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Sasuke wasn't surprised that his plan was going according, well, to plan. His surprise came from the idea that Naruto was following it, and convincingly so. Sasuke, still transformed as Hinata, looked around in the empty, stone like cell he was inside. It was cold—not as cold as Hinata's other prison cell—but still...cold. There was no outward indication that told him of his location. The walls were stone, the floor was stone, the seat was stone. Everything around him was some steel or stone element—including the computer in the corner of the cell with wires hanging out from it. He assumed it was meant to further probe Hinata. However, he hadn't been linked to it in any sort of way. He looked down at his feet, that weren't his own, and lifted his heels back and forth.

Solid ground.

Wherever he was, there was nothing below him. Meaning he was most likely at the bottom of Takahashi's lair. He closed his eyes to try and get any sense of his surroundings, but he fell short. There was no chakra nearby, nor were there sounds to clue him in on his proper location. He had some idea on where he was... While he was being "kidnapped" from the camp site, he'd focused his energy on the speed and direction in which he was being taken. They were on that man made, steel island, without a doubt. He also remembered being carried deeper into the forest area before another boulder was lifted. Yet, it wasn't just a manual maneuver. One of Takahashi's men released a seal orally—and he was assuming—while also touching it. If Naruto was where he was supposed to be during this, he'd know how to enter the lair. However, he needed to wait a significant amount of time before infiltration. Sasuke wanted to try and understand the layout before their attack. Unfortunately, right when Sasuke entered through the sealed entrance, the man carrying him stopped and his sensed dulled, but only momentarily. He then woke up in this cell. The entire lair was still a mystery waiting to be solved... He was sure Naruto was solving the mystery on how to open the sealed entrance currently as well. For all Sasuke knew, Naruto was directly above him. Their beings only separated by the man made dirt above him.

He closed his eyes again, gripping the steel bars that kept him stuck in this location. He had to admit...his plan was going well and how he'd thought, but he at least expected some information to be leaked once he entered the hideout. He gripped the bars tightly, exposing his already pale hand to even paler knuckles.

He didn't want to fail a mission again. He wasn't used to failure, unless it involved Naruto, which this mission did.

He let go of his transformation...allowing himself to sink a bit. He was Sasuke now, not Hinata.

He sighed. Maybe he had got ahead of himself...maybe he should've let someone else accompany them...maybe Sakura would've had a clearer idea on how to capture Takahashi. She'd been dealing with him for the last month. But Sasuke's pride kept her out and pushed him and Naruto ahead, alone. It was selfish. It was hard to remember what teamwork meant; he'd been alone for so long. But, Naruto hadn't seemed opposed to the two of them completing the mission by themselves. Yes, he initially fought back, but, it was hard for him to win an intellectual argument against Sasuke. And, Sasuke knew, deep down, Naruto did want it to just be the two of them.

Their feelings were mutual in that sense.

Sasuke slammed his fist against the bars, releasing a low vibration through his arm. There was no jutsu in place, sealing him in... And while these bars were strong, so was he. The men probably assumed, because Hinata had been frozen and poisoned, that she wouldn't be free herself. It gave him a chance. His transformation actually did do the trick. He'd basically caught up on his rest and was at full power too. Finally...his belly was rumbling with excitement, ready to escape and fight alongside his comrade again. All he needed to do was...

Sasuke noticed a small stone seat at the end of the dark hallway. It was barely in his line of vision—the light source was near him and there wasn't another one until a greater distance away. This seat was on the cusp of darkness. He pressed his hair, covering his eyes, out of his face with a slightly bloody hand, and flashed his Rinnegan. In the flash of light, he swapped locations with the stone chair.