Naruto's Kit

Chapter 38

4:00 pm came and the trial to determine Sasuke's fate had begun. Word had spread amongst the village regarding the capture of the last Uchiha and many came down to the courthouse to see what would happen. Oddly, more came for a sense of closure to the whole issue than any love for the Uchiha. Over the years gone he lost more and more supporters, and those that did support him kept finding it harder to, especially regarding his most recent actions.

Konoha's courthouse, using for trials regarding civilian crimes and great ninja crimes, was packed with people. If possible the whole village might have been there. But they couldn't all fit in and since this was a ninja trial the clans got first entry. Most civilians had to watch the broadcast at home on TV; ninja trials were often allowed on TV in the village so the civilians would know of their crimes and punishment. And in a case like this, it was best if no one in the city was kept ignorant or uncertain of Sasuke's fate.

Sasuke Uchiha was kept chained to a chair. A few seals placed around his eyes the previous night, by Kakashi on Tsunade's order, would ensure he couldn't activate his sharingan, at least not painlessly. His one remaining arm was chained to his side so he couldn't attempt any hand signs if somehow possible for him and he had been stripped of all weaponry. As expected, he did not look in a good mood right now.

In front of him was Tsunade acting as judge. To her left were the shinobi council members and to the right were the civilian council members, giving a supreme court feel to everyone. No jury, for they were the jury here, with Tsunade acting as official head and declarer. Behind him were the audience and witnesses to be called.

Naruto and Hinata were present with Akane, seated not too far behind Sasuke. To Naruto's left were Sakura and Kakashi, who were aware they were going to be called on to testify regarding Sasuke. Naruto was worried about what they may say, considering their past favoritism to the Uchiha. Even if now they were past that, what if they still tried to defend him or call for a light sentence? Naruto figured that if they did, he would have to break away from them completely. For he simply couldn't be a team with those that continued to be blinded by the Uchiha name.

To Hinata's right were the Inuzukas, which usually stayed close to the criminal to detect anything odd about them or apprehend them if they did anything foolish. None had their animal partners present, as was ruled in the courthouse. Kiba was about to sit next to Hinata, but when Shiba saw Akane, the two adults decided to let the two kids sit next to each other between them.

"Good to see you again Shiba-chan. Everything going well?" Akane cheerfully greeted.

"Yeah, been practicing but I'm still not much better." The shy Inuzuka answered. "I can do that tree-walking thing your father showed me now though."

"Keep it down you two. It's about to start." Hinata gently warned.

"Akane-chan?" Someone asked behind them, and she turned to see Noburo sitting there with Tenten and her father. "Thought I recognized you. Hi."

Akane remembered the last time the two were together and blushed. "Oh, h-hi Noburo-kun. N-nice to see you again." She looked forward before her blush was painfully obvious.

Nevertheless, Hinata witnessed all of it and grinned. 'I always knew she was Naruto's daughter at heart, and apparently she really is mine too.'

With a voice amplifier jutsu used to enable everyone to hear what was being said, Shizune started the trial then. "The trial of Konohagakure versus Sasuke Uchiha will now begin. Everyone be seated and stay silent." She paused for a moment to ensure everyone did. "Sasuke Uchiha has committed several atrocious crimes against the village, and here we shall determine his fate."