"Blah": Talking
'Blah': Demon speaking/Inner Sakura
'Blah': Naruto's Thoughts/other people's thoughts
'Blah': Harry talking to Naruto
Hey All! Thank you all for your positive reviews! I loved them! I'm currently taking a little more time to update due to the lengthy exposition of Chapter 5 (and school). I will have you all know that while I'm writing this disclaimer, I am about ¾ done with Chapter 5.
For those who said in some of the comments, I do agree that Sasuke would've been/should have been killed, had I been in Naruto's place (as would any fan of the current manga, bleh) But alas, Naruto is more reasonable but still a bit of an idiot, even though he's a pretty awesome sorcerer-in-training.
Reviews are welcome and wanted!
Disclaimer: Naruto is the property of Masashi Kishimoto,
Harry Potter is property of JK Rowling,
Chapter 4: The Hearing
Sasuke barely slept a wink on the night before his fateful trial. He wasted the whole night starring out his window and waiting for the sky to change from dark to light. Expecting to see a sun rise from the east, Sasuke was only met with a grey and storm sky as the sun was block but some light managed to peak through and bring about a bland morning. Sometime around mid-day two ANBU escorts came into his room and unlocked all of his restraints minus the ones that kept his chakra in check. His two escorts dragged him out of bed and had him leave behind his hospital room. Sasuke walked down the hospital corridors with his two ANBU escorts wearing a grim expression on his face. He hardly slept for the past four days; his hair was greasier, his skin was pasty and pale, and his eyes were glassy and filled with dormant rage. He passed many nurses, doctors, and medic-nins, that hardly any of them looked at Sasuke twice due to how absolutely menacing he looked to them.
Sasuke's ANBU escorts led him outside of the hospital and firmly grasping both of his shoulders to prevent him from escaping. They led the Uchiha towards the direction of the Administration Building where they led him to the towering stairs that led up to the buildings that were behind the Hokage mountain faces. The main building there was where Sasuke's hearing was scheduled to take place.
The Volturi by Alexandre Desplat (stopping 3:23)
Eventually, Sasuke was escorted into the large building behind the Hokage Mountain. He entered through the giant double doors, walked down he long, dark, candle-lit corridors with his two escorts following close behind him, ready to stop him at seconds notice. He looked straight ahead in the direction of the chamber, passing by old paintings and framed photographs, reflecting the extensive history of the village. His attention was caught briefly when they passed by a large photograph of the Uchiha Clan Police Force. He saw how strict and serious all of the Uchiha in the photo looked and saw his father, Fugaku Uchiha, standing in the front and center of them all, looking smug and proud. Sasuke quickly refocused his attention on the hallway and stopped in front of the large doors of the council chamber. His ANBU escorts walked in front of him and opened the double doors, revealing where his fate would be decided.
The chamber was high and circular in shape, the walls colored white with stone and outlined with finely polished wood. The only sources of light in the chamber were the candles lined around the perimeter and the circular window in the center of the ceiling, where he could see the grey sky outside. With what little light that shown down into the room dully reflected off of the semi circle carved table opposite Sasuke. The table was shaped into half of the room, and stood higher than the lone chairs at the center, which gave the council a clear, equal view of the defendant.
Sasuke entered the chamber slowly, taking in his surroundings. He saw that everyone was already in their situated places. All of the clan leaders were sitting down. The Aburame, Akimichi, Hyuga, Inuzuka, Nara, and Yamanaka all stared down at Sasuke judgmentally, while others in particular glared down at him with nothing but shear hatred.
Three other people accompanied the clan leaders. Hiashi Hyuga had Might Guy sitting down beside him, Chouza Akimichi had Asuma Sarutobi sitting right next to him, and the third person was Kakashi, although he was not with any other clan leader. He had chosen to represent Naruto by himself as he had promised. Along with the ninja sat several civilian council leaders, whom were in charge of the village's economy, shop's, and even the Shinobi Library. The librarians were, oddly enough, Sakura's parents; Setsuna and Toshiro Haruno. Since they were in charge of preserving shinobi history, they were given council-level status. Situated in the center of the table sat the three elders; Homura Mitokado, Koharu Utatane, and Danzo Shimura, the recent ex-stand-in Godaime Hokage.
They all looked down at the young Uchiha as the heir to the clan sat down into one of the chairs at the center. The council sat in their seats, staring at Sasuke with little to no emotion on their faces, while Hiashi, Chouza, Guy, Asuma, and Kakashi stared at him with furrowed eyebrows, knowing full-well what he was responsible for and what he tried to do.
Danzo stood up, "We will now begin. Disciplinary Case for Shinobi 012606: Sasuke Uchiha-"
But before he could go on, Kakashi interrupted, "Pardon me for interrupting, Danzo-sama, but shouldn't we wait for Hokage-sama to arrive?"
The old warhawk glanced at Kakashi, at the far end of the table briefly and said, "I sent a messenger to him before the meeting. If he has not arrived on time, or notified his absence, then he must think it best to continue on without him."
Homura and Koharu nodded in agreement on Danzo's part to continue the meeting, while the other shinobi in the room looked perplexed and confused that a disciplinary meeting this important would be held without their leader.
Inoichi Yamanaka stood and protested, "This meeting regards a shinobi of our village's military force, our Hokage is in charge of the military force. We should wait for him!"
Danzo calmly replied, "If this meeting was so important to him, he would've arrived before any of us here even got here. He called for the meeting in the first place. Therefore, I take his absence as a sign that he wishes us to carry on with this meeting without him for just this one time. We shall continue now..."
The other ninja who were against starting without Sarutobi sank back into their seats. It didn't feel right to start this without the Sandiame Hokage.
Danzo sat in his chair of high authority as straight as his war torn body could allow, and spoke out with a strong voice, "Sasuke Uchiha, you have been brought to this court and sit before this council today for your crimes against Konohagakure no Sato. You have been charged with abandoning your village, disgracing your clan, and you were also responsible for the near-deaths of Choji Akimichi and Neji Hyuga. And lastly, erm... the attempted murder of Naruto Uzumaki."
Sasuke's frow furrowed deeper in response to Danzo having reminded him of his failure. Meanwhile, all of the civilians in the chamber hissed at the sudden mention of Naruto's name, as if his name were a taboo. The shinobi of the room rolled their eyes at the civilian's absurd resentment for the boy.
Danzo continued, "Right... Hatake-san personally requested that Uzumaki should be brought up in Sasuke's charges, acting as both Uzumaki's sensei and his parental voice."
Sasuke glared at Kakashi, believing him to be favoring Naruto over him.
(A/N: Man, you think he can't get enough attention when he tries to commit murder :P)
"We shall discuss each charge individually and have our clan heads and sensei's have their say in defense of the victims. But first, Sasuke should present his defense... Sasuke, how do you plead?"
Sasuke did not look up and said, "You know what I did, why question it?"
The council blinked in response.
"Very well, Sasuke. Then I must ask you one more thing,"Danzo continued and the Uchiha looked up at him, providing the crippled war hawk his attention, "Why did you choose to defect from your home-village?"
Sasuke replied with a dark tone in his voice, "The Sound Five ninja gave me Orochimaru's invitation to take me on as his apprentice. He promised me all the power I could ever need... He offered to give me enough power to destroy Itachi and finally avenge my clan... So everything I did... I did for my revenge..."
The council's eyes turned wide slightly, shocked at how dark and cruel Sasuke had become. The clan heads and sensei's were taken aback at Sasuke's behavior, surprised that he was not even attempting to appeal as innocent, (A/N: In court you can get a reduced sentence if you plead 'guilty' to your crime, but only when your trial/trials first start. This can be a reason for why Sasuke wouldn't try to say 'not guilty'.) although they were not surprised at his self-centeredness.
Danzo looked down at Sasuke again with his tiny, judgmental, beetle-black eyes, "So, do you not feel any remorse in your decision to betray your village? Do you not regret trying to kill a comrade of yours at all?"
Sasuke responded, "No. I don't... With a choice of staying in the village or obtaining easy power from Orochimaru, I chose Orochimaru, hands down. I couldn't care less for this village and anyone in it."
The civilians could believe their ears. Whatever happened to the young, hopeful clan heir to the Uchiha clan?
Homura asked, "Is that all you have to say in your defense, Uchiha-san?"
Sasuke looked at him, "What else is there to it?"
Danzo looked slightly displeased at this. And looked towards Kakashi with greedy hope in his only visible eye, "Kakashi, surely you wish to say something in Sasuke's defense? He is your student."
"No." Kakashi answered, earning a frown of disappointment from Danzo, "There is nothing of worth to defend in his case. I see no point in defending someone who shows no remorse for what he's done and plans to do."
Danzo looked very displeased with Kakashi's choice, as did all of the civilians, who glared at Kakashi with harsh contempt for not helping the Uchiha.
"Well... If that is all, then we shall move on to the plaintiffs." He looked over at Hiashi, "First, we have Hiashi Hyuga with Might Guy, regarding Neji Hyuga."
Hiashi stood up along side with Guy. The Hyuga head took a few moments to collect himself and spoke with a strong tone of anger in his voice, "My nephew Neji is a very valuable member of the Hyuga clan, and when I acknowledge him as valuable, I do not refer to his prowess or his self-mastery of the Byakugan. I refer to him as my nephew, a part of my extensive family. He's almost like a son to me. Although I have not been there for him recently, I nonetheless still care for him as a member of my clan and respect him as a comrade of our village... He was almost lost to death. To accept a mission you contribute to the village, in truth, you risk your life. We all as shinobi learn to accept that possible consequence of our life choice, and still carry out the mission."
Guy stood strong and said in his uncommon tone of seriousness, "Neji has proven himself to be an extremely loyal ninja to us all. He is talented to the degree where he has almost surpassed the Hyuga main branch in the Juuken taijutsu he mastered by himself, proving how serious the lose of him would be, speaking as his teacher." Guy concluded.
Hiashi said in continuation, "Neji was almost killed as a result of this selfish Uchiha's actions," Sasuke glared at Hiashi, "He deserves to be punished like any other shinobi for such a severe level of betrayal."
Hiashi leaned back into his chair as soon as he was certain that his words would sink in. Guy followed suit and sat with the Hyuga clan head and lowered his head in silence.
The chamber was silent except for the quiet scratching of pen on paper, as several members of the meeting wrote down any important information Hiashi divulged that would effect their final verdict.
Danzo stood up straight again, "The second voice, Chouza Akimichi and his companion Asuma Sarutobi, will now voice their shared decision."
Chouza stood up with a grunt, and his acquaintance, Asuma, stood with him. Chouza also hesitated as Hiashi did and said with a calm tone of voice, "Umm... In case none of you are aware; my wife and I have tried for a long time to conceive a child. It wasn't until thirteen years ago, when we were at last blessed with the birth of our son Choji." He said happily, several fellow shinobi smiled (especially Shikaku Nara) warmly as Chouza spoke of his son.
Asuma stepped forth to speak, "Choji has always shown a powerful determination to make himself stronger, even when the odds were against him. When a stronger force rose against him, he always stood rooted to the earth. As far as his loyalty to his teammates goes... it's immeasurable... When I heard he had single-handedly defeated one of the Sound Five, I was proud and astounded at how strong he's become to say the least." he concluded.
Chouza said with a much less happier tone than before, "And when I heard that my son was nearly killed, I feared that I had lost my blessing..." Chouza then remembered how dead his son looked when he first visited him in the hospital, "...I saw my son sprawled on a bed with tubes and wires attached all over his body, thin, pale and almost devout of life..."
The large Akimichi clan head had to stop speaking briefly, to rub away the tears that began to prick at his eyes.
He took a deep breath to control his emotions and swallowed the lump in his throat, "I pray that I will never have to see my son in that state for as long as I live... And it's because of Sasuke Uchiha that it even happened to Choji. That trash heap," he pointed at Sasuke, "Deserves to be locked away in a prison to rot for the rest of his life, for everything he has done to my son and several others, as well as to our village."
Chouza and Asuma sat down together, having finished putting in their two cents. The scratching of pens against paper ensued while the civilians looked worried about Sasuke. Danzo stared back at Asuma and Chouza intently, as if he were disappointed with their shared decision. Feeling there was still a little bit of hope left, he looked towards Kakashi. He hoped that the words of the other clan leaders didn't sink into Kakashi's head.
Danzo held out his good hand to gesture towards Kakashi, "Hatake-san, the floor is now yours. Surely, you can show a little bit more mercy to Sasuke than your previous comrades?" Danzo asked persuasively.
Kakashi remained seated for a few moments, as Hiashi and Chouza did before him. He reflected on what he remembered in his previous encounter with Sasuke and then stood, placing his hands in his pockets.
"I fully agree with Akimichi-sama and Hyuga-sama."
Danzo blinked in response.
Kakashi said, "Sasuke broke the law by betraying his comrades and abandoning the village. He should be punished for what he has done, regardless of his clan status and Sharingan."
The civilians could barely contain their outrage and shock with their gasps and dropped feet.
"But at the same time," Kakashi continued while he closed his eyes in shame, "I feel that this entire thing is my fault... For years, I've lived up to the belief that those who break the rules are trash, but those who abandon their comrades are below garbage... I have not been living up to my nindo. For the past many months, I've been exclusively teaching and training Sasuke. As a result of my decision, I fully neglected my other students, Naruto and Sakura, and drove my team to fall apart out of foolish favoritism."
The other clan heads (except for Shibi Aburame) looked outraged to hear this: Kakashi had been favoring a single student conspicuously in front of his other students?
Guy and Asuma looked disappointed but satisfied at the same time. Kakashi, at last, had recognized what he was doing and admitted to his foolish foolishness.
They realized and witnessed his unfair treatment to his team when they discovered, at the Chunin Exam Finals, that he had taught Sasuke how to use the Chidori and again when Asuma (with Kurenai at the time) saw Kakashi waiting for Sasuke to train him some more outside of the Amaguriama Dango Shoppe. All of this was shortly before they had their face off with Itachi by the water banks.
"I foolishly trusted this kid with an A-Ranked jutsu, believing he would only use it to protect his teammates, his friends... But instead, he used my technique as an instrument to try to kill his friend, Naruto..."
The civilians and Danzo quietly scoffed at the mention of Naruto's name once again. Kakashi growled silently at how unimportant those lazy, ignorant council members labeled his blonde student.
Setsuna Haruno (Sakura's mother) said, "Do not blame yourself, Hatake-san. Sasuke-kun is simply more important than Uzumaki. You were doing what was right."
"No I didn't!" Kakashi said loudly, "I failed as a sensei. And for your information, no student is more important than another... My job is to guide and teach each of my students equally, and give no reason to put one above anyone else. Minato-sensei taught me that the sensei's duty is like helping your students canoe across a vast and piranha-invested river. The sensei commands the team and teaches them how to row together in order to reach the other side safely. Instead of that, I split them apart and Sakura stood on one side to watch while Sasuke pushed ahead, dragging Naruto with him, and let Sasuke push Naruto into the infested waters. All due to my recklessness."
The council sat silently and listened to Kakashi intently.
"I will not stand aside and see what happens... I'm going to take control of this situation and decide the right choice... Just a few days ago, Sasuke informed me that he still has the intent to kill Naruto and still remains disloyal to Konoha. Therefore it is my decision that Sasuke should be punished, like any other traitor. That's my final word, no exceptions." Kakashi concluded.
Just before he was about to sit back down, Toshiro Haruno stood up quickly to protest.
"You cannot do that!" he hissed, "Sasuke clearly was not in a right state of mind at the time of his defection! You stood and let things play out, you said it yourself! You admitted it! You simply overlooked his tainted behavior! You should help him now and we-"
Kakashi interrupted the persistent Haruno rudely, "I spent the last three months with Sasuke, after he received his curse mark! I didn't just let him do what he wanted or let him run free. He deceived me into thinking he wouldn't harm his teammates for personal gain. But it turned out that he had the desire to destroy Naruto before he confronted Orochimaru in the Forest of Death. My information coming straight from Sasuke himself." he gestured towards Sasuke, who had chosen the wrong time to madly grin at the mention of his desired goals.
"Like I was saying; he became obsessed in his search for power longer than any of us had any knowledge of. In truth, the curse mark and Orochimaru, hardly effected his decision at all. What did drive him to go to the Hebi-teme was the promise to obtain power, and fast." Kakashi ensured to Sakura's father and the rest of the council.
But Toshiro Haruno still held strong to his beliefs with Sasuke, "But he possesses the Sharingan, he's an extremely valuable elite to the village!"
"In case you've forgotten Haruno-san, but Sasuke tried to kill Naruto. It's his fault that Neji and Choji almost died trying to stop Sasuke from getting to Otogakure." Kakashi retorted reasonably.
Another civilian stood next to Toshiro and said, "Uchiha-san deserves to avenge his clan, if some expendable layabouts get in his way and try to stop him from that, then so be it."
At that one comment, chaos and outrage erupted within the meeting room like an active volcano.
"Are you insane!" Tsume Inuzuka yelled.
"Whose side are you on?" Chouza shouted.
"You're supporting Uchiha's betrayal?" Hiashi questioned with rage.
"You are just stupid!" Kakashi complied at the civilian.
The yells and arguing ensued for several minutes. The shinobi on one side continued to protest in outrage at the civilians nonsensical reasoning, while the civilians on the other side insisted on proving Sasuke's dignity, purely for the sake of sucking up, desperately hoping to better themselves in the eyes of Sasuke.
Soon Danzo, having heard enough, shouted with an unexpected level of volume, "Silence!"
The chamber quickly became silent, and peace was temporarily restored.
Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane stood up to speak.
"The civilian council has no say in Uchiha's fate, for it does not directly nor indirectly involve the civilian population." Homura informed,
"You are only here on official attendance. None of your opinions, beliefs, or speculations will affect the final decision." Koharu finished.
"Not necessarily." Danzo contradicted politely, "Haruno-san has a point; Sasuke is the only remaining true possessor of the Sharingan that we have here in the village. If we decide to remove him from the shinobi program or, dare I say, destroy him, then we will lose the Sharingan completely."
Shikaku Nara arose, "What many of you fail to realize is that the Sharingan is not the only bloodline in the entire village. Why must you keep one clan in particular safe, while you disregard the many others we have?" Shikaku question with silence as a response, "I will admit that it is valuable, for how convenient and powerful it is. But what use is it if the only Uchiha that has it holds no respect or loyalty to the village? With all respect, he's more of a liability to the village, with how hostile he is to his comrades."
Danzo eased back into his seat as he said, "We can find a way to work around this conflict."
The council looked at Danzo, clearly confused.
"What do you mean?" Hiashi asked.
Danzo closed his eye in his usual manner, "We can always spare him any harsh penalty and preserve the Sharingan, if we only have him sent to a place of rehabilitation." he proposed.
Sasuke looked up at Danzo briefly, with a strange mixture of relief that he might not be executed, but also ominous at the idea of being sent away somewhere else.
The council argued over Sasuke's penalty for another half-hour.
They finally made an agreement that Sasuke was undeserving of any special treatment such as rehabilitation nor was he expendable enough to be executed. The council then reasserted themselves with their jounin sensei companions (for those who were with any), and Homura stood up above the rest and stared down at Sasuke.
"Sasuke Uchiha..." the raven haired teen looked up, "... After careful discussion and much consideration; it is of this council decision that we are to have you sent away to Konoha Strict Correctional Facility. Under constant surveillance for life."
Sasuke's eyes grew wide as they could possibly get.
"You mean I'm going to jail?" he outraged.
"We prefer to call it a Correctional Facility, if you will." Koharu informed.
The reality of Sasuke's situation hit him hard, like an oncoming train. He felt the room melt around him, momentarily pausing the people around him in the chamber. He felt as if a blanket of darkness had been cast over his entire being. His breathing had ceased for a brief moment as he thought to himself
'...I'm not going to get out of this... There's no way out, at all...'
He could not help but think of his future plans disappear before his eyes. His revenge, his clan, his power was all going to be lost.
He then heard elder Koharu's voice reach his ears as she said, "Unless you can provide us with anything relevant to your defense, Uchiha-san..."
Then Sasuke felt a strange feeling in his stomach that eased his feeling of defeat. He had only one choice left, if he wanted a single chance to carrying out his plans for power and revenge.
Armand's Seduction by Elliot Goldenthal (or The Exodus by Alexandre Desplat)
He would have to turn in Naruto to the council.
Sasuke smirked to himself, 'Sorry, Uzumaki. But desperate times call for desperate measures.'
"-Then I'm afraid we'll have to close this-" elder Koharu was about to finish, when Sasuke opened his eyes again and made the decision that would forever change the village of Konohagakure no Sato.
"WAIT!"
The council flinched at the sudden shout and their eyes fixed upon the Uchiha yet again.
"I have something you must know! It's about Naruto Uzumaki!" he proclaimed.
The civilians, particularly the Haruno's and Danzo, looked intrigued on what he had to voice about the blonde shinobi, however, were not interested in hearing lies or accusations about shinobi considered to be heroes for their accomplishments.
"What do you mean, Uchiha-sama?" asked many of the civilians, eager to hear what he had to say about Naruto.
"He's been keeping a secret from you all for a long time, possibly for years." he began, exhilarated, "I have a good reason to believe that he's in practice of the Black Arts."
The council, thinking only of Naruto's connection to the Kyuubi, were instantly convinced of Sasuke's accusation. The shinobi and the elders were not amused. Kakashi actually stood up in protest angrily.
"You lying little shit. Don't listen to him everyone, he's just making up excuses so he can save himself." he responded, frustrated at Sasuke's attempt to wheedle out of his sentence.
Sasuke whipped his head towards Kakashi and yelled, "I'm not lying! I saw him using unnatural techniques at the Valley! He summoned all of this red and green energy and it swirled around him like crazy! It's like it was a part of him!"
This left the shinobi confused for a few seconds. They quickly assumed that Naruto would have had no other choice but to use the fox chakra in order to ensure Sasuke's defeat (thus explaining the red energy mentioned). But what was perplexing was that Sasuke mentioned 'green energy'. Wasn't that more associated with medical ninjutsu? Why would Sasuke try to use that as an excuse?
Chouza suggested with sarcasm, "Oh, I don't know. Maybe it was his chakra."
"Chakra doesn't manifest into a solid animal and attack you! This was like nothing I've ever heard or studied before. He even used a conductor and absorbed all of the flames of the fire-jutsu's like a sponge! He then used it again and created this huge silver fox to chomp and claw at me! It caused my curse mark to recede even when it was at level two. It even burnt my skin!"
Hiashi reasoned, "What you saw him performing was probably Naruto's 'inner power'," He put emphasis on his words to refer to the Kyuubi's power, "He's already demonstrated his ability to control it perfectly, in his Chunin Exam Final match against my nephew Neji. Uchiha's accusations mean nothing."
Sasuke stared Hiashi down and said quietly, "He told me not to tell any of you."
Everyone looked at Sasuke with confusion. And Sasuke continued to speak, with a wicked smile, showing no signs of hiding the truth.
"It's the truth. He came up to my hospital room before Kakashi showed up, and he bribed me into not telling any of you this. He even admitted that what he used against me was unnatural and dangerous."
Frustrated that Sasuke was trying to sell Naruto out to save himself, Kakashi boomed at Sasuke, "You sniveling little liar!"
"Kakashi-san! Control yourself!" Danzo silenced, causing Kakashi to sit back into his seat, "Now, Uchiha-san has an intriguing point, here."
"You don't actually believe his story, do you?" Koharu questioned.
Shikaku (being the wiser one here) stood up, "Danzo-sama, this is ridiculous to even consider. We shouldn't be wasting our time with this nutball's story."
Tsume said, "I agree. Let's just drop this and throw this gaki in jail!"
"We have time. After all, witchcraft is an unholy crime. If there is witchcraft being committed in my village, then I shall see to it that it's properly snuffed out." Danzo said arrogantly, referring to the village as if he owned it.
The civilians, despite being told that they had no business in ninja affairs, voiced their support for Danzo.
"I agree!" Toshiro Haruno voiced, "Uzumaki should be brought here right now!" another civilian said, "No crime should go unpunished here!"
Chouza Akimichi yelled in protest, "And let Sasuke get away with treason? Are you all insane?"
"Silence, Akimichi!" Danzo took his opportunity to signal to the ANBU to retrieve Naruto at once.
"It is decided that Uzumaki should be brought here, and be questioned about his involvement in Sasuke's story."
Sasuke looked at Danzo and said, "If you want answers from Naruto, then just question him if he knows about the Black Arts after luring him into a false sense of security. If he reacts as if he knows something that he shouldn't, then you have your answer right there."
He smiled to Danzo, thinking like a madman for the sake of his freedom. Danzo looked back down at Sasuke with a nasty smile on his ugly face, 'I like how this boy thinks. He reminds me of myself back when I was a lad...'
The shinobi were not happy to hear this being said and done. Thankfully Kakashi stood up, doing his job and protecting Naruto.
"Danzo, you are out of line asking for that." he began, refusing to refer to Danzo as his superior, "Besides, this is idiotic. Naruto would react badly anyway. If you ask him of his use of some 'Dark Arts', then he'll think you're referring to his 'red chakra' and he might get the wrong idea and panic either way." he reasoned.
Danzo merely smiled and looked ahead, "Then we shall question him about his use of the 'you-know-what's' power first, and then question his knowledge of the Black Arts. We'll know if there's a difference."
(A/N: They're not saying Kyuubi's name because Sasuke is still in the room)
Kakashi furrowed his brow, "Alright, I'm not going to let this go any further. To make a decision like that you need Hokage-sama to be here. If you're going to question the 'red chakra' legally, that requires the Hokage to allow you to discuss it. If you don't, then you'll have broken the disclosure degree he made over thirteen years ago."
Danzo began to grow irritated at being reminded that his old rival, Hiruzen, was still the living, breathing Hokage. He turned his head towards Kakashi and shot him a nasty look before answering him again.
"If Naruto is involved in Sasuke's final sentence, then he should be here to prove what Sasuke has told us is true."
Kakashi insisted on his beliefs, "Any meeting regarding Naruto or the 'you-know-what' can only be permitted if the Sandiame is here. There is no other exception."
"This meeting will determine Sasuke's fate. If Naruto holds important information that can effect the village, then he should be questioned!" Danzo raised his voice.
Kakashi started to grow angry again, at how unreasonable Danzo was being, "No, he shouldn't. You have no authority over my student!"
Danzo yelled, "I have authority over this trial!"
And Kakashi yelled back, "Well you're NOT the Hokage!"
"SILENCE!" Danzo roared at Kakashi in affixed anger, "If you speak out of line one more time, Kakashi, I will see to it that you are demoted from your rank as Jounin and permanently disband your team!" The old war hawk threatened with malice, hating the reminder of his denied position of power.
Sasuke laughed to himself, "Ha-ha! Sensei got yelled at..."
Kakashi, having the choice of going against Danzo or losing his entire team forever, he slowly sat back down in seat, looking defeated. The jounin Guy and Asuma looked at their comrade in a mixture of pity and sympathy. They both saw the uncommon look of worry in Kakashi's lone eye and just felt sorry for him. They would have been more than happy to help him out of this jam (since he was finally trying to do his job), but there wasn't anything either one of them could do. Danzo had already sent out the unidentified ANBU soldier to drag Naruto all the way from the hospital over to the meeting room. Kakashi cringed at the thought of seeing Naruto being tormented by Danzo or the rest of the council and being unnecessarily interrogated. He had never taught him (or any of his students for that matter) how to better cope should the time come if you were captured and questioned by an enemy. Naruto would be torn apart. He growled at Danzo, as the old man sat back into his big chair, acting as if he had accomplished something worth-while. The civilians also looked pleased and so did Sasuke.
'... At long last, Uzumaki... After thirteen years... You will fall...'
Back at the hospital, Naruto suddenly woke up with a start and a white hot flash of pain stung at his forehead.
"OUCH!" Naruto winced.
His hand, reflexively, touched his scar and he started to gently caress his now throbbing forehead. Harry woke from his short cat-nap, sensing Naruto's sudden distress.
'Naruto, what's' matter?' he asked groggily,
'My scar... It stung just now.' Naruto responded.
Harry got up and out of bed and looked up towards the ceiling to check what the outside sky looked like. He saw that the grey skies of the morning were still growing darker, promising a good storm.
'Perhaps, it's just a headache, Little one...' Harry guessed.
Naruto shook his head, 'No. I'm absolutely sure I felt it burn just now, Harry.'
Moments after Naruto had been born and during the merge of Naruto's soul and Harry's, Naruto began to bear the exact same lightning bolt-shaped scar on his own forehead as his older brother had back while he was alive.
But it's not like Lord Voldemort was lurking just outside his hospital door, ready to kill the two of them. Voldemort was dead. Harry made sure of that, which was unfortunately (or rather fortunately) the reason he was here.
But it was only Naruto's scar that ever hurt these days, and this isn't the first time it's ever happened to Naruto. It stung one time in the Land of Waves, when the ninja Haku was approaching him in his sleep stealthily. It happened again on many different occasions in the months-time before the Invasion of the Konoha after the Chunin Exam Finals had commenced. Naruto scar stung everytime Orochimaru, blood-thirsty Gaara, or one of Orochimaru's agents were around him or let out a killer-intent towards Naruto's general direction. Harry had quickly analyzed that Naruto's scar served as warning of danger to him, which ironically is what Harry thought his was for when it first began to burn throughout his first year of Hogwarts. For Harry, it was for when both Voldemort was nearby him and for when Voldemort expressed a very powerful emotion (at least back then). But for Naruto, it was a warning defense for possible life-threatening danger to him. A defense-mechanism in short.
'What do you think it was, Nii-san?' Naruto asked.
'... Maybe something bad has happened just now...' Harry deduced.
Naruto placed his hand under his chin and thought to himself slowly and carefully before saying, '...The only question is; what is it...?'
Harry suddenly picked up two unfamiliar chakra signatures coming in close, 'You're about to find out, someone's coming and they don't feel friendly...!'
Naruto swiftly made his way back underneath his covers, as he heard the sudden opening of his hospital room door. Naruto heard footsteps which were quickly put together when two ANBU stepped into his room and stopped at the foot of Naruto's plain, white hospital bed. Naruto looked up to see their porcelain animal masks and then dropped a hopeful smile once he realized that they were not the same two guards he had Confunded a few days ago. But something was odd about these two particular ANBU soldiers. They both wore identical masks and from the looks of it, had the exact same height, hair, muscle-content and tone, and showed no differentiation whatsoever.
They stopped before Naruto's bed and stood as still as statues, not even letting a spec of dust move on their shoulders.
'Quick! Hands between your legs, Naruto!' Harry joked to put Naruto more at ease.
Naruto yelled back at him, trying his hardest not to laugh out and look like a crazy person, 'Harry, shut it!'
One of the two guards spoke, "Naruto Uzumaki?"
"Uh-huh?" the blonde responded.
"You are needed at the Council Meeting Chamber, right now." the one on the left ordered in a flat, stoic voice.
"For what?" Naruto asked curiously.
"Don't ask questions. Come with us." the one on the right ordered monotonously.
Naruto pulled himself out of bed and grabbed his crutches so he could get to the other end of his room. There, he pulled a changing veil over him and quickly changed into a fresh pair of green and orange boxers. He just couldn't stand getting out of bed and not freshen up with fresh clothes. He then threw aside his used hospital gown and picked up to put on what he knew by now, to be his only remaining orange jumpsuit left in his possession. Shizune or one of Naruto's other trusted friends must have dropped it off for him over night. The most likely person being Shizune, since she worked at the hospital alongside her aunt Tsunade.
Once he was ready, the ANBU then led him out of his room and out of the hospital, and took him to the council. (A/N: In case no one guessed, these ANBU are from ROOT)
Naruto made his way down the long hallways with the assistance of his crutches, briefly glancing at the portraits and photos of Konoha's history on the walls just as Sasuke had done earlier. He soon faced the same doors Sasuke had as well and entered with the help of the escorts, who pushed the doors wide enough for him and them to get through. The heavy doors slowly closed with a loud thundering noise and locked.
Naruto looked around and saw the council and several jounin sitting in the higher seats ahead of him. Closer by, he saw Sasuke sitting down on one of the chairs in the center of the chamber, his back facing Naruto.
The blonde tried his best to relax and attempted to clear his mind of all of his emotions in order to shield himself from the council's judgmental eyes. Naruto was not perfect at Occlumency (even though it was the first magic Harry ever tried to teach him) but his shields were impressive enough to withstand most killer intent in the middle of combat. Had he been a Hogwarts student, he would've been praised for his ability to use it as he did.
Naruto put up his shields and then noticed something ominous as he walked to his seat in the center. It appeared that Sasuke was on the verge of breaking down in his seat and crying. Naruto ignored him and sat down, a chair between him and Sasuke, with a very strange feeling in his stomach as his scar stung every few seconds.
'...Something doesn't feel right here...' Harry openly suspected.
Naruto agreed, 'You're telling me. My scar's pulsing right now. What's more, Sasuke Uchiha doesn't cry...'
The blonde's eyes gazed up on and went down the council's table, searching for Sarutobi. He saw several civilians he had never met or seen before, Sakura's parents, Hiashi Hyuga, Guy-sensei, Asuma, Choji's dad, Shikamaru's dad, the two elders Koharu and Homura, his sensei Kakashi, and at last but not least, Danzo Shimura. But, Sarutobi was nowhere to be found and Naruto grew worried. His search of the chamber was quickly cut short when Danzo spoke out to him.
"Naruto Uzumaki," he called, Naruto looking up at him in response, "You were brought out of the hospital on a very important matter. Can you guess what it is?"
Naruto put on his mask of clueless confusion he mastered so easily and said, "N-no. I'm not sure..."
"Hmph! I'm not surprised at your answer, stupid boy." Danzo rudely pointed out Naruto's lack of intelligence, "You are here because we are discussing what had happened between you and Sasuke, here."
Naruto pretended to realize what he meant by saying, "Oh! You mean the fight at the Valley..." he then slowed down his words and he asked, "Did I do something wrong?"
Danzo and the civilians then shared a sickening smile of amusement as Danzo carefully released a wave of killer intent at Naruto and the boy faltered at sensing it.
"We will see... Naruto Uzumaki," Danzo began, as Naruto bit his lip, beginning to struggle with his mental shields, "...Did you use your 'red-tailed chakra' to enable your victory against Sasuke?"
The shinobi were very shocked that Danzo hinted at the Kyuubi so inconspicuously, and Naruto then answered, "Yes-but I had no other choice! It was the only way I could defeat him and stop him from getting away!" Naruto ensured quickly, before anyone could call for his death.
Danzo held up his hand and said, "Well that's interesting... And that's all you used to stop him?"
"Yes. That's all." answered Naruto.
"That's indeed very interesting... You didn't have a choice... Very interesting."
Harry growled, 'If that fatass says 'interesting' one more time, I swear to god, I will fu-'
Naruto tried to tune out Harry's following words with several fake coughs and asked, "What's interesting?"
Danzo's smiled deepened creepily, "It is interesting because we just received very illuminating information about the fight between you two. We have received intelligence that you performed techniques, that are not even associated with your 'red chakra' or any form of ninjutsu that has ever been recorded in the history of shinobi arts. Will you care to explain this?"
Naruto began to stutter, "I-I-I-"
He couldn't speak. Naruto felt his esophagus begin swell up, constricting his breathing. A large lumped form in Naruto's throat as his face began to turn pink and then red. The blood in his body rushed to his face and the pace of his heart increased badly. Naruto was now cornered, and his mental shields were shattered like glass, as the death-glares of both Danzo and the civilians worked together and fixed Naruto into a trap. Danzo, knowing full-well when an enemy was at it's weakest point during an interrogation, was when you strike them down with full force. He took this opportunity presented to him and struck Naruto with a strong, verbal attack.
"Naruto Uzumaki, are you in practice with the Black Art of witchcraft? Are you a witch?" He questioned fiercely, like a boom of thunder.
Naruto's skin grew deathly pale, the red and pink in his face faded away, and his heart almost stopped beating. He then turned slowly towards Sasuke and saw him giggling to himself while looking at the blonde wizard. Naruto felt as if he were instantly teleported back into the same hospital room he and Sasuke were in back when they had made the deal. To Naruto, no one else stood in the room apart from the two of them. All sound had turn exempt to him as he starred at Sasuke for the longest time and finally spoke to him.
"You unbelievable, son of a bitch. How could I be so stupid to trust you...?"
Sasuke then smirked wickedly and said, "There's your proof ladies and gentlemen of this esteemed council."
Naruto blinked and the hospital room had vanished in a flash of light, and just like that, he was back in the council chamber that suddenly became flooded with gasps and uninterpretable yells.
Naruto gasped, "Wait! NO!"
The shinobi were absolutely shocked to their core by what they heard Naruto say; what Sasuke had said was true. But knowing a person like Naruto, they all knew better than to think he was an evil-doer. So they stood up to his defense, unable to think of anything else to do in the chaos.
Kakashi was frozen in his seat at what he discovered about his Obito-like student.
Naruto was a practitioner of witchcraft?
He couldn't believe it.
Kakashi slumped back into his chair and sat quietly; He shouldn't say or do anything, as it would only cause him trouble that he wouldn't be able to handle. But then he saw Naruto, pale-white, hardly breathing, and beginning to lose his balance. His tender heart reminded him that this boy was his precious student, and he needed his help, now more than ever before.
He then stood up abruptly to Naruto's defense and argued against the harsh demands of the civilians. His fellow jounin, Guy and Asuma, also had similar reactions upon realizing the truth. But soon they were reminded of Naruto's harmless and kind nature and quickly stood up to help Kakashi with protecting the boy.
Occlumency by James Hannigan
Naruto felt his entire world begin to crash and shatter all around him. To him, the world had grown dark and cold as if the dementors had entered the room and started to gather around Naruto in a tight circle wherein he and Sasuke were sitting in their individual chairs and he did nothing to defend himself or horde the imaginary monsters away. Naruto could literally feel the frost forming on the floor and freezing over his chair. With every breath Naruto took in, it grew more difficult as if he were sitting at the summit of a mountain capped with snow and ice. He had accidentally committed the ultimate taboo and now his life was a ruin. Naruto continued to stare at Sasuke, amidst to all the chaos, he saw him laughing at his misery.
"You swore to me that you wouldn't tell, Sasuke! You swore to it!" Naruto yelled tearfully at the Uchiha.
Sasuke smirked at the blonde and replied, "Oops!"
Then it hit Naruto. It wasn't until only just now, did Naruto finally hear and process the noises that were echoing all around him. The civilians of the council were yelling at the top of their lungs, their voices echoing in the chamber from it's open vastness and spitting insults, demands, accusations, and actual saliva and mucus at Naruto.
"He's a WITCH!"
"Destroy him!"
"KILL HIM!"
"DEMON!"
"BURN HIM!"
Naruto was now sweating from every pore all over his body.
His most terrifying nightmare had become a reality.
Naruto began to hyperventilate uncontrollably, and started to chant to himself, "This isn't happening! This isn't happening! This isn't happening!"
Sasuke laughed at Naruto's baby-like misery in a high-pitched voice, satisfied that if he could not kill Naruto, he would at least cause him to be as miserable as he was now. Not even special training could satisfy him like he was satisfied now.
Naruto's breath was suddenly cut short, and he fell off his chair and onto the ground where he retreated into a fetal position. His breathing began to slow down rapidly as he was beginning to lose consciousness. Harry tried to reach Naruto, but he grew distant and unnaturally quiet as his eyes in the real world began to lose their shine and color, as if Naruto were being shut off. Harry tried his best to sooth him with his voice and try to calm him down. As soon as Naruto returned to the world of the mindscape, Harry placed him down on the bed as he did many times before and tucked him in nicely. Once sure that he wouldn't go anywhere anytime, Harry stood up abruptly and ran to the place where Naruto's subconscious resided. He felt that the only way out of this terrible problem was to go and solve it himself.
The chaos inside of the chamber was sudden interrupted as the heavy double doors of the entrance were slammed open, revealing the furious Sandiame Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi and his companions; Jiraiya, Tsunade, Shizune, and Iruka.
"What is the meaning of this monstrosity?" the Sandiame roared.
The chamber fell so silent that even the insects in the room didn't dare make a movement or sound. All of the civilians were terrified to the very core, to see the Hokage so angry. Danzo in particular looked the most frightened of all to see him, and began to sweat profusely.
"ANSWER ME!" the Sandiame roared even louder than before.
Danzo found the courage (unlike the others in the room) to speak, "H-Hokage-sama, why are you even here?" he asked with nervous fear.
'This isn't right. He shouldn't have known this meeting would take place today! How did he find out?'
Before the Sandiame could answer him, Iruka noticed Naruto on the ground; bloodless and unconscious and cried out with worry, "Naruto!"
He and Shizune rushed to his side to check up on him, while the Sandiame answered his rival calmly, while glancing at the boy he considered his grandson, "If you must know, I was on my way to see Naruto at the hospital after Jiraiya and Tsunade were finished informing me on something important about him. Only when I finally got to the hospital, Iruka and Shizune, here, were in panic because Naruto had disappeared from the hospital. He wasn't checked out, and one of the nurses, thankfully, saw him leaving with two unauthorized ANBU escorts, to a meeting I had absolutely no knowledge about. Immediately, I set out with my accomplices here, to put a stop to this before it began." Sarutobi informed.
Kakashi turned at Danzo and yelled, "You told us you sent for Hokage-sama, Danzo!"
The crippled elder looked more nervous as he tried to say, "I-In my defense, I felt it best for the village if I-"
"-Allowed a crazy witch-hunt to commence in a meeting?" Sarutobi interrupted with billowing anger, "What crime has Naruto even committed? As far as I know, Naruto successfully saved Sasuke from Orochimaru on the retrieval mission. What has he ever done wrong in your eyes?" he questioned aggressively.
Only one of the civilians found the courage to answer him, "H-he has been caught committing witchcraft! He used it on Uchiha-san, and for all we know, it could've killed him!"
Sarutobi stared at the civilian who spoke, disgusted by all the civilians continued discriminative behavior towards Naruto, and asked, "Do you have proof?"
Toshiro Haruno stood up and said, "Uchiha-san claimed to us that Uzumaki bribed him to keep this secret of his, which proved to be true when Uzumaki said out loud that they had made the deal. We all heard it!"
Sarutobi glanced at Naruto sadly, seeing him in Iruka's arms, as the man tried to revive and comfort him with Shizune at his side.
'... Naruto-kun... Why didn't you tell me this sooner...? I could have helped you...'
The Hokage sighed, and stood up straight again. He took in a deep breath of air and prepared to help Naruto with what little chance of success he had.
"I can explain Naruto's complications with the help of my companions here. Iruka, Shizune, Jiraiya, Tsunade could you-"
"-Allow me to explain." called an entirely different voice all of the sudden.
It was Naruto that spoke only it didn't sound like his voice entirely. The faces of every single person in the room turned toward him and froze. Iruka and Shizune backed away from him, allowing Naruto to lift himself up and stand tall all on his own. Everyone stared at the boy, and when he opened his eyes, everyone expecting to see his famous cerulean-blue and were shocked and alerted to see that they had turned to piercing, emerald-green eyes instead.
Kakashi saw Naruto stand up and face him and the others and said, "Naruto, what-"
He had stopped and froze in place when he looked into his student's new eyes, "Wait a minute... You're not Naruto! Who are you?" he demanded the unknown entity.
Naruto turned to look at Kakashi and spat, "Be quiet, you idiot jounin..."
Everyone's eyes turned wide at hearing the teens voice having also changed. It sounded like an unnatural mix between Naruto's normal voice and the voice of which that belonged to a young adult.
Sasuke looked into Naruto's dramatically changed voice and eye color and the demanded for an explanation, "What's going on with him?"
Sarutobi stood still in shock before he turned to the ANBU in the room and signaled for them to remove Sasuke from the room at once.
"Take Uchiha outside. Guard him at all times. Now!" he ordered.
The two soldiers vanished out of thin air before reappearing behind Sasuke. They both grasped his arms tightly and dragged him out and away from the chamber. Sasuke struggled against the lightning fast ANBU, as he was thrown out.
"LET GO! I want to know what's going on!" he yelled before the doors slammed shut and locked him out.
Back with the council, Danzo stared at 'Naruto' with sudden contemptuous hatred, and squinted his only remaining good eye.
"It's the Kyuubi..." he accused quietly.
'Naruto' spoke out loud enough for everyone to hear, "No. I'm not the damn fox. If I were, then I would've attacked you by now, wouldn't it?"
"What are you?" many people demanded at once.
The blonde adopted a very stoic look, and said as if he were aged much older, "What am I you ask...? I was once a man like many of you here... Until I had passed away and was reborn into Naruto... In fact, I was the person he was meant to become at birth..."
Naruto took a long pause before running his fingers through his hair and said, "... My name... is Harry Potter..."
To be continued...
Dun-Dun-DUN! Wow, that took a long time to write! Sorry everyone for the delay, I hope I didn't upset anyone. Chapter 5 is a doosey! Not to mention that Finals start next week for me, but after that I'll be free to write before you know it. I really appreciate you all being so patient, thank you all, your great!
I did however have some second thoughts on the Percy Jackson bit being in my crossover so I might or might not omit that. It all depends on how it fits in the story.
And as for Naruto's secret having now gone public, I HAD to do that in order for the plot to commence.
I have A LOT of great plans for Naruto in future chapters, including magical mischief. Hehehe!
Well. . . That's all I got for now, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, wish me luck on my finals, and god bless you all for reading.
Reviews keep me motivated, so be sure to post them when you can! Thank you!