Naruto woke up in his bed. It was morning and the sun was shining brightly outside. They had been provided two spare rooms in Tazuna's house to stay and slept on the floor with bedding. The rest of the bedding was empty, everyone was already awake and probably having meals. Naruto also quickly got up and rushed toward the dining table of the house.
He was right, everyone was seated at the table and eating food silently, while Maximus was having a brief conversation with Tazuna. As Naruto entered the room, the Roman turned to look at him and spoke,
"You finally woke up." Kakashi dismissed him and replied,
"It's okay, yesterday's training went hard on them. They needed rest." Naruto seated himself on the table while Maximus' attention went back to Tazuna,
"So, doesn't your Daimyo do anything about these thugs?" Tazuna kept on eating while speaking without looking up,
"He would've, but he's essentially powerless. I remember that life on this island was better before the Second Ninja World War when Shinobi from Uzu maintained order here. But after the village's destruction, this was just a poor, lawless land. Even the few Samurai on the payroll of the Daimyo are too corrupt to care. And besides, he is yet to look into these matters after taxing the hell out of us." Maximus gave a nod of understanding, the man liked such talks related to politics as Naruto knew. He had visited the Roman's apartment a few times and had seen only books covering a quarter of the house.
"About the Second Ninja World War, what happened to the Whirlpool Daimyo after Uzu's fall?" Maximus kept questioning out of curiosity, the scrolls he had found hosted plentiful knowledge but still weren't enough. Kakashi and Sasuke also showed slight hints of interest in the topic, only they had the brains to understand all this. Tazuna again replied,
"I am not certain of it, he was either taken prisoner or killed himself by Seppuku, honorable suicide. But whatever happened to him, it is certain that his young son was installed on the throne and became a puppet of Kirigakure."
"So that's how Kiri acquired so many sealing techniques," Kakashi commented, Maximus nodded in agreement.
After this, everyone ate in silence and quickly finished their meals. Kakashi got up and started walking towards the door,
"Maximus and team seven, follow me. We've gotta meet with someone." Maximus and the others also quickly got up and followed Kakashi outside.
In the street
Maximus and team seven followed Kakashi, who led them toward the coast of the town.
"I still don't understand Kakashi sensei, who are we to meet?" Naruto asked impatiently, Kakashi turned his eyes and replied while walking,
"The Romans. They're here to help us." Sasuke looked up,
"But why?"
"Well, they wanna acquire this island. We will help them in dealing with the shinobi on Gato's payroll." Everyone was satisfied and kept on walking.
After walking for a few minutes, the shinobi spotted the Roman soldiers and a lot of activity in the distance. As they got near, they saw that the Roman soldiers were handing out rations of grain and vegetables to the people. A good strategy to earn the support of the masses. Kakashi approached a group of soldiers talking amongst themselves,
"Can you tell us where your commander is" The soldiers looked at Kakashi, they seemed puzzled. The masked ninja repeated his question but again got no answer. Maximus sighed, and gently pushed Kakashi back. He approached the soldiers. He pointed toward his Konoha headband wrapped around his arm and spoke,
"Ubi est dux tuus?" The soldiers nodded and pointed towards a place near the outskirts of the town and spoke a few words in Latin to Maximus. The latter gave them a friendly smile and then looked back towards his team,
"They're on the outskirts of the town, near the woods." He started walking towards where the soldiers had pointed, and the others followed him.
"What're they doing in the forest?" Sakura asked sheepishly,
"We can only know once we get there," Maximus replied. There was silence for a brief while, Kakashi looked back toward the group of Roman soldiers and spoke,
"Communication is gonna be hard with the Romans." Maximus noticed this and replied,
"All the higher officials and commanders can speak our language. But most common soldiers can't, so you'll need me around."
"Seems like it," Kakashi commented and continued walking.
As the group neared their destination, they could see several large tents pitched near the forest. As they kept walking, they were intercepted by a legionary who questioned them, Maximus talked to him for a while and then the situation seemed to clear.
"We can proceed," Maximus spoke and bid the others follow him. Just then, they heard a loud sound, like a small explosion coming from the direction they were heading. The shinobi quickened their pace, concerned and curious about the sound. But as they came closer, the sounds kept coming after short intervals and ever louder.
But when they reached the place, they only found Marcus, Severus, and several other soldiers with odd-looking wooden pipes in their hands. In front of them, a dozen thugs were chained to wooden poles and their mouths also bound. Behind them were also targets made of sacks stuffed with sand, and the governor was pointing the wooden pipes towards the target. He pulled the trigger, and half a second later there was a clear and deep hole in the target and the same loud noise came, which they had heard while coming here.
One of the thugs shrieked, as the projectile narrowly missed him and hit the target behind. Team 7 looked at the 'pipe' with awe and curiosity, while Kakashi and Maximus approached the two commanders. The former spoke first,
"Greetings, lord governor, we are the Konoha shinobi sent to assist you." Marcus smiled while looking at Kakashi and replied,
"Kakashi of the Sharingan, it's good to see you again. As well as you, Maximus." The governor looked at Maximus, who greeted him with a smile. Marcus now turned to face Severus while pointing his hands toward the shinobi,
"These are the Konoha ninja who're here to assist us." Severus tilted his head to look at Kakashi, who gave a slight bow of respect. Severus nodded in acknowledgment and then walked toward the two,
"I have no doubts you'll be helpful here in dealing with the rogue shinobi." Saying this, Severus turned back and slowly started walking back towards the pipe-like weapon. Brutus informed Kakashi and Maximus,
"Well then, now that I have introduced you to Severus I should get going," Maximus asked,
"Where?" Brutus crossed his arms and replied,
"Well, I just need to inform the Daimyo of this land that he isn't the one in charge anymore. Commander Severus will be the one directing affairs here for the time, as my ASSISTANT." Brutus intentionally spoke the last sentence loudly enough for Severus to hear, and slightly rotated his head to see the old commander. The latter turned back to look at the governor with the pipe-like weapon in hand, his face told that he would've surely shot Marcus then and there if they had been alone. Marcus turned back and chuckled lightly while continuing,
"Don't mind him, he simply can't swallow the fact that someone younger than him will be his superior. But he's friendly enough and decisive as a commander, you'll get used to him like I did." Saying this the governor departed toward the place where the horses were tied, and in five minutes he set off with a hundred elite soldiers inland.
Kakashi and Maximus now got near Severus, and Maximus asked,
"Who're these guys tied to the poles?" Severus put aside the weapon he was using and took up another one. Swiping its barrel with a piece of cloth, he replied without looking up,
"Gato's thugs, we caught them early in the morning, trying to extort the townsfolk for money." However, Kakashi's interest lies elsewhere. He pointed towards the gun Severus was polishing and asked,
"What's this weapon?" Severus turned his eyes to meet Kakashi's for a moment, then turned back while speaking,
"It's hard to explain plainly how this thing works, but I'll explain what it does. This is called a musket, it uses gunpowder to shoot projectiles at great speed and can pierce through almost anything. The best thing? No real skills are needed to use it, you just need a good shoulder."
Kakashi and Maximus examined the rack nearby, with the same weapons called 'muskets' placed on it. Severus noticed this and spoke to them,
"You may try them, but first send the children away." By 'children', Severus meant Team Seven. Kakashi approached them and briefly told them that he needed to talk with Severus about some important matters and that they should go back to Tazuna who was overseeing the construction of the bridge. The genins were disappointed but still obeyed their captain.
The first to go was Maximus who took the weapon Severus had been polishing and had loaded and aimed it. But before he could shoot at anything or anyone, Severus spoke calmly,
"Why don't we conduct our interrogation at the same time? I'll ask them questions, and if they refuse you'll shoot them. Got a problem with that boy?" Maximus smiled and replied,
"Don't worry, I've already 'vanquished' dozens of bandits and rogues on missions. This won't be hard for me." Severus laughed,
"Ah yes, 'vanquished' will be the decent term. But now, we should start our interrogation."
Severus walked up to the first man and untied his mouth,
"So, where is this Gato currently?" The man, a thin guy with a small stubble and cropped hair, didn't speak. It couldn't be said whether it was out of loyalty for his boss or fear. But whatever the case, Maximus pulled the musket's trigger and a second later blood was flowing from the man's chest. The thug gave a small scream but said nothing more. Severus walked up to the next one,
"Will you talk?" The man gave a desperate nod, and Severus untied his mouth. The tied man first took a deep breath, he was a more or less fat person with a bald head and mild stubble.
"Boss is in a coastal town in the Land of Fire, not far from here."
"How much exactly?" Severus spoke coldly,
"About 4 kilometers. He went there yesterday." Severus closed his eyes in thought and then moved on to the next.
"How many shinobi do you have?" The man didn't speak, he simply didn't know. But before Severus could say anything, a bullet flew by him and hit the tied man in the chest. Severus turned to look at Maximus,
"I hadn't ordered yet." Maximus relaxed his stance and replied,
"It wasn't me." Severus' mood turned to light, and he spoke,
"Then it must be Narses."
"Who?"
Maximus slightly turned his head to see the figure of a man briskly jogging towards them. In a minute, he was standing beside Maximus. He had straight brunette hair, a clean-shaven face with a sharp jawline, brown eyes, and an undeniable Caucasian look. The man had approximately the same height as Maximus, was lean, and was about nineteen years old. He wore light armor held a musket in his hand, and was the one who'd shot the man.
"That was an excellent shot from that distance." Severus looked at the man and smiled while clasping his hands. The man also smiled and replied,
"I am still testing the weapon, to see if it suits me. The range is very long but the reload time is too long as compared to a bow." Severus nodded and pointed towards Maximus and Kakashi,
"I'd like to introduce you to the shinobi who's here to assist us." The young man turned to face Maximus, and gave a friendly smile,
"Name's Narses, good to see you." Narses protruded his arm, Maximus took it and both men shook hands,
"My name's Julius Maximus, good to see you too." Narses raised an eyebrow,
"So you're the governor's nephew? Well, it's good that I didn't decide to shoot you." Maximus chuckled,
"Yeah. By the way, what's up with your armor?" Narses got back and examined himself,
"What?"
"It isn't proper legionary armor, not even complete armor. I'm sure they provide all the equipment in the military garrisons." Narses showed the musket he was holding and began to explain,
"Well, I'm not a legionary. I am an archer, a sharpshooter to be precise, one of the best you'll find. Soldiers the likes of me stay behind the lines, or snipe the enemy from a distance; so we're not given heavy armor as we're not gonna engage in direct combat. And besides, it hinders my mobility."
"That explains it,"
As the two men thus conversed, a soldier came running towards the four men. He first bowed to Severus then spoke hurriedly while out of breath,
"Sir, Gato's men have attacked the engineer and the workers. The three shinobi present there are not enough to stop them." Severus mood turned serious, he looked at Kakashi and spoke to him,
"You and Maximus go help the shinobi, I'll be coming with the rest of the soldiers in a few minutes." Kakashi nodded and bid Maximus follow him, and in a moment both shinobi were out of Severus' sight. The commander himself went around the camp, gathering soldiers to follow him.