Ambush!

"Daiymo-sama!" Natsume decided to speak up since she didn't want to be stuck in her fake role. She had to get the real Takeda back. Seeing one of the officials dare to speak up, everyone parted to reveal her to the daimyo. He didn't seem upset, but just impatient waiting for her to speak. "Please allow us to accept the refugees and merchants at the border! This will greatly improve our funds and show the other powers we have everything under control."

Everyone held their breaths when they heard her words. Closing the borders was a direct order from the daimyo, what Natsume was suggesting was a direct challenge to his order. However, the bloodshed they expected didn't come. The daimyo simply patted his knee and pointed her out. "Good! Whoever takes in refugees will be responsible for their actions. Shingen of Kai prefecture, is it? You have a bright future, don't disappoint me!"

After that, the daimyo saw no one else had anything to say and left with his escort. The officials were made to stay the night before leaving, and many were envious of Takeda. Since the daimyo said those words, it meant that he took on a lot of risk. But with that, came a lot of potential gains. After the war, he may even be promoted. Becoming the daiymo's right-hand man would make those jealous neighbors seethe in anger.

Natsume didn't know any of these undercurrents she just wanted to get the real Takeda back so she could drop the disguise. The active lava flow interested her more than anything. Although she had developed a lava style, she was still unable to use the lava jutsu that she saw from her memories. Her intuition told her that observing nature would give her some insight. While she was there, she would even consider lending a hand if it was possible.

The next morning, when the officials gathered once more before heading out of the fortress, it was discovered that two were missing. No one asked any questions, since their fate was already known. The daimyo's shinobi took them out of the castle and into carriages that were prepared for them. Natsume noticed that, although the coachmen were dressed as regular civilians, they were well trained killers. She got into her carriage and prepared to do another five days of theorizing fuinjutsu.

She was a bit more concerned with acting since the person driving her was also monitoring her, so she made an effort to exit the carriage, stretch her legs, and have meals outside. Because of this, the trip lasted longer than before but it also gave her more time to scan her memories for various things. Natsume's was able to find a series of memories about the creator of the curse seal.

Due to his inability to master senjutsu, and his endless thirst for immortality, Orochimaru did many awful things to children. The first experimental subject of the curse seal was his student, but the seal was underdeveloped and only increased her abilities overall. It did come with emotional instability that came from the sage transformation bloodline, but without the mutations. After several failures, only the future Indra reincarnation, an Uchiha, was able to master the power of the curse seal.

What confused her was the seal seemed to draw in more Nature energy the more emotional the user became. Instead of petrifying the user, it mutated them. It was fair to assume that the bloodline protected the user from petrification, but an Uchiha without Mangekyou Sharingan was able to use Nature energy, albeit unknowingly. Her pride bubbled up and she took it as a challenge.

Suddenly, she was very excited to begin training again. Natsume couldn't wait to get back to the prefecture, bring the real Takeda back, and flee into the mountains. Counting the days, she should be back tomorrow. However, it seemed her fate with trouble was inexhaustible. The carriage suddenly stopped, and Natsume sensed a dozen chakra signatures around them. She sighed and wondered who would dare take action against a carriage marked with the daimyo's insignia.

"Captain, I'm sorry. You can leave, but we must take the person inside." One of the people from the encirclement stepped forward and addressed the coachman. Natsume heard a light chuckle from the coachman and his chakra exploded out from concealment. She was momentarily surprised. His chakra reserve was on the peak of high-rank. Depending on his skills, he could easily compete with top-ranked shinobi.

"So strong! You did not tell us he was so powerful. This isn't worth it!" The man that spoke immediately ran away to which the coachman made some hand seals and deeply inhaled before blowing out forming a bullet of air which instantly closed the distance between the fleeing mercenary and his blood splattered all over the rocks. He didn't even have a chance to defend himself.

"Fool, this is the legendary Wind Assassin, Takashi Ito. Don't turn your back to him, or you're dead." The leader warned the rest of the mercenaries and they lost their will to flee. Natsume raised her eyebrows at the commotion. She didn't see the effect, but she saw his chakra flow. The coachman had such fine control!

Suddenly, several long-ranged attacked came from the mercenaries which ranged from weapons to jutsu. The carriage started to get pelted and broken in various places while it jostled around. However, Natsume just calmly sat and waited for the outcome. Takashi did not waste any time and amassed a significant amount of chakra.

"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!" All of the weapons were suddenly redirected, and some unlucky shinobi were hit by the ricochet. Those who were struck and let their guard down suddenly found their consciousness slipping as several air bullets penetrated their skulls. Like this, half of the mercenaries were taken out, but Takashi had also expended a lot of chakra.

"It's over, captain. You only have a few more shots left in you. You can still leave here with your life!" The man tried to persuade him again. Although Takashi was quickly exhausting himself, any random attack could end someone's life. No one wanted to be the first to step forward.