Kozu

> "*You call that fearsome? This is fearsome! I am Kozu, destroyer of all foolish enough to challenge me!*"
> ― General Kozu.
>
>

**General Kozu** was the leader of the Overlord's Stone Army, having acted as the supreme military commander whenever his master was occupied elsewhere. Kozu fought in the Stone Wars against the First Spinjitzu Master—a battle that ended with the Overlord incapacitated, while the Stone Army was sealed underground.

Countless years later, the Serpentine accidentally freed the Stone Army from their tomb shortly after they were awoken by the Great Devourer's venom. Kozu reunited with The Overlord and served under Lord Garmadon, who wore the Helmet of Shadows. Kozu fought the ninja on the Dark Island and later in Ninjago City. There, Dareth put on the helmet and gained control of the Stone Army, forcing Kozu to turn against The Overlord. Kozu was destroyed in the blast following the Overlord's defeat.

A statue of Kozu was later placed in the Ninjago Museum of History. When Cole accidentally opened the Departed Realm using the Yin Blade, Kozu's spirit escaped and possessed the statue. Seeking vengeance, he attacked Dareth with help from several Stone Warriors. Dareth reclaimed the helmet and controlled the Stone Army once more, commanding them to beat up and destroy Kozu. As a result, his spirit was sent back to the Departed Realm.

## History

### Origins

Along with the rest of the Stone Army, General Kozu was created by the Overlord in the distant past of Ninjago, in order to overwhelm the First Spinjitzu Master. Desiring a common language in order to ensure sufficient communication amongst his army, Kozu threw whatever Stone Warriors spoke a different dialect besides the one he approved down the Mouth of Eternal Shadows.

Although the Stone Army successfully proved their worth in battle, the Overlord was still defeated when the First Spinjitzu Master separated Ninjago into two halves, trapping his dark nemesis on what would come to be known as the Island of Darkness. Without their master to command them, the Stone Army was defeated by the First Spinjitzu Master and entered a dormant state, allowing their foes to seal them away in an underground tomb.

### The Day Ninjago Stood Still

General Kozu was revived in the present day when the venom of the Great Devourer seeped into the Stone Army's tomb, reawakening the stone soldiers when it fell on their bodies. The General joined his comrades in battling the Serpentine, who had entered the tomb shortly before the stone soldiers were revived. The battle quickly turned in the Stone Army's favor, with General Kozu laughing at the snakes' attempts to damage their indestructible opponents.

Eventually tiring of the one-sided fight, the general joined his army in marching out of the tomb, sealing the Serpentine inside. General Kozu presumably emerged into Ninjago City and terrorized the residents before being summoned back to the Island of Darkness by Lord Garmadon, who had allied himself with the Overlord and donned the Helmet of Shadows.

### Island of Darkness

Once on the Island of Darkness, General Kozu became Lord Garmadon's second-in-command, due in no small part to his ability to translate his army's language for the dark lord. He kept his master updated on their excavation of Dark Matter, occasionally bringing some for Garmadon to examine personally. After Lord Garmadon spotted Zane with the Falcon, General Kozu was sent to intercept the ninja. He almost managed to corner the ninja, but Zane devised a plan that allowed him and his friends to escape.

After the villains realized that the ninja were looking for the Temple of Light, General Kozu gathered a large portion of his army to seek out their foes. Unfortunately, Dr. Julien's Earth Driller allowed the ninja to burrow underground, evading Kozu's clutches once again. This time, the general opted to send his forces towards the mountain where the Temple of Light was said to be, hoping to cut off the ninja before they could reach it.

General Kozu's plan paid off, as the Earth Driller emerged to face a Stone Army blockade at the foot of the mountain. However, Kai discovered that Nya had stored the Fire Mech in the back of the Earth Driller, allowing the ninja to break through the Stone Army's ranks and scale the mountain. General Kozu sent his forces in pursuit once again, but their progress was slowed by several rockslides caused by Kai's robot.

Eventually, the Stone Army reached the Temple, with General Kozu leading the battalion into the depths of the structure. To his dismay, the ninja had already completed a ritual of empowerment, gaining Elemental Blades and unlocking Lloyd's powers. As the ninja easily beat back the Stone Army, General Kozu was forced to lead his troops in a retreat, moments before Lloyd summoned an image of the Golden Dragon to chase them out.

### The Last Hope

General Kozu returned to Lord Garmadon's base camp, where he oversaw the continuing construction of the ultimate weapon against the forces of light. At Garmadon's request, he also had several members of his army man vehicles around the perimeter, as his superior believed that the ninja would attempt to attack his camp with their new powers.

Sometime later, the ninja did attempt to infiltrate the camp again, but disguised as Stone Warriors and with Misako as a "prisoner." Despite the ninja's poor attempt at replicating the Stone Army's ancient language, General Kozu was fooled into taking Misako to Garmadon's tent. Upon presenting Misako to his lord, General Kozu cut Misako's bonds at Garmadon's command before leaving the former couple to talk. He came upon the still-disguised ninja and demanded that they get back to work, blocking an elevator when they attempted to push a cart of Dark Matter into it. When Cole blew the ninja's cover, General Kozu ordered his army to attack.

Eventually, Misako managed to steal the Helmet of Shadows and joined the ninja in fleeing underground when Nya arrived with the Earth Driller. General Kozu gave chase behind the wheel of a "Saw Tank," using it to ram the back of the Earth Driller until it was forced to surface. He continued to follow the fleeing ninja but eventually slowed down to let Garmadon take up pursuit in his Stone Army Mech. Following the mech's destruction, General Kozu led a portion of his army to the Celestial Clock, where he found the ninja desperately trying to return the Helmet of Shadows to its resting place in time to stop the countdown. He retrieved the helmet by pushing Master Wu aside as Jay tossed the helmet to him, gloating that there were only thirty seconds left on the clock.

Unfortunately, General Kozu held the helmet aloft in the path of the clock's arm, which knocked it from his grasp. He watched as his forces raced the ninja to try and retrieve the helmet, only for Misako to seemingly restore it to its pedestal with a second to spare. The general's scream of fury turned to a laugh of triumph as the clock restarted itself—Misako had been moments too late to stop the countdown. As the clock fired a beam of energy inland and the ground crumbled beneath the ninja's feet, General Kozu seized Nya, mocking Jay's protests as the ninja fell into the water below.

### Return of the Overlord

With the final battle upon them, General Kozu returned to Lord Garmadon's camp with his army, the Helmet of Shadows, and Nya in tow. After Garmadon corrupted Nya with Dark Matter, General Kozu boarded the newly-completed Garmatron as the massed forces of evil marched to the coast.

Once the Garmatron had rolled up to the beach, General Kozu oversaw the loading of Dark Matter missiles into its main cannon. He was back in the cockpit when Garmadon argued with Lloyd, Misako, and Master Wu, and jumped down to lead the attack as the Garmatron's main cannon began warming up. After Lloyd leaped atop the cockpit, General Kozu pinned down the Green Ninja long enough for the Garmatron to fire its first shot into Ninjago.

As the Stone Army reloaded the main cannon, General Kozu held Lloyd aloft to prevent further interference. Lloyd almost broke his grip by charging his powers, but Garmadon responded by dropping him and General Kozu out of the vehicle through a trapdoor. Despite the sudden fall, General Kozu kept enough of his wits to fling Lloyd across the beach after they emerged out of the back of the Garmatron. From there, General Kozu also witnessed the return of his true master when the Overlord possessed Garmadon's body.

General Kozu joined the rest of the Stone Army in battling the heroes (including the other ninja, who had just arrived) while the Overlord aimed the Garmatron at Ninjago City. He attacked Master Wu and Misako when they interfered with the loading of the main cannon, only for the former to kick him into the cannon instead. Thinking the cannon was loaded, the Overlord fired, and the tied General Kozu unwillingly flew into Ninjago City. He crashed through the window of Dareth's dojo, where the self-proclaimed "Brown Ninja" mobbed him with his students.

### Rise of the Spinjitzu Master

After being pummelled by the majority of the civilians in Ninjago City, General Kozu was tossed out of Dareth's dojo just in time to see a dark vortex forming in the sky. He laughed at the civilians' belief that the ninja had returned, and was proven correct when the Overlord and his army manifested in the middle of the street. The general rejoined his forces as the Overlord used the Garmatron to corrupt the bustling metropolis, returning to his original form in the process.

By the time the ninja returned, General Kozu was leading the defense of his master's fortress. He coordinated the Stone Army's attack on the approaching Ultra Dragon, and their subsequent battle with the ninja atop Lloyd's destroyed Golden Mech. Before the army could defeat the ninja, however, Dareth won their allegiance by donning the Helmet of Shadows. General Kozu was the first to proclaim the "Brown Ninja" as his master, and led the charge up the stairs of the Overlord's tower at Dareth's command, only to be felled by Nya's turret and shot off of the Garmatron. When the Overlord's physical form was destroyed by Lloyd, Kozu and the Stone Army were destroyed as well.

### Legacy

The Overlord survived the final battle and went on to create an army of Nindroids, as well as General Cryptor, who supplanted Kozu as the Overlord's army leader. As a result of his servitude in the Overlord's forces, Kozu was immortalized in the form of a statue in the Ninjago Museum of History's Hall of Villainy exhibit.

### *Dark Island Trilogy, Part 2* (flashback)

After encountering the Dark Matter mine at Digger's Deep, Cole and Zane had a brief flashback of Kozu piloting the Garmatron and firing Dark Matter.

### Day of the Departed

On the Day of the Departed, Wu and the ninja visited the museum, where Dr. Saunders introduced them to the Hall of Villainy. While viewing the statues of the villains, Lloyd commented that Kozu's looked "uncanny."

After Cole accidentally opened a rift to Departed Realm using the Yin Blade, the spirits of the ninja's old adversaries were released, traveling from Yang's Temple to the Ninjago Museum of History. There, the spirits possessed the statues in the Hall of Villainy, with Kozu being revived along with Samukai, Cryptor, Chen, and Morro—none of whom he had met before. As Samukai was introducing himself to Morro, he called himself "fearsome", to which Kozu used his Departed Elemental Blade and cut down a column, displaying himself as truly fearsome. Kozu introduced himself, claiming he destroyed all who challenged him, to which Cryptor asks how he fought the one who destroyed him, which angered the Stone Army general. As Chen tested out his new chair, Samukai wondered how they were alive once more, to which Morro pointed at the painting of Master Yang, believing he could explain what was happening.

Kozu and the revived villains gathered around the painting, which Yang used to send them a message. He explained how he brought the villains back from the Departed Realm, but that they would only remain in Ninjago for the duration of the rare lunar eclipse unless they exact vengeance on the adversary who destroyed them. The villains cheer, eager to have revenge, but they start to fight when faced with the decision of who to go after. Yang orders the villains to work it out amongst themselves. All the villains choose who to go after, with Samukai and Kozu having to choose over Jay. Samukai does rock-paper-scissors with Kozu to determine who will go after Jay, but Kozu intends to pursue Dareth instead. Pythor, who arrived in the middle of the scene, proposes they gather reinforcements from the Hall of Sidekicks. While there, Kozu allies with two Stone Swordsmen and two Stone Scouts. As they set off to find Dareth, the other villains go and confront their enemies.

Kozu arrives at The Royal Blacksmiths' performance outside of the museum, where Dareth is standing on the stage pointing out the costumes worn by those in the audience. As Kozu approaches with the Stone Warriors, Dareth points him out, believing Kozu is someone wearing a costume. Kozu tells Dareth that he'll have his revenge, which Dareth believes is a song request, to which the Blacksmiths begin singing "revenge will be mine!". At that moment, Kozu and the Stone Warriors jump onto the stage and chase Dareth into the museum.

Dareth frantically runs through the building before reaching a large storage room containing artifacts that haven't gone on display yet. Dareth is searching for the Helmet of Shadows while being pursued by Kozu and the Stone Warriors. Upon finding it, he gains control of the warriors, with Kozu staring on in disbelief. Dareth orders the Stone Warriors to attack Kozu, to which the four of them grab their former master and bash him against a stack of crates. Kozu's statue was likely destroyed in the process, and his spirit was sent back to the Departed Realm.

## Appearance

General Kozu was markedly different from the rest of the Stone Army. He had white skin with red facial markings and four arms with black hands. His armor was predominantly red, save the black horns and fangs on his helmet. The bottom edges of most of the plates making up his body armor are silver, as is the spiral design on his abdomen.

The designer of Kozu's statue for the Hall of Villainy paid little attention to his original design, instead of giving him much more black armor while his hands, upper torso, and mouthpiece were red, ironically it shares same appearances to other statues of Stone Warriors.

## Relationships

### Allies

* Overlord - Creator and Former Master
* Stone Army - Subordinates
	+ Giant Stone Warrior
	+ Stone Warriors †
	+ Stone Swordsmen †
	+ Stone Scouts †
* Yang †
* Departed Villains
	+ Samukai †
	+ Pythor
	+ Cryptor †
	+ Chen †
	+ Morro †

### Enemies

* First Spinjitzu Master †
* Ninja
	+ Lloyd Garmadon
	+ Kai
	+ Jay
	+ Cole - Accidental Resurrector
	+ Zane
	+ Nya - Temporary Ally
* Misako
* Wu
* Dr. Julien †
* Garmadon - Former Ally and Former Superior
* Dareth - Archenemy, Temporary Superior and Attempted Victim
* Morro † - Temporary Ally

## Weapons and abilities

As with all members of the Stone Army, General Kozu's body was made of an indestructible material found on the Island of Darkness. This gave him great strength and incredible durability, although he could still be staggered and knocked around by sufficiently powerful attacks. Additionally, his four arms gave him increased capabilities in melee combat.

Unlike his fellow stone soldiers, General Kozu could speak the modern Ninjago language in addition to his own ancient tongue. This made him indispensable as Lord Garmadon's subordinate, as he was capable of translating the speech of the Stone Army for Garmadon.

Like many high-ranking members of the Stone Army, General Kozu favored Butterfly Swords in combat. He was often seen wielding both black and silver blades at once.

## Trivia

* Kozu is a Japanese name meaning "of the tree branches," however the Japanese origins were most likely not considered when finding him a name.
	+ The word "koza" means "goat" in Czech and Slovak.
* His appearance is similar to Garmadon and Samurai X.
* Kozu is one of the oldest antagonists in the series (next to the Overlord, Wojira and the Omega) due to him being thousands of years old.
* General Kozu bears a strong resemblance to the Giant Stone Warrior. Only their size, heads, and helmets are different from each other.
* Although his fate following the battle with the Overlord was left ambiguous, it was eventually confirmed that he had been killed as his soul returned to Ninjago from the Departed Realm on the Day of the Departed.
* Kozu appears as a boss in *The LEGO Ninjago Movie Videogame* training dojo "The Scorching Tomb" and can be unlocked as a playable character by achieving silver medal status or higher in said dojo, which requires the player to earn at least 50,000 studs.
	+ In the game, Kozu wields a hammer instead of his butterfly swords.
* Kozu speaks human language and the language of the Stone Warriors. He is the only Stone Army member to do so.
* In *Shadow of Ronin*, Ronin wears samurai armor that uses a black version of Kozu's original torso.
* In *Dark Island Trilogy, Part 3*, Doubloon is depicted with Kozu's face instead of his regular one.
* The Legacy Kozu minifigure is a combination between the original and the Day of the Departed, though it mostly resembles the Day of the Departed version.
* He, Garmadon, and Pythor are the only villains to have at least 3 physical minifigures with different appearances.
* He is played by a chef named Jamie Olive in the 2014 blooper reel.
* In the sets, he comes with two black butterfly swords. However, in the show, he wields four butterfly swords that are silver or a gunmetal gray color.
* Kozu has the symbol of the Stone Army on his armor in the show, however this is not present on his minifigure. His upper torso overall seems to be slightly more detailed in the show than in the sets.
	+ The symbol is present on his upper torso piece on his Legacy minifigure, but the figure itself is still inaccurrate to both his appearences in the show.