Chapter 3: Wisdom of Leadership

It was evening now as the sun had set over the horizon. The Training Hall was still burning since the incident that had happened that day as Po trudged around the Jade Palace with a sullen look.

It also didn't help that as he walked, he could overhear the Jade Palace archers whispering to each other, laughing at him mockingly.

"I'm glad we're not Po right now."

"What a loser."

"What was Shifu thinking?"

"What was Oogway thinking?"

Those words struck Po harder than any punch would as the moon shone brightly in the night sky with the stars so brightly that it would be a cause for joy, of celebration.

But not for Po.

Po walked somberly through the Master's Garden, a recently erected garden of statues constructed to honor fallen kung fu masters such as Master Frog, Master Elephant, Master Gorilla, Master Komodo, Master Goat, Master Hippo, Master Lizard, Master Porcupine, and even Master Thundering Rhino.

But the one statue that stood the tallest was the one of Master Oogway himself.

Po stood in front of the statue, gazing up sadly at the kindly old features carved into the statue.

"I'm sorry, Oogway." He whispered. "I guess I'm just not worthy of being a teacher."

Just then, Po felt a sudden presence behind him and he turned around to see Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello, and Michelangelo walking up to him.

"Hey, Po." Mikey greeted him cheerfully.

"Hey, guys." Po greeted back, trying to put on a smile.

"How are you feeling, buddy?" Donnie asked, putting a hand on the panda's shoulder.

Po sighed, looking away. "Could be better. Well, actually, a lot better." He replied.

"Well, us, the Five, April, and Casey are feeling a lot better now." Raph said. "Just needed some bandages and ice packs."

Po laughed humorlessly. "Bet they all think I'm a terrible teacher, don't they?"

The Turtles all winced, remembering some of the rather 'crude' ways some of the others had described Po's teachings.

"That doesn't mean you can't keep trying." Leo told him. "We all make mistakes, but that's the price of being a teacher, a leader; responsibility."

"I guess." Po sighed, turning back towards the statue only to see Shifu standing there with a lit lantern, startling him. "AAH! Would you stop doing that?!" He yelped.

Shifu simply grinned. "How was our first day teaching?"

Po groaned. "Humiliating." He replied bitterly.

"I've heard." Shifu nodded.

Po blinked in surprise. "Who told you? Did Tigress tell you?" He asked.

"I heard it from Monkey, and Crane, and Mantis, and Casey, and Raphael," Raph winced while the others glared at him slightly, "and your dad, and Mrs. Chow from the gift shop, and… Tigress told me." Shifu answered.

"Yeah, well, did she also tell you that it'll never happen again? 'Cause I'm done." Po stated.

"Teaching? Or being humiliated?" Shifu asked.

"Both!" Po exclaimed. "I don't know why you ever thought I could teach that class."

"Oh, I knew you couldn't." Shifu admitted, shocking everyone present.

"What?!" Po said, shocked. "You set me up to fail? Why?"

"Yeah, how exactly is him teaching us to throw ourselves out of the frying pan and into the fire supposed to help?" Raph also questioned.

"If you only know what you can do, you'll never be more than you are now." Shifu said wisley.

Po and the Turtles stood there and stared down at the red panda confusedly.

"... what?" Leo asked, sounding quite confused while the others simply shrugged.

Po sputtered a little. "But I don't wanna be more! I like who I am!"

"You don't even know who you are." Shifu lightly smirked.

Po blinked in further confusion. "What do you…? Of course I do. I'm the Dragon Warrior."

"And what exactly does that mean, Dragon Warrior?" Shifu asked.

Po opened his mouth to speak, but found himself at a loss for words. "It means… you know… just going around punching and kicking! Defending the valley and stuff."

"Punching and kicking? You think that is what the great Master Oogway saw for you?" Shifu said humorously, pointing to the statue with his staff. "A five hundred year prophecy fulfilled so you could spend your days kicking butt and running through town high-fiving bunnies?"

"... yes?" Po replied with a nervous grin, twiddling with his fingers a little.

"No!" Shifu facepalmed with a sigh. "Oogway saw greatness in you, Po. You, and your guardians. Against my better judgment… more than you can see in yourself. Incredible power awaits all of you. Power beyond anything any of you can imagine."

Shifu then set the lantern down before placing his hands together. He then waved both his arms in a fluid motion almost like that of inner peace as his hands glowed a dim bright gold. He then directed his hands towards a dying flower, and right before Po and the Turtles' eyes, the flower began to glow a dim gold as it slowly rose back into life.

Po, Leo, Raph, Donnie, and Mikey all gasped in astonishment upon seeing this.

"Whoa!" Leo, Raph, and Mikey breathed in awe.

"How is this even possible?" Donnie quietly questioned as he bent down to observe the revived plant.

"What was that?" Po also asked.

Shifu let out a breath as he stood up straight. "That… was chi."

"Chi? As in, the energy that flows through everything and everyone?" Leo asked.

"Yes." Shifu answered.

That got Po all excited as he crawled over to Shifu, practically putting them nose to nose. "So you're saying if I teach, I'll be able to do cool stuff like that?!"

"Ooh! We could make the world's best garden!" Mikey cheered before getting smacked in the back of the head by Raph.

Shifu pushed Po back. "No," He said to the panda, "I'm saying if you teach, I'll be able to do cool stuff like that."

"Oh." Po said, disappointed.

"Mastery of chi requires mastery of self." Shifu explained before turning to the statue of Oogway. "Oogway sat alone in a cave for thirty years asking one question; 'who am I? Who am I?' I'm lucky if I get five minutes before you interrupt."

Po groaned loudly. "So now I have to sit alone in a cave for thirty years?!"

Shifu nodded. "Eventually. After you have mastered teaching."

"Teaching?" Po questioned, sitting up. "There's no way I'm ever gonna be like you."

"I'm not trying to turn you into me." Shifu told him. "I'm trying to turn you… into you." He then handed Po the revived flower before heading down the steps, leaving the panda and the Turtles to themselves.

"Turn me… into me?" Po said in confusion. "Wait a second, that makes no…" He then cupped his hand to his mouth. "Almost there, Shifu!" He called out to the red panda. "Just a little more confusing and you'll be the next Oogway!"

Mikey blinked. "Whoooaaa… you know it's good advice when your still confused afterwards." He breathed in awe.

Po then turned to the Oogway statue with a sheepish look. "Oh, ah, sorry. No offense, Master Oogway. I just…" He let out a sigh. "I'll let you get back to your eternal peace."

"You do realize what Shifu's trying to say, right?" Raph asked. "You don't need to be like him or Oogway."

"Raph's right." Donnie agreed. "You just need to be the best version of yourself."

"Yeah, just be yourself, dude!" Mikey added jubilantly.

"Even if your teachings are… questionable, know that you'll always have our support, Po. From all of us." Leo said with a smile.

Po smiled back slightly. "Thanks, guys." He said before he frowned slightly. "But right now, that just seems a lot easier said than done."

"Well, a lot of stuff is." Leo shrugged nonchalantly.

"But, hey, did you give up when we found out the Dragon Scroll was blank?" Raph questioned.

"No." Po replied.

"And did you give up when Shen had us all on the brink of death in Gongmen City?" Raph also asked.

"No I didn't!" Po said determinedly.

"That's right!" Raph grinned. "You just gotta be confident in yourself if you want succeed."

"Yeah, and we know you will, Po. You always do!" Mikey said encouragingly.

Po smiled at his four guardians. "Thanks, guys. I really needed that." He then let out a long yawn. "Let's go hit the sack." He said as he began walking down the stairs towards the student barracks.

Leo, Raph, Donnie, and Mikey were about to walk down the stairs after him when suddenly…

A gray yak sweeped his jade blades along the ground as he slowly walked through the Master's Garden.

"I will show you the true power of chi, brother…"

The Jade Palace being utterly destroyed while the statues in the Master's Garden crumbled to dust.

"They will meet the same fate as you…"

The four ninja turtles' hands shot up to their heads as they grunted and groaned in pain, the visions finally leaving their minds as all that remained was that familiar surge of pain.

"Hey, you guys alright?"

Leo, Raph, Donnie, and Mikey looked up to see Po looking back at them with an expression of concern.

Silently, all four turtles glanced back at the Jade Palace, making sure that it was still intact, which it was before they glanced at each other.

"It was…" Leo began to speak, but found himself at a loss for words. "It was nothing."

"Yeah, just tired." Raph added, rubbing his eyes.

Mikey yawned. "My shell is tired, brah."

"Let's just get some shuteye." Donnie stated.

The Turtles quickly walked down the stairs, passing Po completely. The panda then shrugged, brushing it off as he followed his friends down the steps towards the student barracks.

And all of them were completely unaware of an eerie green aura that briefly lit up the night sky before it faded into nothingness.


It seemed like a regular morning for these two small farmers, a rabbit and a duck. They would get up early, have their breakfast, and then go out to rake their crops.

But that routine was interrupted when their crops suddenly lit up in a bright green orb of energy almost like a tornado that threatened to blow them both away before it suddenly decimated.

Curiosity overcoming their fear, the two farmers rushed up towards the newly formed crater in the middle of their crops to see what had caused such an occurrence.

As they peered into the crater, they spotted a tall gray yak bull armed with two jade swords attached to chains, several small green pendants on his belt, and a large helmet that fit around his tall antlers.

Immediately, the two farmers tried to run, only for the yak to cut off their escape with the toss of his blade, carving a line in the dirt ahead of the two farmers as a warning.

The two farmers hugged each other in absolute terror as the yak slowly approached them, the duck farmer even comically laying an egg out of extreme fear.

"What is this place?" The yak suddenly asked.

"Aaah… my brother's… farm?" The rabbit farmer hesitantly answered.

"Ah." The yak said before he knelt down to their level. "If I stepped on you, would you die?"

The duck farmer laid a ton of more eggs as he squawked in panic. "Y-yes." The rabbit farmer replied fearfully.

"The Mortal Realm." The yak said in sinister satisfaction, a hint of glee growing in his voice as he looked at the green pendant on his neck while he stood up. "You hear that, Oogway? I'm back. Kai has RETURNED!"

The two farmers immediately separated, no longer trembling in terror as they gazed up at the yak confusedly. "Who?" They both asked.

"Kai." The yak said shortly. "General Kai. Supreme warlord of all China."

The two farmers still gazed up at him blankly as they shrugged.

"The jade slayer. Master of pain." Kai went on to mention his titles, looking for some sign of recognition. "You may know me as the Beast of Vengeance. Uh, Maker of Widows?"

The two farmers still stared blankly at him with no recognition.

Kai gave them both a flat look. "Okay, I used to work with Oogway."

That got the farmers attention. "Oh, Master Oogway! He was a great warrior!" The duck farmer said.

"We've heard of Master Oogway!" The rabbit farmer added. "Wise and…"

"Okay, okay, enough!" Kai said, already getting tired of their prattle but the farmers kept going. "SILENCE!" He bellowed, scaring the two farmers out of their wits.

Kai then grabbed the pendants off of his belt and threw them to the ground. Pendants floated mid air before they slowly morphed into fourteen crystalized beings.

Twelve of these crystal creatures were animals, one a frog, one an elephant, one a gorilla, one a komodo dragon, two were a couple of badger twins, one a goat, one a hippo, one a lizard, one a porcupine, one a rhino, and one a mutant zombie wolf.

The three other figures were actually humans. One a bald man armed with a kodachi sword and wearing a metallic hannya mask over his face, the second was a man with long facial hair and dressed in long Chinese robes, while the third man was the most intimidating of the bunch as he was dressed in spiked armor that covered most of his body, armed with long retractable steel claws, and wearing a certain symbolic helmet upon his head.

"Find Oogway's students and bring them to me." Kai ordered them.

Without hesitation, the thirteen jade creatures split up in multiple directions, willing to obey any whim from their master.

Kai then held the pendant of Oogway close to him. "By the time I am done with them, Oogway, there will be no-one left who will even remember your name."

Suddenly, Kai felt something. A strange presence in this realm he had never felt before. Whoever it was, he sensed that their chi was strong, almost… otherworldly. Deeply concentrating, Kai was surprised to discover that it was not one, but four beings who emitted this presence, and they had been to this world before.

Kai grinned at this new opportunity that presented itself, he would have to know more about these beings.

"KAI IS COMING!" Kai bellowed to the heavens with a laugh as lightning crackled in the green clouds above.

And there would be no-one to stop him this time.