"Chirp~!"
"Why haven't they left yet?"
"Chirp~?"
"I don't know..."
The morning sun was bright and beautiful. Two early-rising birds chirped away on a branch, quietly discussing why the kung fu masters from the Jade Palace were still lingering here.
What had happened and what was about to happen in the Valley of Peace couldn't affect these little creatures, who didn't much care for blending into the valley's mainstream society. The world of birds and the world of beasts were entirely different, after all. No matter how powerful, brutal, or terrifying Tai Lung was, he couldn't easily do anything to birds flying high in the sky.
They could still live in this place, which was like a paradise on earth, and greet the sun as it slowly rose over the horizon in relatively good spirits, without worrying that some evil presence might disrupt their lives.
But while the birds and bugs didn't have to move away, the other animals living on the ground had no choice!
So Master Shifu, the remaining members of the Furious Five—Tigress, Viper, Mantis, Crane, and Monkey—who had managed to regain some of their fighting strength after a night's rest, and Po the Pandaren, the last of the seven, had all risen early and made their preparations. Yet an unavoidable gloom hung over their hearts.
"..."
"..."
The seven of them had gathered at the steps in front of the Jade Palace's main gate. They paid no heed to the birds' questions. Standing on either side of the palace's master, Master Shifu, they silently gazed down the long staircase toward the little town of the Valley of Peace, bathed in the morning light. For a long while, no one spoke.
They could all see that, unlike the lively bustle of an ordinary morning, the town was