It was another busy night at Mr. Chen’s Noodle House in Ninjago City. Customers filled every seat in the colorful restaurant, gobbling down bowls of fried rice, puffy potstickers—and the best noodles in the world of Ninjago.

“Look how many noodles I can slurp all at once!”

Kai, the Fire Ninja, leaned over his piping-hot bowl of food and dug in with a pair of chopsticks.

Sllllurrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrp!

A few of the customers looked up from their meals to stare at Kai. Meanwhile, on the other side of the counter, the owner of the restaurant, Skylor Chen, sighed.

“It looks like the same amount of noodles you slurped five minutes ago, Kai,” Skylor said, brushing a stray lock of dark red hair behind her ear. “Don’t you have anything bet…trrr…I mean, something more important to do?”

Kai wiped his mouth with the sleeve of his sweatshirt and frowned. “Um, no more Fire powers, remember? There’s nothing important for me to do anymore.”

Above her, a TV screen was tuned to NGTV News. Veteran reporter Gayle Gossip appeared on the screen, standing on a busy Ninjago City street. In the distance, police sirens wailed.

“Crime in Ninjago City has been rising steadily, ever since word got out that the ninja have lost their Elemental Powers,” the reporter was saying. “I tried to contact the ninja for comment, but they’re not returning my calls. In this reporter’s opinion, they seem to have forgotten who they really are. Powers or not, ninja, Ninjago City needs you!”

Skylor stared at Kai in surprise. “You haven’t returned her calls?”

Kai shrugged. “I haven’t charged my phone in days,” he said. “What’s the point? Without my Fire powers, I’ve lost my spark.”

“That’s not true,” Skylor insisted. “You still know Spinjitzu. You’re still as smart as you ever were, and brave. You can still do good in the world.”

“Ninjago City has an excellent police force,” Kai replied. “They don’t need me getting in their way.”

Skylor shook her head. “This isn’t like you, Kai. Didn’t you lose your Elemental Powers once before? You got them back in the Never-Realm, right? Just by digging deep inside yourself?”

“That time in the Never-Realm, I brought my Fire powers back with intense focus and concentration,” Kai said. “But I just can’t do it this time. I’ve tried and tried. It’s no use.”

He slurped down some more noodles to make his point.

Then a voice came from the restaurant’s kitchen.

“Skylor! The potstickers are less than puffy again!”

“Coming!” Skylor yelled. She turned to Kai. “This conversation is not over.”

Sluuuuuuuuuuuurp! Kai ate some more noodles. Then the noodle shop door slammed loudly and a thunderous voice cried out.

“THE ROTTEN RABBITS ARE IN THE HOUSE!”

Kai turned to see that three muscled guys had burst into the restaurant. They each wore black eye masks and had long, curly mustaches that looked like whiskers. Their teeth were sharpened into fangs, and blades shaped like rabbit ears extended from their black helmets. On their feet, they wore heavy black boots that looked like big rabbit feet.

“This is a robbery!” the first Rotten Rabbit shouted.

“Give us all your money!” cried the second Rotten Rabbit.

“And be quick about it!” added the third Rotten Rabbit.

Kai sighed. Several gangs of amateur goons had formed when news got out that the ninja had lost their powers, and this looked like one of them. He stood up and faced the robbers. “Why don’t you bad bunnies hop back to whatever greasy garden you came from?”

“Who’s gonna make me?” the main Rotten Rabbit asked.

“He’s Kai, the Fi— I mean, Kai the Ninja!” one of the noodle customers yelled.

The Rotten Rabbit eyed Kai. “A ninja? Really? He looks like a dude in a hoodie with noodle broth stains on it.”

A teeny, tiny spark flared up in Kai.

“Oh yeah? I’ll show you,” Kai said. “Ninjaaa—”

“Rotten Rabbits, Hop to it!” the main robber yelled.

BAM!

Before Kai could launch into Spinjitzu, the three rabbits all kicked him with their big boots. He soared through the air and crashed into a large fish tank. The tank toppled over onto him, dousing him with water.

“What’s going on here?”

Skylor emerged from the kitchen, and her eyes narrowed as she assessed the situation.

“Hiyaaaaaaaaaaa!”

She launched herself over the counter and landed in front of the stunned rabbit robbers. Before they could react, she attacked them.

BAM! A powerful leg sweep brought one of the robbers to his knees.

SLAM! She grabbed the second robber and flipped him, pounding him into the ground.

CRASH! She jumped and delivered a high kick to the main robber, sending him crashing into a table.

Terrified, the robbers scrambled to their feet.

“RUN, RABBITS, RUN!” their leader yelled.

Skylor stepped over the broken table and helped Kai to his feet.

“See what I mean?” he asked. Water dripped from his hair and clothes as he scooped up the flopping fish and put them back in the tank. “I couldn’t even take care of a bunch of low-level goons. It’s hopeless! Without my Fire powers, I have no idea what I’m supposed to do.”

Skylor stared at Kai with a worried frown.

Meanwhile, on the TV screen, Gayle Gossip moved on to the next story.

“In other news, villages on the outskirts of Ninjago are being terrorized by a gang of people known as Fire Fiends,” she said.

The scene cut to an interview with one of the villagers, a terrified-looking man.

“These Fire Fiends—they worship a giant, flaming serpent!” the man said. “I’ve seen it with my own eyes!”

Kai’s mouth dropped open.

“Fire Fang!” he cried. “Of course! Why didn’t I think of it before?”

“Fire Fang?” Skylor asked. “You mean that enormous snake created by Aspheera?”

“Aspheera created Fire Fang after she stole my Elemental Powers,” Kai reminded her. “Fire Fang’s powers all come from me. All I have to do is find Fire Fang, and I can get my powers back!”