The tracker team quickly ran home and collected any supplies that they needed before all meeting at training grounds like Neji ordered.
"This is the last known location of Akiyama Katsumi." Neji told them. "Kiba-san, Akamaru can you still pick up her scent?" Neji asked he and the rest of the team followed Kiba and Akamaru as they walked to the far training grounds.
"We can tell Naruto-kun was here but her scent is long gone, it rained this afternoon." Kiba told them a little disheartened.
"Well, it's clear that Sasuke didn't go through the gates to get out of the village." Neji stated as he walked towards the forest. "Let's carry on through the forest towards the fence." He added, they all nodded and followed Neji through the forest. Shino released some of his bugs to help Kiba and Akamaru pick up their scent.
Kakashi had given both Shino and Kiba an item of Katsumi's clothes that he had picked up while searching her apartment to help them identify her scent. Shino's bugs came back to him after scouting up ahead.
"There's a cave not far from here, my bugs say her scent is still strong." Shino told the group. They all quickly ran in the direction of the cave.
"Yeah her scent is still strong, he must have made camp here." Kiba told them. "Sasuke was defiantly here with her." He added just after Akamaru whimpered. Both Hinata and Neji activated their Byakugan, searching for any chakra signs up ahead.
"He must be just out of range, hurry." Neji told them. They all jumped into the trees, using their chakra to speed them along.
Katsumi had slowly woken up; she could feel herself being carried. Had something happened? Her eyes slowly opened; it took her a couple of seconds to realise Sasuke was running with her in his arms. She tried to scream but the material was muting the noise she made. Sasuke looked down as he heard a muffled scream from her. He held on tightly as she tried to break free from his grip.
"The more you struggle, the more you'll be punished." He hissed at her and she whimpered in response, stilling her moving limbs. Sasuke smirked at her obedience. "Good girl, but you'll still be punished for leaving me and telling Kakashi-sensei." He warned her. Katsumi could feel her tears trying to escape, she refused to cry anymore, and she wouldn't let him see her weaknesses anymore. "As for your little stunt, while you were at Kakashi's, I'm still to come up with a suitable punishment." Katsumi's eyes widened.
Would she survive this beating? She decided it would be best to obey his commands till she could escape; it would be hard to do if he decided to keep the chakra restraints on her.
He had to get to the Land of Rivers, to the old Akatsuki base before they were spotted. Even though a lot of the base had been decimated, it would still survive as a camp until he could get back into Fire Country without being attacked. He wanted to rebuild the Uchiha clan's original home.
The tracker team reached the fence.
"Who's there?!" A night watch guard shouted from his place on the fence, they had been on alert since Naruto had informed them of Katsumi's kidnapping.
"The tracker team Kakashi-sama sent to track Akiyama Katsumi and Uchiha Sasuke. I'm Hyūga Neji and team captain, ninja registration 012587." Neji told the guard who quickly checked the paperwork that had been handed out since.
"And the rest of your team are?" The guard then asked still looking at the paperwork. Clearly testing them, it appeared the night watch guards still believed Katsumi and Sasuke to still be in the village.
"Aburame Shino, Hyūga Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba and his nin-dog Akamaru." Neji informed the guard.
"You check out, why are you here tho?" The guard then asked confused.
"Katsumi-san and Uchiha's scent lead us in this direction, we'll check the fence this side." Neji explained. "Shino-san would your bugs be able to find a way through?" He then asked and Shino nodded, allowing his bugs to leave him.
Shino stepped up the fence and started to move shrubbery out of the way to reveal a large hole in the fence.
"Has anyone been passed here since morning?" Neji asked, the guard quickly looked through his log and shook his head.
"No one was spotted here." He told them. Neji thought for a moment.
"What about yesterday?" He asked the guard. "This hole had to have been here for some time." He added the guard took another look.
"The Uchiha was spotted wandering around. He told the guard on duty he was just taking a walk and hadn't realised how far he had wondered." The guard said and Neji frowned.
"He must have gotten out this way." Neji said to himself. "Get this hole sealed." Neji ordered. "We'll go through in case he's already slipped past you." He added as he stepped through the hole. The rest followed him and the guard went to inform someone to get the hole sealed.
Neji active his Byakugan and looked around, Sasuke must still be outside of their range. "Kiba-san can you smell anything?" He asked and Kiba shook his head while Akamaru whimpered. "Shino-san?" Neji looked at him and Shino shook his head.
"If we carry on this way, it'll lead us to the Land of Rivers." Hinata spoke up after a few seconds of silence.
"What's in the Land of Rivers?" Kiba asked confused why Sasuke would go in that direction. "I would have thought he'd go to the Land of Sound and use one of Orochimaru's old bases?" He added.
"Kakashi-sama would have sent out notice of Sasuke being a rouge ninja and of Katsumi's kidnapping so I doubt he'd go to Tanigakure." Neji reasoned. "He won't be able to go to Sunagakure either." He added.
"Isn't the old Akatsuki base in the Land of Rivers?" Shino asked it had been a long time since the attack on Gaara but he remembered an Akatsuki base in a neighboring country. "But I remember it being decimated." Shino added while he thought.
"It's not that far, Tanigakure. We'll head in that direction and see if we can pick up any clues. If we can't then we'll have to go back. Maybe not all of it was destroyed." Neji told them and they all jumped into the trees, running.