In a nondescript area, which was formerly a land filled with trees and vegetation but was reduced to an uneven bare scar on the earth, two men with their own ambitions for the world gazed in silence at the sight before them.

"It's about time we finished this, once and for all, don't you agree Maltruant?" a tall, young man said, with hair shining as bright as the sun itself. The young man was around nineteen in age. He had roguish, unruly brown hair that was messy and twin bangs that reached his jawline, framing his angular face. His shining emerald orbs did nothing to hide his devilishly handsome appearance, and He was wearing a battered and torn green and black jacket which was torn open at the front, exposing a white body suit underneath which did little to hide his toned and well-muscled form. A four pronged hourglass symbol had emerged on his chest.

He was none other than Protector of the Planet, Benjamin Kirby Tennyson. He had a device called the Ultimatrix. A device which allows its user to turn into any alien life form he/she desires and if they have proper control over it, They can remain as other as long as they wishes. Recently Ben got a few Upgrades to his Ultimatrix, Mainly due to emergence of dangerously powerful enemies. One of them was the access to his hyper evolved human transformation. Which allowed him to access most if not all his alien transformation without actually turning into them. It was dubbed as "Ultimate Ben" by the future adult version of himself

"What the hell are you doing Ben? Retreat" A female voice practically yelled into the young man's mind, Which probably belonged to his best friend/cousin Gwen Tennyson.

"Both of you know I can't. This is our last chance. Only after dealing with Maltruant, the peace can be established in this universe and the others." Ben spoke in a tone, indicating how much tired and angry he was from this whole debacle. He wanted to end this war at any cost. Too much damage has been already done, He couldn't afford any loose ends. Not this time.

"But what about you? " A male voice spoke through comm, Clearly belonging to Kevin Ethan Levin, "Look we lost the war but we still managed to save many people, We will win this next time"

"There won't be a next time, Kev" Ben chuckled as he cut the communication. He tapped the symbol on his chest. A green spark of electricity ran through his body and It started transform his body into something else. His transformation being too strong to be contained in human form. Bright lights engulfed his body and soon a powerful creature stood in his stead. That was Ben's most powerful transformation, Alien X. It was troublesome at first with Serena and Belicious bothering him all the time, However due to a recent petition in Court of Celestialsapiens, Ben held complete control over this transformation, albeit he could only use it under dire situations..

He wished that it would have been a lot better if he had gotten it before Maltruant absorbed Annilarg and went into God mode.

His opponent floated above him. He was a Chronosapien, The most powerful and genius one to ever exist. Not only that he was leader to all Chronosapiens, He was called Maltruant. His body was black, the glass on his chest was red, and his hands had large, red cannons. He also had metallic eyebrows, red eyes, and his mouth was a red grill plate. He truly lived up to his reputation. The landscape around him resembled an apocalyptic graveyard of gargantuan proportions. Dead plumbers and countless destroyed wildlife littered the scene, multiple craters decorating the land for miles around, and the sky was a dull grey, as if the gods were weeping from the death and destruction.

"So a celestialsapien eh! It doesn't matter now. I am being charged by Annilarg itself" Maltruant mocked with a cold smirk, "The End of you and your race is near, Ben 10!"

"I am not Ben 10, I am Ben 10000" Ben snarled in an outrageously. His entire body glowed with cerulean cosmic energy, His eyes taking a shade of pink as he glared at the rough Chronosapien who caused so much chaos and destruction in his home. Those people he killed were already revived at safe locations but as long as that thing was alive, Everything he loved was in danger. He dashed at his opponent with a power-packed superman punch.

Maltruant paid no mind to the incoming Celestialsapien, slowly pressing onto the Annilarg to energy of his Opponent's attack. However, due to the arrogant nature of the Alien leader, he failed to notice that he had made an error in his judgement. As the roaring Celestialsapien finally crashed into them, Maltruant activated his technology

However when he saw Ben decomposing in the air with a smirk, He realized something went wrong. Suddenly he felt the scenery around him change, A a vast spike filled, rocky, honeycombed network of underground cathedral cave crypts replacing the destroyed buildings and wrecked vehicles. He sunk to his knees, Feeling exhausted despite his super energized state. Within a moment he realized what happened, He was no longer standing on the soil of earth. He had arrived at Anur Vladias. The Undead Planet. Then the pain slammed into them. Maltruant thought he had known what pain really felt like, having endured a beating at the hands of Professor Paradox himself, yet what he was feeling right now surpassed even that experience. He could literally feel his very being fade portion by portion, flowing straight into the mindlessly shrieking Orbit system around him. Despite the burning pain he felt, Maltruant lifted his head to survey the land.

"You... You tricked me! "

The Celestialsapien stood in front of him, He too was feeling exhausted but as a being of great power, He wouldn't succumb to the undead system that early.

"That... I surely did! " Ben replied with grin, Running out of his breath.

"But why... even you will die from this! " Maltruant yelled in anger as he fell down on the floor.

"Funny! " Ben chuckled, " That was the last thing on my mind while fighting you today." He fell on his knees. The Celestialsapien transformation still had a time limit and Even if they didn't...None of his powers were going to work on the Undead planet. Soon the symbol on chest starting blinking and turned from Red to Green. Ben held his breath, Realizing what was gonna happen to him. A bright light engulfed his alien body and he was replaced with good old human form once again. The energy of Undead planet striked him at the fullest, Ben grunted in pain as he felt every particle of body being pulled apart in nothingness. Ben started shriveling as he cried in agony but even he couldn't hear his screams in the space. Tears of frustration and sorrow started running down his face. He could feel his legs grow steadily hotter until it felt like white-hot flames were trying to burst out of them. When he thought everything was over, The four pronged symbol on his chest turned into bright green... And just like that darkness took him

...xxxxxxxxxxx...xxxxxxxxx...

There would always be a price to pay, regardless of the outcome—good or bad.

Power saved lives and could elevate people to new heights, but it also corrupted them. Money granted prosperity, but it often lead to unfinished business.

Every decision made by anyone who has ever lived came with its own share of consequences and rather hefty burdens. There was just no such thing as a perfect choice, a perfect outcome. In this or any other world. It did not matter how prepared you were, or how strong or smart—the costs would always outweigh the glory. Just as there would always be something that needed to be given up in order for one to gain, such was the nature of living.

Ben opened his eyes and was expecting to see something akin to angels, Heaven and eternal peace. The sore feeling of his muscles – long hours of non-stop fighting did that to people – were gone as was any fatigue he accumulated. In fact, he finally noticed that he had started breathing again.

By the time Ben was aware of it. He was no longer in Anur Vladias. He was at least a hundred meters in mid-air from his calculations and the landing was not something he looked forward to. Without wasting any further moment he tapped onto the symbol on his chest and yelled

"Jetray"

A bright glow engulfed his body and he turned into something other than human. His body became filled with incredible agility and stamina. He became an Aerophibian , A being who literally lived in the sky. Wind whistled violently in his ears, In a move derived from both natural gliding skills and intimate knowledge of his transformation , Ben hustled forward like a rocket. Giving himself a trajectory instead of going straight down. He spun in the air several times before crash skidding into the soft grassy earth. Albeit, It did hurt a little bit. That wasn't much more than bruises on soccer field

He took a long breath, Taking everything that happened till now. The bitter memories of Time War, Plumbers losing against Chronosapiens, Paradox being killed by Maltruant which still seemed impossible to believe... His own last gamble...Things seemed a bit messed up to him for now. The air... Was breathable?

It seemed pretty much like Oxygen, That was surely Oxygen like back home. He looked around, There were trees around. Huge trees and the grass was like lush green. Looking around at his sanctuary, he couldn't ignore the fact that he was alone. The only other signs of life he could make out in this area were the sounds of frogs and crickets, and he couldn't even see them. Nothing else. He walked a few steps towards what it seemed like a small streaming pond. Ben pondered onto his situation while splashing water on his face

"Well, If this is Afterlife... Wait a min! My voice" Ben panicked in realization, His voice seemed much like a child instead of someone in his twenties. He looked at his reflection as the water settled down and his eyes widened upon seeing what he found. He had shrunk at least 3 feet and his muscles where a little less defined than they were before. It took him a few more seconds examining his reflection to realize he had been regressed in age somehow.

That was just Fan.. Fucking.. Tastic!

"Alright Smartass! What should I do next? " Ben let out a groan which was directed towards his Ultimatrix. Hoping his device's AI had some answers for him. Nothing happened for a while but suddenly...

A wave of emerald lightning shot towards a certain direction

"Whoa! That was fast! " Ben blinked. Taking a moment to himself, He took a flight. After properly examining the area , Sophisticated Sonar abilities of Jetray indicated Human life existed in the direction which was pointed by the Lightning bolt. Ben could tell he wasn't at his home even though the Planet where he was seemed a lot more like Earth. He still needed to figure out how to get back home so he might as well start from talking with resident species of this planet. May be find food and shelter

And hoping for the best, The tired and somewhat relieved Superhero started walking

...xxxxxxxx... XxxxxxxxxX...

Whoa… now that is a big-ass trench," Ben said to himself as he stood at the crest of the hill he'd finally arrived at and looked out over the rolling landscape of valleys and forests towards the great furrow he could see carved into the country. The line dug into the earth was about two kilometers wide and stretched from one vanishing point in the distance to the next; one of the largest natural formations he'd ever seen. He shook his head in amazement as he took it all in from end to end, disappointed that he didn't have a camera with him.

Though some mists toward the north concealed much of the trench, the de aged superhero still got a good enough look at the canyon, concluding that this view was by far one of the most amazing sights he'd ever seen.

"I can't wait to tell Grampa about this when I get home." Scratching his head as he marveled at the landscape, Deciding he'd had enough of taking in the sights at this distance the brunette began marching down the hill to continue on his trek. Spotting a farm house next to some dried up crops closer to the expanse of flats, Ben instinctively headed there to see if anyone in the area could give him some proper directions to the village he was heading to. Honestly, even though it was a highway he still managed to get himself lost.

He needed a map… and something to eat.

Seriously, he was starving. However once he stepped inside the village, He instantly lost his appetite. He came into the village hoping to see a lot of people walking around. Indeed there were a few, a lot more than what he was expecting to see. The good thing was that, They were human.

Unfortunately, Villagers themselves, all looking ragged, worn out and broken. Everyone he saw from this group looked awful. Even the Vegetables seemed thin from lack of hydration. It was horrible. Looking around him at the dilapidated buildings and spirit worn people a second time, Ben let out a sigh, This Place needed a serious makeover.

Makeover of the Makeovers!

He also saw a certain group of people who had some sort of intimidating aura around them. The wore crude Uniforms and they walked in packs. They had menacing appearances and carried weapons, Now Ben's Villain radar had started screaming at this moment, However he still needed something more solid to jump in.

While walking down the main road Ben suddenly became aware of a commotion taking place not too far from where he was. Looking across the street the plumber saw a small group of people standing outside a building and looking down. Feeling he had finally gotten the opportunity to find out what is really going on, He started walking towards them. Just as he expected he saw what he wanted to see for a while since he entered in this place. He wanted a fight... And well he got one!

It was more like a one sided beatdown, But who cares?

"Ultimate Spidermonkey" Ben whispered as he tapped onto the four pronged symbol on his chest. A bright surge of electricity ran through his body as even though he kept his human appearance he had now transformed into something else. A silhouette of a several feet taller Gorilla with extra two pair of arms appeared behind him as he disappeared in a dark alley

...xxxxxxxx... Xxxxxx...

A young woman with long blue hair, apron, and pink blouse with red trim was pushed in a corner, She seemed to in her early thirties and was utterly terrified. A child who seemed to be genetically related to her was latching on her leg. He was shaking with fear and was about to cry. A group of large men was covering them, Each of them wielding different sort of weapons.

"You can understand us, right?" the one who seemed to be the leader of the brutes asked, grinning as he placed his hand against the wall and keeping his eyes fixed on the significantly good looking woman, "Your father has yet to stop building his bridge. I guess he needs to be reminded about what happens to those who try to oppose the system here! "

"You can talk can't you?" his second asked, kneeling down and grabbing Tsunami by the head, forcing her to look up at him. His grin widened when he felt her tearing up. . "You know, you're quite the cutie , I bet Gatou will take a very good care of you! "

"Gatou? Huh... If you ask me... That's pretty lame for some bad ass Villain!" A voice said. All goons turned towards the source of the voice but didn't find anyone when they turned back. They looked at each other, Wondering where did the voice came from. However, Before they can get back to whatever they were about to do, the world snapped.

CRACK!

The sound of a sharp thud echoing throughout the entire area silenced all bystanders and antagonists. Tsunami being held against the wall was suddenly dropped to her feet when her captor unexpectedly jumped several feet into the air.

With his head cocked upwards and blood flying free from his mouth, the thug miraculously climbed four full heights off the ground before beginning an incredibly painful descent, his companions looking up at his spiralling form in bewilderment. The remaining three then looked down, where they saw to their utter disbelief a young boy with wild brown hair with his hands in his pockets and his foot jutted skywards, standing inside of their circle. This weird kid, who had seemingly appeared out of nowhere and sent a kick straight up into a man twice his size with apparently no prior movement or windup leading into the blow. It was completely beyond their level of understanding. This was not supposed to happen

"W-What the fuck?!" the head gangster choked out when he saw his second slam into the ground several feet away with a deafening thump. "H-How did… YOU LITTLE SHIT!" He spun around, swinging his sword straight down to slice the kid in two, only for his vision to fade to black when the one he was targeting leapt at him with a left overhand that blasted his face and upper body coiling backwards. Knocked unconscious from the one hit, the boss thug hit the ground with an even louder thud then his teammate's, like a huge piece of rock making landfall.

"You moron! It's just a kid!" the thug standing behind the attacking Ben shouted before launching himself at the boy, aiming to grab his collar. "Stop screwing a-OOF!" He didn't have time to even start his assault when the runt he was trying to take from behind spun like a top, leapt into the air, and slammed a kick straight across his face. The ruffian literally spun through the air before landing painfully on his head

"I have became so much tired with fighting those cheating Chronosapiens that I almost forgot how much fun it was to beat normal guys! Ah, How much I miss those days?" Ben's grin widened as more thugs come rushing out of the nearby buildings and stands, all of them brandishing dangerous weapons from staffs, to swords, to chains, to knives. Dozens of them instantly surrounded the boy dressed in green and black, cutting off all potential escape routes.

The villagers in the street backed off or made a great effort to conceal themselves where they stood, leaving the kid all on his own to fight the horde of mongrels.

Ben gritted his teeth with a menacing smirk as he produced both of his fists together, Creating a large audible thump heard throughout the Land of the Waves. His grin widened when he saw them all approach him at once.

"This is gonna be fun…"

...xxxxxxxx... XxxxxxxxxX...

One after the other, mercenaries and lowlifes of all shapes and sizes came at Ben kicking and screaming as the boy dashed between them. The impressive strength and agility of his super evolved transformation saw dealing swift, decisive blows with the mercenaries while receiving zero damage in return due to his extreme durability. His devastating punches left many of his enemies reeling in unimaginable pain. People attempting to punch or stab him hilariously ended up hurting themselves in return. Within a few moments, The whole area became filled with unconscious goons, Those who were conscious...were agonizing with extreme pain and all of them have multiple bones fractured.

"Awesome, huh?" Ben asked, before spinning around to see Tsunami and a whole mass of villagers in the background gaping at him. He looked at them one after the other and, upon giving them a cheerful grin, gestured over his shoulder at the various stricken individuals lying around him. "I think we should tie these guys up so that they don't run off when they regain consciousness. Yeah?"

Not getting an immediate response Ben quickly went about dragging mercenaries safely across to one side of the street and, Used Spider Webs he got by puking out. After making sure they were properly tied up Ben turned to the pair of woman and the child.

"Why did you do that for? Now Gatou is going to send more goons after us! " The boy yelled in outrage, Almost jumping in front of him

"You are Welcome, Brat! " Ben huffed in annoyance, "There isn't much out there I can't handle!"

An elderly man around his eighties, dressed in traditional village robes, wooden sandals, a kazaori eboshi, and holding a long walking staff, suddenly come shuffling towards Ben from the back.

"Chid, You seem brave and strong and I thank you for risking your life for one of our own, But you should leave this village before Gatou kills you! "

"Feh! Chill out gramps, I have faced so much in my life... This Gatou is nothing compared to them! I am going to beat him... I promise you that! " Ben spoke with burning determination in his eyes.

"I am Tsunami. You... You fought against all of them and beat them... Single-handedly" Tsunami awed in a voice filled with gratitude, "Thank you for saving me and my son! "

"This boy defeated the most notorious gang in the village! All of them!" another man shouted and he started clapping. Ben felt the little boy glaring at him from the corners of his eyes but didn't pay much heed to it. The kid can hate him as much as he want, He didn't care.

"Let's hear it for the stranger!" With that, another cheer came up from the group of onlookers, who raised their hands in the air and praised the youngster. Villagers standing nearby slowly caught onto the rhythm and, one after the other, joined in the revelry. Applause and cheers came down upon the Wielder of Ultimatrix, When silence eventually came to reign amongst the people, Tsunami turned to Ben and asked,

"Who are you and Where are you from? "

"My name is Ben Tennyson and Where I am from... Well... " Ben trailed off with a sigh as he clasped the dust off from his hands. "It's a long story! "

...xxxxxxxx...xxxxxxx...

Ben felt like drinking a few cans of Beer, However he soon realized that would look awkward as a thirteen year old, It was rather questionable if his body could handle it or not. Albeit he felt he was on a whole new level then he was used to around his age, Regaining reasonable amount of strength from his adult body. That put him at a bit ease. He had been through a lot of Plumber boot camps of hell ever since he was ten years old. It was a must for Human plumbers to undergo specially designed Physical exercises everyday so they could at least keep up with their alien colleagues. Not only that Plumber children had to take advanced self defense training from a very young, That was the protocol.

He looked at the gauntlet strapped on his wrist, Which appeared after cancelling his Ultimate Ben transformation. While the transformation was useful most of the times, That took a lot out of him. So ever once in awhile Ben would cool off in the good old body which he was born with. Tsunami invited Ben to her house, The Ultimatrix wielder tried to decline but his stomach disagreed with him. So with a bit of embarrassment on his part, He started following the mother son duo. They were walking in comfortable silence, For once Ben wondered if he had time travelled in the past. This seemed a lot like Feudal era of Japan. Then he learned about Ninjas...

Let's just say, He wasn't too Happy to learn about them.

The Ninjas here or Shinobi as people tend to call them had managed to learn ways of manipulating their life forces, Granting them several magical sort of abilities. They had incredible speed and devastating techniques in their arsenal. Ben made a mental note about not underestimating a Ninja of this world if he ever was to face one. Besides, It was a Mana user/ sorceress Charmcaster who managed to kill him once, Not even Vilgax could accomplish that. From what he heard from Tsunami, It seemed a lot like those Ninja Gaiden games. Yep, Ryu Hayabusa rocked!

But feats of Ninjas seemed disturbingly larger than those Video game characters. He needed to stay alert if he wanted to not get caught by them. Besides it was pretty much undeniable fact that wherever he went, People always wanted the Ultimatrix for some reason. Tsunami lead them into what appeared to be the Countryside of the Town. Thankfully the depression didn't hit here as much as it hit rest of the town. The slum seemed clean and well fed. After walking for a while they reached a decent looking two story house which was built near a lighthouse. It seemed to built on water considering Ben had to walk over a wooden pathway.

"Woah! That's a very nice place, Ma'am " Ben spoke with a pleasant smile.

"That isn't much but its home! " Tsunami spoke with a smile as she lead them inside. Ben sighed in relief as he smelled food from inside. That wasn't bad, That wasn't bad at all!

...xxxxxxxx... Xxxxxxxx...

Warm relief flooded through Ben the moment he finished the big bowl of stew that had been laid out in front of him by the nice lady who had invited him into her home. With a big, satisfied smile on his face, the blonde patted his sated stomach and breathed out a warm cloud of soup air. While little kid kept giving him nasty glares, Ben reminded himself that these people were tortured souls and despite all the de aging crap he was a mature and responsible plumber so he decided to ignore Inari for now. May be after Gatou situation was handled, Everything will start improving here.

"So Ben-san Where are you from?" Tsunami asked from inside the kitchen, " It seems that You are from foreign lands! "

"Well, You can say I am from north! " Ben scratched his head, It was either time travel or the Parallel dimension sort of thing, However Ben didn't want to sound like a nut case so he decided to go with a common ambiguous reply, "It's a land far far away from here! "

"Huh? That's pretty odd! " Tsunami blinked in amusement as she walked back into the dining room, " Our island doesn't get much visitors and it's otherwise isolated unless you come through Gatou's shipping corporation or sneak in using a small ferry when the fog is thick in the morning."

"Like I told you before, I have no idea how I managed to arrive here." Ben responded with a sigh

"Alright Man Squirt, Spill it out!" Inari huffed in annoyance, Sounding almost suspicious "How did you beat those thugs? "

Ben rolled his eyes, He didn't know if the people here can understand the proper scientific definition of Ultimatrix and Plumbers, So he decided to give a very simple definition. Stretching out his arms with a yawn he continued further

"Let's just say, I have access to a number special abilities. Depending on the situation and my choice, I can have super strength, super speed, breath fire, grow crystals on my body, manipulate plant life...and a lot of different things. I can also turn into monsters ranging from giant to a bug.

"That's the most absurd thing I have ever heard! " Inari mocked, Pressing even further "Prove it! "

Ben let out a chuckle in response and tapped onto the dial of the ultimatrix, located on the middle of his chest, Tsunami was about to reprimand Inari but stopped as various glowing silhouettes of creatures appeared on the top of the ultimatrix symbol. Ben pressed onto a familiar one and brilliant display of emerald lights covered his body, When that died even though he kept his human appearance, Ben was no longer one. In his stead stood his methanosian alter ego Swampfire

By using one of his hands, Ben lifted up the entire table while two vines erupted from his other palm. One carried a number of ripe fruits on everyone of its branch while another had several plethora of vegetables

"This is amazing! " Tsunami's eyes widened in amusement, Hesitantly she plucked an apple from the vine and tested it. It was as good as Original, Even better if she was being honest.

"Ha! So you can grow weed on your fingers, Big deal! " Inari mocked in disappointment and ran back to his room.

"Ben-san... I am really sorry about Inari! " Tsunami bowed apologetically, "Thanks to Gatou everyone here has lost the will to do anything "

"Its Alright! I can understand what is going on" Ben replied with a casual smile as he cancelled his transformation, "It's something which happens when a tyrant is left unchecked like this!

"So Ben-san! What happened to you before you arrived in wave? " Tsunami asked with curiosity and probably with a desire to change the topic.

"Well, A really nasty group was after my life and they attacked my town for that. We had no choice but to fight back, starting a long never ending battle against the time. Those people managed to kill a bunch of my good friends and family members, Including my Grandparents. " Ben sighed sadly, Recalling the one time Verdonna arrived to aid them during a very nasty encounter with Malturant, allowing Ben, Gwen and Kevin to escape from the nasty time lord's clutches by sacrificing her own life. And Max died while triggering a special bomb intended for destroying chronosapiens, managing to take out a number of Maltruant's lackeys "I managed to trick their leader by laying a trap and I finally managed to slay him, Unfortunately everything went blank afterwards!"

"Maybe it was possible you were hit by a Jutsu, Shinobis could be after you because of your abilities! " Tsunami spoke out with concern. Albeit, There were limits what Jutsus can do...But for someone with little knowledge of ninja trade It wouldn't be too much to assume that Ninjas can virtually do anything. Besides she was unfortunate witness of seeing Mist Ninjas at work so she didn't realize that the people Ben was talking about were an actual alien race.

Several knocks on the door interrupted them, Ben blinked at seeing an older man walked inside looking depressed and angry at the same time. He was wearing workman's clothes and a sake bottle was tied to his waist. He had white hair and a beard with glasses on. From the family pictures hanging on the wall, Ben assumed that this must be Tsunami's father, Tazuna whose name was written on the nameplate at the front door. It was pretty obvious by now that he was at Odds with the local tyrant due to the bridge he was building.

"I am home! " The Old man let out a sigh, He seemed unnaturally frustrated with something or someone

"Welcome home Father! " Tsunami smiled, Greeting her father with a Hug. Tazuna gave a nod to his daughter, He blinked in surprise as he saw Ben seating on the dining table.

"Eh! Who is the kid, Tsunami? "

"Oh, This is Ben! " Tsunami introduced the young plumber in the question. "He saved me and Inari from a bunch of thugs! "

Tazuna's eyes widened in amusement. A small smile formed on his lips as he waved at the Ultimatrix bearer

"I guess I owe you then, Thanks! "

"Feh! That was nothing" Ben shrugged with a smile, "So what is the deal with this Gatou guy? "

At the shocked look of said Bridge builder, Tsunami decided to explain " Ben isn't from around here! "

Tazuna gave a nod and started with a rather grim expression on his face

"Well, Even I don't know where to begin... "

...xxxxxxxx... XxxxxxxxX...

There was a thing which remained constant in multiverse, Bullies and Gatou was on a whole new level than Ben ever heard of.

Gato wasn't just a billionaire and magnate, he was also a criminal. The fact that apparently he was also such a big face in the world of business meant that nobody, not even the shinobi villages, could do anything about him. He was too big a symbol, too high up in the world, too much of a commodity. That was quite an intimidating thought.

In this place, Gato Company and its products and services were known worldwide. The problem was that Gato was as much insanely crooked as his wealth. He used samurais, Ninjas and crooks to smuggle drugs and Contraband. And this wasn't the end of it, There were more Counties under Gato's rule. Nami no Kuni wasn't the first place. Gato was not only a powerhouse in the industrial and economical world; he also had a thousands of workmen under his wing. On top of that, he didn't just have people who run his branches. That's just a front. Mercenaries, pirates, drug lords, criminal organizations and shinobi… he had gotten a whole underworld dancing to his fiddle.

To be exact, Land of waves was an Island. The only way it was connected to other places was through shipping. He used violence and wealth to take over all the shipping and marine transportation. In Nami, controlling the waterways means controlling everything. A few people tried to oppose him and defied him with great courage. Unfortunately Gato slaughtered them all right in front of the entire town. Or more like made example of them. Well, He had put his name recordably high in Ben's bad books, Which really wasn't good for his health.

So far the only thing which was stopping Ben from going all Rath on Gato was his lack of knowledge. It was pretty much clear that Ben was the Wave's last hope, He couldn't afford to take unnecessary risks and jeopardize everything just because he was angry at Gato. A thing made him wonder though, Why didn't Gato just blew up on the bridge?

Tazuna explained to him that the Bridge was sanctioned by the Water Daimyo himself, Who was like the president of whole continent, So Gato couldn't destroy the bridge without risking an investigation. As much Outrageous that seemed to believe, Gatou did fear the system a bit. The bridge would not only connect Wave with mainland, It would break Gato's monopoly and hold over the land of waves. It would also give people strength to break Gato's hold over them. Deciding to help Ben became a member of Tazuna household, He also continued to make attempts to contact his home. He helped out Tsunami with his Plant based transformations, Someone who could instantly grow almost anything with just a flicker of his fingers was nothing short of miracle for a starving household. Ben kept looking for Gatou's thugs throughout the locality, Mainly for drawing Gato's attention and partly for beating the pulp out of them. However, Their numbers seemed to have dwindled over time.

Even Ben didn't know how he ended up working at the bridge. He guessed that must have been after he eavesdropped into a certain conversation , Of course Unintentionally!

Flashback

The door of Tazuna's household busted open, and a middle-aged woman stepped forward, a smile so false it could be spotted miles away. At least, for Ben it could.

"I'm very sorry, Tazuna-san, but Reno-kun will be unable to join you today. Please forgive him for any oaths broken and do not think too harshly – he is still young."

She gave a half-hearted bow then the door was quickly closed before a reply could be made and Ben noticed, with a frown, a red-haired teenager peeking at them from behind parted curtains before they too snapped shut.

"Well," said Tazuna with false cheer, "it looks like we're going to be a man down today."

Three more stops of similar nature were made, yet the group had not gained another member. One of the women answering the door had given Tazuna the dirtiest look Ben ever witnessed – and he had seen some nasty ones aimed his particular way – before slamming it shut without a word. Another had tearfully told them like it was, offering them each a breakfast roll and politely asking them to leave before their presences drew unwanted criticism and attention.

They were terrified.

They never said Gatou's name, but it might as well have been painted in blood along the sides of their houses for all to see. Ben decided to not waste his time anymore and tapped onto the four pronged symbol on his chest, Currently being in Ultimate Ben form. He whispered Ultimate Echo Echo before bright spark of lightning surged inside his veins, Transforming his body into something else.

Tazuna blinked in surprise as several discs flew out from Ben's body, Each glowing with brilliant display of emerald lights, When it died all of them had taken physical form. Each turning into look alike of Ben, Non Distinguishable from one another.

While Tazuna felt a bit surprised, He wasn't that shocked considering he watched Ben performing several amazing feats.

"You have got volunteers Gramps! " Ben chuckled while fistbumping into his duplicates. Each seeming as upbeat as the original

"Do you even know anything about building a bridge? " Tazuna joked

"I have got super strength and superspeed... " A Ben said, Puffing out his chest in pride

"I can do all the heavy lifting ..." Another chimed in

"I will follow instructions and stay out of the way. May be passing lunches in the meantime " The third one reasoned

Tazuna squinted at him from behind weather-worn glasses. "What's your price, kid?" He shook his head and kept walking, no longer looking at Ben. "You don't need to do this , You are already helping us with the food... You have no need to pick a bone with Gato"

"I do, I surely do. You don't get it Gramps. I am not doing it because I want to be some big hero! " The Original Ben spat out venomously

"Then why? "

"I hate Bullies! " Ben concluded with fire in his eyes

Flashback End

It had been several weeks since Ben arrived here and started working for Tazuna. The ultimatrix bearer must have known helping in the construction of a bridge – if his work could even be called that – was not going to be exciting stuff. His mind simply did not want to…believe it. On the other hand, Ben saw this as a way to physically push himself even further. He had been doing that from quite a long time. Mainly because he was frustrated with people like Kundo and Fistrick getting the better out of him. Tazuna was quite troubling Taskmaster. Often he would bark orders and get people moving at a quicker pace. What made it a lot more worse was the fact that every once in a while someone who was too scared to cross Gatou would quit and run off. It really disheartened the workers and increased the work load , Even too much for his alien appetite. However, It wasn't something his forms like Xlr8 couldn't handle. Sometimes he would fill the numbers with the aliens who had duplication abilities. Ultimate Ditto was one of them. It was quite a relief that hyper evolved Splixson wasn't a pansy like the original one. It had a degree of enhanced strength to boot, No annoying physical connection to bother him which meant Clones could die without killing himself in the process, Increase in stamina and agility was there too. So far it was a complete package.

Too bad sometimes work was too much even for them. Well, That did increased the bridge builder's morale.

The overload of work forced the ultimatrix bearer to take the cooling off time, That spoke volumes considering his Transformations came with massive pool of energy. Today was an average day and just like always Ben was reeling from a massive workload. Just a few hours ago he helped with carrying bags of cement. His feet were dangling over the side of the bridge, bored out of his mind watching the occasional cargo ship pass by.

"Drinks and lunch everyone! " Tsunami announced cheerfully

Ben let out a chuckle, She was surely a highlight amongst the workers. She and Inari would come everyday with clean water for workers to drink and homemade lunches, Which were most probably from "Tennyson Farm" . Ben stretched his arms with a yawn as Tsunami handed over a lunch box and bottle filled with water to him.

"Hello, Ben! How's work? " Tsunami asked with a smile

"Feh! Old geezer is one of the worst employers I have ever worked with! " Ben joked with a playful smile

"What did you just say Brat?" Tazuna frowned, Somehow managing to hear Ben despite his extremely drunken state. Ben just shrugged in response while Tsunami broke into a fit of giggles. Inari was the world's saddest kid once again, Albeit Tsunami had a pretty good idea what was bothering him this time.

"Don't mind him! " Tsunami responded with a kind smile, " So how much work is still left to do? "

"We are halfway done, I suppose" Ben responded in a casual tone, "So it should be prepared around a month! "

Tsunami smiled again in the response, Ben shook of several less than cordial thoughts out of his mind. She was surely like one of those teachers everybody back at highschool used to have a crush on. Anyways, His hormones definitely didn't regress in age alongside his body. Just when everybody was having a nice chat and lunch, A fog back began rolling in. In the land of waves, Heavy fog was a pretty common phenomenon. That's why the nearby ninja village was called Village Hidden in the Mist. Ben felt a rather ominous feeling setting in once the thick mist covered everything. He put his fingers near the symbol of the Ultimatrix.

"Wildmutt" Ben whispered before a bright glow engulfed his entire body, Filling his human body with strange powers.

Men were starting to get scared, Few had already ran for their lives. The mist had already became thick as a soup. Tsunami had clutched Inari rather tightly and covered his eyes. Death wasn't new for them but she still had motherly instincts . Ben blinked as something rolled under their feet. His eyes widened in realization as he figured out that was a severed human head, Still bleeding

"Aahhh! " One of the workers cried in panic, " It's Jako. He disappeared a couple of days ago"

"It must be ninjas! " A bunch of workers cried in unison.

Ben's vision which was entirely made up of a dull 3D mapping of where his senses originated, similar to a thermograph. Combined with his enhanced hearing, his senses took the form of a radar or sonar. Unaffected by the mist in front of him Ben saw a chain lined with small blades flying at Tazuna. Quickly Ben jumped over a pillar and smacked it backwards, Deflecting that with his bare hands.

Hiding behind the thickness of mist, The demon brothers felt their chain being deflected and falling on the ground. Both of them let out groan, This meant they were now facing up against a competent enemy.

Ben narrowed down his eyes on his adversaries. One was wearing a rebreather that covered the lower half of his face and a large, clawed, poisonous gauntlet on his right arm which had a chain coming out of it that had the other end attached to his partner's own gauntlet. He was also wearing some sort ribbon with a horn over it. Another one was quite identical to his partner, Albeit his ribbon had two horns over it. Ben tapped onto his symbol for second time, His human body quickly replaced itself with that of a terrifying creature. It appeared to be a large orange hound with no eyes, ears, nose, or tail. Its claws and teeth were rather well defined, Giving him a menacing appearance.

Without wasting a moment Ben dashed towards Akuma brothers, the demon brothers smirked before Gouzu, the older brother shot right, and Meizu, the younger brother went left. Ben was forced to stop as he tried to keep both of them in his sights.

It didn't work as Meizu came in behind Ben, making the animalistic Plumber roll left. When he came up, Gouzu was in front of him, slashing at Ben with his clawed hand. In Quite Ape like manner Ben jumped up and managed to slash the claw away with his left foot, at the same time he spun around and smashed his other foot in Gouzu's face.

Gouzu stumbled back and glared at Ben, "A lucky shot." He jumped towards his brother who had slowly started getting up

"You alright brother?" The younger one asked.

Meizu nodded, "Yeah, he just nicked my side."

"Still we can't let him get away with that!" Gouzu yelled.

Ben smirked, Wishing that he could speak and throw some comments of his but instead settled with a few boastful barks. Ben rolled out of the way of another attack, moving into a series of flips, knowing from the years of experience battling aliens that Meizu would be there to attack him from behind. As soon as he landed on his feet he was forced to dodge to the left, but ended up running right into Gouzu who hit him in the face.

Ben shook his head and jumped back as Meizu came towards his position. He would have thrown several quills, but Gouzu appeared on his left and came at him with his clawed hand. Ben was forced to backpedal right into Meizu and only barely managed to block the claw swipe he sent. The Ultimatrix bearer took a moment to catch his breath, So the Ninjas were definitely not jokes. They were as dangerous as he expected them to be. This surely meant not all of his transformations were workable in this scenario.

Well, That was good to know

He tapped onto the symbol once again, A bright glow engulfed his body once again. When it died another creature stood in Ben's stead. It was a muscular humanoid moth whose four wings and antenna can fold up into a hooded robe. It had a fiery red body with cyan patches on his arms, shoulders, legs, the back of his wings, and the back of his neck that resembled ice chunks.

"Ultimate Big Chill! " The creature whispered in a spooky voice. The demon brothers had enough by now, They needed to kill the old man and to do that they had to get through this weirdo who literally turned into such things. Both of them gave a nod to each other and started going through several hand signs.

"Water Release: Gunshot!" The two shouted out, Emitting two large cannonball-sized bullets of water, which combined and doubled in size. Ben scoffed in annoyance and inhaled deeply. He released his breath quickly, Emitting out a large fireball which barrelled towards the Akuma brothers. Both Mist ninjas literally jaw dropped when two attacks collided, The waterball literally got encased in a huge chunk of ice and shot towards them. With the sheer mass and tenacity it possesed, That was quite impossible to dodge. When it made contact and it did make contact , The force of it lifted the Akuma brothers a few inches in the air before they were sent spiralling backwards like a glorified ragdoll.

Gouzu was the first one to get back on his feet, He snarled angrily once he realized that his forehead had started bleeding.

"Games are not so fun once you start losing, Isn't it? " Ben remarked in his deep eerie tone. Gouzu hustled forward like a torpedo. Coming with a thrust of his clawed hand , Intending to finish this for once and all. Flames engulfed both of Ben's hands as Gouzu drifted closer. Towards mist nin's surprise he phased through Ben's body as if he wasn't even there. Like a gust wind he passed through the creature. He realized something was wrong the moment he landed on ground. He cried in pain as ice started forming all around his body, Within a few moments he was entirely encased in snow from tip to toe. Following behind a crackling sound the small iceberg fell on the floor.

"Brother…" Meizu muttered before turning a glare on Ben . "I'LL KILL YOU!"

The ninja jumped onto Ben with an outraged cry, Following his earlier actions Ben let the ninja phase through him once again. Gouzu cried in pain as flames encompassed lower half of his body, Turning his feet and left shoulder into nothing but a block of Ice.

"Your brother is not dead yet but that can change any moment! " Ben remarked with a spooky voice, "But for now I am letting you go! "

"W.. Why? " Gouzu stuttered due to the frostbite

"Tell Gatou to be prepared, Because an army of monsters is coming for him! " Ben smirked and tapped onto the dial of the Ultimatrix. This time taking the form of a 12 feet tall menacing four armed humanoid creature with red skin. He lifted both ice blocks containing Akuma brothers in each of his hands, Spun them around for a while and threw them over the water surface. Making them cry in pain during the process. Quickly Ben tapped back on the four pronged symbol, A bright flash engulfed his body and once again he was back to human.

"Everybody cheer for Ben, Not only he is helping us with building the bridge but he is also standing between us and Gato's thing. Cheers to Ben 10! Our protector " Tazuna cheered

With in no time Ben was surrounded by all workers, All of them coming forward to express their gratitude towards Ben for stopping the Kiri ninjas before they could kill Tazuna or anyone of them. Of course Ben wasn't going to let some wanna be ninjas kill someone just because they felt like it. Tsunami got a bit sentimental and actually hugged him. Surprisingly the last one to come forward was Inari, Now that was quite something considering the kid had done nothing but bad mouthing him ever since he arrived here.

"Is it true? You can protect Grampa with your weird powers? " Inari asked with glassy eyes. Ben on the other hand let out a chuckle as he ruffed the little kid's hair.

"That was the plan Kiddo! Although I dunno if I can keep it up with the old geezer always screaming like a Banshee" He added with a playful smile

"I will get you for that one Brat! " Tazuna chuckled and for the first time since Kaiza died, A small but rather significant smile formed on Inari's lips.

...xxxxxxxxx... Xxxxxxxxxx... Xxxxxxx...

In a rather secluded part of the town, There lied a multistory building which was reasonably well built. The complex was covered by the thugs you pulled off of the streets to harass people for money, Judging by the large weapons strutting behind their back...Well they weren't the friendly types. The building was of castle like design with a gorgeous paint job, arches, balconies, walkways, tiled roofs with slopes, statues and a massive wall surrounding the entire property. It could have easily been mistaken for a temple or a royal fortress from a distance.

The top floor of the building was reserved for da boss, The Big Guy... Gato. It had a balcony facing the sea, Not only that office was massive, with bookshelves, filing cabinets, portraits and all sorts of other high-class stuff littering the space.

For all of his terror and huge criminal empire, Gato didn't look that impressive. He was actually pretty short and in his forties. He still had his hair, which was kind of bushy. He wore dark sunglasses and had a neatly trimmed mustache. Standing in front of him were his bodyguards.

Zori was a light-skinned man with bluish-white hair and black eyes. Lined markings were tattooed under his eyes. He commonly wore a dark purple hat on this head, the top of which extended far beyond the top of his head. Other one was called Waraji, He was of tall stature, wore an eye-patch over his right eye and had brown hair which he parts in three, finishing in an elaborate topknot. He had an intricate tattoo that seemingly stretches across his entire left side and left right, inner thigh, as well as a stitched scar on the left side of his forehead, and the left side of his mouth. He was also covered all over by bandages. Both of them were sadistic individuals and lived for the rush of killing others.

"So they blew up the mission? That Bad...Huh! " Gato snarled in anger , "For Kami's sake they are well trained chunins from the bloody mist, How hard it could be to kill a helpless old drunkard? "

"Both of them are being tended by our medics, A few of their ribs are broken and there seems to be severe case of frostbite involved! " Zori continued with a sigh, " They told me that they were met with rather unusual opposition. A bloodline user of sort with the powerful ability to transform himself into various creatures with different abilities!"

"It's right boss, Rumors say he is a stranger from foreign lands. Not someone that we know off. " Waraji pressed even further, " He is just beyond their skillset, That's all! "

Gato frowned in disappointment and frustration. This wasn't supposed to happen. The old bridge builder was supposed to be dead by now and with him gone Nami would have been one of his permanent bases. He was the only one who threatened his dreams. However, Tazuna must have come up with some serious help if the said person could do this to two well trained mist ninjas. That alone suggested he needed bigger guns to handle this, Which also meant he needed to spend more money on that. Luckily, He had the deepest pockets in the entire world.

"What was the name of the ninja... Who Akuma brothers work for? "

"Zabuza...Momochi Zabuza! " Zori spoke out with malicious grin which kept widening every moment.

"So you want to wage a war against me, old man. I will surely give you one" Gato clenched his fists in anger, smashing them on the table, "No one on this face of earth can beat me, Not even an Army of Monsters! "

Dun... Dun... Dun...

Sorry for deleting my old story, I felt like there were a few things I could do a bit differently. And no I can't give Naruto the omnitrix as there are already a lot of stories about that.