A/N Oh shit is about to go down.


Chapter 27 - The Final Member

"Could you run that by me again?"

"We need to go to Konohagakure." said Seiryu without a stutter, the Akatsuki and Neo Akatsuki members looking at him with dumbfounded expressions.

"You do realize Konohagakure was destroyed by Naruto, correct?" said Genkaku as he crossed his arms.

"I know, I'm referring to the place where it used to rest. But I digress, why we need to go there is that I know where our final member is located. It perplexed me at first when he told me earlier, but he said he was going to Konohagakure to meditate and train." said Seiryu as he paced a little, the others watching him closely.

"So we're going to the Hokage Monument? That's wild territory, and we could be attacked at any moment by those black creatures the people that looked at the moon turned into." asked Natsumi.

"Yes. But it would be beneficial to go as a small group. Seiryu, you'll no doubt be going since you know the guy. As for who will be going with you…" started Nagato before he glanced around the group for ideas.

"Sarada was weakened by using Susano'o and I don't think she's recovered yet from seeing Kakashi like he is now. Torazame expended some chakra in fighting with Hana, so they're both out. Hm…"

"Nagato, I'm fine. I'll go." said Sarada with crossed arms while her Sharingans activated again, Nagato grinning a little before nodding.

"Same here. I'm good to go." said Natsumi as she cracked her knuckles and walked up beside Sarada, the two glancing at one another and smiling.

Nagato nodded his head and formed his own Sharingans to teleport them out of Kamui's Dimension and right to the ledge overlooking the Hokage Monument and the massive hole that Konohagakure had once been. The heat rising from the hole searing their faces and forced them to step back a few inches before trying to look over the edge once more. Natsumi took just a peek and gulped at the sheer drop to the center of the planet, around 6,731 kilometers, and stepped back before she nearly passed out.

"So where's your friend Seiryu? I feel uneasy being out here." said Sarada with several glances left and right, looking to be sure that no one was watching them from the shadows.

"Let me lock onto his chakra signature." said Seiryu as he stood still for a few seconds to triangulate his friend's position.

"Got it. Follow me." he said before leaping completely off the edge and down towards the massive hole below, the three running to the edge and blinking several times in astonishment.

"What the hell are you doing?!" yelled Nagato before all of a sudden Seiryu's body diverged into a swarm of Iron Sand particles that spread out over the entire hole and to their further surprise flew towards a small cave they hadn't seen carved out from the walls of the hole.

"I guess we follow him." said Nagato before he activated his Six Paths Sage Mode to shield him somewhat from the intense heat rising from the center of the Earth and leaped off after Seiryu, Natsumi and Sarada glancing at one another before they too jumped off the edge.

It took a few seconds of free-falling before Sarada formed her Susano'o's arm and smashed its fingers deep into the rim of the hole, throwing her and Natsumi after grasping onto her towards the cave and meeting Seiryu and Nagato. After Sarada dispelled her Susano'o she and Natsumi followed the two deeper into the cave, sweat droplets beginning to form on their foreheads and skin while Seiryu remained relatively okay considering around 99% of his body was metal.

"We're almost there. Let me do the talking too." he said without looking at them as they approached a stone door made to block further entry.

Seiryu raised a hand up and a sent a swarm of Iron Sand into the cracks and crevices of the stone wall, working the particles deep into them before he raised his other hand up and made a single hand seal.

"Satetsu Kaihō."

The two concentrations of Iron Sand he had drilled into the rock met one another and with their same magnetic affinities, positive to positive, forced it to repel one another and create a criss-crossing tangle of spikes that broke apart the rock into several pieces that could be moved aside easily.

They continued on deeper and encountered several more barriers just like the last one and just used the same method of getting rid of them.

"You'd think this guy wouldn't want anyone intruding…" said Natsumi after clearing the seventh barrier.

"He's...an introvert, to say the least. Just let me do the talking and everything will be fine."

They reached the mouth of a large cavern and immediately had to drop to the floor as several balls of fire shot over their heads and struck the wall behind them, Seiryu forming a protective wall of Iron Sand to protect them against any further attacks.

"Whoa! Takashi, it's me, Seiryu!"

"Shakuton - Taiyō shimetsu o kūdō!"

"Shit!" yelled Seiryu when a massive gust of wind rushed past them when a rotating vortex of pinkish-red flames slammed into the wall of Iron Sand and superheated it to its melting point, forcing him to add a second layer of Iron Sand and Gold Dust from ports built into his back to reinforce his wall.

"Takashi, calm down! It's me, Seiryu!" yelled Seiryu again, the assault momentarily pausing.

"Are you telling the truth?"

"Am I telling the-? Yes! Of course I'm telling the fucking truth! Who else would know where you've holed up?!"

Nagato glanced at Sarada and Natsumi and held a finger up to his head while making a circular motion with his index finger, the two girls giggling while Seiryu glanced back at them and shook his head.

"He is not crazy. He's just...oversuspicious."

He looked back and dissipated the wall of Iron Sand and Gold Dust, reforming his left hand while he stored the rest inside the storage units built into his body. They slowly entered the cavern and noticed a figure was standing before a torch, his features hidden by the darkness of the cave. He stepped aside and the torch finally lit his face and bodily features, showing he had messy black and red hair with bangs that framed either side of his face.

His right eye was blind due to a deep cut that left a vicious scar on his slightly pale skin. Aside from the full body suit and face mask that hid his face, overtop he wore a flak jacket that was dark maroon and fastened together with an interwoven band near the stomach and two straps colored grey over the shoulder. On each arm he wore steel gauntlets, the right one fastened around his wrist and extended back over the arm to create a sharpened edge intended for stabbing enemies when he would elbow them and the left having serrated blades welded to the side. His body suit and baggy pants were colored black and he wore sandals that almost reached his knees, fastened together with three red straps, overall giving him the look of a dark assassin it seems.

"Hm...you look different. What happened to you mate?" asked Takashi after crossing his arms and observing Seiryu's changed state.

"Kinda almost got killed and had to be revived as a cyborg. It's...different to say the least." he said as he shook hands with his old friend and motioned back to Nagato and company. "And these are my comrades, Nagato, Sarada and Natsumi."

"It's a pleasure to meet you all. But why are you all here?"

"Takashi, we're here to recruit you for the Neo Akatsuki. You do know what's happened above ground, correct?" said Seiryu, his friend nodding a few times before he went over to a flattened stone and took a seat.

"Yeah, I know. It's horrible."

"And that's what we're trying to stop. The being that caused all of that to happen also killed their parents and close friends. All we need is you and we can finally take the fight to him and avenge them." said Seiryu, Takashi's normally aloof expression softening while Nagato and Sarada kept straight faces and nodded.

Takashi looked at both of them and sighed deeply. Leaving his enclosure was not an idea he relished since he did not finish training with his ultimate technique and it wasn't fully perfected, but then again he could finalize it during a full engagement with an enemy shinobi. What better way to test a technique then in the midst of battle?

"Alright, I'll go with you..." he said finally after mulling over the idea, Nagato smiling a little before he walked forward and extended a hand out.

"Welcome to the Neo Akatsuki."

"On one condition." finished Takashi, making Nagato's hand freeze for a moment when the question hit his ears.

"What is it?" asked Natsumi from beside Sarada.

"After all of this is said and done, I get to come back here, no questions asked. If you hadn't noticed I'm a little fond to staying isolated from others." he said sternly as he raised his own hand anticipating that Nagato would agree to his terms.

He was right.

"Of course." he replied as he shook Takashi's hand, the two eyeing one another before he stepped back and turned towards the cave's entrance.

As they made their way back up to the hole Seiryu briefed him on everything that's occurred since when the Moon first changed its color and face as a result of Oshoku. With help from Sarada and her Susano'o they were able to climb back out of the hole and stand atop the Hokage Monument once again. Takashi took in a deep breath and looked up at the pitch black sky, blinking a couple of times as he observed the Moon and slowly shook his head.

"Where should we go now?" asked Sarada, Nagato closing his eyes to think for a few seconds on a suitable location they could go instead of being trapped within Kamui's Dimension.

"The Valley of the End."

"Really? All the way out there at the border of Fire Country and Rice Country?" questioned Natsumi after calculating the distance.

"Yeah. It's out of the way and a perfect place to lay low for a couple of days." he said before he gathered everyone close and teleported them all to Kamui, his own body following soon after.

A couple of minutes later Seiryu and Takashi were both donning the Neo Akatsuki cloak and stood side by side with their new comrades while Genkaku, Naoshi, Ryūzetsu, Toneri and Kaguya stood behind them ready to be teleported.

"Alright, we'll be going to the Valley of the End. We're gonna lay low there for a while so mask your chakra signatures." said Nagato over his shoulder once to inform everyone of their destination.

Once he got a nod of confirmation from everyone he opened the vortex and teleported them out of the dimension and right onto the patch of grass before the waterfall dividing Fire Country and Rice Country. On the left side towards Fire Country sat the massive statue of Hashirama Senju, the First Hokage, and on the left in Rice Country, representing his defection from his home village of Konohagakure, stood Madara Uchiha.

"Nice place." said Torazame after taking in their surroundings.

"This valley was formed as a result of the battle between those two men, Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha. Hashirama emerged victorious and went on to govern Konoha without his friend." said Nagato as he picked himself a spot on the grass and sat himself down, his eyes exhausted after using Kamui for so long.

"Wow...I can only imagine how epic it was."

Suddenly they all stopped dead in what they were doing when two massive chakra reserves appeared above them, their mere presence sending chills down their spine and producing goosebumps. Slowly, with dry throats and fear slowly rising inside of their hearts, they turned and looked up at the two statues standing on either side of the waterfall, their senses telling them two people resided on top of their heads.

"It was indeed. Remember that night?"

"Yeah...exhilerating."

The two figures appeared over the edge of their heads and looked down onto them, the one standing on Madara's hand crossing his arms while the one on Hashirama's placed a hand on his hip and smiled. Nagato's eyes widened when he recognized the Konoha symbol engraved on the latter's forehead protector, and then the Sharingan present within the eyes of the former.

"Oh god." muttered Genkaku in total fear.

"It's them…" stuttered Nagato as he took a couple of steps back and clenched his jaw as adrenaline and terror shook him down to his core.

"Who?" asked Natsumi with a glance at him.

"The very same people those statues were modeled after. Hashirama Senju...and Madara Uchiha."

A/N Jutsu Translations

Satetsu Kaihō / Iron Sand World Method

Shakuton - Taiyō shimetsu o kūdō / Scorch Release - Hollowing Sun Death