Sasuke's Darkness

(Anko's bandits)

"Hey boss! That was my booze!" A bandit yelled at Anko's second-in-command and was met with said individual putting him in a headlock.

"Hey! Look what I got!" A female bandit had a small statue in her hands, which was in the shape of a snake with red jewelled eyes. "Looks like some possessed statue."

"You fool! That's Miss Anko's possession! Put that back before you get us into trouble!" The bandit's current boss told her, with the female bandit just giving him a cheeky grin.

"Lighten up! We're bandits, plus Miss Anko has a soft spot for me, she won't feed me to her snakes." This made the boss bandit release his hold on his underling and tried to take that statue back from his other underling.

"Give that to me so we don't get into trouble!" He tried to grab the statue from her as she laughed and ran from, ensuing a chase. She did not notice the red jewels glowing as her boss chased her.

(With Naruto and Sasuke)

"That would explain the amount they're paying for a simple bandit request. And I have no reason to doubt you since you are no liar….unless it's one of your pranks." Sasuke grumbled and looked annoyed at the blonde Dragon Slayer, who just laughed at him.

"Your hair grew back didn't it? And I said that was sorry, and besides, it happened a long time ago." Naruto then put his hands up as Sasuke looked like he was going to punch him.

"I was bald for a year! And you even replaced my clothes with an adult diaper and a bib! Where did you even get those?" Sasuke's outburst only made Naruto laugh harder.

"I know a guy. Plus, come on, you had it coming for being a jerk." Naruto's reply just annoyed Sasuke, the raven-haired boy had enough and turned his focus back to their task. "She's hiding 20m to the left on top of the tree and she's set up a trap for us." Naruto stopped a large, spiked log swinging towards then with his right hand. Sasuke took out his sword and swung it, blowing the cover on the ground which hid a pit trap.

"We just want to talk, Anko Mitarashi. My acquaintance Naruto might have some information, information you need if my hunch is correct." Sasuke stated, back to his normal self. Anko stayed silent, hidden on top of a tree and entered her Take Over form, ready to strike. "Before you even attempt to attack us, Naruto has found the drugs you were looking for." Now Anko was shocked and fell out of the tree, turning back to her human form.

"SAY WHAT!?" Anko's yell gave Sasuke a headache as he placed his hand on his head.

'She's almost as loud as Naruto. Great, just what I needed.' Sasuke sighed until he regained his composure.

(Wendy's Group)

"Using a cargo business as front to sell drugs. This Gato must be making a lot of money from these illegal activities and it would seem that the bandit group I briefly joined were getting in the way of that." Hinata summarised as she placed a finger under her chin. "And that explains why those people taking the carriages had weapons on them."

"I find it strange how the bandits only seemed to attack carriages that belonged to Gato from what you've told us. There is no way that these attacks were random and most likely someone in that bandit group knew Gato stashed those drugs somewhere in those carriages." Carla then turned to Hinata. "Do you know who was in charge of the attacks?"

"I thought it was the person they called boss, but it turns out that someone named Anko is in charge. She was the one who ordered the attack, but I cannot fathom why." Hinata tried to think of the reasons why Anko would want the drugs.

"Maybe she wanted the drugs herself? Is there any other information you have on her?" Carla asked Hinata, who tried to recall something important about Anko.

"Wait! I was told by someone in the group that she was rumoured to be a member of Fiore's military forces before she was kicked out." Hinata's words then made Wendy speak out her theory.

"Is it possible that she's on a mission for the military or she joined a guild?" Now she turned to Kurama and asked him a question. "Kurama, what do you think?" Kurama just yawned and lied down.

"I think you should stop worrying, we'll deal with it when Naruto comes back. We'll just beat up that crappy geezer Gato, get proof and he'll be arrested for his crimes. Simple as that. Now, let me sleep." Kurama fell asleep as Hinata and Wendy both laughed nervously, with Carla muttering that Kurama was annoying.

(Back with the bandits)

"Watch out for that bottle!" The boss warned her, only for the female bandit trip and dropping the statue, shattering it and the pieces scattered.

"That ain't good." The female bandit spoke and then everyone felt a chill. Suddenly, a magic circle appeared beneath them and caused them all to scream.

(Back with Naruto's group)

"I didn't think you would be one of the Magic Council's stooges but that means you aren't a bad guy, that's a relief." Naruto helped Anko walk and placed her right arm over his shoulder.

'Stooge? Is this brat serious?' Anko was annoyed but had to hold herself back from punching Naruto on the head. "So, how did you discover Gato's drugs?" Anko was curious, as not even her snakes could find them.

"My nose can smell a lot of stuff, better than any animals. I smelled a lot of other stuff mixed in with the drugs though. I guess that old geezer didn't want anyone with dogs to find them. Once we get to your hideout, I'll be able to sniff them out no problem." Naruto told her, surprising her.

'Even a whole pack of wolves couldn't single out a single scent among many, but this kid…he's good.' "Not that I don't appreciate the help, but you do know that you can just leave since you technically already retrieved Hinata, right?" Anko did not expect Naruto to answer so quickly.

"And let that old bastard continue with his shady business? No chance in hell of that happening." Naruto told her, shocking Anko a little. "Besides, my friends are with her and she'll be fine as long as they are."

"It doesn't concern me what the loser here wants to do, but I better receive compensation for my aid since you basically invalidated the job I accepted." Sasuke demanded in his usual cold tone.

"Yeah, yeah. You'll get compensated for it as long as Gato's behind bars. And as long as you don't harm my subordinates." Anko told him, showing concern for the bandits that worked for her. Naruto smiled, though he hid it from Anko.

"And I assume that they will be punished accordingly for their actions as bandits?" Sasuke asked the snake woman who smirked.

"When I'm done with them, they'll wish for jail instead. To be honest, before I got a hold of them, they were just a bunch of incompetent morons, they still are but they're my morons." Anko recalled the time where she beat up the bandit group's original boss for his abusive treatment of them. 'Their old boss basically forced them to work for him and he was a very violent man, luckily for those bandits I came and took him out for them.' Suddenly, the three stopped and felt a dark presence.

'This presence, it's like that of a demon.' Sasuke showed some excitement at this thought, wanting to test his strength and prove himself again. 'And I'll show the loser who's the stronger one between us two.'

"T-This is….They must have broken the statue!" Anko exclaimed in fear. "Then that means that they released it!"

"Released what exactly?" Naruto asked her, even though he could also feel the dark presence that just surfaced. "I felt a similar power to this before, is this thing you just mentioned a demon?"

"It's a demon alright, but it's not a natural demon nor is it one of Zeref's creations. This creature….this monster was given the name of Naga. It is a snake demon that was created by my old teacher, Orochimaru!" Anko stated in loathing.

"Orochimaru, the one the labelled as the 'Rogue Saint'? He was your old teacher?" Sasuke was impressed, having been told of Orochimaru from Jose.

"Orochimaru? Gramps mentioned a guy like that before, said he was like a mad scientist that was also a Wizard Saint." Naruto scratched his cheek with his finger. "Then that must mean this Naga thing is dangerous. We better get to your hideout and save your friends."

"You're right. Right now, I'm responsible for those morons and I promised to reform them after all this was over. The cave is just right ahead, but right now I'm holding us back. Go on without me." She told the two youths.

"I can handle this Naga by myself. You don't mind, do you Naruto?" Sasuke was really asking for Naruto's permission, though the blonde wanted to face the snake demon by himself, he chose Anko's safety.

"Well, it could be trouble if Anko was suddenly attacked by something while we're dealing with Naga." With these words from Naruto, Sasuke ran on ahead and smirked.

'Now I can test my capacity and show Naruto the difference of power.' Sasuke then shook his head. 'What's wrong with me? Why do I even care about what that loser thinks? I already know I'm the stronger one between the two of us!'

(Back with the bandits)

"M-MISS ANKO!" Several bandits yelled out as a humanoid snake creature slowly emerged from the magical circle. The bandits were too struck in fear to move as the creature stood up. It was humanoid, resembling Anko's Take Over form, except white, its head having webbed ears and a stinger on its tail. Its eyes were completely yellow and it stood about 8 feet tall.

"I live!" Naga exclaimed in a raspy voice. Most of the bandits tried to escape, only for Naga to turn its focus on them and it slithered close enough to swipe its tail against them and knocked them down, making the rest think that Naga killed them. "Do not worry yourselves humans, I only used a tiny portion of my strength. After all, I prefer to eat my victims alive."

"I-I told you not to touch Miss Anko's stuff!" The leader was sweating and looked at the bandit responsible for this.

"I-I'm sorry boss. I didn't think this would happen." She then screamed as Naga appeared behind her, who quickly silenced her but placing its hand over her mouth.

"Ah, yes. Anko Mitarashi. Even as a statue, I could still hear and see everything around me. That woman was to prevent my release as ordered by the Magic Council." It saw the reactions of everyone that remained conscious. "Did you really believe she was a bandit? The attacks on those carriages were planned because she was using you for her mission." Naga saw some different expression, but they all had the same emotion, disbelief.

"M-Miss Anko was a spy." One member stated the obvious whilst others were muttering loudly amongst themselves.

"Even if that is the case, she saved us from are old abuser! And yeah, she's one scary lady but at least she cares about us!" The leader yelled at Naga, who remained smiling.

"It does not matter to me. I simply thought that I should reveal the truth about Anko. But I am digressing, now allow me to have my first meal in a long time." Naga slowly opened its mouth, but was hit by a lightning bolt, dropping the female bandit, who was coughing and hacking.

"Did I interrupt something?" Sasuke had his left hand outstretched, some electricity channelled through it. "Doesn't matter anyway, Naga, I will eliminate you." Naga regained its composure and just shrugged off Sasuke's attack.

"That almost tickled. However, that lightning of yours does feel familiar. Kakashi Hatake, the one responsible for my defeat and sealing." Naga smiled for a moment until its face was now marred with a frown. 'The magic this boy possesses, devouring him may increase my powers exponentially.' Naga bored its fangs at Sasuke, who smirked at it.

"Kakashi did teach me his Lightning Magic, but I believe that I have already surpassed him in mastering it. No, I have definitely surpassed him!" Sasuke's body was surrounded by lightning. 'I will deal with this monster quickly!' Suddenly, Sasuke jumped back, avoiding a slash from Naga, whom then smirked and wrapped Sasuke's body in its tail.

"Then as his student, you shall pay for what he has done to me!" Naga's jaws opened until they opened enough to swallow a whole person. "Now, I shall devour you!" Sasuke smirked and had his sword in hand, cutting the tip of Naga's tail off, making the snake creature release Sasuke and hissed in pain.

"Raging Thunder!" Sasuke pointed his sword as several bolts of lightning hit Naga dead on and fried his body. "This time I added a little bit of kick to my lightning, let's see you get up from that." Sasuke moved forward to see if Naga was finished off, only for a healthy Naga to burst out of the charred 'corpse' and smack him out of the cave with its tail.

"Forcing me to shed my skin, you are indeed powerful." 'I cannot use this technique too many times, otherwise my body and power will weaken with too much use. As I thought, I have not recovered my full strength just yet.' Naga slithered outside, only for Sasuke to appear behind him and kick him with his right foot enhanced by lightning.

"And your attack was weak, Naruto hits harder than you." Sasuke held his jaw and wiped some blood from his mouth. 'Actually, this monster almost hits hard as him, but let's see if we can make this thing go all out.'

"If I knew who this Naruto you speak of is, I would have been offended. But based on the way you specifically mentioned him in that context, you seem to want to prove something to yourself." Naga's words did not seem to faze Sasuke on the outside but on the inside, it was a different matter.

'This thing thinks I want to prove my strength to myself, as if! I just wanted confirm that I am much stronger than that loser and show him the difference between us!' Sasuke channelled his lightning into his sword and was now in front of Naga, who had his claws extended and they glowed with dark energy. Sasuke's sword and Naga's claws clashed, causing a small shockwave.

(Back with Naruto)

"Can you feel that? They already begun fighting. I can sense Sasuke's lightning and that demon's power." Naruto was itching to watch Sasuke's fight with Naga, but his helpful nature overtook his desire to watch the battle.

"That Sasuke Uchiha kid, do you know him very well?" Anko asked the blonde, who looked onwards.

"Sasuke's my rival and someone I will surpass. He can be a grouch, but he's not a bad person at heart." Naruto did not realise that Sasuke was beginning to change as they neared their destination.

"AGHHHHH!" Naga screamed in pain as it was being electrocuted by Sasuke's lightning. 'A-At this rate, not evening shedding my skin will heal the damage!' Naga withstood the pain longer and began to charge a dark beam from his mouth which first took the shape of a dark orb, which he aimed at Sasuke and released against the raven-haired youth.

'Damn!' Sasuke stopped his attack against Naga and his body burst out lightning to collide with the dark beam. However, Sasuke was overpowered and sent flying until he slid on the ground, landing on his feet. 'That attack, if it was fully powered and hit me directly, I don't even want to consider that possibility.'

"That was a close call Sasuke! Stop playing around and get serious!" Naruto arrived and cheered on his rival, bringing him out of his stupor.

"Shup up! Don't tell me what to do!" Sasuke's body burst with lightning and he used his right hand to grab his left wrist, focusing, with powerful and concentrated lightning surrounding him, with small spark forming in his left hand until it became wilder and fiercer, making a sound which could only be described as birds chirping.

"That spell! It's the Chidori!" Anko exclaimed out loud.

"The chi-what now?" This was Naruto's reply, confused at the name. "I mean it looks cool and powerful but why are you surprised by it?"

"Before Kakashi created a more powerful version, the Chidori was his signature move. It was originally an assassination technique because it pierces the opponent." Anko told the blonde, who was confused.

"And how exactly is it an assassination technique? It's kinda loud to be one." Naruto noticed a flaw in the spell.

"If you're that skilled, it doesn't matter. But it is also a powerful offensive spell as you can see and requires speed. With the way Naga over there looks, this will end it." Anko was confident and did not expect Naga to be overpowered this easily. 'Then again, this kid is a prodigy.'

'This is bad! I have taken too much damage and need time to shed my skin.' Naga was becoming desperate and noticed the rest of the bandits running towards Anko, only for Naga to use its tail to try and grab the female bandit from before, only for the bandit leader to notice and moved the girl out of the way, being grabbed and taken hostage by Naga.

"I have seen how Anko cares about her little group, do you think can go through with it and kill her subordinate too?" Naga smirked only to become shocked as Sasuke had his own smirk and moved fast, shocking everyone. Sasuke already closed the gap and made his move to pierce the bandit and Naga in one go. The only thing heard was the sound of lightning.

End. Left it as a cliffhanger, just wanted to end this arc soon and made it a short one. Hopefully next few chapters will pick up and we will see a proper romance development for Naruto and Wendy. I am also considering giving Naruto a cruel streak in later arcs until he finds his way again, how and why he becomes this will be revealed as the story progresses if I do this plotline.

Naga was based off Naga from a little series known as Monster Rancher. I have wonderful childhood memories of this series. I do apologise if it seems random, but I needed a villain because I have plans for Sasuke later. Also notice that Naga is not a male of female but genderless being.

Please review and vote in the poll I re-opened. I want to know which of the four previous stories was most enjoyable to you all. I must also apologise for the month-long update, I had a lot of stuff to do and had family problems.