A, the Raikage, sat in his seat, gritting his teeth. He was in the council room, and in front of him were seated the councilors, elders, and other high officials of Kumogakure. The whole room was quiet, and nobody made a single sound. Only the Raikage was grunting in anger and breathing heavily. The reason for this tense situation was that the news of the loss of Turtle Island had finally reached Kumogakure. The Raikage, who had a reputation for being ill-tempered and irritable, was unusually calm this time, but his anger could burst out any second.
The Raikage's closest advisor and assistant finally broke the silence in a calm voice, but revealed slight hints of fear and worry,
"S-so, Lord Raikage, how should we handle this situation?" The Raikage remained quiet, while another councilor spoke in a low voice,
"I think we should proceed with the attack on Konoha, it will weaken Konoha and prevent them from any offensive maneuvers against us." Another councilor objected,
"We should propose a peace treaty with Konoha and Rome. Hiruzen prioritizes peace above everything, so we can settle this conflict without any loss, like how the third Hokage ended the third great ninja war with such terms even when they were about to win."
"We can't trust the Romans however, those outsiders will not settle with a mere truce. They won't be content even if we empty our treasury before them." Killer Bee, who had escaped Turtle Island shortly before its fall, and went back to Kumogakure, sharply objected,
"We ain't cowards, to be scared so easily! We will keep fighting till the last man and the last breath."
The Raikage quietly listened, as the council debated the next move. But suddenly, he spoke in a calm but irritated voice,
"All of you leave, I want to think about this." The councilors looked at each other at first, but this time the Raikage thundered,
"Didn't you hear me? LEAVE!" This roaring command was enough for the councilors to quickly leave their seats, and hurry outside. The Raikage sat quietly in the empty council room, in thought. The meeting room was on the second floor of the Raikage building, it had windows on three sides, through which came sunshine. There were electric lights in the room, there was a rectangular table in the middle, and chairs around it.
Suddenly, the lights in the room went off, and a figure appeared before the Raikage. He was standing at the other end of the room, only his clothes visible, which was a long black cloak with designs of red clouds on it. The Raikage got up from his seat and sternly questioned,
"Who's there?" The figure came forward, where its face was now visible in the sunlight coming through the windows. The man wore an orange mask with circular designs, leading down to only one eyehole. The figure slowly walked forward, and spoke in a cold voice,
"Greetings, Lord Raikage. It seems you aren't in a good mood today." The Raikage asked again, now preparing for an attack,
"Answer the question, who are you? And how did you get inside?" The man slowly walked closer to A, and spoke in a careless voice,
"You're asking too many questions, Lord Raikage. Let's start with only one." As the masked man spoke, the Raikage suddenly disappeared in front of him, and the next second he was behind the masked man, entirely covered with glowing Lightning chakra and prepared to land a punch on the masked man's head. A proceeded with his attack, but his fist went right through the masked man's body, and the latter disappeared into what seemed a portal emerging from his eyes. The Raikage was puzzled and angry at the same time when the masked man appeared behind A and placed a kunai on his neck and a movement restriction seal on his chest. Immediately, the Raikage found himself unable to move. Full of rage, he used all his might to move his hand and managed to get away from the masked man, now face-to-face with him. The latter chuckled, and spoke,
"It's amusing, how the Raikage of Kumogakure could've been neutralized so easily. But don't perceive this is all the strength I have, for I could've performed a clean cut through your neck at that moment, and I can do it again."
The Raikage calmed down a little and left his battle stance. The masked man spoke again,
"I came here to discuss something with you." The Raikage, still angry and alert, replied,
"What is it?"
"It is related to the war your village is currently involved in." The masked man now took a few steps back and sat on the edge of the rectangular table. A too, sat back in his seat. The former continued,
"I mean to propose an offer on behalf of an organization called the Akatsuki, which is made up of powerful ninjas like Itachi Uchiha, Kisame Hoshigaki, Sasori, and Deidara. We are willing to help you in this war and destroy Konoha for good. We can also help you acquire the Hyuga blood, which you crave so much."
"And what are your demands?" A questioned sternly, the masked man spoke in his calm manner,
"We demand that we receive portions of the two and eight-tailed beasts, which are in your possession." A furrowed his eyebrows, he wasn't too keen on the demands. Noticing this, the masked man continued,
"Come on, Lord Raikage. The process won't harm your brother or the other jinchuriki. Besides, the tailed beasts already have outstanding amounts of chakra, and remember sharing is caring."
"Anything else?" The Raikage demanded in an impatient and angry tone,
"There was another demand, Lord Raikage. Since our organization is made up of S-tier rogue shinobi, we want your solemn promise that Kumogakure will not partake in any action against the Akatsuki whatsoever."
The Raikage could sense a grin from under the mask of the man, and he did not give a reply to the offer. Seeing this, the masked man informed,
"I see, you need time to properly think about this. No worries, you have time to do so until tomorrow sunset, if you agree to the offer meet me in the abandoned mineshaft north of Kumogakure, no. 26 to be exact. And come alone."
Before the masked man could leave using his teleportation jutsu, however, A questioned him,
"But, who even are you?" The masked man looked straight into the Raikage's face, and the latter could see a red glow through the orange mask's eyehole, like a Sharingan. The masked man finally replied,
"I am the ghost of the Uchiha, Madara Uchiha." Saying this, the masked man disappeared using his teleportation jutsu. While the Raikage sat back in his seat, trying to comprehend this new information.
In the Hokage's office
The Hokage office looked just as usual, with windows on three sides, electric lights around, and several closets and tables stuffed with files. The Hokage sat in his usual seat, with some paperwork on his desk, and in front of him was seated Marcus Julius Brutus, the Roman governor. Hiruzen casually smoked his cigar and spoke,
"Well, lord governor, how has your campaign been going on?" Marcus gave a smile of satisfaction, and replied,
"It has proceeded well. Our men have captured Turtle Island, and also destroyed and plundered many towns and villages of the enemy, crippling their economy." Hiruzen wasn't so keen on the 'destruction of villages and towns', but it was pleasing to hear that their allies were winning. Marcus continued speaking,
"There was another matter I wished to talk to you about, lord Hokage."
"Yes, what shall we discuss?" Marcus leaned back on his seat, in a more eased posture, and started speaking,
"The thing is that we Romans have been winning this war, and any conflict we engaged in that included shinobi. Our advantages were in advanced battle technology, equipment of far superior quality, discipline, and sheer numbers. However, during these conflicts, we have incurred outstanding casualties in ratio to that of our foes. Not that it affects our military much, but every life matters. That is why we've come to a decision.
You see lord Hokage, Rome has survived as a sovereign and thriving state for so long because we adapt to every challenge. In the same way, we are trying to adapt to the Shinobi Continent as well. The Roman military has a wing known as the auxiliary, which is a force of non-Roman soldiers who are skilled in the traditional warfare of their culture. So, we are going to recruit auxiliary units of shinobi from our territories here in the Shinobi Continent, and we require your help with that." Hiruzen raised an eyebrow,
"What sort of assistance?" Marcus continued,
"You see, we have noticed that Konoha has produced excellent shinobi throughout its history, ensuring its position as the most powerful political entity in this Continent. We will need the help of your Shinobi mentors to train an auxiliary force of ninjas. We are ready to pay for it." Hiruzen lowered his eyes to the desk and thought for a moment. He spoke after a brief pause,
"Of course, we are ready to help you without taking anything in return. Take this as a gesture of goodwill as allies. But obviously after the war." Brutus smiled, and replied,
"We're grateful to you, lord Hokage, I'm sure we can repay the favor sometime in the future." Hiruzen's curiosity had been aroused, and he inquired further,
"So, can you tell me a little more about this new policy of yours?" Marcus began to speak,
"Well, we will first heavily advertise this policy, spreading the news in the entire territory. The second step will be to establish training camps around the province with the help of the mentors you provide, and after the training, we must assimilate them into the Roman military structure. Our main goal is to attract former shinobi and mercenaries, and also those with the potential to be ninjas.
The rewards are as usual for auxiliaries: Roman citizenship, a decent salary in stipends throughout the year, all their basic needs taken care of, and a chance to increase their social status through military service. After retirement, an honorable discharge, a plot of land, a decade's worth of pay as a pension (per their position before retirement), and their social status are elevated forever. That is if they survive until retirement." Both men gave a small chuckle, but then Hiruzen questioned again,
"What is the matter with this citizenship you speak of?"
"Oh well, it is just a legal document proving you're a Roman and a citizen of Rome. Citizenship has many benefits, as you will have benefits in court, be able to vote, get public offices, own property, marriage rights, inheritance rights, be eligible for subsidies, stand for elections, and enlist in the legions." Hiruzen was surprised,
"So, who are non-citizens?"
"In the eyes of the Roman law, they are just people who inhabit our territory. They have basic rights of freedom, but not on the same level as citizens. But you needn't worry, citizenship can be acquired through any form of loyal service to the Roman state. Engineers get citizenship for consistently helping in public projects, merchants for helping in supplying our legions, etc. other than military service. Citizenship officially grants you the status of being a Roman, despite your original roots. So once your paperwork is completed you'll suddenly know Latin, be wearing a toga, drinking wine, worshipping our gods, and become descendants of Romulus.
Don't be surprised, lord Hokage. Rome was established by the Romans, for the Romans. Society has always been unequal, but ours allows you to climb the ladder if you're talented."
The two men sat in silence for some time, Hiruzen thinking about the information he had learned just now, and Marcus glancing around Konohagakure through the office windows. The silence was broken by a knock on the door, Hiruzen ordered the man to come in.
Marcus turned his seat to see a butler in formal clothes, a bald head, mild stubble, and slightly overweight, bringing a drink on a tray. The butler walked towards the desk, quietly served the Hokage and Marcus a white drink in glasses, and left after bowing to both of them. Hiruzen smiled and raised his glass,
"This is sake, an intoxicating beverage of our land. How about a toast to our alliance?" Marcus also chuckled,
"No offense, lord Hokage. You're old but haven't lost the spirit of youth." The glasses clanked, and the two men drank from their glasses, chatting a bit more. After the meeting had ended, turning into what seemed to be a conversation between two long-lost friends, the two slightly drunk men bid each other farewell, and Marcus left the Hokage building for the residence he had been provided for his time in Konoha.
It was almost sunset now, and darkness had started to cover the entire village, and the streets were lit up by electric lights. The sun was seemingly setting behind the Hokage monuments, creating a wonderful sight. Marcus, who was in his usual black suit, walked down the streets of Konoha alone, slightly drunk after the meeting with the Hokage, his bodyguard of two hundred men was assisting the already stationed Roman cohort in preparing the village's defenses. He was getting a few stares and looks, but nothing out of the ordinary, it was probably because of his 'odd' clothing and slight drunkenness.
As Marcus was walking down a broad street, he noticed that people were suddenly avoiding him, and giving him stares; their eyes speaking of disgust and hatred. Marcus looked around, he had a slightly bent posture and hands in his pockets, unlike his usually straight and disciplined manner. He soon realized that the civilians weren't avoiding him, but a little boy. The boy had spiky, blonde hair, a small body, cerulean blue eyes, and three whisker marks on either of his cheeks, like those of a fox. The boy wore a pale yellow tunic with a swirly red symbol on it and green pants. The boy was quietly walking down the street, his face lowered down to the ground, and clear sadness on it. Marcus approaches the boy,
"Hey, young man, what seems to be the matter?" The boy seems slightly scared, and speaks after a few seconds, without looking up,
"The people hate me, without any reason." The boy spoke in a sad, childish, and straightforward manner, Marcus raised an eyebrow,
"Well, that's not nice to hear. By the way, are you hungry? I am." The boy finally looked up at Marcus, his face now with a face and some shine on it. Marcus took this as a yes and told the kid to follow him.
Twenty Minutes later
Marcus and the child were sitting in a food stall, eating ramen from a bowl, and chatting. It was dark now, probably 7 o'clock, and the street was starting to become quiet, as the people went back to their homes. The boy slurped the noodles with delight, while Marcus used a fork that he always carried.
"So, you say this is your favorite place?" The boy gave a nod while eating, Marcus continued questioning,
"Oh, I forgot to ask your name. What is it?" The boy looked at Marcus and replied,
"I am Naruto Uzumaki." Marcus nodded and continued eating while looking at the fishcake in the Ramen. Who'd name their kid after fishcake? Marcus inquired further, still curious about the boy,
"So, Naruto, where do you live?" Naruto kept on eating while speaking, he had become quite open with the governor by now,
"In an apartment near the Hokage building. I live with my elder sister." Marcus wondered, why only his sister? Should he ask the boy about his parents? But that didn't seem right to ask if what Marcus thought was true. So he kept us his usual questions and chatting. The boy had been despised and bullied by the villagers ever since he had started venturing out of his house, but he knew not the reason. By now, the governor had also become quite sober. He wished to talk a bit more, but noticed the dark outside, spoke,
"Well then, Naruto Uzumaki, it was a nice time with you. You should go home now, it is getting dark." Saying this, Marcus got up from his seat, paid the bill for their orders, and walked out of the stall, followed by the way. The two went separate ways after a goodbye and walked towards opposite streets.
As Marcus finally reached his guest house, the guards questioned him worriedly,
"Where have you been sir? We were about to start looking for you."
"Nothing, just exploring the village and making new friends." Marcus waved him off and walked toward his room, lying down on his bed. He thought about the boy, and decided to inquire about him from the Hokage out of pure curiosity. But soon, sleep got the better of him.
Author's notes
Yes, I do plan to incorporate shinobi into the Roman military structure. Only iron cuts iron. But that doesn't mean I will be completely sidelining the traditional warfare of the Romans, I plan to carry them side by side in this fanfic.
Do write a review if you've read this far, and suggestions are always welcome :)