Blanket Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. This applies to …. Forever or when I can earn a bazillion dollars to buy the copyrights to it.

A/N: This is a SHORT chapter. Be forewarned. It's just a transition. Oh, I have a compendium to this story with side-stories, omakes, drabbles, etc. just in case you are interested.

Whoo hoo! 3500 hits! Thanks to DarvsLight for their constant support!

Chapter 8: The Beginning of the Chase

Ino tugged her ponytail. "Well, I guess we should start on how Satake discovered who we were. During the fight, he said something about Naruto's face."

Naruto wiped his face with his hands and rubbed his cheek. "Ahh, that explains it. He must have seen the whiskers and deduced it's me. Make-up must have run off after the hike in the desert."

FLASHBACK

Hirose was sweating profusely under his cloak. Looking to his left, Chima and Saho wasn't faring any better. On his right, Fuji was the picture of misery. Damn he must be boiling in that black cloak! Let's see if we can get his mind off the current weather conditions. "Hey Fuji! Remind me to tell my father to send someone to make an oasis around here. It's a strategic place to put it."

Fuji glared at him. "An oasis here would be totally unadvised. It is not along any of the pathways of commerce, nor is it an ideal location for anything else. It's too close to the city."

Hirose smiled at the man. "Well, I guess I should listen to you, since you are the lowly advisor."

Fuji glared at him, but before he could reply, Hirose started to laugh. "Oh, look, never mind Fuji. Here's an oasis right here. And it was on the map. Guess we should have looked at it first. Shall we have some fun?" Looking at Chima and then glancing at Satake, he said, "I have a surprise for you Satake-san. I see you've an interest in my sweet Chima. Why don't you sit over there and get a taste of what Chima can do."

Chima walked up to Satake shyly and looked at the man straight in the eyes, before getting out her whip which was hidden in her cloak. "Get on your knees and beg." She accentuated the phrase with a lash of her whip. I can't believe I'm doing this! Sigh, the sad part is that I know what I'm doing. I've been reading too much of Kakashi's books. Never should have opened the one entitled: Icha Icha Sasuke's Beloved. Who could have resisted though! Jiraya-sama is quite a talented writer. I can't believe the stories were so good. Anyways, back to the act. I'll get Naruto for this! "You want me? Well, you have to work for it!" With another lash of her whip, Chima stood behind Satake and tied up his hands. Going in front of him, she took off her cloak to reveal leather. It's so hot! I can't believe I was forced to wear this! At least I've bound him.. She then walked to Satake again and tied up her slave's legs. Satake was in awe. Shaking his head, he realized his predicament too late.

Ino was behind Sakura doing some hand seals. Once Sakura was out of her line of site, she delivered the jutsu. "Shinranshin no Jutsu"She was immediately tossed back and returned to her body. "What the?" As Satake started to slump. Sakura reinforced the binds. At the pressure, Satake's figure was replaced by a log. "Dammit! Kawarimi no Jutsu?"

Sasuke immediately activated Sharingan and began searching the surroundings. Catching a blue blur at the edges of the oasis, Sasuke immediately pursued followed by Naruto and the other two women. After hours of searching, the team returned to their room to discuss possible plans to track the target. Packing up and leaving, in their travel clothes and ninja garb, the group headed outside of town. At the outskirts of town, they found Satake.

Ino sashayed up to Satake and coyly waved. "Satake-san, we were worried that you had left without us. There's still SO much more fun to be had together." Accentuating the sentence with a matting of eyelashes and a licking of lips, Ino ran her hands along Satake's arms preparing to grab him.

Satake immediately withdrew into fighting stance. "I know who you are. You're here to capture me. There's no way that's going to happen!" With a flurry of signs and a puff of smoke, Satake was gone.

Naruto whistled. "Suki, track him!" Out from the corner of their eyes, a small red fox appeared. She sniffed around and yipped. Taking off, the team started to follow. "What the hell happened! How did he know…." Naruto was interrupted by an explosion.

Sakura looked around for her companions. "Is everyone okay? Anyone hurt?"

Ino was dusting herself off and Naruto was digging himself out of the sand. Sasuke stood nearby scanning the horizons. "There are quite a number of traps laid out for us. Be careful." With that said, he took off in the direction that Suki headed.

It was nightfall and there was still no sign of Satake. The chase had led them to the outskirts of a forest. Tired and with no other signs of Satake, the group set camp. Ino was preparing dinner over the fire. "I haven't seen any traps, are we going the right way?" She looked up to Naruto.

Naruto was lying on his back looking into the night, Suki was curled up next to him. "Suki still smells his scent here. It's not as strong, but it's the only scent identified. The bastard must know the countryside well to get so far ahead of us."

Sakura was examining each of her companions for injuries and checking on their health status. "From what the scroll says, Satake is quite powerful. If we have to fight him, we have to be at our strongest. Eat now and then rest. I'll take first watch."

The rest of the group ate and went to sleep.