"Byakugan!"
Hinata searched along the route they had taken, but despite her efforts, she could find no sign of Shikamaru, Tenten, or the others.
Just as Hinata was about to tell Naruto the news with a grave expression,
her gaze suddenly sharpened. In a clearing roughly a mile away, she saw clear signs of a fierce battle.
That stretch of the route was precisely where their team had split up earlier.
After telling Naruto about the traces she had found, Hinata searched the surrounding area again for their teammates.
With the information Hinata had provided, Naruto nodded. "You can stop looking, Hinata. They probably already headed back."
"Okay."
Only then did Hinata deactivate her Byakugan.
Meanwhile, Sasuke, who lay exhausted on Naruto's back, asked quietly, "Naruto, did you learn all those moves you used against Gaara from the Pervy Sage?"
Hearing the dejection in his question, Naruto nodded. "More or less."
"Oh."
Sasuke said nothing more, but scenes from that extraordinary battle kept replaying in his mind.
If only I had that kind of power...
About forty minutes later, Naruto and the others made it back to the outskirts of the village.
Before they even reached the main gate, the three of them could see black smoke rising from Konoha's buildings in the distance.
"Was there a large-scale battle in the village too?" Hinata asked worriedly at the sight.
"It looks that way, but it seems only some buildings were damaged."
Naruto nodded as he spoke, then walked straight through the Konoha Gate.
Seeing the bodies of numerous Konoha, Sand, and Hidden Ninja lying in the streets, Hinata grew even more worried about her clan. She hurriedly said goodbye to Naruto and rushed toward her clan's compound.
"Naruto, let's go home too."
Sasuke had depleted a great deal of chakra.