17. Absentminded

If Yin-Yu had known how far her husband and the Dragon Warrior had come, she might have been relieved and worried together. Although somebody couldn't say that the ninjas hadn't harmed a hair on their heads yet. At least that would apply to Po. In addition, both were previously searched thoroughly. Especially Shen's entire plumage was scanned for weapons. They even found the money in the robe, adding to Shen's anger. After this rowdy "body search" both were taken away without further explanation. But the question that occupied both of them, what was planned for them, was abruptly replaced when the ninjas revealed their hiding place on the island. Because contrary to what was expected, the black panthers did not live in houses, but their dwelling was in the mountain. The large rock was riddled with several caves and tunnels. But even the residents didn't know who had built them, and they didn't care at all. In any case, they herded their new living prey into the tunnels, passing many cavities sealed with doors or boards. Po wouldn't have minded a guided tour, but instead they were shipped to the most remote part of the cave system, where they finally came to a couple of chambers with thick iron doors. Po had commented that he had never heard of ninjas in a mountain, but rather of shrines and beautiful wooden houses, whereupon Ravan had kicked him in the buttocks into his cell. Shen had obediently complied with the request and voluntarily entered his own cell. Then the doors were slammed shut and the two travelers were left alone in solitary confinement.

Shen was kinda glad not to have to share a small cell with the panda. The peacock let another minute pass, then he groped his way to a wooden bench on which he lay down. He absolutely had to gather his strength again and went through everything again in his mind. For a moment, it all seemed like a strange dream. Did he actually wake up soon and lay in bed next to Yin-Yu at his hometown Yin Yan City and the brother didn't even exist? Slowly, Shen lifted his foot and scratched his other leg with his clawed heel. The pain proved enough that he wasn't dreaming, but wide awake. He closed his eyes with a sigh, although it was pitch black around him, but that way he could concentrate better. Again he saw Dao. His behavior was strange. Even Shen couldn't remember being that cold. Not even when he had attacked the panda village back then. And it was even stranger that Dao seemed to have no will of his own. Even when he was trained for it, he gave the impression of a trained dog, blindly obedient to his master. But his master didn't seem particularly interested in Dao's dignity. He was nothing to them. Just a pawn for their raids.

"Oh man!" Po grumbled next door. "Hopefully the kung fu committee doesn't find out. Simply knocked out by the competition. I just don't believe it! And this has to happen to me. The Kung Fu Champion of the Year, of all people!"

Shen was already afraid the panda would give a lecture, but to his relief, the panda let out a loud yawn. "Alright. Shen, I'll have a quick break! Wake me up if there's trouble. I would prefer something to eat, but I have to catch up on some sleep that I missed this morning." With these words, the panda let fall himself on the bench. "It's all awesome, isn't it? I mean, your brother is totally... I don't know, out of all. I mean, maybe he even got a blow on the head when he doesn't even remember you..."

"Panda!" Shen interrupted him with annoyance. "Aren't you going to catch up on your sleep?"

"Uh, sorry, I thought you wanted to talk."

"Just do the world a favor and shut up for a while."

Po frowned. "And for how long?"

Shen offered a prayer to the heaven. "As long as you can make it," he pleaded.

The panda next door pushed the air through his teeth. "Okay." Then he turned onto his side. For a few seconds, there was silence. But when Shen thought he could doze off peacefully, Po's words widened his eyes.

"But you'll let me know if you want to talk, won't you?"

With forced calm, Shen tapped his finger feather tips together. "If I felt like talking, I'd ask you, wouldn't I?"

"Okay." Po lay down again until he lifted his head again. "So I'll be quiet now, alright?"

Shen let out a shaky growl of anger. "Just be quiet!"

Po puckered his mouth. "It was just a question."

Farther away from the two prisoners, the ninjas had made themselves comfortable in a large cavity in the tunnel system. The furnishings had no resemblance to typical Japanese furniture. At least that's what Po would have noticed. But the panthers seemed to flout any national tradition. Everything was much more like a den of thieves made up of all sorts of loot. Only large Japanese vases on the wall were the exception. Otherwise, the floor was covered with oriental carpets, a massive large table adorned the middle of the room and benches and chairs stood around it, whereby Ravan with the samurai helmet on his head occupied the largest place at the end of the table. The other ninjas had removed their head coverings and were feasting on the food.

Here and there a comment was made as to what should be done with the prisoners.

"Maybe we could really use them for some fights," one of them suggested, mouth full.

"But I would do without the fat one," said another one. "It's only good for shot put."

Ravan raised his paw. "Well, I also have my doubts about the black and white pudding, but I'm not so sure about this bird whether it will comply."

The person sitting next to him looked at him in surprise. "Why not? The imitation of him had been easy to influence. Thanks to your good ideas. Why not with him, too?"

The leader narrowed his eyes. He had noticed Shen's look immediately. He may have acted clueless, but his mind was clear.

He stroked his chin thoughtfully. "It may be, but it doesn't seem that he is easy to break."

He snapped his fingers and one of the largest built ninjas stood up.

"Get the next batch ready for our chicken. And just in case, make two more servings. Maybe we can get the newcomers to taste some of it today."

The broad built ninja grinned and rubbed his paws in anticipation.

Hours passed. Hours where nothing happened. Neither outside nor inside. Po had passed the time by taking a nap for a while, but then boredom got the better of him and he gradually started a conversation with himself, constantly asking Shen if he was awake. The white peacock became annoyed of Po's monologue and tried to ignore it at the same time. Finally, he got up. It should have been night long ago. His internal clock had rarely let him down. This would probably be the perfect time to take action. Even if it meant getting through a locked door first. With a sigh, the peacock stroked his feathers and, squeezing his beak tightly, tore out a feather. Then he went to the door while Po kept talking.

"Solid steel doors, a cell with no windows," Po announced appreciatively, "isn't that what a challenge a top-class kung fu warrior could ask for?"

Shen didn't answer the question, but he felt the lock and found the keyhole with the quill.

"The next big question is," Po continued, "how do we get out of there? Okay, here's a suggestion: we pretend we're sick, then they have to open the door to check on us. Then we overwhelm them with a single blow. Is quite simple, right?"

Again, Shen didn't answer. He had pressed his head against the door lock and was listening for the quill to click into the lock, which wasn't easy with Po's constant chatter.

"Or, I have another idea," Po continued. "We're going on a hunger strike. Although, maybe we should wait until after dinner to do that..."

"Panda!" Shen interrupted loudly. "Could you hold your breath for a minute?!"

"One minute?" Po seemed horrified at the idea. "A full minute?!"

"A half minute would also be enough," Shen reduced his request, which Po at least accepted.

"Okay."

Shen could still hear how the panda sucking in air, then there was silence. Shen twisted the quill in the lock. After hearing and feeling the structure after a few turns, the rest was child's play for him.

Just as the lock opened with a soft click, Po exhaled loudly again. "PUUUHH! My goodness! Why should I actually hold my breath? Anyway, but still, we still face the big problem of the locked door..."

Carefully, the white peacock pushed open his now open cell door and looked around. Luckily for him, the corridor was empty, only a few lonely torches lighted the bare cave walls of the tunnels.

"But how my goodness!" Po continued. "HOW are we supposed to get out of here? Do you have an idea? Do you remember how we were stuck in the dungeons in the castle of the Huns? Didn't you get the door open there, too?"

Shen had to smile at the panda's sentence, but he still considered whether he should just leave the panda in his cell. But he wasn't in the mood for consequences now. It was too important to get away from here with full commitment. Even if it was reinforcement like a big fat panda. With a deep sigh, Shen inserted the quill into the panda's cell door lock and turned it around. Knowing the mechanism now, Po didn't have to hold his breath again, who was still blathering. "Well, if you could remember how you did that, maybe... just maybe, right now, it could be very, very much useful."

At that moment, the door lock popped open and the panda was faced with an open door in the next moment. Head held high; Shen waved his wing into the corridor. "The path is ahead of you, panda. It's within your power to transcend it."

With that, Shen turned and walked down the aisle while Po struggled to shut his mouth again. Eventually, he found the connection to his feet again and ran after the peacock.

"Hey! Won't you tell me the trick?"

Shen grinned. He was always happy to think a few steps ahead of the panda. "Professional secrecy."

"Oh, come on!" Po begged. "From warrior to warrior. Tell me now, please!"

But the white peacock kept his beak tightly shut, so Po had to stop begging for an answer. To while away the time, he looked around the corridor, which was dimly lit by several torches on the wall.

"There are a few more cells here," Po noticed, pointing to a few more doors. "We'd better see if there are any other innocent victims locked up here."

Shen shot him a stern sideways glance. "Panda! We don't have time for that now."

Po stopped indignantly. "Hey, just because I'm in Japan doesn't mean I have to break with my Dragon Warrior principles."

Shen let out an annoyed growl. But the panda looked at him so determinedly that he was forced to give in. Maybe the panda would stumble across something useful. Just maybe.

"Alright, but not to..."

Shen didn't even get to finish his sentence before Po ran past the peacock and opened the first door.

"Empty," Po reported, moving on to the next one and so on down the hall. Until once...

"Hey, this door is locked! There must be someone in there." Softly, Po knocked. "Hello! Is someone there?" But there was no answer from the room behind. The panda looked around, but he couldn't find a key. His gaze wandered to Shen. He just folded his wings dismissively.

"Oh, come on, please!" Po begged, pressing his palms together. "On this occasion, you could show me this door opener trick."

With annoyance, the white peacock rolled his eyes. Knowing the panda, he wouldn't give up after all, and that would only cost them more precious time. So, out of necessity, he pulled another feather out of his plumage and twisted the quill around in the door lock. Po watched him admiringly.

"Where did you learn that?" he asked.

At that moment, the door lock snapped open and Shen picked up the quill again. "Your door is open, panda." With that, he retreated into the middle of the corridor while Po, after another period of astonishment, pushed open the door. There he encountered only deep darkness. Quickly, the panda grabbed a torch from the holder and ran inside.

"Okay, so come out, it's time for your freed..." There was a second of silence. Then there was a scream. With beak open, Shen watched as the panda ran out of the dark room back into the hallway and took cover around a bend. Thinking nothing exciting about it, Shen let out a disapproving sigh. "Could you explain your abrupt behavior, please, panda?"

Po didn't answer immediately. Instead, he pointed shyly towards the open door. "Take a look. You'll never guess what I saw."

Shen stepped into the doorway with a slight disinterest on his face. The room was almost completely in darkness, but it wasn't as sealed off as their cells. A barred window let in a faint moonlight that fell on something bright. Shen caught a speck of gray out of the corner of his eye, which in turn put him on alert. With tense wings, he tried to see what was hidden in the darkness and narrowed his eyes. At that moment, Po appeared next to him, with the torch in his paw. However, the glow that dispelled the darkness around them did not banish the fear that was now spreading in the room.

Shen let out a choked cry, his beak half open a moment later. Po swallowed hard. "I told you, you'd never guess."

Shen had to admit that he really hadn't expected what he saw in front of him. Something hung in front of them from chains attached to the ceiling. The person hovered a few inches over the ground and didn't move. But as if that wasn't spooky enough, who was hanging from the chains in front of them was far more frightening. Shen was stunned for a moment. Just like Po. Both stared down at the white peacock in a black robe, hanging limply from the chains. They couldn't see his face because his head was pointing helplessly downwards.

"Well," Po began hesitantly, "I mean, I thought senior employees will be well-paid, but this is a strange kind of payment and well-paid housing." He tilted his head. "Uh, hello?" But Dao didn't respond. He didn't even move.

Po shrugged. "Well, he either doesn't hear me or he's asleep." Gently, he nudged him and the peacock waved slightly, but he still didn't make a sound. Now Shen tried his luck. Carefully, he stretched out his wing and gently touched Dao's feathers, but his brother didn't react here either. Was the panda right for once and Dao really slept soundly? Finally, the elder plucked up courage and leaned towards Dao. Gently, he put his wings under Dao's chin and lifted his head. Shen jumped and Po let out a choked scream.

Dao's eyes were open!

The panda backed away in panic. He hadn't forgotten about shaving his upper hair. "Uh, we just happened to come here!" he defended himself. "We really didn't want to disturb you!"

At that moment, Shen let go Dao. But instead of staying up, Dao's head sank again and hung limply from him.

Po looked at him in amazement. "Huh? Did he notice anything at all? Or is he just pretending?" But then he cried out in horror. "Oh no! He is dead! He is dead! – It must have been this Ruven, or whatever his name is, oh no, we're too late!"

"Shut up, panda!" Shen snapped at him.

Po stopped his wailing abruptly. "But why?"

"Just be quiet." With that, he raised Dao's head again and looked at him closely. Though his eyes were open and empty, but they were not dead eyes. Slowly, Shen lifted his free wing and waved it in front of Dao's face. But his brother didn't seem to see his wing, he didn't even seem to feel his presence. He was like dead, but he was alive.

A great concern rose in Shen. Gently, he stroked Dao's cheeks, but try as he might, it was as futile as trying to contact a doll.

Po raised his ears. "Someone is coming!"

Quickly, Po blew out the torch and both hid in the darkest back part of the room, where they squeezed into an alcove.

"Pull in your stomach!" Shen ordered and immediately he covered Po's mouth before he could complain about that comment.

In the next moment, the half-open door was moved. A broad-built giant entered the room. He held a tray in one hand and a lantern in the other. He stopped first and grumbled something what Shen could hear easily.

"Somebody forgot to lock the door, that idiots!" he scolded in Japanese. Then he approached the peacock hanging from the chains. He put the tray on the floor, then he grabbed Dao's head and looked at his face and pressed down his eyelids. Then he let go of him for a short time and pulled the tray closer.

Po couldn't hear what the guy said next, but Shen heard what the tall ninja was muttering all too well.

"Time for your medicine."

He grabbed Dao's head feathers and brutally pulled his head back so that the beak was pointing up. Anger built inside Shen, his finger feathers were digging into the wall as the broad-set ninja picked up the cup from the tray and pressed it to Dao's beak.

"Swallow it!" he commanded and was about to dump everything into the chained peacock when Shen suddenly darted out of his hiding place and hit the black-clad man with such a hard blow that he dropped the cup and he fell unconscious to the ground.

"Don't touch him!" Shen hissed, although the one lying on the ground couldn't hear him anymore anyway.

"Wow, that was a good sidewinder," Po applauded.

But then his gaze fell on the liquid on the floor. Po bent down over the brew and took a deep breath, grimacing in disgust. "Ugh! Smells very…mh, strange."

Examining, Shen ran his wing over it and rubbed the liquid between his finger feathers and now sniffed it as well. His eyes narrowed. "Drugs, I suppose."

Po raised his head in surprise. "Drugs? That's a strange wage for workers. Is that some Japanese tradition? I mean, personally I'm not that familiar with the customs here, but that's a bit of an exaggeration. I mean, if I were to ask for a salary, I would at least ask for something decent to eat or something..."

As Po continued to babble on, Shen had turned back to his brother, who had slumped back into his limp hanging position. If drugs were the reason for his behavior, then maybe there was still hope, but what was the damage Dao had already suffered from it?

Shen paused when he noticed Dao's sword leaning against the wall not far away. On the spur of the moment, Shen walked up to it and pulled it out of the sword holder, the sharp blade flashing in the moonlight. With an eerie hiss, he pulled it out completely and swung it in the air a little. He hadn't held a sword like that in his wings for ages. At least not since the day when...

"You're holding it too loosely in your wings!" a thunderous voice echoed through his head. "You'll never make a real swordsman like that!"

In his mind's eye, he saw the silhouette of a fox in a blood-red robe. Horrified, Shen's eyes widened in contrast to the other pair of twinkling eyes, which stared at him like a demon. Suddenly, the figure lunged at him. His katana flashed before him like a bolt of lightning. The young white peacock tried to steer against it with his katana and attacked. But the one in the blood-red robe knocked his long sword out of his wings. Shen felt a hard kick in his chest, knocking him to the ground breathless. In the next moment, his opponent pressed the tip of the long sword onto the tip of his beak.

"Not every opponent waits until you're ready!" the figure reprimanded him. "And death even less. – Always be prepared!"

"Uh, Shen?" Po's words brought him back to the present. "I think, we should…"

Po paused. At the mention of Shen's name, Dao had given a slight jolt, but that was now easing.

"Hey!" Po shouted excitedly. "The name seems to mean something to him!"

Shen put down the sword and walked over to his brother. He had already noticed this behavior this afternoon. Although Dao seemed completely consumed and damaged by the drugs, but his subconscious still seemed to be functioning properly. Hesitantly, he moved his beak lips. "Dao?"

This time panda and older peacock startled. Dao's body trembled so badly that he even raised his head a little. But as if it had just been an electric shock from lightning, the younger peacock collapsed again just as quickly.

Po scratched his head thoughtfully. "Mm, maybe we should try another word. Mmh. I've got it!" Carefully, he leaned towards Dao. "Gongmen City."

With a jerk, Dao straightened his head again. His pupils began to tremble. Then this reaction abated again. Shen narrowed his eyes, his wings curling into fists. Whoever came up with the idea of doing this to his brother, he would kill him.

In the next moment, they heard a moan behind them. They turned around, startled. The broad-built ninja seemed to regain consciousness. Quickly, Shen hit him again and the ninja fell unconscious again.

"We'd better get out of here quickly!" the peacock decided and shook the chains that held Dao. But the iron ropes were not only looped around Dao's wings, but also partially around his chest, connected with a padlock.

"Don't worry," Po said, pushing Shen aside, "save your feathers. Something like that is easy to open, with just one answer."

Shen rolled her eyes. "Kung fu?"

"Yes! You can open anything with kung fu. With a special punch." Po raised his arms, then let out a few screams. "Yileh-ha! Yes-hey-jey!" Then he hit the lock hard once. "Ta-da! And it's open." Proudly, he pointed to the still locked lock. He paused in surprise. "Gee. Otherwise, it always works. Maybe I just didn't get enough momentum. Maybe I have to put my arm in the other direction somehow..."

"Panda," Shen interrupted, "before we waste any more of our precious time here, I'd better do it in the traditional way."

"Aha, yes, your feather trick, isn't it?"

Without further comment, Shen set to work opening the lock on the chains with a feather. But no sooner was it open than Dao fell forward like a cut loose puppet and slumped against Shen. He caught him just in time, holding his brother in his wings as if frozen. For the first time, they were as close as siblings could be. As if in a trance, Shen wrapped his wings around Dao, even though he didn't react, he thought, his heart was crying to him.

"Is everything okay?" Po asked worried and looked uncertainly at the two brothers. "Do you feel anything through him? Is he transmitting any messages to you?"

Immediately, Shen shook his head dismissively and pushed his brother into Po's arms. "You carry him!"

"What?!" Po stood there stunned at first, but when Shen's glare hit him, he quickly gave in. "Okay, okay." He cradled Dao in his arms, examining it. "Uh, am I imagining it, or is he lighter than you?"

Shen slapped him. "Get moving, panda!"

Po rubbed his sore muzzle with a pained face. "It's okay, it's okay."

But then he stopped as Shen pulled a handkerchief from his robe and used it to wipe up the drug liquid from the floor. Then he put the soaked cloth back in his pocket.

"What's that for?" Po asked, frowning.

"You don't have to care, panda," Shen declined to answer.

Po's eyes widened when Shen also picked up the long sword. "Do you really think that's a good idea?" Po asked, looking at the katana with concern, which drew an annoyed sigh from Shen. "What's up now?"

"Well, I'm just saying. What if he wakes up and he cuts my head off?"

"Panda, if he did, he wouldn't do it of his own accord," Shen explained, tying the katana around his waist. "Ravan only ordered him to cut your hair off a bit, not cut off your head, so I didn't intervene."

That calmed the panda halfway. "Oh well, okay. Mmm, what? Uh, does that mean if he had ordered my head to be cut off, would you have done anything against it?"

Shen turned away without a word and left the room while Po ran after him with Dao in his arms, smiling.

"Would you really? Uh? Oh, come on, say it!"

"No," Shen replied tonelessly, which initially sobered Po a bit.

"Mm, what's that room?" Curiously, Po looked at the next door. They had been on the road for a little while now and luckily no one had met them yet. Shen had memorized the route so they couldn't get lost, although the peacock found it odd that no one had ambushed them until now. But apparently, the ninjas didn't even dream of their captives escaping.

"Wow, must be some kind of collection chamber," Po guessed after he had now opened the door, much to Shen's displeasure.

With a low growl, the peacock also looked into the room. "If there had been one in there, we would have had a problem now, panda," he chided.

Po ducked his head. "Okay, I'm sorry, but this is the first time I've been among such weird ninjas..."

"It's alright, alright, that's enough," Shen slowed down the panda's new flow of speech and entered the room, which was crammed with weapons, clothing and other things. The peacock noticed a shelf from which he immediately picked out a few small vessels. He opened the lid and looked inside. Inside were strangely filled glass vials. "Mm, maybe this is useful for something else."

"Why?" Po asked, craning his neck curiously. "So what is that?"

"Nothing of great importance, panda," Shen brushed him off, putting some of the jars in a pouch. "The tunnels themselves appear to be unguarded, but they certainly wouldn't have left the entrance unattended."

Po frowned. "Hey, how about I dress up as a ninja? Then we'll just use it to cheat the guards."

Shen rolled her eyes. "Panda, you are not a black panther."

Po narrowed his eyes in annoyance and set the still weak peacock Dao against the wall. "And how else are we going to get out of here if we're found? It's hard for you to impersonate a ninja, isn't it?"

The panda pointed to Shen's white plumage. His long tail feathers could easily give him away. First, Shen gave Po an angry look, but then his eyes fell on Dao, who was still leaning weakly against the wall. Then a thought occurred to him.

"Mm, maybe you're no good as a ninja, but..." He squinted at the katana in his wings. "I would have another idea."

Po looked at him intently. "Great, and how does he look? Anything with ninja disguises?"

"Well, I would have liked me better as a ninja," Po grumbled, offended, while his back was turned to Shen. The white peacock had taken off Dao's black robe which he put on himself now.

"Just get used to the fact that you can't get everything you want," the peacock scolded him and slipped into his brother's black robe, who in turn was now wearing Shen's red and white robe. After Shen had checked everything carefully, he tied the long sword on.

"You can turn around again, panda."

"Okay."

As soon as Po had turned around, he let out an appreciative whistle. "Uh, uh, if I didn't know any better, I would have thought you were him and he were you. Or the other way around. Well, that looks totally cool..."

Shen just walked past him and opened the door. After making sure no one else was around, he waved the panda over to him.

"We can and do me a favor and just shut up your cheeky mouth, understand?"

Po frowned in insult, but then he raised his hand to his forehead like a soldier. "Alright, sir! Or rather: Hai!" And winked cheerfully at the peacock.

"And you're sure you will make it?" Po asked while he and Shen looked over to the cave entrance or exit, which was actually guarded by two black panthers.

"Just give me a minute," Shen said, walking up to the two guards. With the black robe and the sword, he really looked like Dao. But since Dao only seemed to be responding to commands without being able to do anything on his own, Shen had to slip into his role as believably as possible. So he went to the cave entrance so mechanically mixed with a naturalness. Once there, he said something in Japanese that sounded like monotonous talk to Po's ears. But it seemed to work. Because in the next moment, the black panthers quickly ran into the tunnel, past the hiding panda with Dao and disappeared inside the cave.

As soon as they were over, Po left his hiding place and ran to Shen at the exit.

"What did you tell them?" Po wanted to know.

"That Ravan sent me to tell them that they should rush to him immediately," Shen enlightened, "it would be a matter of urgency, and that I'll hold the fort here until then."

Po frowned. "Well, does that mean you really want to stay here?"

"Don't talk nonsense, panda! We have to hurry before they notice the swindle!"

With these words, Shen briefly pulled the panda with Dao, while Po gave him an obedient wave. "Okay, I mean: Hai!"

Ravan almost fell off his chair when the two guards suddenly appeared in front of him while he had been taking a nap. "What?! I didn't send anyone to you!" he protested. "That chicken was supposed to stay in his cell for tonight! What idiot drummed that into you?!"

Both guards looked at each other furtively. "Uh, no idea. But it was a white peacock," one of them defended sheepishly.

"That's impossible!" Ravan argued. "The white frond obeys no one, except..." But then it dawned on him. "I'll trim the feathers of the second frond! Move out immediately!"

"It's all well and good, we're outside," Po gasped while fleeing through the bushes with Dao in hands and Shen in front of him. "But how do we get off this island now? They've definitely confiscated the boat."

Shen didn't answer. He hadn't thought that far, but he would never admit it to the panda. But this is exactly what Po really challenged.

"Do you have a plan?" he asked. "Don't tell me, you don't have a plan!"

"Shut up, panda!" Shen snapped at him. "If you think you're that smart, then suggest...!" Suddenly, Shen cried and fell to the ground.

Immediately, Po stopped and stared wide-eyed at Shen, who struggled to get up again, groaning, clutching his neck, which had a dark narrow line on it.

"Shen! Everything okay?"

In the next moment, the panda heard a few excited calls. Po turned around. In the moonlight, he saw dark shapes scurrying through the thicket. "Oh, Shen! I think, now is the perfect time to cancel the island vacation!"

Shen pulled his wing down from his neck, which had turned a little red. But because it wasn't much blood, he concluded it wasn't a serious wound. His next glance fell on Dao, who was still hanging completely absentmindedly in Po's arms and Shen's anger built up again. If they were after them, then they shouldn't get Dao.

Quickly, he got up and pulled out the katana. "Run away, panda!"

Po looked at him in surprise. "What? But do you think, you can come alone with this…?"

"Just go away!" Shen pushed the panda away, causing Po to flee quickly. Not a second too soon, because in the next moment, the first ninja was with him. Shen quickly blocked him, but the first was immediately replaced by the next. The white peacock swung his katana at the attackers like he had never done before. But as the numbers grew, Shen was forced to flee into the trees, where he jumped from branch to branch. In the next moment, Ravan jumped beside him. The black panther tried to throw the peacock to the ground, but Shen dodged him just in time, causing the panther to smack into empty space. But the other ninjas also followed his example and rushed the peacock over the treetops. Shen now saw the moment to reach for the small jars which he carried in a pouch. As he jumped, he opened one of them and pulled out a vial divided into powder and liquid. The peacock was about to throw it when Ravan darted out beside him in the bright moonlight. The eyes of the two rivals met for several seconds, which Shen answered with determined, narrowed, battle-ready eyes and Ravan understood immediately. No matter how much they chased Shen, he would protect his little brother from this beast. Shen lifted the vial and gave Ravan another cheeky look: You won't get him again!

A moment later, a blinding explosion shook the sky. Shortly after throwing the chemical bomb, Shen quickly fled while his opponents plummeted to the ground like flies.

Po stopped abruptly after hearing the loud bang. "Oh, whoa," he murmured. But turning back would be wrong and quickly he turned around again. "Okay, we have to find a boat immediately!" Po muttered nervously while looking around with Dao in his arms. In the meantime, he had reached the nearest shore, but he had not seen any seaworthy means yet. "Oh, universe please!" he exclaimed. "I beg you, send me a boat!"

The panda stumbled and fell headlong into the wet mud. But instead of getting angry, Po could only marvel and knocked in disbelief against a boat standing on the bank.

"Wow!" he breathed. "That happened quickly. Thanks!"

He hurriedly loaded the motionless Dao into the long canoe. As soon as he was done, he heard quick footsteps coming towards him.

"Oh, what a luck!" Po exclaimed in relief. "I thought, I'd have to travel without you…"

"Let's get out of here quickly!" Shen snapped at him and just jumped into the boat. Po skipped a lecture on how the universe responds to requests and automatically he grabbed a paddle. The panda rowed away as fast as he could as if his life were at stake, which is basically what it was all about.

With a strong bow wave, the boat hit the pebbly beach. Shen immediately jumped to the shore. "Get up, panda! We will march to Koyosho immediately and then we will leave Japan as soon as possible."

He looked behind. In surprise, he watched how Po was panting in the boat. "Huh... what?" The panda got up with difficulty. "Right now? Does that mean we have to walk all the night now...?"

Shen looked at him determinedly and his gaze spoke volumes that the panda didn't like at all.

"Are you having any objections to that again?"

Po swallowed. "Uh, no, no, I just thought it's a shame because I've just started liking Japanese cuisine so I was hoping to try some more of it."

"Panda, I've told you since the beginning of the journey that...!"

"Okay, okay, okay." Dejected, Po lifted Dao out of the boat and they set out to leave the area as quickly as possible.