Maximus woke up quite early this morning, at 5 o'clock. Due to excitement, they will be assigned to Genin teams and provided with their Jonin captain and tutor today. But mostly due to the loud noises outside. The Roman cohort had started working on repairing and constructing defenses roughly one hour ago, and they were making a lot of noise. The biggest victim was Maximus, who lived on the outskirts of the village near the Roman camp. He could already see trees falling and stones being mined from the hills a bit farther away from the village. His alarm clock was still two hours before ringing, and Maximus tried hard to put himself to sleep.
Maximus woke up after two hours, at the ringing of his alarm clock. He slowly got up, rubbing his eyes. Sunlight came into the room from the window near Maximus' bed, and the noises of the Roman soldiers working continued. He quietly went into his bathroom and prepared himself for the day, taking a bath and cleaning his teeth. Today was special as they will finally get out of the shinobi academy and become full-fledged shinobi. The shinobi academy's timing was 8 o'clock, so there was still one hour.
After having eaten a light but filling breakfast of eggs and curry, Maximus put on his usual clothes. His clothing was quite modest, with a grey half-sleeve T-shirt, a cream-colored sleeve-less jacket on top of it, and black trousers. He also tied his Konoha headband on his left arm and wore the standard sandals of Konoha shinobi. This outfit suited his light but not pale skin, and his thick snow-white hair.
After having thus readied himself for the day, Maximus locked his apartment door and left for the academy, where it would be his last day. Maximus strolled through the streets and could see the vendors and shopkeepers already busy with their businesses. While many Roman soldiers sat in restaurants and food stalls, having a quick breakfast before heading back to work. Maximus still couldn't find out what was going on on the village's outskirts, but that was not his concern at the moment. He only wished to see the Roman soldiers when they tried to eat using chopsticks, a hilarious sight it would've been, just like him during his early days here.
Maximus thus strolled through the streets, on the path leading towards the academy. And after some fifteen minutes, he reached his destination. The academy was bustling with activity as always, and Maximus was quite eager to find out what his team would be. He entered the academy alongside many others and made his way to the lecture room of the 12-year-olds.
Inside the lecture room
Maximus sat in his casual seat in the middle row, near Naruko Uzumaki. The entire class was engaged in conversation regarding today's work. However. the class felt smaller today. Many civilian kids did not belong to clan backgrounds, or simply didn't have enough chakra reserves or capabilities so couldn't graduate. They were given the option to either attend this grade again or drop out. And many chose the latter. The classroom was filled with kids from clan backgrounds, all instilled with pride in their bloodline and abilities. Even Naruko belonged to the famed Uzumaki about whom Maximus had read. But for some reason, she didn't know about it herself despite being quite smart and curious type. Maximus too belonged to the gens Julia, a Roman patrician family that had existed since the time of the Roman kingdom, about one thousand five hundred years ago; and is mythologically believed to have descended from Iulus, the son of Aeneas, Aeneas who is descended from the goddess of beauty Venus, and the ancestor of Romulus and thus all Romans. But his lineage had no connection with the Shinobi continent whatsoever, so why does he have so much chakra?
As Maximus continued to ponder on this topic, he for some reason felt out of place, just like how he felt on his first day here. Maximus thought about his time here, since the day of his arrival six years ago. He was surprised at the thought that he, a pure Roman, had large amounts of chakra and even managed to graduate from the academy with flying colors.
But these thoughts quickly faded from his mind as Iruka appeared in the lecture room with a list in his hand, everyone knew what the list was about. Iruka addressed the entire class,
"Good morning, students. I think you already know about today's proceedings, so I will be cutting it short and announcing your teams." After a brief pause, Iruka continued,
"Team 1, Arashi Akimichi, Tsumi Yamanaka, and Keido Nara.
Team 2, Tenku Fuma, Sora Uchiha, and Kenji Sarutobi.
Team 3, Julius C. Maximus, Naruko Uzumaki, and Hayato."
This was all Maximus wanted to hear, and after this, his attention drifted away from his teacher and toward his soon-to-be teammates. The three looked at each other and smiled.
After spending several hours in the academy on their last day, the students were starting to be picked up by their Jonin captains. Over several more hours, most of the Genin teams had met their captain. Why so much delay? It was because of the war, as many Jonin had been assigned to long missions or patrolling the border. By the time Maximus' team was picked up by its Jonin, it was already 3 o'clock.
Their captain was a lean, well-built man in his twenties. He had a clean-shaven face, straight, brunette hair, black eyes, and a sharp jawline, and wore the standard Jonin uniform of Konoha. His name came to be Asahi.
The team was led to a training field on the outskirts of the village and was soon seated on top of a few rocks in the middle of the field. The training field was not well-maintained, looking more like a meadow with all the random vegetation and uneven terrain. Only now did Asahi start the introduction, pointing at Maximus, he started,
"You start, tell us about yourself. Your name, age, strengths, weaknesses, habits, and goals. Everything. We'll be a team for a long time so knowing each other is necessary." Maximus straightened his back and spoke,
"My name is Julius C. Maximus, I'm twelve years old. My strengths are in Taijutsu, Ninjutsu, and weapons. My weaknesses are in Genjutsu and sealing. As for my habits, I like reading and writing. And my goals, I'll see to it." Asahi was perplexed,
"We'll see to it?"
"Yeah, sir. At first, it was settling as part of this village, and then it was graduating from the academy. Now, perhaps it's to be a Chunin? And after that Jonin?" Asahi chuckled,
"Okay, your goal is to get stronger, and stronger. Now, what about you, girl?" Asahi pointed towards Naruko, the latter spoke in her calm manner,
"My name is Naruko Uzumaki, and I'm 12 years old. My strengths are in Ninjutsu and some Genjutsu, my weaknesses are in Taijutsu and sealing. My habit is training, and my goal is to protect my younger brother." Asahi gave a nod and signaled to Hayato, who was a short, lean child with long black hair and black eyes, and had a very light brown complexion.
"My name is Hayato, age twelve. My strengths are weapons and Taijutsu, my weakness is in Genjutsu and sometimes ninjutsu. My habit is also training, and my goal is to be an Anbu."
"We'll see how you handle the bloody missions," Asahi muttered to himself, and then spoke,
"Okay so now that we have been introduced to each other, let's start the training. I have read your academic reports, and it seems team 3 would be classified as a heavy assault team."
Maximus, Naruko, and Hayato looked puzzled, Asahi began to explain,
"Well, today's conflicts are at a relatively larger scale as compared to the small-scale warfare between individual teams, as during the times of the previous Hokages. A usual battle may consist of 15-20 shinobi on either side, so the Konoha leadership has decided to categorize different teams for different tasks and make them specialize in it. There are heavy assault teams tasked for open combat, sensory teams, tracking teams tasked with hunting any missing-nin or separated enemy shinobi, or support teams that are skilled in medical ninjutsu but also have other skills to support the main force." Asahi continued,
"As for you three, I have concluded that your capabilities, chakra reserves, and opportunity for growth will make you a great heavy assault team. Maximus is skilled with Taijutsu, weapons, and weapons, that are very useful in open combat. Naruko is weak in Taijutsu and weapons but has vast chakra reserves, and Hayato is the son of a former Anbu so he already has had much training in skills related to this task. But don't get too full of yourselves, thinking you can capture an enemy stronghold on your own. This classification only means that there is a direction for growth, and what you may become capable of."
Maximus, Naruko, and Hayato nodded.
"As for now, I will be testing your abilities. Because of the war, Konoha has temporarily stopped accepting missions as no shinobi are allowed to leave the village unless because of direct orders."
"See these? Please try and destroy one of these pillars each. Use any method you like, ninjutsu, Taijutsu, or genjutsu? But remember, these are infused with my chakra so they will be extra tough."
The students gave a nod. Hayato went first, infusing his hand with chakra and punching the pillar with all his might. A loud noise came, but it only caused a crack on the pillar. Seeing his technique working, Hayato kept punching the pillar, creating new cracks every time, and it seemed to be working. When the pillar seemed to be near its breaking point, Hayato stopped punching and sat back on the ground, panting. He had used a lot of chakra and energy and seemed to be tired and unable to continue. Asahi told Hayato that he could continue after a while, and called Naruko.
The latter took a deep breath and weaved a few hand signs. She put her hands forward, and wind chakra rushed towards the pillar at great speed. Asahi could sense that the chakra was uneven and not controlled very well, but even this was very skilled for a recent graduate. The wind chakra hit the pillar, causing a cut to appear on it. Also noticing that her method can work, Naruko kept performing the same technique over and over. Until the top half of the pillar cut off from the rest of to stone and fell backwards on the ground. Naruko was panting and exhausted, but happy as she had been successful. Asahi gave a small clap,
"Impressive, Naruko. Even though it is uncontrolled and uneven, you can use elemental chakra. That is quite a feat for a recent graduate." Asahi then continued,
"Now, it's your turn, Maximus."
The aforementioned smiled and stood in front of the remaining pillar. Maximus smirked and told everyone to get back. He pulled out a paper bomb from his pocket and stuck it onto the pillar. He activated it after reaching a safe distance. The explosion happened and the pieces of stone that used to make up the pillar lay around the training field.
Asahi chuckled and gave Maximus a slight thump on the back.,
"You're the smartest in this team it seems." Maximus smiled at the compliment. Asahi now spoke to Naruko and Hayato,
"Now, you two. Your methods did work, and you managed to break the pillar. But as everyone can see, it took all your energy for that simple task. You learn about paper bombs in seventh grade, yes? Why didn't you use that?" Naruko and Hayato gave a nod, Asahi continued explaining,
"Then why should we use all our energy trying to do it the hard way, when we can do it smartly? Here is the thing, dear students, smart work completes a task, not hard work."
Naruko and Hayato looked down as if calling themselves idiots for not knowing such a simple thing. Asahi smiled and spoke,
"Now, don't blame yourself. It is getting dark now, go back to your homes. We'll start your training tomorrow."
Saying this Asahi turned back and started walking towards the training field's entrance. His three students followed soon after, chatting among themselves. The sun was setting, and the yellow rays of it fell on the roofs of the many houses that were lined along the streets of Konoha. As they walked towards the interior of the village, Hayato raised a question,
"By the way, Maximus, what does the 'C.' in your name mean? 'Julius C. Maximus?'"
Maximus cleared his throat and replied,
"Well, in Rome it is common practice for men to have their father's name as their middle name. My full name would be Julius Cornelius Maximus. But I only use my middle name in short form, it feels odd to speak up 'Julius Cornelius Maximus' every time."
Hayato giggled, and replied,
"What would be my name in this format then? 'Hayato A. Musashi?'"
Maximus ignored him and soon left the group when his street on the outskirts came. Naruko and Hayato's houses were in the interior of the village, so they walked on.
In Maximus' flat
Maximus walked up the stairs, as his flat was on the second floor of the building. It was almost dark now, and the stairs and corridors of the building were dimly lit today. Maximus quietly walked along the corridors, until he arrived at his door, only to find it already unlocked and the lights turned on. Maximus became cautious, taking out a kunai from a pouch, and slowly approached his flat. Maximus slowly entered the flat and into the living room. The lights of the living room were on, and on the sofa sat a man with black hair, a lean body, and tall height. The man was dressed in black trousers, and a black coat over a white undershirt, and black shoes, and he seemed to be reading something.
When Maximus entered the flat, the man turned to look back,
"Uncle?" Maximus was surprised, and these words left his mouth,
Marcus smiled, and got up from the couch, greeting Maximus,
"Good evening, dear nephew, I hope the last six years have been comfortable and good?" Maximus smiled and replied,
"Yeah, I've been good. But what brings you here?" Maximus replied as they both settled in the living room. Marcus studied the room with his eyes while replying,
"Well, political matters. But while I was here I thought of meeting you. The Hokage has given me a duplicate key to your flat, so I can evade your privacy whenever I want." Maximus and Marcus chuckled at this, the latter continued,
"You know, this is our first proper meeting in a few years Yeah? We have been exchanging letters for a while now." Maximus nodded and replied,
"Yeah, it is good to see you." Marcus made himself comfortable on the couch and spoke,
"I have reviewed your progress as a shinobi, and although I am no expert with this as compared to your mentors in the academy, as a former military commander I can easily say that you have been doing good. You're quite talented with this."
Maximus gave a smile and thanked him. Marcus looked at his wristwatch and got up,
"I must go now, Maximus. We may have a proper discussion tomorrow." The governor walked towards the exit, but as he passed Maximus he put his hand on the latter's shoulder, and leaned down to whisper something in his ear,
"I have also been told of your teammates, they seem all talented. Well, good luck with that redhead girl."
Maximus blushed and spoke loudly,
"It's nothing like that!" Marcus just chuckled and walked out of the apartment.