Naruto's Kit

Chapter 39

Once outside everyone who had been concerned for Akane's injury tried to treat her wound. This for the most part consisted of Naruto, Hinata, Hanabi, Shiba, Noburo, Sakura, Kiba, Shino, Ino, Shikamaru, Chouji, Tenten, Neji, Lee, Kurenai with her son, Gai, and the Ichiraku's. Sakura got there first though. "I'll just use a healing jutsu to patch it up. Better than any band-aid." Akane looked hesitant, but she couldn't get away so she moved her short sleeve enough to show the wound. However, there was no wound anymore, just dried blood and some tender red skin. "But how did that happen?"

"I'm a quick healer, like Otou-san." Akane answered.

"If he's going to be executed then I'm going to volunteer for the job." Hinata angrily claimed, clenching her fist. This new Hinata frightened everyone, except for Naruto, Akane, Hanabi, and Neji. The Hyuugas and Naruto were thrilled to see such will power and dedication in her, while Akane could never be afraid of the alpha-female of her pack.

"Why would he try to hurt you Akane-chan?" Shiba asked. By now Kakashi had joined the group to see how bad things were.

Akane shrugged. "Beats me. I don't understand anyone with an evil eye." She then gave Kakashi a rather innocent face. "Including you, smut lover." Several people there tried to suppress giggling at Kakashi's nickname and were failing miserably.

Akane of course did understand why Sasuke had done what he did. He had seen her fox traits back at Wave and suspected something was up with her. Even if he hadn't concluded she was the new kyuubi, he had to suspect some kind of connection. And with her being so close to Naruto, the former jinchuuriki of said bijuu, that would only make the connection stronger. So even if he didn't know all the facts, the Uchiha was at least partially right when he said she wasn't normal. And apparently he believed that if he attacked her she'd do something that would prove him right. Or maybe turn into her turn form involuntarily in front of everyone.

But there were two things Sasuke didn't count on in that instance. One, that kitsunes are the best shape-shifters among the demon races and involuntarily changes only happen for the weak-willed ones. Akane was anything but weak-willed. And two, Akane could have dodged such an attack easily. She was able to do the substitution jutsu and was fast enough to rip off a fox's tail before they even noticed she'd moved behind them. So was it really likely that she couldn't dodge a kunai being thrown at her by a one-armed man in chains? No, and the only reason it happened was because Akane let it happen. She heard from Naruto that several people would possibly try to make it so Sasuke wasn't punished so harshly, and she figured if he succeeded in hurting her right then, then no one could support him anymore. Besides, it was just a flesh wound and those heal well for her. It was also a good thing that almost everyone was behind her so they couldn't see red chakra healing the wound, and those that could were blocked by Hinata. All in all, it was a risky act that Akane had not been planning on, but took full advantage of.

"If I know the legal system correctly, the Uchiha's in way too deep. Execution is the only reasonable outcome." Kurenai stated, minding her fussing son.

"But you just know someone on the council is going to plead for sperm donations to keep the sharingan from going extinct. And where there's one there's bound to be another." Shikamaru added, tempted to light a cigarette but holding back for the sake of the kids and baby present.

"But even if they do agree to that, there are limits to what they can insist." Gai pointed out. "Konoha's charter states that no kekkei genkai or combat style can be forced onto a set clan. So in many of your families cases, where you've already got a set manner of training and fighting made specifically for you, they cannot force you to add a new element in that could potentially render all your traditional methods compromisable or obsolete."