It was a very foggy morning in Kumogakure, as it always was. The sun hadn't risen yet, but it wasn't dark either. The entire village was asleep, but there was restlessness in the mind. News of the campaign's failure had reached back home, and the survivors who came limping back were instead punished for 'inability to attain a victory'.
The Raikage was sitting atop a mountain a few kilometers away from the village. The mountain was rocky and barren, but its summit was plain, from there A could even see the Raikage tower, the tallest structure in Kumogakure; the same building in which the Raikage had attended a meeting late into the night the previous day. That same meeting had caused his face to bear a frustrated expression, and come to this mountain. The masked man who claimed to be Madara had agreed to come to this very spot, to collect his own due of the agreement: portions of the eight and two-tailed beasts.
The Raikage was only wearing a woolen cloak despite the biting cold and sat on a rock. As he waited quietly, the teleportation jutsu of the masked man appeared, and then he. The man wore a long black cloak with red clouds and the same orange mask with one eyehole. The man looked up at the seated Raikage and began in a calm voice,
"Good morning, Lord Raikage, I hope you will fulfill your part of the agreement?" The Raikage looked up with a stern face, and replied,
"Listen, we must talk."
"About what?" The Raikage removed his hood, looked up completely to meet the eyes of Tobi, and spoke firmly,
"I am breaking this alliance, and refuse the payment." Tobi chuckled under his mask, and spoke,
"Stop joking around lord Raikage, and hand over the scrolls." A ignored what the masked man said and continued,
"That man you sent, 'Sasori of the red sand', what sort of idiot was he? The 'puppet master' couldn't even kill a single Konoha shinobi, and he died and caused our entire attack to collapse." Tobi also became serious and spoke,
"Well, we are ready to send more of our skilled shinobi, like Kisame or Hidan-" The masked ninja was cut short by the Raikage, who spoke sharply,
"I attended an emergency meeting with the council last night, they have voted to end this conflict. We've already lost many and Turtle Island, those axe-wielding Romans they call 'Varangians' are constantly raiding our coastal territories, disappearing as soon as we can muster any resistance; and their cavalry is destroying our countryside. We don't have the support of our people to continue the war. I can do nothing now, and since you were also of no help during the attack I refuse the payment." Tobi remained persuasive but calm,
"Well, you can tell them about us."
"Tell them what? That I've made a secret alliance with a group of S-tier rogue shinobi at the top of the Bingo book? I had to act of hiring Sasori as an independent mercenary to gain acceptance from the council. If word gets out that I'm dealing with missing-nin, it will greatly tarnish my standing in the village and that of Kumogakure on a global scale." Tobi's voice now grew stern and demanding as he replied,
"Whatever your excuses may be Raikage, we've lost a skilled shinobi because of this and I want my dues." The Raikage now get up and prepared to leave,
"Shut up, this is my final decision and I don't think you can do anything about it." There was now clear anger in Tobi's manner and voice as he answered,
"Do as you want, Raikage, but I will extract the tailed beasts. Whether by a treaty or by force." As he said this, several kunai came flying towards the Raikage at great speed. The latter easily blocked the projectiles with the big golden vambraces on his wrist and spoke with slight hints of anger and annoyance in his voice,
"I am trying to remain calm boy, do not attempt to rouse my anger or you'll regret it." Saying this, the Raikage jumped into the air and quickly disappeared. Tobi could only fume under his mask, he had lost a good shinobi in this war and didn't get anything in return. But it would be very rash to attack Kumo or the Raikage now. Akatsuki is made up of rogue shinobi, but they're viewed with a neutral stance by the ninja villages and Rome, an act like attacking a village will make shinobi villages more active in pursuing the end of this band of missing-nin. Tobi will get his revenge, but not now.
In Konoha
It was a busy day, as people hurriedly went about and the entire village was bustling with activity. It was late morning and the sun now shone in the sky, but it wasn't hot. The bustle was because the citizens were busy repairing the village and treating those wounded during the attack, and the Roman garrison was also leaving today alongside the governor.
Marcus himself was currently in his nephew's apartment, chatting with him. The apartment was peaceful and quiet, quiet enough to feel odd. There was only the governor dressed in complete black and his twelve-year-old nephew Maximus in the living room, where an LED lit the entire hall. The furniture and overall look of the room hadn't changed much over the years, there was a new table in the living room and sofas, but the walls felt empty. Marcus had a glass of water in front of him on the table, and he seemed in a good mood, he had been here for the past hour. Both men were usually quiet and contained, but it would be surprising to know how talkative they could be.
But as Marcus sipped from his cup while talking, a Roman soldier came inside and slightly bowed to the governor, Marcus looked back and spoke calmly,
"Yes?" The soldier was wearing standard Roman armor, and spoke,
"All preparations for the departure are made, sir, we only await your arrival." Marcus nodded and waved the soldier off,
"Yes, I will be coming in a moment." The soldier slightly bowed again and then left, Marcus looked back at Maximus and smiled,
"It seems our little meeting is over now."
"It is, it seems." Marcus got up from his seat, adjusted his coat, and spoke,
"By the way, I had something to give you." Maximus also got up, while Brutus took out something from his coat's side pocket.
It was a shiny locket, with a chain made of gold. Attached to the chain was a symbol, a large P with a horizontal X over it, there was also the alphabet 'A' on the left of the symbol, inside the two lines of the X, and the letter Ω on the right, in such a way as it seemed that they were floating there. Marcus handed over the locket to Maximus, who looked at it with curiosity and excitement. Marcus smiled and spoke,
"This is the labarum, the symbol of Constantine and the Roman Empire. You know its tale right?" Maximus took the locket and didn't speak, Marcus continued,
"Just before the battle of the Milvian Bridge, Constantine had a dream during his sleep. He was presented in a heavenly abode, where he was introduced to the one truth. The god of the Christians, Yahweh of the Jews, Wotan of the Germans, and Sol Invictus, were all different aspects of the same ultimate divine being. Constantine was presented with this symbol and commanded to adopt it as the symbol of his army. Later that day, he won the battle and thus became emperor.
This symbol represents Roman pride and the republic, which our civilization stands for, to bring order where there is chaos. Take this as a parting gift."
Maximus was fascinated and smiled, replying,
"I'll make sure to live up to Rome's greatness." Marcus chuckled and turned to leave while speaking,
"I hope you do the same for Konoha and this continent, make the world of men a better plane. But for now, let's say goodbye." Saying this, Marcus walked out of the apartment. Maximus merely gazed at the locket with fascination.
Brutus approached the main entrance of Konoha with the guard who had entered the apartment earlier beside him. The Romans, knights, and Varangians were outside, ready to march away. Hiruzen with his three advisors and the heads of the various clans in Konoha stood near the giant gates to see the governor off. There was also his retinue of mounted soldiers, with a black horse in their midst ready for his use.
The governor passed by the high-ranking men of Konoha, giving them a slight bow of respect, and mounted the saddle. The horse was big and well-fed, and Marcus took a moment to adjust himself on the saddle. Then, with his head held high he spoke to the Hokage,
"Well, Lord Hokage, it seems we must depart." Hiruzen smiled and replied,
"Yes, lord Marcus, it was a pleasure meeting you. Rome was of great help during the attack." Marcus returned the smile and looked at the advisors and clan heads to the right, giving a nod of acknowledgment. Then he lashed on the whip and directed his horse in the direction of the rest of the army and trotted away with the mounted soldiers at his back. Hiruzen and the others stayed there for a while, watching the Romans march away in a column. They talked amongst themselves for a while, but then they dispersed. The Hokage and his advisors went back to the Hokage building while the clan heads returned to their compounds.
Author's notes
Well, I know that this chapter was rather short in comparison. But this was what I got after completely implementing the idea for this chapter. And you should just search up the labarum to get an idea of what it looks like. Also, I use this map by mcskeleton (credit goes to him) for reference in this fanfic, just to let you know- mcskeleton/art/Naruto-World-Map-532687636
Moreover, I will be notifying you that the next chapter is gonna start with the Land of Waves mission after a four-year time skip, with our boy Naruto and his squad. Do rate the chapter, and ideas are always welcome.