Way of the Ninja

:This article is about the episode. You may be looking for the book with the same title.
Way of the Ninja is the first pilot episode of Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu and the first episode of the show overall. It aired on Cartoon Network on January 14, 2011 in the United States.
==Plot==
 At Four Weapons Blacksmith, siblings Kai and Nya were busy crafting weapons when Sensei Wu came down the road and began to browse around their shop. Kai rudely told him that their shop was the "Four Weapons," not "for browsing," and Sensei Wu left.
Moments later, a dark cloud spread over Ignacia, signaling the arrival of the Skulkin. Atop the Skull Truck, Nuckal begged the Skulkin leader, Samukai, to let him lead the attack, claiming that he was "dying to go down there." His friend, Kruncha, irritably reminded him that they were already dead. Samukai ordered his troops to attack, and the Skull Truck raced towards the blacksmith shop, surrounded by the Skull Motorbikes.
 
Upon seeing the approaching skeletons, Nya wondered aloud what was going on, but Kai simply told her to stay in the shop while he confronted the invaders. Donning armor and taking up a sword, he challenged the Skulkin forces, doing surprisingly well despite the undead warriors' physical and numerical advantages. Wielding a bamboo staff, Nya joined in—despite Kai's warnings—and the two of them managed to fend off the Skulkin. Meanwhile, unnoticed, Kruncha and Nuckal snuck into the store, searching for something. After a scuffle with each other, the Generals found what they sought on the back of the shop's sign—a large piece of parchment.
With the soldiers defeated, Kai challenged Samukai himself, but the four-armed skeleton quickly disarmed him and knocked him to the ground. Sensei Wu intervened before Samukai could deliver the finishing blow, knocking the Skulkin General around with a strange golden tornado of energy. After exchanging a few taunts, Samukai threw his daggers at a nearby water tower, forcing Sensei Wu to save Kai before the structure collapsed. Retreating to the Skull Truck with his fellow generals, Samukai told Kruncha to "take the girl!" In response, Kruncha fired the truck's bone hand, snatching Nya as the skeletons retreated to the Underworld.
Kai thanked Sensei Wu for saving him but demanded to know what had just occurred Sensei Wu explained that the Skulkin were acting on the orders of Lord Garmadon, the evil older brother of Sensei Wu himself. They had been battling for most of their lives, Garmadon constantly seeking a means of escaping his prison in the Underworld. Wu then told Kai that he sensed the "fire" within him, which would allow Kai to save Nya. Wu spoke of a catch, however: He would first have to train to be a ninja. Kai was extremely confused, but he complied.
At the Monastery of Spinjitzu, Sensei Wu immediately put Kai through the training course in the courtyard. After a few tries, Kai successfully completed the course, and Sensei Wu told him that his final test would be the day after. Satisfied with his progress, Kai prepared for bed, only to be ambushed by three mysterious black ninja.
==Appearances==
===Characters===
====Cast====
*Chopov - Trevor Devall
*Kai - Vincent Tong
*Krazi - Trevor Devall
*Kruncha - Brian Drummond
*Nuckal - Brian Drummond
*Nya - Kelly Metzger
*Samukai - Michael Kopsa
*Wu - Paul Dobson
====Non-speaking====
*Bonezai
*Cole
*Frakjaw
*Jay
*Rice farmers
*Zane
====Miscellaneous====
*First Spinjitzu Master (drawings)
*Garmadon (drawings)
*Ray (drawings)
===Creatures===
*Earth Dragon (drawings)
===Events===
*Battle Between Brothers (drawings)
===Items===
*Katanas
*Bo staff
*Bone Daggers
*Golden Weapons (drawings)
**Nunchucks of Lightning
**Scythe of Quakes
**Shurikens of Ice
**Sword of Fire
*Underworld helmet (drawings)
*Map of the Golden Weapons
*Tea
*Scythe
*Shurikens
*Nunchucks
===Vehicles===
*Skull Truck
*Turbo Shredders
===Locations===
*Ninjago (realm)
**Ninjago
***Ignacia
****Four Weapons Blacksmith
***Caves of Despair (drawings)
***Mountains of Impossible Height
****Monastery of Spinjitzu
*****Bathroom
*Underworld (mentioned)
===Species===
*Humans
*Dragons (drawings)
*Oni/Dragon hybrids
*Skulkin
*Nindroids
==Transcript==
For the transcript of the episode, click here.
==Trivia==
*Vincent Tong released an image of the first page of this episode's script on Twitter on January 14, 2016, to celebrate the five-year anniversary of Ninjago.https://twitter.com/VincentTong007/status/687667844788555776
*Some airings of this episode place it and "The Golden Weapon" together as a single episode, due to the combined time length being 22 minutes, the normal length of an episode until Secrets of the Forbidden Spinjitzu.
*Although it is the first episode of the series, numerically, "Rise of the Snakes" is the first episode of the series.
*In this episode, Sensei Wu tells Kai, "You're not even ready to face my pinky toe," even though LEGO minifigures actually have neither toes nor fingers.
===Continuity===
*Parts of this episode—along with parts of "The Golden Weapon" and "King of Shadows"—appeared in the Legacy of the Green Ninja episode, "Wrong Place, Wrong Time."
*In Sensei Wu's story, the First Spinjitzu Master's hair is different than its appearance in "Tick Tock" and a few other flashbacks, as well as his statue in "Grave Danger." The designs of the young Garmadon and Wu are also different than how they appear in "An Underworldly Takeover" and subsequent episodes.
*When Kai is training Lloyd in "Pirates vs. Ninja," Kai quotes Wu's line from this episode, saying, "You're not even ready to face my pinky toe."
*Sensei Wu's legend of the Golden Weapons is later seen on TV screens in "The Day Ninjago Stood Still" and "The Surge" in the NGTV news building and Borg Tower respectively.
*This episode is referenced in "The Fall," in which Kai says to Nya, "I'm a terrible blacksmith, remember? You used to tell me that all the time."
===Errors===
*When Nya tells Kai he made his sword too quickly, her eyebrows are somewhat off-model.
*When Nya tells Kai to be patient, her arms appear to be a bit larger than normal, and are also slightly clipping through her torso.
*When Sensei Wu corrects Kai when he says "Twistitzu" instead of "Spinjitzu," Wu's staff shortens in length.
*When Kai goes through the training course the final time, if the scene of him attacking the dummies is in slow motion, for a frame the scene plays again.
MoS01KaiWorking.png|Nya's eyebrows are off-model
MoS01ShortStaff.png|Wu's staff is short
==Gallery==
For the gallery of the episode, click here.
==Translations==
==References==
de:Die Legende von Ninjago (1)
es:La Senda del Ninja
pl:Tajemnice Ninja
ru:Путь ниндзя
uk:Шлях ніндзя
fi:Ninjan taito
Category:Episodes
Category:2011
Category:Pilot episodes