One year had passed since the foreign explorers arrived in the Land of Earth, and their memory had started to fade. But then one day, as the people of Hitsuma (The capital of the Land of Earth) were going about their daily business, there appeared several dozen ships on the horizon. As the ships got closer, it was clear they intended for the city's harbor. But as the ships got closer, they abruptly stopped just outside the harbor. From one of the ships, a boat was let down, and in that boat was a man clad in armor, his helmet had a red plume, and a sword hung from his waist.
The boat alone made its way to the harbor. Meanwhile, the Daimyo had been called and informed of the situation. The Daimyo recognized the ships and was soon present at the harbor to welcome the men on the boat. The small vessel reached the docks, and from it stepped out several soldiers, with one man who looked to be their commander. The soldiers all wore the same armor, a mail cuirass with leather straps, a helmet made up of different pieces interlocked together, and leather sandals. Their shields were tall and cylindrical, with the same patterns on them all. They also carried short swords. While two of these men wore plate armor over chainmail, and a helmet that completely covered their heads, leaving only small holes in the front for seeing and breathing, they also had metal shoulder pads and were covered head-to-toe in armor. They carried two-handed swords that were currently resting in their scabbards.
The Daimyo greeted the man in a friendly manner, and both went into a private chamber to talk in privacy. The ships were allowed to harbor in the city's docks.
The private chambers were quite luxurious, with candles lighting the room, platters of fruits, and a jar of sake placed on the table in the center. Incense burned in one corner of the room, while the walls were decorated with paintings. The Roman commander and the Daimyo sat down, facing each other, near the table. All the servants were dismissed from the room. The Daimyo started the conversation,
"I am lord Asahi of the Land of Earth, and you?"
"I'm Commander Vitellus, here to represent the Senate. I must say, your palace is quite beautiful." Vitellus answered, glancing around the room. He was a tall, compact, 35-year-old man with a light beard, and wheat-colored skin, and had a commanding presence. The Daimyo chuckled and replied,
"There are benefits of being a Daimyo." The commander nodded in agreement, the Daimyo continued,
"Coming to business, what do you intend to do here with so many ships, commander Vitellus?" The latter replied,
"We wish to trade and explore this continent, my lord, and don't wish to start any hostilities with you." The Daimyo looked out of the nearby window that directly overlooked the harbor, and folding his hands, replied,
"Well, why have you brought troops then?"
"Well, to trade we need to establish some presence here." The commander continued,
"For that, we plan to establish a colony here, in your city. Don't worry, it's only made up of some ambitious merchants and a few artisans, you'll be comfortable with them. We also want free harbor for our ships in your ports, for now."
The Daimyo looked hesitant to allow this, and asked directly,
"What's in it for me?"
Commander Vitellus briefly closed his eyes and nodded to himself, a genuine question. Then, leaning forward and joining the tips of his fingers, replied,
"Wealth. Lots of Wealth. You see, trade is important for income. The merchants that come here have many connections in the wider world, and they can easily expand your trade connections to the far ends of the world. Moreover, we are ready to pay you 50 kg of gold in stipends, throughout the year. And if that is not enough, the soldiers we have brought here are always present to aid you in any defensive conflict."
The Daimyo was impressed, and asked,
"Any other demands?"
"Yes, we have heard of mysterious warriors in this continent, called shinobi. May you tell us something about them?"
The Daimyo thought for a while, and then began to speak,
"The shinobi are warriors who can utilize a special energy inside us called chakra. This chakra is very powerful, it can heal almost any wound, but it also has a very destructive power. There are many shinobi clans, where the members are related by blood. These clans are made up of professional warriors, and the children in these clans are trained from childhood in the art of war. Moreover, each clan has its special abilities and specializations, like how the Inuzuka make use of trained hounds in warfare. Many clans also have special abilities exclusive to their bloodline, like the Hyuga's Byakugan, which grants the user extreme visual prowess to even see through solid objects, or the Uzumaki's healing abilities and chakra chains. These shinobi clans were essentially mercenary clans that anyone could hire to fight for them, until now."
Vitellus raised an eyebrow,
"Until now?" The Daimyo nodded, and continued,
"The Uchiha and the Senju, the two most powerful clans in the continent, have banded together to make one political entity they have named Konohagakure no Sato, in short Konoha, which means 'Village hidden in the Leaves', which is situated in the Land of Fire. Fearing the combined power of the Uchiha and Senju, many clans have opted to join Konoha, while others have decided to band together and create their shinobi villages, like Kumogakure, Kirigakure, and Amegakure. These villages are essentially made up of local shinobi clans.
The formation of hidden villages has completely knocked off the power balance in the continent, as the shinobi clans you could once just hire are now only loyal to one nation. I plan to help establish a shinobi village here as well."
Vitellus took a bite from the apple in his hand, and spoke,
"A shinobi village here as well? That is good, we can help you with organizing the village." The Daimyo smiled, and replied,
"Well, that is very nice of you people. I have a location for the village in mind, and many clans have also agreed to join the village. But," The Daimyo went and opened a drawer in the room, took out a map, and laid it out on the table, pointing to an area in the far north of the Land of Earth, he continued,
"This area is governed by a local warlord, who used to owe his allegiance to me, but has rebelled with the help of some mercenary shinobi. I currently don't have a force to counter this rebellion, but if you could, you'd receive many benefits."
Vitellus looked at the Daimyo with keen eyes,
"Like what?"
"I don't know, perhaps tax exemptions for the colony you're planning to settle here, free access to all the cities in my land for your merchants, and perhaps help you introduce yourselves to the other Nations in the area?"
Vitellus took a sip of the Sake that had been served to him prior, and commented,
"This thing is intoxicating but too bland. Anyways, I am ready to help you squash this rebel warlord if you'd grant us all the privileges you mentioned."
The Daimyo laughed,
"Well, it is agreed then. There is some empty land on the outskirts of my city, it is good land and has not been settled yet, so your colony can be built there."
Vitellus smiled, thanking the Daimyo, bidding him goodbye, and going back to the ships.
Somewhere in the Northern Land of Earth
Lord Hiroshi sat in his villa, leisurely eating some grapes. He was an old man, with an average height, lean, with a mild beard and mustache, and the roots of his hair were now getting white. He was the warlord who had rebelled against the Daimyo and was very confident in his ability to win after getting no response from the Daimyo. Hiroshi's city was nestled between the mountains in the Northern Land of Earth, near the coast, and it was only connected to the outside world through three mountain passes, each going in the opposite direction.
Suddenly, a guard came running inside Hiroshi's room, panting.
"What's the matter, boy?" The young guard, after catching some breath, replied,
"Th-there is an enemy army made up of strange-looking soldiers outside the city. They are at least 1,000 and wear odd armor."
Hiroshi straightened his back upon hearing this, but then again leaned back on his chair, and commanded,
"Just send the mercenary shinobi to fight, they'll teach Asahi's army a lesson."
The guard bowed and rushed out of the room.
Outside the city, the shinobi assembled on the walls to confront the Romans. The latter had the city surrounded and were preparing for an assault. The shinobi rushed at their foes. But they were met with heavy fire from the Romans, who took out a good number of them. The rest of the shinobi, fifty in total, halted before engaging the enemy and took cover behind trees, rocks, etc., and then slowly moved forward. Soon engaging in melee combat with the Roman knights, who were in the foremost ranks.
The knights were an equal match for the ninja with their physical strength and swordsmanship, their armor was also of a superior quality, seemingly impenetrable by the shinobi's weapons and attacks. It was wintertime, and the snow on the mountains was reddened with blood.
The shinobi's attacks seemed to have no effect on the Romans, whose armor withstood all blows, and their knights cut through the shinobi. Moreover, they were greatly outnumbered, being 50 and having to face 1000, so most were surrounded and cut down.
Soon, the legionaries were at the gates of the city, battering them down with siege weapons. One of the guards rushed to tell Hiroshi of the shinobi's defeat. The latter was shocked out of his wits and proceeded to the walls.
The Romans kept pushing to the walls, some tried to scale them with ladders, and others tried to break the wooden gate with siege weapons. War cries and shouts of pain and agony filled the atmosphere. The mercenary shinobi had been defeated, and the remaining recruits from the city were no match for the disciplined and trained Romans. They slashed, stabbed, and hacked their way forward with swords and spears, brandishing their weapons against their Shields and armor to intimidate the opponent. The city was soon overrun and Hiroshi was captured and sent back alive to the Daimyo. The latter was greatly impressed by the Romans' fighting capabilities and fulfilled all the promises he had made in the agreement. The Romans had successfully established a presence in this new land, and what was needed now was to discover and interact with the other nations.
