New Plan

Hundreds of people were instantly turned to ash as they were swallowed by the inferno. The grass and ground turned molten, and the sky was filled with a column of white smoke. The smoke blotted out the sky and ash began to rain down around her. The susano'o was barely able to withstand the inferno but the heat emanating round her caused her hair to get sweaty and plastered to her neck.

She looked around the battlefield and saw there were some shinobi who survived due to luck and quick reactions. However, they had lost most of their body mass from the flames they were caught up in. She walked over after withdrawing her susano'o and used their own weapons to finish them off. She heard some people mumbling.

"Onryo…" "Stay away…" "Forgive me…" "Shinigami…"

After killing all the survivors, she walked back to the small shack that had been torched to the ground. She saw a small piece of fabric float in the air in front of her and took the remaining ribbon on her other pigtail. It had turned red from all the blood, but she didn't care. She tied her hair up in a ponytail and let her bangs fall down over her face. She gave one last look at the ash rain and used Fuchikoma to send herself away.

When she appeared, several Uchiha came out to surround her. When they saw her cold face and clothes covered in blood, they became nervous. They didn't immediately recognize Natsume until they saw her eyes. Natsume ignored the Uchiha and took out the scroll from her robes. She released the seal and put on her black Uchiha cloak and placed her sword to her hip. Tajima quickly arrived on scene and saw the dead expression on Natsume's face. It wasn't the first time he saw it before from war veterans so he had an understanding of what may have happened.

"Welcome back, Natsume-chan. I am glad you're here. I have some questions about the intel you've shared with us." Tajima tried to distract her mind, but Natsume's tired expression didn't fade. She simply nodded and followed him to the meeting site. Tajima sighed but didn't know what else to say. This was the unfortunate thing about war. There were no winners or losers, only alive or dead.

When they arrived, Sahiro saw Natsume and felt a pain in his heart. Her expression was one she wished never to see on her face. She seemed tired of the world. He kept his silence because he had no words of comfort. When everyone arrived, Tajima summarized what they had discovered from their scouting. The information was minimal and mostly about successful raids on supplies.

"Natsume." He signaled her to talk, and she stepped forward.

"The clans they hired are Aburame, Izunuka, Hyuuga, and Senju. The mine is through an old, abandoned iron mine that opens up into a valley. They have not begun excavation yet, but their defenses are strong." She went to the regional map and drew the structure and layout of the hidden valley.

"My theory is they expected an attack. Three sensor clans are excessive, so they must be specifically hired to prevent sneak attacks and infiltration. They did not know the full breadth of my abilities, but now that they know I won't be able to sneak in again."

"I agree with your analysis. Our attacks have not been nearly as successful as I was hoping, and this is mostly to do with every unit having a skilled sensor ninja amongst their ranks. With your information, I have more or less understood the situation. This is why I have already sent someone to leak information to the Land of Water."

The other Uchiha widened their eyes. Everyone at the meeting was a veteran and instantly understood. This was an act of playing the fisherman. The clans in the Land of Water were the most vicious and had a unique advantage—The ocean. The position of the mine was very close to the water, and a full-scale attack from the water would be difficult to defend against. However, this was not guaranteed to convince them to move.

"It is as you have guessed, we will control the Water Daimyo with genjutsu to make a move. In the meantime, we will continue to harass the ninja on the borders and block supplies. We will wait for the Land of Water to attack and cause mutual damage, then we will sweep in and scoop up the gains."

Some of the Uchiha were skeptical, including Natsume. This was starting to get more convoluted by the day. However, she had faith in Tajima. At least until Madara grew up and took over, she wouldn't try to interfere with the leadership of the Uchiha. As long as the clan wasn't at risk of extermination, it was all just a symptom of the period they lived in.

After Tajima dismissed everyone, he took Natsume to the side and had a special request for her. "I need to return to the clan for a while. I want you to take command. You know the most about the plan and the enemy."

Natsume frowned but nodded her head. It was true that their ideas were similar up until now, but she was starting to think that retreat and giving up on this mine was the better plan at this point. Instead of risking more deaths on their side, it would make more sense to consolidate their power and wait to be hired again. However, she didn't know the current state of the Uchiha, and seeing how much Tajima pushed for this plan, she felt that there may be some things behind the scenes she wasn't aware of.

'The Uchiha aren't broke, are they?' Natsume wondered after Tajima left. Such a concept was surreal but after experience a poor life for a few weeks, she wondered how the prideful Uchiha would cope. However, thinking of her fake family again caused her to feel nauseated.

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