This is a transcript for Tale of Master Yoshi, the twenty-second episode of season four of TMNT (2003 series).
| VOICE-OVER INTRO | |
| Leonardo | Honor. Integrity. Bushido. These were the ideals that drove Master Splinter's beloved master: Hamato Yoshi. He had traveled far to reach this castle fortress only to find four Foot Elite warriors barring his way. But four or four hundred, it mattered not for on this particular night, Yoshi was driven by a powerful force unfamiliar to him. Hatred. Hatred that burned so bright it threatened to destroy him. Hatred born out of the need for revenge. |
{Opening sequence; title song}
| The episode begins inside the turtles’ reservoir station lair. Leonardo is near the ceiling, doing some welding, and Raphael is running a power cleaner over the floor while Michelangelo watches television. Suddenly the overhead light blows out and the power goes off. | |
| Leonardo | Donatello, you okay? |
| Donatello | I thought I was grounding that terminal but instead I shorted it out. Sorry, Mikey, but I’m afraid the entertainment system isn’t going operational tonight. |
| Michelangelo | No! No! I need my TV time! [He runs to the television array and drops to his knees.] I-I can’t go on without it. Please, somebody, put me out of my misery. |
| Raphael | You mean our misery, Mikey. Don’t mind if I do. |
| He gets ready to punch his brother, but puts his hands behind his back when Master Splinter clears his throat. | |
| Splinter | Raphael. [He comes from the direction of his room, carrying a tray of lit candles.] That is enough work for one day, my sons. |
| He kneels on the rug and places the tray on the floor in front of him. The turtles kneel in a semi-circle around him. | |
| Michelangelo | But Master, what are we gonna do? No TV, no video games. How did people ever survive in such a nightmare world? |
| Splinter | Before TV and video games, people survived quite well, Michelangelo, perhaps even better. They told stories and I think we should do just that; tell stories. [Michelangelo groans and falls backwards.] Who wants to begin? |
| Donatello | Hey, maybe Leo could tell us about his time with the Ancient One. |
| Raphael | Yeah, Leo, let’s hear about the Ancient One. I wanna hear all about the new ways you learned to kick butt. |
| Leonardo | Well, I wouldn’t know where to start. But the Ancient One did tell me a story I think you guys would want to hear, about Master Splinter’s master, Hamato Yoshi. |
| Donatello | Well let’s hear it. |
| Leonardo | It’s a story about a girl. |
| Raphael | A girl? Does she kick butt? |
| Splinter | Hush, Raphael. Please, Leonardo, continue. |
| Leonardo | Okay, our story begins in Tokyo, way back in the early nineteen sixties. |
| Flashback to Tokyo, Japan. | |
| Leonardo | [narrates] Japan was still trying to get back on its feet. |
| Michelangelo | [interrupts] After an attack from Godzilla? |
| Leonardo | [narrates] No, after its defeat in World War Two. [Two unkempt, raggedly dressed boys stand on the side of the road with their hands out.] It wasn’t uncommon to see orphaned children in the streets begging for food and money. |
| One of the boys spots an older, rotund man and nudges the other boy. As the man passes the boys, he drops a coin, which rolls to a stop near the boys’ feet. One of the boys picks it up. | |
| Yoshi | Wow, five yen. |
| Mashimi | Shh, Yoshi, let’s keep it. |
| Yoshi | No, Mashimi, that would not be right. |
| Mashimi | Yoshi— |
| Mashimi growls as Yoshi goes after the older man, and then he follows. | |
| Yoshi | Sir, sir. Excuse me, sir, you dropped your money. |
| Ancient One | What is this? [He accepts the coin.] So much honesty in one so very hungry? Hmm. [He holds the coin out in the palm of his hand.] Try as quickly as you can to snatch the coin from my hand and you may keep it. |
| Mashimi shrugs, giggles, and tries for the coin. The Ancient One closes his hand too quickly, and then opens it again to reveal he still has the coin. | |
| Ancient One | I don’t think so. |
| Next, Yoshi tries for the coin, grabbing at it very fast. The Ancient One pulls his hand back very quickly as well. | |
| Ancient One | Ha, too slow. The both of... [He opens his hand and the coin is gone.] Huh? [Yoshi opens his hand and he has the coin.] Such speed. A natural gift. Come, let me buy you something to eat. |
| Yoshi | And my friend too, please sir? |
| Ancient One | All right, yes. The both of you. [The boys laugh.] Follow me, come along. No dawdling. |
| The trio enter the gated grounds of a large home. | |
| Leonardo | [narrates] And so the Ancient One took the boys into his home, and raised them both as if they were his own sons. [It shows the boys eating, and then practicing martial arts.] They became his students and he trained them in the ways of ninjutsu. Year after year, they worked hard and learned quickly, and as they grew into young men, they became closer than brothers, the best of friends who did everything together. They even fell in love at the same time, with the same girl. Tang Shen. |
| Time progresses to show the boys as older teenagers. They both stand behind a post at the house, peering at a girl who is outside washing clothes. | |
| Leonardo | [narrates] They were crazy about her. Tang Shen was also an orphan raised by the Ancient One. |
| Mashimi shoves Yoshi out from behind the post. He shouts and backpedals before falling down. Tang Shen giggles at their antics. | |
| Leonardo | [narrates] She was beautiful, intelligent, sweet. Tang Shen took it upon herself to turn the Ancient One’s house into a home. [A scene in their kitchen as Tang Shen prepares a meal.] She saw to it that their makeshift family was well fed and well cared for. And sometimes, that care even extended to surprise visitors to her kitchen. |
| A rat sneaks through a hole in the wall and scurries towards some food. Mashimi is seated at a low table, eating from a bowl. | |
| Leonardo | [narrates] Mashimi spied the intruder [Mashimi lifts his sword.] and his only thought was to exterminate it. |
| Tang Shen | Mashimi, no! |
| Tang Shen grabs the blade and pulls it away from the rat. | |
| Leonardo | [narrates] But Tang Shen saw a hungry, innocent creature, and as always her first thought was to care for it. [She slices a vegetable and hands the slice to the rat.] She decided to keep the curious rat as a pet. |
| The scene cuts to the garden, where Tang Shen and Yoshi are seated on boulders. | |
| Leonardo | [narrates] Seeing that Shen had grown fond of the hungry little visitor; Yoshi built a home for the newest member of their family. |
| The cage is shaped like a small temple. Inside, the rat eats and then scurries out onto Tang Shen’s shoulder. Cut to Tang Shen with Yoshi and Mashimi as they carry her across a stream. | |
| Leonardo | [narrates] Though Tang Shen had captured both the boy’s hearts, over time it became clear that her heart belonged to only one of them... Yoshi. |
| Tang Shen presses her cheek to Yoshi’s, and when Mashimi sees this, he frowns. The scene shifts to nighttime as the streets of the city are shown. Mashimi, Tang Shen, and Yoshi stroll along. | |
| Leonardo | [narrates] One night, while out enjoying the city, the friends chanced upon something that would change all their lives forever. |
| Man | No! [The three stop to look down an alley where the man is surrounded by ninja.] Stay away, please! |
| A closeup reveals that the man is Mortu. The ninja begin attacking him. | |
| Yoshi | Four against one. Have they no honor? Let’s even the odds and set things right. |
| He and Mashimi rush into the fight. | |
| Leonardo | [narrates] Fearlessly, and unarmed, Yoshi led Mashimi in battle against the katana wielding assailants; against what they later learned were Foot Ninja. This was the first time the two young men were to put their ninjutsu skills to use in an actual combat situation. |
| The two friends work together seamlessly, disarming the ninja and defeating them. Mortu rises to brush off his clothes. | |
| Leonardo | [narrates] That night, Mashimi and Yoshi learned that their ninjutsu training was formidable indeed, but that was nothing compared to the revelation they learned about the man they had just saved. |
| Mortu gasps as he sees a Foot ninja about to strike Mashimi in the back. He rushes forward and shoves Mashimi out of the way. The ninja slices off Mortu’s arm. | |
| Leonardo | [narrates] Because he wasn’t a man at all. [Sparks flare from the severed area.] He was an Utrom, an Utrom called Mortu. |
| Mortu grabs the ninja with his uninjured arm and flings him against a wall. He slides down and lands head first in a garbage can. Mashimi and Yoshi gasp as they see the severed arm is twitching. Mortu reaches down and picks it up. | |
| Leonardo | [narrates] Mr. Mortu was impressed by their skills, and, since the young men had seen his true nature, he gave them a choice. Leave now and live with the small mystery of what they had seen, or consider service as a Guardian and learn the whole story. Ever curious, the young men wanted to know more. Mr. Mortu unveiled to Yoshi and Mashimi much of what we’ve come to learn about the Utroms and their centuries long conflict with the Shredder and the Foot. [The trio join Tang Shen, who has been waiting for them.] By the end of the tale, the two young men chose to join the ranks of the Guardians. |
| Cut to the Ancient One’s home. | |
| Leonardo | [narrates] But the Ancient One was dead set against it. |
| Ancient One | Ha, no. The Guardians are no place for you. You must not do this. Yoshi, a different destiny awaits you. Neither of you are ready. You need much more training. |
| Mashimi | Sensei, we are more than ready. |
| Ancient One | In body perhaps, but it is your heart and mind that still need training, my son. |
| Yoshi | The Guardians are an honorable force for good, Sensei. I want to help them. |
| Tang Shen peers through the doorway into the dojo. | |
| Ancient One | No. I forbid you to join the Guardians. That is my final word. |
| He leaves the dojo and Tang Shen peers inside at the two young men. | |
| Leonardo | [narrates] But Hamato Yoshi and Yukio Mashimi were not asking for permission. They were no longer boys. [Cut to a multi-story building in the heart of the city.] So they started training with Mr. Mortu and the Utroms. [A ceremony is held where Yoshi receives a medallion.] Yoshi was promoted time and time again, right up to the top rank of Guardian Prime. [Mashimi watches, an angry look on his face.] While Mashimi was passed over time and time again. It didn’t take long for Mashimi’s lack of advancement to turn to jealousy. |
| Mashimi walks out of the Utrom tower. Cut to the garden at the Ancient One’s home. It is night, and Yoshi and Tang Shen are kissing. | |
| Leonardo | [narrates] Though his friendship with Mashimi began to weaken, Yoshi’s bond with Tang Shen grew stronger than ever. [Yoshi waves to her and leaves. Nearby, unbeknownst to them, Mashimi has been watching.] But the coils of jealousy were winding tighter and tighter in Mashimi’s soul until something snapped. |
| A crack of thunder is followed by rain. Tang Shen lifts her arms to welcome it. | |
| Mashimi | Tang Shen! |
| Tang Shen | Oh, Mashimi, you startled me. What, what is wrong with you? |
| She backs away from him. Inside his cage, the little rat munches on a crumb when the sound of Tang Shen’s scream cuts the air. The Ancient One is nearby and runs for the door. | |
| Ancient One | Tang Shen? [He runs outside, looking for her.] Tang Shen! [He then spots her prone form.] Oh no! Tang Shen! |
| Cut to the Utrom’s headquarters, the top floor. Standing under the glass panels that form the roof, dozens of Guardians practice their ninjutsu, with Mortu supervising. | |
| Leonardo | [narrates] That night the Utrom’s in their Tokyo headquarters would suffer their greatest defeat at the hands of one of their own. [Mortu glances up and see Foot ninja flying towards the glass and he gasps. The Foot break through.] They were betrayed. |
| Even more Foot ninja break through. There are explosions and smoke. Utroms on their flight pads zip through the air to avoid the invaders and then the smoke reveals the Foot Elite ninja. They run to either side of the room and then the smoke parts again to reveal the Shredder. | |
| Shredder | Secure all the exits. Let none escape. |
| Mashimi, now wearing the garb of the Foot, steps up next to Shredder. | |
| Mortu | Mashimi! You have betrayed us? |
| Yoshi | Mashimi, why? |
| Mashimi | How dare you ask why! You betrayed me! We were like brothers, but you took everything and left me with nothing. Nothing! Now I take everything from you, including your life. |
| He draws his sword. Mortu activates a building wide communication system. | |
| Mortu | Fellow Utroms, Guardians, initiate evacuation protocol nine Omega. |
| The Utroms fly up to the ceiling, where a number of long tubes are suspended. They enter the tubes, which takes them to escape pods. The escape pods are jettisoned from the building from a spot high above the city, and their rockets send them hurtling to safety. Inside, the Foot and Mashimi once more attack. | |
| Mashimi | Hyah! |
| Mortu | Guardian Hamato Yoshi, we are leaving! |
| Mortu enters an elevator and Yoshi joins him. Mashimi charges at them, but the door closes before he can strike. He beats on the door with the hilt of his sword. | |
| Shredder | They have eluded us. You did not tell me of those escape pods. |
| Mashimi | I-I was not aware of them. I swear on my life. |
| Shredder stands directly in front of him. | |
| Shredder | Yes, on your life. |
| Leonardo | [narrates] Yoshi returned to tell Tang Shen all that had happened, only to find out the horrible truth. |
| Yoshi approaches the Ancient One, who is kneeling on the ground next to Tang Shen’s shrouded body. Yoshi pulls back the shroud from Tang Shen’s face. | |
| Yoshi | No. [He lifts and holds her as tears flow from his eyes.] Tang Shen, no. No~o! |
| Cut to a hilltop, shaded by a single tree. Yoshi and the Ancient One kneel before the grave of Tang Shen. | |
| Ancient One | This is my fault. I knew Mashimi had a dark streak in his heart. |
| Yoshi | It is not your fault, Master. It is Mashimi’s fault, and he shall pay with his life. |
| He hands the cage containing the pet rat to the Ancient One and stands up, placing his sword across his shoulders. | |
| Ancient One | Be careful, my son. Vengeance is like a splinter; it gets under your skin and can poison your life. |
| A snowy mountain. Near the top sits a huge home, the headquarters of the Foot clan and its master – the Shredder. | |
| Leonardo | [narrates] But Yoshi could not listen. [Yoshi drops down in front of the door and is set upon by two armed guards.] He had but one thought pounding through his entire body. |
| He kicks one of the ninja guards through the door, and crosses the threshold with the other draped over his shoulder. He unceremoniously drops that ninja on the floor. | |
| Yoshi | I have come for Yukio Mashimi. |
| A horde of ninja stands in front of him. They rush forward to surround Yoshi. | |
| Leonardo | [narrates] Yoshi had come to the Shredder’s stronghold to face Mashimi and nothing would stop him. |
| The Foot ninja attack. Yoshi battles fiercely and one by one the Foot drop. Yoshi races up a set of stairs and into Shredder’s throne room. | |
| Yoshi | Yukio Mashimi, I have come for you! Show yourself, traitor! |
| Shredder sits on his throne. | |
| Shredder | Mashimi. |
| Mashimi steps out in front of the stairs leading up to Shredder’s throne. | |
| Yoshi | Mashimi, I challenge you to a duel, assassin. |
| Mashimi | A duel? Ha! You have ignorantly stepped into the dragon’s den, Yoshi. I have no need to fight you alone. We outnumber you. |
| Shredder | You are mistaken, Yukio Mashimi. You stand alone. Defeat Hamato Yoshi and I will forgive our humiliating retreat from the Utrom base. Only if you defeat Yoshi will I let you live. |
| Mashimi stares up at Shredder and then kneels. | |
| Mashimi | As you wish, Master. [He walks over to where Yoshi waits and strikes a defensive posture.] So, Yoshi, our story has come full circle. It began with just the two of us and here it ends with just the two of us. |
| Yoshi | This story will only end with one of us, Mashimi. |
| They begin to fight, and Yoshi handily knocks Mashimi down. Mashimi becomes angry and draws his sword as he leaps at Yoshi, who in turn draws his sword. He leaps to meet Mashimi in mid-air with a slashing of swords. Yoshi drops to his knees, his shirt cut. | |
| Mashimi | Yoshi, forgive me. |
| Mashimi falls flat and drops his sword. | |
| Shredder | Seize the Guardian. We will make him lead us to the Utrom’s new home. |
| Leonardo | [narrates] Yoshi was outnumbered, but he could not allow himself to be captured. It was time to leave. |
| Yoshi races up the stairs directly at the Shredder as a horde of Foot ninja pursue him. He leaps, foot out, at the Shredder, who rises and ducks. Yoshi’s aim, however, was at the tapestry behind him, which covered a large window. Yoshi breaks through the window and dives into the water below. Shredder stands looking down at the water, but there is no sign of Yoshi. | |
| Leonardo | [narrates] Yoshi escaped the Shredder this time, but nothing in his life would ever be the same again. |
| Yoshi stands behind the Ancient One, in the garden of his home. Yoshi holds the cage containing the little pet rat. | |
| Yoshi | I must go, Sensei. |
| Ancient One | I know. Despite the plans of a foolish old man, one must follow one’s destiny, no matter where it leads. [They bow to one another.] Goodbye, my son. |
| Yoshi | Goodbye, Father. |
| Cut to Yoshi, in New York City, standing in front of the TCRI building. | |
| Leonardo | [narrates] And so, Yoshi followed his destiny, coming to New York to serve and protect the Utroms as their Guardian Prime. |
| Yoshi holds up the cage in order to speak to the rat. | |
| Yoshi | Well, little one, I will name you Splinter, to remind me of what I have done and what I have failed to do. And together, we will remind each other of Tang Shen. Of her beauty, her kindness, and love. |
| He enters the TCRI building, where Mortu is waiting. | |
| Leonardo | [narrates] Well, I think we all know the rest of the story. |
| Back to the present. Everyone is silent for a moment. | |
| Michelangelo | Wow, what a bummer story. |
| Splinter | Perhaps, Michelangelo, but perhaps not. Destiny is an inscrutable force at best. If not for these events, I would never have been brought to New York. |
| Donatello | And the Utroms wouldn’t have had to relocate here either, meaning no ooze. |
| Raphael | Meaning no us. |
| Splinter | Yes. The fabric of fate weaves an endless interconnected pattern in which we are all just threads. |
| Present Day Japan. The Ancient One approaches a home. Inside, a gate rises and he proceeds down a long flight of stairs. He enters a large chamber, lit by fire sconces mounted around the center of a circular area. He bows. | |
| Ancient One | I have come to plead for the turtles. You must not carry out your designs. |
| From the darkness, a pair of blue eyes light up. It is one of the Ninja Tribunal. | |
| Juto-Shisho | You are too late, Ancient One. |
| From another side, the bright eyes are green. | |
| Chikara-Shisho | We have decided. |
| Yet a third set of eyes, silver in color, appears. | |
| Kon-Shisho | We will judge the turtles’ fate. We will determine whether they will live... |
| Juto-Shisho | Or how they will meet their end. |
| The Ancient One bows. |
{Roll end credits}