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He grunted, standing, his shadow falling long across the chamber. "Kaien may yet be right. We hold steady. We bleed Konoha slowly. When their Hokage comes, we'll be ready."
That night, Kaien dozed against Aya's chest, pacifier slipping loose, scrolls scattered around him. In sleep, he murmured nonsense words mixed with fragments of chakra theory, as if even his dreams were filled with seals and energy. Aya brushed a strand of hair from his face and whispered, "Rest, my little storm. You need it with putting too much brain into the war."
--
Morning in Kumogakure began with thunder. Not from the clouds—though they always seemed to hang heavy above the mountains—but from the voice of Renga echoing through the Raikage's council chamber.
"Confirmed," he said, holding the parchment with stiff fingers. "Ōhnoki himself issued the command. All Iwa shinobi are ordered to flee on sight from Konoha's Yellow Flash. That's not a battlefield rumor. That's doctrine."
The 3rd Raikage's eyes narrowed like storm cracks in stone. His massive frame leaned forward, muscles tightening against the desk. "Flee? Not fight? He's given one man the authority of a battalion."
Aya scoffed, sparks of lightning chakra snapping off her shoulders. "A flashy nickname. Maybe the man is fast. But there's no one alive faster than me when my armor is lit. Don't tell me Ōhnoki would throw away his pride to name Konoha's lapdog after speed."
Renga hesitated, then added, "From spies in Waterfall, we've learned Iwa has gained ground against Konoha. Not enough to crush them, but enough to matter. Yet this order was issued after that gain. Which means they aren't boasting. They're scared."
For a moment, silence settled in the chamber. Only the scratching sound of a pacifier against Kaien's teeth broke it. The boy sat on the floor, a scroll clutched in his tiny hands, pretending not to listen. But his eyes darted between each speaker.
Aya cracked her knuckles. "So, either the so-called Yellow Flash is dead and the order's a trick to bait Kumo. Or he's alive, but recalled to defend their our front. The timing's too convenient—Konoha's heavy losses, and suddenly their 'hero' vanishes? Feels like misinformation."
That was when Kaien's pacifier slipped from his lips. His small voice, clear as glass, cut through the room.
"…No. Mama, what if it's worse?"
The boy looked up. His hair was messy, his cheeks still round with youth, but his eyes—those were sharp, uncomfortably sharp for someone barely past his first year.
"What if the Yellow Flash isn't just fast? What if he doesn't run, he moves? Teleports. In an instant. That's why Ōhnoki can't risk his men. You can't fight someone you can't catch."
The words hung heavy. Bee blinked, halfway through a rhyme that died in his throat. Aya, leaning against the wall, froze as if the child's voice had cut the air.
Kaien pressed on, his tone unchildlike, eerie in its calm. "If the yellow flash been pulled from Iwa, then maybe it isn't because he lost. Maybe it's because Konoha is sending him here. To Hot Water. To take back what we bled them for. Maybe…" He hesitated, small lips pressing thin. "…maybe their own beast host is coming too. And if their Hokage himself comes, then everything we built with the ore, all of it, could vanish."
The 3rd Raikage's face shifted—just a flicker, but enough. His jaw tightened, his fists clenched. It was not fear, not quite. It was recognition. Recognition that a one-year-old had just voiced what every veteran in the room dared not speak.
Aya whispered, almost to herself, "He's only guessing. They could be completely wrong and we could be worrying for nothing. But every word makes sense."
The Raikage rose in one motion, towering over them all. His voice was iron. "Renga. Fetch the Kohaku no Jōhei."
That name alone brought a hush. The amber purification jar, one of the Sage's relics, a weapon capable of sealing even tailed beasts. It had been kept locked in the village vaults for generations, considered too dangerous to wield recklessly.
"Lord Raikage," Renga began, uncertain, "if we use it openly, the other villages will—"
"They will know we do not play with toys. Prepare your jutsu. We leave for Hot Water by foot."
Kaien, still on the floor, tilted his head. "No. You should seal their beast host and have Uncle Renga transport it back here. Safer. And faster. For that Uncle Renga should also go to the battlefield."
The Raikage turned. His voice rumbled low. "How do you know what that jar does?"
Kaien shifted guiltily, reaching behind a scroll pile and pulling out a worn book. One of the forbidden texts his grandfather thought locked away. He hugged it to his chest like a guilty toy.
The Raikage exhaled slowly, then looked to Aya. "Hold the village while I'm gone."
Aya nodded, though her hand instinctively pulled Kaien close. For all his brilliance, he was still her baby.
And so the Raikage and Renga departed, the Kohaku no Jōhei strapped to their backs, thunder rolling with their steps toward the Hot Water battlefield.
--
Meanwhile at Hot Water
Kumo's base at Hot Water was supposed to be secure. Reinforced, supplied, its shinobi battle-hardened after months of attrition. But security meant nothing when death arrived in a flash of light.
It began at dawn. Kunai rained from nowhere, each etched with a strange seal. The next heartbeat, yellow streaks tore through the camp, and men were falling with their throats opened before they even drew weapons.
"Enemy attack!" voices screamed. "Konoha!"
Minato Namikaze appeared among them like lightning incarnate, his eyes calm, deadly. And beside him—red chains whipping, chakra flaring like fire—stood Kushina Uzumaki, tails of crimson chakra snapping in the air. Her voice was a harsh bark. "Push forward! Seal the supply tents!"
Four hundred Konoha shinobi surged behind them.
Ay, younger but still ferocious, roared as his lightning armor burst alive. "Konoha brat!" He charged, the ground splitting under his steps. Minato flickered away in a blink, reappearing behind him, only for Ay to twist with reflexive speed. Their clashes were sparks and thunder, each testing the other.