100 Late Night Exercise

Training methods of this era were cruel and involved practical experiences. According to her memories, the children of Konoha used a more sheltered approach to training. Natsume thought about the methods and felt they were feasible to teach Hikari some fundamentals. Natsume started to formulate a training routine in her mind while continuing to practice the One Sword technique. Hikari wasn't impatient and sat while watching Natsume train.

The thick overcast broke through at noon, allowing for the sun to cover the mountainside. Natsume hadn't seen the sun since she arrived, and it was especially bright. She unconsciously looked over at Hikari and saw her sticking her arms out as if she were absorbing the sunlight. It was a cute scene, but something strange caught her eye. At first glance, it was easily missed. But as she stared at Hikari's shadow, she saw it move on its own.

"Hime-sama."

"Yes, Meme-chan!" Hikari responded cheerfully but continued basking in the sunlight.

"Where was your mother from?"

"Mother? Father never mentioned it."

"I see."

From her memories, there was only one notable clan that could control shadows. If she had the natural affinity for controlling shadows even before her chakra was developed, then she could be a powerful shinobi in the future. However, Natsume had never heard of the Nara clan before receiving her memories. They were either a small, hidden clan… or they didn't exist yet. She would have to visit the spiritual forest near the future site of Konoha to confirm her suspicions.

Natsume plucked a blade of grass and blew it toward Hikari with her chakra. Hikari caught it and looked up with confusion.

"Stick it to your forehead and concentrate all of your chakra on that one point. If it falls, start over from the beginning."

In her memories, this training was said to be for chakra control, but one of the instructors mentioned that its true purpose was teaching concentration. For Natsume, she intended to distract Hikari for a while with this. Since she didn't set any criteria of completion, she would stall for as long as it was feasible. And if she learned a lesson on concentration and discipline, that would be a bonus.

Hikari immediately started "training" but couldn't even stick the grass to her forehead. Natsume turned away with satisfaction and restarted her training. It was time for her to try to combine the techniques once more. She reached a point where she couldn't progress anymore with her current understanding. After clearing her mind, Natsume swung the wooden sword at the dummy and easily sliced through it just like before. However, the slice was less jagged than before and instead of destroying the whole sword, only the leading edge that made contact with the dummy was vaporized.

Despite the improvements, this was just an illusion of progress. The fundamental technique of the One Sword wasn't even touched on. Natsume only refined the superficial steps to higher proficiency. She sighed and threw the wooden sword into the brazier. After inspection, the internal structure was also damaged so the sword would crack and break with a few swings. The technique proved to be harder to master than she expected, but it only made her more eager to learn.

Natsume noticed that no one had come by to light the braziers. There was a heavy stillness in the air around her. She narrowed her eyes and drew her sword. Hikari, who was busy focusing on the grass noticed the change as well. She looked over at Natsume and ran to the wooden walkway. She nearly vanished into the shadows as soon as she broke line of sight.

Clang!

Natsume pivoted her body and crossed her sword to block the oncoming attack. She kicked at the dark figure in front of her, sending him flying backward. Natsume didn't waste any time and followed up with a simple sword attack. Her chakra enveloped the sword causing it to hum. This was the first time she had achieved this state with the sword that had been by her side for years. The assailant burst out with chakra and desperately defended to no avail.

Blood splattered all over the ground. Before Natsume could follow up with another strike, another figure jumped in to attack her from over the wall. She sensed a higher threat from the second person, so she had to avoid the attack. The ground was cleaved in two where Natsume stood while the wounded person was pulled away by a third figure. Those two retreated while the stronger opponent faced Natsume alone.

They all wore masks so she couldn't tell who they were, but judging from the recent situation, they were likely associated with the Shogun, or an outside force looking to cause trouble. Since they came here, their target was the little princess of the Itto-ryu dojo. Natsume noticed the visibility drop around them to a pitch black. The previously clear sky had become overcast once more, blocking out any moon or starlight. They were now in total darkness.

Natsume didn't waste time and immediately activated her sharingan. Although it didn't grant her unimpeded vision in the night, it drastically enhanced her sight and even let her see the faint chakra glow from living creatures. This was all she needed to begin her counterattack. The dark figure noticed that Natsume had no problem in the dark when he felt her attack coming. He also noticed that her attacks were more precise than before.

After a few exchanges, the figure retreated a bit further and spoke for the first time, "You only just joined the samurai, but your skills are impeccable. Leave the dojo and serve the Shogun."

"Hah, the future has no Shogun." Natsume said in an arrogant tone. It sounded as if she were cursing him, but she was just speaking the truth. The man's chakra became restless from the provocation, and he increased his strength. Natsume began to feel pressure despite her sharingan.

At one point, he figured out that she was able to track his chakra flow, he began to feint with his chakra. This caused her to nearly lose an arm. Natsume retreated and gritted her teeth. She calmed herself and exhaled deeply. Her chakra surged to the first and second gates in her head, pushing them open with ease. Since it was the first time she released her gates, the surging strength caused her control to plumet. Natsume sheathed her sword and began to use the Monkey Geri deeply ingrained in her muscles to fight the dark figure.

Noticing the surge of strength from Natsume, the man started to focus on defending. The nature of Monkey Geri was being ruthless and relentless, so she never gave him a chance to flee. Every time an opening was created, Natsume would appear along the path and knock him back once more. The man quickly exhausted his strength as Natsume approached her limit. She put everything into her next attack, and it proved to be fatal for the man. His body slammed into the stone wall, leaving a deep human shaped impression.