"Sir, yes sir. This is a court martial."
"Indeed," said Ibiki Morino. "That is what it is, officially."
"Sir," said Naruto, remaining at a formal stance.
"For the unofficial record," said Ibiki, "I will go over background for the other members of this tribunal. Due to a space/time jutsu gone wrong, Naruto Uzumaki was teleported entirely off our world onto another world. Uzumaki, can you inform these others of what you encountered on that world?"
"Sir, yes sir. That other world was known as 'Earth' though it is not the only world to bear that name. That world was all but conquered by a force known only as the Darkness, whose troops are supernatural entities. There were a few pockets of humanity remaining, but the majority of the world had already fallen to the Darkness as of my arrival."
"Describe the sort of enemy troops you faced there," prompted Ibiki.
"Werewolves, humans infected with a curse that transforms them into bestial creatures. Vampires, humans risen from the grave with strong supernatural powers that feed on human blood. Master Vampires, considerably uprated Vampires with strong genjutsu and shapeshifting abilities. Ghasts, humans killed and raised to become poison-bearing soldiers. Zombies, humans killed and raised to a shambling semblence of life - often the weakest of the various troops."
Ibiki held up a hand, forestalling the rest of the list. "How many of these creatures have the ability to recover from wounds that would be fatal to humans?"
"All," said Naruto without hesitation. "Zombies are the weakest but can consume corpses in order to repair themselves. A Master Vampire can repair nearly any injury until you overload its regenerative abilities while depriving it of fresh blood."
"How many of these enemy troops will take prisoners?" prompted Ibiki.
"None, sir," responded Naruto. "Vampires will capture humans but only to enslave them and act as a food source. They're less prisoners and more larder."
"Though you were gone for a very short period in our world, how long were you there?" asked Ibiki next.
"A little less than three years, sir," said Naruto.
"At ease," said Ibiki, who then sat back and regarded his fellows. "My department has examined him, including the use of Yamanaka techniques. Genin Uzumaki has spent three years in a situation resembling the worst of the Second Ninja War. Except that even at the worst, none of our opponents actually went out of their way to kill and eat civilian targets. He is near the end of his mental endurance. Uzumaki, how many humans have you seen killed by these other troops?"
"I've... lost count sir," said Uzumaki.
"Hazard a guess," said Ibiki, his voice firm.
"A thousand? Maybe two?" asked Uzumaki.
Ibiki nodded. "At which point the TSAB contacted you?"
"The Time/Space Administration Bureau has limited authority with worlds who have not signed up to their organization," said Naruto. "At that point things had gotten sufficiently bad that it fell into their legal area as planetary-disaster. Refugee camps were set up and I met with Lieutenant General Regius Gaiz in that time. There were several missions he was able to set up for me, the funds of which were able to further assist the refugees."
"Mission details were obtained by my office," said Ibiki. "Details are available for later perusal. Mission focus on those given to Uzumaki seems split between reconnaisance and precision attacks."
Naruto inclined his head slightly at that.
"You were also sent to several sites where the Book Of Darkness had been used," noted Ibiki. "Worlds where every last living thing had been exterminated."
"Sir, yes sir. I also worked with Major Genya Nakajima briefly, support duties." Naruto seemed to have a ghost of a smile flit into place at the mention of the Major.
"Very well, Uzumaki. Go into the waiting room while we deliberate."
Once the genin had closed the door behind him, Ibiki took a deep breath.
"Is he a danger to the village?" asked Homura.
"Not at present," said Ibiki. "His loyalty to the village is very deep despite his treatment from many of the villagers."
"That look in his eyes," said Koharu Utatane. "I know that look. He is more a danger to himself than he is to the village."
"I know that look as well," said Homura Mitokado. "We used ninja like that on suicide missions when necessary, and when their deaths were not necessary we put them in positions where they could try to recover."
"My recommendation," said Ibiki, slowly and deliberately, "is to officially give him punishment duties and psychological counseling."
"Officially? And unofficially?" asked Homura.
"As he is, he can't fit back into peaceful society," said Ibiki. "C-Rank mission with his genin team. Border patrol. Get him to associate with his team more, and to work with others."
"The other two are not ready for C-Rank missions, and it is not advisable to put the Uchiha heir and his Sharingan out where some might be tempted," said Koharu.
"True, so how about this," said the fourth of the five members of the tribunal. "C-Rank, with pay split between Team 7 and other Teams that are rotated out. Give each a one week stint following Team 7, and that also benefits the other genin teams with experience in working with other groups."
The fifth member of the tribunal finally spoke. "I think it would be better to scrap Team 7 as it is. Mix the current teams. Though it is faint, the Hyuga child and he have a relationship that her father devised with that Genma oaf."
"Every time I hear of it, I have to wonder what Genma's motivation was for such a thing."
"Considering it was Sasuke's 'Uncle Genma' - I'd say just so he could sit on the sidelines and watch someone else having a hard time of it," said Ibiki. "As far as the public record is concerned, Naruto Uzumaki has a significant black mark on his record and will have to undergo remedial training and counseling. That'll take about two weeks. Now let's see a vote on how to handle it."
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(Posted Wed, 17 Aug 2011 14:28)
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