Susanoo!

"Order!"

Mitokado Homura slapped the table.

The noise in the hall gradually died down.

The ninja was still standing, his face flushed red, his eyes fixed on Chiya.

"They died protecting the village! How can you claim they came to kill you?"

Chiya looked at him.

"I'm telling the truth."

The ninja gave a cold laugh.

"The truth? The truth is, their blood was all over the scene! Seventeen people, and not one survivor!"

As he spoke, he pointed at Chiya.

"Chiya Uchiha, they were stationed outside the venue to protect everyone and keep order. You killed them!"

"Bullshit!"

Naruto shot to his feet.

"Chiya would never do that!"

Mitokado Homura frowned.

"Sit down."

Naruto tried to speak again, but Sakura tugged at him.

Gritting his teeth, Naruto sat back down.

Mitokado Homura turned to Chiya again.

"Chiya Uchiha, you say those ninja came to kill you, but Advisor Danzo sent them to protect the venue. What evidence do you have that they intended to kill you?"

Chiya raised his eyes to Danzo.

Danzo sat to one side, a hand resting on his cane, his expression calm.

Chiya gave a cold laugh.

"Evidence?"

He raised his cuffed hands.

"They nearly killed me, and Miss Ino nearly died at their hands too. How is that not evidence?"

The ninja slammed the table and stood again.

"Nonsense!"

He said sharply, "Judging by the scene, those ninja fought you to stop you from hurting Miss Ino Yamanaka! After you killed them, you collapsed when your Chakra ran out. Kakashi arrived later and brought you back!"

"Bastard!"

Naruto stood up again.

Sakura was growing frantic too.

"You can't just make things up! Chiya would never do that!"

This time, Sasuke took a step forward.

He said nothing, but the look in his eyes was frighteningly cold.

Kakashi reached out to stop him.

"Let go," Sasuke said quietly.

"Sasuke! If you go over there now, you'll only make things harder for him."

The ninja looked at Naruto.

"He's fooled all of you. Tell me, why didn't he go after Gaara with you?"

Naruto froze for a moment.

The ninja went on.

"Naruto Uzumaki, Team 7 was supposed to act together, wasn't it? Then why didn't he go with you?"

Naruto opened his mouth.

"That's because... because..."

He faltered.

The ninja snorted.

"Because he couldn't leave the venue. He had to help Orochimaru create chaos!"

"Bullshit!"

Naruto roared until his voice went hoarse.

Sakura's eyes reddened too.

"Chiya isn't like that!"

The ninja looked at her.

"Sakura Haruno, this hearing isn't about whether you believe him."

Chiya stood before the hearing, watching it all. Then he suddenly smiled.

Mitokado Homura looked at him.

"What are you smiling at?"

Chiya lifted his head.

"At how good you are at making things up."

His gaze swept over Mitokado Homura before settling on Danzo.

"I stayed at the venue with Kakashi to stabilize the situation and protect everyone. Those seventeen came after me. Kakashi can testify."

Every head turned toward Kakashi.

Kakashi stood.

"I can confirm that after the fighting began, Chiya stayed by my side and hurt no one. Then a group of ninja appeared out of nowhere. They tied me down while another group chased Chiya out of the venue."

The ninja immediately asked, "And then?"

Kakashi looked at him.

The ninja pressed on. "After Chiya Uchiha left your sight, did you personally see what he did?"

Kakashi fell silent.

The hall went quiet.

The ninja sneered.

"You didn't see." He turned to Mitokado Homura and continued.

"In other words, Kakashi can only confirm that Chiya Uchiha left the venue. He doesn't know whether Chiya was being hunted or deliberately slipped away from supervision to create chaos."

The ninja wasn't finished.

Sakura bit her lip, her face going pale.

Just then, Ino gripped the armrests of her wheelchair and struggled to her feet.

Inoichi Yamanaka's expression changed.

"Ino!"

Ino was pale and still trembling, but she managed to stand.

"I can testify."

The spectators fell silent at once. Everyone looked at the frail girl.

Ino looked at Mitokado Homura. Her voice was quiet, but clear.

"Those people came to kill Chiya. I saw it myself."

Chiya's head snapped toward her.

Ino didn't look at him. She kept her eyes firmly on Mitokado Homura.

She leaned on the wheelchair, slightly hunched. Her wounds must not have fully healed.

"I used the Mind Body Switch Technique to save him. They only attacked me after they noticed me."

The ninja gave a cold laugh.

"Miss Ino Yamanaka, you've only just woken from a serious injury. I'm afraid your memory may not be reliable."

Ino gritted her teeth, growing agitated.

"I know what I saw!"

"Do you?"

The ninja turned to the crowd.

"Everyone knows the Uchiha Clan's Sharingan excels at genjutsu. Miss Ino Yamanaka, are you sure what you saw was real?"

Ino's face went white.

"You..."

The ninja continued, "Could everything you remember be something Chiya Uchiha made you see?"

Ino shook with anger.

"That's a lie!"

She tried to go on, but Inoichi hurriedly pressed her back down.

Ino struggled.

Inoichi lowered his voice.

"Stop. You're too worked up. If you keep going, your wounds will reopen."

Tears spilled from Ino's eyes.

She stared at Chiya's back ahead of her as tears streamed down her cheeks.

The murmurs in the hall grew louder.

"Genjutsu?"

"No wonder. The Sharingan really is terrifying."

"The Uchiha Clan... didn't they used to..."

"The Uchiha Clan really is evil."

"Shh, keep your voice down."

"Why bother? There aren't any Uchiha left anyway."

Chiya was so furious he laughed. Well played, Danzo. You really did prepare for everything.

He raised his head and looked at Danzo.

"You old dog!"

The hall fell abruptly silent.

Everyone froze.

Chiya was cuffed and pale, but his eyes were frighteningly cold.

He pointed at Danzo, lifting his other hand with it despite the cuffs. He said, each word distinct, "Do you dare say you sent those ninja to protect everyone?"

Danzo raised his eyes. He neither grew angry nor tried to defend himself. He merely looked at Chiya calmly.

"As a Konoha ninja who carries on the Will of Fire, of course I would send people to protect the village and its citizens."

Chiya burst out laughing.

"The Will of Fire?"

Danzo said evenly, "Chiya Uchiha, anger won't clear your name."

At those words, murmurs rose again in the hall.

"Lord Danzo was trying to protect us."

"The people he sent are dead, and now he's being blamed for it."

"That Uchiha is terrifying."

"So the Uchiha really are all..."

No one knew who shouted first.

"Kill him!"

The cry hit the crowd like a stone striking water.

Then more voices joined in.

"Kill him!"

"Kill that traitor!"

"Avenge the fallen ninja!"

Naruto sprang to his feet, his face flushed red.

"That's not what happened!"

The crowd drowned him out.

"That's not what happened! Chiya isn't a traitor!"

Sakura was so distraught she was close to tears.

"Stop saying things you don't know!"

Sasuke suddenly charged forward.

Kakashi immediately caught him.

"Move," Sasuke said, his voice low and icy.

Kakashi held Sasuke by the shoulders, tightening his grip.

"If you go now, he really will be finished."

Sasuke stared at the dais, his teeth clenched so hard they ground together.

Ino sat in her wheelchair, unable to stop crying.

She didn't understand.

She was the one who had been saved.

Those people really had tried to kill Chiya.

Why did no one believe her?

Why had they talked until Chiya became the one who deserved to die?

Mitokado Homura had to bang the table several times before the voices in the hall began to die down.

Then Danzo stood.

The moment he rose, many eyes turned toward him.

Danzo took a few steps forward, leaning on his cane.

"The Third Hokage sacrificed himself for the village."

"He was my comrade and my brother. Konoha has just suffered a disaster. What we need most now is order."

As he spoke, he looked across the crowd.

"I carry on the Will of Fire, and I will continue to protect this village in Sarutobi's place."

Someone in the crowd murmured agreement.

Soon, more voices joined in.

"Lord Danzo..."

"Thank goodness Lord Danzo is still here."

"The dead deserve justice."

Chiya watched it all, suddenly feeling sick.

Danzo turned to Mitokado Homura.

Mitokado Homura's face was grim as he glanced through the documents before him.

"According to the evidence currently available, Chiya Uchiha killed seventeen Konoha ninja during the Konoha Crush and is strongly suspected of helping Orochimaru sow chaos."

He paused.

"Given his young age, and because further investigation is needed, he will not be executed for now."

Someone below immediately shouted.

"Death!"

"He has to die!"

"Kill him!"

Mitokado Homura frowned.

Danzo raised a hand for silence.

The voices in the hall gradually faded.

Danzo said slowly, "Konoha will not abandon its principles in anger."

He looked at Chiya.

"Chiya Uchiha is still a child. Even if he has committed grave crimes, he should be given a chance to change."

Chiya stared at him.

Danzo's gaze was calm, betraying no emotion.

Mitokado Homura announced, "Chiya Uchiha, effective immediately, you are stripped of your freedom of movement and remanded to special custody for life."

Naruto's expression changed at once.

"What?!"

Sakura covered her mouth as tears spilled down her cheeks.

Sasuke struggled violently, but Kakashi held him down.

Ino fought to stand as well, but Inoichi Yamanaka would not let go.

Danzo looked toward the Anbu beside him.

"Take him away."

As soon as he spoke, the two Anbu ninja stepped forward to—

Chiya suddenly burst out laughing.

"Hahahahaha!"

"Hahahahaha!"

Everyone stared at him in astonishment. The two Anbu ninja stopped in their tracks.

"You really went to a lot of trouble." Chiya looked at Danzo. "I've learned something today."

"But do you really think you can take me away?"

Crack! The handcuffs around his wrists shattered!

They were specially made to suppress the flow of Chakra, yet he had snapped them with a gentle tug!

Danzo's eyes changed at once. That nauseatingly placid expression finally vanished.

"Hahahahaha! If you all want me dead, then none of you get to live!"

All at once, a violent surge of Chakra poured from his body, whipping up fierce winds throughout the hall.

Kakashi's expression changed sharply.

"That's—!"

"Chiya!"

The next instant, a massive black-and-red skeleton began to grow around him!

Susanoo!