FicWad

Chapter Forty Three: The Revenge of the Ultimate Ninja:

In the Battle Nexus Stadium, most of the competitors in the tournament were standing around, preparing for battle. Excitement was at an all time high as the crowd cheered.

Harry looked around; mentally prepare himself for the contest at hand. He was looking forward to testing his skills in a situation where he didn’t have to fight for his life against a dozen Foot Ninjas. Harry didn’t know if he would win or not and quite frankly, Harry didn’t really care right at the moment. Even if Harry was knocked out in the first round, he could say that he was good enough to compete in a tournament that consisted of the greatest competitors that all the multiverse had to offer. The only thing Harry hoped was this trip to the Battle Nexus wouldn’t have anyone having any attempts on his life.

Harry looked around, it appeared that Leo had not returned from his trip to the Pavilion of Past Champions and something about this fact greatly unnerved Harry. Harry couldn’t quite pinpoint the reason as to why this unnerved him. Before Harry could say something through, Master Splinter had beaten him to the punch.

“Where is Leonardo, the tournament is about to begin shortly?” asked Master Splinter, looking around to see if his oldest son was coming from where he left.

“I wouldn’t worry Splinter-san, I’m certain Leonardo will find his way out of the Pavilion of Past Champions and come here all too soon,” said the Ultimate Ninja, who had just came up behind Harry, Splinter, Raph, Mikey, and Don.

Meanwhile, back at the Pavilion of Past Champions, the Dark Assassin shot off the arrow that he aimed at Leo but Leo used his quick reflexes that he had used during his Ninjitsu Training, deflecting the arrow with his wrist. The arrow veered off to the side, before sticking right in the torso of the Hamato Yoshi statue in the Pavilion of Past Champions.

“Sorry, Master Yoshi,” said Leo apologetically before the Dark Assassin leapt to one side of the wall before leaping to the other and then gracefully somersaulting over the top of Leo. Leo pulled out his swords, which were magically repaired by Harry earlier, before spinning around as the Dark Assassin shot a barrage of arrows from his crossbow.

Leo knocked each arrow back with a carefully angled swing his katanas. The Dark Assassin scaled up the wall before back flipping over Leo and pulling out a sword with spikes on the blade. The Dark Assassin swung the sword but Leo blocked it. Another swing and Leo clanged his sword against that of the Dark Assassin’s, before he kicked the Dark Assassin backwards. The Dark Assassin slowly backed into the wall before appearing to melt into it.

Leo looked around with a look of pure confusion on his face. His attacker had apparently vanished right into thin air.

“Okay,” said Leo slowly looking around. “That was strange.”

Just as those words left Leo’s mouth, the Dark Assassin came down from above, kicking Leo full force in the face with both feet. Leo skidded to the ground, his swords falling out of his hand with a clang that echoed throughout the Pavilion of Past Champions. If Leo suffered a concussion from that blow, he wouldn’t have been the least bit surprised.

The Dark Assassin pulled out a spear, preparing to impale Leo when he did not have his swords to defend himself. Thinking quickly, Leo reached behind him, grabbing a battle helmet from a platform above him. The helmet blocked the spear jab from the Dark Assassin, the spear going right between the eyes. The Dark Assassin yanked on his spear, attempting to get it out of the helmet so Leo used this opportunity to tuck his feet right into the stomach of the Dark Assassin and kick off, causing the deadly warrior to fly about fifteen feet across the Pavilion of Past Champions and sink into the shadows.

Leo lifted up the helmet and he gasped seeing exactly whose helmet he was apparently holding. The helmet Leo had used to block the Dark Assassin’s assault resembled that of the Shredder.

Leo did not have too much time to dwell on the helmet as three Dark Assassins manifested out of the walls. One with a spiked sword, another one with a spear, and the third one carried a crossbow. It occurred to Leo that while he thought he was fighting the same Dark Assassin the entire time, apparently three different Dark Assassins had been switching off while Leo slowly became worn down.

The Dark Assassins stalked Leo, preparing to attack him. Glancing upward, Leo saw a potential way to contain them. A tarp fastened to the ceiling by two ropes was hanging in the air. Leo rolled underneath the tarp and the Dark Assassins went after Leo, weapons at the ready.

“Sorry, but I’m not going to let you destroy me today. However, I think I can cut you a break,” said Leo before springing backwards before quickly leaping up over the tarp. A quick swipe of his sword cut the ropes holding it. The tarp fell from the ceiling, trapping two of the Dark Assassins but however the one with the crossbow had escaped being trapped underneath the tarp.

The free Dark Assassin aimed his crossbow, preparing to finish off Leo by shooting an arrow in the back of the Turtle’s neck unaware but a sword swung from upwards, cutting the Dark Assassin’s crossbow in several smaller pieces.

“Vile assassin!” cried the figure that had disarmed the attack. Leo looked up, seeing a samurai rabbit leaping down from the statue, kicking the Dark Assassin back. The same samurai rabbit that assisted Master Splinter some years ago.

The Dark Assassin swung at the samurai but the samurai caught his attacker’s arm before twisting it and flipping the Dark Assassin to the ground.

Through the tarp, the two Dark Assassins that Leo trapped tore their way out with their sharp weapons before launching themselves into the air. Leo gasped, blocking each of their weapons with a katana. Struggling to keep them back, Leo found himself fighting a losing battle as the two Dark Assassins pushed back the assault.

Thankfully, before Leo could be completely and utterly destroyed by the Dark Assassins, the samurai rabbit sprang up, kicking the spear wielding Dark Assassin back. The Dark Assassin stabbed the spear towards the rabbit but the rabbit propelled himself up before slicing the spear in half with an expert swing with his sword.

Leo swung his sword before snapping the Dark Assassin’s weapon that he was fighting in half. The Dark Assassin attempted to attack Leo but Leo ducked before kicking the Dark Assassin right into the wall. All three of the Dark Assassins vanished as quickly as they appeared, leaving Leo looking rather baffled at the significance of them attacking him.

“Are you alright warrior?” asked the samurai rabbit. “Speaking from experience, those assassins can be quite dangerous and a very perilous battle for those who encounter them.”

“I’m fine but what exactly were those things anyway?” asked Leo.

“The darkest of assassins, they are more deadly and ruthless than your average warrior and have been known to be hired out as mercenaries to due the bidding of the highest buyer,” explained the samurai rabbit. “But enough about that, allow me introduce myself. My name is Miyamoto Usagi and you are...”

“Leonardo,” said Leo simply.

“Your swordsmanship is quite impressive Leonardo,” said Usagi nodding his head. “Yourself and your weapon must become one, achieving true power and skills.”

“My Sensei does say that quiet often,” said Leo.

“Indeed,” said Usagi. “However, enough small talk, if I’m not mistaken, the Battle Nexus Tournament will begin shortly and it would be unwise to be tardy.”

“Right,” said Leo before the two warriors walked out of the Pavilion of Past Champions and straight to the Battle Nexus arena for the tournament.

In the Battle Nexus stadium, Master Splinter looked extremely anxious. Leonardo still had not arrived back from his trip to the Pavilion of Past Champions and Splinter wondered if his oldest son had run into a bit of trouble. Just as Splinter stepped forward, Leo walked out of the Pavilion of Past champions, looking a bit weary but at least he was still in one piece.

“Leonardo, where have you been? Did you run into any trouble?” asked Splinter.

“I was attacked by a group of assassins in the pavilion of past champions,” said Leo.

“Attacked? My word are you all right?” asked the Ultimate Ninja in a concerned tone of voice. A little too concerned in the opinion of Harry as something about this guy seemed both unsettling and untrustworthy but perhaps all the attempts on his life had made Harry ultra paranoid about everyone but his friends and family. So, Harry decided to keep his mouth shut for the time being.

“I’ll survive,” said Leo coolly.

Meanwhile, Usagi walked around, lost in thought before the competition but he came up across an old friend of his.

“I must say Gennosuke, I didn’t think you would be here,” said Usagi to a humanoid rhino with a slightly broken horn. “A bounty hunter such as yourself doesn’t normally compete in contests of honor.”

The rhino chuckled before he turned to Usagi, with a grin on his face.

“Usagi, that is where you couldn’t be more wrong,” said Gen. “I’m not in it for the honor. I’m in it for the money.”

Gen chuckled before motioning for Usagi to get in close.

“Just between you and me, I’ve placed a small wager on the outcome of the tournament. On myself that is,” said Gen. “I could cut you in if you would like, Usagi. You could make a bit of gold, really clean up you know.”

“No thank you,” said Usagi graciously.

“Your loss,” said Gen. “That just means more gold for me.”

“You will never change, Gen,” said Usagi, hiding a smirk on his face.

“Why should I?” asked Gen pompously. “You can’t change perfection.”

On the platform high above the arena, the Daimyo rose to his feet, holding his mystical war staff high into the air before turning to address the competitors.

“Competitors it is time, the first round of the Battle Nexus Tournament will begin as of right now,” said the Daimyo waving his mystical war staff, sending a burst of magical energy over the stadium, randomly pairing the competitors together for the tournament.

Several mini-arenas materialized within the stadium, depositing pairs of competitors in each mini arena. Sixteen mini arenas in all were erected for the Battle Nexus Tournament.

Harry turned around to see that he was face to face with Donatello.

“So, I guess we have to fight now, Harry,” said Don calmly.

“I do believe so,” said Harry.

“May the best ninja win,” said Harry, bowing before leaping into battle, twirling his weapon in the air but Don slipped out of the line of fire before springing up using his Bo Staff. Harry avoided Don’s attack but Don managed to shift his weight and land on his feet as opposed to splattering himself on the ground.

At the same time in another mini arena, Mikey turned around, seeing an angry looking creature. Half of its body had blue skin but the other half was covered in thick purple fur.

“So fuzzy, I guess it’s just you and…” started Mikey before the warrior bellowed, charging at Mikey with his sickle up in the air. Mikey screamed like a little girl before narrowly avoiding being stabbed with the sickle.

A large, warrior known as Kluh leapt into battle. Kluh was a purple skinned warrior with a large blond mustache with long blond hair in the back with a big old bald spot in the middle. Kluh raised his spear before going into a battle stance, taking on his opponent, a medium sized blue haired human wielding a mallet. The blue haired warrior swung his mallet but Kluh blocked it with the handle of his spear. Kluh stabbed his spear towards the blue haired warrior but the mallet barely managed to block the swing.

Leo raised his swords, facing off against a red skinned warrior with medium sized white hair who had a Kusari-Gama. Leo’s opponent swung the chain, wrapping around Leo’s swords, attempting to pull Leo in for the assault but Leo pulled back before sliding underneath his opponent his opponent and firing a kick to the back. The warrior spun around, attempting to attack the turtle with the sickle from the Kusari-Gama but Leo ducked underneath the swing before picking up his swords from the ground and preparing for the attack once again.

Raph took on a midget warrior with long black hair and a white mask. The midget had an array of razor sharp disk like objects with holes in the middle. Two rings were tossed at Raph who expertly deflected them with his Sai before leaping up but the turtle’s opponent went back on the attack, throwing another pair of disks. Once again, Raph avoided being hit by using his Sai to deflect the weapons back towards his opponent.

Splinter ducked a club swing by a giant orange skinned warrior with long grey hair. The rat’s opponent swung the club at the Sensei but Splinter kicked his foe’s weapon from his hand. The orange warrior decided to implement plan B, raising his arms before attempting to smash them down onto Splinter but Splinter somersaulted out of the way. In yet another arena, Usagi raised his sword before fighting against a Cyclops monster warrior, who had a long dagger for a weapon. The Cyclops kept his eye on Usagi as the rabbit leapt into the air, with one eye shut, before clanging his sword down the Cyclops’ dagger.

Gen fought against a white skinned warrior with grey hair and yellow teeth. Gen clanged his sword against that of his opponents. Another vicious clang but the rhino bounty hunter didn’t make any headway. In another arena, the one armed butter fly sword wielding warrior known as Zat fought against his opponent, a yellow skinned warrior with purple hair. Zat used his butterfly sword to expertly block his opponent’s assault with a double edged sword. A large white bald warrior with a metal facemask over his mouth fought a blue fish like creature. Neither of these warriors had weapons, but they exchanged an intense round of hand to hand combat. Another arena featured Traximus the Triceraton using his large axe to block the assault from a purple skinned warrior wielding a large sword.

As the battles raged on, it should be fitting to note that a couple of defeats happened rather quickly. In one arena, the Spasmosaur wrapped up a blond haired human in its tentacles before tossing the human up into the air. The Spasmosaur moved in for the kill but the human disappeared into mid air before the Spasmosaur can deliver his fatal blow. This disappearance and reappearance in the healer’s pavilion indicated the defeat from the competition. A buck toothed crimson colored creature known as Dieskrad blocked the assault from his bald grey skinned warrior before knocking his opponent back with a kick. Dieskrad raised his hands into the air but his opponent disappeared, signaling the elimination. Seeing that his foe was eliminated, Dieskrad raised his hands up in triumph.

Meanwhile, Mikey still played an intense game of cat and mouse with his rather fury opponent.

“Hey, fuzzy, let’s call it a draw and I’ll spring for the other half of that haircut,” taunted Mikey but the creature charged Mikey. The turtle barely avoided being plastered. “C’mon, where’s your sense of humor?”

The creature knocked Mikey to the ground but the turtle sprang up, avoiding being plunged in the chest with the sickle. Mikey swung his nunchucks up, before whacking his opponent in the face. The opponent staggered before charging Mikey again but Mikey leapt over the charge before kicking him in the back. The opponent went down and Mikey sprang into the air, swinging his nunchucks but the furry opponent disappeared before he could be struck by the turtle’s assault.

Elsewhere in the Tournament, a brunette human female competitor was knocked out of the competition after her chain was caught by a buck toothed dirty white skinned creature with white hair. A quick yank and she vanished into thin air before she got sliced to ribbons by her opponent. Kluh followed up that assault in his battle by grabbing his opponent around the waist and tossing him firmly to the ground. Kluh raised his spear, preparing to impale his opponent but the human vanished, giving Kluh the victory in his tournament match.

Don and Harry kept up their battle, with neither really getting too much of an advantage. They knew each other’s fighting style all too well.

Don twirled his Bo before tossing it towards Harry. Harry deflected the Bo Staff with the flat edge of his weapon but Don expertly caught the Bo before springing up. Harry ducked Don’s charge but Don landed on the wall before expertly flipping behind Harry. Don attempted to gain the surprise assault but Harry swung the flat end of his weapon back, blocking the assault of Don. Wood met double edged sword again as the closest fought match in the Battle Nexus Tournament continued.

Leo swung his sword, slicing his opponent’s Kusari-Gama chain to bits. The opponent pulled a dagger from underneath his arm and flung it at the Turtle but Leo deflected it back. Leo’s opponent charged, in one last attempt but Leo ducked down underneath before stabbing his sword back. Before the sword could impale Leo’s opponent, he vanished, giving Leo the victory in the first round of the Battle Nexus Tournament.

Splinter seemed to be faring as well as his sons, leaping up, kicking his larger opponent in the chest several times before he fell like a tree and then subsequently vanished from the competition. Elsewhere a large creature made out of stone smashed his opponent to the ground, eliminating him from the competition. The stone warrior looked very pleased with his victory. The metal masked creature grabbed his fish opponent in a bearhug, squeezing him to death before the fish creature vanished when the creature found that it would not be able to breathe a second more in the clutches of his larger opponent. Zat and Gen also defeated their opponents after a hard fought battle. A trident wielding female warrior known as Ia defeated her opponent, using the handle of her weapon to knock him out before leaping up into the air and plunging it into the ground, a second after her opponent vanished.

Usagi knocked the attacks of the Cyclops back before leaping up into the air, sword raised eye. The Cyclops disappeared before the rabbit’s blade could slice him in half. Traximus whipped around, using his tail to send his opponent flying back. Traximus swung his axe but a Battle Nexus mandated vanishing prevented Traximus’s opponent from being sliced in half and gave Traximus the victory.

The only battles left at this moment were Harry against Don and Raph against the disk wielding masked midget. Raph seemed to be getting extremely peeved at those rings getting tossed at them.

“Will you stand still so I cut this battle short?” growled Raph, but another pair of sharp disks tossed at him, caused Raph to use his Sais to deflect them again. The midget reached down but apparently he was fresh out of weapons.

Raph grinned before leaping up but the midget ducked a charge from Raph but Raph kicked the midget back.

Don continued his intense battle with Harry, feeling a bit tired to be honest. Harry was definitely quicker than Don was. After all, Harry didn’t have a large shell on his back, slowing down his movement. Don managed to knock Harry’s weapon out of his hands with a well placed swing his Bo Staff but Harry wasn’t going to let a little thing like not having a weapon stop him from going back on the attack. Harry leapt up, leaping over Don’s Bo Staff swing. Harry threw himself to his back, hoisting his feet up and kicking off, causing Don’s Bo Staff to fly out of his hand. Don turned around and that gave Harry the moment to spring up and knock Don flat on his face. Don rolled over and Harry jumped up, preparing to plunge both feet into Don’s chest but Don disappeared, giving Harry the first round victory in the Battle Nexus Tournament.

Don looked around, having ended up at the Healer’s Pavilion.

“What happened?” asked Don, in a groggy voice.

“You have been eliminated in the great tournament, warrior,” said one of the healers.

“The first one eliminated,” said Don in horror before calming down. “Well it could be worse. At least it was to someone as skilled as Harry and not some random schmuck.”

Raph managed to knock his opponent back with a punch before springing back up and kicking him back. The midget was on dream street as Raph twirled his Sais.

“Say good night, ring boy,” said Raph savagely, before stabbing his Sai forward but his opponent vanished in mid air. Raph looked pleased as he had advanced to the second round of the Battle Nexus Tournament.

The metal walls for the mini arenas vanished, as the Daimyo walked out to address the competitors.

“Competitors, I commend you on your victories thus far,” said the Daimyo. “Now prepare yourself for the next stage of the Battle Nexus Tournament. Tier Two!”

In a building a short way across the Battle Nexus Stadium, the Ultimate Ninja observed the proceedings of the tournament from the other end of a holographic screen with his arms folded. The trio of Dark Assassins crept into the room, right behind the Ultimate Ninja.

“You have failed me,” declared the Ultimate Ninja coldly, not even sparing a glance backward at his hired help.

“Forgive us your lordship, we did not take into account that the rabbit samurai would get in our way of exterminating the turtle Leonardo,” said one of the Dark Assassins. “It will not happen again, we share it.”

“Good because next time the price for failure will be your pathetic, insignificant lives,” said the Ultimate Ninja in a cold voice. “I can afford no further blunders if my master plan is to take fold. The task is very grave. Now be gone and prepare yourself and your brothers to carry out the next phase of our plan. I shall take care of Leonardo personally.”

The Dark Assassins scaled up the wall with their orders before vanishing into the shadows.

“Perhaps the destruction of Leonardo was a bit premature,” growled a figure wearing a long brown robe with the hood pulled over his face, obscuring his identity. “Perhaps you should secure the throne first…”

“You dare question my motives,” said the Ultimate Ninja in a challenging voice. “Do not forget your place, council.”

“Yes, my lord, I live to only serve you,” said the hooded figured in a quiet voice that had a tiny bit of sarcastic overtones within it. “But as your council I would advise you to exercise a bit of patience…”

“I have had enough in the name of patience!” thundered the Ultimate Ninja, banging his fists off of a stone table. “I have bowed before them as my father had requested, I had asked for their forgiveness, but it is my time now. I will make the Turtles and their rat master pay for making a mockery out of my greatness. They will all bow down before me, starting with Leonardo or they will suffer for their insolence.”

“And what of the young Slytherin lord,” said the robed figure.

“What of him?” asked the Ultimate Ninja pompously. “He may be a mild annoyance to the Dark Lord that resides in his world but he is no threat for me. He is nothing but a mere child and I am not easily defeated as the pathetic warriors that reside on earth.”

“I think you are making a big mistake underestimating young Lord Slytherin,” muttered the hooded figure. “If he is anything like his meddling ancestor, he could pose problems with your plans. Trust me, when I have had dealings with…”

“I think I have heard enough of your council as of this moment,” said the Ultimate Ninja. “Now I need to prepare for the final, death dealing blow for Leonardo.”

Back in the Battle Nexus Arena, the Daimyo waved his war staff, causing a giant bubble to appear across the arena, once again randomly pairing the sixteen remaining competitors of the Battle Nexus Tournament into eight tournament matches. Notable second round pairings featured Raph taking on Traximus, Leo against Usagi, Master Splinter taking on Mikey, and Harry facing off against Zat.

Two quick eliminations occurred in the first moment of the competitor. Ia defeated warrior with the metal mask over his mouth after hitting a couple of quick kicks followed by a tossing before leaping up and attempting to impale her trident through the warrior’s chest before he vanished into thin air. Kluh battled the Stone Warrior in a battle of the titans. The Stone Warrior clubbed Kluh a couple of times but Kluh blocked the Stone Warrior’s attack before tossing him up into the air. The Stone Warrior cracked down the side before Kluh raised his spear, preparing to break the Stone Warrior into thousands of little pieces. Thankfully for the Stone Warrior, he vanished just as Kluh’s spear came precious centimeters away from smashing him.

Harry blocked a swing from Zat’s butterfly sword with his double edged sword. Metal clanged against metal as Harry blocked another shot from Zat. Zat knocked Harry back with a kick but Harry nimbly got back to his feet to continue the attack against the one armed, yet very tough warrior.

Leo and Usagi stared down preparing for battle.

“So Usagi, I guess after fighting side by side earlier, we now have to go up against each other,” said Leo.

“I’m afraid so, Leonardo,” said Usagi. “Fate does in fact have a twisted sense of humor.”

Usagi and Leo drew weapons, before circling each other.

“Now let us fight as friends and may the best swordsman win,” said Usagi before he leapt up. Leo blocked his opponent’s blows and both swords clanged up against each other as the two warriors engaged in an intense battle.

Mikey had a very nervous expression on his face in his battle arena as he came face to face with his own Sensei in battle. The easy going terrapin had a strange suspicion that he was going to get a lesson of a lifetime at the hands of Master Splinter.

“So uh Master Splinter, is it time for you to kick my butt now?” asked Mikey tentatively.

“Do you hear that my son?” asked Master Splinter looking around at the crowd. “Do here the cheering of the crowd in the stands?”

“Yes it’s pretty cool isn’t it,” said Mikey nervously. “I mean it’s great that we are fighting out in the open and stuff but I know that it’s now time for…”

“Me to bow out of the competition,” said Master Splinter. “This year it is your competition and not mine.”

Master Splinter kneeled down in front of Mikey, leaving the easy going turtle with a befuddled expression on his face.

“When my sons fight with honor, they honor their Master,” said Splinter.

The Gyoiji materialized in mid air between Mikey and Splinter.

“You must use a finishing blow to end the match,” said the Gyoiji.

Mikey nodded before pulling his nunchucks out.

“Master Splinter I…I..Well I,” stuttered Mikey before gently laying his nunchucks down across the shoulder of Splinter. “Thanks Sensei.”

The Gyoiji waved his paddle and Splinter vanished into thin air, signaling his elimination from the Tournament. Splinter appeared right beside the Daimyo.

“Ah Splinter, I see the warrior in you lost out to the father within,” said the Daimyo.

“Yes, but it’s just if one of my sons can win the Battle Nexus Tournament, I don’t wish to stand in there way,” said Master Splinter.

“You should be commended for raising such fine warriors and sons, Splinter-san,” said the Daimyo.

“Yes but they can be a little too willful at times and tend to attract the worst amounts of trouble,” said Master Splinter.

“Tell me about it,” said the Daimyo in a knowing voice. “I only wish sons would understand that their fathers are trying to protect them from their own inexperience.”

“I know exactly what you mean old friend,” said Master Splinter absent mindedly as his attention had became rather fixed on the battle featuring Leo. “But tell me, there seems to be something very familiar about that samurai my oldest son Leonardo is facing.”

“He should be very familiar to you, Splinter,” said the Daimyo. “He was the very same samurai in training that saved you when Drako and his legion of Dark Assassins ambushed you a mere three years ago. He is already a ronin at such a tender age but his swordsmanship is beyond his years.”

At this moment a guard walked up, handing the Daimyo an envelope with a very urgent message. The lord of the Battle Nexus opened the envelope, before scanning the message. It appeared his son wanted to speak to him on a very serious and urgent matter.

“If you excuse me Splinter, I need to depart now on a very urgent matter,” said the Daimyo. “I would ask you to join me after this contest is over.”

“It would be an honor, old friend,” said Master Splinter as the Daimyo walked off for his meeting with his son.

“I’m kind of sorry to be the one to knock you out of the tournament, Traximus,” said Raph, twirling his Sais, before facing off against his Triceraton adversary.

“I think you are mistaken Raphael, it will be I who will knock you out of the Tournament,” said Traximus, charging at Raph, Battle Axe in hand but Raph expertly rolled underneath before blocking the swing from the Battle Axe with his Sai before bashing the assault back.

Raph attempted to continue the attack, as Traximus spun around, whipping his tail towards Raph but Raph was ready, springing up into the air and kicking off of Traximus’s chest before back flipping to his feet and tossing his Sais right at the Triceraton. Unfortunately for Raph, his weapons bounced right off of Traximus’s battle armor, not even affecting the Triceraton.

Dieskrad avoided the assault from the Spasmosaur before leaping up, raking his claws into the Triceraton before kicking the Spasmosaur several times. The Spasmosaur angrily charged Dieskrad but Dieskrad leapt up into the air. The Spasmosaur hit the wall with a sickening crunch before disappearing from the battle. Dieskrad raised his hands up into the air in a triumphant victory posed.

Harry’s double edged sword clanged against Zat’s butterfly sword. Another shot and Harry somersaulted in mid air before Zat grabbed the Boy Who Lived around the legs before tossing him back. Harry landed on his feet, leaping up but Zat ducked down underneath Harry’s charge but unfortunately for the butterfly sword wielding warrior, it was a mere fake out by Harry. Harry bounced back, kicking Zat right in the back. Zat skidded to the ground but got back up so Harry spun around, knocking Zat back with the flat edge of his weapon. Harry swung his weapon for the finishing blow but Zat vanished into nothingness, causing Harry to advance to the third round of the Battle Nexus Tournament.

Gen swung his sword, knocking his foe back before delivering a brutal punch with his hand. Another punch knocked the dirty white skinned warrior further back before Gen twirled his sword, stabbing it forward but his opponent disappeared. As a result, the rhino bounty hunter made it to the elite eight of the Battle Nexus Tournament.

Raph sprang up but Traximus grabbed Raph’s ankles before tossing the hot headed terrapin to the side. Not one to back down from a battle, Raph quickly sprang up, punching towards Traximus but the Triceraton expertly caught Raph’s hand before twisting the Turtle around and gripping him in a neck vice.

“You are a worthy opponent, Raphael, I won’t be forgetting this battle any time soon,” said Traximus, squeezing on Raph but Raph managed to grab onto Traximus’s wrist before using a surprising burst of power to flip the Triceraton up over his head and down over his back.

“Yes, Traximus, I guarantee you I won’t,” said Raph as Traximus pulled up before charging at Raph with his head down. Raph propelled himself over Traximus, putting both feet into the Triceraton’s back. Traximus staggered forward, before reaching down and picking up his axe.

Traximus swung his axe but Raph duck it before kicking the axe out of Traximus’s hands. The Triceraton was distracted by the loss of his weapon so Raph used this opportunity to trip him up. Raph rolled forward, picking up his Sais and leaping high into the air. Traximus looked up at his opponent with a horrified expression as Raph came down with the points of his Sais pointing towards Traximus. Before Raph could hit, Traximus disappeared. Raph hit the ground, before looking around. It registered that Raph had scored the victory and he was extremely pleased with the outcome.

The only battle left outstanding was Leo against Usagi. The winner of this match would make up the eighth and final competitor for the third round of the Battle Nexus Tournament. They had a pretty evenly matched battle, with neither getting too much of an advantage. There swords continued to clang together as they circled each other, fighting for the honor of advancing forward in the Battle Nexus Tournament.

In the tower across the street, the Ultimate Ninja was pulled his mask off before loading a poison dart into a Fukiya before slowly taking aim towards Leo.

“My Lord, I must advise you against this rash action,” said the mysterious hooded figure in a rough voice.

“Bah, your council has been heard and overruled council,” said the Ultimate Ninja. “Leonardo must pay for humiliating me. Now be quiet so I can concentrate with what I must due.”

“Yes, my Lord,” growled the hooded figure sarcastically.

The Ultimate Ninja aimed his Fukiya, containing one dart filled with poison towards the action in the Battle Nexus Tournament. When he saw his target’s back against him, the Ultimate Ninja saw his task, quickly blowing the dart out in the direction of Leo’s neck.

The dart sailed through the air at the speed of light, sticking right in the back of the neck of Leo. Leo didn’t feel anything for a couple of seconds before a light headed feeling swept over him but he brushed it off as the intensity of the combat. Then the shallowness of breathing swept over Leo before he staggered around, feeling extremely dizzy.

Leo’s knees buckled out of him as Usagi looked confused. Something had definitely gone terribly long and Leo was unable to keep his balance for very long before falling on his face.

“Leo!” exclaimed Don, looking down in horror at his brother’s motionless form in the arena.

“My son!” cried Master Splinter as Leonardo remained motionless on the ground of the Battle Nexus Stadium, motionless and barely breathing.

Two more chapters and Heart of the Warrior Book IV will be completed.