{words - 6108}

Chapter 4

Low soft humming filled the bridge of the armored freighter Albedo owned as it flew over area 102 towards Kaze no Kuni where the person they were going to visit lived. Rook who was piloting the ship didn't seem to notice anything strange but Ben's heart almost stopped out of shock when the albino who tried killing him so many times in the past did something so human.

It wasn't even a few hours ago when a bored Naruto laid down resting his head on his mate's lap for a quick nap when Albedo who was reading a book started unconsciously running his fingers through the blonde's now blue hair. The former Galvan who blamed Ben for everything wrong with his life in the past and saw humans as nothing more than hairless monkeys now sat their looking so completely at ease ignoring everything around him while caressing his mate's hair.

'Big bad Albedo finally grew a heart.' Ben thought trying to hide his grin at the sight after taking a quick picture with his phone for later blackmail. Though watching the pair of them and the look of contentment Naruto had on his face the hero wished he could of had something like that with Julie before he broke things off with her.

It broke his heart at the time when Gwen caught her with some guy named Herve at one of the many tennis matches he couldn't attend because the Plumbers needed him off world somewhere. Ben didn't even want to hear the whole story after Gwen went ballistic on the pair in what Kevin later called the world's worst one sided cat fight when Julie's only excuse was she needed somebody who would always put her first. Except he was needed to save the Earth and help people regardless of their race but she didn't see it that way. Julie only saw it as him running off to play hero and leaving her behind.

'She could have at least broke up with me before seeing someone else though.' Ben thought frowning slightly before shacking his head to get rid of those unwanted thoughts. 'At least Ship came home after everything was finally over.' It might have been a cheap shot at the time but he didn't care enough to change his mind even now. Because like his parents pointed out since they weren't seeing each other anymore and she wasn't a Plumber's child then there really wasn't any need for Julie to have his things or his dog and Ship was his alien dog thing.

The only reason Ship even stayed around Julie for so long was simple because of his constant worry that someone might target her to get him so when Ben went to get his things he took everything. 'I should really find some time to play with Ship some more instead of keeping him inside the extra apartment I have at the Plumber's Headquarters.' Every Plumber stationed on Earth had a small apartment of their own since most of them couldn't go topside without freaking out the locals. Ben didn't really need it and the apartment wasn't much since the young hero rarely used it outside of the few times he couldn't drag himself home after a long exhausting mission but it was enough. Beside what other sixteen year old could brag about having his very own bachelor pad.

Quickly typing in a reminder on his phone to spend some extra time with Ship when they got back Ben turned back to the pair who owned the ship they were using. "I hear congratulations are on order for Levin's coming wedding." Albedo finally spoke trying to make small talk until they arrived in Kaze no Kuni.

"W-wait! What!? Since when are Kevin and Gwen getting married!?" Ben asked chocking on his drink in shock at the knowledge. They couldn't be married or grandpa Max would have said something and if not him then his parents at least.

"What are you talking about?" Albedo questioned closing his book to give the teen across from him a confused look. "Most of the Tetramands in Undertown are celebrating since Levin is do to marry Gar Red Wind's daughter Looma who is on her way towards Earth. Apparently they've been engaged for a good amount of time too after a little adventure he had on Khoros before the three of you teamed up together." After explaining what he knew the albino flipped the book open to the page he bookmarked not really caring all that much one way or another about the pair.

"He, that jerk's been." Ben spluttered trying not to get angry until he could confirm this with somebody else besides his former enemy. "Kevin's been engaged for years?" He really needed to get ahold of grandpa Max now because somebody was getting hurt if Kevin turned out to be a cheater like Julie.

"So I've heard." Suddenly static filled the radio waking Naruto up at the same time as the ship's digital warfare programs came online flashing warning signals.

"This is Plumber outpost 2270 broadcasting on all available channels in the area. Our system has your ship flagged for flying over a temporary no fly zone. Verify yourself or we will shoot you down." The now blue haired teen grinned recognizing her voice even if they only talked a handful of times with everything that happened before his banishment.

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki-." Hearing her gasp he wanted to laugh but didn't knowing she'd kill him for it after vanishing for almost four years. "-partial owner of the ship requesting permission to land on a travelers visa filed with the Plumbers main base."

"P-permission granted...W-welcome back Naruto." Snickering to himself as Albedo wrapped a hand around his waist amused by the look Rook was shooting them he couldn't wait to see them again after being away for so long.

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Minutes later after landing in the hidden shipyard near Sunagakure Ben watched from beside Rook who was filling out the travel forms for them as an older girl with tired teal eyes and disheveled sandy blonde hair gathered into four consecutive ponytails pulled Naruto into a hug. Wearing a black kimono that reached down to her legs, with slits along the side and a very revealing neckline she looked almost perfect but tired after dealing with some type of attack the Plumbers nearby were talking about. Looking closer as they talked he spotted a red sash tied around her waist, fingerless black gloves on the blonde's hands and a forehead protector tied around her forehead.

"It's been to long you baka." Almost suffocating Naruto in a bone crushing hug she looked relieved to see him again making Ben grow more curious about Naruto's past with each little thing he's seen so far. "What's with the hen-." She couldn't even finish talking when Naruto stiffened his eyes going wide as a hand shot to the back of his neck where the seal Konoha placed on him all those years ago started burning.

"Someone get lady Chiyo here now!" The blond girl barked out after seeing the seal getting a few Plumbers scrambling for the elevator while Ben raced over as Albedo pulled Naruto into a nearby seat.

"What's wrong?" Even if he didn't know him that much Ben was still worried watching burns slowly spreading out from the strange tattoo on the blue now fading back to blond teen's neck. 'Where the hell is Gwen when I really need her.' Holding him close as he struggled in pain the blond girl refused to let him go trying to keep him still when whisker like marks faded into view on each cheek and his eyes flickered crimson.

"Konoha was stupid enough to brand him with a slapped together seal and it's breaking down being in close proximity to my little brother." She could feel the pulses ripping through his body like a rapid heart beat and already knew Gaara was coming with lady Chiyo regardless of his injuries from the battle over the village a few days ago. 'As if things couldn't get any worse with reports of them on the way trying to play nice for once and Naruto seconds away from losing himself to the Kyuubi's bloodlust.'

When he started thrashing in pain she had no choice but to let him go after a dense shroud of chakra formed around the still spreading seal. The translucent energy of the strongest Bijuu glowed red looking more like a boiling liquid but Albedo didn't care or flinch when he reached into the shroud forcing Naruto to meet his gaze. "You've made peace with the kitsune for years now." Getting his mate to nod through the pain as the seal broke apart the albino smiled a gentle smile that still freaked Ben out every time he saw it. "Then don't let the energy being's power control you."

"I couldn't have put it better myself child." Turning when the elevator opened they saw a pair of shinobi walking out of it a few steps ahead of the Plumbers sent to get them. "Though I could have gone without all this cloak and dagger style whispering with my age I know better than to say no when the Kazekage's family demands something of me."

"Lady Chiyo, lord Kazakage these are the people Temari came down here to personally welcome." A Plumber wearing one of their strange headbands reported while the elderly woman got to work barking out orders as she readied a counter sealing matrix.

Looking them over Ben took in the elderly woman writing down a bunch of strange symbols on a piece of paper faster than his eyes could follow. She had black eyes and lavender colored hair tied in a bun and wore what looked like a it could be a common outfit which consisting of a dark colored, loose fitting robes with a poncho-like top.

The other figure though stood back with his arms crossed letting the Plumbers and his own men work to clear a nearby table. Wearing a long-sleeved crimson coat and full-length dark trousers covering what looked like alien or magical armor the other teen's stone faced gaze sent a chill down his spine scaring him. "It's bad Gaara, they branded him with a faulty seal that's close to overloading." Temari informed him and the spiky red head's green eyes narrowed in anger watching Albedo carrying him over to the table. "We can't let Konoha know he's hear when their team arrives in a few hours."

Gaara turned to face his older sister not knowing that piece of information yet letting Ben get a better look at the black rings around his eyes along with the strange tattoo on the left side of his forehead. Over the coat the young Kazakage wore two buckled belts, a grey vest held in place by a single strap over his left shoulder, and two buckled belts which he allowed him to carry a very large gourd.

"You let them cross over our border." It wasn't a question but more of a demand for answers when his eyes changed like Naruto's did turning black, with yellow irides and pupils that took the shape of a black four-pointed star with four black dots around it.

"You were unconscious and they had documents from the Fire Daimyo letting the group pass as ambassadors only. I made sure the border patrol let them know that too in case any of the squad Konoha is sending tries anything but you were still recovering from your fight against the Akatsuki and our Daimyo allowed it since he didn't want to risk another war no matter how weak Konoha is right now." Gaara's lips thinned out into a tense line showing how angry he was at the news but the Kage turned back to watching Chiyo working to get rid of the seal trying to kill his brother.

"I'll deal with it when they arrive but until then I want additional teams around our family compound and all restricted areas." He wasn't going to take any chance with those traitors no matter what they said or offered in order to gain another treaty.

It took twenty five minutes, the longest time in Gaara's life where he had to wait for anything but it also gave him a chance to examine the group Naruto was traveling with while Chiyo worked on the seal. The teen knew all about Benjamin Kirby Tennyson after signing the treaty alongside the Wind Daimyo with the Plumbers when he first became Kazakage but that could be one of the many number of things they'd talk about later. 'Though I wasn't the first Kage to approach them for help and thankfully it paid off when the Akatsuki attacked.'

Mizu no Kuni's most recent Mizukage Mei Terumi approached one of the Plumber outpost near the end of the Kekkei Genkai purges needing resources and aid rebuilding everything. It was a lot of work but after the reign of Yagura came to a bloody end, she became a Kage her people needed working tirelessly to reform internal policies and recreate diplomatic relations with other villages only none of the other big five wanted to help besides Sunagakure. Except Gaara couldn't offer much at the time besides a few small shipments and left with no other choice she did what no other Kage every attempted in the past because of long standing traditions and secured a treaty with the Plumbers.

Kaze no Kuni followed next with their Daimyo's full backing after Root agents attacked his family while Gaara was visiting trying to force a treaty in Konoha's favor. The squad sent didn't even have a chance to draw their weapons before the angered Kage's sand crushed them into nothing but bloody puddles of gore. With two of the big five letting the Plumbers cross into their borders Kumogakure started having talks with the areas Magister a large Tetramand called Marino with most of the smaller villages soon to follow. The Raikage A saw how the winds were changing along with the diverse number of aliens looking for places to settle down and was more than happy to open up negotiations. It wasn't that much of a secret why they were open to letting aliens live amongst them having heard stories about hybrids who could control fire or run faster than even A himself but the Plumbers didn't care as long as their laws were followed. Iwagakure and Konohagakure however refused to any form of talks either sending back the messengers dead bodies or sometimes not at all after weeks of waiting for an answer.

With the doors finally being opened after years of just watching from the sides making sure their wars didn't spill out past the area change slowly started to occur over the years Naruto wasn't around. The Plumbers brought the three main villages and a few minor who joined up as the years passed by a wealth of knowledge alongside marvels they could only imagine up in dreams but it also brought conflict.

For the older generation and the elders who wanted things to stay the same it changed more than they would have ever allowed with so many new stations to threaten their power appearing every day. For the civilians who didn't have a clue what a Kekkei Genkai was seeing so many different aliens when they arrived in a town or village caused more than one fight to break out amongst the people old and new. For the shinobi though it brought the biggest change to their way of life. They were forced to change a lot of things needing passes to pass through friendly borders and now had actual laws they had to follow when outside of their villages. The biggest change the Plumbers brought that caused more than a few problems at first was their Academies and the laws against child soldiers. Children could still join the Academy hoping to follow in their parents footsteps but the age of enrollment and graduation were changed to fit the laws outside of the Elemental Nations.

'It was worth it in the end.' Gaara thought knowing how much Kaze no Kuni improved with their help even if the older generation still complained about every little new thing they didn't like. 'If they weren't here to help then the Akatsuki would have Shukaku and I'd be dead.'

"It's finally done." Chiyo announced getting Gaara even more curious about where his brother was all these years as he watched the albino picking him up off the table. "Now unless I'm needed for anything else then I have a game of shogi to win." Letting one of the Plumbers help her up his advisor looked to him for a second getting Gaara to nod before walking towards the elevators.

"You're more than welcome to stay with us since Naruto is traveling with you." Temari offered Albedo a knowing glint in her eyes while Gaara smirked seeing how confused Ben was being ignored by the people of area 102 except for a few Plumbers who stared a bit

They didn't see a hero no matter what most Plumbers said about him but another teenager who carried a very powerful weapon. No matter what he was just like the rest of them and it seemed to be more than a little refreshing judging by the way he stood off to the side watching everything for once instead of being at the center of things when the other shoe dropped.

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"So where did Naruto end up to get a pair of twins following him around?" Temari smirked being more than a little flirty as she wrapped an arm around Albedo leading him into their kitchen where Ben and Rook were eating a late dinner. Gaara might have sent a clone to deal with the team from Konoha while he watched over a sleeping Naruto to exhausted to stay awake but he still wanted answers judging by the eye floating over them. He wouldn't be leaving his 'brother's' room either because with the seal finally getting taken off after years of chakra building up they were forced to drug Naruto while his body got re-accustomed to having so much chakra flowing freely again.

"We're not twins." "Like hell I'm related to him." Albedo and Ben responded at the same time while the albino yanked his arm free glaring daggers at her.

"Relax it's an honest mistake after you carried him all the way here and the way your cute clone over there was watching you the whole time." Albedo didn't blink an eye when Temari winked at them but Ben did almost choking if Rook wasn't there to slam a fist across his back.

"I was only keeping an eye on Albedo in case he tries something!" The hero denied between coughs and she almost felt bad using tricks like this to get answers out of the group after seeing the confused look on the albino's face.

"I'm a former criminal Benjamin. I even have stable job with benefits and everything so go fuck yourself." Albedo responded sounding almost insulted since he did earn employee of the week once. 'Sure Mr. Baumann might have been sick and more than a few people were held up at gun point when I 'asked' them to leave a review that weekend but I earned my tiny trophy. Well I earned a lot of things that night when Naruto wanted to celebrate.' He cracked a small smile remembering the things they learned that night after trying out a local bar in Undertown and more than a few different drinks. 'So worth the headache and the beginning of my growing handcuff collection.'

Smack! "I know what that look means after being around Ben." A grinning Rook walked past Albedo after smacking him in the back of the head and the albino snarled knowing a majority of Plumbers were waiting for him to slip up again. He wouldn't get mad though. Albedo didn't care who was watching or waiting because he didn't care anymore about any of them.

"I'm going to check and see if Naruto is okay." Walking out of the room towards the stairs he gave the pair the finger getting Temari to laugh while the eye watching from the ceiling turned back into sand.

"Well now that your hotter twin is gone." Placing a glass bottle down on the table between them the two Plumbers suddenly felt very, very small seeing her grinning like that. "Let's have a few drinks to celebrate your visit." It had strange writing on the front neither of them could read and Ben would have declined if Rook hadn't elbowed him in the side.

"She's the sister of a Kaze no Kuni military leader and sends reports to their ruler almost weekly." His quiet whispering got the point across to drink whatever she handed him and shut up even if the both of them missed the way Temari grinned while pouring their drinks.

She almost felt bad doing this but then again it was always fun seeing peoples reactions to drinking sake for the first time. "Drink up boys."

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Upstairs though while Temari was getting answers Gaara focused on the view outside the window as he ran his fingers through the sleeping blonde's hair. He took in the growing village's lights and the different structures still being built or repaired around Sunagakure after the terrorist groups attack. 'I'm glade you're here now even if Konoha is still looking for you after all the problems they started having.'

Feeling him wiggling closer in his sleep he glanced down at the blond he called brother already picking up more than a few signs of torture and the darkened whisker marks Naruto now had adorning each cheek after the henge fell apart. "Those are the signs of a Jinchuuriki." Gaara informed the figure watching them from the door turning his head slightly to see Albedo leaning against it's frame. Examining his brother's mate when he walked closer to the couch they were resting on the young Kage smiled slightly when Albedo didn't flinch back when his sand wrapped around his shoes.

"I already know." Naruto's eyes opened slightly only to close a few seconds later after spotting the both of them there staring each other down. "Just like I already know you hold one yourself Gaara."

"Shukaku." Returning his attention to the view outside as the stars started coming out he didn't even blink when Albedo sat down on the opposite side of the couch.

"The thing is-." Barely twitching his finger the sand covering the floor formed into dozens of small knives while his eyes changed for the second time in one day as the Bijuu's chakra filled the room. "-I won't need his help to crush you if my brother's heart is broken again but I'll still give him your blood." Each knife was positioned to kill in the slowest way possible letting the threat hang in the air as they enjoyed the view.

"I'm not this Shika person Naruto used to date." They fell into silence after that only the sound of Naruto snoring could be heard before Albedo sighed. "Do you..." Letting the sand fall apart when Albedo started speaking he was curious to hear what his brother's newest mate might ask him. "Do you think even the worst kind of people can change?"

"Naruto thought so in the past when he saved me. That's the only reason I haven't killed you after reading over everything the Plumbers have on you. He must have seen something good in you but I want to know why someone hurt him." Holding his brother closer like he'd suddenly disappear the second he let him go Gaara spoke using a Kage like tone that made it clear no wasn't an answer. "Tell me your story Albedo of the Galvan."

"Have you ever had that one thing you want to forget more than anything but you just can't?" The albino sighed his eyes focused on the growing number of stars outside instead of the red head and his mate. "To me memories are treacherous little things that only end up hurting more than they help. One moment you're lost in a carnival if delights with poignant childhood aromas, the flashing neon of puberty, all that sentimental candyfloss humans so love to enjoy... The next, it leads somewhere you don't want to go. Somewhere dark and cold filled with damp ambiguous shapes of things you always hoped were long forgotten."

{Flashback}

He looked around trying not to get sick from the smell alone as he pulled body after body from the opened cells ignoring the alarms blaring since the mercenaries where already dealt with for now. Though the strange man with them went down a little to easy after everything their boss said about him during the weeks he spent onboard this hell hole. Most of the hired help went out of their way to avoid him but Albedo didn't have time to worry about a bunch of dead men right now.

There were a lot of things he did in his past and even more he'd have to answer for when it was over but even he drew the line when it came to testing on sapient life-forms. No matter what anyone might think of him the albino wasn't some deranged killer but a scientist.

Even if he did hate Ben for everything that's happened so far in his life Albedo wasn't about to start playing some twisted version of doctor with every human he crossed like others had in the past. With that thought comforting him that he at least had better morals than the Cerebrocrustacean shouting every vulgar word out there over the comms Albedo was about to bag another body when the blond teen near the pile behind him started gasping for air.

'He's alive!' Rushing to the blonde's side the albino quickly started preforming what little first aid he knew with the limited medical kit on hand before picking the human up as gently as possible.

"I-I'm still alive?" The human groaned out in pain as he gasped for ever labored breath. "I'm glad."

"Me to even if you are heavy." Albido replied without thinking his mind already trying to work out a way to safely remove the prototype Nemetrix around the blonde's neck that was slowly killing him.

"You smell like ramen." His mutterings were getting worse with each passing second as he quickly made it to his ship's med-bay.

"Hush human. You'll need to rest while the drones work." His voice was so gently that it surprised even him as he laid the teenager down on the table. Working fast to get the few stolen drones he had enough time to steal from the Cerebrocrustacean little group online Albedo rummaged through dozens of different cabinets pulling out anything they might need as they worked.

BOOM! Glancing back towards the blast doors to the hanger he sighed seeing they were still holding for now but knew it wouldn't be long before they broke through. 'I need to hurry!' Slamming his hand down on the Omnitrix he transformed into Negative Fasttrack before vanishing in a blur.

BOOM! Body bags, tools, every little thing he could grab vanished into the open cargo doors of his ship. BOOM! Rushing up the ramp as a red flash of light filled the room Albedo turned back into his human form.

BOOM! The doors gave way and mercenaries filled the room seconds after he slammed his hand down on the controls to take off. The ship lifted off the ground while they opened fire trying to bring it down but Albedo wasn't paying any attention to them when a man he saw die walked in behind the mercs. Amused snake like eyes stared at him not moving to do anything other than watch when the ship took off.

{Flashback End}

Shivering at the memory of those eyes he looked down at his mate sleeping form. "I honestly don't know why I responded to the message he sent me after having such a bad day but I turned on Cerebrocrustacean and his men the second I saw what they were really doing with the data his boss hired me to work on. I was only fortunate that Khyber and his pet were away or things would have ended differently for me that day."

Albedo shook his head trying to clear his thoughts because he knew better than to work with a group like that. He knew a lot of things weren't adding up from the beginning when they kept him away from certain parts of the ship but that man offered more money than he'd ever be able to scrap together in years all up front. 'Don't the humans have something they say whenever a deal is to good to be true?' "What I do know is that I have morals no matter how skewed they might be to you or anyone else and I'm trying to do better. Now tell me what you can about Konoha."

"I'd kill their little group if they weren't traveling as a diplomatic party." Gaara freely admitted since the Nara was among their group. "But they have to many problems at the moment trying to end their civil-war to try making a move against Naruto but still you should be careful on who you trust while here.

"How so?" Albedo asked having noticed the protective look that flashed across the red head's face when he glanced down at his sleeping mate.

"There were nine of us up until a year ago." His sand curled around every corner of the room as the young Kage told him what little they knew. "Number two was killed while out on a mission her mutilated body showing up nailed to Kumogakure's gates a week later. Four and five were burnt to death while trying to escape to a Plumber base on the border of Iwagakure with the killer using a type of black flames not even the Plumbers could put out with their advanced machinery. Number six was hunted down like an animal from the reports the Plumbers shared with us having killed himself along with a girl traveling with him before they could capture either of them." Albedo might not have had his former Galvan mentality anymore but the pieces were falling into place alongside everything else his mate already told him about the Bijuu and Akatsuki. "They won't risk open war with us just yet no matter how much they might want Shukaku but that still leaves three who the Plumbers were able to get off world after finding out he was only a child, seven, eight who went underground not wanting to put his brother in any sort of danger and-."

"Naruto." The albino finished already having a clue they might try to capture his mate sooner or later. "We'll be ready when they come." Akatsuki, Konoha or anyone else that thought about harming his mate would be in for a surprise because even if Albedo stopped going after Ben he still had a few friends in shady places that would help for the right price.

Author's Notes -

This chapter is more of an info dump than anything else and him getting the seal off. Ben breaking things off with Julie is for a little bit later because if it doesn't end up with Ben joining him since a few people do have points that they'd never get along then it will turn into Ben x Rook as a side pairing.

As for Gaara I might get a few complaints because of the way I did things but from the way I see things it works out. Every story I read where Naruto gives him a heads up about the Akatsuki always leads to him getting captured and Shukaku taken. But if he knew they were coming kill him at some point in the future I just see Gaara doing some training or something to get ready because he is the Jinchuuriki of the Bijuu who controls [sand] and lives in the middle of a [desert].

It just seemed stupid that he even lost the fight in canon if Sasuke and Sakura of all people could take out the two sent to get him. Granted they had help but so did Gaara who had a whole village right below him that just watched the fight and them flying away afterwards instead.

It's just one of those things that bug me since he could take on five of Madara's clones but lost to Deidara. With the Plumbers and their tech though I don't see those two walking away with Gaara. Speaking on the Plumbers the Magister is an OC that will be mentioned in passing since they won't be in the Elemental Nations long.

But with them letting the Plumbers help most of the villages are catching up to the rest of the world. It isn't going to do much now but later on them being caught up with the outside world is going to come in handy when a few different things happen. Though not everyone will be happy about it like Konoha, Iwa and others who see it as tossing out old traditions.

Next chapter will show the team from Konoha and a bit of info on what's happened to Konoha while the hero was gone. I'll also be giving you more on Shika and why he cheated since he is being forced to lead the team coming to talk with Gaara along with a fight breaking out. I'm also having some fun because I thought about Ben trying sake for the first time and ending up somewhere funny with Naruto taking advantage of it.

You got a taste of Albedo's past in this chapter and more about his change and the things he did before Naruto will be seen as the story goes. What I want to make clear though is he didn't know anything about the test subjects. They hired him only because of his past with Azmuth and the Omnitrix.

There is going to be a small lemon in the next chapter so this is your heads up about that.

I've also been getting a few questions about it but area 102 is just a small joke. Kind of like area 51 but twice the problems to deal with so they started calling it area 102.

Please leave a review if you liked the story because I don't really give it my all when I think nobody likes what we're doing.

Response - (Thanks for your reviews.)

AngelFaux: I kind of already had the same kind of idea already in mind when planning the Elemental Nations in the Ben Ten world. Right now a good chunk of area 102 is about 10/15 years behind the rest of the world while some of the places I named refused the Plumbers offer.

HeartlessNobody13: You got it sort of right. I'm not going into greater detail since Ben is going to start looking into things and why Naruto keeps altering his appearance slightly but here's a hint. If someone had a way to hide obvious scars everyone would notice when they saw him wouldn't they use it when in public.