Stiix and Stones

*“Uh, this is Ronin we're talking about. He'd steal the sea if it were worth anything. We just have to figure out which rock he's under and get to the scroll before Morro does.”*

— Cole

**Stiix and Stones** is the third episode of the fifth season of *Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu* and the 47th episode overall. It premiered in the United States on July 1, 2015 on Cartoon Network.

## Synopsis

*The Ninja travel to the Village of Stiix to find the thief who stole the scroll of Airjitzu, but the self-serving Ronin isn't keen to sell it cheaply so the Ninja must figure out a way to make money on the docks - and when they fail to make enough cash, the Ninja decide to steal it - but have a run-in with Morro and Soul Archer.*

## Plot

Jay, Kai, Cole, and Zane arrive at the coastal town of Stiix where they are greeted by a fisherman, who is pulled into the ocean by his catch. The Red Ninja expresses his fear of water, noting that he used to be able to summon an Elemental Dragon to avoid it before.

The ninja soon locate Ronin's shop to search for the Airjitzu scroll, finding valuable artifacts like the Blade Cup. They then confront the store's owner himself, who tries to trap them in a Vengestone net but fails. Ronin then tries to sell them weaponry, including an Aeroblade, which can defeat ghosts. Kai inquires the price of the Airjitzu scroll which Ronin starts at 200, though due to the Master of Fire's terrible negotiating skills, they agree on 450. After they leave the shop, Ronin checks the vase where the scroll is actually hiding.

At Steep Wisdom, Wu is instructing Nya in the ways of the Water Ninja at the tea shop's pond. Nya questions why she can't go help the ninja as Samurai X, to which Wu responds by summoning his dragon, something a samurai would be unable to do. He then explains to her how the ghosts' only weakness is water, before presenting her with the bucket test, wherein one is required to fill a hole-ridden bucket with water.

Meanwhile, in Stiix, the ninja find a job building a dock. Kai operates the crane, Zane keeps the Strangle Weed at bay, and Cole and Jay lay down the planks. All goes well until a fly distracts Zane and damages his language database. Through a miscommunication, the ninja end up destroying the dock. Jay decides to take charge and declares that they will steal the scroll of Airjitzu.

Atop a hill overlooking Stiix, Morro summons Soul Archer to aid in the theft of the scroll. Soul Archer shoots an arrow at the village's entrance, promising to take what is theirs.

Back at Steep Wisdom, Wu checks on Nya, who has appeared to have filled the bucket, only for Wu to see she used a stopper. He tells her to try again, saying to "go with the flow and find where you're weak," which sets her off, kicking the bucket into the pond and leaves ranting that she's not a Water Ninja. Misako, watching the whole thing, states the day was a waste, but Wu states he found Nya's weakness: feeling weak. He goes on saying while Nya is good at many things, she gives up when put in a position to fail. In addition, her temper has caused her to not even realize she filled the bucket, due to it being underwater.

In Stiix, Jay tells the team his plan; steal the scroll back from Ronin, use it to learn Airjitzu, and return it to the library. Leading the group on using stealth (after Jay falls into a woman's house), they reach the shop, where Ronin encounters Soul Archer and claims he thought he had more time. Soul Archer states he'll return for his debt, and pushes Ronin towards Morro, who the mercenary mistakes for Lloyd. Morro asks for the scroll, though Ronin tries to get him to sell his armor. Morro holds him up, though hears the ninja, and tells Soul Archer to hide and take the scroll when they find it, while he ties up Ronin. As they search, Cole decides to steal back the Blade Cup for his father, while Soul Archer trap Jay with an organ's pipes. Cole throws a water jug, causing Soul Archer to release the Blue Ninja. Morro reveals himself and releases multiple ghosts. Kai then uses an Aeroblade and throws more to the others, once he confirms they work. In the chaos of defeating the ghosts, Ronin is cut loose. Upon finding the scroll, he takes it and calls for R.E.X. (which he claimed to have sold to open his shop) and makes his escape, destroying his shop. Morro uses his powers to knock the mercenary out of his ship, and unable to whistle. Everyone gives chase, but Morro manages to get the scroll. The ninja continue on, though they are separated until only Kai is left (Jay falls into the woman's apartment again, Zane is left behind, and Cole falls into a pile of crates). At the dock, Morro and Kai run out of pegs, with Kai unable to keep his balance, and being cornered by Strangle Weed. Morro soon learns Airjitzu and escapes on his dragon, taking Soul Archer with him. Ronin arrives on R.E.X., offering to save Kai in exchange for something he has, which he agrees.

On the pier, Jay, Zane, and Cole regroup and lament on the situation. Upon seeing Kai is okay, Cole decides to take his old position as leader the following day. After Kai is dropped off, Ronin reminds him of his deal, and what he said about second chances before leaving, wishing the ninja luck in saving Lloyd. Cole is initially confused, though Kai explains there may be an alternative to learning Airjitzu. Cole is still confused, as Ronin makes deals in his favor and Kai's a horrible negotiator, while Jay questions Kai on what he gave Ronin. Kai reveals he gave him everyone's shares of the tea farm, much to everyone's horror as Wu wouldn't believe it. Kai says since Lloyd's paying a bigger price than he did, he'd do it again. As Cole questions how they'll learn Airjitzu, Kai says they'll have "a ghost of a chance."

## Appearances

### Characters

* Cole
* Foreman
* Jay
* Kai
* Misako
* Morro
* Nya
* P.I.X.A.L.
* Ronin
* Scruffy Local
* Soul Archer
* Woman
* Wu
* Zane

### Creatures

* Elemental Fire Dragon (mentioned)
* Morro's dragon
* The Preeminent (mentioned)

### Items

* Aeroblades
* Allied Armor of Azure
* Scrolls of Airjitzu

### Locations

* Ninjago
	+ Stiix
		- Ronin's pawn shop
		- Steep Wisdom
		- Temple of Airjitzu (indirectly mentioned)
* Endless Sea

### Species

* Ghosts
* Dragons
* Humans
* Nindroids
* Oni/Dragon/Human hybrids

## Cultural references

* Wu references Bruce Lee's quote about water while training Nya. Just like Lee states, Wu said, "You put water in a cup, it becomes the cup; you put it in a teapot, it becomes the teapot."
* The episode's title is a reference to the saying "Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never harm me."
* The moment when Jay falls into a house after telling the other ninja to be quiet resembles a scene from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2012 series) episode, "I Think His Name is Baxter Stockman." In the TMNT episode, Leonardo, the leader who wears blue (similar to Jay, who wears blue and is the leader of the team when this happens in the *Ninjago* episode), tells the other turtles to be quiet. Then Leo himself falls off the roof, into a greenhouse, and down a set of metal stairs, making a lot of noise.

## Continuity

* Ronin mentions his last encounter with the ninja from *Shadow of Ronin* despite it being non-canon.
* This episode mark's Ronin's first appearance in the TV show (he appeared in the previous episode in security camera footage from the Library of Domu, as well as a cameo, and was the main antagonist in the video game, *Shadow of Ronin*), and this is also the forty-seventh episode of the series. Coincidentally, this "references" the film *47 Ronin*.
* This episode marks the first appearance of the city of Stiix, a rugged town surrounded by water and built on docks, and the basis of the set, 70732 City of Stiix. The set features a ghostly building, windmill, and skiff, as well as a speedboat, though in the series, the city does not have a ghostly appearance until "Curseworld, Part I".
	+ Also, the ghost skiff doesn't appear in Stiix, or in this episode, but instead, in "Kingdom Come" in the Cloud Kingdom. The windmill appears in "Curseworld, Part I," while the speedboat doesn't appear at all.
* Nearly all of the Ghost Warriors who appear in the sets are destroyed in this episode, including Attila, Hackler, Ming, Spyder, Howla, Yokai, Wooo, Cowler, Cyrus, Ghurka, Pitch, Pyrrhus, and Wail, and leaving Morro, Soul Archer, Bansha, and Ghoultar as the only major ghost characters remaining.
* Nya states in this episode that Elemental Powers can skip a generation, though this may be incorrect.
* Jadeblades, the Venge-net, the Blade Cup, Jacob's sitar, and Clouse's skull ink jar are all seen in Ronin's shop, implying Ronin traveled to Chen's Island and raided his palace.
* This is the second time the ninja accepted a job and failed, the first being in "Darkness Shall Rise."
* Apparently Jay tries to bite the lock to Ronin's shop open instead of picking it, similar to how in "King of Shadows", he punches the lock around the Golden Weapons.

## Errors

* When the ninja walk into Stiix, one of the citizens' eyebrows are misaligned for a moment.
* As the ninja are walking away from Ronin's shop, they all have shoulder pads, despite not wearing them for the rest of the episode.
* The Airjitzu scroll wasn't visible in Ronin's vase until the ninja left his shop.
* While Nya is training, the rock next to her constantly changes positions and shapes. The size of the rock she was on changes until it was replaced by a lily pad.
* It is impossible for Ronin to have the Blade Cup, as the Fang Blades were destroyed by the Great Devourer. However, it may be a replica of the original.
* In "Rise of the Spinjitzu Master," Kai is wading in the water and saying he was willing to swim across the entire ocean. However, in this episode, he is afraid of it.
* Ronin's abacus was destroyed when Cole threw it against the wall. However, when the ninja break into Ronin's shop to steal the Scroll of Airjitzu, it's seen fixed on the table.
* In the opening theme much of the sound effect is either hard to hear or not heard at all.
* Jay's hair changes colour throughout the episode - from ginger to dark brown.
* Throughout the whole episode, the ninja's eyebrow (minus Zane) are not shown in their reflection off Zane's face.