Natsugumo joined the escort for Admiral Nobutake Kondō’s Midway Invasion Force during the Battle of Midway from 4–6 June 1942. Afterwards, she was reassigned to the Ominato Naval District and assigned to patrols of the Kurile Islands and north Pacific to mid-July. However, on 19 July, she received orders to escort the cruiser from Kure to Truk. From Truk, she made a transport run to Kwajalein and returned to Yokosuka by 8 August.
