The Straw Hats watch the Kung Fu Panda Trilogy

by Inverted Descension

The Straw Hats need a break. Thankfully, they dock at Showreel Island, where they watch the story of how a noodle boy turned into the Dragon Warrior, found inner peace and became a Legend

6. KFP 2 Act One: Breathes Fire and Metal

The Straw Hats React to Kung Fu Panda 2

I do not own any of the properties discussed in this piece of non-profit fan-based material. Any trademarked materials are strictly the sole property of their respective owners. With that out of the way, I hope you enjoy this reaction.

Note: Narrated sections and dream sequences will be presented in Underline to prevent any confusion.

Act 1: Breathes Fire and Spits Metal.

The hustle and bustle of Gongmen City had become decidedly less feverish since the arrival of Master's Council. Guards of every shape, size and species prowled around the city's high walls, stalwartly awaiting any potential aggressors.

Despite this, the citizens were always ready for any excuse to party or have a good time, as demonstrated by the ludicrous turnout for the for the weekly shadow-puppet show. The parents sighed after the exhaustion of a long days work, whilst the children giggled away to each other as they found their seating.

With a resounding bang of a set of drums, the projection parchment lit up, indicating to start of the show. A puppet of a large tower was splayed across the screen; flanked by two peacocks. The crowd was instantly silenced, before a sagely voice reverberated through the spectators.

"Long ago in Ancient China, the peacocks ruled over Gongmen City. They brought great joy and prosperity for the city, for they had invented fireworks."

"Wait? Did peacocks actually make fireworks?" Bepo asked, confusion evident in his tone.

"What? No!" Law responded. "They must've created the in this world."

"How do you know this is a different world?" Luffy asked, shovelling popcorn into his face.

"YOU SEE MANY WALKING, TALKING PEACOCKS?" The Ex-Warlord snapped.

With each syllable uttered by the melodic voice, the children seemed to open their eyes more with profound wonder. The puppets shifted to depict a glorious firework display, before turning to showcase a young white peacock experimenting with a stock of gunpowder. A terrible expression starting to form on his beak before his parents, the two peacocks from before, looked towards each other with concern.

"But their son, Lord Shen, saw a darker power in the fireworks. What had brought colour and joy could also bring darkness and destruction.

"Of course. Can't have nice things without a power-hungry maniac wanting to cause trouble for everyone." Zoro grumbled.

"Such is life." Brook said.

The scene displayed on the parchment changed again, now showing the throne room in Gongmen Tower. Shen's parents standing in front of the court soothsayer as she placed two items into a small bowl. An apparition emerged of a yin yang symbol consuming a white peacock, much to the horror of the rulers of Gongmen.

"Shen's troubled parents consulted a soothsayer. She foretold that if Shen continued down this dark path, he would be defeated by a warrior of black and white."

"A warrior of black and white?" Jimbei repeated inquisitively.

"Like… a panda?" Chopper said slowly.

"Like a certain panda we're already acquainted with." Robin finished.

The scene shifted again, revealing Shen hiding from behind a pillar. Incensed, he quickly gathered a small detachment of wolves before fleeing the palace.

"The young lord set out to change his fate, but what he did next… only sealed it."

The scene shifted once more to depict the residents of a small village looking inwards in horror, as Shen set forth his wolf legion upon them, a small kettle behind the stage being used to simulate the horrified screams that followed.

Smoker's eyes widened in horror. As a veteran of the Marines for many years, he had seen many atrocities that would make lesser men quiver in fear. However, what was being implied was disgusting, even for him.

Now, the scene reverted back to the palace, with Shen bursting through the gates with a triumphant grin. It was swiftly replaced as he saw his parents mortified expressions.

"Shen returned to his parents full of pride, but in their faces he saw only horror."

"What did he do…?" Usopp questioned with requisite hesitation.

"Something horrible and unforgivable." Robin seethed.

The final scene of the shadow play took the action to the outside of the palace gates. Shen and his parents standing on opposite sides of the courtyard.

"He was banished from the city forever."

"It's the least that should be done for a good-for-nothing jerk like that. Fireworks are supposed to fill the heart with joy. Regardless of if a heart is actually there or not!" Brook proclaimed passionately.

The puppet of Shen imitated a scream before leaving with his army of wolves. The elder peacocks slumped as they watched their son leave.

"But Shen swore revenge: Someday, he would return, and all of China would bow at his feet."

"Fantastic." Nami groaned mirthlessly. "As if that Tai Lung psycho wasn't bad enough."

"Something tells me they should've nipped this in the bud before it became a real problem." Smoker commented.

The projection paper ominously cut off, whilst the crowd began to anxiously whisper amongst themselves. Unbeknownst to any of them, the promise of the banished peacock still rang true. He was merely waiting to the perfect opportunity.

…..

High up in the mountain provinces, few sounds could be heard apart from the howling of the perpetual snowstorm that hung over its peaks. However, if one listened past the dead noise, the unmistakable clang of metal on metal could be detected. If, for whatever reason, one decided to listen even closer and follow the noise, they would find a humongous foundry nestled into the mountains, undiscovered for years.

"All this. For what?" Sanji questioned.

"This foundry's large enough to equip an army. Whoever's built this must have tons of resources and connections." Franky whistled.

The air was thick with heat, despite the frozen surroundings, thanks to the abundance of smelted metals being guided upon dozens of supply lines. The workers slammed their tools onto the malleable, burning goop, their canine mouth hanging open as their tongues dripped with sweat and drool.

"Wolves." Sanji snarled. "Why did it have to be wolves."

Law and Bepo raised their eyebrows at the chef.

"Don't ask." Usopp cut off any line of potential questioning.

Only one of the wolves wasn't performing any sort of work, he one remaining eye washed over his underlings as they toiled, looking for any lax behaviour to reprimand. He had no name that anyone knew, so everyone only called him 'Boss', but if he was being truly honest with himself, he kind of liked the automatic respect that nickname afforded him.

With a slight hop, Boss jumped up to a piece of scaffolding above him, before immediately taking a knee in front of a figure draped in silver silk.

"It's almost done, Lord Shen, but we've run out of metal." The wolf addressed respectfully.

"Of course. Prissy son of some stuck up, noble family. Like we haven't already had our fill of those." Zoro groaned.

"I've neve had peacock before. Wonder what it's like." Luffy thought out loud, in his own world as per usual.

The peacock preened at the statement, his ornamental iron claws raking against the scaffolding. "Search the farthest villages. Find more metal! China will be mine."

Boss moved to leave immediately. Whilst Shen wasn't deserving of his respect, he had definitely earned his fear.

…

Years had passed since the battle with the Dark Master, Tai Lung, and the Valley of Peace had never known a greater period of… well, peace. Children happily played throughout the town, whilst their parents reaped the rewards of a bountiful harvest. With the crowning of the new Dragon Warrior, they would most certainly need a much food as they could spare.

So confident were the protectors of the Valley in their duty, that now they allowed the common folk to peruse around the Jade Palace ground, where two small children were now giggling whilst playing with their action figures. One tiger and the other a panda.

"Whoa! He got an action figure! Why don't I have an action figure?!" Chopper moaned. "I'm very marketable!"

"Of course, you are." Robin summoned a hand to give the reindeer a small pat on the head, before letting a small chuckle pass her lips.

"And then, the Dragon Warrior joined the Furious Five!" One of them narrated grandiosely.

"And they became the most awesomest Kung Fu team ever!" The other exclaimed.

"Enough talk." The first one proclaimed, in a meagre imitation of the aforementioned Dragon Warrior. "Let's fight."

Luffy allowed himself a smirk. "Guy's really living the dream."

"Believed in him every step of the way." Usopp added.

"No, you didn't." Zoro refuted.

They clumsily bumped their toys together, making pained, pantomimed noises, before they were both silenced by a series of loud thumps emanating from inside the Palace's Training Hall.

"Listen! Listen!" The first child hushed their friend. "You can hear the Dragon Warrior training right now." The children pressed their ears against the ancient wood of the Palace, as if it were the largest Christmas present in the world.

"Woah! Seems like they're really going at it in there!" Luffy clapped joyously.

"Healthy body. Healthy mind." Smoker said.

"You must be thinking of a different panda." Nami snarked.

Inside the Training Hall, however, not a single piece of equipment was being used, despite the increased intensity of the exertive grunts.

"Thirty-three!" the unmistakable voices of the Furious Five rang out throughout the cavernous halls of the Palace, sounding out a mysterious countdown. "Thirty-four! Thirty-five! Thirty-six! Thirty-seven!"

"What is going on in there?" Jimbei scrunched his eyebrows in confusion.

"They must be some serious Kung Fu-ing happening." Bepo remarked, eyes wide in excitement.

"Maybe there's a bomb?" Brook posited.

"Then why would it be counting up, bonehead?!" Nami snapped.

"Someone stop him!" Mantis cried out fearfully. "It's too dangerous!"

"C'mon! Stay focused!" Tigress cheered in support.

The exercise was truly dangerous for no one in the history of the Jade Palace had ever tried to stuff more than thirty-seven bean buns into their mouth simultaneously. Until Po that is.

Placing the thirty-third snack into his overflowing maw. Po slammed his fist onto the table in triumph. "Thirty-eight bean buns!" He cheered through a mouth full of slobber.

"Of course." Nami rubbed her head and groaned in irritation.

"Thirty-eight? I can fit 138 bean buns into my mouth." Luffy fumed, almost as if the display were a person challenge against his honour.

"Yeah, but his cheeks ain't made out of rubber man." Franky added.

"Also, you say that like it's something to be proud of." Law cringed.

The Five exclaimed in jubilation. The seemingly impossible had just occurred.

"Yes! New record! You monster!" Mantis proclaimed, completely flabbergasted.

"Keep going! Hit forty!" Monkey chuckled, holding out a fresh bowl in front of Po as if he were a hungry deity.

"Forty?! Jimbei's eyes widened in disbelief.

"That's gotta be physically impossible!" Franky clasped the side of his head in disbelief.

"He's never gonna hit forty!" Crane sounded in disbelief.

Po used two pairs of chopsticks to pick up the final couple of bean buns, before hoisting them above his head like the champion of a game no one knew they were playing. "You got it buddy! I'll put it up to forty."

"Do it" Tigress declared, with a level of intensity that seemed incompatible with the task at hand.

"What?! NO! She's become one of them!" Nami screamed through pooling teardrops, gradually gathering in her eyes.

"Don't worry, Nami-dear. Rest assured that I'll never change on you!" Sanji proclaimed proudly.

Nami's frustrated groans only increased in intensity.

"No problem!" Po half-mumbled through his already sizable meal. He placed the final two bean buns in his mouth, and stretched his lips as far as they could go. As he struggled against the limits of his own biological capabilities, the Five leaned in closer as if they were witnessing history, trapped in silent awe.

"Yeah… Yeah! One moment!" Po finally snapped his trap, to the erupting applause of the Five.

"Woah!" Usopp and Chopper cheered in pure exultation, whilst Luffy pouted childishly.

"It's not that good. I could've done that in half the time."

"Again, why are you proud of that?" Law questioned in disgust.

"Well done Po!" Crane laughed heartily, before slapping the panda on his back, causing a deluge of bean buns and slobber to be let loose from his mouth. Monkey and Mantis bore the main brunt of the assault, whilst Viper and Tigress dodged and blocked respectively.

"THAT'S DISGUSTING! AND PICK THOSE UP, THEY'RE STILL PERFECTLY GOOD!" Sanji raged at the blatant disregard for both food and basic hygiene.

"Your training has paid off." Tigress acknowledged with a nod. Immediately after Po has brushed himself off, a gong sounded in the distance. The Dragon Warrior immediately knew what it signified.

"Oh! Master Shifu! Gotta go! See you later!" Po rushed across the training hall floor, before spinning on his heel to turn back and point at the partially ruined bean buns. "You'll save those for me right?"

"Quite humorous, but please, stop right now." Robin said with a sickly smile that left no room for arguments.

"I'm going to have to agree with Nico Robin on this one." Smoker groaned.

…

Minutes later, Po found himself darting between the rocks and waterfall, with a speed surprising for someone of his size. Years ago, this would've been nigh-impossible for him, yet now he had trained himself to perform these actions without even breaking a sweat. As he expertly flipped over more rocks on his way to the sacred Dragon Grotto, he finally laid his eyes on Master Shifu, peacefully meditating on a protruding island at the centre of in front of an ornamental dragon statue resting on the wall. Judging from his near motionless body and closed eyes, he was deep in the throes of meditation and timed his breathing to the periodic drips of water gradually falling from a stalactite at the summit of the Grotto.

"Woah! Shifu's got some new style!" Usopp noted. "Not sure how I feel about the green and orange though. Kind of clashes."

"What are you? A fashion designer?" Zoro squinted in confusion at the sniper.

"Well, excuse me!" One of us has to worry about how they look" Usopp grumbled as he adjusted his suspenders.

"Inner peace… Inner peace." The red panda repeated the phrase like a mantra, using it to massage his soul. As a result, he was not too happy when Po stumbled over a stone on his way in, causing a cacophonous splash to ring across the cave wall.

"Ahh!" The panda yelled.

"Urgh." Shifu groaned exhaustively.

"Again, I should not be relating this much to an anthropomorphic red panda." Nami sighed.

"Yeah. This hits a little too close to home." Law rubbed his bag-ridden eyes in agreement.

"Master Shifu." Po addressed quickly, acting as if he had never tripped. "Master Shifu. What do we got? Pirates? Vandals of Volcano Mountain? Whatever it is, I will take them down. Cause I'm in the mood. I need to get something done you know what I mean?"

"Hey! What's he got against pirates." Luffy questioned angrily.

"Luffy, it is his job to protect others. Not all of them can be like us." Brook commented calmly as he sipped on his tea.

"Hmm. I guess." Luffy relented.

Shifu didn't respond, having managed to regain a hold on his previously lost concentration.

"Uh, what are you doing?" The panda inquired.

"One of Master Oogway's final teachings." The Master responded enigmatically. He then turned upwards to face a stalactite hanging directly above him, steady rivets of water flowing down it's length causing it to shimmer with a limescale sheen. A single drop of water then fell earthwards, careening directly towards Shifu's head. At the last possible second, Shifu raised his arm upwards, allowing the droplet to slide down the length of his arm. With the grace of an unsurpassed dancer, he guided it between his limbs in a continuous, unbroken motion, all the while he slowly angled downwards. With a final flourish, he directed the droplet onto the leaf of a small plant, which directed it into pool, creating a perfectly circular ripple.

The audience paused in speechless shock, as taken aback by Shifu's skill as Po was.

"What was that? Haki or something?" Bepo asked completely in awe.

"No, this is something else entirely." Zoro disagreed.

"I'm sorry." The Mink dipped his head, clearly embarrassed his guess was incorrect.

"Why are you apologizing?" Law lightly chastised his navigator.

"I'm sorry."

Po was understandably awed by the display.

"Woah… awesome!" He exclaimed before turning to his Master. "How… did you… do that?"

Shifu smiled calmly. "Inner peace."

"Huh?" Sanji cringed. "How can being calm, help you do all that?"

"Not 'peace'." Jimbei corrected. "'Inner Peace'. Meaning complete clarity of mind and soul. Being at one with all of you doubts and weaknesses.

"Hm." Zoro rubbed his chin in vague interest.

"Inner peace, that's cool!" Po leaned in further, seeking clarification. "Inner peace of what?"

"It is the next phase of your training." Shifu clarified. "Every Master…" Shifu's voice began to emanate from behind Po, causing him to sharply turn to head to see him stroll casually behind him. "…must find his path..." The elderly Master's voice was now echoing from around him; when he turned once more, he saw the red panda perched on a small rock, giving his staff an experimental twirl. "…to inner peace. Some choose to meditate for 50 years in a cave just like this, without the slightest taste of food or water."

Luffy and Chopper pouted in exaggerated anger.

"Hell no!" The captain near screamed at the projected screen.

"I don't get why Kung Fu needs you starve every time you need to train. I know Kung Fu and look how much cotton candy I can fit into my mouth!" The doctor exclaimed as he stuffed a ludicrous amount of the confectionary cloud into his mouth.

Smoker facepalmed. The notion that these imbeciles were a notorious pirate crew that had consistently evaded him was simply absurd.

Shifu finished his demonstration by flipping backwards into the pool, throwing his staff down vertically to act as a perch.

Po's stomach, almost in retaliation to the earlier comment, began to growl viciously.

"Or?" The panda asked hopefully.

"Some find it through pain or suffering as I did." Shifu continued, before his stare began to blank out, fearfully. "Po, the day you were chosen as Dragon Warrior… was the worst day of my life." He cradled his own body, as if he was trying to calm himself. Po's eyes fell into flat, deadpan expression.

"Oh wow… cutting him down right to the bone here. YOHOHOHO!" Brook chuckled through mysteriously appearing tears generated by his eye sockets.

"That was a bit too abrupt. I remember you being the one beating him within an inch of his life for 'training'." Jimbei rebutted.

"By far. Nothing else came close. It was the worst, most painful, mind-destroying, horrible moment-"

"Okay." Po sighed in exasperation, rolling his paw in a 'get it over with' gesture, hoping his Master would end his histrionics.

"And wow, it is still going." Usopp frowned. "Still not seeing a 'but' anywhere around here."

"Best to let him get it out of his system." Nami added. "Anger can get out of control if it isn't released regularly.

"Speaking from experie-" The snipe never got the opportunity to finish his retort however, before he found himself with a steaming bruise growing from his forehead for his troubles.

"-I have ever experienced." Shifu continued. He shuddered, before composing himself. "But once I realized the problem was not with you, but within me, I found inner peace, and was able to harness the flow of the universe."

Po nodded in assumed understanding. "So that's it? I just need inner peace? My innards are already super, super peaceful. So, all I need is to get this thing going! Inner peace, you're going down! Now show me what you were doing with your feet, I saw some fancy foot thing…"

Despite his misunderstanding of the teaching, Zoro couldn't help but afford himself a small smirk seeing the once hesitant panda now so eager to learn and improve himself. Even in small ways. If it weren't for the titanic gut, he could've sworn the panda reminded him of his younger days.

Without warning, Tigress jumped out of the mossy underbrush and perched on one of the rocky outcrops. "Po! Bandits, approaching the Musicians Village!"

Po stiffened with restrained excitement. "Danger. Someone tell those musicians to play some action music because it is on." He turned back to Shifu with a salute. "Don't worry Master Shifu, I'll master inner peace as soon as I get back."

"Alright!" Brook hollered. "Let's get this show on the road!" He reached for his guitar before being stopped by one of Robin's spawned hands.

"Let's not…" Despite the neutrality of her tone, the skeleton immediately cowered in fear and slowly lowered his instrument.

He turned to face Tigress; her face moulded in her trademarked 'no nonsense' expression. "No snack stops this time."

Po laughed in exaggeration, hoping it was a joke. "Snack stops, pfft." When his comment elicited no response he froze. "Wait, are you serious?"

"She's… awful…" Luffy froze solid. "Even Nami lets us eat on long travels."

That comment, of course, earned him a swift clobbering to the back of his rubbery neck, causing him to see stars.

The two Kung Fu warriors then ran off down the hill directly into the unknown, the remaining four members of their team following closely behind, as Shifu merely smile warmly before returning to his meditation.

…

Meanwhile, at the aforementioned Musicians Village, there was what could only be described as utter bedlam. The alarm bell had been rung by a terrified bunny, who narrowly managed to avoid an arrow fired at him by a snarling wolf, whilst a dozen more were fired into the walls of the surrounding buildings. Upon the signal of booming howl, the canine archers ziplined into to village, before being followed by their Boss.

"Grab all the metal you can!" Upon his command, the soldiers broke formation before ransacking any piece of metal that wasn't bolted down, and even some that was. Multiple mallards screamed in terror as the wolves broke down their doors, and yanked pot, pans and cutlery from their shelves before leaving to repeat the process with another house.

"Bandit scum." Smoker growled with such intensity that his cigars started to flare up. "Nothing more than a bunch of opportunistic cowards."

"They aren't killing anyone though. You'd think that they'd need to tie up any loose ends to prevent their activities from being detected by any law enforcement." Law muttered, just barely under his breath.

"This is a movie for kids. Don't think too deeply about it." Sanji huffed.

"How dare you limit the fascinating inner working of this cinematic endeavour by reducing it to such a stature.

"Help, help, help, help!" A portly pig then rushed to hide underneath a large bell, before yelping in fear as it was rolled away, with him still inside.

"That's everything! Let's go!" Boss signalled, as his men began to tie their loot together into bundles with lengths of rope, the opposite ends tied to large mountains off in the distance. Their plan was clearly to swing their bounty clean out of the way, whilst a smaller team stationed on cliffs would haul the metal off to their Benefactor.

"WAHOO!"

What they didn't plan on was the loud holler that emanated from the mountain ranges they had just arrived from. Boss' ears pricked up from the yells intensity, whilst his eyes worked to determine its source.

It was then he finally saw them: Po and the Five running along the cliffside, ready to come to the village's aid.

"And just like that, the element of surprise is gone." Law huffed.

"You get used to it." Usopp said with half-lidded eyes.

"Were you seriously expecting stealth from a guy that weights nearly 300 pounds?" Sanji asked, completely beleaguered.

"Wings of Justice!" The panda signalled before both he and his teammates dived of the cliff towards the village below "Yeeeee… AAAAAHHH!" Po immediately let out a scream, realising that he had dramatically overshot his jump, before a quick save from Crane planted him back on a cliff ledge lower down. Po again leapt off the smaller cliff, the members of the Five on either side. The six Kung Fu Master all landed in front of the Wolf Squad with pinpoint grace and a heroic pose, except for Po, who awkwardly corrected himself with a 'Ha!'

"The Dragon Warrior everyone." Nami sighed.

"I know!" Bepo beamed in excitement. "Isn't he just the coolest?" One navigator shook her head at the other, as he drastically missed the point.

"Yay! The Dragon Warrior!" The villagers erupted into a chorus of cheers, to the confusion of Boss and his Wolves.

"Huh? A panda?! That's impossible!"

"My fist hungers for justice" Po remarked cooly, before his stomach grumbled loudly, much to the confusion of everyone present. "That was my… fist."

"Nice cover." Smoker's lips gave a barely perceptible twinge, as if they were in the early stages of deciding whether to smile. Unfortunately, this did not go unnoticed by other members of the audience.

"Hey Smokey! I've never seen you smile before." Luffy proclaimed, using his outstretched arm to poke and prod the Vice-Admiral, who promptly shoved it away.

"I'll smile they day you're hauled up in Impel Down, you rubbery imp!"

"Get him!" Boss ordered, his men springing forth in droves.

"C'mon!" Po taunted as he weaved around the blade of a wolf soldier with startling fluidity for someone of his size. With a counter and a Butt Bump, he sent his attacker crashing into a gong, much to the cheer of the bunny villages.

Each Master gave their all in the fight; Monkey flipped over a group of the canine bandits, before clapping two cymbals around a straggler's head, causing him to drop to the floor in a dazed mess.

"Oh! It's in time with the music! Stupendous! I shall provide accompaniment!" Brook raised his guitar again. However, this time Zoro glared at him fiercely with his one good eye.

"We do not intrude on fight scenes. Clear?"

"Transparently." The musician whimpered.

Using his immense strength, Mantis carried a lone strumming bunny perched on a rock to safety. As soon as the small herbivore was out of danger, the insect darted between the blades of another wolf, completely shattering them, before sending him soaring.

Viper took advantage of her small stature to dart around the attacks of her adversaries. "Take that!" With a yell, she whipped out her tail into the faces of two more wolves, the blows sending them careening into a set of heavy drums.

The sounds of punches and percussed instruments littered the air, as Tigress artfully dispatched her foes, striking hard and fast, before wrapping her hind legs around a spear and twisting, sending it flying into the face of another hapless wolf, who in turn went crashing into a set of iron drums. The Master found herself wincing at the amount of damage she had dealt.

"Ah! Master Tigress is as graceful as ever. How I wish I could be that Wolf's face." Sanji yelled out of lovestruck bliss.

Meanwhile, on a completely unrelated note, Nami and Usopp shared a glance filled with pure disgust.

More bandits perched themselves on the town roof adjacent to centre of the fighting, arrows drawn. They all let loose their in unison, all focusing on a distracted Po who continued to pummel one of their brethren.

"Po! Incoming!" Mantis warned his friend, before flinging half a dozen cymbals to intercept the arrows. Only once all of the projectiles were dispatched did Po finally notice.

"Whoa! That bug guy's crazy skilled. Look at him go!" Luffy cheered in excitement.

"Of course. An average Mantis is easily able to lift objects up to 10 times their own size." Robin informed helpfully.

"Really! That strong?!" Chopper and Bepo exclaimed; their eyes popping out of their skulls.

"Combine that with the years of Kung Fu training, and you have an incredibly fearsome warrior." Jimbei concluded.

"Thanks Mantis!" The Dragon Warrior punctuated his sentence with a heavy strike to another wolf, who collapsed hard on the ground. Po turned to face more enemies, before seeing the old strumming bunny being accosted by more cantankerous canines. Thinking fast, the panda plucked two guitars out of one of the loot piles, using it to intercept one of the wolf's blades, before twisting to counter another.

Po flipped the rock the old bunny was perched on upwards, before catching it in a precarious balance on the tip of his foot. The wolves continued to attack fast, but the panda was quicker; dodging, countering and retaliating between the large group of assailants as if it were as natural as breathing.

"Someone's been training…" Zoro noted.

"How does he move around so quickly, with all that extra… girth?" Law questioned.

"He was specially trained. Fear the fat, my friends…" Brook noted mysteriously, much to the displeasure of his crewmates.

Po then rolled over onto the side, as he slammed the improvised weapons onto the feet of more bandits who cried out pain. With a twist, Po sent spinning into a large group of wolves like an improvised spin top, knocking them flat on their backs and safely depositing the elder bunny on the group in a singular move.

Balancing on top of his head, the panda noticed another group armed with throwing axes, ready to strike. With the skill of a trained athlete, Po twisted back to his feet, before dodging and flipped around each bladed weapon thrown at him until his back was pressed against the wall of a house. In a startling display of agility, he then ran up the side of the wall using the freshly thrown weapons as foot holds, before using the final axe to flip up to the roof.

"Okay, wow… just wow." Franky gasped, completely flabbergasted that the slovenly panda of the previous film could perform such complex manoeuvres with such ease.

"You can say that again." Smoker grunted in conjunction with his trademark scowl.

"What you mean: 'Okay, wow… just wow?'" Luffy questioned earning a groan from the Marine.

Despite the display, the bandits were relentless, and literally hounded Po up the side of the building, who continued to dodge and counter every attack thrown at him.

"Tigress! Double Death Strike!" Po announced as the attackers began to slowly overwhelm him. The leader of the Five nodded, before backflipping out of the way of a stray axe. He landed of the wolf's head, before using it as a springboard to reach Po, as she immediately broke through the wall of fur that started to surround her friend. The Kung Fu Master then grabbed onto Po's hands and swung him around like a makeshift flail, the panda kicking his legs out all the while. The two Masters darted between and around each other and attacked with a nigh-unparalleled level of grace.

"Holy cow! Combo moves!" Usopp cheered, his eyes glinting like miniature stars.

"Trying a bit to hard with the attack names, aren't they?" Sanji stated.

"You're one to talk, Mr 'Mouton Shot.'" Zoro retorted, venomously.

"You got something you want to say to me, Cactus Hair?" The cook spat.

"Me? No. But I've got three friends here that'd love to have a word." The swordsman's hands drifted to the hilts of his blades. However, within an orange flash, the two of them had been laid low by the wrath of a furious navigator.

Before either of them could catch their breath, however, another pack clambered over each other and leapt into the air, casting an intimidating silhouette against the evening sky. Seemingly unfazed, Po leaned backwards into Tigress, who spun him around and launched him in the air to meet the assailants head on.

"Feet of Fury!" Quicker than the eye could follow, Po delivered a flurry of rapid kicks that caused the flying canines to drop like flies, before landing to re-join the fight at the town square.

"Oh my god! It's just the dream sequence of the first film!" Bepo proclaimed, loud enough for Law to visibly cringe at the volume. "He's literally living the dream!"

"Bepo, could you not scream so loudly? I'd like to come out of this with both eardrums intact."

"I'm sorry captain. It won't happen again, captain." All of the polar bear's previous energy had been quickly replace by a meek, timid shell.

"Tigress!" At Po's word, the aforementioned Master pirouetted off the panda's head performing a spectacular combination attack against another hapless wolf. "Monkey! Viper! Mantis!" The Dragon Warrior then repeated the strategy with the other members of the team, calling out their names respectively, before finally spinning around to brandish a…

"Bunny!" Po held out the same strumming bunny he had previously saved. Both he and the wolf he was currently engaging shared a momentary stare of confusion. "What? Oh sorry." Po apologized before striking the wolf with his free hand, sending him reeling towards Boss' feet.

Robin found herself calmly chuckling at the panda's near mistake, whilst the weakling trio visibly recoiled at the force of the punch that sent the final wolf flying.

"Damn, he still hits hard for someone so… plushy." Nami voiced.

"Like being his by the world's hungriest woopie cushion." Zoro chuckled in agreement.

A mask of panic briefly flashed across Boss' face before he aimed a howl at the cliff above him. At his signal, a troupe of Gorilla bruisers started the heave the tied-up metal via the ropes, causing them to slowly ascend up the mountain, with the terrified pig still trapped helplessly inside one of the loot piles.

"Crane! Go!" Po ordered before sidestepping another attack.

"Very well coordinated. Wish some of my men worked this well together."

"I'm on it!" The winged Master darted through the sky to intercept the loot ball containing the pig before slicing the rope connecting it to the mountain, sending it plummeting to the abyss below.

"You sure about that?" Sanji snarked. "Because that 'well-coordinated' effort just resulted in a civilian plummeting to his death."

"Nah. They have this." Luffy shrugged at the comment before pointing towards the screen.

"Haah!" With his arms outstretched, Po leapt of the cliffside hoping to catch the heap of metal as it fell. As soon as managed to sink his paws into one of the connecting ropes, Viper snaked her coils around his ankles, before Monkey grabbed onto her tail and Tigress, in turn, repeated the action for him.

With a herculean tug, Tigress planted herself and hoisted her conjoined allies and metal collection out of the abyss and back onto terra firma.

Po, Monkey and Viper landed gracefully, before worriedly approaching the villagers. "Is everyone okay?"

"THAT WAS TOTALLY WICKED!" Chopper practically creamed before jumping out of his seat in exuberant joy.

"No kidding!" Usopp nodded in agreement. "That was a particularly close shave. Reminds me of the time I saved a baby bird from falling out of it's nest by bungee-jumping down a 2,000 foot mountain face."

"REALLY?!" Both Luffy and Chopper's jaws dropped in amazement at the clear lie.

"Usopp, don't encourage them. They'll copy you." Nami groaned in exhaustion.

The question was simply met by a thunderous round of applause. Po afforded himself a small smile before noticing Boss charging towards him, warhammer positioned over his shoulder, ready to strike.

"Don't worry, I got this." Po confidently smirked, as he readied himself to attack. However, as Boss prepared himself for a swing, the panda was given a clearer view of the insignia on his shoulder guard: a crimson eye wreathed in fiery tentacles. As soon as Po laid eyes on it, the sigil began to warp and violently twist, before brief impressionistic images flashed through his mind of a female panda running from a wall of fire, as an infant began to hauntingly wail.

"What the…" Law was caught of guard by the sudden severity of the vision.

"Was that… Po as a child?" Brook asked trepidatiously.

"And that female panda… what's happening?" Smoker finished.

Caught in the throes of the images, Po didn't appear to register the weapon flying towards his face.

"Po!" Tigress yelled, clearly seeing the hauntingly vacant expression plastered across her friend's face. She moved to shield him, but was a second too slow, as the hammer struck Po clean across the face launching the both of them into a pile of bunnies.

"OOOHHH!" Nearly the whole audience cringed at the force of the heavy blow that sent Po flying.

"He could've taken that damn wolf easily, but he used psychological warfare!" Brook chastised angrily. "What a lowly trick to use in a battle between men!"

"I don't think that's it… something about that symbol." Robin began, before her thoughts trailed off.

"Chew on that, tubby!" Boss laughed, before turning to the remaining piles of metal and throwing them off the cliff. He latched onto the final pile, before being pulled up into the clouds and out of sight.

The Masters and the townspeople took a moment to recuperate, as Po's eyes remained frozen open in shock.

"Are you okay?" Viper inquired.

"What happened?" Tigress asked.

Po rubbed his jaw, completely stunned. "I think I saw… I think… I gotta go." The panda collected himself before running back in the direction of the Valley, leaving both his team and the villagers in confused silence.

"Huh?" Luffy grunted in confusion. "What happened? They were doing so well, then that symbol flashed. Did the wolf-guy cheat?"

"No… more like he remembered something that he didn't want to." Law replied enigmatically.

"Ugh. Why does everything always have to be so complicated?" Zoro said, as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

…..

The sun continued to beat down on the Valley of Peace, even well into the afternoon. The streets had never been livelier after the defeat of Tai Lung years prior, and one street in particular was the liveliest of all. To say that Ping's Noodle Shop had undergone an expansion since it's sudden burst in popularity would have been an understatement of the highest order. Now Dragon Warrior Noodles and Tofu, people would come, day in and day out, from all over the Valley to not have moderately affordable snacks, but to also see the Dragon Warrior's humble beginnings; a fact that Ping himself marketed with great enthusiasm.

Having just finished serving another hungry customer, Ping waved them off cheerfully. "Thank you. Thank you for coming to Dragon Warrior Tofu and Noodles." He handed out another noodle bowl to another in his massive line of customers. "More lemon sauce? If you need anything, just ask! Thank you!" He then moved to collect an empty bowl on another table, whilst a tiny rabbit ran by with a familiar panda action figure.

"Of course, that old goose geezer would jump at the opportunity for cross-marketing." Sanji rolled his eyes, the effort reminding him of a time an ad for the renovated Baratie had arrived in a World Economic paper. Now complete with a horrendous extension in the likeness of his horrific first bounty poster. The mere thought elicited a shiver.

"Wonder what kind of capital that draws in?" Nami thought out loud, as he began to breather heavily; Berri signs appearing in her eyes as she did.

"Feet of Fury!" the child squeaked in vain homage to one of his son's signature moves. Upon seeing the diminutive lagomorph, Ping couldn't help but afford himself a small smirk. Whilst he may have been initially wary and, understandably, very afraid about his son's career choice, he couldn't deny that it had been a net positive for everyone involved. His shop was more successful than it had ever been, and his son continued on with spring in his step that Ping though impossible for an animal of his size.

Meanwhile, another patron began to practically froth at the mouth upon seeing a plain, dirty broom fastened on the wall of the restaurant. "The Dragon Warrior's mop! He used it to mop these very floors!" She reached out to touch…

…Before swiftly being halted by Ping. "Ah! Ah! Ah! No touching! You'll get the mop dirty!"

"Okay. That's a little absurd." Smoker noted.

"A rank climber like yourself should know the value of hard work and janitorial duties." Law snarked, earning a growl from the Vice-Admiral

Upon hearing the warning, the patron swiftly retracted her hand, as if she had been caught in the act of a great crime.

"He waited on me once!" A portly pig proudly proclaimed.

"Awesome!" He friend gushed.

"Hey, that's the pig that made fun of him in the last film! What a snake! (even though he's a pig!). Brook, despite his lack of any ocular organs, managed to spot a detail that would've otherwise gone overlooked by many. However, not everyone share in his enthusiasm.

"The fact that you managed to pick up on that is a bit sad." Robin spoke bluntly.

"You don't have to be so mean about it, Robin!" The musician began to break down out of enforced shame.

"Yeah! I've got the stain to prove it!" He gestured to a grease stain on his top, before turning to Ping. "Hey, where is the Dragon Warrior?"

Ping chuckled. "Oh, he doesn't work here anymore. He's busy out there protecting the Valley." Whilst he did appreciate all the resultant marketing his son had afforded him; an extra helping hand wouldn't have gone amiss every now and then.

"The Dragon Warrior!" One of the patrons gasped in unadulterated glee, before eventually the entire shop turned to seeing the now-famous panda walk through the entry arch, before bowing to him in respect.

"Hometown hero come to grace his old stomping ground, huh?" Zoro noted.

"At least he isn't getting a big head about it…" Franky said.

"Exactly. Be like me. Extraordinarily humble." Usopp chirped in from the side, gaining a small smile from the swordsman,

Po awkwardly smiled as he waved to the shop, before a rabbit held up her young to him, allowing him to plant a chaste kiss on its forehead.

"Po!" Ping yelped in joy, as he ran up to his son. "You should have told me you were coming."

Po scooped the goose up into a hug. "Hey Dad."

"I would have saved you some stinky tofu!"

"Ugh." Luffy cringed. "Who the hell would want 'stinky tofu' anyway. Especially when you can have meat.

"One." Sanji began. "By fermenting the tofu, and letting it naturally gain an aroma, the taste of the dish improves in turn. Two. They are all animals. So. No. Meat!"

"This world sucks!" The captain pouted. "But it's so cool at the same time.!2

Po took the collection of bowls out of his father's feathers, before scratching the back of his head. "Uh, Dad, can I talk to you?"

"Of course, son" He then turned to his customers. "In honour of my son, free tofu desert for everyone!"

"Aww, how charitable!" Usopp beamed.

The customers all cheered.

"-With purchases."

"Oh." The sniper's face immediately fell. "Of course."

"Lesson number one of the service industry. If you can do it well, then charge for it well." Nami playfully stuck out her tongue in glee.

The customers all immediately stopped cheering.

Now inside the kitchen, Ping was immediately overcome with emotion and hugged Po once more. "It's so good to see you, Po! Have you lost weight? I can almost put my wings around you!"

"Ah well, maybe a little." Po said sheepishly as he set the bowls down, before pinching his belly to check.

The audience fell silent upon the revelation, before most of them awkwardly scratched the back of their necks in embarrassment.

"Yeah… Good job buddy." Chopper began weakly.

"We… totally noticed…" Sanji continued.

"Keep up… the good work…" Nami finished with a complete lack of conviction.

Meanwhile, Brook simply began to tut in disappointment. "You all are far too focused on body image."

"Oh, poor you. You must feel weak! Let me get you some soup!" Ping immediately darted towards the chopping board and began to cut some vegetables, almost as if he were working on reflex.

"Oh, that's okay Dad. I'm not hungry."

"Not hungry, Po, you alright?"

"Wahahaha!" Jimbei laughed. "In my experience, if they can eat an entire banquet single-handedly, but don't want to, usually they aren't alright."

"Yeah, no kidding." Sanji said.

"Yeah, yeah, no, I'm fine. It's just…" Po took a second to find the correct words. "Earlier today I was fighting some bandits.

Ping resumed his chopping, only half-listening to his son's recount. "Uh-huh…"

"Nothing too dangerous, they were just… you know…"

"Yeah."

"You might want to rip that band aid off." Smoker said. "There's not easy way to say this without mentioning that you nearly go your head caved in."

"There's no need to phrase it like that!" Usopp shrieked.

"Then the strangest thing happened. I had this crazy vision. I think I saw my Mom… and me… as a baby." Po continued to struggle to communicate exactly what he had experienced.

Meanwhile, Ping started to slow his chopping as he registered the panda's words.

"Wha… a baby?" Anxiety started to creep up his beak like a rash.

"Ooh. He knooows." Nami practically sang.

"Knows what? About the other baby panda?" Luffy asked, earning a facepalm from the aggravated navigator.

"Uh, Dad, how do I say this?" He paused before looking at a drawn picture of the both of them. "Where did I come from?"

Ping slowly placed his knife down before turning to face his son. "Well, you see, son uhh… baby geese come from a little egg. Don't ask me where the egg comes from!"

Robin immediately spawned some hands over Chopper's ears to prevent him from listening any further.

"Robin! I'm seventeen! I know where the egg comes from!" The doctor shouted in frustration.

"I don't care." The archaeologist muttered coldly. "Nothing must be allowed to taint your innocence."

"CUT IT OUT!"

Po groaned in frustration at his father's clear attempt to dodge his question. "Dad, that's not what I meant."

Ping sighed, as if he was letting off a weight he had been carrying around for years. "I know it's not. I think it's time I told you something I should have told you a long time ago."

Po shifted nervously. "Okay…"

"You might have been kind of… a… adopted."

"WHAT?!" Luffy, Chopper, Usopp and Bepo all screamed out at once. All preconceived notions completely shattered.

"Guys, come on, it wasn't that difficult to decipher." Brook noted as he took a tiny sip of his tea.

"I can't believe you guys!" Nami fumed. "The one without an actual brain figured it out before you!"

"I know right." Brook happily hummed. "YOHOHOHO!"

The world seemed to stop around Po for a moment.

"I knew it!" The panda quietly exclaimed.

"You knew? Who told you?"

"No one. I mean c'mon Dad!" Po gestured vaguely between the two of them.

"Credit where it is due, I thought they were going to carry on this bit for a while." Law noted in relief.

"I know right, at least they knew when to let it go." Sanji agreed, whilst the four most impressionable members of the audience continued to talk amongst themselves out of shock.

"But if you knew, then why didn't you ever say anything?"

"Why didn't you ever say anything?" Po took a moment to recompose himself. "How did I get here Dad? Where did I come from?"

"Actually. You came from this." Ping then pulled a radish crate out from underneath the kitchen bench, before presenting it to Po, who looked at it with curious suspicion.

"Aww!" Nami cooed. "He used to fit into that crate?"

"That's SUPER adowable" Franky concurred.

"It was just another day at the restaurant, time to make the noodles…"

…..

Years Earlier.

Preparing for another hard, yet rewarding, day of noodle work, a noticeably less world-weary Ping stepped out into the back alley.

"I went out to the back, where my vegetables, had just been delivered. There were cabbages, turnips, radishes…

One of the delivered crates sitting in the alley began to jump and, in turn, so did Ping. The crate continued to flail until it tipped over revealing a dozen half-eaten radishes and a healthy, if dirty, looking baby panda.

"He was SUPER adorable!" Franky cheered before striking his signature pose.

"He's the cutest thing I've ever laid my eyes upon. Even though I don't have eyes. YOHOHOHO!" Brook laughed.

"So cute…" Robin whispered to herself quietly.

"Only there were no radishes. Just a very hungry, baby panda."

Ping stared in surprise at the baby, as it chomped clean through another radish, before sweetly rolling onto it's back and giggling. The goose then carefully stepped around the child to look around where the alley met the street. It was utterly barren.

"There was no note, of course, you could've eaten it. I waited for someone to come looking for you… but no one did.

"Who'd be so heartless as to leave a small, innocent baby like that all alone?" Usopp asked.

"Moron. He was abandoned." Zoro grunted.

"What? That's awful." The sniper protested.

"That's life, sometimes." Law said.

Ping moved to pick up one of the crates and began to move back inside the noodle shop. As he moved to leave the baby began to whimper, before rising to a bawl. Ping froze in his tracks. The child's crying slowly stopped as Ping rolled a fresh radish at the infant. The baby took a massive bite of the vegetable, giggling all the while. The goose afforded himself a small smile.

"I brought you inside. Fed you. Gave you a bath. And fed you again… and again… and again. I tried to put some pants on you."

"Kid was a monster, even back then." Luffy noted.

"You're one to talk." Zoro scoffed.

"Hey! At least I wear pants!" The captain rebutted.

"Again, not something to be proud of." Law noted from the side.

Impressionistic flashes flitted through Ping's mind as he recalled all the best times, even the significant damage to his food budget. As he tried to fasten some pants to the young Po, the baby playfully began to ran around, before bumping into a table and spilling some dumplings and a small wok over it's head. As Ping hurriedly checked on the boy, a small whimper quickly turned to a bright giggle, completely melting his heart.

"And then I made a decision that would change my life forever…"

Later that night, Ping cooked a fresh batch of noodle soup, before quietly setting his stock of radishes to the side.

"Aww, he was going to adopt him as his own child." Bepo concluded.

"…To make my soup without radishes…"

"…" The polar bear sat in embarrassed silence.

"Bepo? You okay?" Law asked.

"…" Again, he said nothing.

The goose then gently passed the bowl to the infant, nestled comfortably in it's new crib fashioned out of the old radish crate.

"…And to raise you as my own son. Xiao Po… my little panda.

"See? There you go… You got it in the end." Usopp tried to reassure him.

"…" The Heart Pirates navigator continued to sulk, whilst the remaining members of the audience continued to take in the heart-warming scene displayed before them.

…

Now.

Ping's eyes started to slightly well up with tears, as he finished recounting the tale. "And, little Po, that's the end of the story. Look at me! No, don't look at me."

"A bit late for you to get embarrassed now, you just spilled your heart out to him man!" Franky sat upright in his seat; his brow furrowed in partial confusion.

"He really should have told him this sooner. Not knowing who or what you are is a special hell in or itself." Brook spoke, solemnly. It was clear he could speak from experience on the matter.

Po felt and looked as if the weight of the world had just crashed down onto his shoulders. Yet, despite the plethora of answers he had just received, there wasn't nearly enough to leave him satisfied. "That's it. That can't be it. There's gotta be more Dad!"

"Well, there was that time you ate all my bamboo furniture. It was imported too."

"In all fairness, you probably brought that on yourself." Zoro said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"That'd be like placing a hunk of meat in front of Luffy and expecting him not to eat it." Chopper agreed.

"Meat?! Where?" The captain looked around hurriedly, not realising that he had unintentionally proven the points of his crewmates.

Over the counter, a rabbit deposited a singular coin on the counter. "One dumpling please, Dragon Warrior size." Ping wordlessly dropped a humongous dumpling on the counter in front of the rabbit, who then buckled under its weight.

"Woah! Gig-Dumpling! It's not meat, but I'd suppose it would do!" Luffy giggled.

The noodle maker noticed the distraught expression on his son's face and moved in to comfort him. "Oh Po, your story may not have such a happy beginning, but look how it turned out! You got me, you got Kung Fu, and you got noodles!"

Po sighed. "I know, I jus have so many questions: like how did I fit in this box and why didn't I like pants?

"Valid questions, but I feel like you're missing the critical point here." Smoker pointed out.

Ping gazed directly into his son's eyes.

"And who am I?"

The question hung in the air over (mostly) everyone's mind. They had a sneaking suspicion that the past had an unfortunate hand in answering the questions of the present.

…

Whilst this was happening, close to the sea at Gongmen City, the glorious Gongmen Palace stood tall and proud, just as it had for hundreds of years, though in recent years it had noticeably shifted in it's purpose. With the death of the recent rulers, and the exile of their next of kin, ownership of the grounds had been shifted to Kung Fu Council, who had used it as a base of operations to protect both the city and surrounding areas from any malefactors.

A multitude of strained grunts emanated from the palace courtyards as Masters Ox and Croc ferociously sparred, whilst Master Thundering Rhino oversaw their training with his trademark, implacable scowl. The royal Soothsayer also observed from the sides, burning incense in small bowl at her cloven hooves. Unfortunately for everyone present, their relative peace was about to be viciously shattered.

"That level of skill. They must be Grandmasters." Jimbei noted with a critical eye.

"Stationed up in the Royal Palace as well, they must have declared marshal law in order to use it as base of operations to oversee the surrounding areas, as well as act as a deterrent from any small-scale threats." Smoker noted, his training as a Marine and knowledge of positional strategy, shining clear in the forefront. Not everyone shared in this enthusiasm, however.

"Fantastic. More bureaucratic nonsense lording over a city of innocent people." Law grumbled, tugging his hat to cover his eyes. "A snake hiding in the grass is just as dangerous as ne that isn't." The Ex-Warlord had seen the damage that unfettered power could reign over those that couldn't protect themselves.

The antelope guards stationed at the gate raised their heads from their unprofessional half-rest to be greeted with the sight of regal, snow-white peacock approaching. Draped in an equally ivory silk robe, he approached them like a spectre, the only indication on his physical presence being the rhythmic clicking of his Iron Claws against the stone of the pavement.

They charged weapons draw and were felled within a second. The peacock continued towards the gate and swiftly sliced open the bar locking it in place, before kicking it open, drawing the attention of everyone in the courtyard. Their eyes widened in horrific recognition.

"Shen?" They all proclaimed as one.

"This jerk again?" Luffy growled.

"May not be royalty anymore, but he still dresses like a pompous douche." Zoro grunted, before taking another swig of his bottle.

The peacock smirked at the impromptu welcoming committee. "Good afternoon, gentlemen." His tone was confident, yet harsh. "Now that we've got the pleasantries out of the way, please leave me house."

"Your house?" Ox growled at the assumption of superiority.

"Yes, did you not see the peacock on the front door?" Shen drawled. He then noticed the Soothsayer before turning to her. "Ah, there you are Soothsayer. It seems that your fortune-telling skill are not as good as you thought."

"Oh of course, that's the Soothsayer the parents hired. Looking a little long in the tooth, but it's not like I'm one to judge." Brook noted cheekily, causing him to be swiftly ignored by the others.

"But wouldn't that mean that what happened was all her fault?" Robin noted. "Her prophecy caused Shen to do what he did."

"One often meets their destiny on the road they take to avoid it." Jimbei uttered, repeating Oogway's words from the previous film.

She glared hatefully back at the peacock. "We shall see, Shen."

"No, you shall see, you old goat." Shen dismissed as if he were talking to a piece of scum lodged between his talons. He turned to face the Masters. "Uh, where were we?"

"What do you want Shen?" Rhino demanded, harshly, as he tightened his grip on his war-hammer.

"What is rightfully mine: Gongmen City!"

"What is it with bird-based, psychopaths wanting to take over cities? Why can't they just be content to leave everyone alone and deal with their crippling insecurities elsewhere?" Nami groaned.

"Hell, if I know." Law shared in her exhaustion..

"Gongmen is under the stewardship of the Master's Council, and we will protect it. Even from you." Rhino declared firmly.

To everyone's surprise, Shen merely laughed at the statement, as if he found the notion that he could be stopped amusing. "I am so glad you feel that way. Otherwise, I'd have dragged that here for nothing." He gestured towards a large crate being carted in through the broken gate by another wolf squadron.

"What the heck is that…?" Franky asked.

"If it's from this punk, then it can't be good." Smoker huffed.

"What's in the box, Shen?" Ox brandished his twin axes.

"Well, you see…" Shen placed his index feather to his beak, as if he were playfully trying find the correct words. "It's a gift. It's your parting gift. In that it will part you. Part of you here, part of you there, and part of you way over there STAINING THE WALL!"

The audience recoiled at the sudden intensity of the threat. Franky managed to summarise everyone's feelings on the matter rather succinctly.

"Damn… this guy is completely unhinged!"

Ox had had enough of the insults. "You insolent fool!" He jumped into the air; his weapons raised above his head to prepare for a downward slash.

Unfortunately, this left him wide open as Shen flicked his sleeve upwards, firing a rope dart that wrapped around Ox's horn, before he tugged sharply, causing the Master's head to sharply meet with the hard ground.

Croc followed shortly after, similarly jumping upwards to prepare for his own attack. In a flash of white, Shen darted upwards to meet him, before kicking him into the ground and throwing dozens of feather blades towards his new target. Croc twisted his body just in time to hastily deflect the oncoming knives before getting back to his feet.

Meanwhile, Shen gracefully landed in his feet, before flicking wrist again to reveal a short spear. With his new weapon in hand, he darted between Ox and Croc's attacks, perfectly countering them, before knocking them flat on their backs.

"He's no slouch at armed combat, either." Smoker noted.

"Yeah, but he's no Tai Lung either." Luffy stated. "He's leaving himself wide open after every swing."

"Then perhaps his threat does not lie in his combat ability." Jimbei posited.

The peacock the turned his attention to Rhino, flinging more feather blades towards his target. Rhino simply twirled his war-hammer around as if it were made of cardboard; the spin of the weapon blocking each knife as it approached him. Rhino then finished his display of strength with a mighty thrust of his weapon, created a massive gust of air that pushed Shen back by a few metres.

Shen clicked his tongue as his remaining feather blades shattered from the force of the blow, before tossing them to the ground. "Show-off." He mused, mirthlessly.

"Woah!" Bepo cheered. "This Rhino guy is insane! He broke his blades without even touching him!"

"It doesn't look like he was infusing that hammer with Haki either." Law noted. "That was all his raw strength."

"Then he's gotta be really strong!" Luffy gaped.

"That is a warning." Rhino slammed the butt of his war-hammer into the ground. "You are no match for our Kung Fu."

"Oh, I agree… but this is." Shen gestured towards the crate behind him, before expanding his hind feathers and catching a tailwind that set him down on the crate.

The peacock stomped on the crate, causing it to fall apart, revealing an imposing looking dragon-shaped cannon. Rhino immediately assumed a combat stance, before Shen scraped his metal talons against the surface of the cannon, creating a spark that set the weapon alight.

And a flash of red was the last thing Master Thundering Rhino ever saw.

"…And all that strength meant nothing." Law concluded.

"WHAT KINDA CANNON WAS THAT?" Franky yelled. "Was that like a… firework payload?"

"Not sure, but it completely bypassed his techniques." Sanji noted. "Looks like Po and the Five really have their work cut out for them."

…

Back at the Jade Palace courtyard, both the Dragon Warrior and the Furious Five huddled around Shifu as he hesitantly read the contents of the most recent delivery scroll.

"Are you familiar with the Master of Gongmen City?" Shifu asked flatly.

"You mean Master Thundering Rhino?" Po asked, a spark of excitement already lit in his eyes.

"Ooh, he's not gonna like this." Usopp cringed, knowing the panda would have an adverse reaction to the bad news.

"I can't believe that peacock pulled such a dirty trick." Luffy huffed. "He must've known he couldn't win in a fair fight."

"That was the point, moron." Law spat. "He baited him into an unwinnable situation."

"Hmm." Luffy moaned in partial agreement. "Doesn't mean I have to like it."

"Yes." Shifu responded.

"Son of the legendary Flying Rhino?"

"Yes."

"And slayer of the ten-thousand serpents of the Valley of Woe?" Po's enthusiasm had now reached a fever pitch.

"He's dead." They was just two words, but they immediately changed the tone of the conversation. Po and the Five were taken aback.

"Woah…" They were the only words that Po could muster as he read the message, before passing it to Monkey.

"Even Grandmasters had trouble standing up to this thing!" Franky noted out of anxiety. "Don't really see how they're supposed to fare any better against that thing."

"Don't worry about it they got this." Luffy grinned with all the vigour of a sun. "How's a peacock guy gonna be worse than Tai Lung?

"That's impossible!" Crane voiced.

"Rhino's horn defence is impervious to any technique." Tigress stated. Having studied under the Master during her training, she could speak from experience.

"This was no technique." Shifu shook his head. "Lord Shen has created a weapon the breathes fire and spits metal. Unless he is stopped this could be the end… of Kung Fu."

"Aw man! That sucks." Usopp groaned.

"It makes sense though. This is clearly some form of pre-industrialised society. Realistically, they'd have no way of combating a destructive, long-range weapon such as this." Robin mused.

"That snow-leopard managed to break apart stone structures with his bare paws." Zoro countered. "We are well beyond 'realistically', at this point."

"Fair." The archaeologist conceded.

Despite the grave situation, Po couldn't help but groan. "But I just got Kung Fu!"

"And now you must save it!" Shifu pointed his staff towards the vague direction of the sea. "Go! Destroy this weapon and bring Lord Shen to justice!"

The Five immediately shot down the mountainside of the palace. Po setting off to follow. "Yeah! Let's go, let's…"

Before he then ground to a halt.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait a second. How can I do this? I mean, how does Kung Fu stop something that stops Kung Fu?" The panda asked.

"These are questions they should be asking!" Nami felt the need to let out a great sigh. "Thank you for having instinctual self-preservation!"

"It's not like they can worry about stuff like that now!" Luffy argued. "They gotta do their jobs!"

Nami immediately response with a swift strike to the temple. "Don't argue with me!"

"Remember, Dragon Warrior: Anything is possible… when you have inner peace."

The Master's words meant nothing to Po, yet he stilled smiled before racing off down the mountain.

As soon as Po landed in the village, he rolled into a run, the Five flanking him, he began to chant Shifu's advice like a mantra. "Inner peace, inner peace, inner peace… peace on!"

"Po!"

The panda and the Five ground to a halt outside of Dragon Warrior tofu and noodles. Ping rushed out moments later, hauling a hefty looking backpack filled to the brim with (mostly) necessities.

"I was under the impression that this would be a: 'Travel light and fast' kind of journey." Brook commented.

"Why wouldn't they just go by ship?" Luffy asked, cluelessly.

"Didn't you see the how far the Five ran in the first one? This world is probably mostly land!" Sanji argued.

"IT IS?!" The captain shrieked in happiness, the thought of that much to explore clearly made his blood rush.

"GREAT! NOW LOOK AT WHAT YOU'VE DONE!" Nami shrieked at the cook in unfiltered rage.

"I'm sorry Nami dear!" The cook swooned. "You can hit me if you'd like."

"AS IF, WEIRDO!"

"I got you a travel pack! I packed you food for weeks: cookies, buns, vegetables… and I even packed all your action figures." The goose then pulled out couple of the toys to demonstrate. "See?"

Po immediately cringed at his father's kind, if poorly timed, gesture. Monkey giggled at the display, whilst Tigress looked on in amusement, before both walked off to prepare for the ongoing journey.

Po coughed, attempting to salvage what remained of his pride. "Oh! Uh, hey, I don't know what those are, never seen them before in my life." As soon as his companions were out of earshot, however… "Dad, you got scratches on my Tigress."

"Never mess with another man's action figures." Franky seethed.

"You collect? That's so lame." Robin sighed.

"I DIDN'T ASK FOR YOUR OPINION!"

Ping then produced a number of drawn photos. "I also packed your paintings of our best times together, just in case you get lonely! That's me and you making noodles… that me and you making noodles… and that's me giving you a piggyback ride." The two of them looked at a portrait of Ping being horrifically squashed under a baby Po. "on second thought, I think I'll hang onto this one."

Po hesitated, before strapping on the backpack. "Hey, uh, they're waiting for me."

Ping gave a mournful sigh, before relenting. "Of course, of course… You have a job to do… far from home… in a strange city, filled with strange people and strange noodles… facing horrible danger from which you might never return! Don't go, Po!" The worry on the goose's face grew worse with ever word that came out of his beak.

"I gotta go! I'm the Dragon Warrior, it's kinda my job to save Kung Fu. And If I don't… what am I?"

"You're my son!" Ping proclaimed. He was met with a pregnant silence that made him frown. Po didn't respond. "… Right?"

"No! He is!" Chopper began to bawl before growing incensed "HUG YOUR FATHER RIGHT NOW AND TELL HIM YOU LOVE HIM DEARLY!"

"YEAH! YOU BIG MEANIE!" Both Luffy and Usopp concurred with the statement and stuck out their tongues.

"Po, it's time." Tigress broke the awkward silence by calling over her teammate.

"Uh… goodbye." Po nearly whispered as he walked off.

Tigress watched him walk off, before turning to Ping with a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry, Mr Ping. He'll be back before you can say 'noodles'."

At that moment, all six of the Masters began to run off into the distance. Before long, Ping couldn't make them out even if he squinted.

"Noodles…" And yet, his son was still not with him.

A portion of the more emotionally open members of the audience clutched their hearts in physicalised emotional pain, whilst Franky started to nearly bawl an entire flood that expanded through the theatre.

Meanwhile, Law and Smoker couldn't help by raise cursory eyebrows at the display, completely befuddled.

…

The journey had begun, and there was not a moment to lose. Po began to cheer excitedly, as he and the Five traversed the top of a mountain range… before he started panting horrifically a second later.

"Geez, guy needs to stop skipping the cardio workout." Zoro commented.

"He has a cardio workout?" Law asked sceptically.

Back in Gongmen, Shen had begun overseeing the preparation of his grand plan, as dozens of wolves, threw dozens of metal objects into a smelting vat.

"What does he need all this metal for though?" Franky asked. "He already has that cannon… unless…"

"Hey! No spoilers!" Luffy snapped, before taking a hefty bite out of a chunk of meat.

As the Kung Fu Masters travelled across a snowy plain, Po tripped on a disguised rock and started to both literally and figuratively snowball out of control, nearly squishing his friends.

Back in the factory, Shen scooped up a wingful of gunpower, before throwing it into the open flame of the torch of a nearby soldier, creating a brief cacophony of sparks that startled the soldier.

Far away, Po struggled to scale an impossibly vertical surface, feeling his muscles sing in pain, before eventually giving way. Tigress, meanwhile, walked right past him, unsure of why the simple act of hiking was such a difficult concept for the panda.

"Well, this 'China' place is absolutely doomed." Said Usopp.

"If you've nothing positive to say…" Zoro grumbled in irritation.

The six warriors continued on through the blistering heat of the desert, Po using the downtime to practice his staff skills, a weapon which he brandished with extreme fluidity. Simultaneously, Shen practiced with his short-spear high at the top of his new tower, before opening a window and perching on the edge of one of the pagoda rooves. A horridly familiar feeling dwelled within his stomach, as if he were above to face down the ghost of a past he had long since left behind. Nevertheless, he stood firm. An ominous, white shadow watching over HIS city.

"I don't believe this. He even broods like a pompous douche." Law snarked.

"Pot meet kettle, Trafalgar." Smoker said.

…..

Late into the night, a small sampan boat glided along the waveless sea, it's sandy colour barely able to be perceived through the dim night sky. Inside the cabin, not even an insect stirred, mainly because Mantis was asleep, as the six warriors earned themselves some much-needed rest. However, Po began to stir in the night, his eyes darting around frantically in REM.

"Momma?" The panda murmured before losing himself in a dream.

Members of the audience sharply inhaled through their teeth, creating a shrill, hissing sound. Familial troubles were something a lot of them could relate to, but that didn't mean they like putting up with them.

…

In the dream, Po found himself in the middle of a dense forest. He spun on his heel to find an exit, before the trunks suddenly parted to reveal two distinct silhouettes on the horizon, walking away from him into a white light.

"Mom? Dad? Is that you?" He started to run towards them, excitedly. "Mom! Dad!"

His parents stopped and turned to him, his mother holding a white bundle.

"Oh he-hey! Son, you're back!" His father half-groaned.

"Why does hie sound the same as him?" Luffy picked his nose before rubbing it on Chopper's fur.

"He's never heard him speak before, so it's only natural. Also, THAT'S DISGUSTING! WIPE IT ELSEWHERE!

"Huh?" Po was taken aback by his father's tone.

"Honey, what are you doing here?" The mother asked sweetly.

"But I thought…" Po started.

"We replaced you, dear, with this lovely radish." The mother unwrapped the bundle, revealing a polished red radish.

The audience simply opened their mouths in abject shock. The sheer absurdity of the dream took a second to register fully.

"That's… unfortunate." Bepo said the only thing that could've possibly been said at that moment. Everyone else was simply too lost for words.

"Radish?" the panda asked, his tone a mixture of confusion and doubt.

"It's quiet, polite, and frankly, it knows better Kung Fu."

Upon the final word, the radish suddenly leapt up into the air, before making a series of exclamations and charging at Po.

"IT CAN WHAT?!" The entirety of the crew shrieked in disbelief, as the previously dormant radish moved around with startling fluidity. Even Robin, who prided herself on her composure, couldn't help but feel a beat of sweat trickle down her forehead out of shock.

"Oh no, no, no…"

Within an instant, Po was knocked on his back, before being thrown about as if he were the world's largest ragdoll. On his back, Po recoiled as the radish leapt into the air, before forming the terrible flaming eye wreathed in snaking tentacles he saw before.

"What is even happening?" Law asked out of confusion, seemingly speaking for the entire audience, who silently agreed with his statement.

It all began to overwhelm him, until…

…

"AH!"Po woke with a start, before taking a deep breath upon observing his surroundings. Troubled, he got to his feet, before walking out onto the deck, not even noticing that Tigress was also beginning to stir.

"Sanji?" Luffy asked.

"Yeah?" The cook responded.

"No more radishes in the noodle broth from now on."

"Oh, I'm way ahead of you."

Now in the cool night air, Po began to mumble to himself furiously. "Radish, radish, radish… HI-YAH!" In a fit of barely restrained, instinctual rage, Po threw a punch against the central mast, causing it to wobble slightly.

Plip!

A single droplet of water fell onto Po's head from the sail above. After he composed himself, he began to cycle through some tai chi movements in an attempt to copy what Shifu had done before.

"Smart move." Jimbei acknowledged. "After *that*, I definitely think some inner peace is required."

"Yeah, no kidding." Usopp shakily agreed.

"Inner… peace…"

Plip!

Po scowled, before returning to the start of the forms.

"Peac-"

"Just control your breathing. That's the key." Zoro muttered noncommittally.

Plip!

Another fell and Po, again, growled. He started again, before again being interrupted. Plip! Plip! Plip!

"AAAAAAAAGHHHHHHH!" Po exploded and started to furiously strike the mast, his temper getting the better of him. He finally stopped… before the huge amount of water resting on top of the sail splashed him on the head.

"Yeah, Mosshead. That breathing is definitely controlled now." Sanji muttered sardonically.

Po was beside himself, eye-twitching in unadulterated fury. Any little provocation would be enough to set him off.

Plip!

"I swear, I can almost hear his blood pressure rising. Which is weird since I don't have ears. Or blood." Brook giggled.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!"

Beside himself with rage and confusion, Po started to headbutt the mast. "INNER PEACE! Inner peace! Innerpeaceinnerpeaceinnerpeaceinnerpeaceinnerpeapahpahpah!"

"Wow. He is not dealing with that radish well." Luffy noted.

"No, you idiot. He's got some serious mental issues going on." Nami huffed.

"Judging from his reaction to the symbol. It wouldn't be out the question to say he's experiencing a form of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder." Law noted.

"But usually, you'd have to have some idea of the incident that caused the reaction. And he… doesn't?" Chopper sounded confused.

"Ahem."

Po looked up to see Tigress standing atop the cabin, leaning casually against the mast with her paw. The panda was immediately taken aback with embarrassment.

"Oh, er… I'm… training…."

Tigress rolled her glowing yellow eyes. "The mast is not a worthy opponent." She flipped down onto the deck, before holding her palm out towards Po. "I am ready."

"Oh god, I can feel this hurting already." Usopp pre-emptively winced in anticipation.

"Ah! To train with Master Tigress is truly an honour." Sanji swooned.

"Get help, weirdo." Smoker huffed.

Po looked to the open palm, then to her, then back again. "Okay. So serious… HI-YAH!" The Dragon Warrior punched the open palm with all his might, creating a mild reverberation along the waterline. A long moment past… before Po collapsed in pain to his knees.

"Ha-ha-ha-OW! I think I prefer the mast." The panda cringed as he nursed his sore hand.

"Woah!" Luffy immediately sat upright in his chair. "That's some pretty strong Armament Haki she's got. Didn't even flinch."

"Apologies. I used to punch the Ironwood tress by the palace to train. Now, I feel nothing."

Po gaped in awe. "That's… severely cool."

"I'll say." Zoro smirked.

"So, no Haki?" Luffy asked, earning a small chorus of head shakes. "THEN THAT'S EVEN COOLER!"

"I KNOW RIGHT?!" Sanji joined in on the swooning, only to be met with another chorus, this time of flat, blank faces filled with shame.

Tigress smiled slightly before outstretching her arm again. "Again!"

Po immediately jumped to his feet and began to strike her palm repeatedly to train.

"So, er… this punching Ironwood trees… how long did you have to do that?"

"Twenty years."

"Twen-TWENTY YEARS?!" Usopp screamed, imagining what his own hands would look like after such a regiment.

As it turned out, Zoro was thinking the exact same thing. Only he smirked in partial exhilaration.

"Po stopped punching. "Oh, twen-twenty years?" He resumed his training. "Is there any, uh, faster way? You know… until you… don't feel anything?"

"No. Besides…" Tigress suddenly twisted Po's fist until he was sent spinning into the air and crashed to the floor. She then smirked as the panda's gelatinous belly slowly bounced to a stop. "… I don't think hard style is… your thing."

"Understatement of the millennium, sister." Nami snarked.

"Oh." Po sat up on the deck, as Tigress knelt down beside him.

"Po… why are you really out here?"

"I just found out my dad… isn't my dad." He sighed.

Tigress stared at him for a long, hard moment. "Your dad… the goose?" Po nodded. "That… must have been quite a shock."

"You can say that again." Chopper said.

"Never saw it coming." Usopp agreed.

"Took me by surprise." Luffy finished.

Law and Nami buried their heads in their hands.

"Yeah."

"And this bothers you?" Tigress spoke slowly, as if she were trying to cherry-pick the words that would cause the least amount of offense.

Po scoffed. "Heh… are you kidding me? We're warriors right? Nerves of steel! Souls of platinum! …Like you! So hardcore you don't feel anything!" Po playfully punched Tigress in the arm, before retracting his fist in pain.

"Sure, that's all well and good, but burying these feelings deep down isn't going to do anyone any favours." Franky commented, cooly.

"How bizarrely adult of you to say, Franky." Robin noted.

"WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM WITH ME TODAY?"

The Master herself widened her eyes, as if she were shocked by what her friend had just said. "…I was…"

"So, what are you guys talking about?" Mantis voiced, as both the rest of the Five and he cut into the conversation.

"Nothing. Nothing." Po squeaked.

"Po's having daddy issues." Viper noted, ten steps ahead of the rest of her teammates.

"These are not daddy issues." Sanji, the expert on daddy issues, loudly proclaimed.

"He still needs his head in the game if they're going to bring down Shen." Smoker grunted.

"Man, I'm so lucky. I don't have any problems with my dad! Maybe it's because Mom ate his head before I was born. I don't know…" Mantis mused.

"Mantis, this isn't about you!" The snake Master chastised. "Po is the one freaking out." She coiled her tail around Po's shoulder comfortingly.

"I'm not freaking out." The panda denied.

"Now, now. Denial isn't going to help anyone." Brook lightly chastised.

"Po…" Tigress tried to get his attention.

"I'm freaking… in." He clarified.

"I'm pretty sure that's the polar opposite of denial." Bepo chimed in.

"Was that a pun? I'm impressed." The musician relinquished.

"I'm sorry."

"WHY ARE YOU APOLOGIZING?"

"Po!" Tigress repeated, this time a little louder.

"What?"

"We're here." Tigress pointed to the east, and then they saw it… Gongmen City. The light from the glorious sunrise filtered through the massive pagoda tower. "It's Gongmen City."

…

Whilst the warriors approached the city, the atrium at the pinnacle of Gongmen tower was becoming increasingly crowded as giant gorilla guards pulled decorative banners from the wall, before being replaced by the flaming eye sigil, as the cannon was carted upon the extensive set of stairs. At the centre of the atrium, stood an ornate golden throne, stylised to look like an extended set of peacock feathers. Upon laying his eyes upon the throne, Shen gave a nostalgic sigh.

"My father's throne… He used to let me play here beside him, promising that someday this throne would be mine…"

With a snap of his talon, the throne was immediately tossed from the window.

"Great, now the Feng Shui is all messed up." Zoro snarked.

"I'm surprised you even know what that means, Blade-for-Brains." Sanji chuckled.

"What? It means 'throne', right?"

"Suuure, Zoro." Nami patted the swordsman on the head, patronisingly.

"A little to the left." Shen drawled, as the two gorilla guards clomped the massive cannon where the throne had stood seconds before.

"Uh, but it's so heavy, master." One of the duo groaned.

"Thirty years I have waited for this moment. Everything must be exactly as I envisioned it… and I envisioned it a little to the left."

"And I though some of the bigwigs back at HQ were backbreakers. This peacock is just next level scum."

The gorillas mumbled as they adjusted to the cannon.

"Perfect. With the weapon by my side… ah, a little bit more." The gorilla adjusted the cannon again. "With the weapon by my side… all of China will bow before me. We move out in three days when the moon is full, and the tide is high."

Shen laughed heartily, before turning to the Soothsayer, who sat in the corner next to her divination bowl. "Now then you old goat, why don't you tell me my- "

"Fortune?" Th elderly woman interjected slyly.

"Pfft." Usopp couldn't contain his sly laughter.

"Oh my. I like her already." Robin chuckled.

"F-future. I was going to say future." Shen caught himself. "Look into your bowl and tell me what glory awaits."

The Soothsayer stared into her bowl. "If you continue on your current path…" Her eyes rolled into her skull, whilst Shen walked down a small set of stairs in the middle of the room. "… You will find yourself… at the bottom of the stairs."

"Shishishishi!" Luffy started to laugh uncontrollably at how nonplussed the goat seemed to be whilst confronting Shen.

"She's definitely got some spunk to her." Nami grinned.

The flatness of the final few words took Shen off guard as he came to a stop at the final step. He breathed in annoyance before approaching the Soothsayer as she looked into the bowl again.

"I see… I see… I see pain." She plucked a feather from Shen's wing.

"Ow!" The peacock exclaimed.

"What the- "Law's eyes widened in amused shock.

"And anger." She then grabbed Shen's silk robe and took a hefty chomp out of it.

"How dare you! That is the finest silk in the province!"

"Yohohoho! I ca- can't breathe!" Brook attempted to cover his jaw to prevent the laughter from, to no effect.

"I could watch this for hours." Jimbei grinned.

"Followed by denial…" She noted with a small smirk.

"This is not fortune telling! You're just saying what's happening right-"

"Now?" The Soothsayer cut of the ruler of the city with the confidence of a hundred.

"Woah! This granny's awesome!" Luffy noted. "She doesn't seem to care at all."

"She probably doesn't." Chopper replied.

"Oh, she DEFINTELY doesn't." Nami responded.

Shen merely sighed in exasperation, knowing that despite the Soothsayer's… eccentricities, she would prove to be invaluable to his cause. The elderly goat then place the feather and torn silk into the bowl.

"The most important time is now. But if you really want to see the future…"

A plume of blue smoke erupted from the bowl, before rising into the air. Shen watched on in awe.

"Oh, what do you see?" He gasped, as the plume assumed the shape of a peacock.

"What kind of nonsense is this?" Smoker spoke for the audience as he viewed the seemingly mystical cloud of smoke with rapt attention.

"It's just like that card-dealing that Hawkins did." Law commented.

"A peacock…" The Soothsayer began. As she spoke the peacock became engulfed by a fiery yin-yang symbol that pulsated across the room, frightening some of the guards. "… Is defeated by a warrior of black and white. Nothing has changed."

Jimbei's eyes widened realization. "He's only ensuring his fate by continuing on this path."

Luffy groaned in response to this. "I hate future stuff."

In a combination of shock and fury, Shen threw a feather blade at the bowl, before fanning the plume of smoke away with his tail feathers. He then recomposed himself and chuckled.

"That's impossible… and you know it!" He seethed.

"It is not impossible… and he knows it." The goat responded with a smile.

"Who?"

At that precise moment, Boss clambered up the stairs, clearly out of breath. "Lord Shen! I saw a panda!"

"This goat is too good!" Chopper cheered. "That's some Observation Haki she's got."

"I know right?!" Luffy agreed. "She must have been training for years!"

Shen's blood froze. "A panda?!" Within a second, he had lunged at Boss and pinned him against the floor with his talon.

Boss coughed at his sudden strangulation, before continuing. "A Kung Fu warrior… he fought like a demon! Big and furry… soft and squishy… kind of plush and cuddly."

Zoro and Sanji exchanged a cursory glance with each other, in a moment of unity.

"I'm not the only one getting mixed messages here, am I?" The swordsman asked.

"No. It's definitely not just you." The cook agreed.

Shen glared into Boss' eyes with a stare that could simultaneously burn and freeze. "There. Are. No. More. Pandas." He seethed.

"Even with his poor eye, he can see the truth." The Soothsayer tapped Boss' one working eye with her cane, eliciting a growl from the wolf. "Why is it you cannot?"

"Find this panda and bring him to me." Shen ignored her and addressed Boss, before flinging him away.

"Wow. He is just digging himself deeper and deeper into this whole prophecy thing, isn't he?" Usopp declared.

"Anxiety is a powerful motivator." Robin stated. "You of all people should know this."

"That's… fair."

"Yes, sir!" He ran down the stairs, leaving the two alone.

"So, one panda still lives… that does not make you right." Shen snorted dismissively.

"You're right… being right makes me right." She noted smugly.

"Then I will kill him… and make you wrong!" The peacock smirked horrifically, before turning around after feeling a tug at the end of his robe. The Soothsayer was taking yet another bite out of them.

"Will you stop that!" Shen yelled as he tore the wrecked robe out of her grasp.

Despite the levity of the moment, the audience felt a pang of apprehension flash by. This 'Shen' character may not have been as threatening as Tai Lung, but he had an army at his beck and call. Could the destruction of the weapon actually be pulled off? Only time would tell.

…

Act One of the second film is done. I have prepared both this Act as well as the first intermission simultaneously because of… home reasons… also, one of my least favourite aspects of reaction fics is being excited for a new chapter, only for there to be an intermission that completed ruins your excitement for the next instalment. As such, I'd thought that I'd treat you guys to a little something - something. Prostate yourselves before my boundless magnanimity.

This film is my favourite out of the trilogy, in terms of cinematography, writing, acting, the whole shebang. It'll be very interesting to see how the Straw Hats react to that, that, and especially THAT. So, keep your eyes peeled.

Now to responses:

Gamelover42592: Thanks so much.

AnimayWriteY0: I have tried to make them their canon selves, otherwise what's the point of a reaction fic? Thank you so much for your kind words.

Cyberbooks: I couldn't agree with you more. Lets see where this takes us shall we? Sorry its taken me so long, life just suddenly decided to kick me in the ass. Hope it's up to your standards.

RedMist86025949: I'll do my best, although it's not in her character to be emotional all the time.

Guest 1: Maybe. A03 ain't my scene.

Joanne Francis Tiano Cajilig: Thanks so much!

Heart of Shepard: Thank you for your kind words. I've tried to add some of them that I think would fit in.

KaslanaKiana: ;)

a54321: I'll do my best.

LucasVAMP: Very much so, the parallels are definitely something I want to touch upon, and part of the reason I started this was due to how much KFP 2 reminded me of a standard One Piece arc.

Guest 2: I suppose you're right, but its certainly not the interpretation I took from the film, so sorry.

Carre: I'll do my best to live to your expectations.

Guest 3: Okay.

Chronosign: That is one potential interpretation, but I think mine works better for the narrative of KFP, with Po's differences being what makes him strong as opposed to the others.

Schazman: Thanks so much! Your kind words are like the fuel that keeps me going in these hard times.

Shinysaur: Nice! Hope you enjoy the rest!

TyTylerBarela100: Indeed.

Hellibleri: Always nice to know I can make someone's day a little brighter. Thank you for your patience.

Hope you all enjoy this chapter(s). In a few weeks, we're going to experience not only Spider-Man 2, but also the FNAF Movie. October is going to be packed. Not even mentioning that the OP Live Action has just come out and surpassed all expectations. Hope I can keep my head on straight.

Until next time,

Ciao