Chapter 10: Kōsetsu

"Why isn't anyone carrying me?! Someone should be carrying me!"

Kintaro's complaining echoed throughout the mountains as the group pressed on through the snowy heights of the Ha Ha Naru Yama. They had been journeying through these mountains for a day and half now through the freezing weather. Luckily the hemp/straw ponchos they now wore kept them warm for the most part while their kasa hats kept the snow from getting in their eyes.

Usagi shook his head in irritation while Leo sighed heavily.

"I'm cold! And I'm tired! And I'm hungry!" The Holy Child continued to complain as the others kept quiet. He then stopped. "This is unacceptable, I hate walking! Long-ear, either you or one of your kappa companions carry me or build me a carriage! I demand it!"

As the others went on, Leo and Usagi stayed behind to help the Golden Boy up the small hill they were currently traversing.

"You will never find your center by being self-centered, Kintaro-sama." Usagi told him.

"Yeah, and I doubt your powers will come from you being a boastful brat either." Leo added.

"You don't tell me what to do, I tell you!" Kintaro snapped. "Now use your long ears, and if you even have ears, and listen when I say 'Be Silent'! One day, I'll be strong enough to move an entire mountain!"

"We could use that right now." Gennosuke said, getting the trio's attention. "Looks like there was a landslide."

And indeed ahead of them in their path a ginormous boulder that blocked their path entirely.

Donnie held his chin. "It's gonna have to move. Well, here's your chance, small fry. Let's see you move the 'mountain'." He said sarcastically.

"Ha!" Kintaro scoffed, walking up to the boulder. "Stand aside, peasants!"

The others watched from afar, Donnie, Raph, and even Gen having amused smirks on their faces while Leo and Usagi remained neutral. Mikey, meanwhile, simply observed Kintaro curiously.

The Holy Child placed his palms upon the rock, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. He then grunted as used his full strength to try and push the boulder.

Only the boulder wasn't moving.

"Did you see it move?" Raph questioned sarcastically. "'Cause I sure didn't." He laughed mockingly. Sure, he had gotten over his little grudge with Usagi, but that wasn't gonna stop him from mocking the Holy Child.

"My paws are cold!" Kintaro grunted. "I can't get a… good grip!" He kept trying and trying to push the boulder, but his feet slipped on the slippery ground and he ended up falling on his face.

Raph continued to laugh at this, with Donnie and Gen getting a good chuckle out of it too. "Hey, what happened to your 'great strength', Golden Boy?" He mocked, using air quotes.

Kintaro scowled. "Your foul stench poisoned me!"

"Hey, lighten up, Raph. The kid tried." Leo reasoned. "That's something."

Usagi then stepped forward, gently lifting up Kintaro's head so he would be watching him. He analyzed the rock closely before looking at it from the side. There he noticed the boulder was being held up by a thick tree keeping it stable.

With a quick slash of his katana, the ronin cut the tree down, allowing the boulder to fall off the edge of the cliff and freeing their path. Raph, Donnie, Mikey, and Kintaro watched with shocked expressions while Leo and Gen had impressed/knowing smiles on their faces.

Usagi sheathed his sword before turning to the pug child. "Sometimes strength is not enough." He said simply with a small smile.

Now that their path was clear again, the group continued on their journey. However, Leo stopped for a moment and looked up at a small cave above him.

Somehow, he still couldn't shake the feeling that they were being watched.

But he soon brushed it off and quickly ran to catch up with the others.

Little did he know that his instincts weren't wrong.


The snowfall eventually turned into a full-fledged blizzard as the group continued on their trekk. The wind was harsh and strong, threatening to blow the group off the face of the mountain, but still they held firm.

Raph struggled to pull himself up a hill while everyone else was ahead. He stopped to catch his breath, panting before looking down and noticing a piece of rope tied around his waist. He looked back and was furious to see Mikey with the other end of the rope, his arms folded behind his back as he relaxed and let his older brother do all the work.

Needless to say, it took almost all of the group to keep Raph from chucking Mikey off a cliff after swinging him over his head like a rag-doll.

Once that was settled, they pressed on, eventually coming to a narrow cliff-side and having to use the spare rope as a tether to keep themselves from being blown off by the wind and to keep them from slipping off.

Hours went by, but they felt like forever. But on the bright side, the blizzard eventually died down and the ground evened out.

And as they continued, they eventually came across two wooden signs. Both had Japanese writing on them as the first one read 'Straight ahead' and the other one read 'Sky Buddha Temple'.

Following the signs, the group soon came across a frozen pond which they were forced to cross. Everyone else made it across fine, but as soon as Gennosuke stepped onto the pond, the ice broke and he instantly fell into the water.

After helping the rhino out of the water, the group eventually came to a stop at the highest point on the mountain.

"We have reached the top." Usagi stated. "The high pass of the Ha Ha Naru Yama."

"We made it, boys." Leo said in relief.

"At least the hard part is over." Kintaro panted, whipping some sweat off his brow.

However, Usagi held his chin in his hand. "No," He hummed as he looked down, "the hard part is before us. The Sen no Himei Dani, otherwise known as the Descent of a Thousand Screams."

And indeed below them was a giant cloudy pit, with them being so high up they could no longer see the ground. The only way across that they could see was a thin bridge of ice.

"Whoa," Mikey whispered, "that's a loooooong way down."

"We're so high, you can see the top of those clouds." Leo spoke in amazement.

The party turtle however shrugged. "Can't be that bad. I'll find out how far down it is." Rubbing his nose, he then spit into the air below.

His spit went down and down into the pit and disappeared into the clouds before the roaring winds forced it back up into Raph's face, much to the hotheaded turtle's disgust.

Mikey laughed, holding his stomach while Raph wiped the spit from his face. Raph growled like a feral animal and tackled the party turtle, nearly causing them to fall off the edge. Luckily, they were pulled back up by Donnie.

"Hey, do you two wanna fall?" The smart turtle said sarcastically.

"Quit messing around." Leo told them sternly. "Come on, Usagi's getting ahead."

Crossing the ice bridge to the other side, the group soon found themselves shimming along a narrow ice cliff, where one slip could mean their doom.

Mikey bit his lip nervously as he made a conscious effort not to look down. However, as he looked out into the howling winds of snow and mist, he saw something.

Out there, standing on a tiny mountain was a certain wolf with a spear, one that made the party turtle's eyes widen at the sight of it.

"Donnie, donnie, look!" Mikey cried, shaking the smart turtle's arm, startling him and nearly causing him to fall. "It's him, Jei! He's out there!"

However, when he looked, the mad wolf was suddenly gone, as if he hadn't been there at all.

"I don't see anybody, Mikey." Donnie said, trying to sound reassuring. "You've gotta relax."

Mikey frowned. "He was out there, Dee. I'm telling you, bro! He. Was. Out there!" He asserted.

Raph scoffed. "No, I think you're letting this place get to you. There's no one… out… there." He trailed off, his eyes going wide as dinner plates when he could have sworn he saw one of the clouds in the distance suddenly morph into a clean cut resemblance of Jei's face. "Dang it, Mikey! You've got me hallucinating now too!" He said, hitting Mikey's arm.

"No, dude, the huge Jei in the clouds just now? I saw it too." Mikey said.

"So did I." Donnie gulped nervously.

"What we're seeing doesn't matter!" Leo stated firmly, stopping and turning back to his brothers. "Jei might be messing with our heads somehow, but he doesn't control us anymore."

Raph, Donnie, and Mikey quickly rejoined their older brother as they went to catch up with the others, the narrow cliff that had been scaling now having widened enough for them to walk normally.

"I have heard rumors that Jei is immortal." Usagi murmured, having heard the whole conversation. "Even if his body is destroyed, he can live on."

"Don't be like those superstitious fools, they're just afraid." Kintaro dismissed, dragging his axe behind him.

"And yet their courage has saved your life." Usagi pointed out. "Instead of judging them, you should have compassion for them. When you understand others, their strength can become yours."

Kintaro came to a full stop. "I don't need anybody's strength!" He boasted. "I'm plenty strong myself!" He then heaved his axe over his shoulder before his feet slipped on the ice and he nearly fell off the edge. Quickly pulling himself back up, the Holy Child hugged his knees to his chest as he whimpered.

"If you are so strong, perhaps you should stop being such a chicken." Usagi stated.

"Chicken?!" Kintaro exclaimed incredulously. "I'm the bravest warrior in the land!"

"Then you must prove it, young one."

The entire group froze as the foul voice in the air chuckled, a voice that they instantly recognized as Jei's.

The mad wolf's chuckles echoed throughout the mountains, chilling all of them to their cores colder than the snow itself could. Each of them remained tense as they slowly reached for their weapons in anticipation.

Raph was about to pull out his sais when he sensed something behind him. He turned just in time to see a white Neko clan ninja leap out from the snow, his robes now white instead of their traditional black.

Soon, more white neko ninjas appeared from the snow, surrounding the group and boxing them into separate teams.

"I knew someone was watching us!" Leo exclaimed, quickly whipping out his katanas.

"Neko ninjas!" Gen scowled, also drawing his swords. "You'd think they would've learned from last time."

"Wait, hold it!" Mikey cried. "They're wearing white. So maybe they're good neko ninjas." He then turned to the neko ninja in front of him, holding out his hand with a friendly smile. "Hey, ninjitsu bra!"

The neko ninja responded by pulling out his sword and slashing at Mikey's extended arm, causing him to yelp.

Backing up, he lifted the piece of poncho covering his arm, revealing it to be gone, much to Donnie and Raph's horror.

However, that was quickly replaced with relief when the party turtle's arm simply popped out of the shell completely unharmed.

"So for the record, bad ninjas." Donnie stated, drawing his bo-staff.

"Get 'em!" Raph yelled before lunging at the ninja in front of him with his sais. But the neko jumped out of the way and disappeared back into the snow before appearing behind him.

The hot headed turtle turned around just in time to block the ninja's strike, and with his sai and the flick of his wrist, he disarmed the ninja of his sword.

Raph went to stab the neko, but the ninja jumped back into the snow, causing the red turtle to stab nothing but the snow itself.

Clashing his staff with another neko, Donnie attempted to jab at the ninja, but the cat ninja leaped back into the snow and attempted to stab the smart turtle from behind .

But Donnie saw this coming and quickly blocked the strike with his staff before attempting to retaliate.

Once again, the neko ducked back into the snow, but Donnie was ready this time as he swung his staff behind him, hitting the ninja just as he jumped out of the snow.

Gennosuke clashed his katana with that of another neko. Using his superior strength, the rhino forced the ninja's blade upwords. With the neko off balance, Gen punched the ninja in the nose and stunning him before grabbing him by the head and throwing him into another ninja.

Leo deflected a blow from one neko before punching him in the stomach and then kicking him off the cliff. He and Usagi were the only ones keeping Kintaro safe from the neko ninja as they were separated from the others.

Over the clashes of steel, Leo heard a rustling of snow coming from above them. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw a neko ninja coming down from above with the aim of going for the Holy Child.

"Oh, no you don't!" Leo exclaimed, intercepting the neko with a flying kick and knocking the ninja into the neko Usagi was still fighting, knocking them over like bowling pins.

However, with Kintaro's side now unguarded, that left the Holy Child exposed as soon enough another ninja approached him.

At first, Kintaro's first instinct was to run away, but he stopped himself. He couldn't keep running away and acting like a coward forever. He was the Holy Child, chosen by the gods themselves to be blessed with their powers.

So with a newfound bravery, Kintaro held up his axe in a defensive position as he planted himself on the spot.

But that newfound bravery crumbled as soon as the neko whipped out his katana.

With a yelp, Kintaro dropped his axe and attempted to make a run for it, but the ninja easily grabbed him.

"We have the boy!" The neko declared to his fellow ninja, pulling out a grappling rope. "We must hurry!"

"NO!" Usagi shouted.

"KINTARO!" Leo exclaimed.

The ronin rabbit and the ninja turtle sprinted to catch the neko, but the ninja tied a thin rope around the Holy Child and secured it to a wall before tossing him off the cliff.

The Golden Boy screamed as he fell, immediately getting the others' attention.

"They got Pug-taro!" Mikey cried, breaking off with his opponent and going after the Holy Child while Raph, Donnie, and Gennosuke continued to hold off the remaining ninjas.

Mikey jumped down from cliff to cliff, going as fast as he could.

Leo and Usagi meanwhile moved down the mountain slope side by side taking down any neko ninjas that got in they're way.

The party turtle had just landed on another cliff and was just about to jump again when a neko ninja suddenly tried to attack him from behind. However, Mikey quickly countered by throwing the neko over his shoulder.

But then, in a move unexpected for him, the neko ninja twisted his body forward and used his claws to grab onto the side of the mountain. The ninja then reached into his robes and threw what looked like a bomb at the yougest turtle.

However, Mikey didn't get the chance to move out of the blast radius as the bomb practically exploded in his face, destroying the ledge he was on.

"MIKEY!" Donnie cried while Raph gasped in horror.

Leo gasped as well seeing his baby brother plummeting to his doom. "Usagi! Go!" He yelled to the ronin, sheathing his swords.

Usagi nodded before sprinting ahead to catch Kintaro while Leo stopped, took a step back, and took a mighty leap off the cliff.

Sailing through the air, the blue clad turtle whipped out his grappling gun from his belt and shot it into the cliffside. And with a hefty swing, Leo swung towards his little brother.

"I gotcha!" He exclaimed, grabbing Mikey by the belt.

"Whew! Thanks, Leo!" The party turtle sighed in relief as they swung to safety.

With many of the other neko ninja defeated, Raph, Donnie, and Gennosuke quickly departed and leapt to the other side to meet with Leo and Mikey, but not before Raph grabbed Kintaro's axe and took it with them.

Meanwhile, Usagi leapt down onto another cliff where he was met with another neko ninja. Clashing his katana with his opponents, the ronin shoved away the ninja with his superior strength.

But as the ninja staggered back, he whipped out another hand-held bomb and threw at Usagi.

"NO!" The ronin shouted, eyes wide with horror before the bomb exploded, blowing him off the cliff.

Ears ringing, Usagi immediately realized he was falling as the wind whipped by him. So, mustering his strength, he jammed his katana into the cliff-side and stopping his fall.

Kintaro screamed as he continued to plummet until eventually, the rope finally went taut, stopping his fall super abruptly.

"That was lucky." The Holy Child said in relief. Suddenly, he felt the rope start to loosen as a few pebbles fell on his head. He looked up and he yelped in fright when he saw the cable supporting him was about to come loose. "Ahh! Usagi!" He cried before the cable finally snapped.

"Kintaro!"

Placing his feet onto the cliff side, Usagi pushed off with all his might. Everything seemed to be in slow motion now as the ronin wrapped his arms around the Holy Child. With him caught, the two crashed down on the other side of the mountain.

Kintaro groaned as he sat up in the ronin's arms. "You did well, Usagi." He complimented the ronin with a small smile before it quickly faded as his pride took over again. "Not that I needed your help. Because I didn't."

Not wasting his time replying, Usagi picked up the Holy Child and carried him away as more neko ninja came their away.

Placing the Golden Boy on his shoulders, Usagi jabbed his katana into the ice and dragged it along the ground before jumping over a small gap and onto another cliff.

Then, as soon as the neko ninja leapt onto the cliff, Usagi slammed the hilt of his katana into the side of the mountain, sending a violent vibration throughout the mountain. And with the cracked ice on the cliff the neko ninja were standing on, this proved to be their undoing as the ice cracked and shattered beneath their weight, sending the ninjas screaming into the cloudy abyss below.

"You guys alright?" Leo asked as he and the others walked down towards the two.

"We are fine, Leonardo-san." Usagi stated, brushing some snow off of his kimono. "Thank you for your concern."

"Sure didn't sound like a thousand screams to me." Raph remarked with a smirk, looking down to where the neko ninja fell.

"It's okay, cats always land on their feet." Mikey said.

Raph then handed Kintaro his weapon. "By the way, kept your axe for ya, Puggy. Thought you'd want to have it back."

Kintaro quickly snatched his axe from the red clad turtle's hands with a pout.

With the danger dealt with, the group continued on their journey through the mountains and snow.

Kintaro was about to follow when he felt a sharp pain in his left knee. He looked down at it and could see that it was bleeding a bit and beginning to swell, but he ignored the pain as best he could as he limped after the others.