Path of Hardships. (Naruto fanfic)

Chapter 23: War games.

Path of Hardships Chapter 22- Responsibilities

Half a month has passed since the failed ambush. Kiri had captured both Chusei and Amane with no info on their whereabouts. It was their first loss of the war and it stung.

Once Naruto realized they were missing, he barged into Mei's tent. He pleaded with her to allow a rescue party. She denied his request due to a lack of info. While reminding him they were fighting on multiple fronts. They had little to no forces to spare.

Naruto sat in his tent after that. Guilt eating away at him. He had a bad feeling since the start. If only he'd spoken up and made them listen. Then maybe things would have been different and they would still be here.

He stayed in his tent for a week, lamenting only leaving for food and other utilities. The group had low morale and with their last officer in the dumps. It didn't look good for them.

On the eighth day, Kurama had enough and set the blonde ninja straight. The fox berated him. Informing him he was neither omniscient nor all-powerful. That he should stop sulking like a child and accept the situation like a man.

Naruto snapped from his funk after the tongue lashing. Thanking Kurama for helping. To which Kurama blew it off, saying it wouldn't befit him to have a weak vessel.

He doubted that and snickered at how to use this for blackmail later. Laughing even louder once he heard the loud snarl from inside the cage.

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"This is a mess," Naruto sighed, sitting at a table dealing with paperwork. With both Chusei and Amane gone, that meant all the work went right to him. "I'll never know how Jiji didn't go insane" he chuckled, leaning back in the chair. "I wonder what you'd say if you saw me now" Naru mumbled.

Grabbing a paper from his desk, he held it in front of him and read slowly. 'Because of your services and accomplishments. We deem to promote you from the first lieutenant to captain. May you hold and lead the men under your command to victory.'

"The promotion is nice. Though I can't help but feel Mei did it to stop me from running off," he sighed in annoyance. "Now I just need to rework the group. With all the new members, we're a platoon now with little hierarchy. I've got to find others to help," he mumbled while getting up from the chair and pacing about.

While pacing, he heard some commotion outside. Stepping out, he saw a man being chased by a Kunoichi, something about a prank. "Brings back memories," Naru said, lost in old memories. "We really drove Iruka sensei up the wall. At least we got some exercise from it all, improving our stamina and awareness," Naru said before his eyes widened. "That's it" he semi shouted.

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Walking back to the desk, he sat down and pulled some fresh paper, and began jotting down his plan. It took two hours of planning before being complete. He took a moment to re-read it for any errors.

The first point was training the new recruits and since the war was cooling off and at a standstill. It would be beneficial to run drills and other things with them. Also, being on the back lines gave them this opportunity.

Secondly was he needed to improve his view of tactics and find others to help lessen the burden. Advice he could get from Aoi. While gruff, the man was a bit of a softy at heart. The camp should also help with scoping out talent.

Third and last was to improve the teamwork and morale of the group. Since the others being captured, morale took a hit. They still trusted and respected him, but still, it was a substantial loss.