Ninjago Redone

Blog to post artwork for my Ninjago Rewrite fanfic as AO3 needs me to link drawings in order to put them in the book. I will flesh out this blog in more detail later. Concept art and other things will be posted here that would contain spoilers for the fanfic. My co-writers and I had a lot planned out from the beginning. Proceed with caution

[ninjago-redone]

Master Post

Making this master post to put everything the fanfics have down in its rules chapter and links for each part, all put together. Design sheets for each season/when it's appropriate, will also be linked here.

So here are the rules link to not clutter this post.

The following are the links for other story stuff

Pilot

Designs Prologue Way of the Ninja (1.1) Way of the Ninja (1.2) Way of the Ninja (1.3) Way of the Ninja (1.4)

[arabelleproductions]

Hey yall this is for both my blogs to repost cause I don’t have much energy to make multiple blogs to explain this. I know I should be continuing both the comic and fanfic as that’s what I promised, but recently my grandfather passed and a whole drama came out of my dnd campaigns at the same time. And I’m just not doing so well right now. Trying to find an equilibrium in the chaos, so I haven’t been even looking at the two projects I’m doing. Apologies for the long wait. I just need a break for a bit. Thank you.

[ninjago-redone]

Light spoilers ahead!

I love some of these back and forths I added so far in part 2 (out of order)

[ninjago-redone]

Light spoilers ahead!

Note, while writing Kai's reactions in the current part 2 of the chapter, I realize people might find my writing of him weird, and it would seem less like him and Nya are siblings. To clarify ahead of time, I'm writing Kai less like an older brother in the beginning and more like a parent to Nya, as in my rewrite, their parents died before Nya could really remember them. Kai was about 5, and Nya was 3, and he's had to take care of her ever since. So he's more like a parent than a brother, so the desperation I wrote him with in this upcoming part is written with that in mind. As time goes on, the parentification of Kai calms down a bit as he realizes Nya has grown up and doesn't really need him to parent her anymore, and they become more like siblings. They would still have those remnants of that significant bond, though, but that only appears in specific circumstances.

[ninjago-redone]

Way Of The Ninja (Part 2) Cover Art

I finished the title art before the actual next part completion -,-

[ninjago-redone]

Updated each of the parts to have hyperlinks for easier navigation :)))

[ninjago-redone]

Way Of The Ninja (1.4)

    Unbeknownst to the siblings, there were special orders to keep the chaos as far away from the Four Weapons as possible. Why? Because there were two–debatably–sneaky burglars rummaging through their home. Searching for the treasure they came for.

   They looked high and low, side to side, underneath and above–ooooo shiny. The mohawked skeleton puts on the shiny helmet upon its head, looking at the reflection in the shield mounted on the wall. I look so cool.

   SMACK and SPIN went the Nuckal's head. "Enough dawdling! We need to find that map.", shouted their partner, Kruncha, "And you're not lookin' hard enough!". "OW!", Nuckal yelped, then turned huffy towards Kruncha, "You're not lookin' hard enough!". They smack Krunch back in retaliation. This triggered a familiar cycle these walls have seen before: petty squabbling. The two skeletons started to—flail? Their arms at each other? How are they the two right hands of the captain? Was left too underqualified?

   Eventually, Kruncha punched Nuckal straight in the ribs. The force of the impact shoved them into the wall, knocking off the primitive wall phone. Ah, I see, they're the dumb muscles! Of course! And like all dumb muscle henchmen, they conveniently stumble upon the right thing.

   The infamous 'Four Weapons' sign fell down with a loud THUD. The skeletons jump to the sound and look towards the fallen soldier. You will be missed, brave sign. There, they made their discovery; the map was behind that blasted sign the whole time! Ingenious! Hide the map in a place no one cares to look at for more than two seconds! What would be a better hiding spot?

   "The map!", they shouted in unison.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    The pair of teenagers were doing surprisingly well. Nya had a couple of years of training from Mr. Yaki in basic combat, so her discipline was clearly shown through her careful movement. Her swipes and bashes were graceful, taking down her opponents in a flourish like a dancer's. It crumbled every enemy in her way into dust, like a refined expert.

     Kai, in the meanwhile, was far more rough–effective–but rough. He never had time for such training, nor did he ever think he needed it; you just need a fist to the throat to knock someone flat after all. So his fighting resembles more of a street brawler's, striking harder than needed and using more than the weapon to fight, like his head. He does have a very hard head.

     The two were clearing out a path for a group of their neighbors they pulled out of their house, trying to at least get past this wave. While Nya effortlessly knocked four more enemies to dust, her brother got headbutted and disarmed. "Kai!", Nya shouted, about to come over, but a quick attack from another two skeletons kept her from moving. The skeletons clearly see her as the bigger threat.

     Kai held his nose from where the enemy struck, hearing them cackling at his misfortune. However, unlike you'd expect, Kai's blood wasn't boiling. On the contrary, his head had never been clearer. His head had been in a blur all day, moving through the day on autopilot, but now...it felt like he was actually there. He kicked dust into the skeleton's face, followed by clocking it in the jaw. He kicks it down the steep hill, grinning all the while.

    The adrenaline pumping through his veins, the rush of adventure, the thrill of being a hero! Light above, it's just like those action movies he used to watch, except it's real!

    "I'm fine, Nya!", he shouted to his sister and turned back to the skeleton wave. He abandons his sword, holding up his two fists, "better than fine.".

    "What?!", Nya shouted, preoccupied with the three skeletons on her, "Oh! Good! Sorry, kind of busy over here!". Kai went from grinning like an idiot to sheepish real quick after noticing his sister's blight.

    Oh, right, it's real.

    Wow, bathing in glory while your sister drowns, what kind of brother are you? He rushed over and knocked one of the skeletons to the curb, crashing it into the second one in the process. Nya seized her chance. She leaps into the air and crushes her foot on the third skeleton. She sent it into the other two, their bones knocking apart like bowling pins.

   "Phew! Done.", she said, and then looked towards the group they had behind them. She gestured to the group that hid behind the buildings for cover to move forward, "This is the last stretch! Just run straight to the evacuation point!". Kai nodded with his sister and gestured with her, "Yea! Come on! Go go go!", the group started running, "before more show up!".

     When the group ran ahead of them, the two looked to each other. "Is that everyone?", Nya asked. Kai clicked his tongue, "I'm not sure...let's take another lap around to make sure.". Nya nodded at him, and the two started to run back into the fray to check for more survivors. They didn't realize, however, that someone was watching them intently through the darkness of the sky.

    In a dark place, somewhere far away, someone surveyed the children as they fought. He was looking for something in particular, a spark of that passion he had seen once before. The key he needs to complete his whole plan. He needed to find the inheritor of that gift, and he believes he found it, but he's still unsure. Seeing Wu's keen interest, he might be wrong in his assessment, as much as it feels like swallowing glass admitting to it. So he whispers something from the darkness.

    "Samukai......"

    Samukai had just disarmed a tenth village guard and thrown him off the cliff as their master called to them. They paused in their carnage and looked up at the darkened sky. "Master?", they answered.

    "I want you to check something for me...."

   "...Whatever you need, Master, I will provide."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    BAM went to the skeleton's head. It clattered to the stone path and turned to dust on Kai's foot. He shakes the pain sting off his knuckles, rubbing his wrist with his other hand. Despite that, he grinned at his good work. "How are you doing, Nya?", he checked on her. Nya called back, striking down three skeletons down the hill, "Turning another wave of skeletons to dust single-handedly, you know, the usual.".

    Kai looked over to her as he bashed a skeleton down with his shoulder, "'Single-handedly'? What am I? A stick?", he snorted. Nya hummed with a playful smirk, "What do you think our score is so far?". Kai looked at her critically, "You've been keeping score? Seriously?".

    "I've counted eighteen to fourteen, me to you"

    "Now that doesn't sound right, are you inflating your numbers, sis'?"

    "Oh, come on, Kai. You really think I'm cheating? Projecting much."

    "Hey! I don't cheat!"

    "Really now? Remember the time I caught you cheating in Chandra?"

    "You'll never let that go, will you?"

    "You're the one who so badly wanted to win against an eight-year-old in a stupid card game!"

    "Oh come on, Nya, I—", he started, but then stopped in his tracks as someone new appeared in front of him. It was another skeleton, but they looked so different from the others. It was bigger, with a large head, and a wide ribcage.

   "Kai Smith", the general spoke, staring the teenager down like a panther. Kai took one step back and stared up at the general. "Who the darkness are you?", Kai quipped back, "A Day-of-the-Departed reject?".

    The goliath responded by drew his dragger and pointed it at Kai. "I have no time for games, child. I challenge you to a 一騎打ち", it talked with an icy air, "Draw your weapon, or death shall be your fate.". Kai looked at the singular dagger and almost scoffed. Sure, you shouldn't bring fists to a dagger fight, but he has armor, and he's been fighting with just his fists against monsters with battle axes! Disarming a singular dagger should be fine, right?

   Kai brought up his fists, smirking almost cockily. He held up his hand in a bring-it-on taunt, "Don't keep me waiting, Freakzoid.". Samukai cracked a grin on its skull face, and revealed three other arms, all armed with daggers.

   Kai's smirk flopped off his face and exploded on the ground.

   Oh shi–SWIPE!

   Kai was barely able to dodge an aim to the stomach, stumbling a bit. He regained his footing and focused. Samukai still had the forward assault, continuing to slice to get a hit on the boy. To Kai's credit, he kept light on his feet and dodged all of the attacks. He was trying to find an opening to strike at least one hit in, but that was hard to do when you're currently playing catch-up against a trained general.

   "Your agility is good, but your footwork is as clumsy as a newborn.", the general jested, "It's like you haven't been trained at all!". He literally hadn't been trained. He never had the time to spare for such extracurriculars. Why did this thing think he was? Was he fighting that good? Huh, neat. "Yet you still can't get a hit on a newborn? Seems like a skill issue to me", Kai teased back. Samukai clicked its tongue–wait, do skeletons have tongues?–and poked a sleeping bear.

   "What kind of idiotic failure did your father raise?".

   The father button, oh, big mistake.

   Kai ignored a swipe that hit him in the helmet, but he pushed forward, clocking Samukai in the skull. "Keep my father out of your mouth.", Kai glared up at him, eyes clouded with anger and hate. Perfect, just as Samukai wanted. It swiped its other dagger that was hidden from Kai's sight at his torso. Kai thankfully noticed last second and hurriedly jumped back. It wasn't enough time to avoid the follow-up strike aimed at his dominant arm, finally landing under the armor.

   He felt the jolt of pain from his arm, but Samukai gave him no time to recover. A kick to the stomach knocked the wind out of the boy and landed him on his back in the grass. Kai coughed and sputtered, regaining his breath while holding his arm. He took a moment and looked at that same hand, seeing a red smudge on his palm.

   "くそ...", he swore under his breath. He noticed a forgotten sword beside him and just in time too, as Samukai charged at him with his four daggers. Kai immediately grabbed the bone sword and used it to block the daggers. It saved him, but now he was stuck against the grass.

  "You've lost boy.", it taunted, as Kai was struggling to keep the daggers back, "It's over. Give up and die with some of your dignity intact.". Kai chuckled dryly, "Good thing I don't even know what that word means then, huh?", definitely not giving up. Samukai growled in annoyance and was going to win in the stalemate struggle until...

   "Ninja, go!"

   A golden twister split through the path, knocking down the general away from the teenager. Kai watched out in absolute confusion as this little tornado dragged the creature away. He witnessed it disperse and revealed...the old man who came earlier.

   Samukai shook off the dizziness and actually laughed. "Sensei Wu! I was wondering when we'd finally meet again.", he greeted, "Your Spinjitzu looks rusty. Lost your touch, 'Master'?". The old man stood circled with Samukai, staring it down from his straw hat.

    "Nothing like bone to sharpen its edge, Samukai.", he struck with familiarity. Kai couldn't get his eyes off the scene before him. Light above, this feels like a scene from one of my old movies. What a weird day. His eyes locked with Wu's as the old man glanced over at him with a weird look in his irises. Samukai notices and, not wanting to get into an all-out brawl with Wu when there's nothing to gain, it gets an idea. It tosses all four daggers at him, making Wu naturally dodge with ease. What he didn't realize was that the water tower was right behind him.

     The tower toppled and was on track to land on Kai, who was still stuck on the ground. It dawned on Kai what was happening, but it was too fast to physically react.

     "Ah fu–"

     "Ninja, go!", Wu reacted quickly, unlike Kai, and tornados him out of the crash zone. They landed in another spot on the grass, the water from the tower seeping into the ground beneath them. Wu helped Kai off the ground and looked over him. "Are you alright, Kai?", he asked.

     Kai's vision was blurry, dizzy from the sudden merry-go-round that saved his life. He held his head, trying to focus his vision, but still answered.

    "I'm ok, thank you."

    The distraction worked as the two soon learned, as they noticed Samukai made it back to the monsters' war machines. Wu froze when he saw the map in Samukai's hands, but was not prepared for what it shouted to its crew.

    "Lord Garmadon says take the girl!"

    Kai's blood ran cold, and he was praying to the light above that wasn't referring to who he thought it was. "NYA!", he shouted, spotting his sister down the hill. She was too busy fighting a squad of skeletons to notice her brother running down the hill....nor the giant hand grapples coming up from behind her. She noticed at the last second that her brother was coming to her, along with the older man from earlier.

    "Kai?–"

    "NYA MOVE!"

     It was too late, though, as the giant hand gripped Nya's whole torso. Her face went pale, and she reached out to Kai. Kai almost reached her, but a skeleton clubbed him in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him the second time today. Wu knocked the skeleton down and turned it to dust, but he also arrived too late as Nya was already yanked back to those machines.

    She screamed and called out to her brother, "KAI!"

     "NYA!", Kai tried to get up, but his body was giving out on him, and he coughed. He couldn't do anything as the skeletons retreated...with his sister, his only family, in their clutches. The army slowly disappeared into the horizon, taking the darkness with them. Kai's chest slowly grew into a void. Seeing this happen, unfocused on the things around him as he spiraled in despair.

    It wasn't until Wu went in front of his face that he noticed how blurry and splochy his vision was, with his hearing to match. "ka...i...a..re...yo...u....o..k...?", is all he can barely make out from the old man. Kai blinked, feeling wetness fall down his cheeks, and his vision started to have black spots dance on its surface. "No...", that's all Kai could answer before fully blacking out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Translations:

一騎打ち(Ichikiuchi).: One-on-one duel

[First Published: 4-21-2026| Last Edited: 3-30-2026 | Word Count: 2482]

Master Post | Designs | Next Part

[ninjago-redone]

Way Of The Ninja (1.3)

   Outside on a hill, Wu is enjoying a lovely day. The blue jays are chirping, the breeze is blowing ever so gently, and his tea is at the perfect temperature. Watching the scenery before him, how serene it is, calming, gentle. Am I in the wrong place?, Wu thought to himself, stroking his beard.

   The suspiciously calm silence was set ablaze when the bang of a sliding door echoed through the rice fields. A frazzled blond man with broken glasses, an equally broken nose, and a black eye stumbled out. "YOU'RE CRAZY!!! I'M GOING TO CALL THE COPS YOU PYSCHO!!!!", the man shouted from behind him as he ran to his moped. A spiked-haired boy chased after him and probably would've caught him if it wasn't for the shorter girl catching him by his waist from behind.

   さっさと警察でも呼べよ――このクソ野郎！ よく聞け、このクソ野郎！もしまたこの辺りで、その醜いツラをちらりとでも見かけたら......てめえのチンポを根元から引きちぎって、そのケツの穴の奥の奥まで突っ込んでやる！突き抜けて反対側から飛び出してくるくらい、奥までな！そうすりゃ、てめえは自分のクソチンポを自分でしゃぶることになるんだよ, Kai was frothing at the mouth, yelling at the man.

   Master Wu's eyebrows disappeared behind his straw hat at the boy's crude language, yet relief washed over him. Ah, so I am in the right place, he thinks, then pours himself another cup of tea.

   "Kai! Calm down! He's gone now. You keep causing more of a scene, you'll scare away more customers!", Nya shouted. "LET ME GO, NYA! I just want to talk to him.", Kai lied through gritted teeth. "No you're going to kill him! Then you'll get arrested! Let him leave!" She begged, keeping her back foot planted into the ground to keep him from running. Kai was growling like a rabid dog while staring ahead. Not even when the man was out of sight did he take his eyes away. "Kai! Enough!" She called out again, only this time it got a reaction out of him. His growling ceased, and he stopped struggling to get out of the girl's grasp.

    Wu took a moment to gauge the villagers' reaction. It seems many of them stopped to look at the scene unfold before turning their gaze away to continue their business. Best to wait a moment longer, he thinks. He takes a gentle sip of the tea, eyes peering at the scene in front of him.

    The girl pulls away from Kai once he finally stops struggling to get out her grasp. His fists were still clenched tightly, クソ観光客どもめ。いつだって、いっつだってそうだ!", he curses, letting out a frustrated scream while pulling his hair. Nya is rubbing his back, "I know. I know.", she sighed. She grabbed onto his shoulders and turned him around. "Come on. Let's get back inside.", she said as she walked him back into the shop, both of them disappearing from view.

    Wu lets out an amused chuckle at the sight he just witnessed. He put his now-empty tea cup away into his bag and closed it. Best to try now that the fire has settled, he bemused himself in thought. He started to stroll towards the shop with a hand behind his back. Getting a better look at the shop itself, it was rather fine. It was definitely well taken care of, remarkable to see. However, he noticed that all these armors were a different breed from what he was used to seeing. Further in his approach, he saw the two children standing inside the stop, who seemed to be bickering with one another, as he got to earshot.

    "Kai. I told you I'll be fine from now on. We get customers like this every so often.", the girl expressed, but Kai put a finger up to her. "Not any who got violent towards you. Did you hear what he called you?", Kai gestured angrily. "Yes, I heard and I wanted to punch him, but I knew that wouldn't help anyone and just cause more problems for the shop. I can see through my anger and do that, so I'm fine, stop your worrying.", Nya tried to reassure him, but he was adamant.

    "No way. After experiencing that piece of work, I'm taking over customer service duties for a bit." Kai spoke sternly, and the girl crossed her arms. "Kai, he was far from the worst customer we've had, and you know it.", she tried to explain. Kai shook his head, "Nya, I don't feel comfortable leaving you alone after that.", he admits, his eyebrows furrowing. Nya sighs, "If he comes back, I'll call out for you. Now go.", Nya expressed, but Kai still looked doubtful. "Nya..." before he could get another word out, Nya started to shove him forward. "Goooooo.", she ushered him.

    Kai begrudgingly left this time because if he didn't bite the bullet on this argument, it would never end, and they would lose even more business than they already have. He will, of course, revisit this conversation later, as this is not something he's letting go. He went over to the forge and grabbed the sword he had half-hazardly thrown into the pool of water. It....did not look good. It curled into a spiral and all that metal...wasted. "くそ！この忌々しい代物......剣というより、クソったれなコルク抜きにしか見えねえな。", Kai swears.

   Nya looked over to him with a sly eyebrow raised, seeing it as an opportunity to make things normal again. "Rushed a project again, huh,せっかちーさん ?" Didn't mom used to say, 'A blacksmith's fire can only be forged with a spark of patience'?", Nya teased, leaning against the counter.

   Kai sarcastically laughed, "Ha. Ha. Ha. なるほど Nya, of course, I must've forgotten the biggest message in all of Mom's blacksmith journals and wasted a bunch of metals because I'm sooooo あほ/アホ.".

   Kai tossed the sword to the side for now, "Sarcasm aside, I wasn't really thinking about it. I just thought I needed to put this to the side and get back to it later, but an experienced smith would've placed it properly in the forge like it was second nature. Eventually, I'll get there, maybe even surpass it, like mom.". Nya just smiled gently at the thought, "I'm sure you will Kai, eventually~.", she added a light tease at the end, which earned a playful hum and eyeroll from Kai.

   "Hmm... your metal is loud and heavy.", they heard a light bang from the front of the shop and looked over, "Useful to slow one down. Useless in the art of stealth. Tools perfect for a samurai, but nothing for a ninja?". The two siblings looked over at the old man, Master Wu, in their sights, who tapped against their armor sets with this weird staff.

    Nya looked so dejected when the man said those words. They just finally were getting back to normal after dealing with such an awful customer, and he had to be another tourist who didn't bother to read the sign? Kai is going to snap again..., Nya thought, and she was right: he did. Kai's eye twitches, and for the second time today, he went to the front.

   "For the twenty-millionth time we had to explain to you people, this shop is Panguian-style, not Ninjagian-style. No, we don't make samurai armor sets. No, we don't make katanas. No, we don't make shurikens. Nunchunks, Naginata, Kabutowari, Kusarigama, Teco, or any other ones you'd find in literally any other shop in ALL of Ninjago! Yes, we're a shop in Ninjago, but we're also in a tourist town, and we sell authentic, novelty things here you wouldn't find in any pop-up shop in the city. AND if you had just read the text underneath 'Four Weapons', you'll see–oh, will you look at that!– 'A Panguian Blacksmith Shop'. AND even if you missed that big sign, look at what's right here!", he then comes over and stands beside a sign that is comically behind Master Wu, "A sign that literally explains everything I had just told you! So, if you could be so kind as to just read the signs, we'd love to work with you. If you keep talking about Samurai or Ninja in here, then go peddle your このバカな観光客野郎 somewhere else.".

    Nya looked like she wanted to disappear due to her brother literally picking a fight with a probably confused old man who didn't mean any harm. Yes, the whole Panguian-Ninjagian confusion has been grating on them for years, but it's just an old man, there was no need to be so hostile to him. She was quite worried about the old man getting upset himself and start a fight, as he didn't seem to be the timid type. However, the old man just barked a dry laugh.

    "Ha! Too bad. Thought I'd find something special here.", Wu turned on his heel and left, making Kai confused. This kind of snapped Kai out of his irritation, and he looked towards Nya, who gave him a look that dawned realization into his head–and regret. He then followed after the man, hoping to catch him before he left.

    "Wait, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have spoken that way. If you want something in particular, let me sh–", Kai rounded the corner outside and Wu was gone, "–ow you around....?". Kai looked side to side in befuddlement, trying to figure out where that man had vanished to. "What happened", the voice alerting him to Nya being right behind him.

    "He was just....", he trailed off, then decided he was too tired for this and needed more caffeine, "never mind, I'm...going to make more coffee.".

    "You already had four cups today!"

    "And I need an IV of twenty in my veins, but that would kill me, so I'm getting another cup."

     Nya sighed and shook her head, following him back inside. The siblings were unaware of the darkening sky over the hill's horizon. The one that would soon cover this village in danger.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    "Crazy psycho!", the man on the moped yelled as he hightailed it out of the small village, "I can't believe he talked to me like that, he should've been grateful I decided to come to his nowhere shop! If I had won that darn competition, it would've brought so much business for him, but nooooo, he had to freak out over that やりまん sister of his. His loss, but now where the heck am I going to find a good Smith on such short notice–".

     As the man bellowed his words out into the open air, his words caught in his throat as a large truck made of bones appeared on the road in front of him. He squints his one eye and a half (obscured by the swelling) at the sight before him, unable to comprehend what he was seeing.

   "What in the world–", he started to say, then, like how mirrors say: 'objects may be closer than they appear'; he had no time to react as the truck was right up next to him. A skeleton was hanging off its side, with a comically large bone in its hand. The man screamed like a little girl as the skeleton used the bone to club him off his bike and tumble down the hill, leaving him down in the ditch and his moped in equal hilarity exploded.

    The man was of no importance to the skeletons on the truck, only left to them as a quick laugh. As their boss was looking into a pair of binoculars silently, the two henchmen beside them started to bicker.

    "Oh, oh! When we get there, I want to be the one to go down there! I've been waiting my whole life to see what's there!", the skeleton with a weird mohawk said–wait, skeletons can have mohawks?

    "You nitwit!", said the one with the helmet, "Your life is already over, you're dead! Try to control yourself in front of Master Samukai!". The helmed skeleton's voice then went from authoritative to soft and meek, "But with all due respect, after the last village... you did say... I could go first.".

     The head skeleton, otherwise known as Samukai, was barely paying attention to his underlings squabbling and was more occupied with the building in his sights. He saw the sign 'Four Weapons', ignoring its subtitle as everyone does, and scanned the surroundings. From the descriptions his master has told him, there should be a great warrior who resided there, a forever guardian of the treasure they seek. However, all he sees is two children squabbling. Perhaps it's one of them? They don't look so tough. This will be easy then.

    "Sorry, boys,", he finally answers them, "this one is mine. Just remember what we're after and find that map!". He then yelled to the driver, "Floor it!!"

    Their speeding vehicles launch themselves off the road and crash through the rice fields. The villagers working there barely had time to dive out of the way before they were crushed; their year's crop wasn't so lucky. The younger villagers rushed up with weaponry made by their local smiths, pointing them at the creatures that landed in their homeland. Samukai looked unamused, smirking callously. He spun one of his daggers in his hand and tossed it like a boomerang. It spun around all the villagers' weapons and disarmed them, freezing the victims in place.

    "Boo!", the captain bellowed, causing the villagers to step back. The village then descends into chaos, "EVACUTATE AND CONTACT NINJAGO CITY!!!", said a middle-aged man in armor, which triggered the people to scatter. The captain just grinned maliciously at the chaos he's sown, drinking in the fear like it was a lovely beverage. "ATTACK!!!!", he screamed from the bottom of his soul, or at least where it should be.

     This chaos drew the attention of the two siblings now staring down at the commotion below. Nya looked horrified at what was happening. This isn't something that happens in their sleepy little town. The city? Yes. The coast? Definitely. Here? Never.

     "What in the world are they?", she wondered in horror.

      Kai, whilst he did mirror his sister's feelings, he didn't show them. Instead, he launched into action, rather than focusing more on his own feelings. He placed some pieces of important armor that he could put on quickly and grabbed a weapon. "I don't know, Nya.", Nya turned to see him don a helmet on his head, "But what I do know is that they're dangerous. Stay here.".

     "If it's dangerous, then I should go with you–", "Nya!" Nya started, but Kai interrupted her. He paused and sighed, "Please don't argue this right now. Just listen to me and stay here.".

     "But–"

     "I won't fight them if that's what you're worried about. I'm just going for a closer look to see if there's a safe way out of the village. Then I'll come back for you, and we'll get out of here, ok?"

     Nya narrowed at him, concerned and scanning for any truth in those words. "Are you serious?", Nya questioned, to which Kai nodded. "I may be a reckless idiot, Nya, but I'm never going to do anything that'll leave you alone. Not until I at least get you somewhere safe first, alright?", his words finally relaxed Nya's shoulders, and she sighed.

     "Alright...be careful.", she said.

      Kai smirked teasingly, "When have I not been?", he then started to go. But then he turned on his heel and pointed at her, "Remember! Keep yourself out of sight, and if I don't come back in fifteen minutes–" .

     "'To run like a coward', I know, I know.", Nya quickly said, not meaning it at all. Kai didn't notice it, though, and just went down the hill. He crouched behind one of the trees at the foot and scanned the area. He saw the people he grew up around running away from these monsters they've never seen before. They have only ever heard of these things from urban legends and scary campfire stories. Creature attacks have occurred throughout Ninjago, usually near the coast or in the city, but rarely in remote villages like theirs. They are woefully unprepared to deal with them here.

     Kai noticed an elderly man being shoved to the ground, and a skeleton came up to him, about to club him down. The teenage boy then emerged from the tree and rushed over, swiping back at the skeleton's strike. His attempt worked in stopping that strike, but his lack of combat experience caused him to be unprepared for the immediate attack that followed it. It bashed Kai across the face, bruising his jaw, and the after shocks that rippled through him were nothing like a normal punch would've. That hurt. Andit pissed him off.

    He spat out the familiar taste of iron in his mouth, then hit the skeleton again, making the opponent block. He repeatedly pounded on the bone the skeleton used as a weapon, then kicked it in the ribs to push it back. Complete rough and tumble street fight rules, nothing refined like the village guards. Then he swiped across the neck to decapitate it, but the creature just...popped off their head??? How–??? Too late to think on that now, cause it's now biting Kai's toes!

    "ああっ！ なんだこれ、ふざけんな！", Kai looks down at the bobbing head and his eye twitches, "Bite this, you クソみたいなサッカー! ". He then does a round kick, launching it clear over the building. The other soldiers watching this clapped in utter awe, knowing it clearly hadn't hurt their companion; it was a good shot.

     Kai was bewildered at the skeletons' reaction, but he decided to take the opportunity to lift the elderly man up. "Mr. Yaki!", Kai said, "Are you hurt?". The man, finally revealed as Mr. Yaki, looked at Kai and nodded. "I'm quite alright, ハリネズミ. But what are you doing out here?! We've been ordered to evacuate, boy!", he chastised but in soft worry.

     "I came down to figure out what was going on, and–well–to see if anyone needed any help."

     "Kai, you don't know any combat! Just because you make weapons doesn't mean you know how to use them!"

     "Yes, but I know how to fight, and no offense, Mr. Yaki–I love you and all–but you would've gotten hurt if I didn't step in."

     "Aye, yes, I know I'm not that young fighter I used to be, but son, I still haven't lost my knowledge of combat. I know you won't be able to fight both you and your sister out of this, by yourself!".

     "Not me and Nya....but if you can take Nya out of here, then I can deal with this. Here, all of our village is getting caught in the crossfire. I can't just leave them to this! I may not know the ins and outs of combat like you do, but I can still–", Mr. Yaki narrowed his eyes at Kai's defensive rant, but then glanced over his shoulder, and his eyes widened. "KAI, BEHIND YOU!", he bellowed. Kai immediately turned around, seeing one of the skeletons clapping earlier about slicing down with its axe. He held up his sword to brace for impact, but then a flurry of staff sneak attacks swiped the attacker and its duo. It knocked them right onto the floor, crumbling to dust.

      Nya was the wielder of that staff, smirking at her brother, "'Not going to fight them', huh? Liar". Kai closed his eyes like he was a parent caught embarrassingly in a lie, "I told you to stay in the shop, Nya!". She just simply shrugs, "Guess we're both liars then? Even Steven.", which caused Kai's eye to twitch for the millionth time today. He really needs more sleep–or more coffee. Their old neighbor just barked a hearty laugh, "Aye, if I hadn't witnessed your two's births, I would've thought you were twins!".

     She finally noticed Mr. Yaki there and went pale, rushing to him. "Mr. Yaki, are you hurt?", Nya fussed, making Mr. Yaki laugh more. "Even your worrying can be the same sometimes.", he bemused, smiling gently, "I'm ok, 姫 . Just too old for this. Curse of a long life!". Nya and Kai just smiled sheepishly at Mr. Yaki's words, but Kai then turned to the matter at hand.

     "Thanks for the save, Nya. Now go with Mr. Yaki to the evacuation point–"

    "And leave you to fight alone? No way, I'm staying with you."

    "Nya, you need to go get Mr. Yaki to safety. I'll join you later when I get our other neighbors–"

    "Oh no no no, I know what you're trying to pull. I'm not falling for it, Kai. It's either we both go, or we both stay."

    "I don't have time to argue about this, Nya!"

    "Then don't! Let me fight with you, I am the better fighter between the two of us!"

    "Oh, for the love of the light, will you just listen to me for once?!"

    "Not when you're being this stupid!"

    "Nya!–"

    '"Kids!", Mr. Yaki shouted, Nya and Kai looking towards him. They saw their old neighbor pulling back a bow string and pointing an arrow in their direction. "Duck!", he commanded, and the siblings immediately did. They witnessed as their seventy-year-old neighbor shot down a skeleton that was about to attack through the eye. Then redrawing twice and shooting two others in near close succession. Kai and Nya watched in shock. Their village was quite quiet, so they hadn't seen Mr. Yaki's skills in action for as long as they've been alive, only stories. They turned to him, and they saw him rolling his shoulders back.

    "Thank you, Nya, one of the skeletons you smacked thankfully had a bow.", Mr. Yaki commented first, now equipped with a long bow made of bones and arrows that matched. He looked at them, "Now you two, I know both of you are super stubborn, but arguing on the battlefield will get you killed!". "Then tell Nya to go with you!", Kai pointed to Nya. "Then tell Kai to keep me with him!", Nya mirrored him. Mr. Yaki pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration.

    "お前たち二人とも、あまりにも頑固すぎる。レイ、マヤ......なぜ私に、これほどの呪いをかけたのだ？", he ran his hand over his face, "Both of you! This is not the time nor the place!". He then looks towards Nya, "Nya, you know he does this because he doesn't want you hurt.", Kai smirked, but then Mr. Yaki whipped his head to him next, "And you, Kai, you shouldn't be out here fighting alone, period! Nya is right, she is the better fighter of you two, purely on the fact that she gets lessons from me. So, if anyone should be out here, it's her." Kai tried to interject, "but!-", but was cut off by Mr. Yaki wagging his finger, "I'm not finished.". That quickly shut him up.

    "When out on the battlefield, you should always have someone beside you to keep an eye on your blind spots. Whether that be a tactical retreat or a forward front. So, in order to keep you both safe, you should stick together. And together, you should choose to go to the evacuation point or be a part of the rescue efforts. So, what is it going to be?", he lays it out for them.

     The siblings looked at each other, quietly having a conversation with their facial expressions, the chaos ringing out in the background like a reminding chorus. Finally, Kai spoke up, "Ok...ok. Nya...would you cover for me out there?". Nya smirked and readied her staff, "Thought you'd never ask." Mr. Yaki smiled, "Alright, since that's settled, I'll head to the evacuation point and find any stragglers on my way there.".

    "Wait, are you sure you can make it there by yourself?", Nya chimed in in concern. Mr. Yaki replied as he went over to this stone half-wall that separated the field from the paths, "That was before you got me this bow! Now, I'll be fine. I may be too old for this, but I'm too young to die yet! Still got you kiddos to worry about.".

    "But what about your blind spots?", Kai interjected as Mr. Yaki prepared to hop over the wall. Mr. Yaki just paused, looked back, and smirked at the boy. "Oh son,", he said, "I don't have any blind spots.". He winks playfully and then hopped the divider, shooting a couple of skeletons off the roofs when he was still in siblings' sights.

     This left the siblings in bewilderment over the man who had been in their lives since they were toddlers, glancing at each other for a moment. "Light above, I never expected today to go like this. If I did, I would've at least had five hours of sleep. This feels like a fever dream–", Kai then paused and looked up, "--wait, is this a fever dream? That would explain some things....–OW.". Nya took that opportunity to pinch him on the arm with a mischievous smirk, earning a glare from her brother.

     "Really?"

     "What? You asked a question and I gave you the answer.".

      Kai narrowed his eyes at her, but heard the rattling of bones behind him, making him pause. Nya heard it as well and turned around with her brother, coming face to face with a squad of the creatures surrounding them. Kai stood prepared with his sword, and Nya did as well, although in a more proper stance than her brother's rougher form.

     "You ready?", Kai asked.

     "Hmmh, you watch my back, I watch yours?"

     "More like I'll watch yours and mine, and you just watch your own, but yes", he teased.

     "Oh ha. Ha. Don't get big-headed now, brother."

     "Just don't get hurt."

     "...as long as you promise the same."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Translations:

1. さっさと警察でも呼べよ――このクソ野郎！(Sassato keisatsu demo yobeyo ―― kono kuso yarō!): Go ahead and call the cops already—you piece of shit!

2. よく聞け、このクソ野郎！もしまたこの辺りで、その醜いツラをちらりとでも見かけたら......てめえのチンポを根元から引きちぎって、そのケツの穴の奥の奥まで突っ込んでやる！突き抜けて反対側から飛び出してくるくらい、奥までな！そうすりゃ、てめえは自分のクソチンポを自分でしゃぶることになるんだよ！(Yokukike, kono kuso yarō! Moshi mata kono atari de, sono minikui tsura o chirarito demo mikaketara...... temē no chin powo nemoto kara hikichigitte, sono ketsunoana no oku no oku made tsukkonde yaru! Tsukinukete hantaisoku kara tobidashite kuru kurai, okumade na! Sō surya, temē wa jibun no kusochinpo o jibun de shaburu koto ni naru nda yo!): Listen up, you piece of shit! If I catch even a glimpse of that ugly mug of yours around here again... I'm going to rip your dick right off at the root and shove it deep—and I mean *deep*—up your asshole! So deep it punches right through and pops out the other side! That way, you'll end up sucking your own fucking dick!

3. クソ観光客どもめ。いつだって、いっつだってそうだ!" (Kuso kankōkyaku-domo-me. Itsu datte, ittsu datte sōda!): Those damn tourists! It's always—always—the same story!

4. くそ！(Kuso!): Fuck!

5. この忌々しい代物......剣というより、クソったれなコルク抜きにしか見えねえな。(Kono imaimashī shiromono...... ken to iu yori, kusottarena koruku nuki ni shika mienē na.): This damn thing...it looks less like a sword and more like a damn corkscrew.

6: せっかちーさん (Sekkachi-san): Mr. Impatient (in a soft teasing tone)

7. なるほど (Naruhodo): I see (but in a playful tone)

8. あほ/アホ (Aho): Slang for idiot or slow, but is a softer, more friendly version of Baka

9. このバカな観光客野郎 (Kono bakana kankōkyaku yarō): your stupid tourist ass

10. ああっ！ なんだこれ、ふざけんな！(Ā~tsu! Na nda kore, fuzaken na!): Agh! What the hell is this?! You gotta be kidding me!

11. クソみたいなサッカー! (Kuso mitaina sakkā!): Shitty football!

12. 姫 (Hime): Princess

13. お前たち二人とも、あまりにも頑固すぎる。レイ、マヤ......なぜ私に、これほどの呪いをかけたのだ？(Omaetachi futari tomo, amarini mo ganko sugiru. Ray, Maya...... naze watashi ni, kore hodo no noroi o kaketa noda?): You two are both far too stubborn. Ray, Maya... why did you cast such a curse upon me?

[First Published: 4-21-2026| Last Edited: 3-30-2026 | Word Count: 4259]

Master Post | Designs | Next Part

[ninjago-redone]

Way Of The Ninja (1.2)

       The day goes on, sales are made, money collected, and neighbors come by to say hello; it's been overall quite decent. Nya was ringing up a few items for a familiar old woman in traditional clothes and a straw hat. "Here you go, Ms. Yuna! One iron cooking pot, a set of steel cooking utensils, and...extra large butcher's cleaver!", Nya listed off, but trailed off at that last item. She looked at her sweet old neighbor's smile and sheepishly grinned. "Why do you need a new butcher's cleaver, Ms. Yuna?", she nervously asked.

       Ms. Yuna waved her right hand dismissively and placed her left on her own cheek in sheepishness. "Oh, it was nothing, dear, my lovely husband just broke his when working yesterday. So I came here to get a new one for him.", she explained, and Nya smiled, but unknown to the sweet elder, it was a bittersweet smile. She knew her neighbor had been dealing with memory loss for quite a while, and although the village was taking care of her, it was obviously getting worse. Mr. Yuna had been dead for nearly three years by this point. Ms. Yuna would sometimes do this when she got confused, but this is the first butcher's cleaver she's done.

     "Well, that's sweet of you, I'm sure he'll love it.", she smoothed over and wrapped the bag up nice and tight. Ms. Yuna looked around the counter as though she were looking for someone particular. "Nya, where's your brother? I haven't seen that sweet boy in so long.", she saw him a day ago, but Nya doesn't correct her. "He's by the forge, want to go say hello?", she asked and offered her arm to Ms. Yuna. She chuckled happily and took Nya's offer, "Oh, thank you, 娘. You have always been such a sweetheart.", she patted the young lady's arm.

    Nya smiled and led her over to where Kai was, "Hey Kai, Ms. Yuna is here.". Kai slowed his hammering and looked over to his older neighbor. "Good afternoon, Ms. Yuna.", he mustered out tiredly but still with a smile, "What brings you back today?". "Just here to get some new kitchen supplies and a cleaver for my husband is all.", Kai buffered at that statement, not really quick on the uptake right now, like Nya is. Kai looked over to his sister, seeing her face trying to give him signals he's too tired to understand. "But how are you? How's school? Getting good grades I hope.", Ms. Yuna clapped her hands happily.     "Uh, Ms. Yuna, I dropped out, remember?", Kai responded without thinking, nor seeing Nya's furious hand signals, "like six years ago.". Ms. Yuna's face went from pleasant to horrified, "No, you didn't!", the loud exclamation made Kai wince in confusion, "Oh please--light above--tell me you're playing a strange joke. Oh, poor Ray and Maya, they would have a heart attack...". Kai.exe had stopped working at this point and looked towards Nya for help, who herself, facepalmed.    "Ms. Yuna, he's not serious, he was just saying a reaaaally bad joke. You know he's awful at humor, right, Kai?", Nya soothes the old woman while also jabbing at her elder brother for his stupidity. Kai ignores the jabs and just follows her lead to get out of whatever mess he has just made. "Yessssssssssss! That's exactly what happened. I'm-uh-terrible at humoring, yep.", he was slowly catching up. Ms. Yuna was holding her chest with her free hand, "Oh..goodness boy, my poor weak heart, why would you joke about something like that?". Kai chuckled sheepishly, "I'm sorry, Ms. Yuna, I guess I'm just pretty tired and wasn't thinking.".

    Ms. Yuna looks at him incredulously, as though he were a spoiled kid who kicked a dog, and comes up to him and pulls him down by pinching his cheek. "Don't you ever do that again, young man! Education is important, and you shouldn't take it lightly!", she scolded like a granny. "Ok, ok, yes ma'am, I'm sorry. I won't say that again.", Kai quickly responded, getting a headache from the pinch. "So, then, answer me, how is school?", she answered miffed still. "Oh-uh-", Kai is searching for the words, "good! I'm graduating-um-tomorrow!".

   Ms. Yuna instantly brightens up and gasps, "oh my boy!!! I'm so proud of you!", she started pinching his cheeks, "Our sweet little ハリネズミ (Harinezumi) is all grown up!!!".

  "Ow! やめて！ 頬が痛い！", Kai exclaims, and the old woman obliges, unhanding his cheeks.

  "We should go tell the village and celebrate! Oh, this is such wonderful news.", Ms. Yuna exclaimed.

   "Ah-ha ha ha..while I'd love that from you, Ms. Yuna...", Kai tries to avoid any more of a mess, "I'm very busy today, and I can't do anything to celebrate.". The sweet neighbor frowns, "Well then, how about some other day? We could have a nice dinner party and play cards. An achievement like this should be celebrated!", she insisted. "How about..", Kai thinks of how long it would take for her to forget this, "sometime late next week? I'm pretty booked on projects this week, so next week would be a better time.". The old woman brightened up at this idea, "Oh, that would be lovely! I'll talk to you about it next week, then ハリネズミ. I haven't played cards with you in so long.". Kai sweatdrops at the thought of playing cards with this card shark of a woman again. Even the memory problems haven't dulled her skills, "Yeah, sure, sounds like fun, Ms. Yuna.".

   "It's getting late, Ms. Yuna. You should get your stuff and head home before your husband notices your surprise~", Nya chimed in to move her along. "Oh, right, right, I'm sorry to have bothered you both.", Kai shakes his head at his neighbor's words. "You're never a bother, Ms. Yuna, here.",he puts down his tools, "I'll see you out with Nya.". "Oh, what a treat! Thank you, dear.", she pats his cheek affectionately.

    Nya hands over the bag of items to Ms. Yuna, "Here you go. Have a good day.". The old woman smiled and waved to the two as she walked out, "Have a good evening, sweethearts. ". Kai and Nya waved back, but saw as this young, unfamiliar man bumped against Ms. Yuna's shoulder.

   "Oh, pardon me, dear.", the old woman apologized, but the man just ignored her, making her so confused as she left. Kai's eye twitches, "クソッ、観光客か.". Nya pats his shoulder, "Go and get back to the forge before your tired self gets us into another mess? I can handle it.". Kai looks at her and nods, "Ok, I'll just be over there.", then leaves before the man can reach the table.

   Nya stands at attention behind the counter with the usual customer service smile, "Welcome to Four Weapons Blacksmith. How may I help you today?". The young blond man took off his sunglasses and leaned against the counter, "Hello, doll face, where's your Smith?". Nya blinks at the line, but brushes it off. "He's currently working on some projects right now, is there any particular reason you're asking?", Nya was then greeted by an image shoved in her face.

   "I want to order a custom piece for this sword set.", he elaborated as Nya took the image and looked it over, "They're for a special novelty party I'm attending in Ninjago city, where people from all over the nine continents will show off everyone's culture together underneath one roof.". Nya looked up from the picture to the man as he continued, "Pretty cool, right? There's going to be a lot of people there to show off your man's small-town Smith's skills to the masses. So I hope you don't mind that the event is about a week away, that surely would be enough time for such an amazing opportunity.".

    Nya already saw a problem with the reference he showed her, and it wasn't his attitude; they've had worse customers come through these doors. See, while yes, they are based in Ninjago, their shop employs a different smithing style from the Ninjagian swords the man was asking for. They use the Pangu style of smithing, which is from their father's home country, and this store specializes in it. From what she understands of it is that it's not impossible to make these swords in their style, but it's not ideal for Kai, who can barely make one sword in their own style, let alone mimic another from a picture.

    "I'm sorry, sir.", Nya starts, "While we are flattered by the consideration, our store does not specialize in Ninjagian blacksmithing style. We are a Panguian-style shop, which uses a different style than what forged the set in this picture. If you still want to employ our services, you can take a look at our sword catalog and see what you like-". Nya took out a binder from underneath the desk and was about to open it, only for the man to push it closed, Nya recoiling her hand. "Oh, please, there's no way your smith can't make these swords, all he has to do is make them look similar, right?", the man reasoned.    "Well...it's not impossible to do so, but-"

   "Great! Then you can just take the picture to your blacksmith and ring me up, easy peasy."

   "But", Nya repeated herself, "I believe this is too out of our wheelhouse to get done on time. So again, we could look at the catalog if you still want to commission us-"

   "And how would you know?", the man questioned with a dry chuckle, "You're not the Smith, and besides, you obviously wouldn't know much about swords because-well-", he does a simple hand gesture.

    Nya's eye twitched at the man's comment, knowing exactly what he meant. "Go on.", Nya dryly said, "Say it.". The man ignores her retort and continues like she said nothing, "Could you just be a sweetheart and show this to your Smith? If he says he can't do it, then fine, but I think you'll see he'll agree with me.".

    The man had a cocky little smirk on his face, eyes that screamed patronizing, and it made Nya want to vomit the gross way he said the favored affectionate term Ms. Yuna loved to say. She always hated customers like this, who think they know more about blacksmithing than her, the girl who grew up around the stuff. She, unlike her brother, held her tongue. After all, she was on the clock, and such politeness is a hard habit to break. So she took the picture with a sour smile, "I'll try, sir.", and walked towards the forge.

   Kai was taking a swig of some coffee in between forging a sword–funnily enough–shivering as the caffeine kicked his body. "Hey, Kai.", Kai hummed and looked up at his sister. He placed his mug down and looked at her with a smile, "Hey Nya, what's up?". She then hands him the picture the customer gave her.    "This guy wants us to make him a Ninjagian sword set, for some world culture blacksmithing sharing event."

   "Did you explain to him what kind of shop we were? We don't do Ninjagian style here."

   "Yes, but he just wants us to make it look similar to the picture."

   "Wait..", Kai buffered a bit, "but, doesn't that-?"

   "Go against the entire point of the event? Yep, but he's insistent on hearing your opinion over mine."

   "Ok...", not noticing her tone, "well, I mean, it is possible to do this style with the stuff we have. Actually, I think we still have Mom's old smithing books before marrying Dad. I could look at those. How long do we have?"

   "A week"

   "Ok, yeah, no.", he immediately hands over the photo, "That's not something I can do. It'd be one thing if I had a few months-heck, just a couple more weeks would've worked, but not in one week. I'm backed up as is; taking this one up would mean being a living zombie for a few months."

   "So what   do I tell him?"

   "Just tell him we can't do that and to buzz off somewhere else. Of course, don't say it like me, but you get what I mean.", he answers her and gets up to start work again. Nya looks disgruntled and sighs, "Alright, fine.". This got Kai's attention, and he studied her face a bit, finally noticing her acting off. "Hey...everything alright out front?", he questioned a bit. Nya shook her head, "It's fine, I can handle it, just annoying. See ya.", she immediately walked back to the front. Kai watched her leave with a bit of concern, but believed she could handle it. She's better with people after all, why couldn't she deal with one annoying customer? Still didn't quell his anxieties, though. So he went back to hammering, but not too loudly, so he could listen in just in case something was wrong.

   "So", Nya started when coming back, "he said he can't do that. So if you still want to work with us, we can-". She was cut off by the man, "What??? No, I don't believe that for a second.". Nya's customer service smile wanes a bit, "Well, sorry, sir, but it's true-".

   "Nah, it can't be that difficult to imitate one of these things, you said yourself it was possible!"

   CLASH

   "Yes, but the blacksmith said he can't with the time frame that he has."

   CLASH

   "Oh, please, he has plenty of time. Is it money? I'll pay the rush fee, just march over your pretty little butt to your smith and get my order set."

   CLASH-Ignore it, Kai, let Nya handle it.-CLASH

   "Sir, I will not be spoken to in this way, so please kindly leave."

   CLASH-Good, Nya. Tell him-CLASH

   "Now you're kicking me out?! A paying customer?! Where is your boss?"

   CLASH- Oh, you don't want me over there.-CLASH

   "You're not a paying customer. All due respect, no money has exchanged hands. So if you don't leave, I'll have to force you out-"

   All Kai heard was a SLAM and some words being yelled, but that's when he stopped listening in.

   BANG-That's it. Kai threw the sword into the water and was starting to march over, till he realized the hammer was still in his hands. Despite his temptations to bring it with him, he quickly set it aside and went to the counter.

    The sight he saw when he came over was Nya standing five steps back from the counter, and the man's hands on the surface, face red. "Is there a problem here?", Kai asked pointedly. Nya quickly looked over to Kai and went pale, this isn't good. "Oh, finally! There's the man of the hour.", he immediately switched to chummy, "Could you explain to your little lady how business works?". Kai looked completely unamused by his comment and, in fact, was getting more irritated as he went on, but the man continued. "You don't just kick out paying customers just because you're having a small disagreement; you instead go and get the boss over, and let him decide.", the man said, confident Kai would agree, "So, my man, are you ready to take my order?".

     "No. Get out.", Kai simply said. The bluntness took the man aback, "Wha–". "Get out. I heard everything you said to my sister, and you're no longer welcome here. So get out.", Kai pointed towards the entrance. The man took a moment to respond, but when he did, he became irate. "You're kidding me? You're turning away good money just because of a simple argument?!", he bellowed, getting close up to Kai's face.

     Kai pushed him back and stared him down. Despite being younger, he was a good foot taller than the older man. "No, I'm kicking you out because I don't want your gross 不正な金. Now get your stupid sunglasses and buzz off back to Ninjago city, you クソ観光客!", Kai yelled at him, slamming his hand on the desk. Kai felt an arm grab his shoulder, glancing back at Nya. "Kai, calm down.", she murmured, "we shouldn't escalate this..". The look Nya gave him started to cool his boiling blood a bit, letting him take a deep breath.

    The man, however, was not appreciative of Nya's mediation. "Hey, stay out of this! You're the one who started this mess in the first place!", the man yelled. Nya pinched the bridge of her nose, "Sir, you're the one making this a bigger deal than it should be. If you had just listened to me the first time, then we wouldn't be–".

   "AND WHY SHOULD I LISTEN TO A STUPID やりまん LIKE YOU?!", the man spat in Nya's face.

   The air turned ice cold, and Kai slowly creaked his head to the man. "W h a t,  d i d  y o u  j u s t  c a l l  m y  s i s t e r . . . ?", he slowly said, the danger dripping from his tone. The man didn't even falter from his stance; instead, he smirked. "Sorry, man, your sister is a やりまん. If you don't like that, maybe she shouldn't act like one–".

   THAT'S IT. Kai immediately launches over the counter, Nya failing to grab him. "KAI!!!", she shouts.    C R A S H

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Translations:

1. 娘 (Musume): daughter

2. ハリネズミ (Harinezumi): Hedgehog

3. やめて！ 頬が痛い！(Yamete! Hoho ga itai!): stop it! My cheek hurts!

4.クソッ、観光客か. (Kuso~tsu, kankōkyaku ka.): fuck, tourists.

5. 不正な金 (Fusei na kane): slang for dirty money

6. クソ観光客 (Kuso kankōkyaku): shitty tourist

7. やりまん (Yariman): japanese slur for women, meaning whore or slut.

Nations Mentioned:

1. Ninjago [Japanese Inspired]

2. Pangu [Chinese Inspired]

[First Published: 4-21-2026| Last Edited: 3-30-2026 | Word Count: 2892]

Master Post | Designs | Next Part

[ninjago-redone]

Way Of The Ninja (1.1)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

      Long before time had a name, Ninjago had been created in the image of light and dark, positive and negative. A constant balance between light and dark in a continuous flow since long before humans existed. For this balance, Ninjago has been through great eras of peace followed quickly by tremendous turmoil, a repeating pattern in all this nation's history. 

After Ninjago's longest period of peace, the balance requires a great evil to arise, and arise it shall. A great and powerful ruler in the underworld desires to escape his prison and destroy its peace. With the armies of the underworld under his command, he seems impossible to stop. This era of new heroes must rise up to stop this lord of evil before their preparations may be completed and conquer Ninjago. 

The dawn of a new journey is steadily approaching. All it needs is for its sun to rise.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

      Preparing for that time to come, in a quiet monastery at the top of a mountain, an elderly man of mystery begins to depart towards his destination. Inside that quaint shrine, he was throwing items into a small satchel. The elderly man's appearance was quite a strange one for the current times. His long white beard nearly touched the floor every time he crouched down, his conical straw hat covered his gaze wherever he turned, and he wore a well-pressed white robe with white pants to match it. He gathers the essentials needed to depart on a rather lengthy walk. A small ration of food, a lovely jade tea set, and a medical supply kit should the worst happen. 

     After throwing the satchel across his shoulder, he stood tall and made a heel turn to look behind him, setting his eyes upon the shrine. It was made by his father before him, with sacred markings and beads. An incense burner sat on a shelf that was currently put out, and beside it, cast in half-shadows, was a frame. His staff leaned against the structured wall next to the shrine, made of bamboo and chipped at the edges. The worn baton was his father's, and his before his, a symbol passed through the generations, and yet it weighed like a boulder. He went to grab it, before laying his eyes on a worn photograph that he had placed onto the shrine. It was a grayscale picture of a younger man with lighter hair, with his arm around another young man with darker hair. A red gleam in his eyes tainted his otherwise kind expression, a perversion of someone the elder cared about the most. With a heavy sigh, he turned around to depart from his home, so that he may make good time towards his destination.

    When the old man slid the panel doors, he was met with an interesting sight. A younger man, clad in black ninja gi and a mask to cover his face, was in a meditative stance on top of a spinning contraption in the far right of the courtyard. All of this was happening with his eyes closed and movement still, completely unbothered. It seemed that the entire field was currently active, with many different training contraptions, moving animatronic dummies, and other features. All its functions seemed to be on full display, but the man seemed to be starting in a rather unique and odd way. The older man kept himself still, so that he might observe what was about to unfold in front of him, and how far one of his students had come.

    When the man's eyes shot open, he did not hesitate to take action. Pushing himself up to stand, only to follow with an immediate front flip, before landing on one of the poles below. The poll bopped him up and down in hopes of knocking the black crane off-balance. He short-hopped with grace across each pole, landing once again on the moving contraption on the opposing side. He wasn't given much time to rest, as a blade was coming towards him from below, the one planted into the center of the contraption. He began running across the circling course, making a short hop to dodge each sword that came towards him. He finally jumped off the obstacle entirely and landed on the ground, ending his run by spinning in place. 

   "Ninjaaaaa..." He started to say as he continued to spin, and yet...nothing happened. Before he could maintain the flow for much longer, he ended up tripping over his feet and falling onto the ground hard. The elder watched this sight with a sigh before smiling at the work his pupil had put in at such an early time. He slowly made his way towards the clad student, while hearing a muffled sigh from where his face was planted, until he was properly helped up from the ground by his master. "You've improved much, my student." the elder said.

   "Sensei Wu," He said once he stood tall, and he took a step back to politely bow to his elder with his hands clasped together. Despite wiping out so tremdiously, he looked as if he wasn't bothered by the impacted fall. "Apologies, I did not notice you were up, else I would've greeted you this morning.", the younger man spoke formally in a monotone. The elder now known as Sensei Wu tilted his head a little, but did not seem to falter in his expression--this demeanor already familiar to him. 

   "Zane, what are you doing awake at this hour?" He asked his student curiously. The student, now known as Zane, unveiled his mask to show a soft-chinned man with flat-top white hair and crystal-blue eyes to match. "I was getting myself prepared for the rest of the day, so that I know what I need to work on to master the art of spinjitzu." He stated automatically, with his master's curiosity fueled. 

   "And what about the others?", Wu asked. 

   "Still asleep", Zane responded flatly. 

   "Ah"

   "You've done well since your time here, but there is no need to push yourself so much. Why don't you go wake the others up and enjoy yourselves for the rest of the day? I will be gone for a while, no longer than a day or two," Wu said to his student, which left the man in question very confused. 

   "But you did not speak about leaving all of a sudden. Has something come up recently?" He asked rather curiously and followed after him like a stray pup. The elder hummed, placing a hand onto his elongated white beard in contemplation, but lowering his head only made it harder to read into what he was thinking.

  "That is a fair question to ask..." He started, before turning back to look at Zane. "There is still one thing I have left unfinished, and so I need to see it through if we are to move forward.", he speaks rather cryptically, which only began to raise more questions for the puzzled Zane. 

  "I don't understand, Sensei...are you saying that you're leaving to retrieve something that may help us in the upcoming mission?", he attempted to ask once again for clarification. "Perhaps...but only time will truly tell if this will become our greatest asset or...", he trails off and Zane tilts his head.

   "Ineffective?"

   "No, too clinical."

   "Useless?"

   "Too harsh."

   "A dud?"

   "Hm!", Wu snaps his fingers, "Yes!" 

   Zane looked incredibly proud of himself; it was like he had an imaginary tail wagging. Wu chuckled a bit at his student's reaction, but ahem-ed to get back on topic. "If it does prove to be fruitful, it may be the key to aid us in the long journey ahead. So I trust you will watch everything in my absence?" Wu asked, changing the subject, to which the student gracefully bowed in reply. "Yes, Sensei." He responded, which made Wu smile wistfully in response.

   "Thank you, Zane." He said, before placing his hand on the entrance doors. He pushed his hand on the old wooden boards, heavy with cuts and bruises of history, opening it ajar. Not before stopping to turn back at his pupil, whose gaze continued to fixate on him. "Oh, and one more thing? Please have everything cleaned up before I come back. There's only so much that I can do in my old age, and Cole would make for an excellent house cleaner.", he stated in a rather witty tone. Zane didn't seem to understand entirely, so he simply nodded in response. Wu still got an amused chuckle out of that reaction before leaving through those doors to be closed behind him. It was a long way ahead, and many steps had to be taken, but in due time, he knew that they would reach where fate needed them all to be.

                                      ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

     The sun started to rise upon the rice fields that surrounded the siblings' home, ending the cold night to fill the day with summer's warmth. The rays hit themselves against Nya's eyelids and force her to crinkle her nose in return. She turned over on her side to avoid the sun and then eventually opened her eyes, quite annoyed. It was the dawn of a new day for the fifteen-year-old, the beginning of another boring day of work. 

    She sat up on her futon and stretched her arms above her head, cracking both her back and stiffened joints, making a most satisfying popping noise. She yawns widely, then her mouth closes with a clank of teeth, making her wince. She got up from the futon and got dressed in her work clothes. It was an unusual uniform, but her brother owns the shop, so she can dress how she pleases. She slipped on the breathable, hand-me-down qipao that was slightly too big. It was crimson red and decorated with their late father's symbol, the fire phoenix, down its right side. 

     She grabbed her hairbrush from her dresser and walked towards her floor mirror. Her bobbed hair stuck up in places that defied gravity, making her look closer to her elder brother than before. She narrowed her eyes at her own reflection at the abhorrent thought, and then looked determined to be rid of it. Using her brush as a weapon of her own, Nya fought furiously with her hair to tame it. She worked and worked on it for nearly twenty minutes, slowly infuriating herself by the second. Only for the result to be more like her original bobbed hair, but puffed up like a jellyfish. She sighs and shrugs, murmuring under her breath, "That'll have to do for now.".

     After she finished her routine, she headed towards the stairs for the shop below. As she walked down the hallway, she caught a smell of incense coming from their corner room. She retracts her two steps and looks towards the direction of the smell, then glances back at her brother's room nearby her. 

    His door was open, showing a room littered with clothes on the floor and a futon unkempt, but no brother in sight. She then heads over to the corner room and quietly enters. There she sees her brother and his signature spiked hair, kneeling in front of their family altar. Nya's face softens at the sight, quietly sitting beside him on the old wooden floors.

    The boy didn't even seem phased by his sister's presence; it almost felt natural for her to join him silently like this, staring at the amass in front of them. Many pictures rested on its shelves, but one stood out. It looked to be a marriage photo between a man and a woman, both wearing their red ceremonial garbs and grinning ear to ear at the camera. 

   The long silence that plagued them finally broke as Nya's words cut through it like a blade. "You're up early again..", she stated flatly. The boy finally opened his eyes, breaking his--half-prayer, half-meditation, partially sleeping--state. He gazed sleepily at his baby sister and rubbed his eyes.  

   "'Mornin to you too, Nya.", he said, his voice dry. 

   "How'd you sleep?". She asked, and he waved her off.

   "Same old same old.", he said, getting up, and his sister following his movements. He finally answered her comment earlier while walking with her out of the room. "There was a commission that kept me late last night, so I had to get that-", he yawns,"-done". 

    Nya frowned at this, "The one for Mr. Yaki? Isn't that due next week?".  

   "Yeah, but I'd like to get that done early as a surprise for the old man.", he gestured with his hands like always when he wanted to emphasis something, "Remember last week? He brought us some fresh food for us when we ran out. We didn't even ask, he just did so like he always does.". "So, the least I could do is prioritize his commission in return.", he quickly defends his bad sleeping habits. 

    Nya sighs, "Fair enough, but you should've taken care of yourself, Kai. It isn't healthy.". Kai chuckles a bit, tiredly, "Sorry, sorry, I promise to do better next time.", Kai apologized as they made it to the blacksmith workshop. "You always say that, but never follow through with it.", she narrowed, but then sighed. "Though I agree, Mr. Yaki deserves the treat.", she concedes as her brother puts on his blacksmith apron, but then turns sharp, "but I'm serious, Kai, don't do that again or I will lock you in your room until you sleep.".

    Kai shakes his head, feeling foolish to believe that for once he could get Nya to leave this be. "I need to put food on the table, Nya. Sometimes I need to work past my limits to do so.", he droned like for the umpteenth time. "Then let me ease your load. I know how to make most of these things, too; you taught me yourself! With both of us working on it, we can get it done in no time.", Nya reasoned. 

   The older boy shakes his head as he warms up the furnace, "How many times do I need to remind you-". "'I need you to focus on your studies and school life so you can experience everything life has to offer' blah blah blah.", she mocked her brother and used her hand to puppet the 'blah blah blah', "Yea well that won't work this time, it's summer and I already completed my summer projects last spring! There's no reason I can't at least take over some of 'em.". As she argued, Kai gathered the materials from the closet and nodded along. She was always the pushy one of the two, gaining more of their mother's assertiveness and caring nature. Kai usually goes along with it on any other topic, but not this one. "Nya, you're already helping. You ring up the customers and pack the goods up. That's all I need you to do, ok?", Kai shuts her down, "Believe me, you doing that is already a huge help. You're better at dealing with people than I am.".

     Nya at first was sharp and unwilling, but in those last lines, her face softens once again. She wants to help Kai more, but she knows better than anyone that on this topic, Kai would never concede. He was always set on doing all the hard work himself, giving her the more menial, part-time tasks just to appease her. It frustrates her, but she can't deny his reasoning. Kai has awful people skills and a bad temper, getting the bad side of the coin toss when it came to their parents' traits. It's just easier for her to do the customer service work more than him. 

    Knowing neither can win unless one concedes, she takes the bullet, "Fine, you win this time. I'll go open up shop if you're ready.". Kai smiles and nods to signal her that, in fact, yes, he is ready. Nya smiles back and goes to the front, flipping over the sign and starting the work day, unaware that today would change their monotonous lives forever.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[First Published: 4-21-2026| Last Edited: 3-30-2026 | Word Count: 2702]

Master Post | Designs | Next Part

[ninjago-redone]

Prologue

"A place I don't want to be." - Kai

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

      The teenage boy stood in a black void with nothing in sight, a lantern clasped in his hand. He took a moment to look around this vacant void in mild curiosity, but unfazed. For he knew this place, as it came to him every night when he slept—always waiting for him to open up that dreaded door. Though it seems like this night wouldn't be as kind as the nights before, his fault no doubt, as the door didn't appear to him right away. He looked side to side, up, and even down. Nothing but his reflection looked back at him, with the same messed-up hair and pajamas that he always started in. 

       He stood with his back straightened as he hummed a bit. Guess he'll have to go search for it this time, how unpleasant. Yet maybe not so unpleasant, as long as he had his usual company.

       "Here again, dear big brother?", a high-pitched voice sounded from behind, echoy and wistful. The boy turned to the sound and saw the face of a familiar young girl, no older than three, with short black hair donning a yellow bow. The boy smiled at her sight.

       "When am I not here, little 姫", he answered playfully, kneeling to her level.

       "You know I hate that nickname. Why must you always call me that?"

     "Because you are one.", he answered factually, "Besides, I know you well enough that you actually like it, just too proud to admit it. Even when this small."

      "Yet, despite knowing all that, you stopped calling me it years ago."

 "Because you asked.", he shrugged.

      "So why are you calling me it in here?"

  "Because here is different from out there, and it kind of calms me a bit. Feels a little less real. So, while in this nightmare, could you indulge me? Please?"

      The girl stared at him, then sighed, "Fine. I swear you're as stubborn as a mule".  "Tell me something I haven't heard before.", he retorted with a smile. His smile disappeared when a small hand was held out to him. 

      "Are you ready to go?"

"...you know I never am."

      "Then are you ready to go with me? Keep me safe like always?"

"...", the boy stayed silent, hesitant, but stood up and engulfed her hand in his. 

      "Of course, like always."

      There was a ticking echoing from behind him as soon as he took her hand, and a pit formed in his stomach. He lowered his head as he tilted to look behind him, and there it was. The sliding door. 

      The girl stood beside him and squeezed his hand reassuringly. It lent him enough strength to place his hand on the door and pull it open. In an instant, a flood of sensations poured from this devilish Pandora's box and crashed against his face.

   The sound of jays chirping.

          The warmth of the hearth.

                The stickiness on his soles.

                      The smell of piercing iron. 

                         A n d    t h a t    i n c e s s a n t    t i c k i n g.

[First Published: 4-21-2026 | Last Edited: 3-30-2026 | Word Count: 516]

Master Post | Designs | Next Part

[ninjago-redone]

Rules

   

The rules of this rewrite are as we go along.

(Note: copied and pasted from AO3)

             1. We will write as though it is a kids' show, which means I'm not allowed to let the characters swear or explicitly show dark subjects; I'm only allowed to hint towards them in a way the TV show would. This might be broken from time to time cause I grew up on Gravity Falls, so my idea of appropriate for kids may be skewed lol.

            2. Most of the beginning will be untouched aside from a few details. By season 3, that's where most rewrites start to happen, though season 1 does have a new character introduced, which is a major change, but it is majorly the same conclusion. Seasons 4 and 5 still have similar conclusions, but events, character replacements, and so on are far more apparent. Season 6 and onwards are either completely replaced or removed, not because they are bad, but because they no longer exist with the lore we have planned. For instance, we no longer have Nya be the Water Ninja, as that decision always rubbed me the wrong way, and I liked her as Samurai X instead. That would also make Seabound, a fantastic season, no longer a part of the story. Seasons where stories might be extremely overhauled include the Oni seasons, Hands of Time, and so on. Dragons Rising will not be a part of this at all, as I've been avoiding it like the plague. I have heard it's good, but I haven't even finished og Ninjago (Hands of Time knocked the wind out of my sails by how bad it was), so it won't factor in this rewrite.

         3. Some of the main characters will be given some character flaws that may offend some people, but they will grow from them; they are put in place to fix some character inconsistencies. Aka, Jay is sexist at the beginning.

         4. Ocs will be treated as though they were originally a part of the show. So if an oc is a part of the main cast, they will have some main character moments. Some OCs are side characters, and some who are villains will be treated as such as well, for their roles in the narrative.

        5. The story will start from the pilot, and every episode will be written. If you want to skip some things you've seen before and don't care for the tiny changes in the plot, nor the new scenes, I'll put an Asterix* in the chapter title that lets you know, aside from some minor changes, it's majorly the same episode and skippable.

       6. While this story does have the same starting point, there will be major changes. If you don't like that, then this is your warning not to read. This is supposed to be fun, so let's have fun, please.

      7. I am going to have swearing through the way kid shows would have it, like in another language or bleeped out/cut off with sounds. There's going to be a lot of it in Japanese in the beginning, as Ninjago has been solidly made Japanese in this version of the story (I know there's a Ninjago language, I don't want to learn that when five years of Spanish didn't help me learn Spanish). All translations will be in the notes at the end. When new countries are introduced, it'll also be at the end, and which country/countries it's based on. If you want to translate in real time, copy and paste the direct kanji as I'm using Google Translate, and that usually is the most accurate in getting what I translated from. Some do have specific tones or are cultural slang words that wouldn't translate well; I will clarify in notes as well.

     8. Lots of oc x cannon, I think three out of the main five have new love interests, though only one appears early. The other appears in season 4, and the last near the end of the series, which are brand new seasons we make. Not ok with that? You can click off now! No hard feelings!

     9. I am writing this on the side for fun, so this won't be consistently updated. I'm a college student, and while I love to write, sometimes I'm too tired to continue or burn out. This original draft was made in January of 2024! Never continued after a while. Came back cause a college friend and I were talking about this, and they screamed at me to continue (Hi Multi!!!). So I'm baaaaaaack and thank/blame them for that.

     10. So far, I am trying to write the entire episode before posting it in bulk. Aka, Way Of The Ninja parts 1 and 2 are made all at once. This, so far as I updated this rules sheet, has taken nearly a month, and that's with me procrastinating on my Uni work, and having this at the forefront. It's taking so long that I'm nearly to the date this draft will be deleted before I can post, which is why part 1 is posted now before it automatically deletes itself. Otherwise, I will try to write both parts, but if that proves to be impossible, part 1 will be posted THEN part 2 when it's done. This may just be limited to major episodes like the pilots and finales, as those will have more added writing stuff in, but I don't want to jinx myself. Thus, my chapters will be inconsistent and have long periods of updating in between. Apologies in advance, but I will drop this fic for long periods of time if life calls for me to lock the f*ck in.

     11. I will before every season change will give design sheets of the different characters! I love to draw, and design sheets is my favorite. I am also hoping to have chapter art for the beginning of each chapter. I may post doodles from time to time on here or my personal Tumblr if life gives me motivation lol.

    12. Wattpad specific. The first part was divided up as it was over 12,000 words long, and this will happen for every chapter I post here to Wattpad. That means there will only be one title art for each part. So in every x.1 part, it will have chapter art. 

   13. Since most of this story is planned out, some concept art will be posted on the Tumblr blog as well. This will contain spoilers, so only look if you're ok with that.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. Now let's have some fun!

Master Post | Designs | Prologue

[ninjago-redone]

Need some help with a decision

I'm going to post the fanfic on here for those who don't have AO3 or Wattpad. I've never posted a fanfic on here before, so I'm wondering what an appropriate word count per post is. For AO3, it doesn't matter, whilst on Wattpad, it's like 2k-4k is the sweet spot. I have around 12 k words for Way Of The Ninja (part 1), so I'm wondering if I should put it all at once or separate it into parts like with Wattpad.

So I'll place it as a poll here and wait a few hours for the results. I'll be doing homework and Way Of The Ninja (part 2) in the meantime (currently 4k words).

DESTINY DECIDES

All in one

Multiple Parts

Voting ended onApr 22

[ninjago-redone]

Way Of The Ninja (Part 1) Cover Art

It's dooooooooone!!!!! <333333

[ninjago-redone]

Look at what I doodled on the back of my church envelope

I had no eraser so excuse the mistakes 😭

[ninjago-redone]

Quick Sketch Of Title Art Before Bed

I love making buff Nya <3 Goodnight everyone <3333333

[ninjago-redone]

Prologue Chapter Art

For context, I'm making art for each chapter, for both parts. So this is the one for the prologue! I wonder what's behind that door, hm? This was a lot of fun, though.