The Trial (2/2)

"Hoh? Explain, Hiashi." The Hokage prompted.

Hiashi made a gesture with his hand, and one of the Hyuuga clan members that had followed the clan head into the hospital stepped forward.

"This man is Hyuuga Ko, a bodyguard that has been assigned to my daughter. Ever since the Kumo incident a few years back, she has been unknowingly shadowed by a protective detail comprised entirely of Hyuuga clan members who watch her 24/7." He explained, with Hinata looking in disbelief.

Huh. That was an aspect of the fallout from the Hyuuga affair that I hadn't even considered nor remembered the anime ever revealing. But it made sense that given the scare the attempted kidnapping had caused, more safeguards and layers of protection would have been placed around Hinata, one of two main branch clan members who were currently defenceless against any would be kidnappers.

Hiashi continued, "That means the entire extortion had been personally witnessed by Ko here, who also subsequently notified me of the entire affair via wireless radio. I then watched the incident unfold with my own eyes through our clan's doujutsu. Additionally, I ordered Ko and the other bodyguards not to directly interfere in any manner unless she was truly in danger, as is their standard protocol."

"Thus, that riff-raff's guilt has been personally witnessed by myself and several other witnesses. The only thing my daughter and her friends are guilty of is standing up against bullies and fighting for their friend. " He concluded before stepping behind Hinata again and putting back his comforting hand on her shoulder.

I titled my head upwards. With that damning piece of eye witness testimony, how else could they wiggle out from underneath the accusations? Turns out... worms still manage to find a way.

"T-that means nothing! How can we trust what her own family members are saying as being the truth? Besides, those bodyguards of hers, if they really are one, are motivated to protect that girl. So for all we know, they could be making all of it up to cover it up!" One of the parents' claimed, persisting in their children's innocence.

Hiashi's face scrunched up in cold fury, "Are you suggesting that my clan members and I are intentionally deceiving the Hokage? For something as silly as covering up a petty, childish squabble between children!? Such accusations have consequences..."

He turned to the Sandaime, bowing deeply, "Hokage-sama, I beseech you for a swift rebuttal in defence of my clan's trustworthiness and to censure their irresponsible words!"

The civilians panicked, bowing deeply themselves, "Hokage-sama! We implore you to not take his words at face value! Justice is on our side!"

I almost gagged at how much bull shit was they were vomiting all over the room. 'Justice is on our side'? It was utterly nauseating how deluded and how little self-awareness they possessed.

The Hokage mulled over the decision, and I could sort of understand why he was hesitating. The Sandaime would likely believe Hiashi over the civilian testimony, whose statements were solely based on what their children told them, whereas the Hyuuga clan head had actually saw it for himself.

Furthermore, Hiashi was a loyal, trustworthy subordinate. It would only be logical to take his word even in the most objective and impartial perspective.

However, I was guessing that because of the prior issue where the entire affair had blown up to ridiculous proportions, the Hokage needed to take into consideration how his decision might affect the fragile balance between the civilians and the shinobi. Legal jurisprudence aside, politics was also involved in the adjudication of this case.

Seeing this impasse, I suddenly remembered something Naoki had mentioned before. So I stepped forward to offer what I thought might end this once and for all.

"Hokage-sama, if I may, might I present another witness for their testimony?"

The room looked at me, and the Sandaime raised his brow, "Mm, who do you have in mind?"

I turned to Naoki and his father, smiling, "Naoki's older brother."

The pair immediately protested, "Wha- for what cause!?"

"Naoki, you mentioned earlier that you had your older brother's support for what you did. So I have to assume that he was aware of the entire scheme?" I asked, already knowing what his answer will be.

"That is, yes, well, wait, no, of course he doesn't!" He sputtered, feebly trying to deny it.

I looked at the Sandaime, "Hokage-sama, perhaps Naoki's older brother can be summoned and questioned?"

The old man looked pleasantly surprised at that revelation and nodded in agreement.

Naoki's father unsurprisingly protested, "Hokage-sama! Surely there is no need to involve Naoto. He is a proper and upstanding shinobi of Konoha. You can't do that!"

Upon hearing that, the Sandaime glowered at the impudent man, a fraction of his killing intent slipping out, "You do not get to tell me what I can and can't do with my shinobi. All shinobi who swear loyalty to Konoha are under my direct command. No one, not even their parents, has a say as to what I command my loyal soldiers to do. Is that clear?"

Naoki's father visibly deflated, his wife pulling him back to avoid the man being punished for his insolence.

With that settled, the ANBU agents returned with Naoki's brother, Naoto, shortly after. He looked confused at what was happening, not knowing what in the world was going on that involved his family and the Hokage looking annoyed.

His father moved to pull the genin to the civilian's side, but a slight gesture from Sarutobi Hiruzen saw Naoto falling to a knee in silent obedience before the Hokage, much to his family's dismay.

As the Sandaime calmly explained the incident from start to finish with both sides' interpretations, Naoki's brother went white halfway through the explanation. He paled even more so once the village leader reached the end, referring to my accusations of the academy student pulling a knife out at Kaori and the boy's mention of the genin's potential prior knowledge of the entire incident.

I had to pity the poor kid – on one side was Naoto's family, glaring daggers at him to either lie or keep his mouth shut. And on the other was Konohagakure's 'God of Shinobi' expecting an honest answer from his loyal shinobi with a gentle yet authoritative gaze.

Naoto was sweating bullets, stuck in an impossible dilemma. He was being asked to choose between his family and his village – his responsibility as a brother, or his duty to the village.

I mused that it was a dilemma frighteningly similar to Itachi's decision to slaughter his clan, but with drastically different consequences.

Ultimately however, the last straw that broke the camel's back was Hiruzen's comforting hand placed on the genin's shoulder, the Hokage quietly reminding him to do the right thing. Naoto had crumbled like a house of cards under the old man's benevolent stare that contradicted his commanding aura.

It was a powerful combination that I had witnessed in the charismatic behaviors of many world leaders and powerful men in my previous life. One that seemed highly effective in this circumstance.

"It- it's true. I, I was the one who planted the idea for my brother and his friends to mess with someone close to that boy, Shinji." He despondently started, referring to me. "

He continued, tears starting to fall from his eyes, "They told me they wanted to get back at him, after planning and failing to ambush him. They came to me for advice, so I told them... I didn't think it would have turned out this way, Hokage-sama! I thought it was just a schoolyard brawl turned grudge, but ultimately harmless. How could I have known that, that..."

Hiruzen interrupted him with a comforting hand on his shoulder, "That is enough, Naoto. You have said enough."

Naoki fell to his knees in shock and despair from the apparent betrayal from his beloved brother, while his parents cried foul over what they saw as a coercion of lies forced from Naoto by the Hokage.

Upon receiving the testimony however, the Sandaime's countenance changed – from a kindly grandfather, to the domineering visage of an S-ranked veteran shinobi.

"If your own son's testimony is insufficient, then what in the world else would be enough for you?" He asked, silencing their objections with a glare.

Regardless of their protests, the Hokage had come to a decision. He found the students guilty of our accusations much to their parents' anguish and denial. Since they still minors in the eye of the law, plus given that they were still academy students and not yet graduated, the heaviest punishment that could be meted out was their immediate expulsion from the Shinobi Academy and a subsequent permanent ban on their learning of any shinobi arts in the future.

At that point I had wanted to interject to add that such a punishment wasn't even near sufficient. I wanted to demand for some form of compensation at least, for Kaori's traumatic experience and the attack on my own person.

Thankfully, it was not needed, as the Sandaime fined the boys, and by extension their families, 100,000 ryo from each household to compensate Kaori for the injuries as well as any psychological distress that might be caused by the incident, including returning the 20,000 ryo they had already taken from her. 700,000 ryo. Additionally, Naoki's parents also had to pay for the medical fees incurred by Kaori's stay in the hospital.

They were fined an additional 20,000 per household from the five boys who ambushed me a few weeks prior. All of which added up to over 700,000 ryo for Kaori and 100,000 for me.

The civilians understandably despaired at the decision, Tetsuo and his family especially so since they had already been struggling financially before. I momentarily thought about pointing out that Tetsuo had been the only one who actively showed any hint of resistance to the extortion and violence enacted upon Kaori. Furthermore it was somewhat commendable that he had initially set out on such acts only to help his family. But I decided that the reluctance behind his participation didn't mean anything if he did nothing to alter the result – Kaori still suffered under their hands, scruples or no.

Naoki's brother, Saeki Naoto, fortunately retained his genin status, but received an official reprimand in his files to be kept for the next 5 years – which would compromise his candidacy for any promotion in that time period.

And thus concluded the 'Kaori incident'. Upon the final sentencing, I received a quest alert pop up.

[Quest [Kaori's Secret] Completed!]

Investigate the mystery behind Kaori's bruises!

Find out what actually happened to Kaori (√)

Help Kaori with her problem (√)

(Hidden) Report the truth to the proper authorities (√)

(Hidden) Gather evidence of the extortion (√)

(Hidden) Complete the quest alone (X)

(Hidden) Complete the quest with partners (√)

Rewards:

+1000 EXP

(Hidden) REP increased significantly with Konohagakure no Sato

(Hidden) Jutsu scroll [Katon: Gokakyuu no Jutsu]

(Hidden) + 10 points

(Hidden) +5 points (X)

It appeared that I would have completed a hidden objective either way regardless if I had worked alone or with others but completing the quest with companions gave double the free stat points than I would have gotten had I went lone-wolf.

The system's agenda was blatantly transparent, rewarding me for saving lives and working in a team – was the bloody thing driving me towards the path of a shounen protagonist? Because I wasn't even mad at that, since it did line up with my own plans nicely.

The jutsu scroll, as I had later found out in the privacy of my apartment's bathroom, appeared in my inventory. Thankfully, it didn't appear in a puff of smoke in front of everyone present there or it would have been impossible to explain away the phenomenon.

Following the conclusion of the sentencing, the civilian families along with their now expelled children left the hospital with the parents cursing out their children for their participation in the hare-brained extortion scheme, costing them their futures and over a hundred thousand ryo in compensation. With the evidence laid bare in front of their eyes, they could no longer deny the truth of the matter.

The Hokage then spoke to the four of us: Shikamaru, Shino, Hinata and me. He first congratulated us for a wonderful display of what we have been taught in the Shinobi Academy, commending our courage and ethics for 'doing the right thing' by helping our friend in need.

He explained that we truly inherited the 'Will of Fire' in caring enough for our friend to investigate the peculiarities in Kaori's behavior and acting on our suspicions.

Although the Sandaime professed that he couldn't approve of taking matters into our own hands, he still understood the urgency in our circumstances that had necessitated immediate action. He then admitted that had he been in our shoes, he would have done the same thing.

So even if protocol determined that we should be punished, albeit lightly, for our deeds; he couldn't in good conscience do so when he himself would have repeated our actions without regrets.

After we were dismissed, Shikaku Nara had a brief talk with his son before bringing Shikamaru back to their clan compound. But not before the lazy genius, or rather the younger of the two lazy geniuses, wished Kaori a swift recovery and shared a celebratory fist bump with me.

Shino quietly bid us farewell and left with his father, Shibi Aburame. The stoic pair exchanging no words between them as they walked out of the hospital.

The biggest surprise, however, was Hiashi openly commending Hinata for her strength in character, courage to face off against older foes and proficiency in the Gentle Fist. He had been watching the encounter in real time from his office in the Hyuuga Clan compound, and he found Hinata's execution of their clan techniques to be better than expected – satisfactory almost. Not perfect to say the least, but his confidence in her was rekindled.

In response, Hinata could only look back in amazement and disbelief at the sudden shift in his attitude towards her. Turns out, all Hiashi needed was a demonstration of the extent of Hinata's innate talent, and a reminder of her potential given adequate attention. She then came to me, her face flushed red and stammered out a thank you for something I couldn't understand from her rushed words before leaving with her father.

Whereas for Kaori, she had to stay in the hospital ward overnight for observation just in case there were any unforeseen complications in the injuries she suffered or from her treatment. Even though the girl had received a massive pay out from the ordeal, to a sum total of 720,000 ryo in compensation, she seemed not even slightly happy about the outcome.

Sure she was glad that her offenders had been caught and punished appropriately, but the trauma of what had happened to her, especially for a 9 year old child, was still overwhelming for the girl. And since the only people she could call family were the orphanage's head caretaker Rei and I, she had little people to pour her heart out to.

The hospital could treat the wounds on the body, but the scars on her heart would remain and fester if given the chance. Seeing her plight, the village arranged for Kaori a series of mandatory counselling sessions with specialists to ensure there was no lasting damage to her psyche, and if there were, to help her return to a healthy mental state.

As for me, I was just glad that the whole thing was over with and that Kaori had thankfully come out of it relatively unscathed. Well, as unscathed as she could be following what had happened to her. I would give anything for the opportunity to ensure the guilty parties' punishment was a tad bit more violent, but for now as long as no more harm would come to Karori and as long as she herself did not call for violence, I would stay my hand too.