This is the second to last chapter. The story is almost finished. For those of you who do not read "the story no one knew" i apologize for taking too long to update. I've been busy with school and I'm also writing a book (more like a story i made up from scratch rather than a fanfic but calling it a book is easier) and that's taking up a lot of my time. Thank you for being so patient.

Now i will tell you that a majority of this chapter is fighting and I'll warn you know i suck at fight scenes (at least i think i do) so please be patient with me. I will also admit that i'm not super familiar with the akatsuki's fighting style so i faked it a lot. basically imagine a large building with fighting in every room and lots of shinobi everywhere. And since I like happy endings where the bad guy get's what they deserve in the end, all the akatsuki (except for itachi) die in the end. Itachi is an exception because I decided to follow the manga on that part. The fight between him and Sasuke also resembles the one in the manga (i believe it's chapter 392) but i didnt' want to kill Itachi (hate killing the good guys so i try not to) so he gets to live.

Insert standard disclaimer here and now you can read the chapter.

Ch. 27: The Final Battle

Kaoru and Hinata looked at the door in consideration. It was their only way out. Hinata used her byakugan to see if their was a guard on the other side. There was. It was the man with blond hair that had held captured Kaoru. Sasori said his name was Deidara. The two agreed to escape through the door and knock him out. Kaoru carefully picked the lock from their side of the door. Hinata watched in amazement.

"Where did you learn to pick locks, Kaoru?"

"When I was younger, Gaara's father didn't like me to visit Gaara. He would lock the door so that I couldn't get it. I taught myself to pick the locks to get in to see Gaara anyway."

"Why didn't he want you to see Gaara?"

"Well, to him, Gaara was a tool. If Gaara suddenly developed a heart then he would no longer be a useful tool. I was a threat to his plans for Gaara."

"Because you were his friend and he cared about you."

Kaoru nodded and she stepped back, "The lock is open. Now we just have to knock Deidara out. Use the byakugan. When he has his back to us, we'll go out and have him out in less than five seconds."

Hinata nodded and concentrated, "Byakugan." Her eyes changed and the veins around them seemed more apparent. She watched the figure on the other side of the door for several moment. When she was sure of the timing she opened the door slowly and quietly. Kaoru slipped out as quietly at possible and let her chakra flow into her hands, making them glow green with medical chakra. She quickly placed her hands on Deidara's neck. He fell to the ground as Kaoru used her chakra to make him unconscious.

"Should we leave him alive?" Hinata asked when she came out of the room.

"I don't know. Probably not but I can't kill a man, even an evil one, in cold blood."

"Me neither though I might change my mind if anything happens to Naruto."

"I second that," Kaoru agreed. "Let's just tie him up real good and lock him in the room."

Hinata nodded in agreement and helped Kaoru drag Deidara into the room they had been locked in. The two kunoichi stripped him of the Akatsuki cloak and all his weapons. They tied him up so that he wouldn't be able to move and hid all of his weapons where he couldn't get them without being untied. Both of the girls expected him to escape but they hoped it would stall him long enough for them to find Gaara and Naruto.

Once they were back outside, Hinata activated her byakugan again and they walked through the building looking for Naruto and Gaara. Hinata saw an area with a lot of chakra inside and knew that was where Naruto was. The two girls headed in that direction as fast as they could praying that they weren't too late.

--------------------------

Naruto wasn't sure what he should do. Pain had him standing in the center of a circle with every member of the Akatsuki standing around him. Gaara was chained to the wall unable to leave the room at all. They were both unarmed, making them sitting ducks. The Akatsuki began to summon their chakra. Naruto began sending a silent message to Sasuke telling his friend that if he didn't get here soon, Naruto would come back from the dead and haunt him for the rest of his life.

Naruto glanced over to see that Gaara was gone. He scanned the room but didn't see the kazekage anywhere. The blonde looked up when he heard mummering above him and saw that the Akatsuki had realized that Gaara was missing as well. Naruto knew his friend wouldn't just leave him so Gaara had to be in the room somewhere. Suddenly several people attacked the Akatsuki members from every direction. Naruto recognized several of the shinobi from the sand and leaf village. He also saw Kaoru's clan and the mizukage. Naruto joined the fight without hesitation. He had never been so happy to see the the other shinobi. Naruto scanned the area as he tried to locate someone who could tell him what was going on. Most importantly he wanted to know if Hinata was alright. He spotted Neji and Shikamaru and rushed over to them.

"Hey, have you guys ever heard the phrase 'just in the nick of time'?" he demanded of them with some irritation.

"I think I remember that one from somewhere," Shikamaru responded lazily. "Are you alright?"

Naruto nodded, "Yeah. Where's Gaara and the girls?"

"Gaara is fighting with one of the seven Pains here. Kakashi was the one who released him and returned his weapons. Here are yours by the way." Shikamaru handed him his weapons. "We haven't found the girls yet."

"What do you mean 'one of the Pains'?" Naruto demanded.

"Turns out that Pain has control of six bodies other than his own. That means there are seven of him in a way. The only features they have in common are orange hair and their eyes. Jiraiya and Tsunade are fighting one of them that can control rain and has gravity/repulsion techniques. Guy, Tenten, and Lee are fight yet a different one that can absorb chakra attacks," Neji replied. "I'm going to help Sasori and Kankuro fight one that uses projectiles and puppets."

"My team, Shino, and Kiba, are fighting a fourth that can summon animals like centipedes and rhinos. Pains number five and six, neither of which I know what can do, are fighting Kaoru's clan along with the Mizukage. Gaara is fighting the last one which we're told by Jiraiya is the original Pain. I don't know what he's capable of either."

Naruto shook his head, "There are seven Pains...Who's fighting the rest of the Akatsuki?"

"Anyone who's left. Speaking of which, Sauske needs your help. He's fighting Itachi and some other man. Sasori said that he was an underling and must have been promoted after he left."

"Right."

Naruto rushed off in the direction Shikamaru had pointed in. It didn't take him long to find Sasuke. The two Uchihas were battling it out. Sasuke threw a kunai and Itachi easily dodged it while making hand signs. He placed his fingers to his mouth and blew out a large black fireball aimed at his younger brother. Sasuke's hands moved so fast that Naruto didn't know what signs he made. Only that he blocked Itachi's large fireball with his own.

Naruto saw another man coming up behind Sasuke while he was still releasing fire from his own mouth. This man wore a mask over his face with a single hole in it. He had to be the other fighter that Shikamaru told him about. The masked man was about to strike Sasuke with a kunai. Naruto jumped I and slammed into the man knocking him to the side.

"Sasuke, are you alright?!" Naruto called out.

"Fine. What took you so long?" his friend demanded.

"I was busy trying not to die," Naruto began helping Sasuke fight. He left Itachi to Sasuke since the younger Uchiha had been hunting for his older brother for years. Naruto looked at the other man, "Why don't we let the brothers fight uninterrupted. I'll take you on."

The masked man nodded, "That will work just fine, Naruto Uzumaki."

Naruto blinked when he saw the sharingan eye in the only hole in the mask. "Hey, you have a sharingan. Just who are you?"

"My name is Madara Uchiha. I'm the real leader of the Akatsuki." Madara took a fighting stance, "Come at me if you dare. Let's see what you have future hokage of the leaf village.

"Alright. But remember you asked for it." Naruto summoned his shadow clones. Every clone attacked at once.

Madara grinned. So the boy did have promise. This could be an interesting battle after all. He blocked every attack Naruto threw at him and even destroyed several of his clones in the process. While he was fighting the clones, Naruto prepared a Rasengan attack and aimed. When Madara destroyed the last clone, Naruto was ready. He attacked. Madara barely managed to dodge and he felt the Rasengan barely brush his side. The pain was great and he nearly collapsed from it. He looked back and saw a large hole in the wall where Naruto's Rasengan had struck. He made a mental note not to let that attack connect and prepared for Naruto's next attack.

Sasuke had the upper hand in his fight. Itachi was weakening and his eyesight was terrible because of the Mangekyo Sharingan. He knew he was going blind and it was time to put his final plan into action. His attacks became more fierce as he forced Sasuke to use ever ounce of his strength. Sasuke felt something in him begin to change as the effort of fighting began to trigger his curse seal. The familiar burn on his shoulder began and spread through his body. The more he fought the worse it became. Suddenly Sasuke lost control and he activated Kirin, a technique he had developed with Kakashi during his three years of training. Storm clouds formed in the sky and lighting broke through the roof and around Sasuke. He focused the lighting attack and aimed it at his older brother. Suddenly a earth began to shake as Itachi summoned the Susanoo technique. A large monster rose out of the ground and stood ready to fight behind Itachi. Sasuke felt something in him fighting to get out as the mark on his shoulder began to burn even more. Suddenly he heard a voice in his head that sounded hauntingly familiar. Sasuke lost consciousness after that. Itachi waited as Sasuke's body used Orochimaru's hydra technique. A monster with several snakelike heads attacked Itachi but the monster Itachi has summoned used a sword to chop off all of the heads at once. The hydra began to melt away with a cry of pain.

Naruto and Madara had stopped their battle during this process. When Naruto saw Sasuke collapse he rushed over and caught him. He pulled one of Sauske's arms over his shoulder to support him. "Sasuke-teme? Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Sasuke gasped. "The mark."

Naruto glanced at Sasuke's shoulder and was surprised to see it was bare. "It's gone."

Sasuke looked up to see Itachi leaning against a wall. "Why?"

Itachi gave a humorless chuckle, "I never intended to live through that technique."

"You won't live for much longer now, Itachi. I will kill you for this betrayal," someone said. Everyone looked over to see Madara aiming a kunai at Itachi's heart. Sasuke's brother was too exhausted from the technique to dodge.

"Naruto!" Sasuke snapped. For the first time in Sasuke's life he asked for help from his friend. "Help him. Don't let him kill my brother."

"Don't worry. I won't," Naruto promised as he tapped into the fox's chakra to increase his speed. He raced across the room and caught the kunai before it connected with Itachi. Naruto glanced back at Itachi, "I owe you for helping Sasuke so I'll make sure you live through this, but you will answer our questions when this is over."

Itachi gave a nod and moved over towards Sasuke to make sure his brother was alright. Madara started to attack Itachi again but Naruto jumped in the way. He glared at Madara and practically growled. "Your fight is with me, Madara."

"So be it," Madara stated and attacked Naruto. Naruto wasn't going to let him leave this fight alive. With All the chakra he had left along with some of the fox's, he summoned a shadow clone and began to form the Rasengan. Madara activated his mangekyo sharingan. Cold crimson eyes met with determined blue ones and their owners clashed.

-------------------------------------

Hinata and Kaoru stood in the doorway watching the battle around them. The smell of blood and sweat was in the air. Kaoru could sense nothing but fear and pain from the people around her. The suna medic saw Sasori fighting a man that was shooting missiles and using puppets. Kaoru rushed over to him. "Sasori!"

He looked over and a look a relief crossed his face, "Where did you come from?"

"They had us locked in a room. Where's Gaara and Naruto?"

"Fighting. Yes they were alive last time I saw them. No you can't go find them. Get someplace safe. They'll both kill everyone if something happens to the two of you," Sasori ordered them.

He left them to continue helping Neji and Kankuro fight one of the Pains. This one used puppets and had six arms and three faces. He was large and as far as Sasori could tell his body wasn't made out of flesh. Neji and Kankuro were keeping him distracted while Sasori tried to find a weak spot in his machinery. So far he wasn't having any luck. Then he saw it. When the machine turned left its left leg buckled just a little.

"Kankuro, it's left leg."

Kankuro looked and saw it. "Neji, keep him distracted while we permanently disable this puppet."

Naji nodded and started attacking the machine. The two puppeteers aimed their puppet string chakra and gripped the machine's left leg. There was a loud crash as the machine fell down and a clang when the leg was ripped off its hinges. Neji, Kankuro, and Sasori preceded to take it apart piece by piece. Sasori spoke into a radio, "One Pain down. Six to go."

Hinata had activated her byakugan and located Naruto. She rushed in his direction to make sure he would be alright. When she found him she hid so that she clapped her hands over her mouth and her eyes widened in fear. He had his Rasengan ready and a man was charging at him. Hinata watched in horror the area around them exploded as the two met. She let out a relieved breath as Naruto jumped out of the smoke. Hinata saw something out of the corner of her eye and turned towards it. She saw her team and Team 10 fighting what looked like a young man with bright orange hair that was using large animals to fight. Hinata took one last look at Naruto then joined Shino and Kiba in their battle.

She used her 64 palms protection technique to destroy a giant crustacean that the man had summoned. Kiba's clan were fighting a large nine headed dog. The man was about to summon yet another monster when, Ino used her mind transfer jutsu. The man suddenly stopped moving. Shikamaru used his shadow possession jutsu to possess the man. Ino released her jutsu and the man came back to himself only to discover he couldn't move. With a few hand signs Shikamaru had the shadow snaking up the man's body and around his neck strangling him. Hinata heard Shikamaru say into a radio, "Two down. Five to go."

"We've destroyed one as well," Jiraiya replied. "That makes three down and four to go." (A/N: Italics are the responses coming through the radio)

"We've also killed Kisame though it took nearly all of my teams chakra supply to do it," Kakashi replied.

"Itachi is on our side it seems," Sasuke's voice came from the radio. "Naruto has just fatally wounded Madara Uchiha. He won't survive the battle now."

"Who's left?" Shikamaru spoke into the radio.

"Zetsu, Hidan, Kakuzu, and Konan," Sasori answered. "Temari is taking care of Zetsu now."

"Is Hidan some guy who claims to be immortal?" asked Neji.

"Yes," Sasori replied.

"Then he's dead. I fought him after Sasori, Kankuro, and I destroyed the first Pain."

"Then that leaves Kakuzu and Konan," Shikamaru stated. "Let's find them and make sure they're not left for too long."

"Right," everyone replied.

Meanwhile, Kaoru tried not to stare at the man that looked remarkably like a plant. Temari was fighting him and seemed to be holding her own fairly well. There were several other sand shinobi fighting with her so Kaoru decided not to bother joining the fight. She didn't think she would be of any help anyway. Then she heard Gaara. She rushed in the direction of his voice and found him. Gaara was fighting with Pain. Kaoru watched in horror as Pain delivered a painful blow to Gaara's midsection. Gaara doubled over briefly but came up and punched Pain under his jaw. Sand came up surrounding the two of them. Kaoru tried not to scream in fear as the two of them watched the fight. The sand sank back into Gaara's gourd and she let out a relieved sigh. He was still alive.

Pain looked over to the doorway. He aimed an attack at Gaara then smirked. The kazekage looked confused for just and instant. Pain suddenly changed his position and fired his attack. Gaara spun around and felt all the blood drain from his face as he saw where the attack was aimed.

Kaoru watched a barrage of fireballs heading for her with horror. She knew she couldn't survive this one. There was no where to dodge to and nothing to hide behind. She closed her eyes and waited for the thousands of fireballs to strike their target.

For Gaara everything was moving in slow motions and he heard nothing. The only thing he saw was Kaoru standing right in the path of the fireballs. There was an explosion that rocked the everything as the fireballs crashed to the ground. Kaoru was gone. Time started to move normally again but Gaara still heard and saw nothing but the smoke rising from where Kaoru had been. There was nothing left. Kaoru was dead. His mind kept screaming it over and over again. Kaoru was dead. He felt something in him break with an almost audible snap. Kaoru was dead. The transformation started without his approval. The sand surrounded him and began to form arms and legs around his own body. Before anyone had time to stop him Shukaku was released. Gaara didn't even try to stop it. Kaoru was dead.

Shukaku emerged and began his assult on the four Pains that were left and any other member of the Akatsuki. He was extremely pissed. This added to it's usual bloodlust and malice made him a force to be reckoned with. His current target was every member of the Akatsuki for attacking what was his. They would pay dearly. The Akatsuki did fight back. With one wind bullet he fatally wounded one of the Pains and knocked everyone else back. He began using the sand and wind to destroy the Akatsuki one by one. Shukaku raised a sand storm so that no one could see what was going on anymore. Several tense minutes passed as everyone strained to see through the sand to the battle inside.

There was a collective sigh of relief when the sand died down to show the Akatsuki's bodies laying on the ground. None of them were moving. Shukaku turned to face the other shinobi. Everyone held their breath. None of them had the energy to fight Shukaku just then. Shukaku grinned, "Looks like there's more fun to be had." He raised a hand and prepared to attack. Everyone scattered. Sasuke tried to attract Shukaku's attention while Naruto raced up to wake up Gaara. Naruto almost made it before Shukaku shook him off sending him plummeting to the ground. Kakashi managed to catch him before he hit the ground. Shukaku drew in a breath to use the wind bullet.

"Gaara-kun, Stop!"

Don't forget to let me know what you think of it.