A.N: So, before we start, Naruto's a little different in this version. He's not as outgoing with his pranks, he doesn't goof off as much as you might expect. He is toned down where need be but still the light-hearted goofball we all know and love. Some background real quick for the Naruto side of the story:
Naruto and Sasuke have known each other for years, and have a friendly rivalry between them. Because of this rivalry they actively try to outdo each other, leading Naruto to be higher in his class than normal. Besides that everything is basically how you'd expect it. Naruto is smarter in this story, and honestly it's better off in my opinion for this.
Yes I know the events of Naruto's first appearance is out of order, since the exam is the same day as Naruto's Hokage painting incident, but this is for the story more so than anything. I know the actual events were separated by a couple days.
Anyway, let's get this going
Chapter One: A Worthy Successor (Part 1)
Here they were, flying across the ocean towards this mysterious "Ninja Land" that Azmuth had told him about, and Ben couldn't help but wonder how he hadn't heard about this place before. Sure, there was a lot that even he didn't know, but for an area as vast as that continent, why didn't nobody else see it?
"I can see that questioning look on your face, Ben. You're wondering why the Elemental Nations has been hidden from the rest of the world, aren't you?" Azmuth asked, without turning to look at him. Ben was mildly surprised by this, as he pulled his dark green jacket on. It was accustomed to the look of the people that lived in the Elemental Nations, as to not raise too much suspicions.
"Yeah, actually. Stop reading my mind," Ben laughed, zipping it up. His stomach ached still, even though that infamous fight had been nearly five years ago. It hurt even more when it rained, oddly enough. Azmuth let out a grunt of amusement at his comment, but never actually turned his attention away from the vast expanse of salt water.
"I assume you've read what I gave you when we first left Bellwood?"
"For the most part, still reading the last couple pages. It was a little hard to grasp the concepts of it at first, but I think got the gist of it."
"They can wage wars with just their bare hands. This was of course before you showed up and aliens became prominent across the world, but the Plumbers were afraid of what it could mean for the rest of the world if say an entire country of powerful shinobi warriors capable of using chakra to control the elements and other abilities deemed 'unnatural' were to attack, guns might not be enough to turn the tide. So, with help from a couple of Galvans, myself included, we created a cloaking shield that went from each side of that continent. Even if you were to go over with a plane, you'd never know. Those who do manage to come into contact are met with some of our Shinobi allies, and they're dealt with accordingly."
"By accordingly, I'm taking they use that one thing, the mind-walking or whatever?"
"To an extent, yes. More so, they're taken into Plumber custody and have their memory of the event removed, and put on their way. Tedious, I'm aware, but a necessary action for now."
"So, a couple of Galvans were involved with making sure they were hidden, but what if the machine was damaged?"
"There's four points across the continent that acts as a buffer. One goes down, the others will compensate and cover the lands as best as it can. There's always somebody there to fix it if that were to happen."
Ben nodded, understanding. It was remarkable that tech like that existed, but he was used to it, after all, he knew about the Null Void, which was literally an alternate dimension, he's been on different versions of Earth, gone to the future, stuck in a video game, by this point, he wasn't surprised. Thankfully, he had learned to appreciate everything. If his Grandpa Max could see only see him now. From the last time he spoke to Max, he was enjoying some time in the Ozarks, although that was probably involving Plumber business. Max tried to not involve Ben anymore because of Ben's curious nature and need to get involved. He couldn't blame him though, and if he was to be truthful, he hadn't seen Max in nearly a year.
In a way, he was thankful, just so Max couldn't see how bad Ben had really gotten. It wasn't like he had let himself go, but due to the restrictions his new health condition placed on him, Ben wasn't the way he used to be. Truth be told he never had a large physique, like you might expect from a "superhero," he was thin, but had defined muscles.
Nowadays, he might not be in the hero business, but he still tried to keep busy. He had an indoor gym that he used, whether to just clear his head or simply for fun. Now he looked like a decent mix between his future self, (the one possible before his injury) Ben 10,000 and his teenage years.
He didn't have a beard, but there was a notable 5 o'clock shadow to be seen. Ben scratched it unconsciously as Azmuth cleared his throat. "Benjamin, are you alright?"
"Yeah, just in my thoughts." Ben smiled. "So, this Naruto Uzumaki, do you know what he looks like?"
"No, I don't. I only know of him through the leader of this village. Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage."
"Alright, well, if you don't know him, what exactly makes you think this Naruto kid is worthy of the Omnitrix?"
"From what I've been told, young Naruto is a lot like you, Benjamin." Azmuth declared, gaining a curious smile from the hero. "Cocky, childish, arrogant... sound familiar?"
The former wielder sheepishly looked away from the Galvan, ashamed of his behavior as a kid. "While you might not understand it, I believe Naruto Uzumaki is a worthy successor to your legacy as a hero simply because, no matter how much he gets beat down, how much he suffers, he still finds a way to look on the bright side of things. The boy grew up without parents, an outcast in his own home. They treat him as a demon, simply because he was chosen to house a dark creature that nearly destroyed the village, but yet he still cares for those who hate him."
Ben felt a little bit of pride in Azmuth's words, having rarely heard such a commendation from the Galvan.
"Wow, never thought I'd hear you say something like that, I mean, it hurts you didn't say that about ME, but I'll let it slide," he chuckled. "I guess I should ask, what's the issue with Naruto then?"
"He's quite mischievous."
Oh... I'm sure that bodes well, doesn't it?
Konohagakure, The Village Hidden in the Leaves
The village was as alive as ever, as a vibrant blonde haired boy with whisker-like marks on his cheeks stepped outside of his home, smiling proudly at the work he had done all night. He whistled nonchalantly as he hopped onto the street, hearing the murmurs already starting. What could they have been going on about, you might be wondering? Well, he painted the Hokage Monument, making them all resemble clowns. It was a tough job to not get noticed, but thankfully he had learned that most people don't look up at something that's a commonplace item.
That was an intricate job in itself, trying to get it to work from being that high up without any markers to show he was getting it correct, that was tougher than he expected.
However, no matter the amount of trouble he went through to get it done, it was truly one of his finest feats. Even now with the villagers already looking at him, knowing it simply HAD to be him, the young Naruto Uzumaki couldn't help it, he loved the attention, no matter how he got it. Hey, he did tell Lord Third that he was going to make a bang right before the graduation exam, after all. If there was anything Naruto could say about himself, he was a man of his word.
The boy walked happily down the street, heading towards the Hokage's office, knowing very well Old Man Sarutobi should be getting news of his latest prank anytime soon. I know I'll have to clean it up myself, but it's so, so, so worth it.
He wasn't even halfway to the Hokage's office when he heard his name get angrily called out from behind him. A bead of sweat rolled down the side of Naruto's face as he heard the call, and almost, just almost regretted painting the monument.
"H-hey, Iruka-sensei!" Naruto sheepishly greeted, rubbing the back of his head, turning to face him. "Good morning! How's my favorite teacher?"
"What did you do?!" Iruka asked, unable to believe what he was seeing on the monument.
"Oh that? That's my big graduation prank. What? It's not like I didn't warn you and Hiruzen." Naruto shrugged, and Iruka blinked in surprise at the informal use of the Hokage's name. He had heard that Naruto and Lord Third had a close bond, but apparently it never occurred to him how close of a bond that really was. "Sensei, I know you're probably going to chastise me and tell me I need to fix this, but that's actually what I was going to do. I wanted to talk to Lord Hokage first before I did anything... but, you know, we still have class today."
"Yes, Naruto, I'm aware. I was hoping you'd put this pranking business behind you, what with your performance in class lately. If it weren't so late in the year I might have thought you'd come out in the top spot in your class."
Naruto narrowed his eyes at the comment. I'm in the top three, though sensei. Sasuke, me, and Sakura. I already know I can't do that because of my chakra control.
"Hey, at least I'm not slacking off anymore."
"I suppose that's true, however... doesn't excuse the fact that you need to go to the Hokage and apologize for what you did."
"That's what I was doing sensei, remember?" Naruto asked holding his arms up in the air, gaining a twitch of an eyebrow from Iruka as response.
"How about I just make sure you get there, hmm?" Iruka asked lowly, pushing Naruto forward.
Much to both of their surprise, the Hokage was unavailable as two special visitors had arrived for a meeting and wouldn't be able to see anyone for at least a couple more hours. Seeing as class was starting in less than an hour, Iruka swore to make Naruto clean up the monument, and the two made their way to the academy. Little did the young boy know was that the two people meeting Hiruzen Sarutobi were going to change his life forever.
"Well, look who showed up early," Sasuke Uchiha chuckled at the sight of Naruto being escorted by their teacher. "What'd he do this time, Iruka-sensei?"
"Why don't you ask him yourself, Sasuke." Iruka sighed, exhausted over Naruto's antics, and the blond just laughed.
"I painted the Hokage monument," the blond shrugged in response. Iruka wanted to yell at Naruto for being all laid back about the response, but he figured if Naruto already said he would clean it up after his talk with the Hokage, then maybe he did understand it was wrong. Although, if he makes one more joke he'd let him have it.
"So that was you? Hmm, figures."
"Hehe, yeah." Naruto glanced over to his sensei, trying to not upset him anymore. Today was the graduation exams after all.
"Iruka-sensei, you mind if I take the dobe off your hands?" Sasuke asked, and Iruka smiled in response. Of course he doesn't mind, Sasuke... he's probably excited. He's irritated with me. "Alright, Naruto, let's go."
"Where we going?"
"To do some last minute studying, what else?" the young Uchiha raised an eyebrow at him, before Naruto hopped beside him and they walked off to the courtyard. "You really pull a stunt like that the day of our exam? You're lucky Iruka didn't fail you just for that."
"Hey, gotta go out with a bang, don't I? If today's my last day in the academy I couldn't imagine going out any other way."
"And there's the catch, right there. If today is your last day. You still gotta pass the exam. So, what do you think we'll have to do for the jutsu portion of the test?"
Naruto shrugged. "Hopefully it's something simple like the transformation jutsu. I still have trouble with the clone jutsu."
Sasuke let out a small 'hmm' knowing very well that Naruto's chakra control was rather abysmal at times. While he could do something like his infamous 'Sexy Jutsu' he had trouble just making a simple clone. How that was possible, it was beyond Sasuke, but Naruto was known to be unpredictable.
"Try to make a clone now."
Naruto sighed, and made the sign with his hands, focusing the chakra needed for it, and with a puff of smoke a clone appeared next to the student. Sasuke seemed rather pleased with it, and Naruto nervously glanced over at it. It was certainly passable. The clone was standing upright, looked lively, the color on his clothes were slightly different, but overall it looked like Naruto. Normally Naruto couldn't get enough chakra into the jutsu for the clone to be standing at all. "Just make sure you put that same amount of chakra in it if it's part of the exam."
"Easy for you to say," Naruto grumbled, as the clone dissipated into smoke.
The two had a friendly spar, both excitedly awaiting the exam, hoping that today would be the day that they became shinobis.
"It's a been long time, Azmuth." Hiruzen Sarutobi, the third Hokage greeted as the alien climbed out of Ben's pocket and onto the desk. "What brings you to the village on such short notice?"
"Far too long, Lord Hokage. As you might recall in our previous letters that I was looking for someone to pass on the mantle of the Omnitrix."
"Yes, and you gave a rather specific set of traits you were looking for. Traits that so far only one has qualified for," Hiruzen nodded, tipping his hat.
"Young Naruto," Azmuth answered. "I'm aware of your, hesitation."
"Hesitation is an understatement. You do realize that Naruto is a peculiar situation?"
Ben was listening quietly, knowing that he couldn't step in at a time like this. Naruto was a peculiar situation, that was true. He didn't know why they hated him for housing that creature, the Nine Tailed Fox, but he knew that it was unfair to say the very least.
"Indeed. However, I believe the boy could be the right one to wield the Omnitrix, granted with the proper training."
"There would be issues with that, of course. The council wouldn't like the sudden change with Naruto, and might believe him to be a threat that needs to be dealt with."
This was where Ben finally stepped in. "Pardon the interruption, Lord Hokage, I'm.. I'm Ben Tennyson. I hate to interject but why does the council seem to think Naruto is this demon? I mean, if what Azmuth told me is true, shouldn't they see him as a hero?"
"This is true, yes. Naruto should be seen as a hero in the eyes of the villagers, but they didn't understand the situation, seeing as their idol, my successor and student, Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage, died during the Nine Tails attack. Minato and many others lost their lives that night, and they chose to see Naruto as the Nine Tailed Fox in human form rather than being the Jinchūriki that saved the village."
"I don't understand how they could be so afraid of him. He's training to be a shinobi right, a member of the village that would protect it from threats?"
Hiruzen gave a grunt and nod, but Ben could tell there was something else coming. "It doesn't matter in the eyes of the council. To them, Naruto is just a ticking time bomb. I wish it were different, but I have no power when it comes to Naruto's future as a villager. However, as a shinobi, I can ensure his missions, but that's about it."
"Future as a villager? What does that mean?" Ben asked, feeling anger rising in his chest.
"Naruto, in the eyes of the council, cannot have a relationship. If he were to have a child, for example, he could be imprisoned, his significant other could be imprisoned or executed, depending on the situation, and the child... I fear what they might try with them. I have tried my best to protect Naruto, but there is only so much I can do."
"He lives with someone, right? Some guardian?"
"No, no one is allowed to adopt Naruto."
"What? What do you mean? So he's grown up by himself in a house by himself?"
Hiruzen nodded, and Ben now felt furious, though he wasn't sure why he felt so protective over the kid in the first place. He hadn't even met him and yet he was already wanting to keep the kid safe.
"The council's decision, really. The Hyugas and the civilian council created a law that overruled me. Nobody from Konohagakure is allowed to adopt Naruto."
"Oh I hate councils," Ben groaned.
"Enough, Benjamin. Lord Hokage, I'd like to request a meeting with Naruto, give him the option to become Ben's successor."
"I will consider it, old friend. However, you won't be able to meet with Naruto for a couple hours at the least. I'd surmise you'd be able to meet him later this evening, as he's gonna be cleaning up a mess he made last night."
Ben raised an eyebrow, until he looked out the window and saw the defaced monument. He couldn't help but smile at the prank, and just like that, he had a good feeling about the kid. "That's awesome," he blurted out with a chuckle, although when he saw the looks from Azmuth and the Hokage, he immediately cleared his throat. "in a totally, you know, non-disrespecting way. I apologize."
I'm actually looking forward to meeting this kid now.
The exam finally came, and Naruto sat behind Sasuke in an empty row, looking around. He could see most of his classmates, and only caught a small glimpse of the pink hair belonging to Sakura Haruno. He sighed happily at the sight of her hair, but turned back to the exam, knowing very well she could barely stand the sight of him. He blamed the pranks and his overall annoying act for that, but it didn't matter. Sasuke was her main goal, competing with her blonde friend Ino Yamanaka for the boy's affections. Too bad for them that Sasuke didn't pay them any attention, and actually hated their incessant desire to get him to go out with one of them.
His thoughts were drawn back to the exam when Iruka and the other exam proctor, Mizuki came in and started it. First there was the written examination, which Naruto mildly struggled with, although he was second guessing himself. He knew the answers, he studied enough, but the pressure made him second guess his decision. Honestly, even Sakura, who was academically smarter than the rest of the class, seemed to be struggling with it as she wasn't the first to finish. Naruto finished the written exam first, which surprised everyone, even Naruto himself.
Then, came the jutsu test. Naruto did as Sasuke told him, and thankfully the clone came out just like last time.
Afterwards, the written exam came through with the results, and the entire class rushed to the chart. Naruto squeezed his way to the front, and was shocked at the results.
1. Nara, Shikamaru - A+ (100%)
2. Uchiha, Sasuke - A+ (98%)
3. Uzumaki, Naruto- A+ (95%)
4. Haruno, Sakura - A+ (95%)
5. Hyuga, Neji - A (90%)
6. Aburame, Shino - B+ (87%)
The rest were fairly the same, except for the last in the class, which was Kiba Inuzuka who came out at a 69%.
"WHAT?! I'm #40?!" Kiba asked bewildered, thinking he had done way better.
"Who's fault is it that you didn't study?" Sasuke teased, gaining a resentful look from Kiba.
"Hey!" he complained.
Naruto just smiled, knowing that while Shikamaru might have had the top exam result, he only tried so he knew for absolute certain he'd graduate. Talk about a guy who was lazy until it genuinely mattered. Shikamaru in the overall class results was fourth, behind Sakura.
In the end the jutsu test came up, and Naruto managed to make a decent clone, at least, decent enough to pass. He still had to work on his chakra control, which would be the first thing he worked on tonight.
At least I passed. The ceremony should happen soon and I'll be officially a shinobi!
He held the hitai-ate in his hands, hardly able to believe he was actually a shinobi now. Sasuke congratulated him, while calling him a dobe in the process, which Naruto didn't mind. They'd been friends long enough to where it was almost a term of endearment at this point. Before Iruka could even come and deliver Naruto's punishment for the Hokage monument, he was surprised to see Mizuki.
"Naruto, I'd like to talk to you tomorrow evening if you're available."
"Uh, sure thing, Mizuki-sensei."
With that awkward interaction over, Mizuki made his departure, and shortly after, Iruka appeared, clear that Naruto's punishment for the Hokage monument was finally here. Naruto folded his hitai-ate and put it in his jacket's pocket.
"You did good today, Naruto. I'm proud of you." Iruka smiled at him.
"Thank you, Iruka-sensei. I couldn't have done it without you."
"So, what's next?"
"You mean, like right now? Or in general?"
"Your plans, Naruto."
"Oh!" Naruto chuckled. "Well, I think you already know."
"You're gonna become the Hokage, yes, you've told me many times before."
"Yeah I am, believe it!" Naruto laughed, gaining a slight puff of irritation at Naruto's catchphrase.
How the words 'believe it' became his go to line, Iruka would never know, but it did seem that he was slowing down on the use of it. In the past two months Naruto hadn't said the phrase more than a dozen times.
"I suppose you'd like to go see Lord Hokage first, then?"
Naruto eagerly nodded, and when it seemed Iruka would oblige, Naruto darted ahead, leaving a small trail of dust in his wake. Iruka had trouble staying with him, the kid had insane stamina.
When they arrived at the Hokage's office, Naruto was surprised to see the Hokage already waiting, with a guest.
There's the first chapter, hope you guys all enjoyed it. Make sure you guys leave a review and let me know what you think, it really helps me sort the story out and make it better in the long run. I'd love to hear your guys' thoughts.
Also, huge question. What aliens should Naruto have for his first ten?
