Chapter 2: The Bean Bun Warrior

Life at the Jade Palace had been like a breath of fresh air ever since the defeat of Tai Lung and with its newest additional residents; Po the Dragon Warrior, and Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello, and Michelangelo, the Dragon Warriors four guardians.

In the many months since the defeat of the infamous snow leopard, a lot of things had changed for the better around the Palace.

Michelangelo could often be found pulling pranks in between training around the Palace with Monkey and even Mantis (which hilariously enough led to Mikey referring to themselves as 'Dr. Prank-einstein and Pals'), no one, not even the likes of Leo, Tigress, and Shifu were safe from their mischievous wrath. Other times, the party turtle would go down into the village to soak up some of their newfound fame, being especially popular with the kids.

Donatello had actually taken quite an interest in calligraphy as a bit of a hobby, something that Crane was all too happy to teach him about which resulted in them often spending many hours sitting in their rooms in the student barracks drawing on parchments of paper when they weren't training. He also took interest in mahjong, immediately becoming the reigning champion of the game thanks to his smarts.

Raphael, while he enjoyed the fact that he and his brothers didn't have to hide anymore and that they could walk out in broad daylight without fear of being seen as freaks like back in New York, he did get tired of being cooped up in the Jade Palace all day. When he could, he would usually venture down into the village below to get some exercise. But, this also caused a bit of a problem as it felt like he couldn't go anywhere in the village without being swarmed by fans which led to a lot of scenes where he had to either scare them away or flee for his life.

Leonardo quickly adjusted to the new settings he and his brothers were now in, even though they still hadn't yet found a way back home that was close by. And as time went on, and they were sent on numerous missions against bandits and pirates, the blue clad turtle quickly found himself taking Tigress' role as the unofficial main leader, not that she or the rest of the Five minded as Leo quickly proved himself to be a worthy leader, leading his fellow kung fu masters into battle with calculating bravery and confidence.

This didn't mean that the blue clad turtle had completely taken over as leader, however, as Tigress would also help him with strategizing, seeing as she used to be the leader of her own group. The two would often be seen discussing plans, working out ideas that could and couldn't work, before going into battle, which would lead to them gaining a mutual respect for one another.

Finally, Po the Dragon Warrior had pretty much changed everyone the most since he had got there. Now that the Five no longer viewed him with such disdain, they quickly became good friends with him, sharing stories in their off-time and having a good laugh whenever he came up with a new nick-name for each of their moves. Even Tigress, despite having a bit of a rough start with him, soon warmed up to him and came to view the panda as a close friend whom she could put her trust and confidence in.

Another thing that surprised everyone was that Po also made a good leader figure as well, his lack of experience actually allowing him to view battles in a thinking-outside-the-box way that actually helped when he offered up suggestions and strategies to Leo and Tigress, leading to him becoming a sort of third leader in the group.

With the combined leadership of Leonardo, Po, and Tigress, they led the others to countless victories against many evildoers that went heard all throughout China, with the ten of them seeming unstoppable as no threat seemed too great for them as they earned the respect of their fellow masters.

However, what they faced today might be their greatest challenge yet…

"Thirty-three…"

"Stop him!"

"Thirty-four…"

"It's too dangerous!"

"Keep going!"

"Thirty-five…"

"Keep it up, dudes!"

"Stay focused!"

"Thirty-six…"

"How is this even physically possible?!"

"C'mon, you almost got it!"

"Thirty-seven…"

"How is he doing that with his face?!" Mantis exclaimed while the Turtles and the rest of the Five could only watch in intense anticipation.

Po grunted as he slowly placed another bean bun in his mouth… which was already full of thirty-seven other bean buns, none of them having been swallowed.

After carefully placing the bean bun in his mouth with the others, Po slammed his fist on the table.

"Thirty-eight bean buns!" He exclaimed triumphantly with his mouth full.

Leo, Donnie, Raph, Mikey, Crane, Monkey, and Mantis all erupted into cheers and laughter while Viper seemed to faint from the shock of it all.

Tigress simply smiled as she shook her head fondly at their childish antics.

"Aw yeah! New record!" Mikey cheered, giving the panda a celebratory high-three. "You beat mine by a mile!"

"You monster!" Mantis exclaimed in amazement.

"Keep going!" Monkey encouraged, shoving the bowl still full of bean buns towards Po. "You can do it!"

"Kick it up to forty!" Raph dared with a smirk.

"He'll never hit forty!" Crane cried incredulously.

"I swear, if he actually does it, I don't think I'll be able to take it!" Donnie murmured, holding his head in disbelief and looking faint.

"Think you can do it, Po?" Leo asked challengingly.

"Oh-ho, you bet!" Po stated, already picking up two more bean buns. "I'll put it up to forty!"

"Do it!" Tigress encouraged him in a daring tone.

"No problem!" Po then placed the two bean buns in his mouth with the others. For a moment, it seemed like all the buns were going to spill out, but Po stubbornly refused to let that happen, scrunching his cheeks to keep them all in while the Turtles and the Five watched in silent awe.

"One moment…" Po mumbled before finally closing his mouth, not a single bean bun dropping out.

Throwing his arms up, Po let out a muffled yell of triumph, signifying his victory.

Once again, the Turtles and the Five erupted in cheers before devolving into hysterical laughter at how ridiculous this whole thing was, though they did not regret it in the slightest.

"Well done, Po!" Crane congratulated, giving the panda a nice hard slap on the back, causing Po to finally spit out all the bean buns.

Leo, Raph, and Donnie quickly covered their faces with their arms to keep the buns from hitting them while Mikey and Viper ducked under the table.

Monkey and Mantis were not so lucky as a bean bun hit each of them in the face.

"Your training has paid off." Tigress complimented the panda with a rare playful grin, using her paw to quickly deflect any bean buns that came her way.

Just then, they all heard a loud gong ringing in the distance, echoing throughout the Palace, and they all knew what that meant.

"Master Shifu's calling us, guys." Leo stated, already heading for the doors to the Training Hall. "Come on."

"Oh, right! See you guys later! Save those bean buns for me!" Po exclaimed immediately heading for the doors with Donnie, Raph and Mikey.

As the panda headed out, he gave Tigress a light playful hip-bump before following the Turtles out the door.

Though surprised at first, Tigress simply smiled after the panda as he and the Turtles went out of view.

As she watched them go, Viper slithered up next to her feline sister with a sly grin.

"He so likes you, you know." Viper whispered.

A light tint of red appeared on Tigress' cheeks, just hidden under her orange fur as she frowned. "Viper…" She grumbled sternly, her blush barely noticeable.

"I didn't hear you deny it~!" Viper slithered off, giggling like crazy, leaving the tiger master to her own flustered thoughts.