_________ POV Narration _________

Ken stopped just short of bumping into the Raikage.

No one had really stopped him or even tried to talk to him after the funeral was over, which was to be expected.

Although he had helped the Raikage and A, he was still technically an outsider.

It wasn't like he would've had it any other way. He wouldn't have minded if he wasn't invited to the funeral at all, but life had its own ideas.

Just like the Raikage seemed to have his own when stopping Ken with a hurried/worried look.

"Sure. We can talk a bit."

Ken ended up just nodding to the Raikage's request for a conversation.

The Raikage then looked around, realizing that their interaction had attracted quite a few gazes before his attention settled on the Blind Assassin in front of him.

"It might be better if we do this in my office."

To that, Ken only nodded and felt the Raikage sprint towards the Kage Building.

Before anyone around them could even react, he also turned into a blur and followed the Raikage's steps.

Ken paid no mind to the reactions of the people that had attended the funeral, he just rushed into the Raikage's office without any worry.

None of the Anbu guarding the building stopped him either, and the Raikage was already inside waiting for him.

He wasn't sitting in his chair, he was merely leaning on the table, one hand on the back of his neck while the other was still missing.

Ken walked into the office without bothering to put his mask back on, his face wasn't displaying any emotions, however.

He could somewhat guess why the Raikage was wanting to speak with him.

He appreciated the fact that Mabui had at least waited since after the funeral, but it was likely just done out of consideration for the event.

Ken cracked his shoulder as he slowly walked up to the Raikage and crossed his arms.

"So, what is it? Do you have a job for the Brotherhood?"

He still decided to start the conversation in a light tone. throw the ball in the Raikge's court so to say.

Ken was curious about what the man would feel.

He didn't think his age was that big of an issue personally. But that was because he knew he was way older mentally than physically.

Outwardly, it certainly looked a lot worse. The entire shinobi world had been shaken up by a child.

Which was why the Raikage had to confirm it, to make absolutely sure that Mabui wasn't making any mistakes.

"I think you already know what this is about... The conversation you had with Mabui before coming to the funeral." The Raikage seemed determined to get right to the point.

Ken just nodded when hearing that.

"Figures..."

The Blind Assassin would've rolled his eyes if he had any.

The Raikage didn't seem to be in the mood for jokes, however.

"So it's true then? Are you really only 13?"

His serious tone only got a tired sigh from Ken, who decided to just confirm it in the end. He did consider playing around with the Raikage and Gaslighting Mabui for fun, but he decided that it would ultimately be a waste of everyone's time.

He had revealed his age for a reason in the first place.

It was about time that the world learned about his talent. They already knew of his power, now they were to learn of his potential for growth, far exceeding that of regular humans.

"Yes. I hope that reveal won't be an issue for any future cooperation, right?" Ken crossed his arms and tilted his head towards the Raikage.

All of a sudden, his mannerisms started looking child-like in the Raikage's eyes. And he slowly pieced together the puzzle that had been unfolding in his mind.

Child-like or not, the Raikage couldn't bring himself to look down on Ken, who was by all accounts one of the strongest people alive at that time.

And his services had also never let the Raikage down in the past. So it was safe to say that his answer was going to be obvious.

"It won't affect our cooperation in the future. But your age does raise quite a few concerns regarding your mental state and upbringing..."

The Raikage sighed as he now no longer tried to hide the concern in his gaze.

"You shouldn't be concerned for me, Lord Raikage... I've been operating for years without any issues."

Ken's gruff voice sounded reassuring to the Raikage, but what he said still seemed strange.

"That's part of the issue. You've been operating for years, but you're only 13... Did you even have a childhood?"

"My past should be of no concern to you..." Ken was going to say a few more things, but he stopped himself at some point.

He felt the Raikage's genuine emotion, and even to him, it felt weird simply letting it go... He could put that to good use.

"But I did have a childhood... All the way up till I was 8 even. Much more than some other children I would say."

Ken sighed as he remembered those early days.

It wasn't like he experienced actual child-like wonder. Nor did he have the mind of a child.

But he still had felt the protection of parental figures, something that he had sorely lacked in his past life.

"You started making a name for yourself at 10, right?...

Usually, children at that age are still in the academy.

Even Genin are usually only given simple missions, so they get to enjoy their childhoods to some extent..."

It was a bit concerning that Ken was already hunting down S-Rank Shinobi when he was 10.

Sure, the chances that he encountered a true S rank were slim, but he had still hunted down plenty of Elite Jonin in that time.

The S rank was a rank given to high-profile criminals or threats to a Land. But only the strong got to live while having that rank.

The reward from A Rank to S Rank rose exponentially, so one could guess that there were countless shinobi and bounty hunters going after them at all times.

Ken had started off as one of those bounty hunters, at the age of 10. That was concerning in of itself, but he had also faced off against an entire Hidden Village at around that age.

All in all, the Raikage had to face a rather bitter truth...

'Ken has the potential to grow exponentially stronger than I am... Hell, he may already be stronger than me...'

The Raikage could face off against the 8 Tails and win repeatedly, sure. But he was not confident in cutting the 7 Tails in two with one strike alone.

Maybe he could pierce through it, but it was always annoying to deal damage to Tailed Beasts. They technically couldn't die if they still had chakra.

Somehow, Ken had managed to overcome that Regeneration and killed it in one strike.

As the Raikage was pondering on how Ken might've been able to do that. The Blind Assassin decided to latch onto something that the Village Leader had claimed.

"Oh? Children and even Genin get to have a childhood?"

The Raikage perked up once more when he heard that question, confusion etched in his eyes and soul.

He was about to open his mouth and reaffirm his previous statement, but Ken didn't even give him a chance.

"Would you like to wager a guess... regarding the number of dead child soldiers I've run into on my way to this funeral?"

Ken's words seemed to have caught the Raikage off guard completely.

The large man opened his mouth for a few seconds, before closing it.

Suddenly, he became unsure of what to say...

Ken didn't continue, however, letting the awkward silence hang in the room as he kept his arms crossed and waited for an answer.

It wasn't a rhetorical question after all...

"... I don't want to answer that one. I know that whatever answer I give, the true answer will always be 'One too many'...

But such is War. We are fighting on multiple fronts, we can't even afford to keep our young ones safe..."

It was shameful to admit, but he couldn't lie to Ken. He had seen the corpses with his own eyes! Well... He had felt them or smelt them... The Raikage didn't quite know how the Blind Assassin was able to 'see'.

But he knew one thing for sure... There was no fooling Ken's 'eye'. So lying was pointless.

"Then why exactly did you even start this war?

And while the children were dying out there... Why were you holding such a big funeral for your son?"

Ken's questions seemed to be getting on the Raikage's nerves. Especially the last one.

The worst part was that he had no good excuse for that last question.

He wanted to give his son a proper farewell, and he had gone against his morals and put his own feelings above the safety of the village.

It was something that he could only lament and regret now. It was an odd feeling, conflicting for sure, to regret giving your son a proper funeral.

But the circumstances didn't allow him to paint it in any better of a light.

"I can't argue with you on the last one... I can only apologise for my mistake..." The Raikage shook his head and lowered it in shame as he spoke to the assassin.

"But... You are mistaken in your assumption. I was not the one that started this war... The leaders of our Lands are the ones pulling the string at the end of the day.

They handle our budgets, they have a chokehold on all of us. We are mere soldiers at the end of the day. Even me."

Ken tilted his head a bit when hearing that answer.

He found it odd that the Raikage and the others were letting themselves be at the beck and call of the Daimyō of their respective nations.

"Budget? That is the issue? You'd think the Shinobi would have the power to overthrow the Daimyō after all these years..."

Ken was genuinely confused.

He had been under the understanding that the Daimyō were mostly just figureheads. That was certainly the case for most of the small nations...

So were the 5 Great Ones any different?

"Things aren't as simple as that. If we are to rebel, then we certainly have the power to do so.

But no noble family would give us work from that point forward, we would become no better than criminals.

We would slowly but surely run out of resources, and we'd end up resorting to war to make up for that anyway..."

So it would seem...

The world seemed to be built on an extremely stable system. One that put the power not in the hands of those that had actual power, but the hands of those that had the most money.

Ken couldn't help but sigh as he realised just how much that reminded him of his old world.

"... So it was the Daimyō's idea to attack the Uzumaki clan as well?..."

Ken gulped a bit internally as he realized the implications of what the Raikage had said earlier.

Depending on the answer he received now, his guilt and feelings over A's death would certainly shift...

"Well... I'll admit that it was mostly us the Kage spearheading that invasion. Fuinjutsu is simply too valuable to ignore even for us."

Thankfully there was no need for that.

"That's understandable... Thank you for giving me more perspective in the way the 5 Great Nations operate."

Ken nodded towards the Raikage, choosing not to go further into it.

He now knew that ending the war wasn't something he could do through the Raikage, that was enough knowledge.

"No problem... It's not exactly public knowledge, only those within our circle know this, but I don't see any reason why I shouldn't tell you... You are a friend after all, though a bit young..."

The Raikage just sighed and walked over to his chair, finally sitting down while running a hand through his hair.

"A friend... Well, thank you, Lord Raikage... Both for the invitation and concern.

You don't have to worry about me, however. But if I ever need help, I'll reach out to you."

Ken smiled as he addressed the Raikage in a warmer tone now.

It made the man in question smile, some of the frustration and concern in his mind dissipating in the process.

"Thank you for trusting me enough to do so Ken..." The Raikage muttered as he looked at Ken's back, getting further and further away before the door closed.

On the other side, Ken's smile immediately fell.

The Raikage had really helped Ken a lot. The information given should've been obvious in retrospect, but he may have overlooked some things in his thought process before.

He had been too fixated on blaming everything on Shinobi.

But it seemed humans in general were rather faulty at their core. Well, at least those that became corrupted by power, greed, and any other desire.

The world was complex at the end of the day. And Ken was now finally opening up his mind to observe that complexity.

'My plans will have to be changed greatly... But at least now I know what I need to do.'

Ken then cracked his neck, put his mask back on, and vanished from the Raikage's hallway.

__________________________________________________________________

Hope you liked the chapter!

Managed to squeeze this one out today since I was feeling better.

Cold came back tho, cuz I'm apparently cursed with unfathomable bad luck 

Also, no :)) The Raikage won't be showing up with adoption papers to the Dark Brotherhood for now. It's a pretty fun idea tho 

Story Shoutout!(send me a DM if you've got any interesting story for a shout out, have little time for reading as of late) : The Last Observer 

Discord, again: https://discord.gg/xQTK8caFEQ

If u want to support me look up VeganMaster on Patre_on, you'd also get 12 chapters in advance (or 6/3 depending on tier)