Homura Mitokado, one of the three elders of Konoha and the Hokage's advisor, was seated in a meeting room. It was a large, rectangular, and brightly lit chamber. In the middle was a rectangular table, with four other individuals seated. In front of Homura, on the other side of the table was seated Isamu, a prominent figure in the Iwa council. The Iwagakure elder was old, thin, and had long bony fingers. He could be said to be a shadow of his former self, but he still played an important role in his village's policies. The others were also representatives of their villages. Akio from Kusagakure, a tall man with a scar on his left eye, Minoru, another old councilor from Sunagakure, Kenji, one of the strongest shinobi from Otogakure; and at last, Arata, a middle-aged shinobi from Kumo with dark skin and a small circle beard.
Homura took a sip from the glass of water served to him, and began to speak,
"Respected representatives of Iwa, Suna, Oto, Kusa, and Kumo, as you may know, this meeting has been called to discuss the proceedings of the international Chunin exams that will be held this year. As you may notice this time, the representatives of Ame and Kiri are not present. Both villages have shut all contact with the outside world, and thus this time we must proceed without them." Homura finished speaking, Isamu cleared his throat and began to speak in a calm and weak voice,
"Never mind Kiri and Ame. But we must discuss which village will host this year's international Chunin examinations. The host must be a strong village, both militarily and economically, to direct such an event. Kusagakure, and the Land of Fields as a whole, have been suffering from civil disorder and political instability for the past few years, so their village is out of question. Taki doesn't have the economic capabilities to host such an event, so that leaves us the four great villages to decide. I propose Iwagakure." However, Isamu was opposed by Minaru who spoke calmly,
"Iwa is indeed more than capable of organizing such an event, but may I remind you of the scandals your village got tangled in the previous time? Because of that, this is the first time in seven years that international chunin exams have been organized." What Minoru was saying was true. Iwa had hosted the last international chunin exams, and they were accused of cheating. But because of this, Isamu seemed a bit irritated, even angry
"Alleged accusations, they were all false, only an attempt on Iwa's reputation and nothing else." But before both men broke out into a 'debate', Homura calmed things down,
"We can argue about it all day long, lord Isamu. But in short, the other villages don't trust Iwa. We must choose another host." Isamu seemed satisfied by this answer and didn't say more. Kenji spoke after a brief moment of silence with his head resting on his hands,
"My village supports Konoha as the host. The village is strong militarily and financially, moreover, they have a good reputation worldwide." Akio and Minoru also showed their support for this. But Arata, the Kumo representative, strongly objected,
"Forgive me, respected lords and councilors, but Kumo won't participate in the Chunin exams if Konoha is the host. I say Kumogakure should host the events." Homura was a calm man, but he seemed annoyed by this,
"Please, lord Arata, the war was four years ago. It does no good in holding on to past grudges, let us move on." The other representatives visibly showed their agreement with Homura, Minoru spoke next, in a manner that seemed to taunt Arata,
"Lord Homura is right, sir Arata. And besides, I don't think your village has enough money for the event. Not to mention how your standing and reputation were in shambles after the last war. Now if you back out, it can be assumed that your village couldn't produce any capable genin these few years. How shameful will that be?" Arata was angered by this but remained calm. Homura grinned in his mind and then got up from his seat to speak,
"Let us hold a vote, the village that has the most support will host this year's international Chunin exams." All the other lords agreed, and after a few moments, votes were being cast. Minoru raised his hand first and spoke,
"Suna supports Konoha in this." After him, Akio and Kenji also voiced their agreement,
"Kusa and Oto favor Konoha." Isamu remained quiet for a while as if analyzing the situation. Then slowly raised his hand,
"Iwa, supports Konoha." Homura gave a small smile and then turned to look at Arata. The Kumo representative was speechless, as the rest of the representatives intently looked at him, awaiting an answer. A few seconds passed in silence, and then Arata got up from his seat with a stern look on his face,
"Very well then, Kumo won't participate in the Chunin exams." After saying this, Arata quickly walked out of the chamber. Minoru gave a small smile and commented,
"Knuckleheaded, aren't these Kumo chaps?" No other representative said anything, but they did agree with Minoru. Homura got up from his seat once more and declared,
"So it is decided, that Konoha will host this year's chunin exams. Now that we have come to a decision, let us dismiss this meeting." The rest of the representatives also got up from their seats, and then quietly left the chamber.
On the other end of the continent, Byzantium
Marcus was seated in his office, checking over some documents. His chamber had improved over the years with the city. Now the office was a decent room with a wooden desk over which documents and pens were organized, paintings on the walls, and a few cupboards stuffed with books and files, the floor was carpeted now, and there was even a flowerpot in one corner of the office. There was also a window on one side of the room that directly overlooked the city below. Understandably, the city was large. It was by now about a decade old since its establishment, and the buildings followed the Greco-Roman style.
In the center was the council house, a large structure with marble walls and floors, and a dome-like roof made of red bricks. The building was purposely made to resemble the Senate building back in Rome. Its function was to serve as a meeting place for the governor and all officials in the province, and vice versa. This same building hosted the office of the governor and his staff, alongside a library of records and books. Only a few dozen meters away from the council house was the governor's villa, and several other houses hosting higher officials.
The central part of the city was reserved for administrative and civic buildings, like the public baths, the public forum, etc. The southern and largest part was the residential area for the inhabitants, the western and Northern parts had the city's port and harbor, and the eastern part had the garrison and armory. Surrounding the city were two sets of not very tall but quite thick walls, specially designed to withstand jutsus, alongside a ditch that could be filled with water. Well, most of these normal defenses will not do much to stop the foes Rome will face here, but the most effective part was the sealing formula put around the settlement, that restricted any sort of chakra. Of course, the Romans themselves weren't capable of creating this. Rather, they had acquired the sealing formulas as part of an agreement with Uzushio all those years ago, before the latter's ultimate demise.
Back in the governor's office, Marcus was looking over some documents sipping tea. It was midday now and the city outside was bustling, Marcus was alone in his office. But the quietness of the chamber was broken as Marcus heard hurried steps walking over the corridor outside, and towards his office. A few seconds later, the door to the office burst open, and Severus stepped in. His face was serious as usual, but today it bore something in it. Marcus looked over at the old commander and spoke while leaning back on his chair,
"Good day Severus, what seems to be the matter?" Severus walked inside and took a seat before Marcus' desk. He made himself a little comfortable and then answered in a serious tone,
"Listen, there is something we must talk about." Marcus put away his cup and leaned forward, his expressions now serious too.
"What is it?" Severus continued,
"Do you remember the land reforms we passed a few months ago?"
"Yes, I do quite clearly."
These 'land reforms' Severus was talking about were passed a few months ago as said. The Romans had spent the past few years properly establishing themselves on the continent, but now that they were well-rooted, it was time to make sure they stayed. Previously, a feudal system was followed in the lands the Romans later conquered. The taxation and administration system was quite decentralized, with local Daimyo and warlords collecting the taxes in their fiefs and only answering to the topmost Daimyo of the nation. But as one may expect, this system was very inefficient. The local Daimyo, who were practically the kings of their fiefs in all but name, filled their purses and only a fraction of the original amount went to the royal treasury. But of course, this was the case for other minor nations, the five great countries had the shinobi at their backs to quell any attempts to do so.
Initially, as the Romans were fortifying themselves on the continent, they kept this older system in place with only a few modifications. But now was the time for change, and the Romans took the first step with these land reforms. According to the new policy, the large farming estates of these Daimyo were to be reduced in size considerably, and divided amongst their former peasants and tenants. Not only that, their hereditary rights to collect taxes would be stripped and replaced with Roman officials, and the political landscape would be turned upside down by the Romans. The common farmers and peasants will benefit from this, but that isn't the real goal, the main purpose is to destroy the power of these local lords and Daimyos.
Severus spoke in a serious and concerned tone,
"A full revolt is brewing. The various Daimyos in the former Lands of Cones and Jungles have banded together with their samurai and personal troops, they've even managed to get a considerable amount of the peasants on their side." Marcus remained silent and calm, intently and seriously listening to Severus. The latter continued,
"I have already dispatched Janus with about 3,000 legionaries and cavalry to deal with them, and I felt the need to inform you." Marcus remained silent and in thought for a while, then he snapped back and replied to Severus.
"Alert all our city garrisons and soldiers stationed in forts, imprison and confiscate the assets of all the insurgents and rebels, and use force if necessary. Do likewise with anyone associated with them, we must act quickly." Severus nodded and then spoke,
"As you say, Marcus." Saying this, the old commander quietly left the office. After a few moments, Marcus got up from his seat, and glanced out of his office's window, over the city of Byzantium. He watched the bustling streets, it was a busy day for the commoners. They had no idea what was going on. But as Marcus turned over his thoughts, he couldn't help but let out a smile.
Those poor farmers and their pampered lords thought they could defeat a professional army.
Author's notes
Alright, I wanna inform you that the next few chapters I will concentrate on this rebellion, with only a few tweaks into the Chunin exams. That is because everything will go canon except for a few certain details. However, I will focus heavily on the aftermath of the chunin exams and the Konoha attack. And don't blame me if you think this rebellion idea isn't good, I just had the itch to do a Romans vs Samurai and MORE POLITICS. XD
Do review the chapter though.