For those of you wondering, this isn't the chapter featuring Itami's, Nendo's, and Karasu's abilities. Sorry! It's getting close though!

"So they all escaped?"

Kabuto bowed his head. "Yes, Orochimaru-sama. I'm sorry I wasn't able to stop them."

Orochimaru shook his head. "It doesn't matter. They can't run forever. Soon, they will realize that joining me is the best choice. Then, they will return, and the Akatsuki will be done for! Keep an eye on them. I'm going to work on my Edo Tensei." With that, he disappeared into the shadows, and Kabuto left to watch the replacements.

"What?" Pain stood up, "Say that again!"

"There are a group of people looking almost exactly like us in the Forest of Death not too far from here," White Zetsu repeated.

"With the exception of Tobi," Black Zetsu added.

"But…Tobi is a good boy!" Tobi cried, "Why shouldn't Tobi have someone who looks like him?"

"Oh, shut up, will you?" Hidan growled.

"Silence!" Pain ordered. Turning back to Zetsu, he asked, "Are you sure?"

Zetsu nodded. "I watched them fight Kabuto. Their skills even match ours. This girl, I think her name was Fumetsu, was also immortal, just like Hidan. The boy called Nendo looked like a younger version of Deidara. Another one, Sakan, looked like a Kisame II."

"Don't forget Sutetchi. He had stitches on his body. I think he looked a lot like Kakuzu. The black-haired girl, Karasu, looks like Itachi. She even inherited his skill with a kunai," Black Zetsu expanded on his other half's explanation.

Tobi was still crying in the corner, "But I've been a good boy…why don't I get someone who looks like me?"

Pain ignored him. He turned to the other Akatsuki members who were standing on the sides. "I want three of you to go with Zetsu to take a look at these apparitions. Find out if they're a threat," he commanded.

Itachi, Sasori, and Deidara volunteered to go, and in the end, Pain allowed Tobi to go too due to Tobi's endless whining and the fact that he didn't seem to have someone who looked like him.

Zetsu's halves broke apart, the white half sinking through the floor to look for the target without being seen. The black half stayed with the rest of the group to notify them on White Zetsu's findings.

Meanwhile, Sutetchi was sewing up everybody's wounds with his threads. Karasu had gone back into the house, ignoring Itami when Itami asked what she was planning to do.

"Ow! God, Sutetchi! Can't you be a little gentler?" Fumetsu complained as Sutetchi stitched up her wound. Karasu returned with a bunch of cloth in her arms. She threw some at Fumetsu, hitting Fumetsu in the face.

"What the…? Hey, Karasu! What's this?" Fumetsu asked, examining the apparel.

"Clothes," Karasu replied, distributing the rest amongst her other companions. She had already changed into a black dress. Over the dress, she wore a black cloak with a hood. "Our rags smell terrible. I found these in the house before we fought Kabuto."

They all started changing behind trees, each one thinking about what the file said about their originals and their abilities.

"I'm going to look for herbs just in case our wounds are poisoned or they get infected," Ningyou stated after she had changed.

Karasu glanced at her, then returned to scrutinizing the papers, "Be careful."

Once Ningyou had left, Karasu beckoned to Shiro. "Could you keep an eye on Ningyou in case Kabuto comes back?"

Shiro immediately melted into the ground and disappeared.

Ningyou was observing the roots of the trees looking for herbs when she heard a voice.

"Hi!"

She jumped back and hit her head on a rock protruding out from a ledge behind her. Looking up, she saw a young man wearing an orange mask with short spiky hair. He wore a black cloak with red cloud patterns.

Ningyou immediately fell into a fighting stance. "Who are you?"

"Heh-heh. Tobi is a good boy!" her adversary replied.

"Your name is Tobi?"

"Yup!" he said in the same enthusiastic voice.

She looked him over. "What are you doing here?"

"My friends and I are looking for a group of people!" he explained happily. He suddenly paused, "Can I say something?"

Ningyou became wary again. "Go ahead."

"You look a lot like Sasori! Are you related?"

Ningyou froze. Sasori was her original. How does he know Sasori? Is he a part of the Akatsuki too? Oh, no. The others will kill me if they find out this is happening! She decided to play dumb.

"Who's Sasori?"

"He's one of my friends who's looking for the group of people with me!" he answered, unaware of anything.

As she tried to think of an answer to that, a sudden blow struck the back of her neck. She fell to the ground and her consciousness faded.

"Oh, Itachi-san! You killed her!" Tobi wailed, "And she was going to be my friend!"

Itachi bent over Ningyou. "She's just knocked out, Tobi."

More footsteps behind him signaled the arrival of the others.

Ningyou's friends were waiting for her to return. Some of them were becoming a little uneasy. She had been gone for too long. Suddenly, Kuroi stood up, startling the others.

"What's the matter?" Tenchi asked.

"The Akatsuki has found Ningyou!" Kuroi said, fear flooding his voice.

Everyone looked at each other. After Kabuto left, they had agreed to make sure no one else besides Kabuto and Orochimaru knew about them. Now Ningyou was found.

Itami stood too. "We need to go get her back. However, not all of us can go. There will be too many people and if we fight, we will definitely draw unwanted attention. Karasu, Nendo, and I will go." She turned to Kuroi. "Is Shiro still watching her?"

"Yes."

"If we need back up, then send two more to help."

"I understand."

Itami, Karasu, and Nendo left to rescue their friend.