Kai

Kai is a character in LEGO's Ninjago theme and the main character of LEGO Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu. He is the Red Ninja of Fire, and Nya is his younger sister. He and his teammates were chosen to protect the Green Ninja. He was the last Ninja to join the team, and the last to unlock his True Potential.

Kai's Early Life
Kai was born in Ignacia, the first son of a blacksmith who owned the Four Weapons shop. He and his younger sister Nya were raised in their father's craft. When his father died, Kai took it upon himself to keep the family business going, vowing to surpass his father's smithing skills. Although he never did so.

Way of the Ninja
When the Four Weapons were attacked by Samukai and his Skeleton army, Kai attempted to defend it with Samurai armor he made. The armor was slow and clunky however, and he was soon subdued and would have died if it wasn't for the quick action of Sensei Wu, even though Nya was kidnapped in the process. Sensei Wu then told Kai about The First Master of Spinjitzu and his two sons who fought over the four Golden Weapons, explaining that an honest man had been entrusted with the map to their resting places and the honest man was Kai's father. Sensei Wu took Kai to the Monastery in order to train him to be a Spinjitzu master so he could save his sister, and all of Ninjago. During his training, Kai had to learn patience and how to harness the "fire" inside of him. This training consisted of running a course before Sensei Wu finished his tea. Kai accomplished this after several days by knocking the teacup out of Sensei's hands when he was about halfway through the course with his wooden training sword. He then told Kai to get some rest, and that his final test would come in the morning.

The Golden Weapon
Later that night, while Kai was pondering Sensei Wu's training and brushing his teeth, he was set upon by three black-suited ninja. Kai was able to fend them off for a while, disorienting them on the training course. Before they could fight much longer, however, Sensei Wu arrived and told them all to stop, at which the three ninja revealed themselves as more of Wu's students. Wu used Creation to give each of the Ninja a suit that matched their elemental properties, and introduced them to each other. He then told them what they needed to do to defeat Lord Garmadon, who is Sensei Wu's brother. Cole interjected and asked if they were still to learn Spinjitzu first. Sensei Wu then informed them that they each already knew it, but it must be unlocked at the right time. Then Sensei Wu said that they would take the horse carriage (pulled by Kai and his fellow Ninja) to the Caves of Despair, the location of the first Golden Weapon, The Scythe of Quakes. At the Caves of Despair, Kai ran ahead of the other Ninja while Cole was formulating a plan. The other three Ninja chased after him, and caught up to him just before the chamber where the Scythe was housed. Jay then accidentally revealed their position to the skeleton army digging for the weapon, and they were soon in a battle. After Jay discovered the key to unlocking his Spinjitzu, Kai and the others were quick to follow. They used it to drive off the skeleton army, after which they discovered that they had a bigger problem in the form of the weapon's guardian, the Earth Dragon. Kai happened to be holding the Scythe at the time, and decided that the only way out was to use it, contrary to Sensei Wu's instructions. After escaping, Kai was strictly repremanded by Sensei Wu, and they went onward toward the next weapon, The Shurikens of Ice.

King of Shadows
While on their way to the Frozen Wasteland, the location of the Shurikens, Wu told the Ninja about the most powerful technique in Spinjitzu, the Tornado of Creation. Kai began to attempt it, but was stopped by Sensei Wu, who explained that it could have disastrous consequences if done incorrectly. When the Ninja arrived at the location, they discovered several skeleton warriors frozen in ice, and deduced that they had been the second group to arrive there. When they discovered the Shurikens suspended from the ceiling, they lifted Zane up to grab them. When he did he was frozen over with ice, and the Ice Dragon awoke. The Ninja then used Zane as a sled to escape, and went to the hiding place of the Nunchucks of Lightning, the Floating Ruins. On top of the chain, Jay found the Nunchucks, as well as the Lightning Dragon. As they were being chased by skeletons, the Ninja used Jay's wing-glider invention to leap off the chain and get away to the Forest of Tranquility. While they were sleeping that night, Kai thought he saw his sister Nya. He got up and chased her to the Fire Temple, where he discovered that it wasn't really Nya, but a shadow deception created by Lord Garmadon. His sister was in the Fire Temple however, only suspended over a pit of lava. Kai had to remove the Sword of Fire from its pedestal to cut the chain and save his sister, which was Garmadon's plan all along. He controlled Kai's shadow, and used it to defeat him. The shadow couldn't be hurt by Kai, but Kai could be hurt by the shadow. Garmadon made multiple copies of the shadow, which made quick work of Kai, and obtained the Sword. All would have been lost if Sensei Wu hadn't intervened at that moment, using his own shadow to defeat Garmadon's Shadows, regaining the Sword. Garmadon then decided to awaken the Fire Dragon, knowing the guardian would impede the band. The Dragon blocked the entrance to the temple, which meant it would be easy for Garmadon to bring the other three weapons to the temple and unite them there, as Samukai had ambushed the other Ninja. Sensei Wu then sacrificed himself to go to the Underworld in order to keep the weapons apart.

Weapons of Destiny
Kai and Nya discovered that the Dragon only wanted to protect the Sword, and the Ninja used the guardians to go to the Underworld to help Sensei Wu. The Dragons performed their variation of Spinjitzu and crossed over, landing not far away from the Skulkin Fortress. They tried to make their way overhead by hopping across stalactites only to grab onto the legs of a Spykor by mistake. Out of fear they dropped down to the floor below, where they were noticed by Nuckal. They were going to defeat the Skulkin until the Spykor descended to the ground, surrounding them. Thinking fast, Jay remembered the Tornado of Creation. Although Zane protested about disastrous consequences, they used the Tornado, successfully defeating their enemies. They arrived in the fortress to witness Sensei Wu being defeated by Samukai. Samukai acquired all of the Golden Weapons and planned on betraying Lord Garmadon, but Garmadon anticipated this and told him he could not handle the power of the weapons. After the massive power of the weapons destroyed Samukai's body and transformed him into a portal, Lord Garmadon escaped. Sensei Wu assured him about Garmadon and the Ninja departed the Underworld. Kai and his new friends went back to the Blacksmith shop and were greeted by Nya and several villagers.

Flight of the Dragon Ninja
Cole, Zane, Jay, and Kai were told to train by Sensei Wu, but instead decided to hold a Dragon race. Zane felt that they should be training, in which Kai told him riding a Dragon was somewhat like training. Kai and the other Ninja raced for a while, but Cole won when he "activated the turbo" by throwing food in front of his Dragon's nose. Although he won, Kai said that they'd get him the next day.

The New Masters of Spinjitzu
After retrieving the Sword of Fire, Kai placed it on a stand above his bed. One night, Nuckal and Kruncha infiltrated the Monastery of Spinjitzu to steal the Golden Weapons from the sleeping Ninja. Although the theft went off without a hitch, Kai was awoken when the Skulkin Generals lost control of the weapons and accidentally activated the training course. Half-asleep, Kai went outside to shut the course off, irritably reminding Jay that he had to repair whatever flaw was causing it to turn itself on. With that, Kai went back to sleep, completely unaware of Kruncha and Nuckal's presence in the Monastery even as they returned the Golden Weapons and fled to blame each other for coming up with the plan.

Return to the Fire Temple
The Fire Dragon, Flame, flew Kai and Nya to the Fire Temple, wanting to show them something. After dismounting the Dragon, Flame led Kai to a passage connecting Ninjago to the Underworld. Kai started planning what to do when the ground fell out from beneath him. Krazi alerted Wyplash, who sent several Skulkin after him. He disarmed his enemies, but they picked him up. Nya and Flame then shot a blast of heat scaring the Skulkin and sealing the passage.

Rise of the Snakes
When reports of Lord Garmadon started surfacing, the Ninja were tasked with going to Jamanakai Village to find the source of the problem. They found out it was Lloyd who caused the trouble and tied him to the top of a sign, embarrassing him. When they went back to the Monastery to train, Sensei Wu told them to return to Jamanakai Village because the Hypnobrai had been released. Jay let Nya fight with them as an "Honorary Ninja." Nya got the Hypnobrai staff to the fountain and healed the bewildered and hypnotized villagers before the Ninja drove the snakes into retreat.

Home
The Ninja were training when they pointed out to Sensei Wu how Zane seemed strange. When the Mailman arrived Kai and the others discovered Zane was orphaned. The next day Kai and the others went to Lloyd's tree-house which acted as a Hypnobrai base. They started destroying it, but a hypnotized Cole turned on them. Before long Sensei Wu came riding in on Flame playing an ancient flute, which cancelled the Serpentine's powers. The group returned to the Monastery on Flame and discovered the Serpentine had set fire to it. Zane and Shard put the fire out but, the Monastery was beyond repair. Kai and the others verbally attacked Zane but Sensei Wu caught them reminding them that Zane was their team mate and had them apologize. But before they could, Zane flew off on Shard to follow the Falcon. Kai and the others ate around a fire until Nya noticed Zane entering the camp, at which point he led them to their new home, the Destiny's Bounty.

Snakebit
After arriving on the Destiny's Bounty, Sensei Wu makes the Ninja clean the area. They do and put all the trash and junk in bin outside. However, later Jay's parents, Ed and Edna, arrive to see Jay there. After some time however, Ed and Edna leave Destiny's Bounty and go back to their home, located in a junkyard. However, the Serpentine are there and attack Ed and Edna. When the Ninja arrive, they find that they are too late and the Fangpyre had bitten Jay's parents and infected them with venom. Kai and the other Ninja, however, are ambushed by the Fangpyre, who have turned the whole junkyard into a snake infected area. Kai and the others defeat the snakes and leave with Jay's parents. After getting Fangtom's staff, Nya uses it to cure Ed and Edna's venom.

Never Trust a Snake
After discussing who is the Green Ninja, Kai and the other Ninja are forced to train by Sensei Wu as punishment for being distracted and not doing their work. Kai, along with the other Ninja, are confused by Sensei Wu's riddle, "What is the best way to defeat an enemy?" Kai fails the riddle along with the other Ninja and assume combat is what Wu was talking about. After training and trying to solve the riddle, it is revealed that a boarding school has been attacked by Lloyd and an unknown Serpentine member, later revealed to be Pythor. The Destiny's Bounty takes them there, where they drop through the roof of the building on an anchor. Kai and the others chase the panicking Lloyd through the building until they reach the top of the building. As Lloyd and Pythor reach the roof, Kai and the Ninja apprehend Lloyd but Pythor escapes, stealing Lloyd's map. Sensei Wu, however, influences Lloyd to be good while reading a moral to him.

Can of Worms
Kai discovers that all of his high scores have been replaced by Lloyd who at the time blamed it on Cole. However, Lloyd had messed up the other Ninja's hobbies as well. Sensei Wu reveals that he put Lloyd up to that to teach the Ninja "the destructive power of rumors." After this turn of events, Nya reveals that she has located the Constrictai and Venomari tombs. Kai and Jay take the Venomari tomb while Zane and Cole take the Constrictai tomb. As they arrive, Kai looks around, but is intoxicated with Venomari venom and begins to see elves and gingerbread men attacking him. Jay attempts to protect him while Kai is trembling from the visions. Cole and Zane arrive but are followed by Pythor and the Constrictai. As the two tribes surround them, the Ninja believe they will not survive the next attack. Kai hallucinates that a rope is in front of him, only for an actual rope to appear moments later. Suddenly, Samurai X arrives in a robotic mech and scares away the Serpentine. However, the Samurai knocks them unconscious while the Destiny's Bounty saves them from the Toxic Bogs. Kai's hallucinations then begin to fade.

The Snake King
Kai offered the other Ninja a bet: whoever finds the identity of Samurai X, they are the best and the Green Ninja. He attempts to capture the Samurai when he finds her in the Forest of Tranquility but the Samurai quickly captures him in a net. Later, when it's his turn to look after Lloyd, he drops him off at an arcade, then leaves, hoping to find the Samurai. After Lloyd has been captured by the snakes, Kai, Cole, Zane, and Jay go looking for him at The Lost City of Ouroboros. The Ninja get trapped in a cage that Pythor set up knowing they would come. Pythor puts them up to the challenge of battling Samurai X. The Ninja realize they are no match for the Samurai so they perform the Tornado of Creation and stop the Samurai. Worried the Ninja might win, Pythor tilts the platform, revealing a gigantic hole. When the Ninja and the Samurai are about to fall, the Samurai reveals she hasn't really been fighting with them and she will get them out of there, making her suit fly away with the Ninja clinging to it. When the suit crashes into the desert, Kai gets thrown farther away from the suit than Cole, Jay, and Zane. Seeing the Samurai also crash near him he goes to investigate. He sees the Samurai take off her head gear and recognizes it as Nya and promises to keep the secret.

Tick Tock
After timing how long Zane could stay underwater, Kai and the others go to ask Sensei Wu if they have finally captured their full potential, but find Sensei Wu to be disturbed by something. Kai is corrected, that they have reached full physical potential, but not their True Potential. The Ninja soon learn of how Lord Garmadon came to be and why it is important to defeat him. Sensei Wu departs while Kai and the others put posters up for Lloyd, who had been captured by the Serpentine. Once the four notice the Falcon, they begin to follow it through Ninjago, hoping it will lead them to a Fangblade. After chasing it for miles, Kai and the others begin succumbing to exhaustion, telling Zane to continue following the Falcon into a snowy woodland. The Ninja eventually pick themselves up and find Zane to be horrified by something he's uncovered, learning that Zane is an android. Kai and the others still accept him and don't seem bothered by the revelation. After leaving the area, creatures referred to as Treehorns attack the Ninja and Kai is defeated by one of the creatures. The queen emerges, but is swiftly frozen by Zane, who gains his True Potential. The four of them leave the area and return to the Destiny's Bounty to discover Sensei Wu had not returned from his errands.

Once Bitten, Twice Shy
While watching Nya explain the venom process of a Fangpyre, Jay tries to impress her with men's cologne but finds out that Kai and the others pranked him by giving Jay perfume, which Nya is allergic to. The Ninja find that a Fangblade is at an amusement park and prepare to go there to acquire it. Jay attempts to go on a date with Nya at the park but Kai warns him not to, telling him "to get his priorities straight." The Ninja discover a ride that has Serpentine activity near it. The Ninja discover the Serpentine excavating the Fangblade and Kai declares a fight. Kai gains the upper hand in the fight along with the others but a mistake on Zane's part causes them to get frozen from one of his attacks. Kai and the others escape their confinement and Jay is revealed to have gained his True Potential while Nya is discovered by all the other Ninja to be Samurai X. Kai brags that he is the first to have found out and therefore should be the Green Ninja, but the other Ninja claim to not remember ever discussing that.

The Royal Blacksmiths
The Ninja, upset at losing the Fangblade, brainstorm for where the next Fangblade would be. Cole brings up that he knew about a trophy called the Blade Cup that seemed to be a Fangblade that his father once won at a talent show. The Ninja go to Cole's father and disguise themselves as dancers as to not cause suspicion around Cole's dad. They discover the Blade Cup is located at a talent show and enter it. However, the Serpentine have also discovered the Fangblade's location and disguise themselves as people in the audience, judges, and performers. When Kai and the others are ready to perform on stage, they began using various dance moves while the Serpentine attack them. Kai defends himself from them while Cole defeats the others using the Triple Tiger Sashay. The Ninja win the talent show and Cole's father is proud that they won the trophy without cheating as the Serpentine tried to do. Pythor attacks and nearly kills Cole's father but Cole protects him and gains his True Potential while the Serpentine manage to steal the Fangblade, making Kai the only Ninja left to find his True Potential.

The Green Ninja
Sensei Wu returns and surprises them by bringing Lord Garmadon, who has now grown four arms. Kai attacks Garmadon but Sensei Wu reveals that he is helping them search for Lloyd and order the Ninja to respect him during their temporary alliance. Kai gets more skeptical about Lord Garmadon and at one point overhears a conversation about the Green Ninja between Nya and Sensei Wu. Lord Garmadon discovers Kai eavesdropping and the two fight, only to be broken up by Nya and Sensei Wu. Later on, Kai searches for the Golden Weapons and discovers Garmadon is holding them. Thinking he is stealing them, Kai battles Garmadon and "wins." However, Garmadon reveals that he allowed himself to be defeated, as he was only fetching the weapons for the Ninja since they were heading over to their destination; this was confirmed when Sensei Wu told Kai that he was the one who told Garmadon to fetch them. Realizing this, the other Ninja scold Kai for his foolishness, leaving him humiliated. Despite the situation taken care of, Kai still retains his suspicion towards Garmadon.

After discovering the Fangblade is located at the Fire Temple, the Ninja go there to get it and rescue Lloyd from the Serpentine. Garmadon fights his way to Lloyd and rescues him but Pythor still has the Fangblade. In a desperate move, Kai impales the Fangblade to the cave wall with his sword, enraging Pythor. In retaliation, the Constrictai cause the lava to rise in the temple. Lloyd falls onto a rock but the Fangblade begins to fall into the lava. Garmadon attempts to save Lloyd again, but is unable to reach him and the other Ninja forced him to leave the erupting volcano, much to his discomfort. Kai chooses to save Lloyd while the Fangblade falls into the pit below them. Kai gains his true potential and realizes that he wasn't meant to become the Green Ninja, but to protect him. With that, he transports himself and Lloyd out of the erupting volcano and back to the Destiny's Bounty. After reuniting with Lloyd, Garmadon genuinely thanks Kai for saving Lloyd, who is then revealed as the Green Ninja. Upon realizing this, Kai expresses an empathic face, seeing how complicated it would be for Lord Garmadon and his son to be fighting each other in the future for the sake of Ninjago.

All of Nothing
The episode begins with the Ninja cornering Spitta and forcing him to give them information on Pythor's whereabouts. Spitta tells them that they are days behind him. Back aboard Destiny's Bounty, Lloyd suggests that while Pythor is away, they should go to the Serpentine's inner sanctum to retrieve the other three Fangblades. The Ninja quickly find the snakes inner sanctum hidden inside the Constrictai Tomb but Lloyd and Lord Garmadon stay behind. In the tomb, the Ninja attempt to defeat the snakes, but to no avail. The Ninja are quickly captured and are forced to contact Lloyd for help.

Lloyd and Garmadon get into an arguement and Lloyd gets a message from Nya asking for reinforcements. Lloyd goes on his first mission as the Green Ninja. Kai attempts to escape, but is quickly recaptured by Pythor who now has all four Fangblades. The Serpentine want to celebrate with a Slither Pit tournament, which Pythor agrees to. Lloyd arrives but comically falls down right in front of Pythor. Just before he is captured, however, Garmadon arrives with the Skeleton Army who battle the snakes. Lloyd frees the Ninja from their cage, and together they steal the four Fangblades and go back to Destiny's Bounty where Lord Garmadon leaves, making Lloyd upset. The Ninja are having a party for Lloyd getting the Fangblades, but little do they know that Pythor is outside their very window, plotting revenge.

The Rise of the Great Devourer
Unaware that Pythor has snuck aboard the Destiny's Bounty, the Ninja plan to throw the Fangblades into the volcano. This fails when Sensei Wu nearly falls off the deck and is left clinging to the side, only for Kai and the others to save him. Pythor sneaks behind them but Lloyd warns them of his presence. Before Kai and the others can react, Pythor escapes on a Rattlecopter with the Fangblades and takes control over a tour bus. Kai fights off Serpentine on the top of the bus but is nearly knocked onto the road. Eventually Sensei Wu detaches the engine from the rest of the train and confronts Pythor, much to Kai's dismay.

The bus crashes into the Lost City of Ouroboros, halting the Ninja's transportation. Fortunately, Lloyd arrives and takes them aboard the Destiny's Bounty. Just as Kai and the others attempt to save Sensei Wu, Pythor unleashes the Great Devourer.

The Day of the Great Devourer
After watching his mentor and Pythor get eaten by the Devourer, Kai quickly leads the Ninja and their allies back to the Destiny's Bounty, but the Devourer follows them and destroys their former home. The team decides to escape to Ed and Edna's junkyard on their vehicles. While there they discover that the Great Devourer has followed them and they use the Tornado of Creation to build a machine out of all the scrap at the junkyard to defend themselves against it. The Ninja manage to drive it away from the area but Zane is injured during the conflict.

Realizing the serpent is heading to Ninjago City, Kai and the others follow it to its destination. While the creature begins destroying the city, the Ninja arrive and attack it. The fight is interrupted by the Ninja's Dragons returning as the Ultra Dragon. Kai and the others cheer their respective Dragon on until the Devourer gains the upside of the fight. Lord Garmodon arrives and alerts the Ninja that the only way to truly destroy the Devourer is to hit its weak spot with the Golden Weapons. Kai is reluctant to hand him the weapons but eventually agrees. Kai and the others lead the snake around the city, eventually trapping it. The Ninja watch as Garmadon jumps from a building and strikes the creature's head with the weapons, causing it to explode into a mass of green goo. Kai is annoyed that the Golden Weapons are no where to be seen, but rejoices when he discovers that Sensei Wu is alive. Victorious, the Ninja celebrate.

Child's Play
Kai, along with the other Ninja are turned into kids by Lord Garmadon and are chased by the Grundle, and at the end of the episode he and the other Ninja returned to normal.

Appearance
Kai wears a red ninja outfit, and has brown, spiky hair. He will usually have an arrogant expression on his face in battle. His Minifigure also has some scars on its face.

Personality
Fittingly for his elemental affinity, Kai is very hotheaded, prone to taking action before he thinks things through. He is capable of making careful observations when the need arises, but his emotions often override his caution. His singlemindedness made interaction with his teammates difficult at first (especially due to his worry about Nya), but he eventually learned to work with the other Ninja. He can be arrogant at times, insisting that he is better than his peers and growing depressed when he seems to be lagging behind their training.

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Kai also has something of a stubborn side, believing that he is in the right until overwhelming evidence to the contrary is presented. This is especially pronounced during Lord Garmadon's stay on the Destiny's Bounty; Kai repeatedly accused the four-armed villain of treachery or plotting despite Garmadon's insistence that saving Lloyd was his primary concern at the time. On the other hand, Kai's stubborn streak lends him incredible determination that allows him to bolster the team's spirit in the face of impossible odds.

The most prevalent facet of Kai's personality is his dedication to people he cares about - if someone can earn his friendship, he will stop at nothing to protect them. Much of his stubborness and recklessness are due to his desire to help his loved ones, either directly or by becoming strong enough to defeat anyone who might threaten them with their plans. In turn, his friends and family work to balance out Kai's more extreme traits, causing him to become a levelheaded mentor for Lloyd by the time he and his comrades begin training the Green Ninja.

Weapons
Kai favors swords in combat, taking up a curved silver blade against the Skulkin when they attacked his shop. He used the Sword of Fire as his primary weapon until it was lost, and then switched to wielding regular katanas. He eventually gained an Elemental Blade that allowed him to harness his fire abilities to an even greater degree.

Trivia

 * The name Kai means "strong", "victorious", and "recovery", in three Asian cultures, all of which fit his hotshot attitude and the Ninja's battles. His name may also be derived from the Japanese word Akai, meaning "red."
 * Kai is the last Ninja to join the team, the last to claim his Golden Weapon, and the last to unlock his True Potential. On the other hand, he was the first Ninja introduced in the series and the first to befriend his respective dragon.
 * He appears to have a fear of Christmas-related themes, as shown in "Can of Worms".
 * Of all the ninja, he seems to care about Lloyd the most.
 * Kai gets the last lines of the series (so far).

Set Appearances
Normal: Kendo: DX: ZX: NRG: Micro Figure:
 * 30083 Dragon Fight
 * 2111 Kai
 * 2258 Ninja Ambush
 * 2505 Garmadon's Dark Fortress
 * 2508 Blacksmith Shop
 * 853097 Kai Keychain
 * 9456 Spinner Battle Arena
 * 9558 Training Set
 * 2254 Mountain Shrine
 * 2507 Fire Temple
 * 2518 Nuckal's ATV
 * 9441 Kai's Blade Cycle
 * 9443 Rattlecopter
 * 9449 Ultra Sonic Raider
 * 9561 Kai ZX
 * 853401 Kai ZX Keychain
 * 9591 Weapon Pack
 * 3856 Ninjago