Hello there. It's me again, S.. I have nothing to say except for that here's your long awaited chapter 18.

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We jumped into action. In seconds ninja were upon us. Their forehead protectors seemed familiar… they looked like some sort of French moustache or a kid's drawing of a bird.

I heard a ninja scream behind me, "Mystic Hypnotism jutsu!"

Oh crap.

I felt a large presence around me. "Sakura!" I heard Miho yell. I turned around cautiously. To my relief, it wasn't dander, but Kuna-Kena!

His large teeth were curled into a snarl, "You better move, Cherry Blossom."

By his gigantic paws was a foreign ninja. He was struggling to get up. He wore the same type of clothes that the ninja from the land of sky…

That was it!

"Sasuke!" I screamed.

"Whaat?"

He was in a battle. His voice sounded strained, but almost as if I was in the way or something.

"These are the ninja who kidnapped me!"

"What?!" He repeated it again, not out of wonder, or because he couldn't hear me, but out of surprise.

He started fighting faster and with vigor. He punched his opponent in the face, and as he fell, kicked his chest so he slid back and slammed against a building wall.

He looked up; his head seemed loose and was dazed. Sasuke walked up to him, sharingan in his eyes.

"Leave him, Sasuke. He's done."

I could see the rage in his face, the utter anger deep within his heart.

I heard a war cry behind me and I swiveled. A hard barracks made by my friends held an army out of the inner section of Konoha.

"Rising Twin Dragons!" Tenten's weapons took down half of the wave with relative ease, but one caught a mini-scythe and flung it back at her like a boomerang. It collided with her right shoulder.

'Tenten!" Neji's pained cry echoed. He ran to her and grabbed her close. He picked her up bridal style, and with Byakugan rotated all up close ninja to kingdom come.

"Canine style! Fang over Fang!"

"Feline style, swift 1000 claws."

The perfect pair made a perfect team, too. They took out countless ninja together.

"Original technique! Four-headed beast!"

This was one I hadn't seen before. Kiba and Akamaru turned into two heads of a wolf. Miho and Kuna-Kena turned into two tiger heads, but here's the thing… they were attached to the same body!

That thing was a furry giant of fury.

It whooshed past us, and Tenten's identical ring fell off her finger.

It smashed to the ground, broke into pieces and dissolved into thin air.

I heard Sasuke inhale sharply.

I ran to Temari and pulled off her ring to throw it on the ground aside her pleas. Sure enough, it disappeared.

I went to find Hinata; Sasuke followed me close behind, but slowly.

"Hinata," I said slowly, "Throw down the ring."

She looked surprised. "What?"

"I… just… need to see something."

But she wouldn't. She held onto her precious emerald, grasping it with a fist.

Frustrated, I yanked mine off, which hurt by the way, and as fast as I could, slammed it to the concrete below.

It fell with a small 'ping' but stayed solid.

I stood there, stunned. What. The. Heck?

Hinata looked at me with a curious look in her eyes. "Sakura, you okay?"

"No, no, it's just… all the others… dissa…"

"Peard?" Sasuke finished my thought, "I hope you'll allow me to explain."

"Explain what?"

"Your ring… was the only one that was real. The rest were just copies."

And Hinata's ring vanished into thin air.

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I stuttered. "I… I'm not sure I understand."

He sighed. "All the rings were fakes, except for yours."

"No, I got that part, dummy. I just don't know… how."

He picked up my ring and rolled it through his sculpted hands. "It was a copy jutsu. I used it so we could all benefit from just one ring."

I folded my arms, "And why didn't you tell me this?"

He looked at me with eyes to skin a boar, and turned around. "Because it wasn't meant to be like this."

One eyebrow rose above my other, and I cocked my head. "Whahuh?"

His back stated to quiver and his head drooped a little bit. "This ring… was yours. Yours and yours only. I… I bought it several months ago. For you…. And… for me."

I exhaled. My eyes were fixated on his back. "Oh… Sasuke."

He walked away to join in the battle.

I went in the other direction. The fight continued.

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The four-headed beast must have knocked out 80 ninja. Kiba, Akamaru, Miho, and Kuna-Kena were completely in tune with each other. Even just Miho's heart affected each of the souls in that one body. I don't think a single one of those knock-outs were deaths.

After I healed Tenten's wounds, I surveyed the landscape. Unnamed ninja lay unconscious on the ground. A few scarce ninja were battle ling the others, but were soon overwhelmed and they gave up.

The four-headed beast turned into four single beings again.

Miho set her hands on her knees as she panted. Kiba fell on the ground next to a tired, yawning Akamaru. Kuna-Kena, with Miho's permission, disappeared in a puff of smoke.

I forced a smile.

"Sakura!" I heard my sensei call my name, and saw all the others take their partner's smile… except for Sasuke.

Tsunade approached me and gave me a hug. "Congratulations, Sakura, we won!"

Won? I didn't get it… it seemed way too easy. I was pretty sure this was…

"Hey, sensei…"

She looked at me. "Hm?"

"Now we can commence Operation Embedded in Stone now, huh?"

"Well, um," Ha. Now I got her.

"There… well… sure."

I pulled out a kunai and poised it against her neck. "Yea, right, faker. We don't have an operation Embedded in Stone."

The Tsunade disappeared in a puff of smoke and reappeared as…

He looked rather familiar, and his voice was distinct.

"You!" I gasped. It was the elder, the very same who commanded me kidnapped.

"Why are you threatening me?"

He sounded mad, furious even.

"I am Sakura, apprentice of the 5th Hokage."

The man's eyes widened. "You, you were…"

"Too late."

Using charka control, I twisted his arm and bounded his hands with it. I nodded to the rest of my friends, and then took him into custody.

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I hope you enjoyed this! I'm not dead! And I'm sorry for the totally clear occness in the middle there. It's supposed to be emotional.

Not so sincerely,

S.