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Sensei Wu stood in the Monastery, arms folded, expression tired in a way that suggested this was not his first regret of the day.
“I am leaving again,” he said.
Every ninja stiffened.
“This time,” Wu continued, “there will be two rules.”
Jay whispered, “Progress.”
The ninja stared at him.
Wu raised one finger.
“Rule one: do not enter the east storage room.”
Kai groaned. “Still?”
“Yes, still,” Wu replied flatly.
Zane nodded. “Statistically, the chicken incident alone justifies the rule.”
Jay shuddered. “I can still hear it.”
Wu raised a second finger.
“Rule two: do not activate anything you do not fully understand.”
Jay slowly set down the glowing orb in his hands.
“…Define activate,” he said weakly.
Wu gave him a look.
“Goodbye,” Wu said, and left.
The door shut.
Silence.
Cole exhaled. “Okay. Two rules. Easy.”
Kai smirked. “We just stay out of one room and don’t press buttons.”
Jay nodded enthusiastically. “We can do that.”
Zane blinked. “Jay, you are currently vibrating with ideas.”
“I’m excited about not breaking rules.”
“No one believes you,” Lloyd said.
They made it seven minutes.
Seven whole, peaceful minutes.
Then the Monastery lights flickered.
Kai frowned. “Did anyone activate something?”
Everyone turned slowly to Jay.
Jay held up his hands. “I didn’t press anything! I just leaned!”
Zane tilted his head. “The artifact appears to be proximity-based.”
The floor rumbled.
Cole sighed. “That still feels like activating.”
A beam of light flashed.
Five Sensei Wus appeared.
All of them sighed at once.
Kai stared. “We broke rule two, but HOW ARE THERE FIVE OF SENSEI WU.”
Jay pointed defensively. “We did not go into the east storage room!”
One Wu nodded. “Technically true.”
Another Wu crossed his arms. “Emotionally disappointing.”
Lloyd rubbed his face. “Why does this keep happening?”
Zane studied the clones. “Fascinating. Their disappointment levels are identical.”
The door slid open.
The real Sensei Wu stepped inside.
He stopped.
Surveyed the five clones.
Surveyed the ninja.
Then took a very deep breath.
“I was gone,” he said calmly, “for ten minutes.”
Jay raised a finger. “In our defense—”
“No,” Wu said.
Zane deactivated the artifact.
The clones vanished.
Silence returned.
Wu turned to the ninja.
“You followed one rule,” he said slowly. “That is an improvement.”
Everyone perked up.
“Therefore,” Wu continued, “next time, there will be a better rule, come with me when I go out, or I leave Nya in charge.”
Jay gasped. “That’s not fair!”
Wu walked away.
The east storage room door creaked ominously.
Everyone froze.
Jay whispered, “I didn’t touch it.”