Hibari and Donnie both fell silent after giving their testimony to their senseis. Both Kiriya and Splinter stared at the both of them with intensity while the other students and turtles watched from behind. Even Yagyu watched after entering the Hanzo lounge fully recovered.
"I… I'm really sorry." Hibari sobbed.
"There's nothing to apologize for." Splinter said. "You were deceived. It would've happened to the best of us."
"The only way to make this right, however, is if we take back the Super Secret Ninja Arts Scroll." Kiriya said.
"That's not going to be easy." Leo said. "Homura can use the power of the scroll and is super strong with it. We'd have to kill her to get it."
"I don't have a problem with that." Raph said. "Those chicks have been messing with us since day one."
"Wait!" Hibari protested. "It's not their fault! I think they were lead to this!"
Kiriya raised an eyebrow. "Lead to this? Care to elaborate?"
"Well, Haruka told me that the school became more extreme after they got their new headmaster." Hibari said. "I think maybe that he may have convinced them to pick a fight with us to get the scroll."
"You're talking about that creep who beat Raph to a pulp?" Katsuragi asked.
Mikey chuckled. "That's awesome."
"It was not!" Raph yelled. "The next time I see that spiky-armored jerk, I'm putting him in the dirt!"
Splinter widened his eyes. "Did you say spikey-armored jerk?"
"Yeah. That guy was no joke." Donnie said. "I couldn't even lay a finger on him. All I did was get beaten up while looking at his cold, burned face through his mask."
Splinter lost his breath for a second nearly falling over. Everyone watched in concern.
"Splinter, are you okay?" Kiriya asked.
"I… I'm afraid not." Splinter said. "Kids, tell me more about the man you fought."
"Well, they call him the Shredder and he leads the Foot Clan which staff Hebijo." Hibari said.
Splinter dropped his jaw before sighing in a frown. His hand shook as he placed it on his furry face. "Oh, no. My worst fears have come true."
"Why?" Leo asked. "Sensei, do you know this man?"
"I should." Splinter said. "His true name is Oroku Saki."
Kiriya shared in his shock and fear. "Oroku Saki? He's alive?"
"Alive and plotting against us." Splinter said. He turned to the other turtles. "It's time I told you something I should've told you a long time ago. Oroku Saki… was my brother."
"SAY WHAT?!" everyone gasped.
"We have an uncle?!" Mikey screamed out. "I'M FREAKING OOOOUUUUUT!"
"He's not my actual brother. He was just raised alongside me." Splinter corrected. "For generations, the Hamato Clan has been in a feud against an evil ninja clan called the Oroku Clan. It all ended when my father laid waste to our enemy's village. It wasn't pretty so I've heard, but it was necessary. However, one of the clansman survived, a baby named Oroku Saki. Taking pity on the infant, my father picked him up and raised him alongside me.
"As soon as we were both old enough, Saki and I joined Hanzo Academy. We trained hard. Worked hard. We knew we could accomplish great things. But it was never enough for Saki. He wanted to be strong, stronger than everyone else around him. He had a cruel nature that began to divide the two of us apart. We fought over many things since, but none more passionately than the love of a woman, a fellow shinobi student named Tang Shen.
"Upon graduating from Hanzo Academy, Tang Shen chose to be with me. But Saki couldn't accept that. He accused me of stealing her from him. I told him it was her own choice, but he refused to listen. He disappeared after that and I didn't see him since until…"
Leo took notice of his father's silence. "Until what?"
"…During his self-exile, Saki managed to learn the truth of his parentage. His heart became filled with bitter darkness after that. He formed his own group of evil ninja called the Foot Clan and lead them all on an onslaught against the Hamato Clan. It was a massacre and my wife was scared. My father gave his life trying to get me and Tang Shen to escape.
"After that, we hid away to America where we moved to New York City. It wasn't easy for a couple of Japanese immigrants, but it was manageable. We thought we could be happy and have a family there. We were wrong. As it turned out, the Shredder never stopped looking for us.
"I returned to our home from a grocery run, I found my wife laying dead. And Oroku Saki stood over her with her blood on his gauntlet. He went to cut me down, but I fought back. Our battle lead to our home getting caught on fire. He managed to stab me hard in the leg, but I swung a burning plank right at his face. It gave me the chance I needed to jump through the window.
"As I fell, I landed on the roof of a chemical truck. The driver hadn't noticed, but as I made impact, the truck door swung open and a canister of its contents fell into an open manhole cover we were passing over. I got off the truck and followed the canister thinking it would be a good place to hide from the Shredder. Still, I was wounded and I needed rest. I laid myself at the wall of the sewer with the broken canister in front of me leaking out its strange contents. Shortly after, four turtles passed by and bathed in it before crawling up to me. I strangely enjoyed the company, so I was finally able to sleep.
"The rest is history. We began to mutate, I've grown to care for you, my sons, and I taught you the ways of the ninja to prepare you for the world. And now, here we are."
The entire room fell silent as the story reached its end. Almost everyone was speechless hearing the tale of their master and their enemy.
"Master Splinter," Asuka said, "What does the Shredder want?"
"Power. The Shredder wishes to obtain power however he can, even at the expense of others. He cares nothing for anyone, especially not Hebijo."
"And yet, he let Homura use the Super Secret Ninja Arts Scroll." Leo said. "Why would he do that?"
"He must have his own secret agenda," Kiriya said, "One that he's not telling his students."
"So they are being used." Hibari said. "We have to save them."
"Save them?" Raph asked. "Kid, whether they were duped or not, they're still evil ninja. I mean, it's in the name."
"I don't think it's as simple as that." Hibari said. "I've been among them. They're not as cruel and monstrous as we thought they were. They care for each other. They respect the dreams of those who wish to be shinobi, even if it's impossible. They support. Can you really call that evil?"
Splinter exchanged a look with Kiriya before turning back at Hibari. "Some call that kind of thinking naivety. I call it wisdom. You see, in the world of shinobi, there are some evil ninja who are genuinely evil such as the Foot. And there are other evil ninja who are only like that because they have no choice. They cannot be official shinobi by official means, so they are automatically labeled as evil. If the Hebijo elite students are as you say they are, then in their case, evil is just a technical title that they have to carry."
"They are desperate to be shinobi," Kiriya said, "So desperate, that the Shredder is using their desires to his own advantage. So if you want it and you believe it to be possible, you have to help them."
"But they're not going to listen without a fight." Splinter continued. "You have to be prepared to fight them to protect them."
Asuka stood up. "All right. If the Shredder is using the Homura and her friends for his own ends, then we have to stop him." It wasn't long before everyone else stood with her.
"It won't be easy." Donnie said. "We'll have to beat the Hebijo girls to save them."
"We'll pull through, somehow." Katsuragi said. "After all, they need us."
"If Hibari says we should save them, that's good enough for me." Yagyu said.
"Oh, yeah! This is gonna be awesome!" Mikey cheered.
"Glad you kids are up for a challenge." They turned their heads to see a certain muscular student with a biker get-up standing proud before them. "I overheard everything."
"You'll help us fight Shredder?" Asuka asked.
"I won't get myself in the middle of your battles." Daidoji said. "But what I can do is get you guys in fighting shape. I've fought you all before, and the way you all are now, you won't be able to beat Shredder even with all of you together. I've heard tales of him, and from my understanding, he's probably the only man as strong as me. You'll need to at least have a fighting chance."
"We'll need all the help we can get." Ikaruga said.
"Fine." Raph said punching his hand. "Let's get started."
"All right then." Leo said. "When do we start?"
Author's Note: And that's the story of the Shredder. I hope you enjoyed it. Now, the turtles and girls must train for the final battle against him. Any and all comments are welcome.
