Below The Beneath

Chapter 12: A Friend, A Brother

"Sakura, who did this to you?" asked Sasuke in a semi psychopathic voice.

Sakura couldn't trust her voice, whether it was that Sasuke was her knight in shining armor, or from fear the the heavy and evil aura radiating from him. All she managed to do was point.

"Yea, it was us, what are you going to do about it?" asked Zaku, not realizing the danger he was in.

"Hmm, looks like I get to test this power out right away" smirked Sasuke as he blurred out of sight. He appeared behind Zaku and wrenched his arms back. "You seem to like these arms... It would be a real shame if something were to happen to them"

"Wha-" was all that left his mouth, well, until Sasuke placed his foot in the sound nins back and cranked hard on his arms. Two loud and sickening pops were heard as his right arm snapped, then his left. "AHHHHH" screamed the sound nin as he collapsed to the ground, brought into unconsciousness from pain.

"Who's next?" asked Sasuke as he flexed his killing intent. He wasn't really expecting an answer.

"Well, I guess I am?" stated Naruto who seemed to materialize behind Sasuke, Dozu's limp body hanging over his shoulder, blood leaking from his slashed throat.

"Dobe, with this power, we are finally equals!" shouted Sasuke with an insane cackle.

"Wrong" was all Naruto said as he disappeared. Sasuke went from laughing like a madman to unconscious on the ground and both of the defeated sound nin were laying at the feet of the lone sound genin still conscious, or alive. "Leave now and I won't kill you" said Naruto in an ice could voice to the female member of the sound ninja.

She didn't need to be told twice as she picked up her teammates and ran off, leading her scroll behind.

"Naruto?" asked Sakura in a tentative voice. After all, Naruto had the same mark that sasuke had, but he didn't have a dark aura around him, his was powerful and...peaceful?

"What can I do for you?" he asked in a joking tone, it was then he finally realized that the extra people he had sensed was actually team 10, the team of his one time sensei.

"A-Are you the same as Sasuke? Are you going to have those weird marks?" asked Sakura in fear.

"I don't believe so?" said Naruto as he pulled down his collar, showing the same mark Sasuke had, only his was pure white which showed clearly on his naturally tan skin. "But even if the do show up, I should be fine."

"How?" questioned Ino, both wondering why it affected the Sasuke and not her fellow blonde and if his mark was different.

"When I was unconscious, I had to fight the curse seal, which latches on to the darkness in ones heart, I had to come to grips with my darkness. Because of that, I don't think it will effect me the way it did Sasuke." stated Naruto in a sad tone, Sasuke must have given into his darkness.

"So you're not going to go all psycho on us?" asked Choji, not wanting to have to fight the blonde if it came to that, Ino said he was an ANBU captain, so they were no match.

"I hope not...which scroll do you guys have?" asked Naruto.

"The Heaven, What about you?" asked Shikamaru, Naruto threw them an earth scroll.