The confrontation at the docks was tense. Kai and Nya, still reeling from Zane's revelation, stood a few feet away from the boat, a painful chasm of unspoken words between them and their brother. They saw not the Green Ninja, but just Lloyd, tired and weathered, a peace on his face they had not seen in years. Zane, his analytical mind now free of Misako's subtle interference, simply watched. He knew the path to healing was not for him to pave, but for his family.Lloyd, who had spotted them, felt a knot of dread twist in his stomach. He didn't want to talk, didn't want to explain, didn't want to feel the pity in their eyes. He simply wanted to continue his quiet, anonymous life.
"Lloyd," Kai's voice was hoarse with emotion. "We know. Everything."Lloyd's heart sank. She's already hurt me so much. Can't they just leave it alone?He turned away, pulling a net with renewed ferocity, his movements deliberate and cold.Nya, seeing his walls go up, stepped forward. "We're so sorry, Lloyd. For everything. For not seeing."
Lloyd scoffed, a bitter sound that surprised them all. "Don't bother, Nya. It's fine.""No, it's not!" Kai shouted, his voice cracking. "It's not fine! She... she was poisoning you, and we were too blind to see it."
Lloyd stopped, dropping the net. He finally turned, his eyes burning with a mix of fury and pain. "What do you want from me? You want me to say it's all okay? It's not! You were all so busy looking for the hero that you forgot to look for your brother."
The words hung in the air, a devastating truth. They had been so focused on the grand prophecy, on saving the world, that they had overlooked the small, quiet tragedy unfolding right under their noses.
Meanwhile, back at the monastery, Misako's mask of grief was beginning to crack. With Lloyd gone, she had lost her primary target. The silence of the monastery was no longer filled with her whispers, but with the palpable grief and guilt of the ninja. Wu, who had also fallen victim to her manipulation, felt the weight of his failure as a mentor and brother. He'd always prided himself on his wisdom, but he had been deceived by his own brother's wife.
Zane's earlier conversation with Misako—the one about Lloyd's well-being—had not gone unnoticed. He was the most logical threat to her deception, and she had begun to subtly discredit him to the others. But now, with the truth out, her position was precarious.The ninja's return to the monastery was filled with a chilling resolve. They confronted Misako, not with anger, but with cold, hard facts. Zane presented data, the cold, irrefutable evidence of her psychological abuse. The other ninja shared their own memories, the moments of subtle manipulation and veiled cruelty that now, in retrospect, seemed monstrous.
Misako's composure finally shattered. She tried to deny it, to lie, but her facade was crumbling. The team, once so susceptible to her tears, now saw her for what she was: a cruel, manipulative woman who had systematically dismantled their brother.
She was not Garmadon, a force of chaos. She was something far more insidious, a poison they had welcomed into their home.
They packed her things without a word. There were no tears, no farewells, just a silent, somber removal. They banished her not to the Cursed Realm or the underworld, but to the mundane reality she so cruelly imposed on others. They sent her to live a life with no heroes, no prophecies, no power. Just her, and the crushing reality of what she had done.
The aftermath was a long, silent shadow over the monastery. They had lost a mother, a friend, a trusted ally. But they had also found their brother, and in that, a hope for a new beginning. Their journey wasn't about saving Ninjago anymore. It was about healing their family, and that was a battle they were determined to win.
