Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Twilight of Trust ❯ The Trial Begins ( Chapter 6 )

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

 

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Chapter 6

 

The Trial Begins

 

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It seemed like the entire village had shown up for the trial despite the threatening weather. Naruto was sitting with Sakura on his right and Kakashi on his left. Jiraiya sat in front of him and looked uncharacteristically tense. Gai sat next to Kakashi while Asuma, Kurenai, and Iruka sat on his other side. Next to Sakura sat Team Gai. Behind them, Team Asuma—including the elusive Ino, who refused to speak to anyone, even those on her team—and Team Kurenai. Sai and Yamato rounded out the row. The rest of the front five rows were also made up of Shinobi, while the civilian population sat behind them. The ANBU Black Ops stood guard around the perimeter in case something should happen.

 

Tsunade, in full Hokage regalia, sat behind a desk facing the crowd. Shizune stood to her right, ready for any aid she could give. Tsunade was looking at a pocket watch with a curiously blank look on her face. She was waiting for the top of the hour so the trial could begin.

 

Sakura suddenly hissed and Naruto turned in surprise to his teammate. “What is it, Sakura-chan?”

 

The kunoichi nodded toward the prosecutor's desk, where an elderly man with bandages on his face and a walking cane was settling himself.

 

“Danzou,” Sakura said lowly.

 

“Who?” Naruto asked, nonplussed. He looked up to see that Tsunade's expression had turned sour at the sight of the man as well.

 

“He's the head of the ANBU Root division,” Kakashi said from Naruto's other side.

 

“Root?” The blonde frowned. “Never heard of it.”

 

“That's because its existence is top secret,” Kakashi explained. “They are a division of the ANBU Black Ops that don't answer directly to the Hokage, but rather, to Danzou.” He nodded toward the man sitting behind the desk opposing Jiraiya.

 

“And who does he answer to?”

 

“The village elders,” Sakura replied tightly. “Danzou was the one who ordered Sai to assassinate Sasuke-kun during the mission to the Land of Grass.”

 

“What?!”

 

“Not only that, but he was opposed to the Third becoming Hokage,” Kakashi said lowly. “He wanted to be Hokage himself, but when Sarutobi was chosen, Danzou went underground and has remained a behind-the-scenes player.”

 

“And since he hated the Third, he hates Tsunade-shishou, who was his student,” Sakura added darkly. “He's not to be trusted.”

 

Naruto nodded mutely. From what he had just heard, it made perfect sense that this Danzou would be against Sasuke's return to the village. And since he had been around so long and commanded so much influence, he would be a challenging opponent.

 

“Hey, Ero-Sennin,” Naruto whispered to his mentor.

 

“I know,” the frog hermit replied without turning back to look at him. “I don't like this.”

 

“But…”

 

“Don't worry, kid. We have the best defense possible in this situation. I'll handle Danzou and let the evidence speak for itself.”

 

“You don't think he'll try to pull something…?” Sakura asked, trailing off uncomfortably.

 

“I fully expect it,” Jiraiya retorted. If Danzou hated Tsunade because she was a student of the Third, then he would hate Jiraiya as well, for the same reason. That didn't seem to bode well.

 

Naruto bit his lip as a rain drop hit his nose. He blinked. The atmosphere of the trial was disturbingly appropriate. He looked back over at Tsunade, who was once again looking at her watch. A few moments passed before she closed the watch decisively and rose. The restless crowd was instantly hushed.

 

“Bring in the accused” she ordered dispassionately.

 

Two ANBU members in the back disappeared. A few tense minutes passed but the crowd remind silent. The time had come for the traitor to be judged.

 

Soon, three figures were visible walking towards the makeshift courtroom. It was the two ANBU Shinobi escorting Sasuke between them. The crowd began to whisper as the Uchiha heir approached. Naruto was not surprised—though a bit disgusted—by the hostile tone of many of the whispers.

 

What did surprise him was Sasuke, or more precisely, the way he was carrying himself. Someone had outfitted him in an appropriately somber outfit for the trial. But instead of looking defeated as he had upon arriving back in Konoha a week prior, the Uchiha looked… proud, despite his wrists being bound in front of him. His eyes were not downcast nor was his posture that of a defeated prisoner.

 

No, Sasuke looked every bit the Uchiha heir and practically seemed to be leading the two ANBU ninja rather than the other way around. He gave off an air of preparedness. Whatever might happen this day, Sasuke was ready to face it.

 

Naruto almost smiled. The Sasuke he saw now reminded him of the Sasuke he had fought alongside three years before. The blonde looked back at Tsunade to see her reaction to the change in Sasuke's demeanor. Rather than looking surprised, Tsunade almost seemed… pleased.

 

“Sasuke-kun,” Sakura whispered, seemingly as a reflex, as the raven-haired teen walked past them. Out of the corner of Naruto's eye, Sakura appeared startled by the unexpected transformation.

 

Sasuke seated himself gracefully next to Jiraiya without a word and his two ANBU escorts stood off to the side, ready to jump in if he tried anything. The whispers of the gathered crows were outraged. How dare a traitor show such arrogance in such a position? Naruto snuck a glance at Danzou and was pleased to see a hint of irritation on the elderly man's face.

 

Tsunade nodded to herself. “Bring in the jury,” she commanded.

 

Naruto blinked. The jury, which was to be made up of chuunin and jounin, had been chosen by secret lottery that morning so no outside factors would influence their decision. He watched along with the rest of the crowd as nine Shinobi strode down the center aisle and sat down off to the side of the “courtroom.”

 

Studying the faces of the chosen ninja, Naruto realized he didn't know any of them. A few he vaguely recognized from passing in the streets, but most of them he didn't recognize. With a village the size of Konoha, it wasn't surprising that he didn't know all the ninja, but he had hoped he would know one or two for some small sense of comfort.

 

When the jury had settled itself, Tsunade cleared her throat. The entire gathering had gone silent in anticipation. “We are here today to hear the case of Konoha v. Uchiha Sasuke. The defendant stands charged with treason against the Leaf Village for his defection to the Sound three years ago. Who will be speaking for Konoha?”

 

Danzou inclined his head. “I will, Hokage-sama,” he said formally. Naruto got the impression that Danzou was rarely so polite when addressing Tsunade with the way he emphasized the honorific. Tsunade pursed her lips but made no other outward reaction to the man's obvious lack of respect.

 

“Danzou is recognized by the court. Who will speak for Uchiha Sasuke?”

 

“I will, Hokage-sama,” Jiraiya said in turn. Jiraiya was another person who was rarely formal with Tsunade so the title sounded odd coming from his mouth. However, he did not sound disrespectful using the title.

 

“Jiraiya is recognized by the court,” Tsunade intoned. Shizune was busy transcribing the entire proceeding off to the side, though she was poised to move if anything should occur. “The prosecution may make its opening statement.”

 

Danzou rose and walked slowly out from behind the table. He took his time in walking toward the center of the makeshift courtroom. He turned to face the jury and paused meaningfully before speaking.

 

“This is a cut and dry case,” he said. “Three years ago, Uchiha Sasuke was approached by the Sound Village and invited to train under Orochimaru.” A collective shudder ran through the crowd at the name but the whole remained silent. “Uchiha Sasuke accepted. He left the village in the middle of the night and joined Orochimaru. He was there for three years.

 

“Obviously, the integrity of the village has been compromised. And yet, here we stand, questioning the facts. The law of the village is absolute on matters of treason.” And with those simple words, the leader of Root returned to his seat, face unreadable.

 

Naruto ground his teeth. Next to him, Sakura's hands were balled into fists in her lap. This man knew nothing about Sasuke or his situation. But he was right about the law. It had never seemed possible to Naruto that Sasuke might actually lose his case. Not really. He was Sasuke, after all. But hearing Danzou coldly state the situation without any compassion or concern shook the blonde to the core.

 

But he didn't have time to dwell on it as Jiraiya rose. He moved to the front of the table and casually leaned against it, as if to remind everyone of exactly who he was. He gave off an aura of utmost confidence; the aura expected of one of the Sannin.

 

“The prosecution is right,” he said. Naruto's jaw dropped. “On the surface, this does appear to be a simple case. Uchiha Sasuke wanted power. Orochimaru,” another collective shudder, “offered it. And Sasuke accepted. He spent three years among the Sound and now sits here before you. Seems easy.” The frog hermit's gaze hardened. “But rarely are things as simple as they seem.”

 

Jiraiya pushed himself back to his feet and looked the jury over before looking back at Sasuke. The Uchiha nodded and Jiraiya turned back to the jury. “Uchiha Itachi.” Those two words had the desired effect as the crowd broke into hushed whispers. Several members of the jury paled. Jiraiya placed his hands behind his back and slowly began to pace.

 

“Uchiha Itachi is Sasuke's older brother. They are the two sole survivors of the Uchiha clan; the clan that was once so prominent in Konoha—no, not just prominent, but one of the founding clans of Konoha. Uchiha Itachi murdered the entire clan—except Sasuke—in cold blood. Sasuke was eight years old.”

 

The frog hermit paused to let that sink in. Naruto looked at the back of his best friend's head. Back when they had fought in the Valley of the End, Sasuke had accused him of not understanding his loneliness because he had never lost anyone while Sasuke had lost everything. Naruto frowned. He couldn't imagine having it all and then losing it in one night. And it was that incomprehension that made Sasuke a little more understandable; a little more human.

 

“Uchiha Itachi is one of the most feared criminals out there,” Jiraiya continued. “More powerful than Orochimaru, he left Sasuke with little choice. The Uchiha clan, as one of an ancient honor code, must be avenged. And with someone like Itachi as the opponent, unfathomable power would be required.”

 

He looked at each member of the jury individually; seven men, two women. “Ladies and gentlemen, put yourselves in Sasuke's spot: twelve years old and unmentionable power for your revenge at your fingertips. Think carefully about what you would do before judging Sasuke.

 

“And think about the Shinobi who worked tirelessly to bring a comrade back. Will all their work be for nothing?” Naruto swallowed.

 

Jiraiya turned back toward the table but paused mid-step and turned back to the jury, looking entirely unrehearsed. “But another thought comes to mind.” If Naruto hadn't known better, he really would have thought what was to come next was a spur of the moment idea. Jiraiya inclined his head at Danzou. “The prosecution will tell you that this is an open and shut case about treason. Uchiha Sasuke is a traitor to the village, just like his brother.

 

“But was what he did really treason? He slipped away in the middle of the night in an attempt to leave the village behind him. And to do what? Attain the power to take down one of the village's greatest enemies—one of our own, turned to the dark side.

 

“Treason is defined as the willful attempt to overthrow or harm the village or the Hokage. Does walking out of the village in the middle of the night for selfish reasons fall under that category? I don't think so.”

 

Naruto watched his mentor seat himself in a light he had never seen him before. While he knew Jiraiya wrote the Icha-Icha books that Kakashi loved, he never knew how eloquent he could be words. And it was going to take just that to save Sasuke.

 

Tsunade nodded to herself before speaking. “The prosecution may call their first witness.”

 

Danzou nodded. “I call Haruno Sakura to the stand.”

 

Sakura stiffened and Naruto turned wide eyes to his friend. The crowd had broken out into whispers once more.

 

“Already?” Sakura whispered in shock. Both Sakura and Naruto knew they would be called as witnesses, but they didn't expect to be called by the opposing side. They were on Sasuke's side, after all.

 

“Haruno Sakura, please approach the stand,” Tsunade said, though her voice held slightly less strength than it had a few moments before. She seemed taken off-guard by the sudden call of her student as a witness for the opposing side.

 

Sakura swallowed and pushed herself to her feet. Naruto grabbed her hand and she paused and looked down at him. “Good luck, Sakura-chan,” he whispered and the kunoichi gave him a wan smile.

 

“Thanks, Naruto.”

 

She moved down the row and into the aisle. Walking down to the stand, she was sworn in and sat down on the stand. Taking a breath, she collected herself and Naruto smiled slightly. She could do this. Sakura looked at Sasuke and though Naruto couldn't see Sasuke's face, he had a feeling they were searching each other for something.

 

“Please state your name and position for the court,” Danzou began after a moment and Sakura's connection with the Uchiha was broken as she turned to look at the prosecutor.

 

“Haruno Sakura, chuunin.”

 

“Haruno-san,” Danzou said, making the address sound condescending, “please tell the court of your relationship to the accused.”

 

Sakura spared a glance for Sasuke—probably without even realizing it; old habits die hard—before speaking. Her voice was strong and Naruto was proud of her for it. “We attended the Academy together and were later assigned to Team 7 together.”

 

“And would you say you had a strong relationship with the accused?” Naruto wanted to snarl at the way the man called Sasuke `the accused'. He had a name, dammit.

 

Sakura blinked. “Yes. Perhaps not at the beginning, but we grew into a strong team. We all had a good relationship.”

 

“And were you not the last person the accused saw before leaving Konoha?”

 

“I suppose.”

 

“Yes or no, Haruno-san.”

 

“Then yes,” Sakura replied through clenched teeth.

 

“Why was that?”

 

“I was waiting for him.”

 

“You knew he was leaving.”

 

“I suspected.”

 

“And you tried to stop him.”

 

“Yes.”

 

“But you failed.”

 

“Yes.” Sakura pursed her lips and Naruto couldn't blame her. That night had haunted her every day for the last three years.

 

“So perhaps your relationship wasn't as strong as you say.”

 

Sakura's eyes widened. Naruto clenched his fists. How dare this man…

 

“Objection,” Jiraiya said smoothly. Looking at Sasuke's back, Naruto blinked. Sasuke seemed to have tensed at the statement, which had prompted Jiraiya to speak.

 

Tsunade nodded. “Sustained. We don't need suppositions here, Danzou.”

 

The elderly man inclined his head in an infuriatingly superior manner before turning back to Sakura. “Why did you suspect Uchiha Sasuke was leaving that night, Haruno-san?”

 

“Because Sasuke-kun and Naruto had fought earlier in the day,” she said slowly. This wasn't an easy topic for her, but she knew she had to speak for Sasuke's sake so plowed on bravely. Naruto wished he could lend her some strength but had to remain silent. “Kakashi-sensei broke it up, but there were still hard feelings between them.”

 

“Boys fight,” Danzou said mildly. “Why was that enough for you to think Sasuke would leave?”

 

Sakura shook her head. “This was different. They were aiming to maim or kill each other.” She paused. “Naruto and Sasuke-kun had always been at odds, but never like that.”

 

“And why do you think this was different?”

 

“Because Uchiha Itachi had recently returned to the village.”

 

A tremor ran through the audience at this. Itachi's return had been kept top secret as not to cause panic, especially after the Third's death. To think that the killer of the Uchiha clan had been in the village without anyone realizing it… it was terrifying to the villagers, and rightly so.

 

“So Sasuke was taking out his anger toward his brother on those around him,” Danzou suggested.

 

Naruto clenched his jaw. While he still had nightmares about that day occasionally—usually involving one of them being unable to stop and killing Sakura, who had tried to get them to stop their meaningless fight—he knew that hadn't been the reason behind it. Sasuke was complicated; and with something so volatile affecting him, he had reacted badly that day. But Naruto had accepted the fight, so hadn't helped matters, he knew.

 

“No.” Sakura glared at Danzou. “I may not know the specifics, but I know that was not the case.”

 

“You seem confident of that.”

 

“I am.”

 

“And why is that, Haruno-san?”

 

Sakura stared at the elderly man defiantly. “Because I know my teammates. I love them and I know them well.”

 

Good for you, Sakura-chan, Naruto thought to himself with a small smile.

 

“So this knowledge allowed you to guess Uchiha Sasuke was leaving that night.”

 

“Yes.”

 

“How did you try to stop him from leaving?”

 

Sakura swallowed. “I asked him to stay.”

 

“And you expected that to work?”

 

The kunoichi shrugged. “I didn't know what else to do. I was no match physically for Sasuke-kun, after all.”

 

“And what happened after you asked him to stay?”

 

“He knocked me out and left.”

 

Naruto frowned. Sakura had never even told him exactly what had happened that night and he had never asked, though he was curious. He supposed she was not only upset, but partly embarrassed as well. She felt like she let Sasuke go too easily that night and when Naruto came back empty-handed, she realized she should have been able to do more; that had inspired her to train under Tsunade and become strong like she was now.

 

“So he forcefully left.”

 

“No!” Sakura exclaimed Danzou looked mildly surprised. “Well, I guess you could put it like that,” she relented. “But…”

 

“So, Uchiha Sasuke not only left in the middle of the night,” the prosecutor interrupted, “but he did so forcefully, knocking out one of his own teammates to do so.”

 

“No, that's-”

 

“And what happened the next time you met with Uchiha Sasuke?” Danzou asked over Sakura's attempt to clarify what she meant.

 

The pink-haired kunoichi paused. “We fought.”

 

“Let's clarify the situation a bit here, Haruno-san. Where was this?”

 

“The Land of Grass,” Sakura replied. “A temporary Team Kakashi was established and we were sent out to meet a spy of Orochimaru's. It ended up as an ambush and we were able to follow them back to Orochimaru's hideout. We found Sasuke-kun there and fought.”

 

“So, Uchiha Sasuke resisted attempts to bring him back to the village.”

 

“Yes,” Sakura replied irritably.

 

“And what happened after that?”

 

“Orochimaru intervened and they left—Orochimaru, Kabuto, and Sasuke-kun.”

 

“And the next time you met?”

 

A hush had fallen over the audience. Naruto held his breath. This was the most recent confrontation that had occurred. “Six months later,” Sakura replied after a long silence, “Orochimaru planned to transfer to Sasuke-kun's body. A group of Konoha Shinobi were dispatched to make sure it didn't happen.”

 

The kunoichi frowned. She was looking at her lap as if she might find some inspiration there. “There was a battle, but we managed to keep Orochimaru from transferring into Sasuke-kun's body. Orochimaru and Kabuto retreated and we took Sasuke-kun with us.” She looked up and smiled slightly. “He did not resist and we brought him back to the village without incident.”

 

“And Orochimaru?”

 

Sakura blinked. “I don't know. With the body transfer interrupted, he was left weak so was forced to flee. Without Sasuke-kun, I suppose he would have been forced to find a new container.”

 

“Objection,” Jiraiya interrupted. “Speculation.”

 

“Sustained.” Tsunade turned to Danzou. “Don't lead the witness to speculate about events she doesn't know about.”

 

“Understood,” Danzou agreed, though he seemed pleased to have gotten whatever it was he got from the exchange. Naruto wasn't sure what he was looking for and didn't like the ease with which Danzou relinquished his line of questioning. “Your witness,” he told Jiraiya.

 

The Sannin nodded and rose. “Sakura,” he began, “what do you feel for Sasuke?”

 

Sakura took some comfort from the fact Jiraiya was now speaking. “I love him,” she replied simply. “I've never stopped since the day I met him.”

 

“Even though he left you on a bench unconscious?”

 

The kunoichi smiled sadly. “Yes.”

 

“What happened that night, Sakura?” the frog hermit asked gently. Sakura knew she would be asked this so had prepared, at least. Naruto leaned forward curiously.

 

“I met him on the road that leads out of the village,” she began. “He told me to go home and I accused him of leaving. He just kept walking so I…” Sakura paused before speaking again, “I confessed my love to him and asked him to take me with him if he wouldn't stay.”

 

Naruto blinked. Sakura-chan…

 

“He smiled at me and told me I was still annoying. I threatened to scream if he left and suddenly he appeared behind me.” The pink-haired girl seemed to be avoiding looking in Sasuke's direction, though the Uchiha's gaze was directed on her as if he couldn't look away. Naruto thought that was odd but turned back to Sakura's story. “I was crying,” she said. “He… said `Thank you' and knocked me out. I woke up at dawn on a nearby bench.”

 

“He thanked you? For what?”

 

Sakura shrugged. “For caring, I suppose.”

 

“Objection,” Danzou called out. “Supposition.”

 

“Sustained,” Tsunade said through clenched teeth and Jiraiya nodded. Tsunade had to play fair, even if she didn't like it.

 

“You still love Sasuke?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Why?”

 

Sakura smiled sadly. “Because as annoying as I was all those years ago, he acknowledged me as a part of his team. Perhaps I wasn't an equal in terms of power, but I was supposed to be with him.”

 

Naruto swallowed; that was much like the reason the blonde considered Sasuke to be his best friend. He idly wondered if the Uchiha knew he had that affect on people. Well, if he didn't before, he did now.

 

“He allowed me to get close when he kept everyone else away. When everyone else saw the Uchiha heir, he allowed me to see Sasuke; the human behind the prodigy. And I loved him more because of it.”

 

“Is that why you fought so hard to bring him back?”

 

“Yes.” Sakura looked over at Sasuke. “I knew you weren't evil,” she said softly. “I believed in you. And I still do.”

 

“Please address your answers to the questioner,” Tsunade said formally, but there was a softness in her voice as she spoke to her protégé.

 

“No further questions,” Jiraiya said and Tsunade nodded to Sakura, allowing her to step down from the stand.

 

The kunoichi walked slowly back to her seat, but kept her head high. Naruto noticed that Sasuke's gaze followed her as she walked before he forced himself to turn forward. A small smile played on Naruto's lips; perhaps he wasn't so unreceptive of her feelings after all. When Sakura reached her seat, she slumped down and Naruto put a comforting arm around her shoulders. “Nicely done, Sakura-chan.”

 

“Thanks, Naruto.” She sighed. “That was more stressful than I was expecting.”

 

“You did well, Sakura,” Kakashi said and she smiled her thanks.

 

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The trial continued on for the majority of the afternoon with Danzou calling the ninja who had gone on the mission to retrieve Sasuke those years before. They all gave their answers that they believed Sasuke had been wrong to go to Orochimaru, but that they believed he deserved a second chance. Though Danzou forced them to admit how close to death they had come in the attempt to bring the traitor—Naruto growled in the back of his throat at the word—back, Jiraiya had given them the opening to express their hope that Sasuke would be able to fight alongside them again. There was mutual respect among Shinobi and though Sasuke had made a bad choice, they still respected him for fighting for his family and coming back to Konoha after all.

 

“We have time for one more witness today, Danzou,” Tsunade said. “Make it count.”

 

Danzou smiled. “I call Uzumaki Naruto to the stand.”

 

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