Chapter 65: Captured!
Natsume's descent was unaided by chakra so as not to alert any nearby experts. Therefore, it took her a bit longer than normal to reach the valley. As she got closer, she saw the valley was already being covered in a layer of volcanic ash. This, combined with the blocking of sunlight caused most of the vegetation that was transplanted to the valley to die. Only the native mosses and shrubs persisted.
The river in the valley was flowing rather quickly. Looking at the depth of the river she had an idea of the issue here. The valley was probably underwater at one point. However, someone expanded the opening or narrowed the source to control the flow. Once the lava covered the valley and reshaped the mouth, it would flood this place once again. Ultimately, it would destroy everything in its path.
Since no one had noticed her yet, she decided to go up the side of the volcano. It did not take long to reach the top since the volcano itself was not very tall. She could not tell what time of day it was, but the level of light was already waning. The small amount of light that could break through the ash in the sky was already gone. Only the glow of the lava and torches in the valley remained.
Peering down from the edge of the volcano's opening, she saw a large sunken section of the volcano spitting out the lava and ash. She jumped down and a layer of volcanic ash was propelled into the air. She coughed and took a cloth to cover her face. Natsume got close to the plume and stared at the phenomenon. It was very hot where she stood, and despite her chakra, she started sweating.
The ash rising up mesmerized her. She had a flash back of her encounter in the Land of Rice Paddies. The inferno that she released on the people caused a similar thing to happen. At that time, she didn't think anything about it. However, staring at the ash, she began to think about the small cycle she had witnessed. However, before she could delve deeper into the mysteries of nature, she heard a commotion.
"Hey? Who's there? This is a forbidden zone by the daimyo's order, surrender yourself!" The voice sounded out from above and Natsume frowned. "Don't think about running you are already surrounded." Natsume stood there and waited. However, she noticed no one dared to use any ninjutsu. She looked behind her and realized the situation. Unfortunately, she couldn't spare anymore time here.
The air was already thin as it was, and with the heat and ash, she was already starting to get light headed. She picked out the weakest chakra signature and charged at him to break through their formation. Having expected this, several earthen walls came out to block and trap her. However, she took advantage of their defensive stance and quickly slipped into the side of the volcano with her subterranean travel. When they realized what happened, she was already out on the other end.
"The enemy is heading down the slope!" Someone shouted, causing all the shinobi to mobilize. Most of the shinobi came from the direction of the structures in the valley, creating a small opening going deeper into the valley. Natsume didn't hesitate and directly ran that direction. The group eventually converged and were chasing directly behind her. She began to prepare a jutsu to stop them, but realized that her internal chakra flow was a mess.
The ash that she accidentally inhaled was causing her breathing to be irregular. She could barely maintain her speed, let alone use a wide area attack. With regret, she prepared to activate her Sharingan when she saw the small waterfall at the end of the valley. There was a small opening at the top where the water was coming from, and she had an idea. Natsume ran directly toward the waterfall and pulled out several explosive kunai.
"No! Stop her!" Her assailants were close enough to make out her silhouette and see the explosives. Someone instantly guessed what her intention was. Several weapons flew toward her, but she had already thrown the kunai. Seeing someone had aimed for the kunai themselves, she regrettably jumped in front of the shuriken and slashed her arm as she blocked it. She positioned herself in the alcove behind the waterfall and explosions rang out.
Rocks tumbled down barely missing Natsume. At first, there was no change, the water even halted. Seeing this, some of the shinobi laughed at her misfortunate. But then the mountain behind her slightly rumbled and a massive torrent of water shot out the hole, blasting away the unprepared. The others were met with a flurry of shuriken, forcing them to jump into the water to avoid them. Seeing everyone being washed down the river, Natsume chuckled to herself.
She coughed a few times and leaned against the wall to recover. However, she did not expect an arm to suddenly reach out from the wall behind her and hook around her body. At first, she thought it was one of her pursuers but became confused when saw the thick arm covered in fur. As soon as she was pinned to the wall by the arm, a puff of smoke hit her face and she was knocked unconscious. The figure pulled Natsume into the wall as if it were air, and she vanished from sight.
Meanwhile, the water gushed out from the opening that Natsume created. It seemed that whatever had been holding it back was destroyed and the vengeful mountains were unleashing their wrath. The valley was quickly filled with water and all the plant life was submerged. Any buildings that weren't sturdy enough were instantly demolished. The others began to sink into the soft riverbed. The lava began to congeal as it made contact with the new river, creating several volcanic boulders which dropped into the river.
Anyone that was in the valley either died or was washed away.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Pengincognito
Pengincognito Cliff hanger, while resting on a cliff. Isn't that poetic?
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone