Instead of taking Naruto to his office, Sarutobi went straight to the T&I Department. He was smiling as he tuned out Naruto's blabbering of his exam. Inside, however, he was in turmoil. The result of yesterday's interrogation was startling.

Flashback

"What do you mean it never happened?!" Sarutobi bellowed, standing in front of Inoichi, Ibiki, and an unconscious Mizuki tied to a chair.

"I've looked into his mind, and read his memories. What Uzumaki Naruto had claimed...had never happened. Mizuki has no memory of ever telling Naruto to steal the Forbidden Scroll." Inoichi said.

"Are you saying that this man is innocent?"

"No. Though he has no connection to the Scroll incident, I found out that he's actually a spy for Orochimaru. In his memories, it's shown that he'd been secretly sending information to Orochimaru, especially information about the jinchuriki." Inoichi explained. "Thankfully, by reading his memories, I'd learned the locations of where he'd seek out of Konoha and of one of Orochimaru's hideout."

Sarutobi was silent, arguing with himself. One half of him wanted to be suspicious of Naruto, while the other half of him wanted to continue believing in Naruto. After all, he saw Naruto as his grandson. He'd seen Naruto grow up, and he knew the type of person Naruto was. Naruto would never steal the scroll and learn its jutsu, then lie and frame another person. Right?

Flashback Ends

Sarutobi stole a glance at the boy chattering next to him. The more he observed Naruto, the harder he could convince himself to be suspicious of Naruto. It just seemed so impossible, so out of the blues. Besides, the raw emotions Naruto had shown the other day couldn't be fake. Sarutobi wasn't the Hokage for nothing. He'd lived through wars, interrogated and tortured prisoners; he may not be as good as Ibiki, but he could tell if a person was lying or not. And when Naruto broke down, Sarutobi knew it wasn't an act. It couldn't be.

"Jiji, where are we going?" Naruto's voice broke him out of his reverie.

"We will be carrying our discussion elsewhere," Sarutobi answered calmly. "There's someone I want you to meet."

"Oh," Naruto uttered, and gone back to chattering.

Soon they arrived. The location of the T&I Department was hidden under many seals and genjutsu. Sarutobi quickly disabled them and led Naruto inside. After walking through a long, narrow, and dark corridor, they arrived in front of Mizuki's interrogation room.

"Hokage-sama." Inoichi and Ibiki greeted when they saw Sarutobi walking in with Naruto in tow. Mizuki was still tied onto the chair, unconscious.

"Jiji? Where are we? Why is Mizuki-sensei tied up?" Naruto said in confusion.

"Naruto." Sarutobi finally made his choice. "Drop the act. You're not Naruto aren't you?" He targeted Naruto with a sharp glare and a little killer intent.

"What do you mean, jiji?" Naruto said with an awkward smile. "Of course I'm Naruto. Uzumaki Naruto! Have you finally gone senile that you can't recognize me anymore?"

Sarutobi observed Naruto with analyzing eyes. He's behaving as if he really is Naruto. There's not one sign of nervousness and anxiety of being found out. Not once did his eyes widen. Could I be wrong?

"Yesterday, we had performed a jutsu on Mizuki that can look into a person's memories. And we found out that Mizuki had never asked you to steal the scroll. Everything you'd claimed had never happened according to Mizuki's memories." Sarutobi decided a confrontation would be the best. Talking in circles won't lead him anywhere.

"W-what are you talking about?" Naruto stuttered in a disbelieving tone.

"Therefore, we have come to one solution. Either you were lying, or you aren't whom you claimed to be." Sarutobi paused as he noticed Naruto's eyes finally widening. "You can either tell us the truth, or we can torture it out of you. Just letting you know, Inoichi and Ibiki are a master in psychological and physical torture, respectively. When they're done, the victims often are unable to function correctly for the rest of their life."

All three man bored their eyes into the young boy, watching his body language with speculative eyes.

Naruto bowed his head down, bangs casting shadows over his eyes.

"R-really...jiji. I thought you would understand." His clenched fists were shaking as he spoke in a trembling voice. "You'd really believe Mizuki over me? You've watched me grow up! You're like a grandpa to me, jiji! You would really believe an incompetent teacher, and not to mention who's a spy, over me!?"

"The Yamanka clan's mind-reading jutsu allows the user to enter the mindscape of the victim, and gives the ability to see all the memories of the person. Only a Yamanaka can counter the jutsu, and Mizuki clearly isn't a Yamanaka."

"That's IT!? That's what it takes to convince you that I'M the one who's at fault!?" Naruto looked up, glaring at the three men. Sarutobi's stony expression almost faltered when he saw tears glistening in Naruto's eyes. "You didn't think that maybe a Yamanaka had turned traitor and had helped Mizuki hide his memories? You distrust me that much that the first possibility you thought of is 'Naruto is not who he is'?! Or perhaps you've never trusted me in the first place!"

"That's not-"

"Shut up! Just shut up!" Naruto's voice suddenly turned deeper and raspy as he began emitting a red aura. His narrowed blue eyes turned into a crimson red, slits forming in the middle. His whisker marks have also deepened, making them more feral-looking.

All three men tensed, their hands moving closer to their weapon pouch, ready to attack if necessary.

"I knew it. Everything you've said that night is a lie. You never liked me. To you, I'm just the Kyuubi container, aren't I?"

"Naruto, stop it! Don't let your emotions take over your senses!" Sarutobi shouted as he moved closer to the boy. The more unstable Naruto's emotions were, the easier it was for the Kyuubi to take over.

Though it was only a little, the red foul aura had retreated back into Naruto's body. "Why? Are you afraid that I might unleash the Kyuubi on you all?" Naruto chuckled maniacally. "Of course you would be. You're the Hokage; you're supposed to protect the village from any threats! Yet, a 12 years old boy is the first person you suspect in this situation. Why? Because to you I'm just the container of Kyuubi! And thus I'm not a part of the village; I'm not under your protection!"

"Stop this, Naruto!" Sarutobi reached Naruto and gripped his shoulders tightly, staring at him earnestly in the eyes. "I've told you last night! You're like a grandson to me! I never viewed you as merely the Kyuubi container!"

"And now you believed I'm actually Naruto?" The changes on Naruto disappeared, but the maniacal grin didn't vanish. "It took the Kyuubi's power to convince you that I'm Naruto?! How ironic!"

For the first time, Inoichi stepped forward. "If you insist that you're Naruto, then you wouldn't mind if we take a look into your mind wouldn't you?" He spoke. Sarutobi snapped his head towards him, sending a silent message to him: Are you sure? You know what you might encounter if you enter his mind don't you?

Inoichi shrugged: What else can we do in this situation?

Both men looked back to Naruto, and were surprised to find a nasty grin plastered on his face.

"Sure, go ahead. But be careful, the fuzzball isn't happy right now. Don't say I didn't warn you."

"Fuzzball... Do you mean the Kyuubi?" Sarutobi widened his eyes. "You can talk to it?"

"Him. And yes, I met him for the first time last night when I fell asleep. It turned out that he can see everything that's going on through my eyes and hear everything I'd heard. And now he isn't happy, because he doesn't like to be blamed for something he'd never done."

"Well, let's get this over with then."

As Inoichi began doing hand seals for his jutsu, Sarutobi watched from the side, frowning over Naruto's words.

If...Naruto happened to be innocent...then he'll have a lot to apologize for. But that chance was very slim...because...how can memories be faked?

AN: Why didn't Ibiki say anything? Because Sarutobi took the spotlight from him! Because Naruto talked too much! And thus there's no place for him to talk :)

Yeah, this chapter name is meant to be a joke :)