In the IDW continuity, Oroku Saki was a high-ranking member of the Foot Clan in feudal Japan, and the reincarnation of Takeshi Tatsuo, the Dragon Warrior and was formerly one of the main villains in the series. Both Takeshi and Saki were mortal vessels which Takeshi's bride, the goddess Kitsune, had groomed for the resurrection of her father the Dragon in the hopes of annihilating the human race she had come to despise. During his youth in the Foot Clan, Oroku Saki was a dear clan brother to Hamato Yoshi, but Saki's own dark fate corrupted him and drove him to murder Yoshi and his entire family. In a later era, Saki was resurrected by Karai, a distant descendant of the children Saki had with Kitsune, who sought his help in reviving the Foot Clan to its original glory. Leading the new Foot Clan as the Shredder, Saki was soon reunited with mutant animal reincarnations of Clan Hamato in the form of Splinter and the Turtles. After a deadly struggle, Splinter and his sons defeated the Shredder and wrested control of the Foot Clan, and before death Saki finally reconciled with his clan brother. Saki's subsequent afterlife brought even more soul searching and a renewed spiritual bond with Splinter. Later when Kitsune tried to use Saki's bones to resurrect the Dragon, Saki's spirit and Splinter worked together to again resurrect Saki, which had the effect of again killing the Dragon but also costing Splinter his life. Now redeemed and with a fourth lease on life, Oroku Saki reunited with Kitsune as husband and wife to begin their healing. And in reverence to Splinter, Saki became an anonymous friend watching over his clan brother's now orphaned sons, the Turtles. After The Armageddon Game and the death of his love Kitsune, he went to Planet Hirobyl to keep an eye on Noi Tai Dar.