"This must be a dream…" Monkey murmured, jaw dropped.
"It can't be…" Crane shook his head quickly, thinking he was hallucinating.
"…!" Mantis could only remain silent in astonishment.
Shifu walked over to Tigress, who was on the ground, "Are you alright?"
Tigress looked up with a bitter expression and stood up. "Yes, Master…"
Allen apologized to Tigress; lately, it seemed like defeating her had become a tradition, and since she was the strongest of the Furious Five, it was almost as if he were defeating all of them.
Po, for his part, was no less surprised. The panda looked at his "hands" in disbelief, wondering if he had really defeated Tigress. There were points one could debate—perhaps Tigress shouldn't have let her anger get the better of her, or maybe if she hadn't struck Po so forcefully, his counterattack wouldn't have been as powerful. But in the end, those were just excuses; Po had defeated Tigress.
Allen smiled. "Well, the panda is the chosen one, after all."
Of course, Allen didn't discredit Po; not just anyone has the mindset to endure everything Po had gone through to become a decent warrior.
Allen approached, knowing that Po had three days to reach Tai Lung's level, and Po needed to understand that this Tai Lung would be even stronger than the one Allen had faced.
"Po…" Allen grinned playfully.
"Allen!" Po beamed. "Did you see what I did? I beat Tigress!"
"Show some respect, panda!" Shifu immediately turned pale and hurried over to scold Po, grabbing his ear.
"Ouch! Sorry, Master Shifu!"
"Not to me, you fool!"
Shifu already respected Allen simply for being Oogway's guest, but after learning he was a master of Chi, that respect had become genuine, since he, at his age, was only a Chi apprentice.
"Apologize to Master Walker!"
"Ahh, Master Shifu, you're going to rip my ear off!"
"You deserve it!"
Allen saw Po's pleading eyes asking for help and chuckled.
"No need to worry, Master Shifu. I'm not one for excessive formality; you can call me Allen, it's not a problem."
"But… that would be…"
Shifu felt unsure, struggling with the age difference, yet a master was still a master.
"No need to force yourself. But allow Po to be himself... I consider him a fun friend haha"
The panda's eyes softened. He didn't really have any friends, at least not yet. The Furious Five barely tolerated him, and Shifu was his master.
Shifu sighed and let Po go. Po stood up and tried to hug Allen, but Allen stopped him in his tracks by showing him an enormous donut with various glazes and toppings.
"This donut is a quarter covered in Swiss chocolate, another quarter in strawberry and sprinkles, a quarter in white glaze, and a final quarter with a secret topping that won't disappoint you… it's specially made by me, and I assure you my cooking skills have been praised by the gods."
The panda looked at the donut in a trance, his eyes filled with a mix of desire and passion. To him, it was the pinnacle of deliciousness.
Of course, Champa and Beerus had gone wild upon seeing the giant donut, so Vados and Whis had to knock them unconscious while they sighed.
Shifu watched Allen's actions with confusion. It wasn't surprising; Shifu had discovered Po's talent upon hearing Allen's words rather than by seeing Po do a perfect split to reach the dumplings in the pantry. So Shifu didn't really understand the power of food in Po's training.
Allen had a serious look in his eyes. "Po… right now I'm going to throw this delicious treat, and if it hits the ground, I'll destroy it, and you'll never know how it tastes…"
Po's gaze froze as if Allen had just told him he'd killed his parents.
"If you want to protect this innocent donut, you'd better prevent that… however, I will be attacking you…"
The atmosphere grew tense as the pressure Allen had displayed at the start of their meeting returned. Po grew nervous and began backing away until Allen tore off a small piece of the donut and tossed it into Po's mouth.
"Oh!"
Po fell to the ground, hugging himself. It was a disturbing sight, seeing a panda writhing in pleasure from such a delicious taste, but it was necessary.
Gwen – This is starting to feel like something else…
Nikky – That panda isn't as cute anymore…
JackBlack – Oh man, what am I even watching?!
…
Allen watched Po in silence as he stopped writhing and stood up with a serious, determined look. He didn't even feel fear in facing Allen.
"Sorry, I can't let you destroy that innocent donut…"
Allen sneered like a villain. "Then try to stop me, panda…"
Allen threw the donut into the sky…
…
In a bamboo forest, the sound of punches shook the trees.
*Auge*
"Ahhh!"
Near a lake, Tai Lung was striking a huge rock that cracked with each blow.
Tai Lung was a villain, but he was also a master of martial arts. After his defeat by Allen, he had learned a few things. Chi is the energy of life, and Tai Lung could survive a long time without water or food, maintaining his peak strength for twenty years due to his strong Chi and prior training.
Of course, he couldn't use it like Allen—not yet, anyway. Maybe one day… unfortunately, Tai Lung didn't have a Chi master to teach him, and no matter how much of a prodigy he was, he had limits without proper guidance.
"Chi is inherent in all things. Even if I can't use it like 'him,' I should be able to strengthen the Chi within me…"
Tai Lung had surprisingly shed some of his initial arrogance. Unlike an elder like Shifu or Oogway, Allen was young, even younger than him, and he had been defeated. Others would have broken, others would have shattered, but Tai Lung's will was unbreakable. Twenty years locked in the depths of an abyss hadn't crushed him, and neither would defeat by a Chi master. On the contrary, it helped him control his simmering rage. When he opened his eyes, the burning desire for vengeance was still there, but completely under control.
Tai Lung breathed deeply and exhaled, creating a small gust of wind that moved the leaves around him.
"...I hope it's true that this so-called Dragon Warrior won't disappoint me…"
Tai Lung's voice was filled with disdain for whoever would be this world's chosen one, a position he believed should be his, but there was also a strange feeling. Tai Lung sensed that, just like Allen, Po would be different from all the warriors he had faced.
Tai Lung had no idea just how true his own words would be.
"Dragon Warrior!!"
*Auge*
He continued to train...
…
Allen's training might seem like a joke to an outsider; using food as a lure might seem comical because this wasn't a movie; it was a world where a dangerous villain wouldn't show mercy when he arrived at the Jade Palace.
"NOOO!" Po leaped into the sky to protect the donut, reaching an incredible altitude, but his determination and seriousness in protecting it were also amazing.
For Po, the lighthearted panda, it might seem normal, but the Chat couldn't understand why Allen had decided to do this… until Allen sprang into action.
The voices of doubt and laughter were silenced when Allen stamped his foot on the floor which shook the jade palace.
They all understood when they saw Allen's serious gaze…
They all understood when a golden glow appeared in Allen's palm.
The goal was to make Po stronger than Tai Lung...a Tai Lung who was even more powerful. So Allen could not give Po any lesser treatment than Tai Lung.
Allen attacked Po using Chi from the start!