Chapter Eleven: The Unsung Hero


Stepping into the hall, Naruto was hardly able to believe how packed it was. Even hours later, it seemed like half of the village was being treated. Sasuke didn't have to look at Naruto to know what the shinobi was thinking.

From the way his muscles tensed up and his skin became clammy, Naruto was horrified. Sasuke knew what he was feeling, even if his own reaction was of a much lighter degree. This was Naruto's first real experience with the casualties of battle, and for that the Uchiha knew it was better if he kept his mouth shut at the moment. Speaking wouldn't help right now.

For the blond, every face was another flash of the sentry's attack. There were so many people hurt and it was all his fault. Naruto lowered his arm from Sasuke's shoulder, standing against the wall with his heart beating in his ears. Some of the villagers glanced towards him with varied emotions, but the one that hurt the most right now was that all too familiar 'Demon Brat' glare.

For once, they actually have a reason to be mad at me… but they don't even know it.

"There's so many-" Naruto shuddered, as Sasuke put his hand on his shoulder.

"It would have been worse if it wasn't for you," he reassured him.

Nobody would have been hurt if it weren't for me.

"Ah, come on Shikamaru!" a muffled voice called out through the crowd. The two quickly glanced at each other with raised eyebrows, recognizing the voice.

"Hey, you don't think that's-" Naruto started, raising an eyebrow.

"Choji? Sure sounds like him."

Making their way towards the sound of the person's voice, they came to the doorway of one of the rooms where their voracious classmate Choji was sitting on the bed alongside the infamously lazy Shikamaru standing against the wall with his arms crossed.

"You almost died because of a bag of chips…"

"They're barbecue flavored!" Choji explained, earning a sigh as a response. "It would have been a waste."

"Choji? What are you doing here, don't tell me you got hurt?!" Naruto asked, limping into the room with Sasuke in tow.

"Masterful observation as always, Naruto." Sasuke teased.

Naruto glared daggers at the Uchiha, but quickly turned his attention back to their classmates.

From the look of it, Shikamaru was visiting Choji as the latter was in the bed wearing a hospital gown. Shikamaru had some scratches on him, but other than that he seemed rather fine. Choji's only visible injury was on his left shoulder, evidenced by the bandages adorning it.

"Hey guys! You got any food?" Choji asked, ignoring the question which only made Shikamaru facepalm.

"Cut it out with the food for a minute, will ya?" Shikamaru groaned. "Instead of getting to safety, Choji went through the trouble to save a measly bag of chips."

"Barbecue flavored!"

"Not important! Anyway, as I was saying, Choji nearly got himself killed over a bag of chips."

Naruto and Sasuke's eyebrows twitched in unison. So, while they were risking their lives trying to save the village, Choji was risking his own for food… that sounded so ridiculous it had to be true.

"Sasuke," the blond whispered lowly. "Is this how you've felt dealing with me for all these years?"

"Hnn," was the reply Sasuke gave along with a sly smirk. Naruto chuckled, knowing he had more or less said yes.

"I barely managed to get him out of the building before it came down," Shikamaru explained. "Luckily, from what I hear you two were the reason I had enough time to get to him in the first place."

"Word travels fast, doesn't it?" Sasuke mused.

"Yes it does, especially in the middle of a crisis… all anyone's talking about right now is how Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha saved the village."

"How much am I being mentioned in all of this?" Sasuke asked, seeing Naruto glance towards that watch again.

"Not nearly as much as Naruto is. Most people are saying it's a load of bull, but I saw you out there… Tell me Naruto, how are you enjoying being a hero?"

"I wasn't looking for some spotlight; people were in trouble and I couldn't just stand there."

Shikamaru nodded, putting his hands in his pockets. "I figured as much. It might not mean a whole lot to you, but thank you." Little did he know, it did. Naruto couldn't bring himself to say anything, opting to nod instead.

"I bet everybody's going to be talking about you when we get assigned to our teams." Choji piped in, taking the blond by surprise. He hadn't even taken that into consideration.

"Considering everyone's normal disposition to Naruto, I doubt they'll pay him much mind," Sasuke guessed, before crossing his arms. "However, this isn't one of his pranks so there's a chance."

The blond shrugged. He didn't want to take credit for saving the village. Why should he be rewarded for fixing a problem he started? The destruction that happened today shouldn't have happened; it only happened because of the choice he made. Even if he was given the credit, what difference would it actually make? The village would still hate him come tomorrow.

Even so, Naruto had made a vow when he put that watch on. If someone needed help, he would be there.


There was a change in the air around Konoha. It was subtle, but it was there. Hiruzen hadn't felt this sensation in years, not since the death of the Fourth Hokage. Coincidentally the day that Minato Namikaze formally became the Hokage, he felt that same change in the air: a sense of hope.

While it was hard to say what was the cause of this, Hiruzen looked towards the street where Naruto had made his final stand against the sentry bot and smiled. Perhaps it was his own imagination, but he believed Naruto was the reason.

Turning back to his desk, he sighed looking at the photo of the Fourth Hokage. When Naruto would get assigned to his team, Hiruzen would make sure to tell him the truth about his father.

There was a knock on the door, and a moment later Ben came into view. "You wanted to see me, Lord Third?"

"Yes, I did. I saw what Naruto did today. He did well."

Ben nodded.

"I want to ask you something. The creature that attacked the village came here because of the Omnitrix, didn't it?"

"It did."

"Did you know it would happen?"

"We suspected that trouble might pop up when Naruto first used the Omnitrix, but we didn't know that there'd be an attack on this scale."

"If I recall correctly, the night you got the Omnitrix something similar happened."

"You do, but with all due respect sir… that was a different situation. The ship carrying the Omnitrix was attacked by a tyrant by the name of Vilgax. He was severely injured and did not believe that anyone had retrieved the Omnitrix at the time, so he sent scouts. When the truth was revealed, that was when he sent the combat drone. That was before I was known across the galaxy."

"As true as that might be, it has been over five years since you last wore it. Word will have spread about your retirement."

"That's the thing. As far as the rest of the galaxy knows, I'm still wearing it. When I was injured, the Plumbers made sure they kept my status a secret. If anyone were to find out I wasn't wearing the Omnitrix, then they'd feel there was an opportunity to act upon. The official word that the Plumbers spread for the sake of keeping the peace was that I was on a mission off-world. Part of that story required me to keep a low profile around my hometown."

"Hmm…" Hiruzen hummed. "Even if you were off-world, that's an opportunity in itself. Given that you weren't seen for five years with the Omnitrix on, rumors would have started."

"Azmuth had that figured out. We replicated the energy signature I created when I transformed and had it ping across the galaxy at certain intervals; We would have someone pretend to be me and appear near those signatures so someone didn't think it was just a wild goose chase.

"The way we figured, the likelihood of someone coming after the Omnitrix right away was low. We weren't expecting a grand spectacle like what happened. Clearly, our plan didn't work as well as we hoped. It was not our intention to bring harm to Konoha, and for that I profusely apologize."

There was an unreadable expression that came across Hiruzen's face as Ben finished speaking. For a moment they were locked in silence, until Hiruzen placed his hands on the desk and gave a solemn glare.

"There's something else, isn't there?"

"The drone that came after Naruto was tougher than anything I've faced. It was capable of withstanding a Pyronite's flames, which can burn as hot as the sun. Azmuth thinks whoever sent it is preparing against the Omnitrix."

"Is that so? That's troublesome news. The most powerful weapon in existence and there's someone out there making countermeasures against it." His mind immediately went to that of Naruto. From here on forward, the trials he'd face would only continue to grow. It'll be a hard and difficult road, but he knew he couldn't change Naruto's mind even if he were to try. The boy was committed now, and nothing would be able to sway him.


Naruto finished putting on a black t-shirt over his bandages and slowly stood up from the bed. Sasuke had gone home to clean up, leaving him all alone. His body was sore, but Naruto was able to stand on his own now.

"What are you doing, kid? You need to be resting."

"I can't stay here anymore. The doctors don't want to treat me, and if anyone sees a chance to come after me… well, you get the idea."

"The only time they come after you is when they think something's our fault," the Kyuubi retorted.

"Yeah, and everybody's talking about how I destroyed that robot. Nobody will believe it, and the worst part is they'll probably think I set it up somehow; saying that I was trying to make myself look good."

"What is it about humans and hatred? Even if you save them, they'll still find a way to hate you."

"They don't hate me… they hate you," Naruto replied, opening the window. He honestly wasn't too sure whether his body could handle the impact right now, but he wanted to make himself scarce quickly.

"Too bad we're one and the same in their eyes." Kyuubi sighed with an eyeroll that Naruto could picture clearly. "Where are you going to go?"

He would go to wherever Ben and Azmuth were staying, but he had no clue where they were; the only person he trusted and liked enough to stay the night at was Sasuke. The choice was practically made before he even thought about it.

Turning back, Naruto frowned as he saw the old man whose shop he crashed into earlier walk by. He'd need to make this right, but not tonight. Today had been enough trouble for everyone. As voices appeared in the hall, Naruto jumped out of the window and disappeared into the night.

"Running away from your problems won't fix it."

"I'm not running away. It's better this way, you know? The less they need to deal with 'The Demon' the better, right?"

"Sounds like you're making excuses."

"Oh, is that so? It almost sounds like you care." Kyuubi went quiet, earning a smirk from the blond. "Excuses or not, you're right. Leaving the hospital makes me look bad, but I can't stop thinking about how many people were there because they got hurt in the attack."

"Kid, if you're going to be a shinobi… you can't blame yourself for people getting hurt. The Omnitrix is one of the most powerful weapons ever created. Many have died in conflict over it. This wasn't something you could avoid. One way or another, someone would have come for it eventually. Just be happy that you saved the village."

"It's a little hard to be happy when nobody will believe it."

"Who cares what they think? You want to be a hero? Then get used to it. The real heroes often go unsung, but it doesn't change what you did. Naruto Uzumaki saved the village. You know that's the truth… so who cares about what anyone else thinks." Kyuubi hissed with infectious conviction.

Naruto straightened his back and beamed brightly. "You know, you're right. Thanks, Kyuubi."

"Don't get sappy with me, boy… you'll make me look bad."

"Yes, sir!" Naruto chuckled, continuing on his way to the Uchiha compound, feeling slightly better all thanks to the demon fox dwelling within him.