... this man didn't even know what chakra was, apparently, despite the increasingly-massive amount of it swirling around him. Wherever he'd come from and whatever his goal had been, there was no way that Sasuke could simply let him go free at this point, even if he didn't seem to want to cause harm.

Though want didn't sound like it factored into it. Blood, Sasuke heard, hand nearly flinching up toward his sword at the movement before he realised it wasn't threatening.

If anything, the stranger looked pained, and the words ... Sasuke had seen and experienced interrogation techniques by now, and he'd learned that the best questioning didn't actually happen in the course of pain, but after. Even if the man tried to give an explanation, the fear running through his system would likely garble it more than not.

That made time their most valuable resource, Sasuke's jaw set as he scanned the horizon for -- there was Hoori's silhouette, circling down to land on the arm he stretched out. "There's a hidden cave close by, less than two hundred metres' walking. There's no one in that area right now, but you'll need to keep it in check until we get there."

They were deep enough in the woods that it would take a significant commotion to draw attention, but with that amount of unharnessed chakra, Sasuke had no interest in taking chances. He gauged the tension in the form in front of him, frowning, and added in the voice he'd learned to use when commanding a team: "I have no intention of allowing you to hurt anyone before we reach it. Or after."