A/N: Revised as of 3/26/2024
With Naruto now off to the side, muzzled and in chains, Kazuma stood alone on the stand in the middle of the court.
After the reveal about the boy's dreams, just about everyone was sending him some scornful looks.
Kazuma tried to ignore their piercing gazes by making himself seem as small as possible, but he could still hear their scorn-filled voices.
"Wow… To think that Kazutrash would actually…"
"I thought those two seemed to be getting along lately, but this…"
"Scumzuma…"
The boy trembled as he heard such awful things from the crowd. He wanted to lash out at all of the ungrateful people, and he could have sworn that he heard his party member's voices amongst those whispers.
But Kazuma bit his lip to hold his tongue.
Soon, this would all be over, and he would be able to go home and forget about these shitty sheep who only judged people at face value without getting the full context of the situation.
"With Naruto Uzumaki out of the way, I shall now continue to share my findings."
Sena said before gesturing towards Naruto.
"I have more proof that solidifies my belief that Uzumaki Naruto has been overtaken by this demon. As you may or may not know, powerful devils actually don't have a gender. So, Satou Kazuma, answer me this… Is Naruto Uzumaki without a doubt a male?"
She asked while swapping her stance to point at Kazuma.
Naruto sighed as Kazuma gave the obvious answer. The shinobi was still upset about Kazuma using his sexy jutsu form for his Succubus dream-service, but at least this question would help them get back on track.
After all, Kazuma should know that he was a man after the incident in the mansion's bath-
Ding!
Naruto's bloodshot eyes locked onto Kazuma, who was doing his best to avert his gaze.
"Mmf!?"
"How the hell am I supposed to know if you're a boy or a girl after that night in the bath!? Your backstory and transformation were flawless, so of course I'm going to be confused! How dare you toy with my innocent heart!"
Kazuma barked, admitting that he really was unsure whether Naruto was actually a boy or a girl at this point.
This guy…!
Naruto wanted nothing more than to choke the life out of his "friend" right now, but there were more pressing matters to concern himself with. Because of all this nonsense, he was beginning to lose face to the crowd.
"They were in the bath together? Gross…"
"Wait, Naruto transformed into a girl? Does that mean that he might actually be a devil in disguise?"
"I'm not even surprised anymore…"
That's right, Sena's "revelations" were starting to turn the adventurers against him. But something was wrong… Not just the people, but Sena was also acting a little weird. He noticed this earlier, but something strange was going on in this court.
Sena, a minor blush on her cheeks, coughed into her hand to regain her composure.
"Guards, remove the muzzle. Naruto, tell me about this transformation ability. Is this something those who come from the 'Hidden Village' are able to perform?"
"Most of us, yes."
Naruto answered while massaging his sore jaw.
"I see… Is this the first time that you have turned yourself into a woman?"
"N-no… It isn't."
He didn't even bother trying to fib his way out of it, since he lie detector would have caught him red-handed anyway. The moment the words left his mouth, the crowd started whispering again.
Great, now there was going to be even more rumors being spread about him.
"I-I see… Guards, put the muzzle back on. I will now call in my first wit-"
"Ah! This vile presence… A devil is here!"
Aqua suddenly shouted and started searching around the court, and the crowd's whisper grew louder.
'What is that idiot doing!? Is she trying to get me killed!?'
Naruto thought with a tick-mark as he watched the goddess scan the premise, but this only confirmed his suspicions. There was definitely something fishy going on here.
First Witness…
"Dust, the Delinquent Adventurer! Is it true that you refer to Naruto Uzumaki as your 'Boss'?"
Sena asked Dust, who was now at the stand at the center of the court.
'Don't say anything stupid… Don't say anything stupid… Don't say anything stupid…'
Naruto mentally pleaded for his first party member to not make things worse for him, and he almost had hope when his fellow blonde gave him a confident thumbs up.
But-
"Of course! I decided to follow the Boss the moment I witness his womanizing ways! Boy, does Boss Naruto know how to make a woman head over heels for him! He doesn't even have to try most of the time! Just to put it into perspective, he's got the unfortunate shopkeeper, a shy mage, a crazy priestess from Alcanretia, that thief girl, the receptionist Onee-chan from the guild, and the three troublesome girls from Kazuma's party. You know, that Axis cultist who thinks she's a goddess with a weird verbal tick, the weird Crusader who's a glutton for trouble, and the little miss with a screw loose-Ouch!"
Dust was interrupted when Aqua and Megumin suddenly pounced on him.
"Take it back you delinquent trash! I am NOT in love with that perverted stalker, and I do NOT say weird things like 'mizuru'!"
"Who has a screw loose!? Let me at him!"
—As the security team restrained the two girls, Naruto looked at the lying detector hopefully. Dust was obviously spouting nothing but lies, so this would clear his suspicion of being a womanizer at least, right?
But unfortunately, the bell did not ring.
'Why!?'
Damn that lie detector!
Second Witness…
With Aqua and Megumin now tied up in ropes next to Naruto, Sena dismissed Dust from the stand before she called onto her next witness.
"Cecily of the Axis Cult! Is it true that you are in debt of four-million Eris? Can you tell me why? Does it have something to do with your place in Naruto Uzumaki's party?"
The policewoman asked before eying the shinobi sharply, prompting him to start sweating bullets.
'Please don't make this worse… I promise I'll pay off your debt, so please don't make this worse…!'
Naruto thought while staring at the crazy nun with pleading eyes when he suddenly felt a nudge at his side.
"Don't worry, my precious children are great at finding loopholes in the system!"
Aqua whispered with a confident smirk.
Where did she get all of that confidence from? She just admitted that her "precious children" were criminals, didn't she?
But it was true that the Axis Cultists were good at avoiding the police. Heck, Naruto was only able to find Cecily in town because he was beginning to understand her thought process.
But-
"It's all true, your honor. I was a foolish child who fell for a bad boy… I would have done anything to make him mine! Even go as far as to sell my own voluptuous body to pay back the debt I collected in the process. But to think he would have done all of those horrible things… Even when he had me!"
Cecily admitted before she started sobbing into her hands.
Naruto's jaw dropped when the bell didn't ring, and he turned to Aqua to find the girl glaring at him.
"How dare you make one of my precious children cry! Hmph!"
Aqua huffed before looking away with a pout.
T-this girl…!
Naruto promised to make these Axis Cultists suffer his wrath when this was all over.
Seemingly satisfied with the outcome, Sena dismissed Cecily from the stand.
"Thank you very much!"
Third Witness…
"I wanted to bring the hero candidate Mitsurugi to the stand, but he is currently unconscious due to his clearly one-sided fight with Naruto Uzumaki. So my final witness shall be Chris, the Thief! Is it true these two men are called the Panty and Bra Thief Brothers? My sources tell me you were their first ever victim."
Sena asked the silver-haired girl who was now the center of attention.
"W-well, it's true that Kazuma-san stole my panties with the skill I had just taught him, and threatened to make them his family heirloom if I didn't give him all my money…"
Chris started while scratching the scar on her cheek awkwardly before adding.
"But Naruto-san gave back the magic dagger he stole-"
"I see! So Naruto, who had stolen your expensive dagger after his partner publicly humiliated you, took pity on his victim so he could gain leverage on you for his future plans of making you do something any young girl would dread!"
Sena interrupted, causing the thief to stutter.
"W-wait, what?"
"Oh, is it not true that Naruto Uzumaki forced you to become his girlfriend, using the dagger as ransom, and tried to make you kiss him in front of the entire guild?"
Sena further asked with keen eyes.
"Ah, w-well, t-that's partially true but he didn't… I-I-I'm sorry Naruto-san! I-I just can't!"
Chris stammered as she tried to come up with a way to help the boy's situation, but the memory of that moment in the guild was too much for her to bare.
"Thank you very much!"
Sena said and spun on her heel as she marched back to her table, a teary-eyed Chris running off in the background.
Naruto sighed as he watched Chris's fleeing form. He still needed to apologize for that day…
'Hmm… It seems the brat has gotten himself into quite a pickle…'
Jiraiya thought as he watched the trial from the back of the crowd.
The day they defeated the Destroyer, he had just returned to the adventurer's guild after visiting that shop when he found his student was gone. Jiraiya figured the boy went off on another quest, so he drank the night away before heading back to his inn to prepare for his dreaming session with his sobering ninja tactics.
It wasn't until the next day, when the old sage asked one of the guild staff, that he learned about Naruto's arrest for questioning.
Again, Jiraiya simply dismissed it all, thinking the brat would be okay since he had just saved the town.
But the day after that, when the news of Naruto's prosecution reached his ears, Jiraiya grew worried when he learned that Alderp was involved with the trial.
The noble was a part of the "network" that he had established in this kingdom, but Alderp in particular had something off about him. Everything always seemed go in the man's favor.
'I'll jump in if Naruto really needs my help, but I might be able to find something out about Alderp if I let this drag on. Plus, it'll be a good lesson for the brat.'
Jiraiya thought with a short nod and continued to watch Alderp from afar.
Naruto was now a nervous wreck as he watched Sena speaking with Alderp and the man wearing a helmet.
What were they talking about, and why did it feel like the helmet guy was glaring at him? Who even was that guy?
Was he going to be okay?
If it came to it, Naruto could always just escape-No, escaping wasn't an option. That would only make him look like a villain, which he wasn't!
'Then how am I going to get out of this… Kazuma's completely out of it, Aqua's mad at me again, Wiz can't say anything else risk exposing herself, my party has done more harm than good, and Yunyun's not going to be able to speak in front of a crowd like this...'
Naruto thought as he pondered on his options.
'Any ideas, Kurama?'
'Nah, watching you struggle for once in this world is actually quite amusing.'
This damn fox…!
But if Kurama wasn't going to help him, then he was on his own.
"There's been a change of plans. We have one final witness that we would like to come to the stand."
Sena suddenly announced before nodding to the security team.
Naruto blinked when he found himself at the stand, still chained but free of the muzzle so he could speak.
Why was he at the stand?
As if to answer the blonde's question, the man wearing a helmet walked in front of him and pointed accusingly.
"Naruto Uzumaki, I have called you to the stand to ask you a few questions…"
The man said, and even with the helmet on, Naruto could feel the hatred oozing out of the openings.
Who was this guy? Did he do something to make him angry? Naruto pulled a couple of pranks here and there on some of the adventurers, but the only grand ones were on Aqua and Megumin.
"What is your relation to Dust-san!? What sort of sick game are you playing, taking him away from his real party and putting him in dangerous situations! Dust-san may be a little misguided… But you're corrupting him with your presence! Die, devil!"
"!"
Naruto was taken aback when the man suddenly started shouting at him and pulled a dagger from his waist.
"Let go of me! I must defend Dust-san's honor! Naruto Uzumaki! Have you ever kissed a man!?"
The helmet man screamed as he was dragged away from the court.
"Of course I haven't-S-shoot!"
Naruto instantly retorted and clamped his mouth shut when he realized the mistake that he had made.
But it was too late.
Ding!
The ring of the bell echoed across the field, which should have been impossible, considering that there were no walls since the court was being held outside.
Naruto's face became as red as his mother's hair, the memory of the incident with Sasuke back in his youth was in the forefront of his mind. Now everyone knew… his life was over…
"E-excuse my friend, judge. He gets rather carried away with all things justice."
Alderp explained with an awkward chuckle in an attempt to gloss over what had just happened. But it was all a lie, the fool was clearly obsessed with the delinquent adventurer. The only reason that Alderp saved that fool's reputation and even helped with this trial in the first place was for the favor that his fellow noble would owe him.
In the world of nobles, a single favor could make all the difference in a power struggle.
"V-very well… Shall we move on to the final verdict?"
The judge stuttered from all the unexpected events in this trial and was about to continue when Naruto remembered he was free to defend himself again now that the muzzle was off.
"W-wait! Before you make your decision, let me make some things clear!"
Naruto interjected before turning to face the crowd.
"My name is Naruto Uzumaki, and I am not a demon! I'm a human, just like you! I may have a powerful nine tailed fox sealed inside of me, but I assure you, I will make sure he doesn't harm anyone! Because my goal is to become a hero of this world! To rid this world of the threat of the Demon King! But, in order to do that, I know that I have to prove myself! My fight with Mitsurugi and the Destroyer... It was all to prove that I'm on humanity's side!"
Naruto shouted with all of his heart, and the adventurers stared at him with guilty expressions.
"That's why, I beg you! I'm not guilty! I'm innocent!"
The shinobi said with finality and bowed to the judge. He hated lowering himself to such a pitiful state, especially when he shouldn't even be in this situation in the first place. But he had to play by the rules, specifically this world's rules, if only to change it one day.
Sena desperately looked at the lying detector, but to her surprise, it remained silent. Could it be… her judgment was wrong?
All was silent as Naruto continued to bow, his forehead pressed against the wooden stand.
Not once in their time knowing the blonde had the adventurers ever seen such a display from the rowdy boy… It sparked a fire in their hearts, as fellow adventurers.
"What were we doing? Why are we doubting the man that saved our hides just the other day?"
"Yeah, I knew something was fishy from the start! Naruto's way too popular with the lady's to have kissed another man!"
"Naruto! Naruto! Naruto!"
The adventurers began to cheer for the shinobi, who was beet-red again after that last comment, and the judge slammed his mallet on the desk multiple times in a feeble attempt to regain order.
"Naruto-san…"
Yunyun mumbled while looking down at the floor in shame. She couldn't do anything for her friend this time due to her weakness, but next time for sure…!
"Naruto… Once again, your talent for dramatic speeches has inspired me! I won't lose to you!"
Megumin shouted while shaking her own chains loudly.
"Hmph! Just hurry up and get this over with, Naruto! The sooner this trial is over, the sooner you can fulfill your promise of making me happy!"
Aqua shouted while looking away with a haughty expression.
"I always knew you were a good person, Naruto. But I'll be the one to bring out that dark side of yours…"
Darkness said while mumbling the last part with a blush on her face. She still needed to confront that man about what he'd said during the Nido Rabbit fiasco.
Kazuma rolled his eyes at his party member's antics. It was a little annoying hearing another one of Naruto's shonen speeches again, but at least everything was over, and they could finally get back to their everyday lives.
Jiraiya closed his eyes and smiled. It seemed that there was no need to worry about the kid after all.
The judge, after getting the crowd to calm down, heaved a heavy sigh. After seeing that, the judgment was clear as day.
"With the way things turned out, I believe the defendants Naruto Uzumaki and Kazuma Satou are found-"
"Now now, judge. You're not trying to embarrass me, are you?"
Alderp suddenly interrupted while grinning at the now shaking judge. He didn't really care about all of this, but the death of two lowly adventurers for a favor from a fellow noble was no skin off his nose.
'Wha-That's cheating! Damn these medieval times!'
Kazuma cursed the corrupt noble. No wonder Darkness was being wary of this bastard! But what was Naruto doing!? Why was he still bowing like an idiot!? If he didn't do something now, they were dead!
Jiraiya frowned as the judge turned pale and began to change his statement. He knew there was something wrong with this trial. There was an outside force manipulating Sena and the judge's senses.
'Naruto…'
"Yeah, I can feel it now.'
Naruto thought and glared up at the smirking Alderp.
Coming from the man, was a faint signature of a devil.
"Ah! There it is again! Show yourself, devil! You can't hide your stench from my god nose!"
Aqua spouted out as she struggled against her ropes.
Upon hearing the Arch Priest, Alderp looked troubled for a moment. But that moment was all Naruto and Jiraiya needed to confirm their suspicions.
Alderp was somehow manipulating the trial.
'Shall we expose that piece of meat?'
'No, it's too late now. Sena put the lying detector away. We can expose him later, but for now, let's just worry about getting out of this mess.'
Naruto thought as he watched the troubled policewoman carry the box that contained the magic item away. He felt sorry for the girl. She was just trying to earnestly do her job, which was rare for this town of weirdos.
Alderp would get what was coming to him. One way or another.
"W-well then, the final verdict shall… Be…"
The judge stuttered as if he was struggling against himself.
Jiraiya was about to step forward and make himself known when Darkness beat him to the punch.
"Excuse me, Alderp-Dono. Would you do me the favor of sparing these two adventurers?"
Darkness asked with a proper tone, and a pendant dangled from her outstretched hand.
A/N: I think we all know what happens after that… Darkness saves the day before Jiraiya! I know this is kinda what happens in canon, but it'll be a Naruto version of the canon events~
From this point on, it's going to be much more original… Mostly! I promise!
See you all in the next one!
Spirit out!