It was evening, and the sun was sinking behind the distant mountains. Maximus was jumping from roof to roof in the Land of Snow's capital, in a hurry. This was his last task on this mission, take out a certain noble and his retainers. The commander hadn't given him many details, but the noble was plotting to join the rebels and cause unrest inside the city, a threat he must take care of.
It would be dark in about half an hour, and the streets had already started to grow quiet. To Maximus' left was the market district, with shops slowly beginning to close, to his left were commoners' houses, and to the north was the palace, beyond which would be the area where the nobles stay. It was a well-off part of the city, inhabited by courtiers, nobles, rich merchants, and the like. Large houses covered a noticeable amount of land, they all had a central garden in common, around which the entire premises were built. The city would've been much smaller without these large houses. Torches and fires lit up these rich households, and one of these was hosting Maximus' target.
As he sneaked through the roofs, he finally reached the residence of his target, as told by the commander. Swiftness, and ambiguity as to the killer, were necessary to make sure more unrest was not generated by the fact that the Romans killed an influential courtier. By the time Maximus got to the house, the sun had completely set, and the moon was also visible, yet it wasn't dark. He settled himself on a nearby tree and inspected the house. There were two guards armed with swords and wearing brightly colored Kimono, and tall nae-eboshi hats. There were also a few guards inside the complex, as he could sense. This was going to be a bit troublesome.
He jumped up into the sky and noiselessly settled on the roof of a building directly overlooking the garden, and carefully turned his eyes around. There were only three guards in sight, and nobody else. Maximus took out his short sword with killing intent and slowly descended into the alleyway around the garden, barely visible in the dim light of the corridors. One of the guards, leaning on the wall with droopy eyes, was easily taken out.
After this, he carefully made his way inside, most of the family members and servants had retired to their quarters for an evening siesta, and the few guards around the house weren't any close to alert. The main corridor was made of wood, with a few paintings here and there, and doors that led into other rooms. As he walked on without making a sound, the corridor came to a sharp turn, the candlelight flickered, and another shadow appeared from the other side; Maximus quickly leaped up and settled himself on the ceiling using chakra, and he was right, another guard casually walked by before his eyes, not spotting him. As the guard walked away, Maximus quickly landed back on his feet without making a sound, and flung a thin needle-like projectile at the guard from behind, hitting him in the neck, and causing him to fall with a slight groan, not to wake up for a while.
Maximus carefully continued on the corridor path, holding his short sword in one hand, and with a slightly bent posture, slowly, he crept towards the noble's bedroom. The door was made of wood and translucent so that the dim candlelight from within could be vaguely seen alongside the shadows it cast. He lightly slid the door open to peek inside, the wood made a slight noise. Then he slid inside the room and carefully around, there was no one in the bed or around.
Then suddenly, a loud cry came from behind, as a man lunged forward to plant a dagger into Maximus' back, but failed. His target got out of the way just in time, only the back of Maximus' palm was slightly grazed by the blade. He quickly turned back and retaliated with a quick thrust from his short sword into the enemy's gut, planting it inside and forcing him back. The man sputtered blood and then fell with a thump on the wooden door.
As the man fell, four more suddenly appeared from the room, all wearing the same uniforms as the guards and wielding swords. Maximus pulled his short sword back and prepared to defend himself, two guards attacked at once. Maximus parried the strike of the first guard and then swung his blade around to cut the other man's hand. After this he quickly flung a kunai at another guard, impaling him through the chest, then finished the first one with a slash on the throat. As the three guards fell and blood pooled around them, the last one began to slightly tremble and took a few steps back for safety.
"Where is your lord?" Maximus sternly questioned, he only received an angry and desperate cry from the last guard, who rushed forward to attack. Maximus blocked the katana with his blade, then swiftly took out a kunai and stabbed it into the guard's shoulder. The guard shirked in pain and closed his eyes for a brief moment, Maximus took advantage of this and pushed the man away, who fell leaning on the bed, gasping for air and grunting in pain, tightly clutching his severely injured shoulder.
"I am asking you once more, where is your lord?" Maximus walked forward with his crimson blade ready to strike, while the man remained quiet. As the shinobi got right in front of the guard, and pointed his sword toward the enemy's chest, did he start speaking,
"W-wait," Maximus eased a little, retracting the blade. The guard spoke again, between heavy breaths,
"He and most other guards were headed for the palace. I don't know anything else." Maximus now relaxed his stance, putting the short sword back in its sheath and turning back to leave. As he walked out the door, he spoke a final time to the guard,
"Very well then, good luck. I always keep my kunai poisoned, as is told in our village, so I hope you survive." With these words, he quickly disappeared, and the remaining guard sputtered blood on the wooden floor.
As Maximus rushed towards the palace, his thoughts ran faster. This was seemingly a clever tactic by the noble, capture the figurehead Daimyo and his family, and hold them for ransom. But alas, it was not gonna work. The Roman commanders didn't care a bit about the local leaders, they would be only too glad to record their death certificate with the cause of death being 'unfortunate political conditions posed by an insurgent'.
He leaped through the main door, and directly into the palace corridors. He had been here for a few days and roughly knew the whole layout of the palace. The corridors were dimly lit, with the paintings and texts on the walls appearing mysterious and intriguing. His quick footsteps made no sound as he rushed towards the Daimyo's bedroom. On the path, he could see the corpses of the former palace guards, lying dead on the ground.
There wasn't much time now, the noble might be cutting his way through the guards or had captured the Daimyo already. But no time to think. As Maximus approached the Daimyo's bedroom, which was now visible from a distance, he was confronted by three of the noble's men. They were only wearing formal kimonos and wielded swords. As soon as they put their sight on Maximus, the latter jumped upon his enemies with the short sword and kunai in hand, slitting the throats of two, while impaling another with the kunai.
He barged through the bedroom door, and inside he could see the noble and two of his men holding the Daimyo in place, whose hands were tied behind his back and forced to sit on the ground. This time the enemy was quicker, and the two men swiftly got into battle stance. But the dimly lit room, with only faint light coming from a few candles, proved to be in Maximus' favor. The shinobi swiftly evaded a slash from one of the men, and got behind him, stabbing the short sword through his spine. The second man, getting a hold of the position of his enemy, went for a quick stab. But his sword was parried, and Maximus thrust the short sword slightly above his right collarbone, rendering the hand useless. After this, he ended the man's life with a quick strike to the chest.
The noble was terrified, but before he could do anything, Maximus ended his life with a shuriken to the neck. The noble choked blood on the floor for a few moments, then all went silent. Maximus then cut the ropes binding the Daimyo and set him free. The lord got back up with his usual aristocratic and elegant manner, his head held high, but worry visible on his face, he calmly spoke to Maximus,
"I thank you, Roman. However, I am certain the conspirators were also looking to abduct my daughter, I shall gather the palace guards, you must rush there quickly." Maximus gave a quick nod and swiftly ran out of the room.
He appeared on the roof of this part of the building, and from there he could spot the princess' quarters, a dozen strides away. He jumped into the air and landed in the garden where the captain had introduced him to the princess and her attendants. It was deadly quiet here, with only faint sounds of struggle coming from a nearby building. Maximus quickly ran toward the nearby door, which was a traditional Japanese one, translucent enough that light from the inside could pass through. And on that light, appeared the shadow of a man.
Inside the room, the noble's brother directed the men in an impatient and loud voice,
"Quickly, bind her hands and mouth. And shut it, woman!" The princess kept groaning and trying to resist, but what could she do against five men? There were seven in total including the noble's brother, six were busy binding the princess, while one stood at the gate.
The noble's brother heard a loud groan from behind and quickly turned his head. The man standing at the door was spurting blood, his eyes showing surprise and pain, and a blade going through his stomach. In a moment, the blade was pulled back behind the door, and the man fell leaning against the wooden gateway, dead. The door was slashed open by the sword, pieces of wood went flying around, and inside entered a man with bright white hair and Western features.
Two of the men charged Maximus, the latter blocked the first's sword with his blade, and the other with the metal arm guards on his shinobi glove. In a quick reflex, he pushed the other blade aside for a slight second, and punched the first man hard in the gut, making him loosen his stance and flinch back. His sword now freed, Maximus thrust the sword into the first man's stomach, leaving him groaning on the floor. But he wasn't quick enough, as the second man resolved for another attack, as soon as Maximus turned to face him, the slash landed. Maximus flinched back by instinct, enough that the full force of the attack couldn't fall on him, but the tip of the blade made contact, lightly cutting through the right side of his face, around the eye, drawing a bit of blood. However, this was the last and only time he could strike, for the second Maximus reopened his eyes, he thrust the sword blindly into the second man's chest, killing him in a moment. As he turned again, the other three men sought to strike, but the first lost his life to another kunai, while the last two left this world with holes in their vital organs. Finally, Maximus stood face to face with the noble's brother, some blood dripping from the cut, and his blade reddened. The remaining man raised his sword over his head for a devastating slash, but that left the rest of his body exposed, Maximus stabbed his foe's armpit, and the next moment slashed his neck, ending his futile life.
Maximus now slowly approached the princess, who was scared, horrified by the blood and gore, and impressed at the same time. Maximus slowly approaches her, slightly flinching due to the cut, and freed her hands,
"Are you okay, Missus?" The princess lightly tilts her head down, and speaks calmly,
"Yes," She rolled her eyes up to see Maximus, who had wiped some of the blood off, but a droplet trickled down his face. His expressions were serious, but calm and assuring at the same time, he had light blue eyes with thick white hair. Surely, he stood out from any mob he was present in. Yet, there was something more in his face, he appeared, pretty; he resembled someone she had, a long while ago when she was a child, when in the capital, as father had told, the Roman soldiers had marched in. This man quite extraordinarily resembled one of them, a ruddy-faced man with white hair.
"Come on then, your father must be worried." The white-haired man spoke in a graceful but commanding tone, the princess quietly got up and followed Maximus outside.
A hotel room, the Land of Rivers
Tsunade sat quietly on the desk, a piece of paper in her hands. But no ordinary piece of paper, a letter, from Konoha itself. She had a stern yet thoughtful look on her face. Flames crackled in the fireplace at one end of the room, and the room was all quiet. She had no desire to even open this letter, let alone read it. She had hated that godforsaken village, she had hated this godforsaken land, plagued by war forever. She had lost her lover and only family for these fruitless wars, her grandfather's vision was wrong, her sensei and granduncle's vision was wrong, and this land was cursed since its birth. Be it the warring clans' era, the current times, or even the conflict between the sage's two sons. Peace had always remained a distant dream.
Yet here she sat, with the letter in hand, and curiosity got the better of her. Sensei knew she would rather die than return, then, what could be the reason for him to contact her? She slowly opened the letter, and started reading-
Dear Tsunade,
I know that you have carried the sorrow of Dan and your brother's death for long. I am also clearly aware of your desire to never return, but I must beg you one last time. I have lived long, and I feel my day is near. There is something on the horizon, something bad I can foresee. The newly created Mountain village is the cause of my suspicions, I am frail now, and I may not survive another battle. I humbly request you, for the good of the village and its people, that you return and assume the post of Hokage. My days are long gone, the next generation must take over. I cannot see anyone else capable of the position, Jiraiya has refused, Fugaku carries the suspicions of the elders, Shikaku Nara doesn't have enough influence or prestige, and Orochimaru, well, you know what it is. Konoha can't be left at the mercy of Danzo and his organization, they have only worked to rotten our core, but if they assume leadership, the continent will be plunged into another great war.
This might be the last time I write to you, so please consider my offer. Mark these words, my student, those who dwell in the past only suffer in the present.
Yours,
Hiruzen Sarutobi
As the letter ended, Tsunade was left with a thoughtful expression, remembering the previous years of her life, the bloody ones. In a short burst of rage, she slammed her hand on the desk, the sound echoed and the table cracked. But she calmed down soon enough and blankly gazed at the letter. In a moment, she heard quick footsteps from outside, and the door burst open. It was Shizune, panting and supposedly running up the stairs to see what was going on,
"Are you alright, lady Tsunade?" Tsunade turned her eyes to see her student, and waved her off,
"It's nothing, you can go to sleep, Shizune." The latter nodded, and quietly left the room after closing the door.
Tsunade then slowly got up from her seat, and threw the letter into the fireplace, watching it burn and simmer in the flames as the paper went black and curled back up, and soon turned to ashes. After this, Tsunade quietly put out the candles in the room, and lay down on the bed near the window, the letter's contents still in her mind.