When he played his initial ain he didn’t ramp the Don, so when he used leader effect he got the Don off both ain. We spoke about it after the game and he sadly didn’t have a better play!
Imo playing 1 Ain is a better play. He had only 5 don next turn, cant do too much but with 7 don next turn you can play kid blocker + gordon/raise max or ace. Having 6 or 7 don is crucial for rp law, it enables so much more plays. Only reason to leader ability that early is with ain + shachi so you dont lose don