The shift was violent.
One moment Davion Mensah stood inside a ruined throne room, golden crown blazing above his head. The next, the world folded, the ground broke apart into motes of light, and his stomach lurched like he was being dragged through a storm.
Then silence.
The air snapped back into place, cool and heavy with the scent of pine. Damp earth pressed beneath his boots, soft with moss and recent rain. Shafts of sunlight cut through a canopy of towering trees, each beam fractured by drifting pollen.
Davion stumbled forward, his chest heaving. "Where… where am I?" His voice trembled, half awe, half fear.
John Stewart stood at his side, green aura faint but steady around him. The veteran's sharp eyes scanned the woods like a soldier surveying a battlefield. "Not home. That's all you need to know right now."
Davion turned in a slow circle. The forest seemed endless. No city skyline. No mountains he recognized. Not even a bird call he could name. His pulse quickened. "This… isn't Earth."
"No," John said simply.
Davion rubbed his temples, heart hammering. His first instinct screamed at him to panic. Instead, he drew a long breath and muttered under his breath in patois, "Lawd Gad… wah mi get miself into? (Lord God… what have I gotten myself into?)"
The words spilled from his lips before he could stop them. The crown above his head pulsed in response, as though it felt the storm brewing inside him.
John glanced at him but said nothing. He didn't need to. The silence stretched on—until the ground shuddered.
It started as a tremor. Subtle. Then stronger, like something was moving beneath the soil.
Davion froze. "You feel that?"
"Yes." John shifted into a defensive stance, his ring already glowing brighter. "Eyes up."
From the shadows between trees, figures began to emerge. Ten of them, stepping lightly across branches and rocks with practiced grace. Each wore muted armor, cloth masks across their lower faces, and weapons at the ready—curved swords glinting with deadly sharpness.
Davion's mouth went dry. They weren't random bandits. Their posture was too disciplined, their presence too deliberate. Warriors. Soldiers.
One of the masked men halted, eyes cold. "Foreigners," he said in a clipped, harsh Japanese. "You crossed into the Land of Earth without permission." (In Japanese)
Davion blinked. Japanese? The words meant nothing to him, yet the certainty in their tone made his stomach knot.
Another of the masked men slammed his hands together, fingers weaving through strange, deliberate shapes.
'They Were Handsigns!' Thought Davion.
The man's palms hit the ground. "No matter. We'll bury you here."(In Japanese)
The earth cracked.
"Move!" John barked.
Stone spikes erupted from the ground in a deadly forest. Davion's eyes widened in horror, but before the spears could impale them, John thrust his ring forward. Emerald light surged outward, forming a dome that enveloped them both.
The stone slammed into it with screeches and sparks, but the barrier held.
Davion stumbled backward, breathing hard. "They—they just made the ground move with handsigns, shit this is really happening!"
John's tone was grim. "This is what they can do here. Get ready."
The ninjas advanced, swords drawn.
John's aura flared. "Your turn, King."
Davion's crown pulsed, answering before he could. Golden light bled from his hands, wild and flickering like fire. Instinct guided him, shaping it into something solid. A shimmering wall of golden crystal rose before them, blocking the next barrage of stone.
Davion stared in shock at his own creation. "I… I did it on the first try !? I'm getting better!"
"Don't question it. Use it!" John snapped. His ring lit again, forming a massive emerald hammer that gleamed in his fist. "We're surrounded. Fight."
The ninjas moved in.
The first came at John, sword slicing downward. John intercepted with the hammer, sparks flying as emerald met steel. With a twist of his wrist, he flung the attacker backward into a tree.
Two more closed in on Davion, blades flashing. He stumbled, panic surging through his veins. His hands burned with golden light, and suddenly his panic shaped them into broad, curved machetes. He swung wildly, meeting steel with light.
The clang rattled his arms. His body screamed at him to run, but instead he shouted, "Mi nah run weh! (I won't run away!)"
The crown blazed brighter at the outburst, strengthening the golden blades in his hands. He shoved forward, forcing the first ninja back. The second lunged low, blade aiming for his gut.
Instinct screamed. Davion's right machete dissolved into a round golden shield on his arm, intercepting the strike with a resounding crack. He bashed forward, slamming his shield into the man's chest and knocking him onto the dirt.
For a brief moment, exhilaration surged through him. "Yes!"
But three ninjas were already forming hand seals. Their voices rang out in unison: "Earth Release: Rock Bullet Jutsu!"(In japanese)
Their throats swelled, and they spat stones the size of cannonballs, each hurtling forward with terrifying speed.
John didn't flinch. His ring shifted, forming a massive emerald Gatling gun. "Not today."
He squeezed his fist, and emerald rounds fired in rapid succession, colliding with the stone projectiles mid-air. Explosions rocked the forest, trees splintering under the shockwaves.
Davion threw up his arms against the heat and debris, eyes wide.
John's voice cut through the chaos. "Focus! Don't let them box you in!"
Davion gritted his teeth. "Roger that!" He raised his hands, golden light swirling wildly. Shards of glowing crystal spun around his body, orbiting like protective spirits.
A ninja leapt at him with a kunai, but one of the shards elongated into a spear mid-flight, stabbing into the man's chest and hurling him back. Davion's lips pulled into a fierce grin. "You see that?! I can fight too!"
But the ground betrayed him.
"Earth Release: Earth Swamp!" another ninja roared in Japanese.
The soil beneath Davion liquefied, dragging him down like quicksand. Panic surged. He thrashed, but the swamp pulled harder. "No! I can't—"
Emerald chains snapped into place, wrapping around his arms. John yanked him free, hauling him back onto solid ground. "Stay focused, rookie!"
Davion gasped, chest heaving. "Mi nah dead like dis! (I'm not dying like this!)"
The crown's glow surged. Golden energy poured from his hands, shaping into something massive: a towering war drum. He slammed both palms against it.
BOOM!
The sound exploded like thunder, unleashing a golden shockwave. Three ninjas were hurled through the air, slamming into trees with bone-cracking force.
John's lips twitched in something like approval. "Not bad. Keep that up."
The battle spiraled into chaos.
Ninjas weaved hand seals with inhuman speed, summoning walls of stone, pillars rising like fists from the earth, and blades hardened with chakra. Davion swung his golden machetes with raw energy, every strike ringing with desperation. Each time his footing slipped, the crown corrected him, guiding his movements toward something sharper, truer.
John was a storm of precision. One moment his ring conjured a shield to block a storm of kunai, the next it forged a spiked flail that crushed an enemy's guard. He moved like he had fought a thousand battles, each construct exact and efficient.
Davion was fire, wild and unrefined. John was steel, tempered and sure. Together, they carved through their enemies, emerald and gold clashing against earth and steel.
At last, only three ninjas remained. Their breaths came ragged, sweat glistened on their brows, and their swords were chipped and cracked.
One spat blood, glaring at the two glowing figures. "You… you're not human."
John leveled his ring. "Hope those were some good last words." He made a glowing green gun and fired pointblank into the ninja's head killing him.
Davion stepped forward, golden chains snapping into existence around the final three enemies who had fallen into despair, pinning them to the ground. His voice was low, steady. "Sorry but your road ends here, just your bad luck to attack us first—you're now my stepping stone"
The crown above his head flared, bathing the battlefield in gold. For the first time, fear flickered in the ninjas' eyes. They had faced killers. Warlords. But this was different.
John studied him, then lowered his hand. His constructs dissolved.
The three ninjas slumped unconscious from exhaustion and strain.
Silence returned. The forest was ruined—trees splintered, earth torn, the smell of smoke and blood heavy in the air. Ten elite warriors lay defeated.
Davion collapsed onto a boulder, panting hard, sweat pouring down his face. His golden glow flickered. "I… I've never fought like that in my life." His voice cracked, disbelieving. "I wouldn't have survived that without your training ."
John remained standing, his aura dimmed but steady. His gaze swept the battlefield, then fell on Davion. "Get used to it. This is only the beginning."
Davion stared at his trembling hands. His body was weak, but inside, a fire burned brighter than fear. He had survived. He had fought.
And somehow, he had won.
The crown above his head pulsed softly, almost like pride.
John crossed his arms. "Not bad for your first time. You're still green—but you have potential."
Davion looked up, exhaustion giving way to determination. "Then I'll learn. I'll get stronger. No matter where this is."
John gave a short nod, turning toward the dark path ahead. "Good. Because this world doesn't care about your excuses."
Davion rose unsteadily, golden sparks flickering around his fists. He followed, his heart heavy with questions.
'Where am I? Seems to be the Naruto world, they use handsigns and shout this or that jutsu but I dont talk Japanese so I dont know for sure...Is this the Land of Earth? I don't see the rocks tho, maybe land of grass or fire then....'
He didn't know the answers yet.
But he knew one thing. He was walking straight into the heart of war.