The ferry reaches Chen’s Island, where the contestants of the Tournament of Elements rush out of the vehicle. They follow the directions of Clouse and his master’s henchman, to the main fortress of the island where Chen explains the rules of the contest. Clouse later proclaims that Garmadon is excluded from the fortress due to him not being a contestant; Garmadon simply agrees, though states he would be keeping a sharp eye around.
The Ninja soon enter their rooms finding an interest that catches their eye; Kai has a balcony next to Skylor's, and tries to impress her, though fails at his attempt to win her over, Jay with highly advanced technology, Cole with delicious treats from Chen's Noodle House, and Lloyd with a new gi, while making a promise to Zane that they will free him. A few moments later, Chen declares the first round begins, making the eager contestants run off.
Lloyd runs to a Jadeblade close to his room, but other attendants of the tournament also compete for it. While getting close, Lloyd is rushed by Ash, narrowly outsmarting and defeating him. Clouse sees Lloyd, and then uses Dark Magic to prevent Lloyd from winning. However, Garmadon sees this and attacks him, therefore interrupting his spell.
Jay, on the other hand, is taking a bath, when Bolobo enters his room, trying to find a Jadeblade. The Blue Ninja puts on a towel and knocks him to the floor, only to find a Jadeblade in a light. Bolobo takes it, prompting Jay to turn on Starfarer which amuses the Master of Nature, allowing Jay to whack him with his towel, while commenting on his room.
Cole, on a full stomach, is searching for a Jadeblade and comes close to obtaining one, only to lose it to Griffin Turner, who grabs it from him. Later, while more contestants goes after the same Jadeblade as the Earth Ninja, they eventually bury him, but he soon overthrows them. Invizable quickly get on his feet (as one of the people who tackled Cole for the same Jadeblade) and snatches the object. Cole makes a mini earthquake which covers Invizable in dust, giving Cole the chance to knock him out. He grabs the blade and raises it in triumph, but Gravis takes it. Ironically, another blade was on the floor hidden in the shadows, allowing Cole to take it unaware.
Kai and Skylor spot a blade on their rooftop, only for Skylor to manipulate the Master of Fire into receiving the Jadeblade for her. Frustrated at his efforts, Kai soon sees Karlof jogging over the last blade; the Fire master takes this as an opportunity to still remain in the tournament. The results are revealed as Karlof walks over to Chen waving the Jadeblade in triumph. Unbeknownst to him, Kai sneaks up to snatch the object and flies parallel to Karlof, where he turns in his stolen blade.
Master Chen declares Karlof as the loser of the round, before triggering a trap door on Karlof, where he falls to the unknown. The Ninja soon question how they should find Zane at dinner, to which Kai arranges a meeting in his room. Invizable soon approaches them, asking to sit with them, but is rudely blown off by Jay. Cole is surprised by this and points this out, as Jay says the pressure from what happens to the losers is messing with him, and agrees to the meeting.
Later that night, everyone arrives, but as Jay comes by, Skylor comes out of her room, forcing Kai to push the Master of Lightning off his balcony. After the Orange Ninja returns into her quarters, Kai helps Jay up and into the Master of Fire's room, describing the difficulty of sneaking out, when Cole discovers a hidden room under the Master of Fire’s bed. The Ninja enter the tunnels where they find two holes peeping into Skylor's room, which Jay looks at first.
Seeing and telling that it was for Skylor's room, Kai quickly went up and fought Jay for the holes, which Cole points out as his crush for Skylor, which Kai excused as him just wanting to know what element she possessed. While watching Skylor train for a few moments, Jay and Kai see Skylor pull out a flame on her hand, which would mean that she is also a holder of fire, like Kai. After telling Lloyd and Cole, Lloyd points out that, if the current elemental holders are related to the original ancestors, it would've also meant that Skylor and Kai was related. However, he was cut halfway off, realizing that it was possible incest between the two fire masters. Cole, realizing this, immaturely made fun of him, until Kai ordered for them to go back to his room.
After travelling further into the tunnel and disguising themselves as cultists, they see the whereabouts of the Anacondrai Cultists, and see Chen's plan unfold as he steals Karlof's element. Startled by this display, the ninja realize what Chen's plan is, as Cole noted that Chen used Ice, which meant he already stole Zane's power. As they talk amongst themselves, their chocolate tattoo melts and the cultists realize that they are "impostors," Chen signals his warriors to kidnap the intruders forcing them to flee. The Ninja lose the cultists, but are trailed by a large Anacondrai Serpent. They barely make it out, and promise to stay within the rules until Zane is found.
Back in the hidden room, Clouse holds up a piece of cloth from Jay's gi caught in the mouth of his serpent, revealing the fact he knows the Ninja spied in the plans of Chen.