Chapter 24: Explosive Infiltration
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Genjutsu was still a major weakness of Natsume's so she let one of the others who was proficient lead the interrogation. The Hatake warrior was very easy to manipulate in her current state and she managed to determine the location of the joint camp of the Senju and Hatake. The only issue was that she discovered a big problem. The clan leader, Hashirama's father, was leading the charge.
Not much was known about Senju Butsuma from her memory, but she knew plenty from the clan archives. Butsuma was a master in kenjutsu to the point where he could compete against Tajima and his sharingan. Of the clan leaders she knew, only Uzumaki Ashina was older than him and still participated in active combat. Natsume finished off the Hatake warrior since keeping her alive at this point would be too risky. The knowledge of her Lava release was not known by anyone. Her subordinates thought she had just used fire and earth release separately.
However, Natsume suspected that Tajima knew of her kekkei genkai since she trained it openly in the clan's training field. If he didn't know it was specifically Lava release, he would have his suspicions. Since he didn't ask her about it, she wouldn't take the initiative to mention it. The fewer people that knew the better. This was her trump card and how she would make a name for herself.
Based on her memories, everyone remembered Hashirama, the first hokage. However, his most memorable moments were not his time as the first hokage, but his time fighting during the Warring States period. If Natsume wanted to take the mantle of the Uchiha clan in the future and protect them in the new ninja world, she needed to make a strong impression like Madara and Hashirama.
Looking at all the powerful figures of this time period, all were forgotten except for those two. This was likely due to the fact that they had done little combat for a long time, and once those two were grown up, their battles became the pinnacle. However, Natsume suspected that there were still more powerful people in the shadows. Their fame was a double-edged sword as it was likely one of the reasons Hashirama died despite his vigorous life force.
Her goal was to become the third figure in history to fight epic battles the likes of which were never seen in the ninja world. Completing her Lava release was the first step to completion. She sighed internally as her unit moved stealthily through the forest. Her biggest weakness was time. Much of her limitations were directly related to her body size and chakra reserves.
'Of course, when it comes to chakra reserves, there's one obvious solution…' Natsume pondered, but she didn't have the skills necessary for that route. As for using her Mangekyou with no regard? Impossible for her to justify it. Madara was fueled by hatred of losing his family and then being betrayed, so he had no qualms even if he went blind.
Natsume spotted the seemingly random marking on a tree and signaled her group. She flared her chakra in a specific pattern and then entered the area alone first. She was instantly surrounded by several armored Uchiha, but they didn't attack immediately. The chakra flaring was only to allow entry, once she was there, they verified her identity. After confirming, she continued forward to the center of the encampment.
"Natsume, I just finished reading your team's report." Tajima was standing over a large stone that had been flattened to use as a strategic table. The map of the area was spread out over it and various pieces were placed in different areas.
"Tajima-sama, we discovered the location of the Senju-Hatake joint camp. Based on its position I determined it would be better to report in person first." She scanned the map and compared it to the intel they gathered and pointed to a general region. Tajima pondered for a moment before signaling one of the Uchiha behind him. He whispered something to him, and the man nodded before bursting into a cloud of smoke.
While waiting for the man to return, Tajima made some movements of the pieces on the board. Suddenly, a crow flew into the camp and landed on the tree behind Tajima. He was calm, as he recognized the bird. He took the message from its beak and read it. After burning it, he smiled.
"It seems that good news comes in pairs. We just discovered a caravan with the Land of Fire's heraldry. They seem to be resupplying a base out in this direction." Tajima pointed at the spot where Natsume had shown earlier, "Jin!"
"Yes, Tajima-dono!" A Uchiha shadow appeared next to Tajima at the call.
"Gather all the Uchiha who have mastered concealment and transformation Jutsu." He had already formulated a plan. "Good work, Natsume. Return to patrolling the area."
Natsume hesitated for a moment before speaking, "Tajima-sama, I have also mastered transformation Jutsu…" She didn't want to reveal it since there was no way for her to have learned it. The Jutsu she had access to were all known by the clan. However, due to Hinako's teachings, there were some things that she could have learned beyond the clan's knowledge.
"Hm? Show me." She nodded and transformed to one of the Uchiha guards that had similar chakra reserves as her. As the smoke cleared, Tajime inspected her transformation with sharingan. He nodded a few times before signaling her to dismiss the Jutsu. Natsume released her transformation and awaited orders.
"Good, that is indeed nearly perfect. However, I was only able to spot mistakes with the sharingan. This should be sufficient for the mission. You may remain here and wait for everyone to gather."
Natsume nodded and kept her stoic expression, but inside she was proud. Many Uchiha began to gather until there were thirty in total. These were all the Uchiha who could reach a level of concealment with transformation Jutsu that was acceptable. Once everyone had arrived, Tajima began to explain the plan.
"This caravan is delivering supplies to the Senju-Hatake camp in this area. Our goal this time is a quick and efficient ambush. Five top-rank warriors shall escort you thirty to ambush the caravan. If anyone escapes or sends a message out, this is considered a failure and you shall be punished. Once the caravan has been successfully cleared out, you will masquerade as Land of Fire shinobi and 'deliver' the supplies. However, what they shall find are thousands of explosive tags."
One of the guards handed out dozens of storage scrolls that were filled with explosive tags.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Pengincognito
Pengincognito Oh boy this is getting exciting. What do you think will happen? I'm getting goosebumps thinking about it.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone