It took me a while but I've finally finished this chapter. I'll shut up now so that you can read it.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto


Ch. 16: The Final Battle

The irony wasn't lost on Sakura. First she had been taken prisoner by Sasuke Uchiha then released when his reason for making her stay was gone. She did stay with him anyways but that wasn't the point. The point was now she was the prisoner of the group that Itachi Uchiha was a member of and that Itachi had been the one to kidnap her. She had been released by one brother just to be kidnapped by the other one. Now that was irony. She hated it.

She had fought when they first brought her there. It didn't do her any good. Sakura was surrounded by several S ranked criminals after all. They ganged up on her the cowards. She's bet they weren't nearly as strong without each other. At least all the Konoha ninja were strong in their own right and being in a group just made them stronger. The Akatsuki threw her in a small room with a single bed in it. The window had bars on it and there was only one door. The minute they had her in it there they shut and locked the door.

Itachi looked at her through the bars, "I don't think Sasuke will come."

"Oh, and why would that be?" she asked in a falsely sweet tone.

"Because we're a lot alike and I wouldn't give in for you. However the fox is another matter all together. He will come."

"Sasuke-kun is nothing like you. He'll be here and he'll kick your ass, Itachi. You can count on that," she spat at him.

He smirked, "We'll see."

She glared at his back as he walked away. They had left her tied up so she couldn't even punch her way out. Though, if she wasn't tied up she might have just punched Itachi instead. He really was an obnoxious jerk. He was also very wrong about Sasuke. Sasuke would come and he would save her. Not because he loved her or anything but because Itachi was here. Sasuke still wanted his revenge. She wasn't fooling herself into thinking he was coming for her. Sakura knew what his priorities were. Avenging his clan came first then everything else would get some of his time. So she sat back and waited until someone came to untie her. Then she would punch that smirk off of Itachi's face.

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The Konoha and Suna ninjas were right outside the Akatsuki's base which turned out to be the Village Hidden in the Rain. They hadn't had to search very hard. Karin's ability to search for specific chakra shortened the search greatly. Before she couldn't feel any of the Akatsuki but they had made a mistake. Whatever hid their chakra from her didn't hide Sakura's so the red head had no trouble finding her. Tsunade had sent a letter to Suna to let them know what was going on. Gaara came himself with his siblings, Matsuri, Baki, and several other ninja from his village. Tsunade was also there with teams 10, 8, Gai, and, of course, 7. Everyone was prepared for a major battle.

They sent a spy into Amegakure to see what was going on. As it turned out, the Akatsuki leader Pain was also the leader of the village. He had killed the previous leader and then taken over. It had become the main base of the Akatsuki. Jiraiya gave them the facts that he knew about Pain and had told everyone to let him handle him.

Naruto looked over a Sasuke, who was sitting by himself, and decided to mention something that had been bothering him. Sasuke was just staring at the Akatsuki's base and didn't say a single word about the plan ideas being tossed around by everyone else. The dark haired boy just looked so depressed. The blonde felt bad for his friend. Naruto plopped down next to his best friend. They sat in silence for a moment then Naruto said quietly, "Who are you going after first?"

"What?"

"Who are you going after first? Sakura or Itachi?" Naruto said again.

Sasuke looked at the blonde. He hadn't even thought about it until now. Now that he had he realized that he didn't have the answer. Perhaps he would just let his instincts guide him. No. He would go for Itachi first. He had to avenge his clan. Sakura would be fine without him. Besides, he had already let his feelings for her get in the way too much. He couldn't allow it anymore. His onyx eyes looked back to the base.

"Itachi."

Naruto sighed, "I thought so. I had hoped otherwise but I knew he would be the answer."

"Sakura will be fine."

"Of course she will be. Not only is she strong but she's got everyone else to help her. The thing is, Sasuke-teme, she doesn't want everyone else. She wants you. Do you know how many guys have been trying to get her attention in the last three years? I can't even count them all. She turned them all down. Sakura only wants one thing and that's your happiness. I'll bet you she's sitting in there now expecting someone else to come get her because she knows you want Itachi."

"Then why are we talking about this if she knows."

"She knows and understands but that doesn't mean she's happy about it. Sasuke-teme, she loves you. Why I couldn't say because I think you're an ass hole but that's just me. It hurts her to know she'll always come last in your opinion."

"She's not last."

"Sakura thinks she is."

Sasuke didn't have anything to say to that. It didn't matter. It couldn't matter. He would kill Itachi and avenge his clan. Then he would return to Konoha and hopefully finish his goals with a certain medical nin. That is if she would have him. If what Naruto said was true she may never give him the chance he wanted even if she loved him. Sasuke's eyes focused on the window Karin said Sakura's chakra was in. What if she was hurt? Maybe he should just check on her first then go for Itachi. No, he couldn't do that. He would go for his brother first then check on Sakura.

It was time. They all headed towards the base. Everyone had a partner to watch their backs as they traveled through the base. Several groups were already fighting some of the Akatsuki's lackies. Sasuke ignored them. He was heading to one person in particular. Naruto was forced to keep up with his partner. Sasuke seemed determined to reach Itachi quickly. It surprised Naruto to realize that Sasuke had gone the wrong way. The younger Uchiha had turned right but Itachi was to the left. What was he doing? Sasuke stopped in front of a door and broke it down. When he looked inside relief flooded his system.

Sakura looked up when the door suddenly crashed open. Sasuke rushed in and cut the ropes binding her. Naruto stood in the doorway for a moment in shock then he grinned. The blonde stepped outside to give the two a moment. Sasuke was holding Sakura tight. The pink haired girl was shocked to realize that his strong arms were shaking slightly. He had been afraid. She wrapped her arms around his neck. After a few moments, Sasuke pulled away and his onyx eyes looked into her green eyes.

"Sasuke-kun, that was quick. The fighting just started and you've already killed Itachi. I would've thought he would be harder to kill," Sakura said.

Sasuke shook his head and said, "I haven't killed him yet."

"What?! Then what are you doing here?"

He looked away from her, "I wanted to make sure you were alright."

Sakura just looked at him in shock. This wasn't what she had expected. She thought he would have gone to Itachi first and avenge his clan. Instead here he was making sure she was safe. Sakura smiled at him and said, "Then let's go kick some Akatsuki ass."

Sasuke smirked, "After you."

Naruto grinned at them when they walked out. The three of them fought their way down the hall together. Then they reached Itachi. He had just dodged an attack from one of the other ninja. Sasuke rushed at him. The fight between the two brothers began. Naruto and Sakura made sure that none of the other Akatsuki members interfered in the fight. The battle lasted for hours. Jiraiya and Tsunade was fighting the Akatsuki leader, Pain. Sakura and Naruto were fighting Kisame. The sand siblings were fighting with a guy in a mask that covered his whole face except for one eye. The other Konoha ninjas were handling the other members of the Akatsuki. Sasuke was the only one fighting a one on one battle.

The good guys were winning of course. One by one the Akatsuki members began to fall either by death or lost consciousness. Soon only Itachi and Sasuke were left. They both looked exhausted. Cuts and bruises littered their bodies. The two were panting for breath. No one interfered. This was Sasuke's battle and they knew it. Help wouldn't be appreciated. Sakura's worried eyes were focused on Sasuke. He seemed to be doing just fine. Then Sasuke lunged with his sword. The older Uchiha didn't have time to dodge and the sword pierced his stomach. Suddenly Itachi performed the fire jutsu and Sasuke was forced to dodge releasing the sword's hilt. By the time the fire ball had moved out of the way Itachi was gone. He reappeared behind Sasuke and threw a kunai at him. Sasuke easily dodged it and stepped back panting. The look on Itachi's face made him pause. Why the hell was he smirking? He was dying, so he shouldn't look so damn smug.

Itachi looked Sasuke directly in the eyes and his last words were, "You've killed me, little brother, but I've still won."

Sasuke frowned. His eyes suddenly widened and he spun around. The kunai that Itachi had thrown was still flying through the air. When Sasuke saw where it was going his blood ran cold. It was aimed right at Sakura's back. She was tending to Lee's leg because as usual he had managed to injure himself. The medic didn't see the kunai heading for her. He couldn't remember the last time he had moved that fast. The sound of the kunai piercing flesh seemed to echo throughout the room. Sakura's green eyes widened in disbelief and horror. Sasuke's onyx eyes filled with pain and something else. Everyone stared in shock. Blood dripped to the floor. A smile formed on one of the two faces. The sound of a body crashing to the floor echoed just as loudly as the stabbing sound. Then all hell broke loose.

Sakura had heard the sound of a kunai cutting through flesh and had turned around. She couldn't believe what she saw. Then he had smiled at her and fallen unconscious. She rushed to his side, "Sasuke-kun."

The pink haired medic pulled the kunai out and began to treat the injury. Unnoticed tears fell from her eyes. Another pair of hands moved on top of hers and began to glow with green chakra. She glanced up to see Tsunade helping her. The two worked to save Sasuke's life. Everyone watched in anticipation. Hinata buried her face into Naruto's chest and he wrapped his arms around her. Sakura just continued to cry as she worked to save him. He wouldn't die. She wouldn't let him.

Several hours later the two medical nins sat back. Sakura was still crying. She couldn't seem to stop the tears and she didn't bother trying. She deserved a good cry after the scare she had that day damn it. Kakashi came over and helped her up. Jugo lifted Sasuke and they all headed back to Konoha. Sasuke was placed in one of the medical rooms. He was in a coma and everyone was worried that he wouldn't wake up ever again. But no one was more afraid than Sakura.

"Please wake up, Sasuke-kun. Call me annoying or leave again. I don't care. Just please wake up," Sakura begged him. She didn't know if she could survive if he never woke up. Tsunade said he could still possibly die. The kunai had nicked his heart and had nearly killed him. It was a miracle that he was even alive. Even before the kunai stabbed him, Sasuke's body had received serious damage during his battle with Itachi. His body needed to heal so he would wake up until it was ready. However if the damage couldn't be healed then Sasuke would most likely die.

Sakura refused to leave his side. Everyone tried to get her to and she started to snap at them if they did. Ino and Hinata were the only ones that didn't try because they could understand how she felt. They didn't think they would leave their loved ones side either. So they brought her food, clothes, and all the things she would need for a shower. They would occasionally keep her company but Sakura told them not to go out of their way for that. Ino told Sakura that she was putting her wedding off until Sakura and Sasuke could attend. She had then looked at the unconscious Sasuke and said, "Hear that Sasuke? That means you better get better quickly."

Sakura thanked her friends. She would tell Sasuke about all the things that were going on in Konoha. There was a lot to do now that the Akatsuki were gone. They had to clean up the mess and a new kage for Amegakure had to be selected. The entire village actually needed a clean up after having the Akatsuki occupying it. Several of the villagers had sympathized with the Akatsuki so some Shinobi from Suna and Konoha had stayed behind to restore order. Things seemed to be going well in that direction.

Sakura had just come out of the shower. She had a towel wrapped around her as she looked in the bathroom mirror. The pink haired kunoichi began to brush her hair. Nothing much had changed in the last two weeks. Sasuke was still unconscious though there was some hope. During his last check up his body showed some definite signs of improvement. She finished brushing her hair and reached for her clothes to get dressed when the bathroom door opened. Her hand froze. Slowly she turned around to face whoever it was. Emerald eyes widened as she looked at the figure leaning against the door frame.

"Hello, Sakura-chan."


That's it. I'm really going to leave it like that until the next chapter. I like cliffies. at least it do when i'm the one writing them. Anyways i'm working on the next chapter right now. I'm sad to say that it will probably be the last one. I hope you guys liked this chapter. Please let me know what you think about it in a review.

By the way. for those of you who were reading The Story No One Knew I'm going to rewrite it because it's been so long since I've updated and I've come across some info that changes a few things...like Tobi is actually an Uchiha and trained Itachi...anyways I'm going to start that as soon as this story is finished. Some of it will be the same but somethings won't be. The plot will be the same though. In the end Itachi will be a good guy and paired with my OC

That's it for now