Chapter Two: A Worthy Successor (Part 2)


Naruto was surprised to see such a peculiar man standing in the Hokage's office. He seemed so out of place, although he couldn't put his finger on what exactly made him that way. The man was wearing a dark green Chinese frog button jacket, navy blue jeans, and a pair of combat boots. It wasn't that the outfit itself was what made him look out of place, it was more to do with his posture, the overall energy he gave off. It just felt like he didn't belong here.

"Hello, Iruka, Naruto... to what do I owe the pleasure?" Hiruzen asked, shyly glancing towards the man who immediately perked up at the mention of the young shinobi's name.

"Sorry to bother you Lord Hokage, but wanted to bring Naruto in, as I'm sure you're aware of his actions earlier today."

"Yes, I'm aware. You can step outside, Iruka. I would like to have a word with Naruto."

Iruka nodded, and stepped out of the room, shutting the doors behind him as Naruto glanced at this strange man standing by the Hokage's desk. "Naruto, feel free to come closer."

As he did, he noticed Hiruzen become rather serious, unlike previous encounters before. "Am I in trouble?"

"I suspect you'll be cleaning up your mess after we're done talking, so... no, not in the sense you're worried about." Hiruzen stated, earning a sigh of relief from Naruto. "First off, I'd like to know how your graduation exam went today. Well, I hope?"

"Yes, sir!" Naruto pulled his hitai-ate out of his pocket and showed off the village's symbol prominently on the forehead protector.

"Congratulations, it's been a long time coming," the Hokage smiled. "Secondly, as I'm sure you're aware of, I was in the middle of a meeting with this man before you came in. We were talking about you, as a matter of fact. It's a coincidence that you came in at the time you did."

"You were talking about me?" the blond asked, glancing towards this man, unsure what the topic could have been.

"Yes. Naruto, this is Ben Tennyson. He's a part of a group that the village has been allied with for many years. It's been an alliance that's lasted since the Second Great Ninja War."

Ben waved at Naruto with a smile, although the young shinobi was nervous about this stranger. Something just screamed at him that something was not quite right about this.

"Really? What group?"

"I'll go into that in a moment, but I think it'd be better to just ask you one question. Naruto, if you could help people, more than what you could right now, would you?"

"Of course."

"Hmm," Hiruzen grunted in approval. "Ben, would you like to take over?"

"I suppose. Nice to meet you, Naruto. Heard a lot of things about you, mostly good."

"Hi," was all the blond replied with.

"So, this is gonna be really weird to understand, especially seeing how things are around here. I'm not from around here. See, the Hokage mentioned that I work with a group your village is allied with. They're called the Plumbers."

"Like, toilet plumbers?"

"No... this is why it's going to be weird. What I'm about to tell you is extremely confidential and not a lot of people know. In fact, we try to not have anybody know, but for this to go the way it needs to, you need to know what I'd be asking of you."

Naruto nodded.

"Alright, here goes. This part of the planet we're on, it's only a small part of the rest of the planet. Where I'm from, the technology and weaponry we have are far more advanced than what this continent has. The Shinobi land, as many call it, is a part of the planet that's been hidden from the rest of Earth. The Plumbers, it's a intergalactic police force."

"Intergalactic? Like space, galactic?"

"Yeah. The Plumbers, well, they aren't all humans."

"What do you mean, like they're animals too?"

Ben grew wide-eyed and glanced at Hiruzen, who merely motioned at the man's jacket. "Uh, partially. I'm talking about aliens. Azmuth, wanna hop out?"

"Thought you'd never ask, Benjamin," a small voice called out from the man's jacket, as Naruto watched a five inch tall bipedal frog-like amphibian with large, bulbous, green eyes with thin lines for pupils hopped out of the jacket and onto the desk.

If it weren't for the fact he was in the office and people would investigate, Naruto would have probably screamed out of fright, but held his composure as best as he could. "What the hell is that?!"

"Rude, but I'll allow it." the creature grumbled. "Greetings, Naruto Uzumaki, I am Azmuth of the planet Galvan Prime." Naruto watched as it blinked with its eyelids closing horizontally from both sides of his eyes.

"Planet, like you're an alien?"

"Perhaps to you, yes I am. Indulge me for a moment, if you'd be so kind." Naruto took a deep breath and listened, sitting down so he wouldn't fall over from the on-set lightheadedness. "I am the creator of one of the most powerful inventions in the entire universe, called the Omnitrix."

"Omnitrix?" Naruto repeated the name.

"Yes. It was designed to help understand all life in the universe by giving the wearer of the Omnitrix to walk in the shoes in a sense of other species."

"Walk in their shoes? Like what, turn into them?"

"Precisely," Ben confirmed, snapping his finger.

"It was supposed to be a tool of peace and unity, but unfortunately there were those that sought to use my creation to wage wars and conquest. To protect it from the wrong hands, I sent it to Earth to be given to a plumber by the name of Max Tennyson, but it fell into the hands of his ten year old grandson, Ben."

"Hi," Ben waved once again. Naruto began understanding everything now, and rose to his feet.

"Benjamin upon dawning the Omnitrix, used it to become several alien species whose DNA were stored in the device, protecting people..."

"I became a hero while I wore it, is what he's trying to say. I don't know how much of this you're absorbing because even when he tries to use little words for us normal people, he tends to speak that nerd language." Ben explained.

Naruto laughed at this, gaining a look of disapproval from Azmuth. "Benjamin, focus..."

"Sorry."

"Yes, Benjamin used the Omnitrix to be a hero, when he wasn't causing the trouble himself."

"Huh?" Naruto asked, but Ben shook his head as if to say he would explain later.

"While using the Omnitrix, he attracted the attention of some of the galaxy's most infamous criminals, bounty hunters, and warlords."

"Using it, I was able to protect the planet and the galaxy multiple times over the course of fourteen years, but I can't use the Omnitrix no more."

"Why not?" the blond asked, as Ben rubbed his hands together.

"I got injured in a fight, and it was an injury I couldn't recover from, not completely. I can't use the Omnitrix anymore without it killing me."

"Oh..." the guilt in his voice for asking was highly evident.

"Don't worry about it, I'm okay with it. I went out a hero, that's all I care about."

"Without Benjamin wearing the Omnitrix, this planet was left without its greatest defender. It's taken me a bit to realize this, but I believe that there needs to be more people like Benjamin. So, I did a check on this planet's current inhabitants and looked for a human that was similar to Ben... and, you, Naruto are the only one so far that has met that criteria."

"I have?"

Azmuth nodded. "You and Benjamin share many characteristics. You're both cocky, clumsy, immature, reckless, lack of respect for authority, and disregard direct orders."

"Thanks," Ben and Naruto both answered sarcastically, gaining a facepalm from Hiruzen.

"However, you're both sincere, good-hearted, and headstrong. You get back up no matter how much you're put down. No matter the obstacle you're always able to get back up with a smile on your face, and fight for what you believe in. You're also willing to put your life on the line to protect others, even if they don't even know who you are."

Naruto felt pride in these words, although he wasn't sure why Azmuth thought this was who he was. What had Naruto ever done so far that gave the Galvan that idea?

"Azmuth is saying he thinks that you're a worthy successor for the Omnitrix."

"Wait, you mean, you want me to put the Omnitrix on and be a hero?"

"Essentially, yeah." Ben nodded. "It wouldn't make you a hero just for putting it on. It'd be a tool to help you be a hero. Azmuth and I would help you learn how to use it so you could utilize it properly and perhaps be better than I ever was. You could be the hero Earth and even this galaxy needs. I know it's a lot to ask, especially of a twelve year old, but it isn't going to happen right away. At least, I hope not."

"You want me to be a hero..." Naruto was so shocked, he wasn't sure what to even say.

"Uh, is he okay?" Ben asked, looking at the Hokage. "Did we break him?"

"Give the boy a second, that is a lot to process." Hiruzen broke his silence finally, as Naruto collected himself.

Ben knelt down to become eye-level with Naruto. "Look, if you don't know whether to say yes or not, right now... that's fine. We're gonna be in the village for a little while anyway. It's a lot of responsibility, and it's dangerous. You've probably got a lot on your mind, so if you want, you can sleep on it, and tell us here in the next couple days."

"Benjamin, this is a time-sensitive issue," the Galvan pointed out, frowning at Ben.

"I know, but it's not right to just throw this on a kid, especially considering how he's grown up. It's a lot to ask of anyone."

This is crazy... I didn't think this would ever happen. First I become a shinobi and now I'm being asked to become the protector of the planet and even the entire galaxy. How am I supposed to respond to this? Some alien is asking me to put on one of the most powerful devices in the entire universe! Oh man, I'm so glad I didn't eat any ramen before I came here.

"Naruto, are you okay?" Hiruzen asked, gaining a very light nod from the blond. "Well?"

"You said I can think on it, right?"

"If you feel you need to, yes." the Hokage nodded, and Naruto glanced over to the two guests, who also nodded in agreement.

"Alright, I'm gonna think on it and I'll let you know."

"Okay, and uh, Naruto... don't tell anyone what we've talked about, alright? Nobody can know."

Naruto nodded, and glanced back over to Hiruzen. "Is it okay for me to leave, then Hiruzen?"

"You may leave, Naruto. Thank you for your time. Again, congratulations on graduating, and please... don't do that to the monument no more."

"Of course, Lord Hokage."

After Naruto left, Ben and Azmuth looked to Hiruzen. "So, did you think that went well?"

"I'm just glad Naruto didn't pass out when you appeared Azmuth."

"I believe he almost did, if I am correct."

"He did better than I would have, in his position."

"Please, Benjamin. You turned into a Pyronite and freaked out nearly burning down a forest the first time you had any interaction with an alien."

Ben held his finger up to retort, "yes, but I had the Omnitrix on, Azmuth. I was referring to if I had been told all of that out of nowhere!"

"I'm aware."

"I can never win with you, can I?"

"Not with that intellect."

Someone have mercy on me... get them out of here, please. Hiruzen thought to himself quietly, listening to those two bickering.


Hope you guys all enjoyed the chapter. Now, I know you all probably thought Naruto would have accepted Ben and Azmuth's offer to wear the Omnitrix, but I thought it'd be a good idea to have Naruto mull over it, especially if I was going to include Mizuki wanting the forbidden scroll. So, next chapter will be coming very soon, and I really hope that you guys will be there.

Like I asked in the last chapter, as I still haven't decided which to choose yet, out of all the aliens Ben had at his disposal throughout the series, if you had to give Naruto ten to start with, which would they be?

Make sure to leave a review and let me know, or even PM me, and I will reply as soon as I can. See you all in the next chapter!