Day of the Departed Day of the Departed is a " " TV special . It is preceded by Season 6 and will be followed by Season 7 . A teaser featuring the opening scene was released on August 18 , while the official trailer was released on September 30 . Day of the Departed aired on October 29 , 2016 as the first Ninjago TV special . It follows the Ninja as they commemorate their ancestors and fallen friends on a sacred holiday , during which Sensei Yang ushers in the return of their arch - enemies - forcing the Ninja into an unexpected and dangerous conflict . Synopsis . On the Day of the Departed , the Ninja hurriedly ride the Ultra Stealth Raider , Rock Roader and Titanium Ninja Tumbler through the Sea of Sand , en - route to the Ninjago Museum of History . On their way , Cole ' s arms begin to fade and he nearly crashes into the Raider Jet , but he regains control of the vehicle . Upon arriving at the museum , the Ninja obtain lanterns from the gift shop . While Jay is eager to partake in the festivities , Wu reminds them of the holiday ' s significance , as people remember fallen ancestors and cherish their families . Dr . Saunders arrives , greeting Wu and the Ninja before presenting the museum ' s new exhibit : the Hall of Villainy . The exhibit features life - sized mannequins of the major villains fought by the Ninja over the years , including Samukai , Pythor , Kozu , Cryptor , Chen and Morro , as well as a plaque describing the rare Yin - Yang Lunar Eclipse . Cole finds a painting of Sensei Yang , as well as the Yin Blade , which is on display . Cole calls out to Saunders and asks what the weapon is , but realizes nobody is paying attention to him . At that moment , Cole hears Yang ' s voice imploring him to " close the circle . " The Ninja leave the museum to commemorate their ancestors . Realizing he ' s fading away as one of the departed , Cole takes the Yin Blade and sets off to settle his debt with Yang . The Ninja divide for their own personal memorials : Lloyd and Misako commemorate Garmadon at the Corridor of Elders ; Kai and Nya remember their mother and father at their blacksmith shop ; Zane remembers his father in Birchwood Forest ; Jay spends time with his mom and dad at their junkyard ; and Wu goes to his old monastery to remember his father . Realizing everyone is out celebrating , Ronin decides to steal from peoples ' homes . Cole arrives at Yang ' s Temple , which is still floating in the sky . Cole enters the temple and confronts Yang , who he attempts to strike with the Yin Blade but misses , instead smashing it into an orb . Consequently , the Departed Realm is opened , and the spirits of the Ninjas ' old enemies escape while Cole is detained by Yang ' s students . The spirits possess five of the six mannequins in the Hall of Villainy , bringing them to life . Wondering how they ' ve returned , the villains look to the painting of Yang , who says they can remain in Ninjago by slaying those who originally killed them . Pythor enters the museum and joins the villains as they discuss who to go after . Chen chooses to go after Kai and Nya , Pythor chooses Lloyd , Cryptor chooses Zane , Morro chooses Wu , and Kozu chooses Dareth , which leaves Samukai with facing Jay . Pythor proposes they gather reinforcements from the Hall of Sidekicks . Cole is imprisoned in Yang ' s temple , being guarded by his students . Yang tells Cole of his history , explaining how he taught his students to master Airjitzu and shortly after he discovered the Yin Blade , which was claimed to be embedded with enough dark magic to imbue immortality . After testing its abilities on several plants , Yang tried testing it on himself , but its powers backfired , turning him and his students into ghosts while his temple became a decrepit structure . With the eclipse to his advantage , Yang intends to use the Yin Blade and open the Rift of Return to revive himself , while the revived villains will distract the Ninja so they won ' t thwart his plans . As Kai and Nya wonder if they ' ll find out what happened to their parents , Chen arrives with Eyezor and Zugu , who are driving two Condrai Crusher s . Chen uses his dinosaur mech to attack Kai and Nya , who flee on the Raider Cycles . Cryptor and three Nindroids confront Zane , while Samukai fights Jay as Krazi and Frakjaw apprehend his parents . Pythor battles Lloyd at the Corridor of Elders , remarking that he always intended to conquer Ninjago which was his reason for saving it . As the Royal Blacksmiths perform , Kozu and several Stone Warriors confront Dareth , who was responsible for taking control of the Stone Army . Unlike the other villains , Morro has no intention of revenge ; he tells Wu of Yang ' s plan and they set off to reunite the Ninja . Cole is left alone with one of Yang ' s students . He manages to escape and begins making his way up through the temple , fighting the other students along the way . Yang makes it to the roof of the temple , where he begins opening the Rift of Return . Kai and Nya are pursued by Chen and the Condrai Crushers . They manage to defeat Eyezor and Zugu shortly before Chen is struck by a missile , sending his spirit back to the Departed Realm . Ronin arrives at the junkyard with a mech he salvaged from scrap metal . Jay crushes Krazi and Frakjaw with a magnetic crane before shattering Samukai to pieces using a pair of nunchucks . Zane outsmarts Cryptor , who accidentally hits himself with his techno blade , vanquishing his spirit . Dareth finds the Helmet of Shadows and uses it to recontrol the Stone Warriors , commanding them to defeat Kozu . Pythor is cornered by Lloyd and Misako on the edge of Garmadon ' s monument . Realizing he can ' t win the fight , he jumps off and lands far below , then he hobbles away from the scene . Yang opens the Rift of Return , and he does Airjitzu to fly up and reach it . However , Cole emerges on the rooftop and pursues Yang , grabbing onto him as the two fall towards the temple . The Ninja reunite at the museum , telling each other what happened before Wu arrives with Morro . The Ninja see him as a threat , but Morro proves his innocence by unveiling Yang ' s plan . Realizing Cole is missing , the Ninja journey to Yang ' s temple while Morro ' s spirit peacefully returns to the Departed Realm . On the temple ' s roof , Cole battles Yang , who tries to demoralize him . As he starts losing hope , Cole gains inspiration as the Ninja approach on the " Bounty " . His heightened vigor changes his arms to become rock - solid , which he uses to shatter the Yin Blade , allowing Yang ' s students cross through the rift and become human again . Yang is distraught , saying he failed his students and wanted to live forever so no one would forget him . Cole understands Yang ' s desire , but assures him that he ' ll be remembered as the creator of Airjitzu . Together , they ascend towards the rift , but Yang tells Cole someone has to remain in the temple as a ghost to be the " master of the house " . Yang lets go of Cole , who crosses through the rift as it closes . The Ninja believe Cole is lost , but are astonished when they find he made it back and is mortal once more . The Ninja and their allies gather around a fire outside of Yang ' s temple , which has been cleansed after the rift was closed . Jay admits he was scared during the event , though everyone is happy to be safe and reunited . Cole looks back to the temple and winks at Yang , who stands inside and winks back in return . Those surrounding the fire let their lanterns float into the night sky , concluding their celebration . Several additional characters appear in the episode , but do not have voice actors . Three Nindroids , two Stone Scout s and two Stone Swordsmen all appear in the episode . Eyezor , Zugu , Krazi and Frakjaw also appear , yet do not have speaking roles , as well as Yang ' s students . Statues of Dr . Julien and Garmadon are also seen . Gayle Gossip makes a cameo in the crowd of people at the concert .