Chapter 3: Oogway's Final Teachings
"Inner peace…" Master Shifu murmured, meditating peacefully on the little island he sat on in the middle of the pool.
The cave he sat in was a secluded area in the Jade Palace, known as the Dragon Grotto, a place surrounded by waterfalls and large rocks that made it difficult to pass through.
And here Shifu sat in peace, tuning out the raging waterfalls and the water dropping from the single stalactite in the cave.
"Inner peace…" He whispered, still meditating as he took a deep breath and let himself listen to the silence…
… only to have that silence disturbed by the splashing of water which broke his concentration.
Shifu sighed. "Inner peace…"
He didn't need to know had disturbed him as Po, Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, and Michelangelo entered the cave, all of them a little wet from the water outside.
"You summoned us, Master?" Leo asked as he, Raph, Donnie, Mikey, and Po bowed respectfully.
"Indeed I did, Leonardo." Shifu replied, still meditating.
"Well what do we got?" Po asked, barely containing his excitement. "Pirates? Vandals of Volcano Mountain? Whatever it is, I will take them down! Cause I'm in a mood. I need to get something done, you know what I mean?"
"Yeah, yeah, we get it already." Raph told him, sounding more than a little annoyed as he folded his arms over his chest. "Dial it back a little."
"Ooh, are we gonna learn how to paralyze our foes with the touch of a finger?" Mikey asked eagerly. He then gasped, "Or what about learning to tell if a guy is lying by the twitch of his nose?"
Being probably the most observant one out of all of them, Donnie quickly noticed the stance Shifu had taken, one that he was rather unfamiliar with.
"Uh, Master, what are you doing?" The purple clad turtle asked.
"One of Master Oogway's final teachings." Shifu replied, finally opening his eyes as he gazed up at the cave ceiling.
Up above, a drop of water from the stalactite above dripped down. And as the droplet fell, Shifu slid his foot back in a small circle, waving his arms with slow careful precision.
Eyes closed in pure concentration, Shifu raised his hand towards the ceiling and caught the droplet in his hand, with its form completely retained.
A wave of calmness now emanating purely from him, Shifu maneuvered the droplet precisely and delicately before lightly dropping it to a small plant that dropped into the water, sending a light ripple through the calm water.
"Woah…" Po and the Turtles gasped in awe.
"Awesome!" Po and Mikey exclaimed giddily.
"Master… what did you just do? And how did you do that?" Leo asked in bewilderment.
"Inner peace." Was Shifu's simple answer.
"Inner peace… like finding true enlightenment?" Donnie questioned.
"Yes, Donatello, in a way." Shifu answered, suddenly appearing behind all of them, much to their surprise. "It is the next phase of your training. Every master must find his or her path to inner peace. There are many different ways of achieving inner peace, though. Some choose to meditate for fifty years in a cave just like this without the slightest taste of food or water." He then leapt back onto the small island, balancing on his staff.
As if on cue, Po's stomach suddenly rumbled, earning a snicker from Mikey, Raph, and even Donnie while Leo rolled his eyes.
"'Or'?" The panda asked.
"Some find it through pain and suffering as I did." Shifu explained. "Po, the day you were chosen to be the Dragon Warrior, which was also when Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello, and Michelangelo were chosen to be your guardians, was the worst day of my life."
At that, Po, Leo, Mikey, Donnie, and Raph all frowned, their faces turning flat as boards.
"By far. Nothing else came close." Shifu continued, sounding more and more disturbed. "It was the worst, most painful mind-destroying, horrible, moment…"
"Okay." Po grumbled as the red panda kept rambling.
"... I have ever experienced." Shifu finally finished, shuddering before calming down again. "But thanks to Oogway, I realized the problem was not you, but within me. I found inner peace, and was able to harness the flow of the universe."
He then turned to the four turtles. "And once I achieved inner peace, I was surprised to learn that the four of you had as well. And at such a young age."
Leo, Raph, Donnie, and Mikey all collectively blinked in surprise.
"Woah, you guys have already mastered it?" Po exclaimed in awe.
"Does that mean we can do that water thing too?" Mikey asked excitedly.
"Wait, when did we achieve inner peace?" Raph questioned.
Leo thought for a moment before the realization came to him. "The Seishin-Syuou." He muttered before speaking aloud. "Our spirit quests! That must have been when we each achieved inner peace."
Donnie furrowed his brow in deep contemplation before the realization came to him as well. "Right, that makes sense. When we defeated our spiritual adversaries, finding our inner spiritual strength through becoming one with nature, one with ourselves… that must've been our equivalent to finding our own inner peace."
"Right, like Master Splinter said, 'only when you become one with nature will you make peace with yourself'." Mikey added with a little impression of their late father.
"So, if we've already achieved inner peace, why do we still need training for it?" Raph questioned.
"While it is true you have achieved inner peace, you still have yet to harness it to its fullest." Shifu explained. "Which is why you must practice this technique in order to fully master it yourselves."
Po shifted around awkwardly where he stood, feeling a little left out of the conversation. "So… what about me? How do I achieve inner peace?"
The Turtles looked like they were about to reply when suddenly Tigress suddenly leapt over the rocks approaching them.
"Po! Guys! Bandits, approaching the Musicians' Village!" She told them urgently.
"Sounds like trouble." Leo stated, already drawing his katanas. "Alright, guys, let's move!"
"And tell those musicians to start playing some action music because it is on." Po told the tiger master while Leo, Raph, Donnie, and Mikey were already moving out. The panda then turned to Master Shifu one more time. "Don't worry, Master Shifu, I'll master inner peace as soon as I get back."
"No snack stops this time." Tigress told the panda sternly.
Po gave a laugh. "Snack stops, pfft." He said before realizing she wasn't kidding. "Wait, are you serious?" He asked, now sounding meeker than usual.
Tigress rolled her amber eyes, trying to keep an amused smile from coming onto her face but failing. "Come on!" She said, grabbing Po's arm and dragging him along as they followed the Turtles on their way down the mountain towards the Musicians' Village.
Shifu smiled proudly as he watched them depart, already feeling a familiar presence behind him.
"They have only just scratched the surface of their potential, my friend." Shifu spoke once they were all out of earshot.
"Indeed. Still, I hope they will be prepared for what is to come."
Shifu chuckled lightly. "Rest assured, my friend, when the time comes, your sons will be ready with the help of my students and the panda."
The spirit of Master Splinter nodded before he faded away to return back to the Spirit Realm.