One long, stressful night passed, and the sun finally decided to show up on the horizon, basking the Battle Nexus with its warm light. People from all around the multiverse gathered from the beginning of dawn, excited to see what the warriors had to offer. In the Daimyo's castle, the turtles and team Gai, minus those who were abducted, were getting ready for the decisive battle. Don checked his gear for the ninth time, while Leo and Mikey focus on their mystic power. For once, Michelangelo surprised master Splinter of how concentrated he could be, especially when his family was at stake. The same went for the ninjas of Konoha. Neji executed his favorite technique one more time with absolute grace and poise, leaving no place for excess movement, and Lee tightened the bandage around his arms, making it squeak against his green spandex. Gai and master Splinter stood afar observing their beloved students, having the same worry about those missing. If only Tenten and Raphael could be here, and they didn't have to concern themselves over the shadow assassins, this would be the most thrilling contest they've ever been in. The Daimyo, along with Usagi and his son, marched up to them. The Battle Nexus ruler waved his War Staff to gain their attention:

- I deeply apologize for causing such damage to all of you. If we ever get through this, I shall be forever grateful – His bow couldn't get any lower.

- It's alright, Daimyo-sama – Neji bowed in respond – We know the risk, and we're willing to go through with it. It doesn't mean we're going without countermeasure, though.

Casted a glance at Mikey, he gave a light nod. Lee gave him a thumb up before the sea green turtle disappeared from view in a flash of green and orange.

- I pray for his success in finding Tenten and Raphael – Ue said – It is almost time. We shall go ahead to the arena. Please… be careful.

All of them nodded in acknowledgement. Turning to each other, the turtles and the Konoha ninjas all wore the same expression on their faces: this was no longer a fight for honor and glory. All of their hope rode along with the orange clad turtle, and for that they had to give him all the time they could afford. Both senseis looked at their students with deep concern, but they couldn't push aside the pride rising in their chests. Never before that they showed such determination. This would be one hell of a match, and the spectator would be blown away…

:::

After a long, thorough search for the hostage, saying the shadow clan leader was furious was an understatement. His brethren's incompetent costed them a few lives when he unleashed his wrath upon them. They could jeopardize everything he planned. When he calmed down enough to clear his mind, he realized that time left him no choice. If he couldn't possess the necessary negotiation tools, then so be it. The plan must be carried out without delay, along with some alternations. The assassin leader had already set out toward the castle's direction with his elite force, while the rest spread out in the forest to search for the fugitives. The order was clear: the human girl and the kame were no longer required, but they could still pose a threat to the clan's scheme. They were not allowed to reach the castle, and their heads were demanded by the leader. Roaming into the brightening forest, the assassins soon found their targets...

Tenten put another soldier pill in her mouth, grinding it and let the medicine boost her up. Her eyelids were getting heavier by the minute, but she could make out the faint ray of sunlight from afar. She was about to wake up her green companion when a loud bang jolted them both to their feet.

- Wha-what happened? – Raph stuttered, still not out of his drowsy state yet.

- One of my traps. Those dark creatures are here. – Tenten gritted his teeth, staring at some snapped wires on her fingers – Cover your ears!

Without waiting for the turtle to comply, the kunoichi pulled hard on the rest of the wires. A set of explosion erupted from all around them, and then there's the sound of metal cutting the air. Scream of pain and terror rose above the smoke and fire. But then, dark smoke swirled its way to them, solidified into about a dozens of angry shadow assassins, some of them wounded by the traps of the Konoha ninja. Tenten held her scroll at the side, ready to unleash her weapon to whoever dared to approach. Raph already activated his mystic force, spinning his sais tauntingly.

- Hurry before he can transform! – One of the assassins shouted to the others – They must be put down at all cost. Attack!

Raph couldn't concentrate any more than he already had when a group of the shadow clan jumped on him. Their attacks did little to no damage to the turtle, but he was distracted enough to manifest his dragon avatar. Not to mention he was too close to Tenten, if he transformed he could crush her by accident. She didn't seem to be any harm though, when she rolled the giant scroll out, hurling a hurricane of razor-sharp weapons at those assassins around her. They evaded easily by turning into smoke, but they could not attack her in that form, and solidify at close distance would mean being shredded to pieces, for the weapons flew around her with wires connected to them. With just a flick of her fingers, the kunais, daggers and all other kind of blades shot to where she wanted.

For a while both sides seemed to be in a stalemate. But the assassins gradually closed their distance. Raph's flame mark had started to fade, and the pressing attacks begun to take visible effect on his skin. Raph slowly backed away, keeping the cuts and bruises he received to the minimum, but it proved to be difficult when there're so many of them. With each goon he beaten, three more popped up, draining Raph from his mystic energy. The flame mark finally died out and one of the assassins managed to kick the emerald turtle right in the stomach, sending him to the ground.

Tenten didn't fare any better. Her control of the weapons was getting less and less accurate due to lack of sleep. The metal wires connected her fingers and the weapons were making her hands bleed with every move she made. Her head suddenly swayed in the dizziness and all of her weapons tangled altogether. The assassins wasted no precious moment to crush the girl using shear weight and number.

- You are a formidable force, we'll give you that – The assassin commented mockingly, raising a blade across Raph's neck when the turtle was brought to his knee along with Tenten, his brethren held them both firmly in place – Too bad you can only hold on for this long. Farewell!

Raph and Tenten looked at each other as the blade was raised above their heads, poising for the final strike. They had fought valiantly, but their effort wasn't enough. Knowing what's coming next just by staring into each other's eyes, both the warrior turtle and the tomboy kunoichi closed their eyes, waiting for the final blow to come. The executor assassin took one last look at his defeated enemies, and then brought down his blade.

WHAM!

It happened in less than a fracture of a second, faster than any eye could follow. When Raph and Tenten's brain registered what occurred, the assassin looming in front of them was already feet away, lying in a lump of meat, unconscious before his body came into contact with the ground, and evaporated not too long after that. All of them were too shocked to react, but from the corner of Raph's eyes, he saw a blur of green and orange. He nudged for Tenten's attention just before the bunch of shadow assassins around them were knocked flat on their backs. Those remainders started to panic and released their hostages in a heartbeat so they could defend themselves against an invisible force. Raph was about to turn around and delivered some knuckle sandwiches when he heard his baby brother's ecstatic cry:

- COWABUNGA! - Mikey screamed as he shot past him and knocked down another group of those dark creatures, his stealth thrown out to the wind.

If not for the fact that Mikey was their savior, Raph would have yelled something to shut him up. But he could always smack the shell-for-brain later. The orange clad turtle skidded to a stop in front of his brother and a total amazed yet perplexed girl after knocking out the last assassin, with a speed that could make Hisomi shisho proud.

- Mikey! What did I tell ya about 'Cowabunga'? - Raph crossed his arms, pretending to be upset.

- That's what I get for saving your sorry shell? - Mikey stuck out his tongue - In case you haven't realized, I already stop gloating about how awesome I am when I became the Battle Nexus champion, so cut me some slack, dude!

Tenten could only shake her head as she watched Raph trying to give his brother a playful noogie. The scene was foreign, yet felt awkwardly familiar to her, when her friends in Konoha used to mess around just like that.

- Guys! – She called out to them – As much as I want to join your touching reunion, we still have work to do!

The turtles stopped scratching their heads, and then hardened their faces. The clock's still tickling. Every second they wasted, their friends and brothers could be pushing themselves to the verge of death. Tenten rose to their feet, swaying:

- I'm almost out of it, but we can't take any time to rest. Raphael-san, I sure can use your avatar now.

- Me too, it's just… there's something wrong with me – The red clad turtle frown – I couldn't… can't concentrate. It's like I don't have any juice left.

Just as that moment, a loud rumble erupted from somewhere on Raph's middle area.

- Does that answer your question? – The girl arched an eyebrow at the blushing turtle.

- Wait! Hold on! – Mikey held up his hands – Are you guys talking about what I think you're talking about? Raph can call up his dragon avatar?

- Not just call up, I turned inta it. That's how we could escape from those assassins.

- Dude, that is so not fair, I mediated for hours yesterday night and today morning, while you got beaten and got locked up, and you did it before me? – The youngest turtle whined.

- Then why don't ya give it a try just like I did? Ya just have ta turn inta the dragon in my place, 'cause I don't think ya can carry us both as a turtle.

A flinch of nervousness flashed across Mikey's face, but the turtle gulped it down. Leo and Don already counted on him, Lee and Neji also counted on him. Now it's just Raph, and Tenten, and pretty much everyone else. No pressure. Clapped his hands together and closed his eye, the sea green turtle started to focus, hoping that he wouldn't screw this up, for his family's sake, and for his own sake as well…

:::

The Daimyo wanted to arrange the ninja's match until later, letting the other contestant go first. But it was not as he planned. With only a handful of warriors left, the time for their match drew near very soon. Ue tucked on his father's robe, sensing his hesitation:

- You should not delay what is inevitable, father. Let us have faith in Michelangelo and proceed as we originally planned.

The Battle Nexus ruler gazed down his son. He was reborn to him, giving him a second chance to be a better father. If Ue trusted the turtle, especially the former champion of this multiverse, why could he not? Straightened up, the Daimyo jabbed the War Staff to the ground, making necessary alternation just as the shadow clan leader demanded. Down below the arena, Leo and Don nervously looked up as the magic screen flashed their names:

HAMATO DONATELLO

VS

ROCK LEE

Glancing over the boy in green, Don could see those black eyes had turned into blazing coals. He gave Don a determined nod before both of them vanished into the ring.

- I am aware that we must not rush this, Donatello-kun – Lee bowed to him before poising to his signature stance – I will try my best to restrain myself.

- Me too… - Don mumbled before the gong cut him off.

Dashing forward, green clashed into green in the middle of the ring. Don had blocked Lee's fist with his bo staff, sliding it so the punch was deflected upward. With the boy's side wide opened, Don jabbed a punch right to it, but Lee quickly spun around and grabbed the turtle's wrist before he could make contact. With the momentum, the green beast of Konoha dragged Don around as he drove into a spin, launching the turtle to the wall of the ring. The purple clad turtle banged his shell hard, but quickly rested it against the brick wall, his bo staff at the ready to welcome the charging ninja. The flying kick Lee sent his way drilled a hole on the ring as Don squashed down, his legs split to a perfect straight line. Lee couldn't pull his leg out in time and receive a full blow of the staff right to his face. The turtle rolled away on his shell only to come back immediately, unleashing on the green boy every kata he knows. Lee had freed himself but with the staff's reach and the continuous attack, he couldn't do much except for blocking and dodging Don's onslaught. His bandaged arms took care of almost all of Don's blows, but he couldn't keep this up for too long.

Dodging one more of the turtle's attack, Lee black flipped away, realized that Don didn't chase after him. They need to drag this on for as long as possible, but they also had to keep the audience entertained. If Don just stood there and did nothing, then it was up to him to bring out the heat. Launching himself to the side, Lee started running along the wall. His speed kept increasing, until he no longer ran on the ground but on the brick wall, creating smoke after his track. Lee hoped that Don could catch up with what he was about to do, otherwise it would end very quickly and dreadfully.

The genius closely observed his opponent turning into a blur, the grip on his staff made his fingers went numb. With the momentum Lee was building up, the impact would be devastating, but he must remain on the ring. Still keeping an eye on the green rocket, Don let the mystic power flowed through his body, painting glowing purple stripes on his skin. He had a few ideas of what his brothers could do with their mystic force, but not himself. He never tried it until yesterday night. Don prayed that he could control it well, or Lee would have to leave the ring in a casket…

The crowd stood all up as Lee suddenly shot toward Don, gravity force pulled his skin backward. The turtle held his bo staff firmly in front of him, letting its tip meet the green boy head on. The impact sent a shockwave to the ground, shrouding them both in a veil of dust. People could barely make out a human form jumped out of the cloud, his forehead bleeding. They pointed and shouted in excitement when the dust dissipated, revealing Don standing behind a solid rock boulder spiked up from the ground, with its front side had a huge crack where Lee hit his head. Dashing around the rock, Don bit his lips as he saw what he had done. He never intended to make it that hard. But then Lee just smiled at him with a wink. Nodded in understanding, Don lunged forward, practically flying over to the green boy, with a gush of wind blowing around him. The spectator screamed as the turtle swung up his bo staff, now twice its length and covered with something that looked like ice, with its tip sharp enough to slice through anything without leaving a trace. Lee dodged just in time as the staff drew a neat line on the ground, while Don let the ice melt into a ball of water, and hurled it toward the boy. Gathering chakra to his fists, the green beast of Konoha punched them both forward, and people could see visible air pressure shot out from the punches. The water ball and the air missiles collided in a blast, making the crowd roar with excitement.

From the back stage, Leo's jaws hit the floor as he observed his genius brother fight. Neji asked him nervously:

- Leonardo-san, are you aware that your brother can fight this way?

- Honestly, I have no idea. Each of us has their own unique ability that comes with our mystic power, but I never knew he could do that. It's even more powerful than my spirit type power, or Mikey's speed and stealth, or…

- … Or Raphael-kun and his impenetrable armor – Neji finished for him – Has he ever used it before?

- Maybe, but I think this is the first time he consciously use it – Leo frowned as he saw Don wiped another boulder at Lee as if it was a golf ball – That might explain how Don could be so strong the last time we used this power. He didn't destroy anything, he just broke his target apart using his power without any physical force.

- Thank you for the information, Leonardo-san. But we should focus on the main goal: how long can he keep this up? If he can't, Lee has to finish the match, and in a manner that won't disappoint the audience at that.

True to Neji's worry, Don's purple mark slowly diminished, along with his ability to control element. Ice evaporated before it could take form, and water drop before reaching Lee. The olive green on his skin had turned pale, and he looked at the boy in green desperately, slightly shaking his head. Lee's lips were pressed into a thin line as he realized what he must do, and started to unleash his chakra. As his skin turned red, Don made one last attempt on a fake attack before his mystic power was completely depleted, allowing Lee the chance to counter and finish him in a huge blow. This time, the crowd went dead silent, waiting for the dust to die down. Some of them even prayed for the turtle's safety, but they soon gasped in shock when Lee walked out from the smoke, dragging an unconscious turtle on the ground by his shell. Leo's body went rigid as the sight, but he force himself to stay calm, his mind kept chanting that Don would be alright, that the healer would cure him.

From the darkness, the shadow clan leader could not hide his satisfactory grin as he saw the limping body of the kame. Those cowards were so scared they could do nothing but to obey his demand, now if he could just wait for the remaining match before carrying out the last part of his plan.

In the mist of joy, the assassin had missed a smirk painted on Neji's face…