in Leo's face. Leo begins to cough and the Ninja does a series of punches and kicks on the turtle, forcing him towards the edge. When Leo is right at the edge, the Ninja delivers an open-fisted blow to his chest, and the turtle plummets off the bridge, but he manages to grab onto a cable.
The Ninja stands there, laughing evilly, he then jumps and down and cuts the cable Leo is hanging onto. And so, Leo begins to plunge down once again. But luckily for his sake, he managed to gain possession of his foe's tekko kagi during the fight. Leo then gets stabs the glove's blades into the concrete support of the bridge, which slows and descent and stops it.
"Whew! I've GOT to get me a pair of these!" Leo pants.
On top of the bridge, the Ninja gloats.
"He is finished! I have won! Haha! I am the Ultimate warrior on this planet! With this victory my fame and glory grows! Soon ALL will know my name! I AM THE ULTIMATE NINJA!" The Ultimate Ninja boasts as he begins to savor every drop of his victory.
"Just wait pal, and I'll give you all the fame and glory you can handle!" Raphael growls.
"Hang on there Raph. I'm not finished with him yet", comes a familiar, dreaded voice.
The Ninja looks in the direction of the voice…it was Leonardo! But how?!
"What?! It-it can't be!" The Ultimate Ninja exclaims.
"It can be and it is, let's you and me finish this-NOW!" Leonardo demands.
The two Ninja stood facing each other; the Ultimate Ninja unsheathes his swords and narrows his green eyes, while his foe puts his tekko kagi in a fighting position. They both leap at each other; the Ninja throws lots of shuriken at his opponent, then whips around with his robe and vanishes.
Leo has a hard time blocking all the metallic objects, but ultimately he does.
The Ultimate Ninja reappears next to the force-field, but he doesn't notice Leo coming right at him. Before the Ultimate Ninja can do anything, Leo's foot collides with his face, the Ninja tumbles back, his mask falls off. His body aches all over, but he gets up on his feet. Only to see Leo heading RIGHT towards him! Again! Leo takes off the tekko kagi and begins to punch him multiple times in the face; the Ninja feels a warm liquid on his lip, blood!
Aggravated at this, the Ninja flips back and lands on his feet, he again sees Leo coming at him but his time the Ultimate Ninja takes out both his swords, he slashes through the air a microsecond too late, because his anger was consuming him, he missed. He then feels a hard kick to his back, he falls forward, and sees that his enemy has gained tenure of this two swords! The Ultimate Ninja lies on the ground, helpless, his opponent was going to kill him for sure. The Ultimate Ninja felt Leo begin to near him; he heard a wild growl from his foe and then the sound of metal clanging near his head. The Ultimate Ninja reopened his eyes; he was alive, safe and unharmed. Did Leo show him mercy? Why? Both of his swords were stuck near his neck in a fatal position, Leo had full control, he was unable to move. One wrong move and the Ultimate Ninja was dead. He had failed, how could he?! All his training!
"You lose", came a cold tone, which snapped the Ultimate Ninja out of his thoughts.
"I cannot lose, I cannot!" The Ultimate Ninja shouted out in discontent.
"Sorry, you just did, but-you fought well"-Leo paused as he bowed, "It's okay", Leo then smiled and gave the Ultimate Ninja a friendly wink.
"I-I do not believe it! I…I… I surrender!" The Ultimate Ninja murmurs as his green eyes look away, how he could lose! He was still unable to grasp that concept. Leo then reached down and removed the two swords away from the Ultimate Ninja's neck. Then the force-field around Leo's family vanishes and they rush over to congratulate him.
The Ninja turns away, becoming angry at this sight. The Ninja reaches inside his cloak and pulls out a handful of green dust once again, and blows upon it, creating a nasty mystical dragon, it heads towards the turtles but before it can do any harm it is cleaved in half. As the green smoke clears, the Ninja sees a tall, memorable figure- his father!
His father scolds him for being dishonorable and fighting without permission. And he EVEN congratulates Leo on his win! The Ultimate Ninja is ashamed and bows his head, everyone was witnessing him humiliation!
But as quick as his father had come, they disappeared, the Gyoji teleported them back to the Battle Nexus. The Ninja felt his heart stir; the worst was yet to come.
Three figures stepped through the portal, and once again, they were in their home.
One of the figures, a tall young man, slowly approached another figure who was his father.
"Father, you must understand that I-"
"Son, what were you thinking? Going out and dueling someone like that? What if it hadn't been Leonardo? What if it had been someone cruel and heartless? He would've killed you! And for what? Fame and glory!" The Daimyo screamed at his son.
His son, the Ultimate Ninja opened his mouth to object, but no words would come to his mouth, it was as if his vocal cords were frozen.
"A mans' life is worth more than fame, my son, surely, you have to realize this?" The Daimyo questioned.
"You father are the one who doesn't comprehend anything about being a powerful warrior! How can you be remembered throughout the generations if you don't do some famous deed?" Ultimate Ninja contradicted.
"A mans' point in life is not to become great, a mans' purpose is to live out his life the way fate has planned it, not the way YOU have planned it", The Daimyo explained smoothly.
"Your words are like a puzzle father, but it still has missing pieces, not everything you say fits together like you say it does. How can a warrior be exalted if he doesn't strike down another fighter? Can anyone be remembered without spilling blood first?" When the Ultimate Ninja finished his sentence, he locked eyes with his father. And for a moment, both father and son stood facing each other; still as statues, but eventually the silence broke.
"My son, you are more foolish than I imagined, and you have petty thoughts. How can someone like you possibly become ruler of the Battle Nexus?" The Daimyo growled.
"If you have no faith in your only son, than you are not a true father nor a true Daimyo. I have no need of your words…from now I shall thread my path alone", Ultimate Ninja concluded with winter-like frost in his tone, while a hateful hiss nearly escaped from his lips.
The Daimyo's eyes widened in surprise by his son's sharp words. Almost instinctively, his had swiftly smacked his son across the face. His son stumbled back some and his green eyes narrowed into slits of malice.
"This always was about honor and your friend Splinter, wasn't it? You care only for your own agenda, and when someone has more different beliefs than you, than you become enraged like a mad alcoholic, wishing for his beverage. THAT'S what you are!" Ultimate Ninja hissed.
"Then do you know what YOU are my son? You are a useless, ungrateful fool! You know nothing and you are nothing! Leonardo behaves better than you and he's a teenager! He acts honorably and obeys the code of Bushido…HE actually respects his father!"
The Ultimate Ninja whipped about and let out a low growl, his fists bawled, his jaw became tightly clenched, he started flexing his muscles.
"Listen father, you talk about an old, scraggly rat known as Splinter. He is in the lowest parts of society, living in a sewer and all that. But what enrages me all the more is that you speak of Leonardo…and Bushido…but the truth is…YOU have always loved Leonardo and the code of Bushido more than me, haven't you?!" Ultimate Ninja screamed with hurt in his voice.
"That's preposterous! How-"
"Silence! I have no need of your words or anything you can offer me, I have now seen where you truly stand…I honestly thought you had more moral, but obviously, there is nothing more to you…I-I… I HATE YOU!" Those last three words dripped out of the Ninja's mouth like a viper's poison. The Ninja's eyes were so on first that he could burn someone with just his gaze. His body began trembling over part of it wishing to lash out at his father. The Ninja took out his sword and glared over at the floating Gyoji, who said nothing and stared blankly at him. The Ninja slowly sheathed his sword and glared at his father.
"You have started a war you shall regret", the Ultimate Ninja said coolly and slowly. The Ninja stomped off and didn't even make an attempt to glance back.
The Gyoji floated over next to the Daimyo. "I am sorry that I summoned you at the duel my lord", the Gyoji mumbled with his head held low.
"Gyoji, you technically saved the lives of Leonardo's family, and besides what has been done is done, my son will get over it". But the Daimyo's confidence faded away in those words. "I hope", the Daimyo added inwardly.