Governor Marcus Julius Brutus sat down on his desk and took out one of the notebooks on his office shelves. The office was a spacious room, with only a desk, and several shelves filled with records and documents, some paintings adorned the walls and the room was lit by electric lights and bulbs. The governor himself was a young man, probably 32 years old, with an average height, lean, relatively small, black hair, a light beard that had begun to grow, and a light complexion. His face and keen eyes spoke of his experience as a military man, and he looked the type you seriously don't want to anger.

Several decades had passed since the Romans arrived on the continent, and only in a few years, it was clear to everyone that they were here to stay. The governor himself had started his extraordinary career a decade earlier when he first arrived on the continent alongside his legion as an optio. But with extraordinary talent and higher connections, he had managed to raise himself to the post of governor of all the Roman territories in the shinobi continent over the previous decade, and today was six months into his post.

Today, his last task of the evening was to compile all the records of the Romans' activities and actions in the continent for the past decades and send them back to Rome via sea, as was customary with all provinces. They didn't have to note every single day-to-day paperwork and only tell of the major events, which were many here in the shinobi continent. So Marcus Julius began to write narratively:

"In 1354 A.D., commander Vitellus established a merchant colony in Hitsuma, the Land of Earth's capital. Vessels and representatives were also sent to surrounding nations to explore, navigate, and establish relations. In a few months, a decent map of the Northern and Eastern Shinobi Continent is created after exploring the coastline and gathering information from the local nations. First contact is also made with shinobi while fighting against a rebel warlord in the Land of Earth.

In 1356 A.D., the Roman Republic went to war with the northern Land of Snow, winning and acquiring many islands and islets. A city is also established on an island near the coast of the Land of Cones, which is named 'Byzantium', after the old name of Constantinople, and the city is currently serving as the province's capital and where I now sit. A fort is also established on the coast of The Land of Cones.

In 1359 A.D., by now our legions had taken all of the Northern Land of Cones, while the South either fractured into petty factions or was conquered by neighboring powers. The first Shinobi World War starts, and we stay neutral, but talks of an alliance with Konoha start. A puppet ruler is established in the Land of Snow, and the Land of Rice fields becomes our protectorate.

In 1362 A.D., the Northern coast of the Land of Frost was acquired. While a skirmish with some Kumogakure shinobi causes relations to deteriorate. The First Great Ninja War rages on, but we remain neutral, only selling weapons and provisions to either factions. The Hokage of Konoha, Hashirama Senju, dies in battle. We work to strengthen border security after several cases of infiltration by Kumo shinobi. Due to worsening relations, a diplomatic meeting is called with Kumogakure, but nothing happens.

In 1364 A.D., more Roman citizens started moving to the continent. Most of these are veterans, with their pension due where they had been promised land after retirement, and artisans. However, the majority workforce in the province is still made up of locals. The First Great Ninja War comes to an end, and we host the peace talks in Byzantium as a neutral but powerful force. There are major border changes. Even though no village could be called the clear victor, Suna can be said to have benefitted the most from this treaty. According to it, all occupied land must be returned, and Suna will get access to a major lake that will solve all their water supply problems. The Land of Storms and Amegakure is helped in its establishment, to act as a buffer state between three major shinobi villages, Suna, Iwa, and Konoha.

In 1366 A.D., several new towns were established in the conquered territories, and Roman migrants were encouraged to come and live there. The primary goal was to increase the amount of ethnic Romans in the province and add a pool of Roman citizens from which recruits and conscripts could be drawn. An alliance is signed with Konoha, and soldiers are provided temporarily to Konoha in exchange for shinobi. Further information is collected on the Continent.

In 1368 A.D., all the coastal territories of the Land of Cones and The Land of Jungles were taken after a brief war, in which the shinobi from Konoha were of great help. The territories finally became big enough to be recognized as a full-fledged province.

In 1370 A.D., the first local legion was recruited from the migrants who had settled in the province, increasing our military here to 3 legions, 15,000 men. Another Shinobi world war breaks out. This time also joined by Uzushiogakure.

In 1373 A.D., the short yet gruesome second shinobi world war came to an end, with Uzushiogakure destroyed and no major changes in borders. Rome starts to align itself with Konoha but maintains neutrality.

In 1376 A.D., the previous governor visited Konoha during a diplomatic mission. A mutual non-aggression pact was signed with Kumogakure.

In 1380 A.D., an agreement in signed with the great ninja villages, where Rome would help track down any rogue shinobi in its territory.

In 1384 A.D., the city of Byzantium expanded. Its defenses are improved, with two new sets of walls, ballistae, and the very first two cannons in the shinobi continent. After fully integrating the Land of Snow, the Romans took a defensive stance and considerably reduced their previously aggressive policies.

In 1389 A.D., another Great Ninja War broke out, but this time we joined Konoha's side. We maintain a defensive stance but help out our allies in operations and campaigns. No major offensive takes place, except for a campaign deep into The Land of Earth, that doesn't occupy any territories but brings back a lot of loot.

In 1391 A.D., The Third Great Ninja War soon ended, after a Konoha shinobi named Minato Uzumaki single-handedly wiped out a force of 1000 Iwagakure shinobi, forcing a peace treaty, quite an impressive feat. The peace talks end, but the war isn't beneficial for any side, except we get dominion over three islands off the coast of the Land of Lightning.

In 1394 A.D., the Hokage, Minato Uzumaki, dies while fighting the rampaging nine-tails after it managed to escape from its jinchuriki. We send our condolences."

Governor Marcus Julius finished writing the letter and gave it to one of his assistants to be delivered to the latest ship going back to Rome. The governor stretched his legs, and was leaving his office when one of his secretaries hurriedly came to him,

"What is it now, Lucius?"

"Well, sir, there is a delegate from Konoha who wishes to speak with you. His name is..." The secretary looked over his papers. The governor, in an irritated tone, replied,

"No need to try and pronounce his name. The language of this continent is strange. Anyways, where is this delegate now?"

"He is currently in the waiting room, and will shortly be coming to meet you in your office."

The governor sighed in frustration, this job was too much work. But he nevertheless went back into his office, rearranging some things and sitting down on his chair; waiting upon the delegate. The delegate promptly arrived, he was more or less fat, and short, but clever individual, probably 42 years of age. He was dressed in Japanese formal attire and carried an air of respect.

He seated himself on the chair opposite that of the governor and began to talk with a formal greeting,

"Good evening, respected governor, I hope my sudden arrival hasn't caused you any inconvenience?" Marcus, following the etiquette rules and not his heart, replied,

"No no sir, its okay. You may freely talk about what you intend to." The delegate adjusted his posture a little, and then started,

"The subject of conversation is the recently decided exchange of 'hostages'."

Marcus knew what the delegate was talking about. Over the decades, both Rome and Konoha had developed a practice of exchanging soldiers and shinobi temporarily, these men were highly skilled individuals and also worked as 'hostages' to keep the alliance on both sides. But they were hostages only in name, for they were given every freedom, and soon integrated into Rome/Konoha's military system and society. This time, it had been discussed that the governor's six-year-old nephew, Julius Maximus, would be provided as hostage. There were some major changes though, Maximus wasn't a temporary inhabitant in Konoha but was gonna live there as a full-fledged citizen. Maximus had been chosen for this as he was the nephew of a governor, thus an important individual, and he was among the very few Romans who possessed chakra, large quantities of it. The delegate continued the conversation,

"We wanted to know when Maximus was going to arrive so that the necessary preparations could be made. Moreover, we may need some files about his personal information."

The governor nodded, and promptly took out a file from his shelf and handed it over to the delegate. The latter looked over the file, and seemed satisfied,

"Very well then, Lord Governor, I have fulfilled my task and will be taking my leave. It has been a pleasure talking with you."

"Of course, sir, our time has been worthwhile."

With this, the delegate walked out of the office with the file. Soon Marcus could see him walk out of the city with his escort of Konoha shinobi. The governor remained in his seat, the meeting had reminded him of the 'hostage' agreement, and he pondered over the subject. It was not like he didn't like his nephew, he loved him. But this was something important to do. Danzo, one of the councilors of Konoha, caused suspicion to grow among the leaders of Konoha that the Romans had a part in the nine-tails rampage, as one of the Roman hostages had only left the village two days before the attack. Maximus was an orphan, and moving him to Konoha wouldn't do any harm as he would be taken care of and receive companionship. But in the end, the future was in the hands of the gods.

With these thoughts, the governor left his room for his house, which was a fairly large two-story building. There was also his young nephew, a young boy with blue eyes, snow-white hair, and a lean figure. Marcus tried to talk with him, the Konoha men will be coming tomorrow to fetch the boy and take him safely to Konoha, he must be mentally prepared.


Author's notes

Just to let you know, I am planning on focusing my fanfic on the life of Maximus in Konoha for at least some chapters. Don't worry, this won't be an isekai, self-insert, or anything like that. I would also mention the Romans' activities in between the chapters.

Do leave a review if you've read this far.