Leonardo Hamato

* Age 34
* Age 18
* Tot

In *Mutant Ninja Turtles Gaiden*, **Leonardo Hamato** (usually known simply as **Leo**) is one of the four adopted mutant turtle sons of Hamato Splinter, and brother to Raphael, Michelangelo and Donatello. Now 34 years old, he has returned to New York City after spending 17 years in Japan, and is now second-in-command of Karai's Foot Clan.

## Appearance

In the Prologue, Leonardo's appearance is mostly the same as it is in Mirage TMNT Volume 1, from which *MNT Gaiden* branches its continuity. The one difference, influenced by the 2003 TV series, is that Leo's bandana is blue.

When Leo returns 17 years later, Leo shows up still wearing his bandana and wrist bands, but is also wearing an ensemble of traditional Japanese clothing, including kimono, haori and hakama, but remains barefoot. Sometimes, Leo also wears a kasa on his head. This outfit was chosen by his friend Sadao so that Leonardo would not look like a "naked kappa," and has remained Leo's new permanent outfit.

## Personality

Leonardo's personality is complicated to describe, because since coming under the Curse of Yamata-no-Orochi, he has *two* personalities. Before becoming cursed, Leo's personality was much as it was in Mirage TMNT Volume 1—obedient, dutiful and spiritual, if somewhat perfectionist and arrogant. But the curse has split Leo's good and dark halves into two separate personalities, and one of the two is in control at any given time.

In many ways, the two personalities are opposites:

 Genuinely loves his family.
 Loves Sadao as a kindred spirit and dear friend, and possibly more.
 Cares about others, and accepts personal sacrifices to train his body and mind.
 Will only kill reluctantly when there is no other choice.
 Is a reluctant mass-executioner of Morinagas, feeling excruciating sorrow over all the innocent men, women and children he has killed and all the families he has destroyed.

Dark Leo surfaces and seizes control as an effect of the curse, and grows in strength over time. But every time a Morinaga is killed, the curse's effect is instantly temporarily disrupted, and good Leo assumes full control. The longer Leo goes between Morinaga slayings, the easier it is for dark Leo to take control.

But while dark Leo is a genuinely dark villain, even good Leo has reluctantly murdered many innocent people—acts normally associated with villainy rather than heroism—but with the noble motive of preventing the reawakening of an ancient demon who would kill many *more* innocent people. But since good Leo values life, at first every innocent life he ends takes a toll on his psyche, and he must meditate for long periods of time to deal with the self-inflicted trauma. But Leo eventually forms an effective mental shield protecting him from trauma during his killings by remembering the faces of the people he loves—his three brothers and Sadao. Over time, this shield becomes so effective that good Leo stops feeling anything bad when he kills innocent people. This creates the unsettling paradox of a good person who has desensitized himself to the consequences of murder.

Leo's personality in *MNT Gaiden* is not just a deconstruction of good and dark halves of people's personalities, but of the paradox that good people with good intentions can still commit horrible acts against undeserving people if they believe it is the lesser of two evils—thus greatly blurring the line between hero and villain. The story deconstructs this so brutally and graphically that it can be very disturbing to some readers.

## Biography

In the Prologue, Leonardo Hamato is still a 17-year-old turtle living in a lair in the sewer with his brothers Raphael, Michelangelo and Donatello and their father Splinter. Eikichi Gotoh had anonymously dropped into the sewers a package addressed to Hamato Yoshi containing the Tōtsuka Sword and some Japanese scrolls, and it was later found by Splinter, who took the package's contents into his room.

Leo has caught Raph on the surface streets fighting street punks—Raph having lied to Splinter about taking a stroll. Leo pressures Raph into releasing the thugs. On the way back to their lair, Leo informs Raph about the package Splinter recently found. Splinter greets them both at home, and asks Raph about his stroll; Leo can empathically sense Splinter's hidden anger, and derails Raph's attempt at lying by telling Splinter the truth, prompting Splinter to ground Raph. Splinter wants to speak with Leo alone, but Raph angrily quarrels with Leo, calling him a traitor. Their argument is interrupted by Mikey attacking Raph to spar with him, occupying Raph long enough for Splinter and Leo to leave together.

Out in the sewer tunnel, Splinter starts teaching Leo a new astral plane technique he just learnt from a scroll delivered in the package. But Splinter is interrupted by Donnie over the Shell Cell, and leaves to run an errand for him.

As Leo continues practicing the technique, he senses powerful negative energy coming from his own bedroom, and hurries there to find that Raph has attacked Mikey with a strange katana—Leo sends Mikey to Donnie for his wounds. Leo confronts Raph, who is acting conspicuously more evil—the reason he's *in* Leo's room is to plant the package's katana to make it appear that Leo stole it, thus getting him in trouble with Splinter; Mikey had tried to stop Raph. Leo soon realizes that Raph's katana is somehow cursed, and his words manage to calm Raph and talk him into dropping it and recovering from his dark emotional state. Raph fears his actions under the katana's influence will still get him in serious trouble with Splinter, and Leo reluctantly agrees to help him move the sword back to Splinter's room. But in trying to do so, Leo comes under the curse, and instantly becomes hostile to Raph, attacking him and trying to kill him.

In the course of events, Dark Leo becomes more firmly gripped by the curse and tries to kill *all* of his brothers, cutting all of them, but unleashing his most brutal attacks on Raph who uses his own body to shield Mikey from harm. Dark Leo considers his brothers unworthy sons of Splinter, and bitterly envies the personal lives they have been able to enjoy by not training as hard as he has. When Splinter returns from Donnie's errand, he is horrified at what he sees, and recognizes that Leo has come under the curse. Since Leo is so gripped by the curse that he is physically unable to drop the sword, Splinter transfers Leo's curse into himself, and commands his son to quickly kill him with the cursed sword. Leo's brothers watch in horror as he impales Splinter with the sword, and both Splinter and the sword are destroyed in a supernatural fire that leaves nothing but ashes.

Donnie is especially traumatized by what he has seen, and forbids Leo from touching Splinter's ashes. Leo immediately decides to leave for Japan, and not return until he has learnt all about the package, the sword and the curse. Though Donnie is eager to see Leo leave and never return, Raph desperately chases after Leo and begs him to stay. But Leo leaves, leaving his brothers to mourn the abrupt disintegration of their family. Leo remembers one of the last lessons Splinter taught him, where he promised his father he would stay and try to keep his brothers together, but Splinter advised him that someday leaving may actually be the right thing to do. Either way, Leo feels dishonored, and is determined to carry the burden of that dishonor alone and away from his family.

In a very long flashback sequence in Chapter 21: *The Curse of "Yamata-no-Orochi"*, Leonardo has been in Japan for a year, but has found no leads, and no sign that Hamato Yoshi had ever even existed. Leo has also realized that he is still cursed—Dark Leo periodically takes over, and he has murdered numerous innocent people in cold blood.

One day in the Japanese countryside, he is peacefully approached by two Foot Ninja—one is named Kōjirō, and the other is named Ryōta—and they inform Leo that the Foot Clan wishes to help him. But Dark Leo takes over and he kills both ninja, which immediately provokes the rest of the Foot to come after him.

Leo flees into the water underneath a nearby pedestrian bridge, hoping to wait until the Foot give up searching for him—but days go by, and Leo can still sense the Foot's presence in the area. (Karai knows exactly where he's hiding, and the Foot are waiting for him to come out on his own.) But Leo does not starve, as a young human woman drops a carton of sushi into the river, discarding it as an unwanted gift from her father. Leo quickly grabs and starts eating the sushi to stave off starvation, an act that does not go completely unnoticed by the woman. The next day, the woman drops another carton of sushi into the river for the stranger under the bridge to eat, but Leo is alarmed that the sushi is full of spicy wasabi. The woman declares she knows someone is under the bridge, but feels she can somehow relate to the unseen stranger, and starts telling him about how she and her father are fugitives on the run from shady people, but has reason to believe her father is lying to her. Leo breaks the silence and asks the woman to try to relate to her father's situation, but she becomes angry and leaves. A couple of days later, the woman returns and drops a bentō of food into the water, apologizing to the unseen stranger for the way she treated him. As they continue talking, it is clear they *can* readily relate to each other, as both of their fathers have tried to raise them away from public scrutiny, but Leo's father had also employed him as an instrument of revenge. Leo admits to having ended his father's life to save him from an "incurable disease," but Sayako sympathizes, remarking that the unseen stranger's father's death ended his suffering and freed the son from his father's revenge. Dark Leo takes offense at this perceived insult to Splinter's honor and verbally lashes out, but Good Leo quickly reassumes control and apologizes for the outburst. The two periodically meet again at the bridge, still never seeing each other, and talk about both their lives and problems. Finally, they agree to introduce each other—the woman's name is Sayako, and Leonardo reveals his true name to her. But Sayako's father arrives at the bridges and scolds his daughter for being there without permission and makes her return home with him—this leaves Leo without conversation, but more importantly without food, and he gradually starves again.

Realizing that the Foot do indeed know where he's hiding and are waiting him out, he decides to leave the bridge and take the Foot head-on, ferociously killing several before Karai confronts him directly. Karai tries to peacefully talk Leo out of his attack, telling him that she had already negotiated a peace treaty with his three brothers in New York City for their help in the City at War incident. But all these details—not least of which the notion of his brothers cooperating with the Foot Clan—provokes Leo into an uncontrollable rage, and Karai is forced to impale him with her katana. Though Dark Leo wishes to die in what he perceives is an honorable death, Good Leo refuses to give in, and he eventually wakes up alive in Karai's custody with his wounds treated.

Confronted by Karai, Leo takes a conciliatory tone and wants to take responsibility for the peace treaty he violated. When Karai refuses, Leo admits that he's been cursed by an ancient katana. Karai immediately realizes that Leo is talking about the Tōtsuka Sword, and that the mutant Hamato Clan is responsible for setting into motion a sequence of events that have since become the subject of the Foot Clan's most important mission. Karai explains many things to Leo—the Yamata-no-Orochi, the Tōtsuka Sword, the demon's curse, and how Oroku Saki stole the sword and unsuccessfully tried to use it to destroy Hamato Yoshi, and how the Shredder's last surviving Foot Elite Eikichi Gotoh tried to finish the job.

Karai has Leo walk with her through their Foot facility, passing through a room with many mutilated Foot corpses, and seeing some Foot who had survived his onslaught. Karai shows Leo the Yata-no-Kagami and askes him to touch it—this causes Leo to see visions of many random humans in his mind, and he describes what he sees. Karai recognizes one of the descriptions as a nearby kendō instructor, and Leo is shocked to hear Karai order the instructor's assassination. Karai explains that the Yata-no-Kagami can be used by cursed individuals to track down members of the Morinaga Bloodline, and she explains how their life force sustains the Yamata-no-Orochi's life force. Leo does not want innocent people to die, but neither does Karai—she has no other choice but to exterminate the Morinagas.

Karai then approaches one of her Foot Ninja mourning over one of the corpses—the ninja's name is Sadao, and he is mourning the death of Ryōta, one of the first Foot Leo killed during his recent rampage. Sadao tries to attack Leo in revenge, but Karai orders him to stand down. Karai realizes that Leo wants to stop an innocent man's assassination, and she lets him go, but advises him not to get in the way of the Foot Clan's operations.

Leo approaches the condemned man's home, and not wanting to be seen, he writes 逃 ("escape") on a stone and throws it next to the man from a safe distance. As the man is examining the stone, his daughter walks in and speaks to him—Leo immediately recognizes from her voice that she is Sayako, and realizes that she too is a Morinaga. The man feigns disowning Sayako, and gives her one minute to pack her bags and leave through a secret tunnel. Feeling well and truly alienated from her father, she leaves through the tunnel and out of his life forever. But the man actually did all this to disguise Sayako's identity and save her life at the cost of his own, and he thanks the distant stranger from trying to help him.

Leo sadly slips away just as Foot Ninja converge on the man's location, but the turtle realizes he has been tracked down by Sadao, who still seeks revenge. Dark Leo takes control and quickly subdues Sadao, preparing to take his life. But the moment Sayako's father dies, Leo feels the effects of the curse instantly temporarily lifted, and he spares Sadao's life and retreats.

Realizing that Karai had been telling him the truth, Leo realizes that Sayako will still be in danger *from him*, and returns underneath the bridge waiting for Sayako to show up one last time. Sure enough, Sayako shows up and starts speaking to her unseen friend Leonardo. Though her father has ordered her to leave town and move far away, she wants to disobey him and settle down in town. But Leo addresses her as Sayako Morinaga and firmly instructs her to do as her father told her. They briefly argue and Sayako becomes agitated, so Leo climbs the bridge in person, finally meeting Sayako face to face. Leo unsuccessfully tries to convince Sayako to return home, and tries to physically restrain her from doing so, which only causes her to cry out for help. Finally, Leo has no other choice but to tell her the truth that her father is already dead. Sayako refuses to believe it and is still determined to return home, but Leo tells her that a secret organization has been systematically eradicating the Morinaga Bloodline—he again instructs her to leave far away and trust no one. Sayako wishes to remain with Leonardo, but he tells her he has a disease that may end up hurting her—not even he can be trusted forever.

Leo regretfully leaves his friend Sayako alone, and returns to Karai, submitting himself to the service of the Foot Clan and their mission to exterminate the Morinaga Bloodline, choosing to save his own family at the expense of Morinaga lives. He wishes Sayako well, knowing that someday she too must die.

In a flashback sequence in Chapter 22: *The Witch-Hunt of a Bloodline*, Leonardo is still with the Foot Clan, and has been employing his ability to use the Yata-no-Kagami to provide the Foot with a steady source of leads to tracking down Morinagas. This demoralizing genocide has taken its toll on the Foot, and many ninja are traumatized to the point that some are occasionally driven to seppuku. Leo himself has largely kept his hands clean, only killing Morinagas whom he's confident are bad people. He has risen to the position of Karai's second-in-command, and actually leads the Foot Clan whenever she is away. Leo studies Foot Clan documents to learn more about the Morinaga Bloodline and the Yamata-no-Orochi's association with the original Morinaga.

Sadao has become Leo's occasional subordinate, but the Foot Ninja still resents the turtle not just for killing his lover Ryōta, but for also refusing to share the grievous burden of killing innocent Morinagas. Leo believes he has already suffered enough from all his hardships, but Sadao mocks his appeal for sympathy. Sadao knowingly provokes Leo's dark side into surfacing, and Sadao is himself impaled on Leo's sword. Leo is horrified by what he has done, leaves Sadao in the care of other Foot Ninja.

Ashamed of himself, Leo tracks down the nearest innocent Morinaga family and massacres them in their own beds. Leo is now beyond horrified, as Dark Leo had not committed this atrocity—his "good" side had done this. For days, Leo retreats to his room and meditates to cope with his acute posttraumatic stress disorder. Whenever he is seen by other Foot, he exhibits a thousand-yard stare that tells everyone all they need to know—the turtle has finally gotten his hands dirty with the rest of them. Finally, Karai meets with Leo, and suspecting that he intends to quit, she tells him that the mission will go on with or without his help. But Leo promises he will continue helping them.

Soon, Leo spots Sadao, alive and recovering from his sword wound. Feeling a desperate need, Leo goes to Sadao and checks his pulse—confused, the gay ninja Sadao thinks Leo is trying to inappropriately grope him. Leo is then desperate to remove Sadao's always-worn mask and look upon his face as someone who finally faced Dark Leo and survived. Leo confesses the anguish he has felt over all the people he has killed, including his own father. This surprises Sadao, who realizes that Leo is being truthful and has been well and truly suffering over the consequences of his actions—but Sadao also sees in Leo the hated kappa who took Ryōta away from him. Sadao admits that he logically accepts that it was Leo's curse-fueled dark side who killed Ryōta—not Leo in his right mind—but he still can't bring himself to help Leo find peace and comfort.

Still, Sadao's relationship with Leo has already begun to change. Over the years that followed, Leo and Sadao would work together are partners in the unhappy task of executing countless innocent Morinagas. It is Sadao who selects Leo's new clothes, reasoning that assassination victims are more likely to scream at a *naked* kappa. After four years, Leo learnt to shield his own emotions from the consequences of mass-murder, and no longer feels anything when he kills. It is still a very demoralizing task for other Foot Ninja, and Leo is frequently blamed and hated for their suffering, but Leo has learnt to shut it *all* out at will, effectively becoming a sociopath. To do this, Leo simply remembers his brothers, and also Sadao whom Leo has come to love at least as much. Leo has still never seen Sadao's face behind the mask, and no longer needs to see it to ease his pain, but he still wants to see it for personal emotional reasons. Sadao senses Leo's affection for him and still turns him down, but his hatred has begun to fade. Leo comes to realize that, even though he's become an unfeeling killer, it is his attachment to Sadao that anchors his humanity the rest of the time. Sadao eventually forgives Leo, and they become dear friends, foils and partners, though Sadao continues to refuse Leo's affections.

It is strongly implied that Leonardo tracks down and kills Sayako in Sendai, four years after they first meet. It is also strongly implied that Leo knows about Davianna Wallace in some way, which would be logical if she is indeed Sayako's biological daughter. But the story has not yet told these events in detail.

Leonardo returns to Brooklyn 17 years after leaving, as part of a mission with the Foot Clan to exterminate the last Morinagas on earth who now live *only* in New York City. At first he tries to avoid contact with any of his family, but still wants to observe them from a distance. In Chapter 15: *And So the Pages Turn...*, Leo anonymously intervenes when his brothers Raphael and Michelangelo are being chased by the police, and Mikey's wounds are leaving a blood trail for the police to track. After Raph crashes his motorcycle, Leo steps in, creates a fake decoy trail with his own blood, and disguises the real trail with snow. The fact that someone has intervened on their behalf does not go unnoticed by their other brother Donatello.

In Chapter 16: *The Leader*, Leonardo discreetly spies on the Jones Apartment's Christmas party from outside, but is accidentally discovered by Raphael when he opens the fire escape window to vomit. Leo tries to slip away, but Raph loudly calls out Leo's name—Leo's escape attempt has failed, and decides instead to talk. Raph has a spontaneous rage fit, but Leo refuses to fight him. When Raph tries to *kill* Leo, he still does nothing, expressing his undying trust in Raph. Leo tells Raph how their curse is still affecting them, and how Leo still has a duty to end the curse, and cannot come home until he does. But Raph reminds Leo of their bonds as brothers, and finally convinces him not only to come home, but to reassume his position as the brothers' leader.

In Chapter 17: *Between Cops and Ninjas*, Raphael invites Leonardo into the apartment where Michelangelo, Donatello, Casey Jones and Renoir are all sleeping after their party. Leo happily reunites with Mikey and Casey, but Donnie has a panic attack at Leo's sudden return. Donnie refuses to acknowledge that Leo is *real*, and desperately unsuccessfully tries to force Renoir to come home with him before rushing out of the apartment. April and Shadow Jones return home from the hospital, and Leo happily reunites with April, and meets his niece Shadow for the first time. When Leo finally notices that Raph is smoking cigarettes, they quickly get into an argument about Raph's health, and Raph ends up holding his cigarette too close to the smoke detector, causing it go off and electronically alert the fire department—the mutants must all leave the apartment before fire fighters arrive to investigate. Before they leave together, Leo finally meets Renoir—an unexpected fifth mutant ninja turtle who is a complete stranger to him.

Leonardo's role in Chapter 18: *A Little Deeper in Donatello's World* is relatively minor. Raphael guides him to his newer lair, as the old Hamato Lair has become Donatello's private home. It also becomes evident to the reader that Leo intends to conceal his involvement with the Foot Clan.

In Chapter 20: *Adjusting to the Present*, Leonardo has arrived at Raphael's lair, where they, Renoir and Michelangelo will live together. As Raph adjusts to the surreality of Leo's sudden return into their lives, they discuss the current state of their family, and Raph's mixed success at trying to keep them together in both Splinter and Leo's absence. When Leo compliments Raph about Mikey, it dawns on Raph that it really *was* Leo who saved them after Raph crashed his motorcycle in the alley. Raph feels that, in this, Leo has continued to lead them, but Leo opines that Raph has become a more successful leader than he was, reasoning that it was Raph who stayed in the wake of their tragedy, trying to preserve their father's legacy and keep the family together even after Leo abandoned them. Leo is still reluctant to resume leadership, but Raph once again emphatically insists on it, though he promises Leo can quit again when their curse is finally permanently lifted. Leo's first act as restored leader is to order Raph to quit his smoking habit.

When Raph takes a moment to bark orders at Renoir while training, Leo takes the opportunity to try to get to know the young turtle a little better, and learn more about Renoir's association with his master Raphael. Leo has heard that Renoir was a wild mutant, and Renoir admits for the first time that there is probably truth to it. Raph chides Renoir for flipflopping on his identity, but Leo points out to Raph that forcing Renoir to accept a personal reality based on an incomplete set of facts can be psychologically harmful, citing their brother Donatello as an example. Leo encourages Renoir to speak honestly about his worries, and promises that they—as a family which Renoir can be a part of—can help him find the answers he's looking for. Renoir is pleased, but admits to Leo he is not being thrilled with the idea of Raphael being *his* family. Raph himself admits feeling closer to Renoir after he lost his eye and it grew back within hours, though this revelation—that Renoir has superior healing ability—startles Leo.

Mikey arrives at the lair after having just visited Donnie, and issues Leo a new Shell Cell. Mikey teases Leo about its global positioning system will broadcast his every movement and location, but Leo is visibly very uncomfortable with this revelation. After Mikey drags Renoir off to play video games, Leo observes how Mikey doesn't seem to have matured since they were teenagers. But Raph informs Leo that Mikey *has* greatly matured, but spent most of the last 17 years completely suppressing his joyful emotions, and has only recently reverted to his old personality.

As Raph invites Leo to come join Mikey and Renoir, Leo requests a moment of privacy, and the reader learns that Leo is actually wearing a secret device allowing Karai to listen in on their every word.

In the brief non-flashback portions of Chapter 21: *The Curse of "Yamata-no-Orochi"*, Leonardo has been telling his three turtle roommates about his last 17 years in Japan, but the reader learns that Leo is actually not telling them anything about the Morinaga Bloodline or his involvement in the Foot Clan. Leo also lies to them about how to cure the curse, telling them it can be cured by finding and destroying certain ancient artifacts. Leo feels silently hurt by the fact that Raph seems to readily accept every one of his lies.

In the non-flashback portions of Chapter 22: *The Witch-Hunt of a Bloodline*, it is the first day of Leonardo and Michelangelo's new life in Raphael's lair along with Renoir. Leo slips out while Raph and Mikey are asleep to meet up with his Foot contacts; as he does so, he continues to regret the fact that he has returned to his family under false pretenses, and is lying and misleading them in the hope that he can protect them from the same pain he has already endured. But as Leo walks down the sewer tunnel, he notices Renoir talking on the Shell Cell—Leo has briefly forgotten about Renoir's existence, but believes he will not follow him. Leo feels like this stranger he has just met is more a part of the family than Leo himself is, but that this is his own fault. Leo hopes that, if his brothers learn the truth and can manage to forgive him, that he will feel like part of the family again.

Dark Leo bristles when he overhears Renoir mention over the phone how uncomfortable he feels around Leo, and Leo startles Renoir by greeting him from behind. Renoir is not only startled, but frightened at Leo's face, Leo seemingly unaware that he's wearing Dark Leo's facial expression, which soon reverts to normal. Leo lies to Renoir that he's experiencing jet lag, which is why he's still awake. Renoir explains he can't sleep because of Raph and Mikey's combined snoring. But Leo is startled when he notices the magatama pendant hanging around Renoir's neck; Renoir explains that his old friend Davianna (whom he was just talking to over the phone) gave it to him for Christmas. Leo asks if Davianna is Japanese and asks to see her photograph, but Renoir assumes Leo is asking for lewd photos of an underage girl and refuses. Leo quickly disengages and excuses himself, declaring that he is going for a stroll. (This is a meaningful echo to the Prologue, when Raph told Splinter and Leo this very same lie so he could slip out and do other things.)

On a rooftop, Leo meets up with his old friend and partner Sadao, whom he bitingly addresses as "gaywad." Leo asks for an update about the renegade Foot faction, and Sadao explains that they have all been captured, and that their leader is Eikichi Gotoh—Ryōta's older brother. Leo apologizes, not meaning to have invited Ryōta's mention, but Sadao assures Leo that it could not be helped. Leo rests his hand on Sadao's shoulder, but soon retreats and pulls away. Sadao and Leo have a tense moment, and Sadao asks if Leo is flirting with him—*again*—and reminds Leo that he does not find reptilian mutant men attractive. Leo anxiously denies it, and Sadao looks away and declares that Leo's uptight behavior is awkward. Leo asks Sadao to look at him when they talk, but Sadao calls it more awkward. Awkwardness or no, Leo admits he did not expect the two of them to ever be on speaking terms—or that they would both still be alive today.

After a series of flashbacks of Leo's earliest years as a member of Karai's Foot Clan, the two return to business: There are very few Morinagas left in the world, all of whom are in New York City—this is why Leo and the Foot Clan have come here. Leo and Sadao are then approached by Nobody, who is outraged that Karai has asked him to help the Foot Clan cover up mass murders. Nobody does not believe the Curse of Yamata-no-Orochi is real. But Nobody's irate words provoke Dark Leo to surface, causing Leo to struggle to retain his self-control. Leo continues pleading with Nobody even as Dark Leo actively tries to sow doubts in Leo's mind. Nobody says that there is more to Leo's request he's not saying. Leo then drops to his knees and begs for Nobody's help because otherwise his brothers the other turtles may learn about their mission. As Leo spills the whole truth, Nobody admires Leo's dedication to his brothers, but still thinks Karai could be lying about everything. Nobody's continued doubts keep antagonizing Dark Leo, who finally completely surfaces and begins attacking Nobody.

Renoir then shows up, sees Nobody and Leo fighting each other, and assumes Nobody has lied about not being a Foot Ninja. As Renoir tries to attack Sadao, Sadao throws shuriken at both Renoir and Leo, provoking Leo to chase after Sadao. But Sadao hides and ambushes Leo, striking him in the belly to aggravate the old scar created when Karai stabbed him 16 years ago. Sadao apologizes, explaining that forcing Leo to remember that pain is the only way to force Leo to reassert himself over his dark side. Dark Leo frantically tries to prevent Leo from remembering, but is drowned out by the recollection of two memories—Karai stabbing him 16 years ago, and the time in Sendai when he last saw Sayako. By now, Leo's eyes are overflowing with tears, but Sadao quickly calls Leo to attention. Leo thanks Sadao, and the two of them redirect their attention to Nobody who has just caught up with them.

Nobody feels set up—Leo declares again that the curse is real, but Nobody demands proof. Leo cannot supply this proof, so he has no choice but to use the last technique Splinter taught him. Over the astral plane, Leo connects his own dark side to Nobody's dark side, and forcibly draws out one of Nobody's own shameful memories. To Nobody's horror, Leo has seen, in great detail, a memory when Nobody tracked down and executed a child thief in cold blood. Leo insists he does not want to blackmail Nobody with this information—he just wants Nobody to accept that the curse is real—and promises to dig deeper into Nobody's mind. But this proves unnecessary—Nobody submits.

After both Nobody and Sadao have left, Renoir catches up with Leo. Leo asks Renoir what he saw, but Renoir says he arrived when Leo and Nobody were fighting. Relieved that his secret seems to be safe, Leo lies to Renoir, telling him they were fighting over a past grudge, but that Nobody is their ally now.

## Weapons

Leonardo's standard weapons are a pair of katanas.

## Powers and Abilities

By 17 years old, Leonardo was already empathic. He could sense other people's presences and energies, even unseen in other rooms. He could also sense other people's emotions, even through a perfectly-acted ruse.

As someone suffering from the Curse of Yamata-no-Orochi, Leo is able to touch the Yata-no-Kagami and divine the location of living descendants of the Morinaga Bloodline. The Foot Clan uses his services to identify Morinagas and mark them for extermination.

Leo also has acquired a spiritual ability taught to him by his father Hamato Splinter the same day he died. This ability allows people to connect their own dark sides to other people's dark sides over the astral plane. With this connection, the user may read people's minds, or force them to think and do things the user desires. It was originally an exorcism technique that only a few members of a certain ancient Japanese clan could use, but both Splinter and Leonardo ended up mastering it.

## Relationships

### Augustus Amherst / Renoir

Leonardo did not expect to meet a *fifth* mutant turtle, but he has been cordial to Renoir, offering to support the younger turtle in his identity crisis.

Dark Leo is irritated to learn that Renoir considers Leo so uptight.

### Donatello Hamato

Leonardo's relationship with his brother Donnie completely disintegrated the moment Splinter died, and it has never recovered. Leo still loves Donnie, but Donnie now deeply hates Leo. Since Leo returned to Brooklyn, he has been unable to even carry on a conversation with Donnie, who appears to have a panic attack at the very sight of him. Leo keeps trying to reconnect with Donnie, but so far entirely in vain.

Dark Leo resents Donnie's personal pursuits in life, along with those of Raphael and Michelangelo. Dark Leo initially planned to spare Donnie's life, but swore to kill Donnie when Donnie fought to help prevent Leo from murdering Raph.

### Michelangelo Hamato

Leonardo's relationship with his brother Mikey is positive and healthy from the moment Leo returned. Leo was surprised that Mikey at 34 years old still doesn't seem to have matured into an adult, but is even more surprised to learn that Mikey actually matured long ago but until recently spent most of the previous 17 years being unhappy and humorless.

Dark Leo resents Mikey's personal pursuits in life, along with those of Raphael and Donatello. Dark Leo also finds Mikey's cheerful optimism extremely annoying. He tried to kill Mikey 17 years ago, but his katana strikes gravely injured Raph instead.

### Raphael Hamato

Leonardo's relationship with his brother Raph has always been rather bumpy and complex, but they have always loved each other as brothers. When they were preteens, Leo and Raph made a pact that, when Raph was in trouble, he would not ask for help, but Leo would give it, and Raph would thank him for it afterward. As they grew up together, Leo would be among the first to call out Raph's disbehavior and help discipline him, much to Raph's resentment—but this interference was almost always in some way beneficial to Raph, either by helping him or by keeping him out of worse trouble than he was already in. When Leo kills their father Splinter and abruptly abandons the family over Raph's desperate objections, he silently also has faith that Raph will stay true to their father's teachings, and ultimately be a better leader than he was able to be. Raph is the first in the family to discover Leo's return, and though Raph is angry and hurt that Leo walked out on them, Leo demonstrates an extraordinary ability to calm Raph out of his rage fits. Raph convinces Leo to stay and reassume his position as leader. Leo also takes interest in Raph's student Renoir, particularly in how Raph has been able to transition into the role of ninja master.

Dark Leo, on the other hand, absolutely despises Raph, and wants to kill him because he perceives Raph's very existence as an insult to Splinter. It is Dark Leo who assaults Raph and gives him the many deep katana cuts that become Raph's trademark permanent scars.

### Hamato Splinter

Leonardo always had a personality similar to that of his father and master Splinter, and their relationship towards the end was harmonious. But when Leo became cursed by the Tōtsuka Sword, Splinter gave Leo his final and most painful order—to kill him with the cursed sword. After Leo abandoned the family and joined Karai's Foot Clan, he came to consider himself a failure in honoring Splinter's teachings, ironically coming to believe that Raph ended up being Splinter's more faithful student.

Dark Leo had a selfish love for Splinter, wanting above all else to be Splinter's perfect favorite son.

### Casey Jones

Leonardo and Casey have long been friends since their time living at the Jones Farm, and this friendship continues with Leo's return.

### Shadow Jones

Leonardo and Shadow had never met before Leo's return, and they meet for the first time as strangers.

### Karai

Karai is Leonardo's only superior in the Foot Clan. In this parallel universe, they first meet in Japan, within a year since Karai had already met his brothers in New York City during the City at War incident. Upon meeting, Dark Leo immediately wants to kill Karai (along with every Foot Ninja), but Karai subdues him stabbing him in the plastron, giving him a deep permanent scar. Karai is honorable, and upon learning that it was Leo who destroyed the Tōtsuka Sword, she tells him all about the sword, the curse, the Yamata-no-Orochi, and belatedly tells him about the Morinaga Bloodline and the Yata-no-Kagami's power to track them down that only cursed individuals like Leo can utilize. The effects of Douan Morinaga's death on his curse is enough to convince Leo of Karai's honesty, and he submits his services to Karai, formally joining the Foot Clan. From then on, Leo's relationship with Karai is based on mutual respect, trust and honor. Unlike in some other *TMNT* continuities where Leo becomes close to Karai, Leo becomes close instead to Karai's male subordinate Sadao.

### Douan Morinaga

Former Foot Ninja and father of Leonardo's friend Sayako. Leo and Douan never meet face to face, but Leo tries to save Douan from a Foot assassination after Leo has unwittingly marked him for death by identifying him through the Yata-no-Kagami. Douan uses the opportunity to instead save his daughter Sayako, and thanks the unseen stranger for the warning before accepting death. For this, Leo considers Douan a noble ninja.

### Sayako Morinaga

Leonardo and Sayako meet as a rural Japanese bridge and gradually befriend one another through conversation, though without actually seeing each other. Leo is instrumental in helping Sayako escape assassination by the Foot Clan, but he believes that someday even she must die so his brothers can be freed from the Curse of Yamata-no-Orochi. It is strongly implied that Leonardo himself is the one who finally ends Sayako's life four years later in Sendai.

### Nobody

The Hamato brothers originally met Nobody nearly two decades ago in Springfield, Massachusetts. Today in Brooklyn, Leo's relationship with Nobody is through Foot Clan business, as Karai has strong-armed Captain Longer into helping cover up the Foot's mass murder of Morinagas living in the city. Nobody distrusts the cause Leo is fighting for, and does not believe in the Curse of Yamata-no-Orochi. Eventually, Leo telepathically invades Nobody's mind to persuade him to submit his services to the Foot.

### April O'Neil

Leonardo and April love each other like brother and sister.

### Sadao

Leonardo loves Sadao, at least much as he loves his own brothers, and the story ambiguously suggests Leo may love him even more, periodically portraying sexual tension between them—Sadao, for his part, is openly gay. It is Sadao's influence that helps Leo hold on to both his humanity and his objectivity, even long after Leo has taught himself to feel nothing when he kills innocent people.

In the sixteen years since they met, Leo has still never seen Sadao's face, which is always covered with a standard Foot Ninja mask, and Leo continually hopes to one day be able to look upon it. But each time Leo asks Sadao for this chance, Sadao considers it an unwanted sexual advance and emphasizes that he is not attracted to reptilian men. This issue is also complicated by the fact that Sadao's dead lover Ryōta Gotoh was killed by Dark Leo during a curse-driven rampage, and Sadao admits to Leo that he sees Ryōta's killer in the kappa's face, even though he also knows that Leo is just as much a victim of the curse as Ryōta was. Sadao's forgiveness of Leo is a long and slow process.

### Davianna Wallace

The story has never shown Leonardo encountering Davianna, but he knew her likely birth mother Sayako Morinaga. When Leo found Renoir wearing a magatama pendant and learnt that a Japanese girl gave it to him, he immediately (but unsuccessfully) asked to see the girl's picture.