Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, Ruroni Kenshin, and Bleach. I'm just using these to satisfy my creative ideas.

Chapter 9: Strategy

It's been six months since Naruto accepted his position as Kage's Hand and his days were filled with training and missions. It was a life he enjoyed despite the fact that some of his missions required him to kill.

But despite being exposed to the harsh world of shinobis, Naruto was already emotionally prepared and was able to handle certain missions that required him to take a life. He didn't have to like it; he just had to do it. Besides, he had no qualms in killing since his targets were considered as scum, ranging from rapists to killers.

Naruto couldn't help but deny the fact that he was fitting into his moniker, Oni, a demon in the world that had no problem shedding blood. He wasn't a cold-hearted killer but he had his moments.

In between missions, Naruto spent most of his time training with the more advanced techniques of Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu. The blonde couldn't deny the fact that his first attempt at Kuzuryusen (Nine-Headed Dragon Flash) was mostly successful due to luck. If it wasn't for his Ki enhancement and Kurama's healing capabilities, his arms would be useless or would require months to properly heal.

Since that was the case, he worked with Kurama in strengthening his muscle and bone density to be able to handle the more taxing techniques of his chosen sword style. After a few weeks, and a lot of modifications to his physiology thanks to Kurama, he could pull off Kuzuryusen without worries.

His next goal was to achieve Shinsoku or godspeed to attain mastery of Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu. He could just use Shunpo to offset his lack of physical speed but there was a problem with the technique that only Shinsoku could counter.

In technical terms, Shunpo was a speed technique that allowed him instantaneous travel from point A to point B. In other words, he would be traveling in a straight line without the ability to turn to a different direction. Of course, he could easily counter that using continuous Shunpo, but it was taxing and doesn't really provide him with the necessary mobility in both attack and defense.

Shinsoku, however, was pure physical speed achieved through training. Unlike Shunpo, Shinsoku would allow Naruto to travel at Shunpo-like speeds with the ability to turn in any direction thanks to reflex and advanced footwork. This was the advantage of Shinsoku over Shunpo which the blonde wanted to achieve. It was slow but he was getting there thanks to his continuous spar with Hayate, as well as his physical training program given to him by Maito Gai.

After his mission to retrieve the Raijin no Ken from Aoi Rokusho, the following missions were more exciting and some of them allowed Naruto to work with some Jounins and ANBU of Konoha that the Hokage permitted to know his existence as Kage's Hand. His position and identity as Oni and Uzumaki Naruto was known to a chosen few, namely his teachers, ANBU, and of course, the Hokage himself. The rest were oblivious to his existence.

Speaking of existence, it seemed that his prowess in the field of missions earned him a place in the Bingo Book.

In a span of six months and the type of slaughter he was doing to his enemies, he became an A-Rank Bounty. It seemed that his alter ego, Oni the Hitokiri Battousai, was starting to attain the level of becoming a legend. Thankfully, none except for a select few knew of his existence and his position as a Konoha citizen which made quite a lot of bounty hunters who were after his blood pull out their hair in frustration.

In fact, the Hokage informed him that there was a rumor in the shinobi world that his ghost-like existence and impeccable success in his missions would eventually move him to become an S-Rank bounty if he kept it up.

Of course, none of the civilians were aware of his existence as the Hitokiri Battousai since he didn't display his skills to the public nor was he carrying his sword with him to be seen by the crowd. In fact, it was the Hokage who informed him to refrain from wearing his orange scarf and his Sakabatou since those were Oni's most identifiable traits.

To that end, Naruto decided to seal these two items inside the storage seal in his left hand just in case he needed them immediately for a mission. His outfit of blue kimono, white hakama, and geta sandals remained since quite a lot of people in the Elemental Nation wore them.

A 10-year old Naruto was toiling in his vegetable garden when a cry disturbed him from his favorite chore. He looked up and saw one of the Hokage's messenger hawks circling above him.

Frowning, Naruto stood up, brushing the loose soil that clung to his hakama before releasing a piercing whistle to inform the circling hawk to come to him. Instead of raising his hand, the bird simply landed on his right shoulder and nudged him on the cheek with its head.

"Hello there, girl." Naruto greeted the bird. This particular hawk was his favorite and the Hokage used this one particular to send him a message. After meeting the bird so many times for the past six months, they became friends and would even sometimes visit him without a delivery. "The old man has a message for me?"

The hawk simply held out one of its legs where a scroll was tied to it. Carefully undoing the knot, he retrieved the scroll and opened it to read the Hokage's message.

Oni,

Come to my office ASAP. There is a mission that requires your expertise. Make sure you arrive in full ensemble since your partners will be here for debriefing.

Sandaime Hokage

"Huh? I guess this is a serious mission then if I have to come in with my mask on. Oh well, might as well get this over and done with." remarked Naruto with a shrug before tossing the scroll in the air and destroying it with a low-powered Byakurai. Looking at the hawk that was preening its feathers while being perched on his shoulder, he spoke "You want to come with me to see the old man, girl?"

The bird simply nodded before going back to its chore which made Naruto chuckle. He raised his left hand and unsealed the items to complete his costume. He placed the scarf around his neck, Kenshin on his hip, and the demon mask on his face.

Without saying a word, Naruto disappeared using Shunpo with his feathery passenger in tow.

Naruto appeared in the Hokage office without a sound startling the various people inside except for the Hokage who was expecting him. His feathery friend simply flew out the open window upon arrival.

"You called for me, Hokage-sama?" said Naruto in a modified voice thanks to his demon mask. He resorted to addressing his surrogate grandfather with formality considering the other people in the room with them.

"Thank you for coming in such short notice, Oni, but we have a situation that requires your skills." the Hokage informed with a frown on his face. Naruto noticed the old man's visage and immediately assumed that this was going to be a serious mission.

"No problem, Hokage-sama. I am here to serve after all." Naruto remarked while eyeing the Jounins and ANBU in the room who some of them were looking at him in surprise not expecting him to be part of the Konoha shinobi force. "I would assume that these people will be coming with?"

The aged leader nodded before addressing everyone in the room.

"I have received a request from the leader of Tetsu no Kuni (Iron Country) requesting for assistance concerning a civil war in their territory. Mifune, the leader of Tetsu no Kuni, sent me a message which I received just this morning that he required aid in quelling down an uprising comprised of renegade samurais and some missing-nins who are aiming to topple his leadership. He wouldn't have requested Konoha's help since this is an internal matter but the existence of missing nins required him to request for reinforcement. Your mission is to immediately make your way to Tetsu no Kuni, meet with Mifune, and follow his every command concerning the destruction of the rebellion."

Sarutobu pulled out a scroll from his drawer and handed it to Naruto before continuing.

"Oni will be the one in-charge of this mission since he is my right-hand man. Follow his orders to the letter. Any questions?" asked the Hokage as if daring the ensemble shinobis, except for Naruto, to comment. When none came, Sarutobi turned to Naruto. "Oni, you will be in charge of this mission and I leave them in your capable hands."

Naruto bowed and pocketed the scroll inside his kimono.

"As you command, Hokage-sama." He turned to the rest of the group that would be under him, noting their looks of awe and fear, the latter of which was mainly due to his mask. "We will meet at the North Gate in one hour. Pack for a month long mission. Full gear consisting of basic shinobi equipment, medical gears, and other items that you want to bring that would aid you in battle. We will treat this mission as Priority S; expect a heated battle during travel and upon arrival to our destination. Any questions? None? Good. Dismissed."

After getting a shout of agreement from the shinobis, they each left either via the door or via Shunshin, leaving the Hokage and Naruto alone in the office.

"Are you sure this is a good idea, Hokage-sama? Revealing my existence as a Konoha shinobi to the world might have severe repercussions in the future." Naruto informed the old man.

"I'm sure, Oni. I have received reports from my spies outside Konoha that a lot of people have seen you in the company of Konoha nins so they are starting to link you to the village. In fact, some of the shinobi and civilian councils are asking me questions regarding your existence. We know that the time will come that your allegiance to the village would come to light. I just didn't expect it to be so soon."

"I see. So does this means that I don't have to worry about hiding my allegiance anymore though I would still have to hide my identity." asked Naruto, agreeing with the Hokage's logic.

Sarutobi nodded before pulling out an item from his drawer and tossing it to his surrogate grandson who caught it with a deft hand. Naruto saw that it was a Konoha Hitai-ate causing him to grin behind his demon mask.

Not waiting for any prompt, he immediately took off his sash and tied his new accessory in its place before placing Kenshin back on his hip. Thankfully, the cloth where the metal plate was attached to was white so it fit well with his outfit. It seemed that the Hokage figured out where he planned to wear his new accessory which causing him to grin.

"Well, if that is all, Hokage-sama. I'll be preparing for the mission."

After getting a nod from the Hokage, he used Shunshin to exit the office to his hut in the forest to prepare for the coming battle.

It was an hour later that Naruto appeared in his full Oni outfit with the addition of the Konoha Hitai-ate as his sash at the North Gate. The team composed of some Jounins was present and he was happy that there were a few of them that he recognized.

Naruto saw Akido and Yahiko talking to some of the Jounins. Asuma, the Hokage's son, was also there along with his love interest, Yuuhi Kurenai. The others he didn't recognize.

"Good you're all here. Before we leave, I expect all of you to introduce yourself and tell me your skill set so I can properly delegate certain tasks for the mission in case certain situations come up. I will begin with my own introduction. You may call me Oni and as you can see this is my debut as a Konoha shinobi though my real identity will remain a secret unless the Hokage orders me to do otherwise. I specialize in kenjutsu and taijutsu, as well as some jutsus that are unique to me. Most of my skill sets borders on assassination and demolition though I also specialize in stealth and infiltration. I am also a skilled medic though my repertoire of techniques in that field is a bit limited. I will be your leader in this mission and my orders are absolute bar the Hokage." Naruto introduced himself causing some of the Jounins to look at him in respect and awe. It seemed that his reputation have spread far and wide. He pointed to the smoking Asuma to go next. This earned Naruto an annoyed look from the Jounin which made the blonde grin behind his mask.

"My name is Sarutobi Asuma, Jounin. I specialize in close-range combat using my trench knives. I specialize in Fuuton jutsus that I also use along with my weapon of choice." Asuma informed the group causing Naruto to nod before pointing at Kurenai.

"Yuuhi Kurenai, Jounin. I specialize in long-range combat through the use of Genjutsu. I am a newly-appointed Jounin and an accomplished support-based shinobi. I use Katon jutsus though I seldom use them since I don't have that much chakra which is the reason why I specialize in illusions. No offensive techniques except for Taijutsu and some weapons."

The introduction went off without a hitch and Naruto couldn't help but smile at having a diverse group with him on this mission. It seemed that the Hokage chose well to make sure that they make it out of this alive.

"Good. I am happy that I have a well-rounded group with me. We are going to be following a diamond-pattern strategy as we travel to Tetsu no Kuni. According to the mission scroll, we are expected to be there in three days so we will be traveling at full speed. We will camp at night and I will assign your respective shifts for lookout duty. We will follow this pattern until we arrive at our destination. Our two trackers, Inuzuka and Hyuuga, will take point. Aburame and the medics will be at the center. Asuma and Kurenai, you take their left. Akido and Yahiko, you take their right. I alone will bring up the rear. I will take care of any bandits as we travel since I don't want any of you to be damaged in this mission and would allow you to conserve your energy. Any questions?"

The Inuzuka Jounin raised his hand causing Naruto to nod at him.

"Um, Oni-sama, are you really Oni the Hitokiri Battousai?" the Inuzuka Jounin asked shakily as if asking such questions would earn him a painful death.

"Yes, I am that person. Any other questions that is relevant to this mission?" he asked with a hint of annoyance in his voice since it would seem he had some fan-boys in this group. He didn't really hate them, per se, they were just annoying.

Asuma raised his hand before asking his question.

"Are you sure you can take care of the bandits alone? I don't mean to doubt your skill but we can take care of ourselves." Asuma pointed out with a grin.

Not bothering to answer him, Naruto decided to show off a bit to cement his position in the team. He simply disappeared and reappeared behind the group with Asuma's cigarette in his hand.

"I hope this would serve as enough of a demonstration of my capabilities?" said Naruto which caused everyone to turn and see him holding Asuma's cigarette in his hand. The owner of said cigarette just leveled him a glare. He tossed the item to the Jounin who caught it with ease though instead of putting it back in his mouth, he let it fall to the ground and stomped on it. This caused Naruto to chuckle catching everyone attention. No more questions were asked but the looks of awe, respect, and fear increased dramatically.

"From your looks, I would say that you have no questions regarding my order. We have three days of travel so I suggest that we start now." Naruto informed them, more likely indirectly ordering all of them to make a move. Everyone got into position before heading out.

Their journey to Tetsu no Kuni took three days as indicated on the mission scroll. They weren't slowed down by any bandits since the timely warning from the Inuzuka and Hyuuga Jounins in front of the group allowed Naruto to simply vanish from his position and disposed of the threat without bothering to slow down. His godlike speed and quick sword work earned him the respect of the team and cemented his position as the leader.

The group paused for a bit to wear heavier clothing since it was the time of the year that Tetsu no Kuni was colder than usual since it was far to the north. The group was giving their masked leader odd looks since he didn't bother to change his somewhat light clothing. Naruto wasn't bothered by the cold since Kurama was heating his body with some of his potent chakra, keeping him nice and toasty for the cold weather to harm him. This resulted in him being a human-shaped heater causing some of the Jounins in the group to travel near him and warm themselves up. This somewhat annoyed the blonde but he kept quiet.

They arrived at the large iron-bound gate of Tetsu no Kuni with Mifune waiting for them.

"Welcome, Konoha shinobi. Thank you for agreeing to my request." Mifune greeted the group though the old samurai was giving Naruto some odd looks.

"Thank you for the greeting, Mifune-sama. My name is Oni and I am in charge of this group." Naruto informed him with a bow followed by the rest of his team.

Mifune gave him a long look before a smile made its way to his face.

"A powerful figure for someone quite so young, Oni-dono." remarked Mifune causing the samurai and shinobis within hearing range to look at the two with surprised looks. For the samurai and shinobis, it would seem that the powerful samurai leader was greeting an equal. Naruto immediately took to it since it would be disrespectful to disregard such formality. From the looks of it, Mifune immediately knew of his skill with the blade or maybe it was due to his status as an A-rank fighter.

"Powerful, I am not, Mifune-dono, though I am humble enough to say that I am quite skilled and leave it at that." Naruto said respectfully, a grin was forming on his face though none of them could see it thanks to his mask.

"Indeed, Oni-dono. But please, welcome to Tetsu no Kuni and follow me so I can guide you to my tower and discuss the terms of your mission." said Mifune before beckoning for everyone to follow him.

Mifune lead them to the largest tower in the village which marked the dwelling of the leader. They entered the building and made their way to a large meeting room. He beckoned for everyone to sit which he later followed when everyone was made comfortable.

"I'm sorry for the breach in protocol in not providing you with some refreshments after a long journey but it seems that the current rebellion has reached a boiling point and it is important that we come up with a strategy to defeat them or Tetsu no Kuni would be lost."

"I see. I assure you that we have not taken offense, Mifune-dono, and understood that things are a bit tense right now. Please, can you provide us with some information about our enemies so we can come up with a strategy to counter and defeat them?"

"Thanks for understanding." said Mifune with a bow before launching into his report. "Two days ago, one of my scouts reported a heightened activity in the enemy's camp which signaled that they were preparing for an all-out attack. My scouts reported that they are arming themselves with enough weapons to invade and conquer Tetsu no Kuni with ease. Their numbers are a bit alarming but nothing that we are worried about with the amount of troops we have in the village. However, the number of missing-nins seemed to have grown and that is what concerns me."

"Do you have an exact count, as well as their previous affiliation?" Naruto asked curiously.

"We don't have an exact count but from what my scouts reported, they have at least 50 missing-nins with them. In regards to affiliation, none were from Konoha as far as my scout could tell but the missing nins present are predominantly from Suna, Kiri, and Iwa."

"I see. In order to come up with a workable strategy, we need to determine the exact number of troops the enemy has in their arsenal. That said I will take care of getting the exact number. What is the status of the patrol in the village?" asked Naruto since most of his strategy lessons with the lazy Nara always involved defensive maneuvers to ensure that the populace was safe from harm. That lesson was deeply integrated into him that it was second nature.

Mifune thought about it for a moment before pulling on a cord that triggered a mechanism that pushed a wooden panel revealing an floor-to-ceiling map of the village along with the surrounding country side.

"As you can see, Oni-dono, this is the map of Tetsu no Kuni and anything within its boundaries. Samurai guards patrol the village in shifts to be replaced every three hours. This is the standard procedure during war-time. However, the only leak to this strategy is my lack of knowledge in shinobi tactics."

"I see." murmured Naruto as he studied the map, his mind already determining the weakness to the village's defenses, as well as the potential entry point for shinobi spies. "Where is the enemy camp located?"

"Here." said Mifune as he pointed out a spot on the map outside the village within the boundary of Iron Country. "The area where the enemy is camped lies deep within a clearing with its entrance being the ravine that leads straight to the village. In fact, it is only one of the new navigable passes into Tetsu no Kuni and is known only by the samurais as they grew up in the area. The clearing is surrounded by numerous caves that are used by the rebellion to house their armies. It is almost impossible to track them since the caves are a maze of passageways that we weren't able to map. It was used to be a mining camp, hence the caves, but it was abandoned two decades ago since the veins of metal dried up."

"Understood, Mifune-dono. Do I have your permission to put in place some of my defensive measures to ensure the safety of the village before the battle would start? I wouldn't put it past the enemy to put spies into effect to find out the movement of our military power."

"You have my permission and blessing, Oni-dono." said Mifune with a thankful bow.

Naruto nodded before turning to his team who were waiting for his orders. For Naruto, it was weird for a 10-year old to command such an experienced fighting force though they didn't need to know that. Thanks to the modification of his voice due to his mask and his stature, it was impossible to determine his age.

"From what you heard between Mifune-dono and I, the Konoha Team will be checking the village for shinobi spies from the enemies. Aburama and Hyuuga will be working with Kurenai to find out any shinobis in the ranks. Knowing that chakra signatures are present in samurais as part of their skill set, I want you three to use your considerable talents to weed out shinobis in the village apart from our team. Asuma, I want you to set up traps with Akido and Yahiko on three of the entrances to the village. Make sure that these traps are invisible and would only target shinobis. Since you know their tactics, it would be easy for you to modify your traps to target them. The three medics in the team will report to the hospital and aid in any patients that require healing. Once your tasks are completed, we will rendezvous here for debriefing. Any questions?"

Akido raised his hand.

"What will you be doing, Oni-sama?" the Jounin asked.

"As I told Mifune-dono earlier, I will be scouting the enemy camp to get an exact count of their numbers. It would be stupid of us to engage the enemy without knowing what we are up against. Give me three hours to get this information and we will have a war meeting during the time we meet."

"Are you sure you don't need any help, Oni?" asked Asuma with a worried look on his face.

"I'm sure. It is best if I do this alone since they wouldn't be able to detect my presence thanks to my techniques. Any questions? None? Good. Dismissed." Naruto turned to Mifune. "I will take my leave and meet with you later when my task is done."

With that said, Naruto disappeared without a sound causing everyone in the room to stare at the spot he was standing with dumbfounded looks on their faces, except for Mifune who was grinning like a loon.

End of Chapter 9

Date Uploaded: July 8, 2012

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