Breakthrough

That night, Natsume thought about the words the old lady had said to her. She knew from her memories that a combination of all elements and yin-yang would form the devastating truth-seeking balls. However, this power was resisted with senjutsu. Which made Natsume wonder why that was the case. When she was in the process of taking in Nature energy, it felt that the energy in her body was competing with Nature energy, refusing to come to balance.

'What is Nature energy? What is chakra?' She thought. Her fundamental knowledge was very scarce since the knowledge was not passed down as much as the technique to utilize chakra. However, her memories contained a lot of theoretical, future knowledge of these concepts. The old lady suggested that her emotions were impeding her growth. However, this seemed contrary to everything she understood as an Uchiha.

Natsume spent the whole night going back and forth on this thought. It wasn't until the sun rose and people began waking that she broke out of her state. She got up and walked over to the caravan leader. "Thank you for accommodating me. I will remember your company when I return to Kai Prefecture."

"Official Shingen, you are too kind! It is my honor to do business with you." Natsume did not like this man's type. It was clear that he indulged in life to the detriment of those around him. However, his business seemed legitimate, so she made a promise on Takeda's behalf.

"Then I'll be off." Natsume gave him a nod and headed toward the gates. There were several civilians already attempting to enter but were coldly rejected. When Natsume approached, they began to turn her away until someone seemed to recognize her. She was brought up to the main watchtower to meet with the leader.

"Takeda Shingen of Kai Prefecture?" The man looked up at Natsume as she entered. She nodded and took out her identification and official seal. Seeing her reach into her robe, one of the warriors struck out at Natsume. She felt the dense killing intent, but used her sheer force of will to ignore it as if she had not sensed it at all. Giving away herself here would be problematic. Seeing how Natsume didn't even react to the attack, the captain motioned for the man to stop. Only then did Natsume turn and jump in 'surprise.'

"I… I am just taking out my papers." Seeing the items in her hand, the man nodded and returned to his post. The captain was satisfied and gestured Natsume to step closer. He compared the materials to his records and confirmed the identity.

"Welcome home, Official Shingen. The daimyo has requested I send all officials directly to his side to aid in relief. Would you like an escort?"

"I would like to return to Kai Prefecture first to assess the situation and settle affairs." She hadn't expected a summons, but she was quick to react without revealing any flaws. The captain nodded as if he had expected this.

"Kai Prefecture has not been affected by the plague as of yet. However, I warn you to avoid contact with any sick-looking people. The deadline for the summons is a week, anyone that does not show up will be charged with treason."

"Understood." Natsume nodded and the captain didn't see her out. The warrior that attacked her took her to the other side of the gate and set her on her way. She traveled on foot for several hours. Based on the location of the prefecture, it would not take long to reach. Since it was an important trade route, it was naturally established near the border. It did not take long for patrolling warriors to run into her. After confirming her identity, they drove her back to the Government Office.

"Shingen-dono, we have arrived." Natsume peaked out the side of the covered cart and saw a bustling town.

"I'll walk the rest of the way. Thank you." She got off and explored the town first before going to the Government Office. The people in the main lobby immediately stood up and greeted her. She returned their greetings politely and continued on her way. When she entered the office, she saw a busy child not much older than her working hard on the backlogged paperwork.

"Big Brother! You are back." She got up and ran up to her. Natsume smiled down at the child. Seeing the look on her face and how close she was, Natsume instinctively reached out and ruffled her hair. She didn't resist and even pushed up into her hand as she did it.

"You're done well while I've been gone. However, I have to leave once more. The daimyo has summoned all the officials. I've already written out instructions for you to follow."

The girl nodded and took the scroll. She read through some of it and had a grave expression. "I will get on it right away."

Natsume smiled and left. As she left the building, the assistant smirked and leaned back in the chair. Her sweet and cute expression changed to a deep and calculating one.

Meanwhile, Natsume was already looking for a fast ox cart to take her to the daimyo's castle. The best she could find was one that would get her there in five days. She frowned but it was the safest choice. She paid the teamster five days salary and got in the carriage. She decided to use the travel time to continue sifting through memories and decoding senjutsu.

Eventually she discovered the fuinjutsu used on the future Indra reincarnation. The user seemed to be related to Ryuchi Cave based on his features resembling Tagitsuhime in her partial snake form. This seemed to be a good source of knowledge for senjutsu so she gathered up all the memories of this person and the curse seal.

However, she discovered that the person in question was unable to master senjutsu, but developed an experiment which exposed the user to small amounts of Nature energy over time until they became adept at controlling it. The cost was a grotesque physical change brought on by the blood of a rare clan. She would not delve down this path, but the idea of using fuinjutsu to control the flow of Nature energy was interesting. She could slowly adapt to Nature energy over time with this.

Suddenly, ideas started to fill her mind and five days passed in an instant. She barely took breaks to eat and drink, and never left the carriage.