Naruto shook his head like an animal that had been hit on the nose. He rubbed his hands over his eyes and then grasped at the back of his neck. The voice was hissing at him, egging him on to move and lash out at everything. The flash of thoughts that rules shouldn't apply to him flashed through his mind again, but this time he recognised them as whispered by the voice. But he also realised they were his own, his mind, just more primal. The whispers sounded demonic and evil and pressed against his mind like instinct. The presence felt ancient and powerful, but for all it was, it didn't seem to be able to override his cognitive mind. Not on its own, anyway. He could give in, but he could also choose not to, it seemed.

The pressure in his head seemed to settle in a tingling sensation after that realisation, raking through his spine and radiating to his limbs in odd spikes. It was frustrating in a satisfying way and it didn't make sense. He felt like when he would give into this, he'd be cast into a world of pleasure, but it felt too dangerous, demanding and dominant to give into it. If he let his mind settle into the bliss that was being promised to him, he was sure he wouldn't have any control over his body and he wasn't sure if there would be a way to get it back.

The strength and conviction in the voice had died down by a lot now that he knew he had control. It was still scary, though, because he knew that when another part of him was at the forefront, a part that was already more intoned to instinct, he probably would have given in to it easily.

He grunted, releasing his grip on the base of his neck and letting himself slough forwards a bit with his hands in his lap. His nails were longer and looked sharper that he had ever seen them before. They were more like claws with the way they were discoloured, yellowish and thick. Animalistic and definitely linked to the weird sensation in his mind. He hid them by balling his fists and noticed his hands were shaking in effort. Maybe the Genjustu on multiple targets took more from him than he first thought.

He rose his head, watching the people slumped in their seats, some on the floor, slowly breathing. He needed to wake them. He needed some kind of help and his eyes were naturally drawn to Sasuke's form, but before that he needed to know their intentions with him. It might determine his next course of action, because despite his love for the village, he wasn't sure if he could bare to stay if it meant being locked away again.

Leaning against the door he stood up, whimpering at the sensation running through him that seemed to intensify with movement. Moving was hard. Not difficult due to weakness or exhaustion, but it was like he needed to fight for control over his movements.

He pushed more Chakra into the Genjutsu, making them speed up, but the extra effort took a lot out of him and left him pretty much breathless.

He straightened up and tried to look like he was just a little weary of using so much Chakra. Soon, almost everyone was up again, glancing at Naruto who was breathing hard. He grinned to hide his grimace, putting his hands behind his head to hide his shaking. It seemed to work. There was more awe on the faces of the onlookers than anything else.

"I think we have enough information." Kakashi said, looking at Sarutobi, who nodded in agreement.

"Yes. It is quite evident that Sakura-chan was in the wrong, based on this and the testimonies from the rest of the team." Sarutobi said.

The attention of the room moved to Sakura, giving Naruto a second to breath now the pressure was off of him. A smile tugged at his lips at the idea that they weren't blaming him, that they were fair in their judgement and that they didn't measure with a double standard because he was involved. Even Kakashi seemed to be swayed more and more to be positive about Naruto, which was nice in and of itself. Naruto felt a little more confident about his future within the village, knowing the next Hokage, at the very least, wasn't directly against him, but would also treat him fair.

He noticed Sasuke hadn't joined the others in looking at Sakura. His eyes were still trained on Naruto and when the discussion turned to what punishment was going to await Sakura, Sasuke started to slowly making his way towards Naruto. "Are you alright?" Sasuke whispered. Naruto smiled at him with that special smile and he nodded. Sasuke returned the smile.

"Just tired. It took a little more than I expected it would." He confided to Sasuke.

"Well, it was amazing. I've never seen someone doing such a thing... What was that part with the ANBU?" Sasuke asked. He had a suspicion it was his brother, but he wasn't quite sure.

"That was just for you. I figured you might recognise him despite the mask. Your brother did something bad, but he was kind to me. I don't think he was evil." Naruto said, letting his eyes wander back to Sakura. He saw Sasuke nod in the corner of his eyes and knew they were going to talk about this more, but first this needed to be finished. "What will happen to Sakura?" Naruto asked as he looked at Sakura, who stood near tears and looked more desperate with each passing word spoken by Sarutobi.

"Guess we'll find out soon enough." Sasuke answered, snaking an arm around Naruto's waist as he also turned to face Sakura. The moment Sasuke touched him, the voice in his mind growled out, sending a jolt down his spine. Naruto almost jumped as the sensation, making Sasuke snap back his attention to Naruto. Naruto just grinned innocently and went back to watching the conversation. He slowly realised the pressing sensation, the tingles and the weird urge were all gone. He drew in a long and steady breath as relief washed over him. It felt like something satisfied his instinct, calming it down, at least for the moment. This was something he needed to figure out later. Right now, he chose to focus on Sakura.

"Girl, what on earth possessed you to attempt to kill a fellow Shinobi like that? Don't you know what kind of consequences that could have for you?" Morino asked. There was anger in his voice, but he did a good job at hiding it for the most part.

Sakura looked furious as well, but unlike Morino, she did little to hide the insult and anger she felt. "He killed my mother! He stole Sasuke from me! I don't understand why everyone is taking the side of that monster! He's the murderer, not me! He's the one that taunted me the entire trip, it the other way around!" She still had enough self control to not be yelling, but that's all that could be said for that. She looked at Naruto, a hateful glare directed straight at him. It was enough to make him uncomfortable with the intensity of it. Naruto averted his gaze and hid his face in Sasuke's neck, turning his body towards Sasuke as well. He didn't like it, this anger directed at him. It made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. He almost felt like she deserved whatever punishment they were going to give her. She was relentless, even when he tried to gain her forgiveness. "And when I spoke out against being teamed up with him, I was told to ignore my feelings and just accept it. How do you expect me to just accept the killer of my mother like that?" She cried out, tears running down her face in frustration.

"As a Shinobi you should have been able to handle your emotions." Kakashi told her. His words came out harsh, making her flinch. She looked down, on the edge of breaking into tears again. "If you can't, then maybe the Shinobi life isn't the life you should be leading." Naruto could tell Kakashi saw her behavior towards him as the worst betrayal someone could do and Naruto actually felt a little nervous for Sakura. He didn't want her to be locked away anymore than he himself wanted to be locked away. There was something inherently cruel about locking someone up and he didn't wish it on to anyone.

"Kakashi, you might be right, but there is no need to be this callous towards her." Sarutobi said, and directed his attention to Sakura. "Sakura-chan, despite the reasons behind your actions, even if they are understandable, your actions were still very severe and you must understand that this cannot go unpunished." He said in a calm and friendly tone. "You will be suspended from all your Shinobi duties except your work in the hospital, which I will classify as essential. That means there will be no more fieldwork for you in the near future. Don't expect a possibility to further your studies outside of Konoha as well. I know you wanted that to study poisons, but you will not be allowed outside Konoha until further notice. You will also be stripped back to the rank of Genin, until such time that you have proven your worth again to be named Chunin or higher. On top of that, you'll get a restraining order to keep your distance from Naruto and you'll have several sessions with Yamanaka-san to evaluate your state of mind." Sakura glanced at Inoichi. He hadn't said a word to his adopted daughter yet and was also avoiding meeting her gaze. When she saw the disappointment on the face of the man that practically raised her, she looked down again, renewed tears running down her cheeks. She nodded silently and waited. "I think that was all. Kakashi, do you have anything to add?"

Kakashi stared at Sakura for a moment, his jaw tense as he thought about it. "No, nothing." He said after a moment, though it was clear that was not completely true, but Kakashi decided against adding to it with something that might be a little too much for the situation. Like banishment. Or torture. If those that abandon their comrades are lower than scum, what the hell was a Shinobi that tried to kill a fellow Shinobi? And not just a member of the same village, but a team member at that! It was going to be a long path for Sakura to earn his trust again.

"Naruto, you are cleared of the accusations against you by Sakura. You were not at fault and you are free to go." Sarutobi said. Naruto turned towards him and gave a short nod and a small smile, one he dropped quickly when he glanced at Sakura. He was happy, but she wasn't. But the judgement was better than he had expected. Had they wanted to lock her away, he would have protested against it, though he wasn't sure she would have accepted his help even if it would benefit her. She was adamant about never accepting anything from him and this would probably be no different, even if it would have helped her greatly.

It was fine like this, Naruto realised. Those were her own actions and these were the consequences she created for herself. The rules applied to her as they did to him and everyone else. He glanced at Sasuke. He seemed to be satisfied with the outcome as well judging by the content smile and the soft pressure on Naruto's back by Sasuke's hand.

They were dismissed shortly after and Naruto couldn't be happier about that. The stuffy room and all talking was exhausting. Not to mention the tension of waiting for his answer that could once again have been life changing. He was happy everything was settled now.

Once they were outside, Naruto stretched out with a grunt, then turned to face Sasuke. "Take me somewhere to eat?" He said grinning.

"Sure, why not?" Sasuke said, smiling himself as well. "Where do you want to go?"

There was only one answer to that one. "Ichiraku's!"