Well, it looks (faintly) like our friends have actually been fighting ninja, after all!
And the (faint) appearance that the fighting was going their way wasn’t misleading, either, for the ninja see it the same way – from what little they can see of the situation.
Much like our friends, the ninja have large reserves at their disposal, yet to be thrown into the fight…but, also like our friends, unfortunately those reserves are detained off-screen to keep the requirement for extras to a financable level. They aren’t stuck on the stairs, but rather in the semi-finals of their much-anticipated and long going ninja foosball world cup, so it’s perfectly understandable that they don’t drop everything and race to the support of their fellows.
Especially since the ninja aren’t threatened with any major disaster to their plans, only a very minor setback – even without knowing the plans in detail (or at all), that much can easily be concluded from the fact that it’s only the first act. Villains never suffer more than minor setbacks in the first act, obviously.
And disengaging isn’t difficult for them, since they possess the famous ninja smoke bombs which are tiny, reliable, safe and instantly produce vast amounts of completely opaque smoke. Yes, they’re made from clay, black powder and straw, but there are handmade with love, that’s why they’re so superior to mass-produced, industrial smoke bombs, even centuries after their invention.
More on Thurs…uh, Monday!