Chapter 13

(1 year later)

On the third floor of the Konoha Maximum security prison, three men struggled down the hall passing cage after cage of men who earned a rightful place within the establishment. One a skinny brown haired man dressed in his orange jumpsuit, the other two Uchiha guards pushing him along, struggling the whole way. The prisoner looked absolutely terrified, begging the guards desperately to not force him to go wherever they were taking him. He did everything he could to prevent his movement. Dropping down to the ground, pushing his feet against the rails and indentions of the walls on the way by. The men within their cells that watched him pass by chuckled and threw out words of false encouragement that only increased his fear.

"Oh come on! Please!" he yelled, trying his hardest to push back against the two men. "Kami! Please! I beg you!" his pleas fell on deaf ears as they dragged him away, towards the very last cell that had three empty cells next to it. The man even begged to be put into one of those, but they had their orders and stuck to them, throwing him into the cell and shutting him in. The man quickly got to his feet and ran for the cage, trying to throw it open before the guard locked it. "NO! Please!" he said grabbing onto the bars as they walked away.

Soon, he was left there, left to hear nothing but the chatter of the other prisoners in the distance. He refused to turn around as fear racked his entire body. From behind him, he could hear tapping. Following the advice given to him before he was brought in, he tried not to make a single sound. The shaking of his lip was allowing the smallest of whimpers to escape his mouth. That's what he focused on for the time being.

His heart skipped a beat when he heard a whistle that was clearly intended to get his attention. His mind was ripping itself in half trying to weigh his odds. If he didn't turn around, he'd be disrespecting him, but if he did… well, they had only heard stories. Figuring he'd have to face his fears at some point, he turned around timidly. The cell had the basic layout the rest of them did with a bunk bed off to the right side, a toilet sitting in the back left corner, a sink against the back wall, and a small table and chairs bolted to the floor in the middle.

In the seat facing him, his new red headed cellmate sat, holding a deck of cards that he tapped on the table portentously in rhythms of three. A very intense look in his eye that was directed solely at the skinny man standing in front of him. Stalking him as if he were the most interesting thing to him at that moment. "Hello..." he called out lowly. "Looks like we're cell mates now."

The man tried his hardest to clinch his trembling lip as tight as he could. His hands were held protectively against his chest and his eyes refused to meet the steely gaze of the red head. Forcing himself to reply, he whispered out. "s-… seem like it…" His tone was riddled with so much fear, he berated himself for even trying.

The red head smiled at him. "Hey, would you like to be my friend?"

The council chamber was once again filled to the brim with people that at this point were becoming very annoyed with the case they were discussing, the case of the sentencing of Naruto Namikaze. His enraged family brought the case up every month since their return with new arguments and questions. Minato continued bringing the case to the floor as it was his decision which trials they discussed each time they got together. With their society being a militaristic dictatorship, they could not speak out against his ruling, excluding special cases such as a Shinobi's imprisonment which was the current issue. Sitting in the middle of the room along a table, directly in front of the main council members, was Kushina, Menma, and Mito along with Jiraiya. All there to plead the case or give a testament.

"All I'm saying is that it doesn't make sense." Kushina said pulling out cards that she had written facts about the case on. "I mean, Naruto claimed it was the working of Hundred Transformation Kazan that posed as him. So, why was he not searched for when you received this information?"

Danzo Shimura was heading the meeting with the agreeance of Minato who understood the case was too personal for him to rule favorably. "That information wasn't received until the morning after the attack. By that time, he would have been nearing the outskirts of the land of fire."

"So you just decided not to even entertain the idea that he could have been telling the truth?" she asked incredulously.

"Don't be foolish, of course we did. Namikaze's claim for a possible motive was too ridiculous to be taken." He replied.

At this point, Jiraiya stood up. "I agree, but I'd argue the kid was too emotionally distressed to give an accurate motive."

"So you're saying you have one?" asked Homura from his side.

"Actually I do. You see, the death of Itachi Uchiha is linked to this. Kazan posed as his sister to get him to fight Itachi. He was working with Orochimaru at the time." He let that ring in the air for a few moments.

Danzo rushed him to elaborate. "What is your point Jiraiya?"

"It's Orochimaru!" Jiraiya yelled out as if the case was completely obvious. "I mean, come on. Do you not know his motives for what he does?"

"And what would that motive be?" Fugaku asked from his spot.

"He wants him. He wants to make him a monster, because he saw his potential." He answered.

Danzo seemed completely unconvinced. "We are not here to base motives off of speculation. Regardless if we accepted your ridiculous guess of intention, Naruto Namikaze has solidified his position within prison. He has killed an active Konoha shinobi and twenty eight men while incarcerated including three guards."

"We argue self-defense." Kushina replied instantly. "Hayate-san was within Naruto's residency unlawfully, to Naruto's knowledge, and as a Shinobi, he was within his rights to kill all of them. He even expressed the fact that he killed him by mistake." Before Danzo could argue his point, she continued. "Naruto himself was found beaten and chemically tortured by the guards who discovered the scene."

"That means nothing." Danzo replied. "Inoichi-san, would you please explain to us your last psychological evaluation with the prisoner in question?" He said directing everyone's attention to the man.

Inoichi shifted in his seat a little, feeling uneasy about incriminating the son of his friends. "I uh… My evaluation with Naruto Namikaze was… quite informative." He said coughing into his hand. "He was uh… very unhinged, if I were to describe it. His topics bounced around sporadically. His personality shifted completely from when I had last spoken to him."

"Do not beat around the bush Inoichi." Danzo demanded. "Tell them what you told me… They need to hear it."

Inoichi cursed the man. He looked down into the eyes of the man's family in sympathy. "Naruto Namikaze showed heavy signs of psychopathy… when… when we talked, he spoke of his intentions of what he wished to do if he were ever released. Describing things along the lines of mass murder and inciting wars."

Kushina and the others couldn't believe it. It wasn't true. "What do you mean by signs of psychopathy?" Jiraiya asked.

"w-Well, when evaluating someone, we begin with basic questions used to determine their emotional state. From their answers, it is decided if they are in need of the test. Naruto's answers were completely unrelated to the questions being asked. So, I began to ask him more… hypothetical questions to see how he reacted to them, his answers were uh… circuitous to say the least." Inoichi explained.

"So, you marked him insane because he was answered your questions indirectly?" Jiraiya asked in a deadpanned tone.

"Well, it's a bit more complicated than that." He said. "The questions are used to get them ticking. Make them feel as though they're not in control. When they feel as though they are losing it, they will either react violently, or use some other motive to return it to their favor. Naruto is quite slick with his words. He led me into a conversation that left himself explaining what he was talking about, as I did not understand. In other words, he shifted the conversation towards a subject only he knew about, making himself the only person with words on the subject, putting himself in control."

"That doesn't prove anything!" Mito yelled out, finally joining the conversation. "Naruto-nii is just smart."

"He is indeed." Inoichi continued. "Which is why he knew he could shift the conversation towards his own favor. Aside from the mental battle we had, his physical tendencies were unbalanced as well."

"What? Did he shake his leg too fast?" Jiraiya joked.

Inoichi brushed off the comment and continued on. "No, it was more subtle things. For one, he uh… he only blinked once." The family just stared at him incredulously, visually asking if he were serious. "Our conversation was two hours long." He clarified. "Look, Kushina, I am… terribly sorry for what is happening to your family at the moment, but in my opinion, I have never seen a look like the one Naruto has in his eyes. He's not the same boy he was when you left. If you continue in your journey to get him released, and you succeed… I fear for us all."

Kushina's expression was down trodden. She stared at the table beneath her hands thinking over his words. No words of reply to the statement. He was trying to demonize her son. What could she say?

"There is no need to fear, Inoichi." Danzo said looking down on the group in the center of the room. "Naruto Namikaze will never leave that prison."

"Actually, he will." Said Fugaku, surprising everyone. They all looked at him in questioning. Was he siding with Kushina? "Naruto has become too dangerous to keep within the prison. He is responsible for talking seven of his previous cellmates and neighboring inmates into committing suicide. It has gotten to the point in which we have had to clear out six of the cells next to his to prevent it from happening further. With the overcrowding state the prison is in currently, you can see how that is a problem. In our need to place more than a few inmates in solitary confinement, we have come to the point of threatening to move them to his cell to keep them in line. Since the death of one of the guards however, the others are afraid to go near him."

"So where else do you propose we put him?" Minato asked, finally joining the conversation.

Fugaku thought it over. "Well, if we decide him a lost cause, he can be sent to Hozuki Castle…" he said receiving a shake of Minato's head. "Or, he could be moved to the asylum in the care of Inoichi. It's a less stressful environment with the same containment tactics." He suggested. "All the cells are isolated and he'd receive the proper treatment he needs."

Minato looked down in thought. It was a lot better than prison, but if Naruto were a danger to the prisoners, then would it be wise to stick him in place where they were granted virtually more freedom? "I will leave the decision up to Inoichi." He said looking over to the man.

Inoichi looked down in thought. "I have a haunting feeling that I should probably refuse, but I suppose it would be best." He said nodding his head.

Danzo interrupted. "For it to be a possibility, there must be restrictions as he is still imprisoned." He said. Minato nodded begrudgingly as he had given him authority over the case. "There will be no interaction between Namikaze and the other occupants. He will not be allowed recreational time as he is not a patient, he is a prisoner."

"Might I suggest a two hour psychological session as well. Total isolation could cause more harm and aggression than is recommended for someone of Naruto's skills." Inoichi said.

"The two hour session is approved. If at all possible get him mentally sane enough to be moved back to the prison. Regarding his skills, they will not be an issue, he has a complex seal blocking off his chakra made for prisoner containment by the Nidaime himself. It has stood strong for years." Danzo said.

Inoichi nodded, blowing out a sigh with clear worry riddling his tone. "Hold on." Fugaku said. "Who will you have undergo his evaluations?"

"Well, I have a staff full of capable psychologists most of which were trained by me personally. They are all highly capable." He answered.

Fugaku gave him a look that did nothing to settle his nerves. "I'd advise putting only your best. Preferably yourself." He said giving no further information.

Finally tired of holding their tongues, Kushina spoke up. "Hang on, don't we get a say in this?" she asked.

"I am afraid not." Danzo said. "Your argument today was pushing for your son's release. That is not, and will not ever happen. Furthermore, Naruto Namikaze will have no visitors, other than those granted special clearance, as he is still a prisoner of capital offense. He will have the same lack of laws he would have had within the prison." He said with finality that enraged the red head beyond belief. "That is the final result of this meeting Hokage-sama."

Minato stared at the top edge of his podium with a disappointed look as well. He was of course unsatisfied with the verdict, but was already plotting strong points for the next argument that was most likely going to take place next month. He was the Hokage so he decided on whatever case he chose to no matter how many times he chose to do so.

"If that is all, everyone is dismissed." He said standing up himself.

Kushina was packing the papers and various forms she brought back into the folder, glaring at Danzo who looked right back at her apathetically. "This isn't over." She warned him as her and the others headed towards the exit.

Danzo just snorted at her remark. "I'm sure."