As requested, she informed her…unanticipated companion the moment the enemies approached the perimeter of the abandoned town. Without hesitation, he left the ruined building they used as shelter for the night and went to confront them in the main street and with her byakugan activated, saw with perfect clarity how he took care of the attackers with great ease.
The fights (more like warm-up stretches for the last Uchiha) did not last long. They were overwhelmingly one-sided that they didn't even last more than a minute for every group. He dealt with them using exceptional speed that all she saw was a dark blur, the wickedly sharp glint of his sword and streaks of blue and white lightning splitting the darkness of the night.
No wonder he said her speed sucked. With a grimace, she made a mental note to work more on it and included doing more research or experiments with her lightning affinity.
After watching lightning being used in action, she couldn't deny its strategic uses, especially for a close-range fighter like her. And, even if she won't be able to use it as effectively and efficiently the way Uchiha Sasuke does, there'd still be a lot of benefits for her
For example, if she's able to develop and use it to boost her speed, then it will make her attack and reaction time so much better. If she's able to manipulate it well and create something like a rope or even a sphere, she'd be able to use it as for mid-range attack or defense. If those failed and she's only able to coat her hands or fingers with it, just one jolt or touch with lightning to stun an enemy could give her enough time to effectively launch her juuken moves.
Yes, that's what she'd work on next. She's done some experimenting with Water Needles and the Gentle Step: Twin Lions First, there's no reason for her to hesitate or stop exploring other ways to improve herself.
…..
Uchiha Sasuke didn't kill the enemies—he merely incapacitated them. When it was all over, he performed the same jutsu he did on the two ninjas from earlier and once more she could only watch with wide eyes.
The first time he did it to the ninja from Ame, she didn't recognize it right away.
The scene had been disturbing. He put his hand on the nin's head then yanked something. At first, all she saw was some sort of apparition. But the the apparition took on the hazy shape of a human—and based on how it moved, it was as if it was in agony. That's when she just knew.
Souls. Uchiha Sasuke was yanking the souls almost out of the enemy ninjas' bodies through their head. And if his words from earlier were to go by—about doing better interrogation than those of the Yamanaka Clan—then what he's doing only meant one thing: he's accessing the minds or the memories of the defeated men. And to add to the horror, they all died shortly after the last Uchiha performed the technique.
It's a terrifying thing to think about—having your soul literally in the hands of another. She hoped she never gives the man reason to subject her to the same situation as he has done to their enemies.
"Hyuuga, does your mission include search and destroy?" the dark-haired asked after he released the body of his jutsu's last victim—the poor man already in his death throes.
"No. We were tasked only to do reconnaissance—to gather information on possible bases or hideouts, assess their numbers and the threat they pose and find out possible key figures involved in the operation. Why, did you discover vital information?" Hinata warily asked.
"I'll discuss it with the team tomorrow. Go to sleep Hyuuga, you need to have your chakra replenished. We'll need it for your byakugan," the heterochromatic-eyed man responded before effectively ending the conversation by going back to his previous spot and closing his eyes.
…..
After a few hours of silently traveling the borders of Amegakure under heavy rains, they were able to finally reach the modest inn chosen as their meeting point. To Sasuke's annoyance, the loudmouth Inuzuka immediately accosted them when they entered the small diner, not even giving them the chance to get warm and take a meal first.
"Hinata! Are you well? Why are you with Uchiha? Did he do something to you?" the Inuzuka fired question after question at the Hyuuga after giving him a nasty glare.
"I am well Kiba-kun. I unexpectedly ran into Uchiha-san while fighting some attackers. He has…he has helped me a lot and he's here to assist us further," the Hyuuga responded calmly.
"What?! This is our mission. Why the hell is he suddenly inserting himself?" the Inuzuka growled.
"I am curious to know the reason for Uchiha-san's presence. Why? Because Hokage-sama did not mention about you joining us," the normally quiet Aburame stated coolly.
Sasuke sneered at the uncouth, beast-like man. Leave it to the idiot Inuzuka to act as like a territorial dog. He never did like Inuzuka, Kiba. He was like Naruto, only a lot more annoying. It was good to know that the stoic Aburame at least has more sense.
If he had his way, he would've gone to the enemy's base with the Hyuuga alone. Her eyes would have been enough help to scout and get the layout of the base and the number of enemies inside and he could handle the fighting.
There were young children involved however—children who are likely weak and severely traumatized from their ordeals and would need escorts while traveling and thus the need to work with the rest of the Hyuuga's reconnaissance team.
"Kiba-kun, Uchiha-san has…interrogated…gathered information from the enemies we encountered and he's here to share those with us. So please, calm down," Hyuuga Hinata gently explained, predictably playing peacemaker and making Sasuke smirk a little.
"Aa, now I want to hear what Sasuke has to say," Sai said with his usual creepy smile.
"Oi Sai! This bastard—"
"Kiba," the Aburame's cold voice cut his teammate off, "As team leader, I'll make the decision and I, too, want to hear what he has to say."
The Inuzuka bared his fangs angrily but backed down so he decided to cut to the chase.
"Hyuuga was attacked by several rogue ninjas and the pursuit ended in the small abandoned town I was staying at for the night. I got information from them. The Aburame and the Yamanaka children, the ones considered MIA—they're alive but being tortured and experimented on for their clan's hidden techniques. There are other children involved too, some of them no doubt from other villages."
As one, the faces of the members of the recon team turned grave and they all now turned their attention on him.
"And have you found out their location, Sasuke?" Sai asked.
"Yes, it's close to the abandoned town Hyuuga and I left," Sasuke replied then added, "Hyuuga said the mission did not include search and destroy. I don't know about any of you but there are children being used as guinea pigs right now and with all the men we killed last night, the rest of these bloodline thieves might panic and make hasty decisions and kill them to hide their tracks while you go report and await decision or reinforcements from Konoha."
Silence reigned for a short while before the Aburame spoke up, "I assume, Uchiha-san, you didn't come here just to deliver this information but also to offer your assistance in storming that base."
"Hn. I could have gone there with just Hyuuga. Her eyes would've been enough to take down the enemies inside but the children might need additional protection during the fight as well as require escorts for the travel back to the village."
"Then I believe there's nothing else for us to do but get those children to safety," Shino said with a decisive nod.
The Inuzuka and the Hyuuga nodded their heads in agreement, faces both showing fierce determination while Sai immediately pulled out his paintbrush, a blank scroll and ink and started writing.
"I'll send word to Hokage-sama about our intended course of action, just to be on the safe side," the former Root agent explained.
"Eat and rest then Hinata, Uchiha-san. Tonight we'll proceed."
…..
"Weirdo, your drawing sucks. It is ugly and confusing to look at," Sai commented casually while watching the Hyuuga draw the layout of the enemy's base while also using her byakugan to conduct long-range stakeout, "Perhaps you should just tell me what you see and I'll draw it for you. What you're doing right now might just lead us all to our deaths."
The Hyuuga's face flushed in embarrassment while the Inuzuka snickered at the remark. "Yeah Hina, Sai's right. The lines all look like either squiggly worms or chicken scratches to me."
With pursed lips, the Hyuuga returned the drawing materials to the artist and focused herself on observing and providing the necessary information to make a map of their target location.
Sasuke simply listened and observed his companions in silence.
While the Hyuuga spied on the base 20 kilometers away from them, Aburame Shino was also busy sending out his little bugs to gather more information.
Excluding Sai, this was the first time Sasuke has ever interacted with Team 8 on a mission. In truth, he could only barely remember Team 8 from their genin days. To him then, they were just a bunch of…well…weirdos.
The Aburame always wore a huge jacket and dark shades, barely talked and used bugs. The Hyuuga wore a huge jacket, eschewed interactions especially with loud people and stuttered and blushed a lot. The Inuzuka also wore a huge jacket, kept a pet dog in his pockets that also made him smell like one and was just overall grating on his nerves. And their jounin-sensei? He couldn't even remember.
They're a forgettable team. He knew they existed but did not make enough waves to really make a mark. Looking at them now, he could say that they made a far more cohesive team than Team 7 based on their interaction with each other but—all sensory ninjas in one team? Whoever put them in one cell did them great disservice. He's sure having the same specialization did not do them any favors when it came to developing their strengths. He could only hope that with their jounin status, they'd be able to do well in the upcoming fight.