Story is close to ending. So excited! :D

Ningyou burst through the last of the trees and stopped dead. Itachi was kneeling on the ground, holding a limp figure. Karasu. "No," Ningyou whispered as Sasori came from the trees, "No no no no no…" She stumbled over. Itachi moved back to allow her to see her best friend.

Ningyou stared for a couple seconds in silence. Then, almost dream-like, she crouched down beside Karasu and began nudging her, all the while saying, "Karasu, wake up. Come on. We have to get back to the base. Karasu, don't ignore me. You'll bleed to death. Come on. Karasu, WAKE UP!" Her voice ended in a scream that echoed loudly as the tears began to flow. Giving Karasu a last shove, Ningyou sobbed without restraint. Her tears were like waterfalls, dripping down onto Karasu's peaceful face.

"She wanted me to tell you not to give up," Itachi murmured, watching Ningyou cry while keeping his face expressionless.

Ningyou looked up, feeling a fresh wave of fury as she took in Itachi's impassive face. "And what is that supposed to mean?" she hissed.

"Ningyou," Sasori laid a hand on his apprentice's shoulder, "please remember that you are speaking to Itachi. Let's go back to the base."

Ningyou had plenty more to say but decided to keep her mouth shut for now. She was still crying when the three, Itachi carrying Karasu, arrived at the base.

"I see," Pain said, "This is indeed shocking." He had just been told of Karasu's death and Fumetsu's betrayal.

"What should we do, Leader-sama?" Itami asked shakily, staring at Karasu's corpse. A couple clones were crying silently, while others looked deeply shaken.

"We will first deal with Fumetsu," Pain decided, "Hidan, will you please get your apprentice?"

A very pissed Hidan left the room to look for Fumetsu. After a couple minutes, he shouted, "She's nowhere in the base!"

Whispers of alarm rippled through the assembled Akatsuki and clones. "Sakan isn't here, either," Kisame realized.

Total silence fell as something clicked into place in everyone's minds. "Konan, Tenchi, Zetsu, and Kisame!" Pain roared, "Find those two!"

The named ninjas vanished immediately.

"Why couldn't we just train at the base?" Sakan asked irritably.

"Because the Akatsuki and other clones will just make us stop, idiot shark," Fumetsu replied just as irritably while beating branches out of the way.

"Well, are we there yet?" Sakan snapped.

"Shut up, and yes!" They halted at a small pond.

"Finally!" Sakan grabbed his Samehada copy, "Let's get going. The sooner we finish, the sooner we head back and the sooner I can…"

He was interrupted by another voice shouting, "That's Hoshigaki Kisame! A member of the Akatsuki!"

In an instant, Sakan was surrounded by four Konoha shinobi. One was a kunoichi with blonde hair tied in two pigtails. There was a white-haired man, a silver-haired man, and another guy with very bushy eyebrows and a bowl cut.

"We're gonna take down the Monster of the Hidden Mist today!" the guy with the bowl cut hooted.

"Be careful, Gai, there might be other Akatsuki members around," the silver-haired man cautioned.

Sakan looked around. Fumetsu had disappeared. Where did she…? He had to concentrate to block a kick aimed at him from Gai.

"Gai, don't attack so rashly!" the blonde kunoichi barked.

"Tsunade, we already know his abilities. Let's attack!" the white-haired man readied himself.

"No, Jiraiya! His abilities could have changed. We must be cautious," Tsunade snapped. She turned to the silver-haired ninja, "Kakashi, assess him with your Sharingan."

Sakan's eyes widened. Someone outside of the Uchiha Clan had the Sharingan? He needed Karasu, since only someone with a Sharingan could hope to take on another Sharingan.

"Don't even think about trying to escape," Kakashi said as he revealed the Sharingan, which only turned out to be his left eye.

"Let the mighty power of youth stop this raging beast!" Gai hollered.

Everyone sweatdropped.

"He's cornered by four elite Konoha shinobi!" Zetsu reported.

"Sakan is strong, but he won't be able to beat four Konoha shinobi on his own," Tenchi said.

"We must hurry," Konan pushed the pace, "Where is Fumetsu?"

"Fumetsu led Sakan into the ambush and disappeared," Black Zetsu growled.

Kisame snarled. Konan glanced at him and said, "Calm down, Kisame. We will save Sakan and deal with Fumetsu. Otherwise, we are not Akatsuki."

Sakan grunted as he blocked another attack from Gai. Kakashi threw some kunais at the clone, forcing Sakan to jump backward. Tsunade was waiting for him and landed a powerful punch to his chest. Sakan exploded, showering the Konoha shinobi with water.

"A water doppelganger," Jiraiya muttered. Kakashi whipped his head around, looking for the original.

Water Style: Water Shark Bomb!

A water shark leaped up from the pond and dived at the four ninjas. They scattered to avoid the assault, and the shark burst, sending water flying everywhere.

Kakashi whipped out another kunai and drove it into where the shark disappeared. Blood stained the water as Sakan reappeared, the kunai deep in his shoulder. He wrenched it out with a roar of pain and fury before swinging Samehada at Kakashi. Samehada managed to graze Kakashi's shoulder, ripping up flesh.

Kakashi fell back to be replaced with Jiraiya. "You're not gonna get out of this alive, Hoshigaki Kisame," Jiraiya declared.

"Are you deaf?" Sakan hissed, "I am not Kisame!"

"Don't lie!" Tsunade snapped from behind Sakan, "You look exactly like Kisame and your chakra patterns match the description. You also carry the sword Samehada."

Sakan growled. "How do you know I'm not a copy?"

"Water Doppelgangers do not have the exact amount of chakra as the original," Kakashi said calmly despite his bloody shoulder.

"I don't mean doppelgangers," Sakan snorted, "I mean an actual clone!"

"What are you talking about?" Tsunade looked wary.

Sakan snorted again. "Konoha ninja really are stupid, aren't they?"

"Even if we are stupid, we possess the power of youth!" Gai shouted.

"Shut up, Gai!" the other three yelled.

Ahhh, I had a hard time finding a way to end this chapter. *grips pounding head*

I think I would like to see five more reviews before I update this story though, so get reviewing people!

Thanks for reading! :)