Losing his clan was like losing his life - no, his soul, leaving only a hollowed-out husk behind. He was an extension of the Clan's will, he had no existence without it.
(And, selfishly, it had hurt, to watch men he'd trained alongside all his life turn their backs on him. To watch his master's heart turn to stone towards him, as though he truly believed Yoshi would ever betray him.)
He'd built some semblance of a life for himself across the sea, lost it all, never really built it back up - and then, fate conspired to bless him with four sons as unique as he was. It was years before he allowed himself to think 'clan' in reference to them, but that's what they were, and he cherished them as he had once believed himself cherished.
TMNT, Splinter
Losing his clan was like losing his life - no, his soul, leaving only a hollowed-out husk behind. He was an extension of the Clan's will, he had no existence without it.
(And, selfishly, it had hurt, to watch men he'd trained alongside all his life turn their backs on him. To watch his master's heart turn to stone towards him, as though he truly believed Yoshi would ever betray him.)
He'd built some semblance of a life for himself across the sea, lost it all, never really built it back up - and then, fate conspired to bless him with four sons as unique as he was. It was years before he allowed himself to think 'clan' in reference to them, but that's what they were, and he cherished them as he had once believed himself cherished.