Match 17218 Leonardo (Mirage) vs. Haohmaru

[RakaiThwei]

Metal and wood collided as the two Donatello’s clashed. The purple masked Turtle quickly had turned with his weight as he moved his arms across, bringing the ends of the staff horizontally over from right to left as he aimed to strike his weapon down onto the plastron of the red masked Donatello. He then proceeded to then turn his staff downward and aimed to bring the back end of the staff for the top of his opponent’s head before he would then raise the lower half of the weapon upwards with the intent to strike his competitor firmly up onto his chin. However, the red masked genius Turtle would turn with his hips as he brought his own staff horizontally to counter his purple masked counterpart’s strikes. He raised his eyes up, watching as the other had aimed to strike him firmly onto his head but he raised his metal bo-staff upwards, positioning the weapon horizontally to block the downward strike and when the chin strike came for him, Donatello moved his arms down and used the middle of his staff to block the attack. In retaliation, he spun the metal bo-staff and brought the back end down to strike at the other’s right shoulder but then he would side-step to his opponent’s right and then turn in a spin to swing the staff across to the right, intending on striking the purple masked Donatello’s head.

The other Donatello leaned to his own left, and he turned to follow his red masked counterpart and watched as the staff came in for him. Quickly, the doppelganger pulled his head into his shell, evading the incoming staff and pushed his head out as soon as the weapon had passed by. Quickly, the purple masked ninja then thrust his staff forward to bunt the blunt end of the weapon for the mid-section of his opponent but the red masked Donatello turned his staff vertically and motioned the weapon to divert the incoming thrust away from him. It was at this moment the doppelganger slammed the staff onto the ground only to catapult himself forward and he kicked his legs out one after another, performing a pole vault double kick. The red masked mutant Red Ear Slider again used his own staff to divert the incoming thrust from the other’s staff but when the vaulting double kick came in for him; Donatello felt a pair of feet slamming directly into his chest. He stumbled back, his carapace hitting the brick wall behind.

The Turtle had been taken surprise by that one and that was something which he was going to have to make sure that he wouldn’t allow from ever happening again.

“Alright… That’s one! And you’re only going to get that one!”

The red masked ninja then immediately spun his staff in a figure eight motion and he turned in a spin only to then swing his weapon across over to the right and then back across to the left as he took aim for his doppelganger’s mid-section. The purple masked duplicate had leaned back away from the first strike, and he swung his staff across to meet the other weapon and again contact between the metal and wood staff had been made. Both Turtles felt impact of their strikes through their respective weapons. The purple masked Turtle then brought his staff downward diagonally to the left, but Donatello had side-stepped over to his opponent’s right and retaliated by immediately thrusting his right arm forward, firmly impacting his fist into the side of his doppelganger’s face.

The purple masked counterpart shut his eyes as a rush of pain moved into his cheek and he staggered from the blow. He shook his head, working to fight off the immediate disorientation and discomfort but found himself on the defensive once more as his opponent came at him. Donatello would spin his staff in a figure eight motion and then followed up by swinging his staff across, bringing the ends in for his duplicate’s mid-section. However, the purple masked variant worked to defend as he brought his wooden staff back and moved it to block and divert each incoming strike away. Immediately, Donatello then had thrust his staff to the ground and he threw his weight upwards and turned to the side, now performing reversal cartwheel flip—effectively kicking his purple masked doppelganger firmly up onto his chin. The other Donatello had been flipped off from his feet, now taking to the air but then he felt something slamming into his own plastron and widened his eyes in pain only to see that the red masked opponent struck him and managed to lift him up with his staff, balancing him.

Turning quickly, Donatello then moved his staff forward and allowed the other Donatello to hit the ground and bounce briefly from the impact of the drop. Seizing this opportunity, Donatello tensed up his leg muscles only to then push himself up into the air, only to then throw his weight to the left and he snapped his left leg out—firmly impacting his foot into the carapace of his purple masked counterpart.

“GAAAAH!”

The purple masked Donatello was impacted and now sent careening in towards a nearby street lamp. The impact was enough to make the duplicate Turtle and bent the metal of the lamp post. Gravity soon pulled him down and he had dropped harshly onto his plastron. Donatello spun his staff in a figure eight motion and he would strike away at his falling opponent’s body and worked to keep him juggled before he would hit the ground.

The purple masked Donatello hit the ground flat onto his side and writhed in a display of momentary pain and worked to fight through the agony. He gripped his wooden staff within his grasp and firmly planted the blunt end of the weapon onto the ground and pushed to rise to his feet. He looked to his red masked counterpart and shook his head from side to side. Quickly, he moved his left arm back to his shell and then took hold of three shurikens, and he took aim for his opponent’s chest and flung his throwing blades, sending them spinning through the air. Donatello blinked at this and he swung his staff across to the right, and the sound of metal dinging against metal echoed through the alley way followed by the noise of the shurikens hitting concrete.

The purple masked duplicate charged ahead and he tensed up his leg muscles only to push himself forward and up, now throwing his weight forward and done only to perform an aerial somersault. He raised his staff overhead and swung it down— intending on striking the top of his red masked opponent’s head. Donatello quickly dashed to his left, evading the incoming wooden staff as it hit the ground. Donatello spun his staff within his grasp and he brought the back end of his staff upwards with the intent to strike his counterpart in the chin but the duplicate positioned his staff horizontally and held it out, blocking the incoming weapon. Quickly, he retaliated by turning with his hips and swinging the ends of the wooden staff horizontally for the arms of his red masked counterpart. Donatello stepped back and he hopped away from his opponent. Now putting the red masked Turtle on the defensive, the purple masked Donatello then ran as fast as he could towards the other and swung his staff across from right to left, and brought the back end of his staff downward. The red masked intellectual ninja however had countered by swinging his own staff to counter the other Donatello’s strikes, and raised his staff to intercept the downward strike and he diverted the incoming staff to his left, pushing the weapon away.

Quickly, Donatello turned with his hips and he swung his right arm’s elbow across and firmly struck his purple masked doppelganger’s face. The other Donatello had narrowed his eyes as his senses were momentarily jarred. It was at this moment that Donatello quickly then turned in a spin and he crouched in his movements, only to then extend his staff forward and swung it across to the left— firmly striking away at the other Turtle’s ankles.

The purple masked doppelganger had dropped onto the ground flat onto his carapace. He firmly placed his hands onto the ground and pushed himself to his feet and now stared over to his red masked counterpart.

“You guys fight so differently from us!”

“I’m guessing you guys weren’t raised to kill your Shredder?” Donatello inquired.

The question was one which made the purple masked doppelganger blink, and he quickly regained his composure as he then had pushed himself to continue onward as he dashed forward. The purple masked Turtle planted his staff onto the ground and he pushed himself forward and kicked his right leg outward as he intended to kick his foot onto the face of his opponent, but Donatello spun to his left and managed to evade the incoming kick.

Donatello then had turned to face his doppelganger’s back and he leaned forward only to then snap his left leg forward and firmly planted his foot onto the other Donatello’s carapace, now pushing him forward into a nearby wall. The other Turtle stumbled forward and he hit the brick hard. With a grunt, the purple masked Turtle then had shut his eyes and worked to fight through the pain. It was at this moment that the red masked Turtle decided to capitalize on this and he immediately then had pressed onto the button on his metal staff. Lightning surged through the ends of the metal weapon and it was then he thrust his staff towards his opponent’s mid-section, and then watched as the purple masked turned only to receive the blunt end of the electrified staff directly in his mid-section.

“GRRAAAAAAAGHHAAAAA!”

The purple masked Turtle then spasm as the electrical current channeled through him and his nerves were racked with sharp and burning pain. He slumped forward but firmly then placed his staff onto the ground and used it to keep himself on his feet. The purple masked ninja simply stared at the metal staff which the red masked Donatello wielded. A small hint of envy entered his mind as he tilted his head.

“Okay. That one hurt. You seriously have a bo-staff which delivers electric shocks?!”

“Definitely. Kind of needed the upgrade since the normal wooden staff wasn’t really cutting it. In this tournament where people with powers that can project energy as a weapon, you probably need something like this to level the playing field.”

“I’m guessing you somehow managed to rig an electrical system inside of the staff. I’m guessing it’s probably battery operated. And the fact that you used rubber for the center grip is a wise idea there. Don’t wanna shock yourself, after all. Why didn’t I think of something like that?”

Leonardo, Michelangelo and Raphael watched as the two Donatello’s had been fighting, and what seemed to have been an interesting match now was halted by an ill-timed discussion of  inventions and science. Michelangelo couldn’t help but chuckle as he shook his head from side to side, and Leonardo moved his right hand up close to his face and grunted in a disapproving manner. Raphael clenched his hands firmly into fists and then angrily yelled out to his intellectual sibling.

“QUIT TALKING THAT SCIENCE BABBLE AND GET TO FIGHTING!!”

The two Donatello’s now looked to one another and shrugged.

The purple masked Donatello then had twisted his staff and then a sharpened blade protracted from the blunt end of the staff. This was something which made the red masked Turtle blink his eyes and he tilted his head in a moment of curiosity as he realized the practicality of such a weapon but at the same time— a hint of envy entered into his own mind.

“Now… why didn’t I think of THAT?”

However, his train of thought was cut short as the other Donatello thrust his weapon forward as he took aim for the red masked ninja’s mid-section but Donatello had side-stepped to the right and the other Donatello turned and charged ahead, now again thrusting his weapon but Donatello then moved his staff to divert the incoming blade away from himself and the red masked ninja then spun his staff in a figure eight motion and brought the back end of the staff downward for the top of the purple masked doppelganger’s head. However, the duplicate pulled his weapon back and positioned his weapon horizontally, blocking the incoming strike. Donatello raised his left leg up and firmly slammed it down to the foot of his opponent. The purple masked ninja just winced his eyes in immediate discomfort and lowered his weapon. It was at this moment that the red masked Terrapin then turned with his weight and then thrust his right arm forward and out, firmly striking away at the doppelganger’s face. Quickly leaning forward, Donatello thrust his arms forward and out— rapidly thrusting his staff outward.

“UNNGH!!”

The purple masked Turtle felt his plastron being impacted multiple times, and he was being pushed back towards a pile of trash cans. Donatello planted his staff onto the ground and he pushed himself to leap, turn in a spin and he kicked both his legs out only to slam them into the chest of the variant. It was at this moment that the purple masked ninja flew across and he crashed through the trash bins, garbage bags and debris falling all around him. Quickly rising to his feet, the variant Donatello then spun his bladed staff in a figure eight motion with skill and he swung the weapon downward. Donatello quickly raised his metal staff up, parrying the weapon and sparks erupted as the two weapons made contact.  The doppelganger then pulled his weapon back and swung it across, slashing the bladed end horizontally over from right to left but Donatello positioned his staff out, using the weapon to guard against it.

Donatello dashed away from his opponent and he immediately moved his right hand down to his utility belt and then took hold of what appeared to be a set of three shurikens and tucked them between his fingers. Taking aim for his doppelganger, Donatello flung his right hand forward and released the throwing blades.

The other Donatello quickly stepped to his right, evading the incoming shurikens as they had embedded themselves into the brick wall behind him. He then watched as his red masked counterpart now charged in towards him and was already on the offensive. He snapped his right leg out in a side kick, but the purple masked doppelganger positioned his staff in front of himself, using the weapon to take the brunt of the kick. Donatello quickly then had thrust his arms, moving his staff outward in an effort to strike his other firmly in the mid-section again and managed to land a strong push onto him. The purple masked variant grunted out but worked to stand his ground as he leaned forward with his weight. He spun his bladed bo-staff upward, aiming to bring the blunt end of the naginata staff upwards for the other Turtle’s chin but the red masked Turtle positioned his staff horizontally, blocking the weapon only to then turn with his hips and bring the ends of the staff across, firmly batting them into the arms of his opponent.

The purple masked Donatello winced as he felt his arms being struck and he hissed in discomfort as he worked to fight through the pain. He aimed to thrust the bladed end of his staff forward as he took aim for his opponent’s mid-section, but then immediately pulled back and instead snapped his left leg up and out in a front kick. Donatello swung his staff downward and motioned it across, using the weapon to smack the incoming kick away from him before he then would spin the metal staff and motioned the back end downward. The other Donatello then side-stepped over to his right and dashed forward as he then turned to a spin and swung his bladed weapon across to the left, going for the red masked ninja’s neck region. However, Donatello saw him evade and move and turned to meet his opponent and he swung his staff across and firmly impacted the blade of the naginata. Sparks erupted as the weapons collided and the red and purple masked Turtles stared at one another.

Donatello never once thought that he would ever have had to fight himself, and he recalled the lessons that the greatest struggle often came from within. In this case, it was quite literal. Perhaps he would make something of a break through if he were pushed hard enough.

The purple masked ninja moved his left hand to his own utility belt and began to feel around for whatever it was he needed, and when he took hold of it— he drew it and then tossed it to the ground. A burst of flame and a waft of smoke erupted to cover over the area within a fifteen feet radius, now obscuring the red masked Turtle’s vision for a moment. Donatello just waved his right hand in front of himself, brushing whatever smoke was obscuring his vision only to find that the purple masked variant was gone from sight.

“Clever.” Donatello whispered.

He looked all around for any sign of his opponent and stared at his surroundings. He looked at the shadows of the alleyway, behind the trash bins and garbage bags, the dumpster not too far off from where he stood as well as the fire-escape ladders which were bolted to the alleyway walls. Donatello couldn’t help but nod his head at this and he had to commend that this was a good use of stealth tactics here.

But Donatello knew better… he and his brothers had employed this tactic many times.

Suddenly, there was movement and from the dumpster out came the purple masked Turtle, who leapt over the edge and was already soaring ahead. Donatello leaned forward and he dropped, now rolling across as the other landed feet first onto the ground and slammed his naginata onto the ground. Quickly moving to his feet, Donatello then had turned to meet his opponent and he would spin and thrust his weapon down onto the lower mid-section and legs of the other Donatello. Impact had been made as the purple masked ninja grunted and lurched forward. He quickly then raised his arms up, ready to use his staff but Donatello then moved his own metal bo-staff in a spin and swung it downward with as much strength which he could—and the doppleganger was forced to raise his staff overhead and he managed to block the weapon— but the wood gave way and so did the iron core in the weapon. The staff would break in two and this caused the purple masked variant to widen his eyes.

“Oh no!”

And Donatello then spun his staff and motioned it down, now planting it onto the ground and he had pushed himself up with his legs, now cartwheel flipping back away from his doppelganger but kicked his feet upwards— harshly impacting the purple masked ninja’s chin. The other Donatello felt a painful impact hitting into his chin and his eyes rolled to the back of his head, but Donatello quickly set himself onto his feet and immediately spun, leapt and he would swing his left leg across and then his right—landing a jumping crescent kick followed by a powerful roundhouse onto his opponent’s head. Then, the doppelganger now dropped onto his plastron.

No movement was made. Donatello started the countdown… But then widened his eyes as his doppelganger seemingly dissipated in a bright flash of light. He raised his eyes up and watched as the other forms of the doppelganger Turtles then disappeared in a similar fashion.

Donatello turned and then stared over to his siblings… What they had just seen was something that just… didn’t make sense to them. Leonardo blinked as he then turned his gaze over to Donatello, and Michelangelo dropped his jaw as he now stepped over to where the other Turtles had been… and looked all around to see if they had gone anywhere else. Raphael on other hand, just growled as he folded his arms— clearly not caring about what he and his brothers had face. As far as they were concerned… they just won another team battle.

Having earned a victory in a battle against themselves, the Turtles would take this moment to learn from having fought themselves and perhaps… become better ninja from it all. They looked to one another and turned, now leaving the alleyway for some needed rest.

 

 

A few hours have passed since the Turtles had fought themselves with the end of the battle leaving them somewhat confused. Could it be that whatever had drawn their multiversal counterparts to battle them suddenly had also sent them back to their home universe or was it all some sort of elaborate illusion and the Turtles were merely fighting exaggerated reflections of themselves? Regardless of the situation of their previous battle, it seemed as if they were now summoned to take on their next opponents. The next battle was set to be designated over at the Manhattan Bridge, and it hadn’t taken the brothers long to get there of course. As they had arrived, they had noticed that the bridge seemed to have been closed off as there were many vehicles parked all around and a crowd of people gathered as well as they came in attendance to view the next fight.

“Looks like we’re here… Lot of people around.” Donatello spoke out.

“Who do you think we’re gonna be fighting next? I mean, no one knew we were gonna be fighting ourselves in the last fight and you gotta admit—that was kinda pretty trippy.” Michelangelo stated.

“I’d like to think that we all learned something from the previous battle. I want to think that we were being confronted with ourselves so that we would be able to face our strengths and weaknesses, maybe improve on areas that we might be lacking in. It’s not every day that you get the chance to fight yourself.” Leonardo stated as he looked over to each of his brothers.

“Yeah, that definitely sounds like something Master Splinter would say alright. Now I know why he was always taking about reining that anger and controlling it.” Raphael grunted.

“You’ve come a long way from what you were before, Raph.” Leo responded.

The brothers continued their way over to the area where the crowd was gathered and when they had arrived, they had looked over to see where and who their opponents might. Michelangelo nudged his head forward as he raised his left hand, pointing over to a group of four individuals who… definitely didn’t seem to be from around New York from what he could tell. For a moment, he had assumed that they were cosplayers. The Turtles looked over to see who their opponents were, and Leonardo, Raphael and Donatello were surprised to see who their opponents were.

One of them was a young girl with a white outfit with red and blue colorations on it, she also seemed to be petite in stature and also had flowing dark hair with a red hair band and a bow attached to it. And on her forearm was a hawk of some sort. She had looked over to the Turtles and gasped at the sight of them before she then formed a soft smile on her face.

Another was a middle aged man wearing dark colors on his own kimono, and he also possessed a patch over his eye giving him something of a rough and grizzled look as well. He also seemed to sport two katana which were found strapped around his waistline, likely kept together by his obi. The man looked over to the Turtles with his only eye and grunted as he raised his left hand, rubbing his chin in an expression of curiosity.

The other was a young blonde haired Caucasian man who appeared to be dressed in blue ninja garments, as noted by the Turtles and he had something of a jovial disposition. And he didn’t seem to be alone either as he had an animal companion with him as well, and from looking at the breed— it appeared to be a Husky.

And lastly was a man who sported long flowing dark hair, appearing to be Japanese in appearance. He sported white colored attire with black and red patterns, and he also seemed to be carrying a Japanese wine flask with him. He sat on the ground, patiently as he then brought the flask up to his lips and took in a sip of the contents inside and tucked within his right arm was a sheathed katana.

“We’ve got… an interesting set of characters here.” Raphael spoke.

“Two samurai, one ninja… and a girl. Mm’kay… This got unusual but nothing weirder than what we’ve dealt with so far” Leonardo responded.

The Samurai with the wine flask then looked over to the Turtle, raising his brows in curiosity as he gave off a confident smirk as he then rose up to his feet. He looked all around himself, eying those who were crowded in attendance to watch this battle and then he had looked over to the Turtles— surprised, but perhaps pleasantly so that his opponents were much different than he had expected.

“Oy! Kappa! It seems as if even in the future, you still exist!” The samurai spoke in heavily accented English.

“Kappa? Ummm… No, we’re not the fabled water Yokai of Japan! We’re actually Turtles! Specifically the Trachemys Scripta Elegans species but extremely mutated to what we are now!” Donatello corrected.

There was a moment of silence coming from the samurai as he blinked, and looked over to his team mates before he raised his right hand up to scratch the top of his head.

“I… do not know what you just said but I’m going to assume you’re some sort of Yokai!”

Raphael rolled his eyes to the right as he then looked over to Donatello and then moved his left hand up, slapping the brainy Turtle upside the back of his head.

“Way to go correcting Akira Kurosawa over there, Mr. Wizard.” He grunted.

“I am Haohmaru! And it seems as if this tournament is abundant with those who I seek to test my skills as a swordsman with! The others with me are Nakoruru, Galford D. Weller, and Jyubei Yagyu! And who are you Kappa to be named?”

“I’m Leonardo… these are my brothers, Michelangelo, Donatello and Raphael.”

Haohmaru had rubbed his chin as he then eyed each of the Turtles.

“I see… then let us start shall we?” Haohmaru grinned.

“Haohmaru-san, please do not forget why we are in the tournament. We need to win the prize money to help Doctor Brown build his time machine so we can go back to our proper era.” Nakoruru softly spoke.

“I haven’t forgotten… Now, which of us will get started, hm?”

The Turtles then had looked over to one another. It was always something of a game between which one would be going first. Raphael would step forward as he then placed his fists together and flexed as he also cracked his knuckles as well. However, Raphael felt a hand being pressed onto his shoulder and turned to look at none other than… Leonardo. The red masked leader of the Turtles then had stepped forward as he then gripped the handles of his twin ninjaken firmly within his grasp, and drew the weapons out.

“Ah, I see a courageous one… I like that! I have been waiting long enough and look forward to a thrilling battle, Kappa!”

The samurai gripped the handle of his katana, drawing it out only to then sling the sheath down to his hip and he wrapped both his hands around the handle of his sword as he slowly entered into his fighting posture.

Leonardo spun his twin ninjaken within his grasp and then snapped back into his own fighting stance. This wouldn’t be the first time in which he had encountered a samurai— as Leonardo couldn’t help but think back on his friend and rival, Miyamoto Usagi, from meetings past. Leonardo couldn’t help but smile at the thought of his furry and long eared friend, perhaps… those experiences would be of use here.

Both the ninja and the samurai eyed one another, before they rushed ahead and collided with steel clashing against one another.

[Callisto]

Learn More About
Leonardo (Mirage)
Read more about Leonardo (Mirage) at Wikipedia
Official Site: Nickelodeon Links: Wikipedia

Haohmaru
Read more about Haohmaru at Wikipedia
Official Site: SNK Links: Wikipedia SNK Wiki Giant Bomb

[RakaiThwei]

The next part of my Mirage TMNT storyline has been finally posted up and this one took a bit longer to write up. Writing out the recap between Mirage Donatello and 2012 Nickelodeon Donatello wasn't really what kept me from writing up this next part, as I had an idea on what I wanted to put down but it was rather choosing the next opponents for the Mirage Turtles to go up against, and it was a tie between a few of the characters from Samurai Shodown and some more KOF characters-- and I decided to go with team Samurai Spirits (which is what I will refer to this team) because I wanted to throw in a good loop and I hope I have done that here.

I also had to choose which characters from Samurai Showdown which I was going to be using and obviously, I had to use Nakoruru and Haohmaru-- in the case of the former, Nakoruru has been featured in only two KOF games, specifically KOF XIV and the non-canonical mobile game, KOF: All Star. In the case of Haohmaru, well I wanted to use him because he is a major protagonist tin the Samurai Shodown games, and he has yet to make an appearance in a KOF game-- so I took some inspiration from Capcom vs SNK 2, where he was transported in the future-- which explains why some cast members from Samurai Shodown are here.

For new readers who are just hopping onto this storyline here, I suggest you look at the Mirage TMNT Respect Thread to see what the Mirage Turtles are more than capable of.

 

Leonardo (Mirage) is Low Tier Superhuman in terms of physicals. Think Above Peak Human due to his mutation and training.

Leonardo (Mirage) possesses his Twin Ninjaken, Shurikens, Smoke Bombs, and Kunai.

 

Haohmaru is at Peak Human Conditioning due to his training.

Haohmaru possesses his trademark katana Fugudoku.

Haohmaru has his moveset from the Samurai Shodown games.

Battle Environment Map

[Pizzaguy2995]

I hate to do this Rakai, but I actually might have to vote against a Turtle for this round. Here are my main reasons:

Number 1: I know that you listed Haohmaru as just Peak Human, but if we’re really going by his move sets and abilities shown in the Samurai Shodown game then he should be listed Low Tier Superhuman as well: his Hurricane Attack can create, well, small hurricanes with a slash of his sword, he can jump higher and dash faster then regular humans should be able to physically accomplish, and the ki energy that he summons to protect and enhance his body is apparently strong enough to where he can shrug off blades, knifes, and other sharp objects that realistically should have sliced through his skin like butter!

Number 2: Like I said he possesses ki energy attacks like Terry Bogard, so like Terry Haohmaru will have more variety in his attacks and be able to control the battlefield better then Leo, especially in an open area like the map you just posted.

Number 3: While Leo does have experience fighting samurai like Usagi, Haohmaru has fought and beaten legit OG ninjas like Hanzo Hattori, Kazuki Kazama and dozens of others on a pretty regular basis, so he’ll be pretty prepared for almost every skill or ninja ability Leo might have learned.

Conclusion: While Leo will likely have training and speed on his side, I feel that if we take Haohmaru’s feats as they are presented in game, he’ll have the clear strength, durability, skill variety, and experience to take Leo and probably his brothers down. 
 

Side Note: Historically speaking, there’s a reason why Ninjas preferred to strike from the shadows and avoid direct combat; because Samurai almost universally have the advantage in an open battle with any Ninja.

[RakaiThwei]

2 hours ago, Pizzaguy2995 said:

I hate to do this Rakai, but I actually might have to vote against a Turtle for this round. Here are my main reasons:

Number 1: I know that you listed Haohmaru as just Peak Human, but if we’re really going by his move sets and abilities shown in the Samurai Shodown game then he should be listed Low Tier Superhuman as well: his Hurricane Attack can create, well, small hurricanes with a slash of his sword, he can jump higher and dash faster then regular humans should be able to physically accomplish, and the ki energy that he summons to protect and enhance his body is apparently strong enough to where he can shrug off blades, knifes, and other sharp objects that realistically should have sliced through his skin like butter!

As far as I know, Haohmaru is somewhere in the Peak Human to Above Peak Human in terms of physicals. As far as I know, there really hasn't been showings outside of the games from what he could do aside from the Samurai Shodown anime and it's status in game canon is likely outside of the continuity of the games. I am unaware of the feats which are presented in that depiction but going by the games, he doesn't seem to be too different from the KOF fighters-- the only difference being in that he happens to weild is a sword and is from an era where fights were probably likely more brutal.

Also, we cannot count his appearance in Soul Calibur VI as that's also likely non-canon and he was a DLC character added for fun.

Also, we need to consider the fact that in this storyline-- the Turtles win/loss records are to be counted and considered as feats here. Keep in mind, he has fought some people who can use Ki energy as far as this storyline is concerned. Something to worth keep in mind of future battles.

Also, canonically speaking, Leonardo has fought enemies who were able to shrug off blades, knives and other sharp objects as well... and even come out on top. Namely Complete Carnage, a meta-human level being as seen in Tales  of the TMNT comics, and even if you count Turtles Forever, even a Kaiju sized Utrom Shredder-- though of course, he did have help with the other Turtles and two other Turtle teams but it still counts as something in his book to consider as well.

2 hours ago, Pizzaguy2995 said:

Number 2: Like I said he possesses ki energy attacks like Terry Bogard, so like Terry Haohmaru will have more variety in his attacks and be able to control the battlefield better then Leo, especially in an open area like the map you just posted.

This is something where... I actually have to say isn't so cut and dry. Canonically speaking, Haohmaru has never been flung forward to the future-- so we're not counting Capcom vs SNK or the SNK vs Capcom iteration of that particular crossover. As far as I know, the only one who has been flung forward in time canonically is Nakoruru and there's no telling how long she's been transported to the twenty first century. Also, Haohmaru doesn't really know New York or in this case, the Manhattan Bridge, where as the Turtles do. Also the cars also do provide cover for both combatants here, so this is something also worth to consider as well.

2 hours ago, Pizzaguy2995 said:

Number 3: While Leo does have experience fighting samurai like Usagi, Haohmaru has fought and beaten legit OG ninjas like Hanzo Hattori, Kazuki Kazama and dozens of others on a pretty regular basis, so he’ll be pretty prepared for almost every skill or ninja ability Leo might have learned.

Yes, Leonardo has fought samurai like Usagi Yojimbo-- who much like Haohmaru, is inspired by Miyamoto Mushashi. In fact, Usagi's name is Miyamoto Usagi. So if you want to get technical, Leonardo has fought an analogue of Miyamoto Musashi to the point where they're considered genuinely quite even with one another to where they often engage one another to see how the have improved. So fighting Miyamoto Musashi expies isn't something new for Leonardo. Also, there was also Chote, a Samurai Dinosaur that the Turtles have fought in the Mirage comics as well...

https://turtlepedia.fandom.com/wiki/Chote

2 hours ago, Pizzaguy2995 said:

Side Note: Historically speaking, there’s a reason why Ninjas preferred to strike from the shadows and avoid direct combat; because Samurai almost universally have the advantage in an open battle with any Ninja.

I feel like that while this does have a grain of truth in them, we have to remember that the ninja utilized underhanded tactics to deal with the Samurai. A lot of their weapons were adapted from farming tools and modified into weapons, which they used to great effect such as the Kusarigama for example. Also, the Samurai placed a lot of emphasis on Bushido to even where fighting with honor was a big thing for them something which the ninja exploited many times and even developed anti-Samurai tactics to deal with them. Also, ninja didn't always strike from the shadows-- they also struck in plain sight as well, dressed as either merchants, priests, body guards, and in the case of the kunoichi, Ouiran, Geisha, Mikos, and courtesans.

Also, some Samurai were ninja who worked with the Iga and Koga clans-- so these Samurai who were also ninja, likely have helped improved the tactics of the Iga and Koga clans in dealing with Samurai and taught them better skills.

In the case of the Foot clan, well... it's likely that they have dealt with Samurai effectively, more so than the Koga and Iga clans as they survived into the late twentieth century to early twenty first century in Mirage canon where as the Iga and Koga did not. And the Turtles are likely trained in Foot clan ninjutsu, as Splinter is traced back to Hamato Yoshi, who was one of the Foot's finest ninja.

[leroypowell3]

I'm actually leaning toward Haohmaru as well. Leo is definitely capable as he's the only one to beat Shredder one on one. I wouldn't put Haohmaru above Shredder but for sure in that class. 

Addely, Haohmaru is a samurai which means he's highly stylized in his fighting. It's a style that Leonardo would know well. The power moves will be different but Leo won't be dazzled. He'll just adjust. But Haohmaru is so good that beyond a misstep, underestimate his opponent, or something like that I don't think Leo can beat him.

[RakaiThwei]

12 minutes ago, leroypowell3 said:

I'm actually leaning toward Haohmaru as well. Leo is definitely capable as he's the only one to beat Shredder one on one. I wouldn't put Haohmaru above Shredder but for sure in that class. 

Addely, Haohmaru is a samurai which means he's highly stylized in his fighting. It's a style that Leonardo would know well. The power moves will be different but Leo won't be dazzled. He'll just adjust. But Haohmaru is so good that beyond a misstep, underestimate his opponent, or something like that I don't think Leo can beat him.

That's two for Haohmaru.

But here's something that needs to be considered. Leonardo's level of skill. It's something which I feel is being heavily neglected here and that is something that should be so. In the Mirage canon, Leonardo is arguably the most skilled of the Turtles to where at the age of fifteen he was the only one to stand against the Shredder and wound him... twice, with the second being a fatal wound and Leonardo dud not once falter like his brothers against Oroku Saki in the first encounter.

Also as the years go by, Leonardo developed his skill further to the point he can disarm and break a skilled swordsman's weapon with a pocket knife as seen here.

Now as far as I know, Haohmaru's sword is an ordinary steel blade that doesn't have any mystical properties or is made from an unbreakable metal. This means Leo can utilize his skill and strength to accomplish what he did with Cha Ocho here with Haohmaru. And Leonardo did that with a pocket knife... imagine what he can do with a ninjaken or one of his kunai.

Now, Pizzaguy2995 mentions Haohmaru's durability in the game as taking slashes and stabs from weapons in-game and is seemingly unharmed through his Ki control. I argue that this is game mechanics at play here and part of the "Bloodless Carnage" trope which is the exact thing happening with Soul Calibur characters in-game and not necessarily a true durability showing. It's something which SNK and Bandai Namco use the trope to keep their games rated T for Teen.

But even if Haohmaru is tougher than the average Samurai, I don't think that durability is enough to help him as Leonardo had cut through stone and enemies with stone like durability.

And here's Leonardo cutting through Complete Carnage, a Metahuman entity that is said to have stone like durability. And this is Leonardo when he's older.

Also, we need to account that Leonardo is arguably the second physically strongest of the Turtles, tailing right behind Raphael. We have seen him bash and crash through brick walls...

And he had kicked through thick wooden support beams. I think that Leonardo's physical blows are more than enough to shake Haohmaru.

He is definitely not outclassed by Haohmaru.

[leroypowell3]

1 hour ago, RakaiThwei said:

That's two for Haohmaru.

But here's something that needs to be considered. Leonardo's level of skill. It's something which I feel is being heavily neglected here and that is something that should be so. In the Mirage canon, Leonardo is arguably the most skilled of the Turtles to where at the age of fifteen he was the only one to stand against the Shredder and wound him... twice, with the second being a fatal wound and Leonardo dud not once falter like his brothers against Oroku Saki in the first encounter.

Also as the years go by, Leonardo developed his skill further to the point he can disarm and break a skilled swordsman's weapon with a pocket knife as seen here.

Now as far as I know, Haohmaru's sword is an ordinary steel blade that doesn't have any mystical properties or is made from an unbreakable metal. This means Leo can utilize his skill and strength to accomplish what he did with Cha Ocho here with Haohmaru. And Leonardo did that with a pocket knife... imagine what he can do with a ninjaken or one of his kunai.

Now, Pizzaguy2995 mentions Haohmaru's durability in the game as taking slashes and stabs from weapons in-game and is seemingly unharmed through his Ki control. I argue that this is game mechanics at play here and part of the "Bloodless Carnage" trope which is the exact thing happening with Soul Calibur characters in-game and not necessarily a true durability showing. It's something which SNK and Bandai Namco use the trope to keep their games rated T for Teen.

But even if Haohmaru is tougher than the average Samurai, I don't think that durability is enough to help him as Leonardo had cut through stone and enemies with stone like durability.

And here's Leonardo cutting through Complete Carnage, a Metahuman entity that is said to have stone like durability. And this is Leonardo when he's older.

Also, we need to account that Leonardo is arguably the second physically strongest of the Turtles, tailing right behind Raphael. We have seen him bash and crash through brick walls...

And he had kicked through thick wooden support beams. I think that Leonardo's physical blows are more than enough to shake Haohmaru.

He is definitely not outclassed by Haohmaru.

Well argued. May have to change my vote. This better be a good fight.

[RakaiThwei]

2 minutes ago, leroypowell3 said:

Well argued. May have to change my vote. This better be a good fight.

Hopefully it's not one which will end completely lopsided like Michelangelo vs Mai Shiranui.

[Boratz]

Another great one! Honestly I think it could go either way. I've seen both arguments, and I'm kinda split. I may be leaning more towards Leo just because the Mirage is an extremely capable fighter and warrior. I think he could definitely put up a great bout.

[RakaiThwei]

1 hour ago, Boratz said:

Another great one! Honestly I think it could go either way. I've seen both arguments, and I'm kinda split. I may be leaning more towards Leo just because the Mirage is an extremely capable fighter and warrior. I think he could definitely put up a great bout.

Fair enough, but also here's something which I also feel needs to be addressed. Experience.

As far as I know, Haohmaru is definitely someone who has fought his share against other samurai, ninja, magicians and demons . The last part being something which he has definitely become renowned for in the realm of the Samurai Shodown series. Under most circumstances, this would put him ahead of most other versions of Leonardo however, the Mirage version of Leonardo has accomplished similar feats as well by fighting samurai, ninja, Foot clan mystics, mutants and the occasional supernatural entities such as ghosts and demons. Let's also throw in extraterrestrials as well since that's a common thing which Leonardo has faced.

Also, there was one instance where Leonardo and his brothers had fought against beings of mythological lore-- such the Titan Cronus. Yes, the Mirage Turtles fought a precursor to the Olympian Gods in the Hall of Lost Legends-- a sanctuary where figures from legend and mythology reside. Leonardo, alongside with his brothers-- were able to lock Cronus back in his exhibit or prison, which you want to call it. Also, note that Leonardo was one of the Turtles (the other being Raphael) who made Cronus bleed. Yes, a couple of the Turtles made the Titan Cornus bleed and made him feel pain.

Granted, they had to lock him in his prison once more and run away but for four mutated Turtle brothers, giving a Titan is pretty damn impressive. Haohmaru's definitely going to have a hard time with Leo here.

 

[ViceCityMobster86]

A truly phenomenal match attention to detail is great. I admit I am not as familiar with Samarai Showdown as I am with some other games but they are fun.  Anyway giving an edge to Leo, he has fought very tough foes before not saying that Haohmaru has not fought capable foes but I think Leo has fought tougher in his continuity.

[RakaiThwei]

33 minutes ago, ViceCityMobster86 said:

A truly phenomenal match attention to detail is great. I admit I am not as familiar with Samarai Showdown as I am with some other games but they are fun.  Anyway giving an edge to Leo, he has fought very tough foes before not saying that Haohmaru has not fought capable foes but I think Leo has fought tougher in his continuity.

Thanks for commenting, Vice!

[ViceCityMobster86]

2 minutes ago, RakaiThwei said:

Thanks for commenting, Vice!

Was a fun read, had some cold Cheerwine soda to enjoy with it.

[DSkillz]

Another great set-up, Rakai. Great recap of the Donatellos, with both the intensity and skill shown in the fight, and the occasional intellectual banter between them. All-in-all, this was a very nice test of self-reflection that Chizuru put the Turtles through.

As for the match at hand? Gotta do more research and think about it. JohnnyChany used Haohmaru in a match awhile back, and IIRC, he was a pretty skilled and powerful dude.

[RakaiThwei]

14 minutes ago, DSkillz said:

Another great set-up, Rakai. Great recap of the Donatellos, with both the intensity and skill shown in the fight, and the occasional intellectual banter between them. All-in-all, this was a very nice test of self-reflection that Chizuru put the Turtles through.

As for the match at hand? Gotta do more research and think about it. JohnnyChany used Haohmaru in a match awhile back, and IIRC, he was a pretty skilled and powerful dude.

Research quick and think about it! This match ends on Friday late afternoon!

[Z451]

Great work on your recap Rakai, it worked out pretty well, and it showed how the 2012 Donnie, although younger and less experienced did still have quite a few tricks up his sleeve in spite of that. The intensity and the conflict were very much there too, but I could also feel a bit of an intellectual conflict as well, as the Mirage Donnie was clashing with his counterpart in more ways than just the usual fighting scene. All in all, this was a pretty full fledged fight for both of them, and I believe, after reading through it, that Donnie, both Mirage and 2012, have and will learn from this encounter how skilled and capable he can be, simply by looking into a mirror long enough at himself, or his self from an alternate world. It's kind of a mind bending but also enlightening experience too, as each one has been given the opportunity to see the aspects of themselves, both positive and negative, more specifically positive in more ways, that do matter and that do make a difference, even if they can't always see what difference those aspects make from the inside.

 

The clash of blades and might is going to get pretty intense here, and if the two aren't careful they may just damage the bridge as a result, then it might be splash time heh. In all seriousness though, Leo will have his work cut out for him here, as Haohmaru is for sure no push over, and the space their fighting in, is relatively tight and relatively close to the water and a potential ring out for either of them. To me however, perhaps going against the grain here, I still believe that Leo can win this, as his experience is certainly comparable, but also perhaps superior in many ways to Haohmaru's experiences and power. Aspects that stem from his many encounters with aliens, the multiverse, Usagi himself, and his many years of training with Splinter and his brothers, whereas Haohmaru has faced powerful and skilled opponents, but those opponents were somewhat limited in being both Earth bound and perhaps from the older era of Feudal Japan, binding him, as a result to a rather set repertoire of wisdom and experience as a result, not that he could help that situation much anyway, but still it is binding for him.

[RakaiThwei]

10 minutes ago, Z451 said:

Great work on your recap Rakai, it worked out pretty well, and it showed how the 2012 Donnie, although younger and less experienced did still have quite a few tricks up his sleeve in spite of that. The intensity and the conflict were very much there too, but I could also feel a bit of an intellectual conflict as well, as the Mirage Donnie was clashing with his counterpart in more ways than just the usual fighting scene. All in all, this was a pretty full fledged fight for both of them, and I believe, after reading through it, that Donnie, both Mirage and 2012, have and will learn from this encounter how skilled and capable he can be, simply by looking into a mirror long enough at himself, or his self from an alternate world. It's kind of a mind bending but also enlightening experience too, as each one has been given the opportunity to see the aspects of themselves, both positive and negative, more specifically positive in more ways, that do matter and that do make a difference, even if they can't always see what difference those aspects make from the inside.

 

The clash of blades and might is going to get pretty intense here, and if the two aren't careful they may just damage the bridge as a result, then it might be splash time heh. In all seriousness though, Leo will have his work cut out for him here, as Haohmaru is for sure no push over, and the space their fighting in, is relatively tight and relatively close to the water and a potential ring out for either of them. To me however, perhaps going against the grain here, I still believe that Leo can win this, as his experience is certainly comparable, but also perhaps superior in many ways to Haohmaru's experiences and power. Aspects that stem from his many encounters with aliens, the multiverse, Usagi himself, and his many years of training with Splinter and his brothers, whereas Haohmaru has faced powerful and skilled opponents, but those opponents were somewhat limited in being both Earth bound and perhaps from the older era of Feudal Japan, binding him, as a result to a rather set repertoire of wisdom and experience as a result, not that he could help that situation much anyway, but still it is binding for him.

Thanks for commenting Z451! I was hoping to hear from you before this match ends today! 

[JohnnyChany]

Great Donatello fight, Rakai.

As for the now, pulling in Samurai Shodown characters, very nice, and as stated a tie in to KOF through KOF XIV. An intriguing mix of Shodown characters to make up the team as well. Yagyu and Galford are not obvious choices and I am glad they will get matches,

Not sure which direction to go, will try to make a decision soon. At the very least I had to comment and rate a well put together match.

[RakaiThwei]

1 minute ago, JohnnyChany said:

Great Donatello fight, Rakai.

As for the now, pulling in Samurai Shodown characters, very nice, and as stated a tie in to KOF through KOF XIV. An intriguing mix of Shodown characters to make up the team as well. Yagyu and Galford are not obvious choices and I am glad they will get matches,

Not sure which direction to go, will try to make a decision soon. At the very least I had to comment and rate a well put together match.

This match was posted around Sunday at 2:30 PM. So I think it concludes forty five minutes from that time.

[Callisto]

Match Final Results

Member Ratings:
5.00 - JohnnyChany
5.00 - ViceCityMobster86
4.90 - DSkillz
4.70 - leroypowell3
4.50 - Pizzaguy2995
4.80 - Boratz
5.00 - Z451

FPA Calculation:
7 Total Votes cast
33.90 Total Combined Score
33.90 / 7 = 4.84 Final Rating on the match

MATCH SCORE
Leonardo (Mirage): 6
Haohmaru : 4

[RakaiThwei]

This fight was CLOSE and is perhaps the second closest to Raphael vs Joe Higashi. Writing the recap is going to be a task in of itself... Definitely a hard earned win for Leonardo!!