"My tale begins some twenty years ago. I was a young rat, a pet, bought and cared for by my beloved master, Hamato Yoshi. While my master was training, my cage was kept in his dojo, and it amused him to see me mimic his movements."
"But it was more than mere mimicry. Slowly, through observation, I learned his art, the mysterious martial art of ninjitsu! I could not have had a better teacher, for it was said that Hamato Yoshi was the greatest Shadow Warrior of the famous Foot Clan, the most feared warriors and assassins in all Japan. Another member of the Foot Clan, Oruku Nagi, was Yoshi's rival. He and my master competed fiercely in all things, especially for the love of a young woman: Tang Shen. Both tried to win her heart, but from the start she loved only one: my master, Hamato Yoshi."
"Nagi was insanely jealous. One fateful night, he went to Tang Shen's home and demanded that she love him. Shen refused. In a rage, Nagi began to beat her. At that same moment, Yoshi entered the room and saw Nagi poised to strike. Yoshi's world vanished in a red haze, and when it cleared, Nagi was no more."
"Yoshi's shame was great. By killing another member of his clan, he had dishonored himself. His choices were simple, but not easy. To take his own life, and hope for honor in the next, or flee with Shen to another country and try to start a new life. He chose the latter, taking along with him a few belongings, including me, and came with Shen to New York City. Here my master formed a martial arts school, and prospered."
"Meanwhile in Japan, Nagi's family, especially his younger brother, Saki, were nourning his death. The seven-year-old Saki vowed vengeance on Yoshi. The Foot took hold of Saki's anger and used it to bend him to their own purposes. Saki began intensive training in the ninja's art and soon surpassed his teachers. As he grew older, his hatred of Yoshi grew deep and bitter. Saki moved quickly. Within a year he had built the New York Foot into a force to be reckoned with."
"Under Saki's leadership, the Foot was soon dominant in many criminal activities, among them drug smuggling and arms running, and their specialty: assassination. Saki, now called The Shredder, was very successful…but not satisfied. In his dark heart burned a fierce hatred for Yoshi and Shen. On a night nearly fifteen years ago, Saki finally made his move."
"My master Yoshi came home that evening, never expecting that his most dangerous enemy lay in wait. Entering the apartment, Yoshi's gaze fell on the still, silent form of his beloved Shen, and then he saw her killer."
"In the struggle, my cage was smashed. I was free, but my master was dead. IN my grief, I wandered the streets, living on scraps of garbage and fighting off feral alley cats. Then one day, everything changed. While I was searching in a trash can for my next meal, I witnessed a near-accident. An old blind man crossing the street was almost run down by a large truck, but at the last moment, a young man leaped into the street and knocked the blind man out of the truck's path. As the truck screeched to a jarring top, a metal canister bounced out of the back of the truck and struck the young man."
"Unnoticed by the crowd, the canister bounced several more times, ultimately striking and smashing a boy's glass bowl which held four small turtles, you four as infants. Along with the canister, you fell into an open manhole. Fortunately, a pile of dead leaves, old newspapers and other detritus broke your fall, but the canister split open, releasing a glowing green ooze which covered your bodies as you crawled around in it. I followed you into the storm drain and, not knowing why, gathered you up into a discarded coffee can. I took you to my burrow and cleaned off as much of the goo as I could. It was a messy job, and I also ended up covered in the strange substance."
"The next morning I awoke to find the can tipped over, and the four of you doubled in size! Somehow that ooze had affected your growth. As I learned later, it had changed me also, making me more intelligent and larger as well. But I didn't grow as quickly as you did. Within a year, you had reached your current size. You followed me everywhere I went, though I did not allow you above ground…I could not risk your being discovered. I was amazed at how intelligent you seemed, but even so, I was not prepared for what happened one day. One of you actually said a word, my name! More words followed, and shortly you were all speaking. Soon you started to stand upright and copy my movements."
"I began training you then, teaching you all that I had learned from watching Master Yoshi. I taught you the use of weapons and empty-hands fighting, the art of stealth, the ethics of the warrior code, and all that I knew of this world. Using a battered copy of a book on Renaissance art that I had found in the storm drain, I had chosen names for each of you: Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello, and Raphael."
"Now, my sons, I am old, and there is a task I would have you perform before I leave this world. I must ask you to do that which no being should ask of another. I ask you to avenge the cruel death of my master Hamato Yoshi and his beloved wife, Tang Shen. I ask you to seek out, challenge, and kill the murderer Oruku Saki: The Shredder."
Master Splinter is the king of exposition Thanks so much for reading, guys.! Please let me know what you think in the comments, it means a lot. See you in the next chapter.