But for now, he studied the parchment before him. A report from a spy in the Land of Waterfalls. Frequent skirmishes between Konoha and Iwa forces in Kusagakure territory. Both sides careful to keep the flames out of their own lands, too drained from the last war to endure another full front. He tapped the edge of the paper with one thick finger.
"We could step in," Renga said quietly. "But the moment we do, we declare to both sides that Kumo is willing to bleed again."
"And we can't rely on the Daimyō to pay for the bleeding," the Raikage said without looking up. "Every ryo they had spare was drained in the last war."
"Then take from the enemy," Ay pressed. "We've done it before."
No one spoke for a while after that. The office felt smaller, the air heavy. Aya's arms tightened protectively around Kaien.
Kaien had been silent this whole time, eyes moving between each speaker, absorbing tone and posture as much as words. War. Supplies. Enemies. Any information about the war, as it mentioned in great detail in canon.
Finally, the stillness broke not from the Raikage, not from Ay, not from the assistant, but from a voice no one expected.
A small, trembling sound.
"Wh… what is waar?"
It was light, hesitant, the syllables rounded by baby softness.
Everyone turned.
Aya blinked down at her son in disbelief. She had been waiting for his first words to be mother, maybe Aya. But war? Her lips parted, but no answer came. The shock was not in the word itself—she knew Kumo children as young as three sometimes held weapons—but in the timing. He had heard the word enough to make it his first.
B let out a low whistle. "Storm's little sprout, speakin' right out. First words hit like a lightning bout."
Ay gave a short laugh, but it was humor edged with something else. "Guess he's listening closer than we thought."
Aya smoothed a hand over Kaien's hair, her throat tightening. She had wanted to shield him from this, at least until he was walking. But she knew too well—ignorance could kill faster than steel in this land.
"War," she said slowly, as if tasting the word herself, "is… when villages fight. When people hurt each other to take what they want, or protect what they have."
Kaien watched her face, reading every small flicker of hesitation.
"It's dangerous," she went on, voice softening. "It's… why your uncle trains so hard. Why your grandfather works late. And why I…" She stopped herself. No need to finish that thought, not here.
Raikage spoke up gently, as if offering her an escape. "It's when clouds gather," he said, meeting Kaien's gaze. "And lightning strikes until one side can't stand anymore."
Aya kissed her son's forehead again, but there was no teasing in it now.
The Raikage finally leaned back in his chair, eyes narrowing slightly at the boy. There was something in his gaze not suspicion, exactly, but recognition. Kaien met it without flinching.
"War," the Raikage said, voice deep and steady, "is the price people pay when talking is not enough. When resources are not available equal. When one has more than others. When they fear"
And with that, he returned his attention to the reports, the matter settled for now.
--
Aya lifted Kaien closer, brushing her nose against his hair. "Don't you worry about that now," she murmured, her teasing tone returning for his sake. "You've got more important things to do. Like figuring out if you want to walk before you talk. and Don't you go asking for a sword yet,"
Kaien blinked, as if to say both, actually.
"Mm, stubborn," she teased. "Must get that from your uncle Ay."
Ay scoffed. "From you, more like."
Killer B chuckled and did his usual, "Lil' cloud's first word ain't 'mom' or 'dad,' but 'war'? Man, that's rad. Guess he's destined for the battlefield fad."
The tension in the air finally loosening.
Renga cleared his throat. "Lord Raikage, regardless of whether we join the conflict, our resource problem won't solve itself. If we wait too long, we risk entering the next war already weakened."
The 3rd Raikage leaned back in his chair, his voice quiet but decisive. "We will watch. Let Konoha and Iwa bleed each other. If the opportunity comes to strike without overextending ourselves, we take it. But not before."
Ay looked dissatisfied but didn't argue. Aya simply held Kaien tighter.
The rest of the meeting shifted to supply chains, repair costs, and covert missions. Killer B tossed in the occasional rhyme to keep the air from turning too heavy. Aya kept teasing Kaien, tickling under his chin until he made small, breathy laughs. Even Renga, who almost never smiled, glanced over more than once.
And though the discussion was about war. Kaien said nothing more. But in his small chest, the word war echoed, heavy and cold. And though no one could see it, somewhere in the back of his young mind, plans were already taking root.