Chapter 2: Po the Teacher?

The sun slowly rose over the Jade Palace, which sat high on a mountaintop overlooking the Valley of Peace. Every morning, when the villagers in the Valley woke up, they looked at the palace and knew they were safe.

For inside lived the best kung fu fighters in the land. Master Shifu, their leader. Tigress, Mantis, Monkey, Viper, and Crane: the Furious Five. And the Dragon Warrior himself, the mighty panda called Po.

That morning Po exploded through the doors of the bunkhouse.

"Justice! The most important meal of the day!" he cried as he bounded down the mountain toward the village.

The Furious Five followed him. Tigress moved with agile grace. Monkey propelled himself with his long arms. Mantis hopped with amazing speed. Viper's body smoothly glided down the rocks. And Crane soared above them all.

They landed awesomely. . . in front of Mr. Ping's noodle shop. "Let's have, um, two spring rolls—" Po began, placing their order.

"Three," Monkey cut in.

"Spicy tofu bun," added Crane.

"The spicy noodle soup for Tigress," Po put in. "Did you want extra sauce for that?"

"She wants it on the side," Monkey said.

"On the side," Tigress confirmed, crossing her arms.

Once they had their lunch, Po and the Furious Five ran through the valley once again as villagers called from windows and gathered on the streets.

"Go, Dragon Warrior!" they cheered. "Defend our valley!"

Po and the Five sprinted and jumped, darting between their adoring fans. Then Po led them back up the mountain.

"Yee-ha!" Po cheered, striking a dramatic kung fu pose as he landed back outside the Jade Palace. But, looking around, he saw the others weren't posing with him. "You guys aren't doing the dramatic pose, are you?"

"I'm doing the dramatic slouch," Crane said.

"You guys, never underestimate the power of the dramatic entrance," Po told them. "I've heard of some masters who could win a fight just by throwing open a door. Shuh-sha!"

He moved to kick open the door of the training hall when Master Shifu stepped in front of him.

"Dramatic entrance?" Master Shifu asked, raising an eyebrow. A red panda, Master Shifu barely came up to Po's waist—but he could topple the big panda with just one look.

"Master Shifu, I, uh . . . " Po began, embarrassed.

"The Dragon Warrior is correct!" Master Shifu interrupted, surprising Po. "Before the battle of the fist comes the battle of the mind. Hence . . . the dramatic entrance."

Master Shifu turned and leaped through the doors to the training hall. Rows of crossbow-wielding geese fired flaming arrows, lighting the cauldrons that lined the hall.

Poof! They exploded into flames.

"Whoa, nice dramatic entrance," said Po, impressed. "What's the occasion?"

"Today will be my final class," Master Shifu replied.

"Your final . . . Wait, I didn't even know you were sick!" Po said. "Although you have been looking a little—"

"I'm not sick!" Master Shifu protested.

"—healthy. A little healthy. A lot, actually," Po said, trying to recover.

Master Shifu took a deep breath. "My final class, because from now on, your training will be in the hands of the Dragon Warrior!"

The Furious Five looked at Master Shifu like he was crazy.

"WHAT?!" Po shouted, once he realized what Master Shifu had said. He leaned over and whispered loudly into Master Shifu's ear, "Me? Teach? I mean, why not Tigress? She's always telling everyone what to do."

"Be quiet, Po," Tigress commanded.

"See what I mean?" Po asked.

"Tigress is not the Dragon Warrior. You are," Master Shifu replied firmly.

A feeling of panic started to well inside Po. Before he became the Dragon Warrior, he was just a humble noodle-shop server who looked up to the Furious Five as his heroes. Then Master Shifu had taught him how to harness his inner strength to perform feats of amazing awesomeness, and he had become a kung fu hero too. Fighting evil bad guys? That came easy to him now. But teaching . . .

"Come on, they're the Five," Po said. "What could I teach them?"

"There is always something more to learn, even for a master," Master Shifu replied. "For instance, let me show you another move . . . the dramatic exit."

Master Shifu pointed his staff across the hall. "What's that?!" he cried.

Po and the Furious Five turned to look, and when they turned back, Master Shifu was gone.

"Where'd he go?!" Po asked.

Then he noticed that the Furious Five were all standing at attention.

"Master," they said, bowing to Po.

"We await your instructions, Master," Crane said.

"All you have to lose is our respect," Tigress said, her golden eyes fixed on him.

Po gulped. How could he possibly teach the Furious Five?

But he had to try. Master Shifu had asked him to do it.

Mantis turned to Po hopefully. "Seriously, how bad can it be?"

A few minutes later Mantis had his answer: "Very bad! Very, very bad!"

The Training Hall was set up like an extreme obstacle course. Sharp blades, when set in motion, swung like pendulums. Arrows whizzed across the hall at unexpected moments. Flames shot up as if out of nowhere.

Po was nervously calling out commands from Master Shifu's seat as the Furious Five jumped and flew through the course.

"Monkey, Immovable Mountain Stance!" he yelled.

"Yes, Master," Monkey replied. He froze atop one of the Training Hall machines, motionless, until . . .

Crunch! Monkey fell into the gears of the machine.

"Uh, I mean . . ." Po turned to the other four. "Tigress, Tornado Backflip!"

"Yes, Master," Tigress said dutifully. She flipped backward—right into a giant swinging ball of fire.

"Oh, fire!" Po cried in alarm.

"Fire!" repeated the crossbow-wielding geese.

The geese shot their arrows at Tigress.

"Sorry!" Po yelled, as one hit her in the butt. "Crane, go high, I mean, low! Oh!"

Crane swooped high and then dipped low—just as Viper was speeding past. She clotheslined him and he landed on tiny Mantis.

"Ah! My claw thingy!" Mantis cried.

Po tried to make things better by shouting more commands.

"Totem Pole Poison Technique! Swarming Insect Bite with Yellow Tail, Yellow Jacket, spicy . . ."

"Oof!"

"Ow!"

"Ouch!"

The cries of the Furious Five rang through the palace as Po's directions kept causing them to crash into obstacles—and into one another.

Exhausted and beaten up, the Furious Five fell into a tangled heap on the training room floor.

"Good job, Po," Viper groaned, trying to be encouraging.

"Did you at least learn a little something?" Po asked, wincing.

"Yes," Tigress said. "I learned that you can't teach."

"And that Tigress is flammable," Crane added.

Po's face fell . . . then the roof of the Training Hall fell too.