LEGO Ninjago: The Rescue Mission (Reader #11) Read online

  ADAPTED BY KATE HOWARD

  SCHOLASTIC INC.

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  e-ISBN 978-0-545-77868-8

  LEGO, the LEGO logo, NINJAGO, the Brick and Knob configurations and

  the Minifigure are trademarks of the LEGO Group. © 2015 The LEGO Group.

  Produced by Scholastic Inc. under license from the LEGO Group.

  Published by Scholastic Inc. SCHOLASTIC and associated logos are

  trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc.

  First printing, March 2015

  During the final, epic battle against the

  Overlord, Zane gave his life to save his team.

  After losing their friend, the other ninja went

  their separate ways. Only Lloyd stayed behind

  to train with Sensei Wu and Sensei Garmadon.

  He was helping test the security Cyrus Borg

  had built for the Golden Armor.

  A TEAM DIVIDED

  “You got closer than I thought you would,”

  Borg said.

  “Where are the other ninja?” asked Sensei Wu.

  “They, uh, wanted to be here, but they had

  other plans,” Lloyd lied.

  Sensei Wu shook his head. “The absence of

  Zane will either tear you four apart, or bring you

  closer together. The choice is yours.”

  Lloyd wanted to get the ninja back together.

  First, he found Jay, who was hosting a

  television game show.

  “The team needs you more than ever,” Lloyd

  told Jay. “This isn’t you. You’re the Master of

  Lightning

  , not the Master of

  Lighting

  . You know

  where I’ll be if you change your mind.”

  Next, Lloyd found Cole working as a

  lumberjack.

  “The team needs you now more than ever,”

  Lloyd told Cole.

  “I’m tired of fighting, Lloyd. Out here, no

  one expects anything,” Cole replied.

  “If you change your mind, you know where

  I’ll be,” Lloyd said.

  Finally, Lloyd found Kai, who was fighting

  in a secret club. “Kai, the team needs you

  now more than ever,” Lloyd said.

  Kai shook his head. “Who says the great

  and powerful Green Ninja needs a team?

  You’re doing fine on your own.”

  “I get it, Kai,” said Lloyd. “You’ve run out

  of bad guys to fight. But when are you

  gonna start thinking of someone besides

  yourself?”

  A few days later, Lloyd got his wish. The four

  ninja agreed to meet at Master Chen’s Noodle

  House.

  Kai reached for some noodles, but Lloyd

  stopped him. “Talk first, then eat.”

  “I’m hungry. Make it quick,” said Kai.

  “Without Zane, things have been different.

  But we have to move on,” Lloyd began.

  A NEW NINJA?

  “Maybe we should add someone new to our

  team,” Lloyd went on.

  “A new ninja?!” blurted out Kai.

  “Zane is irreplaceable,” said Cole.

  Lloyd frowned. “I cared for Zane, too, but now

  it’s time to care about this team.”

  “Without Zane, there is no team,” said Kai.

  Suddenly, three thugs stormed into the noodle

  shop.

  “Here comes trouble,” warned Jay.

  Kai shook his head. “They aren’t our problem.

  We can’t save everyone.”

  Then a thug blocked the food on its way to the

  ninja’s table.

  “All right,” said Cole. “Now they’re our problem.”

  Cole approached the thugs. “Excuse me, it’s

  not polite to touch someone else’s food.”

  “You better listen to him,” said Kai. “He’s no

  fun when he’s hangry.”

  One of the thugs slammed a rice ball against

  Cole’s chest.

  “Was that really necessary?” Jay sighed.

  As the ninja fought side by side, Lloyd asked,

  “How can you walk away from this?”

  “All right, I admit it,” said Kai. “We make a good

  team.”

  Cole took a bite of food as it flew through the

  air.“Everything’s better on a full stomach!”

  After a few minutes, it was clear the ninja were

  unbeatable. The thugs fled.

  The ninja chased the thugs out the back

  door. They had disappeared, but there was a

  poster hanging in the back alley.

  “It’s Zane,” gasped Kai.

  “This poster says he’s alive!” cried Lloyd.

  “Those thugs weren’t delivering a message

  to the Noodle House,” Kai said slowly.“They

  were delivering a message to us!”

  THE INVITATION

  Lloyd pointed at the table in front of them.

  “Look!”

  “Fortune cookies?” Jay said.

  Jay,Kai, and Lloyd carefully cracked the

  cookies open. But not Cole. He popped the

  whole thing into his mouth.

  “You do realize there’s a fortune inside?”

  asked Kai.

  “So that’s why they’re called that!” said Cole.

  Lloyd read his fortune.“Listen to this:‘Master

  Chen has invited you to participate in his

  Tournament of Elements—’”

  “Master Chen?” Cole gasped.“Like, the-man-

  who-fills-my-belly-with- delicious- goodness

  Master Chen?”

  Kai nodded.“‘Secrecy is of utmost importance.

  Tell no one, or suffer the consequences . ..’”

  “‘If you ever want to see your friend again,

  meet on the pier at midnight and leave your

  weapons behind,’ ”Jay read.

  Poof!

  Jay’s fortune fizzled and disappeared.

  Kai’s and Lloyd’s did the same.

  Cole’s belly rumbled. He burped up a cloud of

  smoke.“Ouch! Well, at least I know I was invited.”

  “It could be a trap to lure us in,”said Kai.

  “But what if it’s not?” asked Jay.“What if

  Zane’s alive?!”

  “The Tournament of Elements,” said Lloyd.“I

  think Master Chen makes more than noodles.”

  Kai agreed. “Forget about bringing in a new

  ninja,Lloyd. Let’s go see about an old friend!”

  That night, Lloyd packed a bag. “The guys

  and I are going fishing,” he told Garmadon.

  “Good to hear the team’s back together,”

  Garmadon replied.

  “Dad,” sa
id Lloyd,“are there others out

  there with elemental powers like ours?”

  “Why would you ask?” replied his father.

  “No reason,” said Lloyd. “See ya.”

  A SECRET MISSION

  At midnight, the ninja gathered on the

  dock. They were not alone. Many others

  were waiting for the boat to Chen’s island.

  “You think all these people have powers

  like us?” asked Kai.

  “When I asked my dad about it, he

  acted funny,”said Lloyd.“Like he’s keeping

  something from me.”

  As the ninja waited, they watched the other

  passengers.

  “We don’t know yet if this is a trap,” said

  Lloyd.“Wherever they take us, we have to stick

  together.We can’t let anything distract us.You

  hear me, Kai?”

  But Kai was distracted by a beautiful woman

  stepping onto the boat. “Yeah,”Kai agreed.

  “Whatever you said.”

  “Master Chen will be charmed to see the ninja,”

  said Chen’s right-hand man, Clouse.“A Master of

  Spinjitzu shall fare well in his tournament.”

  “We’re not here to fight,” said Jay.“We’re here to

  save a friend.”

  Clouse smiled.“Everyone here has something

  to fight for,Master Jay.”He reached into Jay’s bag

  and took out his nunchuks.

  Jay grinned.“They’re chopsticks.I’m a big

  eater.”

  Suddenly, Garmadon ran down the dock. He

  had followed the ninja!

  “Lloyd—wait!If you get on that boat, you

  may never return. Whatever Master Chen

  promised you, do not believe him.”

  Clouse stepped forward.“Lord Garmadon.

  It’s been a while.”

  Garmadon narrowed his eyes. “Clouse. I see

  Master Chen still has you running his errands.”

  AN UNINVITED GUEST

  “I have to go, Dad,”said Lloyd.“This is

  about Zane. It’s about family.”

  “I can’t stop you, son. But I can join you,”

  Garmadon said.

  “Sorry,no more room,” said Clouse.

  Garmadon leaped on board, pushing

  one of Chen’s guys overboard.

  Clouse shrugged. “I stand corrected.

  There’s room now.”

  As the steamboat sailed through the night,

  Kai watched the other passengers practice their

  powers.“Why haven’t you or Wu ever told us

  there are others with powers like us?”

  “Because,”said Garmadon,“there are some

  things we didn’t want you to know.”

  “Everyone on this ship is a descendant

  of an original elemental master,” explained

  Garmadon.

  “Elemental masters?” asked Lloyd.“Who

  were they?”

  “They were the First Spinjitzu Master’s

  guardians, ”said Garmadon.“Each has an

  elemental power that has passed down

  through generations. For instance, that pale

  man is a relative of the Master of Light.”

  THE ELEMENTAL MASTERS

  “Then there’s Griffin Turner, grandson to

  the Master of Speed.”

  “And who’s she?” wondered Kai, pointing

  to the woman he’d seen earlier.

  Garmadon shrugged. “I don’t know most

  of these people . . . but they will all be

  gunning for you. You are ninja.You serve

  with honor.Here, that means very little.”

  “Well, maybe honor means something to

  me,”Kai said.A huge man was arguing with

  the woman. Kai went over to defend her.

  “It’s okay.I can handle myself,”the woman

  told him.

  “This is none of his business,” the big man

  said.“Karlof cold.Karlof want her cloak.”

  “You look like you’ve got big enough

  mittens already,”Kai said.

  “These not mittens,” shouted Karlof.

  “These crush ninja.”

  Kai laughed.“I’d like to see you try.”

  “Don’t think Karlof afraid of you,” the big

  guy growled.

  “No,you don’t think much at all, do you?”

  Kai said.

  “Save it for the tournament, Kai,”

  Garmadon warned.

  But Kai’s fiery temper got the better of

  him. He stepped forward, ready to fight!

  Karlof was tougher than he looked. He

  slammed his fists together, and his whole

  body turned to metal!

  Kai attacked Karlof. But every time he

  landed a blow, Karlof just seemed to get

  stronger.

  “We should help him,”Lloyd said.

  “You can help him by staying out of it,”

  said Garmadon. “Sooner or later, you must

  fight your own battles. You can’t all win the

  tournament.”

  “Enough!” Clouse shouted. “We’re here.

  Welcome to Chen’s island.”

  The two fighters stepped away from each

  other. Everyone stared at the huge island

  looming in the mist.

  “I swore never to return,”Garmadon muttered.

  “If Zane’s on that island, we’ll find him.We

  have to,”Lloyd declared.

  As the boat

  approached shore,

  Clouse called Master Chen.

  “Garmadon has returned.”

  “Interesting,” said Chen. He peered into

  a prison cell.A familiar ninja lay within:

  Zane!

  Master Chen laughed. “You worry too

  much, Clouse. Just wait and see. I hold all

  the cards.”

  WANTED:

  Zane, The Titanium Ninja

  Nothing’s been the same since Zane sacrificed himself to

  save Ninjago from the Overlord. The ninja team is divided—Cole’s

  working as a lumberjack, Jay’s become a TV host, and Kai’s

  fighting in an underground club. Only Lloyd remains true to the

  ninja’s mission of protecting Ninjago.

  But all that changes when the four friends receive a mysterious

  message inside a fortune cookie. They’ve been invited to Master

  Chen’s island to compete in a tournament against other Elemental

  Masters. And there’s reason to believe Zane is alive somewhere on

  the island. Can the ninja work together to save one of their own?

  LEGO, the LEGO logo, NINJAGO, the Brick and Knob configurations and the

  Minifigure are trademarks of the LEGO Group. © 2015 the LEGO Group.

  Produced by Scholastic Inc. under license from the LEGO Group.

  www.scholastic.com

 

 

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