Counterattack

Natsume woke up in a medical wing at the main Uchiha building. Kono stood nervously at the side looking over at Natsume. When she noticed that Natsume was waking, she called over to one of the guards. The first thing that Natsume experienced was agonizing pain all over her body. It felt as if she was crushed by a mountain. Although any major damage was prevented by the timely net, the initial impact had caused many of her tendons and muscles to tear.

Fortunately, she received timely treatment, or it would have been a major problem in the future. She didn't dare move a muscle and just rested. Several people stepped into her ward to see the one who caused such a huge commotion. After getting a peak, everyone was ushered out by Tajima. He was still wearing his red plated armor from the battlefield.

"Uchiha Natsume, do you realize the chaos you created?" He spoke with a stern, admonishing voice. Natsume gulped and uttered 'sorry' in a weak voice. Not even able to finish due to the dryness of her mouth. The heat wave that blasted back to her had caused some minor burns on her skin which inadvertently dehydrated her body.

"We were battling at the border of the land of wind. When our scouts reported your explosion, the enemies also learned of it. Do you understand what that means?" Natsume was about to cry and Tajima was about to continue when Kono stepped in.

"That's enough. Stop teasing her. Yes, she should be admonished for causing a ruckus so close to the complex, but don't make her think we took a loss in the war!" Kono couldn't take it anymore. She was aware of the light in Natsume's heart, and it would rip her apart if she thought she caused clan deaths.

"She will need to confront this problem eventually. There will be losses, and she will blame herself. It's best to get it out of the way now. However, Kono is right. Because of the explosion, there was an incorrect report from the enemy spies. They believed we were being assaulted by another clan. Therefore, they charged ahead and were easily pushed back with heavy losses.

After they retreated, we returned to check on the clan when we encountered the Sarutobi Clan on the way. They were preparing a secret assault on the clan… We quickly beat them back as the inferior minor clan they are, and successfully routed them all. This is likely the battle that marks the end of the war. The Land of Wind daimyo will be paying us a handsome reward for ending it early and winning."

Natsume felt her tensed muscles relax finally upon hearing the news. Her experiment was a pure accident, but luck was on her side. Although she believed the clan would have won regardless, this at least minimized the casualties. And now she had a new Jutsu to work on. According to what she heard from the onlookers, the destructive power was on par with the high-rank Jutsu in the clan archives.

"Alright, rest up. Your punishment for going derelict in your duties to protect Kono is to not receive any merit for the victory tonight. Do you understand?"

Natsume let out a light whisper 'yes.' Tajima had finished everything he wished to do and began to step out. However, he turned his head and added the carrot. "As for the reward for creating a new high-rank Jutsu… it should be no less than the military merit." Then, he disappeared from the ward.

'He is truly a great leader.' Natsume thought to herself. She had read a lot about the previous Uchiha clan leaders, and Tajima is not the strongest amongst them, but his intellect is among the highest. He knows how to utilize his subordinates, divvying out rewards and punishments fairly. It is no wonder that he held his position at such a young age.

"How did it feel?" Kono walked over with wonder in her eyes. Natsume understood the desire. It was too late for her to become a shinobi as she missed the best time to grow her chakra reserves. However, she gave a sidelong glance. Kono brought a jug of water to Natsume's mouth and let her drink a bit. Feeling the moistness return to her throat, the hoarse feeling was lifted.

"It was overwhelming. If I had the chakra reserves, it would've been much better." Natsume took some more sips but noticed the shocked look on Kono's face.

"Are you saying that the Jutsu you did was incomplete?" From what Tajima had told her while Natsume was unconscious, he was under the impression that Natsume successfully formed a new high-rank Jutsu. However, if what she is saying is true, then that could potentially be a top-rank Jutsu!

"En, it should be three to five times stronger than that, based on what I imagined. But I probably won't be able to successfully build up enough chakra for it for a decade."

Based on her growth and Hinako's estimates, Natsume should reach the middle of high-ranking in terms of chakra reserves by the time she is eighteen. Then, development will slow down, and it would likely take another ten years to reach top-ranking. However, she was convinced that Natsume would reach top-ranking one day.

"Well… at the very least, for now you can submit the weaker version and get your merit. You can exchange the merit for weapons or Jutsu!" Kono explained.

"Ano… I don't know how to formulate a scroll for the Jutsu. Although I weaved signs, there was something about it that I couldn't explain. It felt like the Jutsu naturally formed in response to my will." Hearing this, Kono scratched her head.

"I don't understand Jutsu that well since I'm not a shinobi, but Saki-san will certainly know! I'll return shortly."

Natsume laid down and used her perception to sense the injuries in her body. Seeing that they were all already mostly recovered, and the only problem was exhaustion and fatigue, she was relieved. Thinking back to the moment her chakra moved on its own, Natsume couldn't help but remember that strange dream she had. Something about it felt too real, as if it were a memory.