It was midday and the sun shone brightly in the sky, its rays hitting the warm ocean currents. The ocean was peaceful for now, and a ship could be seen sailing through the water. It was large, with a giant mast and many oars below the deck. It could house about five hundred people by the size of it and sailed with great speed. The winds were calm, and on the deck of the ship, there was a lot of activity. Since there was no wind, many soldiers below the deck were pulling the oars, while above the men chatted and spent their time leisurely. There was not much to do in the middle of the sea except for eating, drinking, and pulling the oars.
Marcus was sitting in his quarters, the man didn't seem to have aged even a bit. The ship was large so there was plenty of space for rooms. His quarters weren't luxurious, only a single bed, a desk, a lamp, and two chairs; there was a window that provided a lookout at sea. Marcus was seated in one of the chairs, a wine glass in his hands, but he wasn't alone. Before he was seated another man, middle-aged but fit, with short greyish curly hair, a circle beard, and a stern face. The man had few wrinkles on his face, keen eyes, and wore normal armor but a decorated cuirass. The room was quiet for a while, as both men silently sipped on their glasses. Marcus began,
"So, how do you like this continent, Severus?" The man looked up met the governor's eyes, and answered calmly,
"The language, culture, and the people here are certainly interesting, especially those shinobi." Marcus sipped some wine and replied,
"Yeah, they truly are sir. You know about them?"
"Of course, it's been all over the nation ever since the soldiers and merchants returned with tales and stories of magical warriors. You probably know better Marcus, you've been here for more than a decade now." Marcus smiled for a second, but then continued,
"This is like a fantasy land with magical creatures and people, but a fantasy land you didn't wanna live in, up till now." Severus raised an eyebrow, his attention was caught. Marcus emptied his glass set it aside on the table, and continued,
"I'll start with some history. Before the establishment of shinobi villages, all ninjas in this continent were divided into various mercenary clans linked by blood. At that time this land was divided into countless smaller kingdoms, fiefdoms, etc., all wrestling for power. But these lords didn't fight their battles themselves, most instead hired a shinobi clan to fight for them, causing their opponent to do the same. It was an era of constant warfare and blood flowed like water, and in this tussle, entire populations of a settlement were killed or enslaved.
But then one day the Uchiha and the Senju, two of the strongest clans in existence, decided to merge and form one political entity they named 'Village Hidden in the Leaves'. This tipped the power balance as now the two strongest clans were united as one force, so quite a few other clans also opted to join Konoha, while others decided to band together and form their hidden villages. These villages took missions but were no longer mercenaries, in a war they would only fight for the Country they lived in or their allies. This way, the bloodshed of the previous era was reduced quite a lot, even though there have been three world wars here in the past eighty years." Pompey nodded and closed his eyes, sipping the wine, and then spoke,
"Quite a bloody history indeed, but nowhere close to ours." Both men lightly chuckled, and then Marcus changed the topic,
"By the way, what has been going on back home?"
"Well, a ton of shit has been going back home. The Germans tried another attack across the Rhine but failed, as always. The Christians have been causing a bit of trouble, riots and burning stuff. The Persians have blocked the shipping of spices from the East so there's probably gonna be a conflict, or tensions. But most of all, there is a ton of gunpowder now, and new weapons." Marcus nodded and replied,
"Yes, I was seeing the new arquebuses you brought with you." Severus laughed lightly and spoke,
"No, no, those aren't arquebuses. Long pieces of stick were put on a tripod and the gunpowder was lit with a matchlock. These are an evolved version called muskets. These aren't as cumbersome as arquebuses, instead, they're easy to carry and shoot. It can pierce almost any armor, and it can turn the tide of battle if in large numbers and trained well. There are also new smaller cannons called 'serpentines' that are designed to target troops." Brutus raised an eyebrow,
"Well if these weapons are so capable, I can see the end of the old system of warfare." Severus refilled his glass and spoke,
"However these weapons take five minutes to reload, five enough minutes for any horseman to reach them and cut them into pieces. These are also expensive and hard to make, so I see them limited to just a few cohorts of excellently trained users. It will take another century for these long sticks even to get a chance to replace the old ways, but when they do it will turn combat upside-down." Brutus nodded and was satisfied, glancing out at the sea he spoke,
"Reckon how much time till we hit land?" Severus also looked through the window and replied,
"Probably another hour or so."
Near the Land of Waves
Tazuna and the squad of shinobi walked on, and now the Island of Waves and the bridge under construction were visible.
"We're close," Maximus commented, looking forward. But as they walked on, a hail of kunai and shuriken flew toward Tazuna. Kakashi was quick and saved him, everyone became alert and drew out their weapons. But then suddenly out of nowhere, a giant blade flew toward Kakashi's head. But the masked ninja saved himself by dodging it in time, the blade flew forward and hit a tree, sticking to it. As Kakashi looked back at the giant blade, he could see a tall shinobi wearing a mask and brownish clothing, with straight hair and a Kirigakure headband on his head with a scratch, notifying him of his rogue status.
The rogue ninja stood atop the blade and looked forward at the ninja before him. Maximus was quick and in a moment was behind the man, and attempted to strike at the man's legs with his sword. But the shinobi was fast, and before Maximus could land his blow he was up in the air, doing a 360 mid-air and flung more kunai at Maximus; one of which inflicted a cut on the Roman's cheek.
Maximus got back and held his cheek tight, closing his eyes for a second. When he opened them the blade and the man were gone. Kakashi had now become serious and instructed his students to guard the engineer while they dealt with the rogue. Kakashi ran his eyes around the area, it was a forest with a lake nearby. As he was searching for the man, he detected a small movement at the corner of his eye towards the lake. By instinct he rushed towards the direction in an alert manner, followed by Maximus. Now Kakashi could see the figure of the shinobi running away towards the lake, Kakashi pursued. But suddenly, the shinobi vanished from where he had been, and Kakashi sensed someone behind him. He hastily turned back while jumping to see the same shinobi with a kunai in hand, ready to stab Kakashi. The masked ninja was quick, blocking the kunai stab with his forearm guards pulling out his kunai, and shoving it through the man's throat.
As Kakashi landed the stab, the shinobi's figure turned into water and fell to the ground. A water clone, Kakashi thought for a while, and then his face shot up with tension. How could he have done such a grave blunder? The enemy ninja wanted Kakashi to pursue him, and get him away from the engineer. The three new genins were talented but would be no match for a rogue, especially one from Kiri. Kakashi immediately turned back and bid Maximus follow him, the two men rushed back towards Tazuna with great speed.
As both men got back, Kakashi had been right. The ninja was making his way towards Tazuna who froze in fear, while Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke desperately tried to put up a fight. But there was still time, and Kakashi was quick to utilize it. He formed several hand signs in a few seconds and shot out several bolts of sharp wind chakra towards the rogue at great speed. Zabuza quickly turned back, and blocked most of the attacks with his giant blade, although one managed to grease his forearm, going through the skin and exposing a tiny bit of muscle tissue. Zabuza flinched for a second out of pain, but then looked Kakashi directly in the eye and spoke,
"Kakashi of the Sharingan, you'll be a worthy opponent." Kakashi pulled up his headband to reveal his Sharingan and replied,
"Zabuza Momochi of the seven swordsmen, I didn't expect you to be here." And indeed, Kakashi was surprised to find out who his opponent was. It wasn't that he was scared or intimidated. Zabuza had escaped Kirigakure and the Land of Water after heading a failed coup against the fourth Mizukage, but Kakashi hadn't expected him to be here.
Kakashi and Maximus rushed at Zabuza with a kunai and katana in their hands respectively, and engaged in a melee. Zabuza was outnumbered but skilled, but his heavy blade put him at a disadvantage as compared to the quick Kakashi and Maximus. Zabuza got back after a few minutes of fighting and put his blade back in its scabbard on his back. He then performed many hand signs, and in a moment several dozen water clones of him were made. These clones fought with their hands and were quick, while Zabuza used his blade. Kakashi and Maximus responded by also making two shadow clones each. However, water clones are fragile as they're not meant for open combat. Because of this, as the fight goes on most of Zabuza's clones are easily dispelled. The ninja himself was fighting Kakashi while Maximus handled the clones.
As both men were engaged in a melee, Zabuza got a lucky shot and kicked Kakashi in the stomach. The masked ninja gasped from under his mask and got a few paces away, leaving his guard open. Zabuza took this opportunity to make another clone that rushed towards Kakashi from behind. Kakashi was able to dodge in time and dispelled the clone, but as he did so the real Zabuza lunged forward and was near the Hatake in a second. But he did not attack, instead, he performed a few hand signs before Kakashi could react, and formed a 'water cage around the Konoha shinobi.
Suddenly, Kakashi found himself unable to move in this water cage, not even a slight movement of the finger as he was being bogged down on his knees by the jutsu's pressure. Zabuza grinned under his mask and looked around. Maximus had dealt with most of the clones while the three genins were protecting Tazuna. He again created six clones and sent them after Tazuna, while concentrating on Maximus and keeping Kakashi trapped.
Dispelling the rest of the clones, Maximus faced Zabuza with his sword. The latter made hand signs with one hand in quick succession, and before Maximus could reach him he shot out a burst of chakra water from his mouth, its force strong enough to pierce a tree's stem. Maximus was quick and made four shadow clones, while narrowly missing the water jutsu. His clones surrounded Zabuza and did a few hand signs to create a dome of Earth chakra around the rogue with small open spaces. Then they weaved a few more hand signs, and Zabuza recognized them. Whatever it was, it was a fire Jutsu, the Roman was thinking of burning him alive. Kakashi will be safe because of the mere density of the water prison he was in. Knowing Zabuza let go of the prison, which only disperses in six seconds if not supported, and made for the roof of the dome. Zabuza's right leg glowed with chakra, and in the next moment the Kiri rogue landed a devastating kick on the dome's top; the structure still stood but only needed another strike. Zabuza punched it again and it broke, revealing it from the top.
Kakashi also got out of the water prison and escaped just in time before Maximus' clones performed the fire jutsu. Only a few seconds later all four of the clones shot out fireball jutsus from their mouths, which were essentially smaller in size compared to the average. The flames engulfed the insides of the dome and even rippled out of the hole on the top that Zabuza had created; giving the impression of a burning furnace.
As the flames subsided, combat resumed. Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura had surprisingly been able to defeat the clones despite being outnumbered two-to-one. Maximus and Kakashi fought Zabuza, the latter losing. Finally, as the fight continued, Kakashi kicked Zabuza's stomach hard enough that blood came gushing out of his mouth and reddened the mask. The Kiri rogue backed to a safe distance, leaning on a tree and holding his stomach. He was in pain and exhausted, both his chakra and stamina were almost completely used up.
As Kakashi prepared for one last attack to finish the fight, lightning chakra began to gather in his palm. But before he could do so three very thin needles hit Zabuza's neck from the side. The latter's expression gave out sudden shock and pain, and he fell to the ground. Suddenly, a shinobi appeared on a nearby tree, wearing Kirigakure Anbu gear and the mask of the 'tracking' unit.
The shinobi came down and surprisingly lifted Zabuza on his shoulders with ease, despite his lean and thin physique. Kakashi and Maximus prepared to face him, but the shinobi spoke calmly,
"I'm not here to fight, Konoha shinobis. I am a member of the tracking unit from Kirigakure, tasked with eliminating rogue ninjas. You have made my work easy so I'll thank you for that, but I must get going."
Hearing this, Maximus and Kakashi eased their battle stances, while the Kiri ninja took off with Zabuza. As Maximus and Kakashi walked back towards their party, Naruto asked timidly,
"Who was that guy?" Maximus kept walking and didn't look up, his clothes were a bit roughed up because of the fighting but he wasn't injured, and spoke,
"Kirigakure ninja, from the tracking unit. But I highly doubt that." Sasuke looked at him and asked,
"Why?" Kakashi answered from the back, the party had unconsciously resumed their journey,
"First of all, a tracker ninja destroys the body of the rogue on the spot so that information about the village cannot be spilled, but this guy took the body off with him. Tracker ninjas also don't stop to have a chat with other shinobi, they should instead be ready to fight if they suspect others are here to take the corpse."
"So he was a suspicious guy," Sakura spoke while looking back from the front of the party.
Maximus nodded, and after this, nobody spoke. They quietly resumed their journey until they reached the Land of Waves.
Inside the town
It was late afternoon now. The party walked forward on the main road of the town, which was not well-maintained. Maximus looked around the market, this was a poor town. The shops and stalls were either low or out of stock, there wasn't even enough food. There weren't a lot of people on the road, this place was scarcely populated. It made sense, who wants to live in a place where there is always a shortage of food and necessities?
Tazuna led the four shinobi through the road, and into a secluded street on the outskirts of the town. The engineer stopped in front of a decent two-storey house made of primarily wood, near the coast, and invited them inside. All of them took off their footwear and sat down on the ground in what seemed the living room, composed of green carpeting, wooden walls with a few pictures, and a large wooden table.
From one corner of the house, a young woman came into the chamber, she wore common apparel and had long black flowing hair,
"Are you okay father? I hope the journey was easy." The woman was the old engineer's daughter it seemed, and the man replied in a calm and low voice,
"Yes, it was. These Konoha shinobi protected me throughout the journey, prepare some food for them as well." The woman gave a nod and returned to the room she had come from after giving a nod of acknowledgment to the shinobi.
"There wasn't a need to trouble yourself with cooking more food, sir." Maximus calmly spoke, Tazuna looked at him with what seemed a friendly look,
"It's okay, a friend of mine is coming over today so it won't be much trouble." Maximus nodded, and got up while informing everyone,
"I'll be taking a stroll around the town. Don't worry, I'll be back in time." Saying this he walked towards the door and put on his sandals, while Kakashi also remembered about training and decided to teach his students chakra control in the nearby woods.
Maximus was walking around the streets and roads of the town aimlessly, looking around. There was nothing special to see in the town itself, so he just kept walking on the road that led out of the settlement. On the outskirts, he could see a better standard of living, with good houses and even a few small farms with paddy. Although this area was quiet and secluded, there were only one or two people on the road now, which had degraded into a dirt path as he exited the main town.
But as Maximus walked on, he was met with an interesting sight. At the end of the town, beyond which there were only farms, he could see a tall stone tower. The design was simple, with even simpler carving and decorations, but it looked quite old. The tower was tall and covered a decent area, there was moss on its walls and it was damaged in several places. But it must have been a majestic structure back in its day. Maximus' attention was caught, and he decided to investigate.
The wooden door of the tower was run down and it was just a board of rotten wood now. The insides of the tower must've been glamorous at some point, but now it was just a ruinous building with pieces of furniture lying here and there, and image frames fallen to the ground. As the man continued investigating out of interest, he ascended to the upper floors. The first floor must've served as a small armory, with rusted blades and swords lying around, and rotting weapon stands. The second floor was empty with pieces of bedding furniture lying around.
The topmost floor was the most interesting, with racks and shelves full of scrolls, and a few lying on the ground and rotting. The floor was dirty and the walls discolored. There was a desk in the middle with spots of, dry blood. But Maximus didn't pay much heed to that, his interest lay in the scrolls. He opened the drawers of the desk, which were surprisingly intact, and found several scrolls and books. He took out the first one he saw and lay it open on the table. It was a record, and ran-
"17th June,
The siege of Uzushiogakure continues, with the forces of Kiri, Iwa, and Kumo attempting to assault the village. The village persists, but help is required. The Land of Waves remains safe and won't be a target for enemy attacks, requesting reinforcements."
At the bottom of the scroll, a seal was stamped, with a whirly symbol. A whirly symbol on the back of Maximus' flack jacket, the Uzumaki symbol!
By the format of this document, it must have been an official letter. The scroll was pretty old and discolored, so not all the contents were readable. Maximus' eyes lit up, this was not an abandoned property. It was a treasure trove of history.
But as Maximus looked outside, the sun was beginning to set. It was almost time and he must return. Maximus opened a basic sealing scroll and stored all the records he could inside it. He needed to tell this to the Hokage when they got back, it could shed light on some of the events that remained in the dark. Perhaps even lay their hands on some seals of the Uzumaki?
Author's notes
So yeah, I decided to integrate the Uzumaki into this. I am planning to give Naruto some skills with fuinjutsu, but not yet. This was my longest chapter yet, and I'm planning to keep making them longer as I have a lot of time now. Do rate the chapter and all ideas are welcome :)