The prose here is probably a bit too...over-dramatic. I apologise, but I was going for a certain kinda feel.
"In brightest day..."
Light flared. Any other warrior would have been blinded, then incinerated instantly.
Not he.
The light held no fear for him. He saw through the fire, through the blazing flames of death. The ring protected him as he dove through the blaze, plunging through the heart of the maelstrom...and out the other side.
His attacker gaped, in shock.
He allowed himself a small, feral grin.
He thrust his hand forward.
The light was bright, burning like the sun.
The Lantern was brighter.
"...in blackest night.."
He pulled his arm from the dead man's ribcage, letting the body fall. He didn't stop to contemplate the act. Once, he might have revelled in his power to kill. Now, he fought for something more.
He was Green Lantern.
He spun, turning to face the new figures approaching his position. Enemies, moving with the swiftness of ninja, each radiating killing intent.
But fast as they were, he could read their movements. He stood upon the wall, watching them come.
The one in the lead blurred at him, accelerating with uncanny speed. Black shadows crawled across the man's flesh, driving his strength to inhuman heights.
The Lantern was faster.
He twisted aside, evading the charge. A flick of the wrist, and green steel flashed in his palm. With a single fluid motion, he slammed the newly-formed blade into the base of his opponent's neck, severing the spine.
The man died instantly.
The others fared no better.
Exhaling, the Lantern studied the battlefield. His latest victory had bought him a moment's respite, but he remained on guard, eyes watching for further attacks. He knew they would come.
But this was his home, and he would defend it to the death.
He'd lost everything, long ago. His family, everyone he'd held dear. It had nearly destroyed him - in more ways than one. He'd sworn revenge...not knowing the cost.
He was a changed man, now, but he still felt the taint on his soul. He'd sacrificed everything to the altar of vengeance and hatred, so convinced it was the only way.
Then, one night, for the first time...his eyes were truly opened. He had a dream, a dream of another world, another life. A place where he was named Jordan. His home was destroyed, his friends, family, all dead.
And in his grief, he became a monster.
He turned on his allies, betraying them, killing them. All for power, the power to change the world. To remake things the way he thought they should be. To make things right.
But it wasn't right. It couldn't be. Death and more death couldn't bring life. By the time he realised that, it was too late.
In his grief, he turned to repentance, strived for atonement.
And in time, he was given a second chance...
"No evil shall escape my sight..."
The ring flared, blazing green.
He didn't know where it came from. The ring had just...been there, upon his hand, when he awoke from the dream. But he knew what it was, and what it represented.
He was the Green Lantern.
And he saw the enemy, for nothing could hide from his eyes. His gaze pierced through all illusions, through all deception, through all stealth.
Genjutsu? Against him?
Idiots.
He saw the assassin coming - and dodged, almost negligently. Falling back, he studied his assailant with clinical detachment. The enemy ninja was wielding a strange weapon, bolted to his arm. Serrated blades, struts, and hinges.
It shifted, extended, reaching for the Lantern.
A weapon capable of mechanical transformation?
Interesting. But the execution was flawed.
The Lantern could do better.
Steel shattered, as the Lantern parried the blow...not just duplicating his opponent's technique, but turning it into far more.
He spun on a heel, swinging his emerald blades - neatly decapitating the weapon-user and three other ninja trying to flank him.
Exhaling, he paused for a heartbeat.
Then his senses screamed a warning.
He leapt. The wall vanished beneath him. Stone exploded, rubble falling to the streets below.
But he hovered free of the destruction, suspended in mid-air by his ring and will.
"Let those who worship evil's might..."
Sinuous coils moved amid the ruins, scales scraping over shattered masonry. A serpentine monster reared its massive head, forked tongue flickering between its fangs. It turned on him, with a baleful, reptilian gaze.
The Lantern raised his hand. He formed a thought, then gave it being. In an instant, he stood atop a beast of his own - a giant green wolf, poised to strike.
Jaws snapped.
The snake vanished, the corpse evaporating in a hiss of smoke.
Pathetic.
The Lantern dismissed his wolf, dropping to the ground. In an instant, he spotted the summoner. A kunoichi, her hands already beginning a new sequence of seals.
She didn't get to finish. He didn't let her.
"Beware my power..."
He grabbed her by the throat, and for a moment, considered snapping her neck. But...no. Whoever she was, she could summon snakes. That meant she had to be a high-ranking member of the Sound, and a potentially useful source of information.
The ring flared, blazing green.
The kunoichi screamed as the Lantern's light burned through her body, disabling nerves, muscles, and chakra pathways.
He dropped her. She would never be a threat again - but she would live.
He turned, sweeping the area with his Sharingan eyes, looking for more enemies.
There were none.
There were ninja approaching his position, but they were not Sound. He recognized the chakra signature of their leader, a chakra almost as familiar to him as his own.
"OI, BASTARD!"
Sasuke turned...and as expected, there he was, at the head of a group of ANBU. An unmistakable figure - red and white robes, orange jumpsuit, and bright blond hair.
"Dead Last," Sasuke retorted.
The nickname wasn't quite accurate now...not since Naruto had achieved his dream. But Hokage or not, Sasuke didn't care. Naruto was still an idiot.
Naruto stuck his tongue out, folding his arms. "Pffffft. Just report, already."
"I'm fine," Sasuke replied, jerking a hand at the bodies buried amid the rubble, "no challenge."
"Bah, show-off," Naruto grumbled, as he counted the corpses. Then he smirked. "Hah! I got more than you!"
The ANBU hung back. The masks hid their faces, and their body language was tightly controlled...but they were still clearly in awe, overcome by the presence of the Hokage, the Yellow Flash...and his legendary teammate, Konoha's Green Lantern.
Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Did the plan work?"
Naruto laughed. "We held 'em off, except at the south wall. They broke through..."
"...into Sakura's trap."
"Yup," Naruto confirmed. Then he shuddered in mock-horror. "Sakura-chan is sca-REE. Anyway...Sound's in full retreat. But Hinata saw snake-face out there. So..."
At a wordless signal from the Hokage, the ANBU fanned out, taking guard positions round the shattered wall.
That done, Naruto grinned at Sasuke, tilting his head towards the forest. "...coming?"
Sasuke clenched his fist, waves of green blazing from his ring.
He smiled.
"...Green Lantern's light!"
Clearly, if Naruto becomes the second Yellow Flash...
-- Acyl
"In brightest day..."
Light flared. Any other warrior would have been blinded, then incinerated instantly.
Not he.
The light held no fear for him. He saw through the fire, through the blazing flames of death. The ring protected him as he dove through the blaze, plunging through the heart of the maelstrom...and out the other side.
His attacker gaped, in shock.
He allowed himself a small, feral grin.
He thrust his hand forward.
The light was bright, burning like the sun.
The Lantern was brighter.
"...in blackest night.."
He pulled his arm from the dead man's ribcage, letting the body fall. He didn't stop to contemplate the act. Once, he might have revelled in his power to kill. Now, he fought for something more.
He was Green Lantern.
He spun, turning to face the new figures approaching his position. Enemies, moving with the swiftness of ninja, each radiating killing intent.
But fast as they were, he could read their movements. He stood upon the wall, watching them come.
The one in the lead blurred at him, accelerating with uncanny speed. Black shadows crawled across the man's flesh, driving his strength to inhuman heights.
The Lantern was faster.
He twisted aside, evading the charge. A flick of the wrist, and green steel flashed in his palm. With a single fluid motion, he slammed the newly-formed blade into the base of his opponent's neck, severing the spine.
The man died instantly.
The others fared no better.
Exhaling, the Lantern studied the battlefield. His latest victory had bought him a moment's respite, but he remained on guard, eyes watching for further attacks. He knew they would come.
But this was his home, and he would defend it to the death.
He'd lost everything, long ago. His family, everyone he'd held dear. It had nearly destroyed him - in more ways than one. He'd sworn revenge...not knowing the cost.
He was a changed man, now, but he still felt the taint on his soul. He'd sacrificed everything to the altar of vengeance and hatred, so convinced it was the only way.
Then, one night, for the first time...his eyes were truly opened. He had a dream, a dream of another world, another life. A place where he was named Jordan. His home was destroyed, his friends, family, all dead.
And in his grief, he became a monster.
He turned on his allies, betraying them, killing them. All for power, the power to change the world. To remake things the way he thought they should be. To make things right.
But it wasn't right. It couldn't be. Death and more death couldn't bring life. By the time he realised that, it was too late.
In his grief, he turned to repentance, strived for atonement.
And in time, he was given a second chance...
"No evil shall escape my sight..."
The ring flared, blazing green.
He didn't know where it came from. The ring had just...been there, upon his hand, when he awoke from the dream. But he knew what it was, and what it represented.
He was the Green Lantern.
And he saw the enemy, for nothing could hide from his eyes. His gaze pierced through all illusions, through all deception, through all stealth.
Genjutsu? Against him?
Idiots.
He saw the assassin coming - and dodged, almost negligently. Falling back, he studied his assailant with clinical detachment. The enemy ninja was wielding a strange weapon, bolted to his arm. Serrated blades, struts, and hinges.
It shifted, extended, reaching for the Lantern.
A weapon capable of mechanical transformation?
Interesting. But the execution was flawed.
The Lantern could do better.
Steel shattered, as the Lantern parried the blow...not just duplicating his opponent's technique, but turning it into far more.
He spun on a heel, swinging his emerald blades - neatly decapitating the weapon-user and three other ninja trying to flank him.
Exhaling, he paused for a heartbeat.
Then his senses screamed a warning.
He leapt. The wall vanished beneath him. Stone exploded, rubble falling to the streets below.
But he hovered free of the destruction, suspended in mid-air by his ring and will.
"Let those who worship evil's might..."
Sinuous coils moved amid the ruins, scales scraping over shattered masonry. A serpentine monster reared its massive head, forked tongue flickering between its fangs. It turned on him, with a baleful, reptilian gaze.
The Lantern raised his hand. He formed a thought, then gave it being. In an instant, he stood atop a beast of his own - a giant green wolf, poised to strike.
Jaws snapped.
The snake vanished, the corpse evaporating in a hiss of smoke.
Pathetic.
The Lantern dismissed his wolf, dropping to the ground. In an instant, he spotted the summoner. A kunoichi, her hands already beginning a new sequence of seals.
She didn't get to finish. He didn't let her.
"Beware my power..."
He grabbed her by the throat, and for a moment, considered snapping her neck. But...no. Whoever she was, she could summon snakes. That meant she had to be a high-ranking member of the Sound, and a potentially useful source of information.
The ring flared, blazing green.
The kunoichi screamed as the Lantern's light burned through her body, disabling nerves, muscles, and chakra pathways.
He dropped her. She would never be a threat again - but she would live.
He turned, sweeping the area with his Sharingan eyes, looking for more enemies.
There were none.
There were ninja approaching his position, but they were not Sound. He recognized the chakra signature of their leader, a chakra almost as familiar to him as his own.
"OI, BASTARD!"
Sasuke turned...and as expected, there he was, at the head of a group of ANBU. An unmistakable figure - red and white robes, orange jumpsuit, and bright blond hair.
"Dead Last," Sasuke retorted.
The nickname wasn't quite accurate now...not since Naruto had achieved his dream. But Hokage or not, Sasuke didn't care. Naruto was still an idiot.
Naruto stuck his tongue out, folding his arms. "Pffffft. Just report, already."
"I'm fine," Sasuke replied, jerking a hand at the bodies buried amid the rubble, "no challenge."
"Bah, show-off," Naruto grumbled, as he counted the corpses. Then he smirked. "Hah! I got more than you!"
The ANBU hung back. The masks hid their faces, and their body language was tightly controlled...but they were still clearly in awe, overcome by the presence of the Hokage, the Yellow Flash...and his legendary teammate, Konoha's Green Lantern.
Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Did the plan work?"
Naruto laughed. "We held 'em off, except at the south wall. They broke through..."
"...into Sakura's trap."
"Yup," Naruto confirmed. Then he shuddered in mock-horror. "Sakura-chan is sca-REE. Anyway...Sound's in full retreat. But Hinata saw snake-face out there. So..."
At a wordless signal from the Hokage, the ANBU fanned out, taking guard positions round the shattered wall.
That done, Naruto grinned at Sasuke, tilting his head towards the forest. "...coming?"
Sasuke clenched his fist, waves of green blazing from his ring.
He smiled.
"...Green Lantern's light!"
Clearly, if Naruto becomes the second Yellow Flash...
-- Acyl