Naruto: I get stronger by drawing lots

He's an old guy who's been around since the First Hokage. As the saying goes, the older you get, the more shrewd you become, and Onoki is no exception.

"The Hidden Mist Village attacked Konoha and Sunagakure, along with those black-clad troops."

Onoki muttered to himself, surrounded by his confidants. Having been in power for so long, Onoki's prestige was extraordinary. Unlike Konoha, where Hiruzen Sarutobi was constrained by the elders, Onoki was the most powerful person in Iwagakure.

Everyone waited for Onoki's reaction. After a moment of silence, Onoki finally spoke: "Enter a state of combat readiness and be prepared to fight at any time. This time it's probably unavoidable. Let's see if we can gain some advantage."

"Yes!"

After the responses from those around him subsided, Onoki returned to his seat. The rest would be taken care of by someone else.

"Hidden Mist—"

Onoki muttered something under his breath. The Third Mizukage of Kirigakure had seemed off at the previous Four Kage Summit, and now with the Black Army and the instigation of war, Onoki couldn't help but suspect something. He was a naturally suspicious and cautious person.

Unfortunately, no matter how hard Onoki thought about it, he couldn't figure out what was wrong with Kirigakure. Who would have thought that the current Third Mizukage of Kirigakure had already been replaced?

Meanwhile, in the Hidden Clouds, the Thunder Shadow Tower was much more lively.

"The Third Kazekage is dead!"

"I told you that sickly guy like that would be finished sooner or later. If he wasn't still alive, I would have taken care of him."

The Third Raikage, however, was quite irritable, laughing loudly as he revealed his thoughts without any attempt to conceal his emotions.

"Lord Raikage, what should we do now?"

The Third Raikage's confidants all knew his volatile temper, so naturally they wouldn't say they were going to stop him. Otherwise, if the Third Raikage got angry, he might not kill you, but he could certainly get you hospitalized.

The question about his trusted confidant elicited a smile from the Third Raikage.

"Get ready, let's get to work."

The confidants all chimed in, "Yes!"

His subordinates all withdrew, leaving only the Third Raikage.

"Kigiri, Konoha, interesting. Let me see what good stuff you have."

Although the Third Raikage was a bit hot-tempered, he wasn't stupid and naturally saw the difference in Kirigakure. As for Konoha, their consistently leading position in combat strength had ignited the Third Raikage's competitive spirit.

"Big brother, we're finally going to fight. I'm a little excited."

On the street, two brothers walked together. They didn't look alike; one was tall and the other was shorter, and both appeared slightly overweight.

"Fool!"

With a thud, Ai punched Bi, his younger brother, who was standing next to him.

"You're a Jinchūriki, you're very useful."

A is not as strong as Bi is now. Bi is a rare perfect Jinchūriki. A has not yet reached his peak. Right now, he is just a prodigy from Kumogakure who has just entered the Kage level.

"It hurts, big brother. That's what they say, but Xiao Ba and I will come out for a bit and it'll be fine."

Although the words may seem to belittle others, the power of the tailed beasts is so abnormal that one is enough to turn the tide.

This isn't the Warring States period anymore. Back then, there were two freaks who could easily defeat the Nine-Tails, the leader of the Tailed Beasts.

Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha have already sunk into the final waves of their era.

As the perfect Jinchūriki of the Eight-Tails, second only to the Nine-Tails, Bee certainly has the right to say that.

"Just be careful!"

Ai snorted and continued walking. He didn't yet possess that overwhelming power in the ninja world. You see, in the future, he would be the most powerful Kage in the ninja world, capable of easily defeating tailed beasts even with a human body.

However, all of this is in the future. Ai Cai is just beginning to spread his wings, and this war is his chance to take flight.

Only those who have experienced war and cruelty are true prodigies.

Just as even a tiger, the king of beasts, cannot be called the king of beasts if it has never seen blood, how can it be called the king of beasts?

Looking up at the sky, dark clouds gathered, as if thunder and lightning were about to strike.

As the smoke of war rises, everyone is preparing.

Meanwhile, in Konoha, Tsuki and the others were also making preparations. Those who were injured during the previous attack on the Otsutsuki were now receiving treatment, while the others were preparing for matters related to the war.

Minato was mainly responsible for these things, but he was injured himself at the moment. Although it wasn't serious, he couldn't delay, so he handed them over to Yuhi Shinku and Nara Shikabuki.

Both are intellectual types, so these arrangements were naturally no problem for them, especially since they had both participated in World War II more than a decade ago, which made them seem even more relaxed.

"What a coincidence!"

Yue Shu spoke first, followed by three bursts of laughter.

At the hospital entrance, Jiraiya's team gathered, each with their own injuries and bandaged. Fortunately, none of their injuries were too serious, and they should be fine after some rest.

I just hope that war won't break out so quickly.

A war is not a life-or-death battle from the very beginning, but rather like a flame, it starts as a spark and then burns into a raging inferno.

Initially, it should have started with probing between the various ninja villages. In that case, there would have been no need for high-level combatants like Tsukuyomi. Even if they were needed, there would have been no need to seek them out first.

"Want to go for ramen?"

Tsukiki asked, "They love to gather at Ichiraku Ramen. They've only suffered minor injuries, so eating ramen shouldn't be a problem."

"Let's go."

Minato responded with a shrug. Kushina and Mikoto also responded with a smile.

"Ying?"

The group had only taken a few steps when they spotted Ying's striking blonde hair. She stood in the wind on the roof of a house, her blonde hair fluttering in the breeze.

Minato provided excellent protection for Hotaru. Even though Hotaru's strength had reached the level of a Jonin, he still did not allow her to reveal herself. He also prevented her from undertaking any dangerous missions, and she was not even present when the battle took place at the gate just now.

"Humph!"

Ying turned her head away and jumped off.

Minato sighed helplessly. Their relationship had never been good. It had always been like that, and it remained so after all these years.

"Maybe he's worried about you."

Mikoto said something with a smile.

Minato paused for a moment, then Kushina chimed in.

"That's certainly possible. Minato, your news travels very quickly."

Minato was surprised: "I didn't know about this?"

She wore a faint, unaware smile, seemingly quite happy.

"Well, after all, you are one of the candidates for the Fourth Hokage. The villagers will remember how you treat them."

Tsukiki patted Minato on the back: "Let's go, ramen."

Everyone smiled and walked together toward Ichiraku Ramen. Their smiles carried a hint of worry; after all, war was imminent, and everyone had their own concerns.

Elsewhere, a blonde girl swung on a rooftop, her blonde hair fluttering in the wind, looking absolutely beautiful.

"Fool!"

The girl recited a sentence, but it was unclear who she was addressing.

Meanwhile, Yue Shu and the others walked for a while and arrived at Ichiraku Ramen.

The commotion at the entrance to Konoha earlier was quite serious; the entire village was locked down, and everyone was filled with worry. Fortunately, Tsuki and the others managed to protect them.

"Oh my, the great hero has arrived! Alright, there's no one here right now, please have a seat, the ramen will be here shortly."

Old Yile happened to be in the shop at that moment, sitting with Little Yile. Seeing Yue Shu and the others, the worry on their faces lessened considerably, but seeing their appearance, their expressions returned to normal.

"The usual way is fine, Uncle Ichiraku."

"Okay, sit down, it'll be ready soon."

Tsukiki and his friends were regulars. They had tried every kind of ramen at Ichiraku Ramen before deciding on one to eat there from then on. Since then, when they came here, they would just say "the same old thing" to them.

"Are you okay?"

Xiao Yile has grown up and is much older than Yue Shu and the others. He came over here to ask questions.

"It's alright, don't worry."

The water gate opened.

Xiao Yile remained silent, as did the others, simply waiting for the ramen to be served.

"Hey kid, come in and give me a hand!"

After a while, Lao Yile's voice came from inside.

"coming."

Just as Xiao Yile got up, Yue Shu spoke up.

"A moment of joy."

Tsukiki called out to Ichiraku, and he turned to look at Tsukiki as well. Not only him, but also the Sannin of Minato did the same.

"When we get back, prepare a nice meal for us."

Xiao Yile was stunned for a moment, as were the others.

"I don't want to taste anything else, I just want to study hard and do my best."

After Yue Shu finished speaking, Xiao Yi Le gave a hearty smile.

"Leave it to me."

As Xiao Yi walked away, Minato and the others also smiled.

"I didn't expect you to be so good at talking."

Kushina laughed, and Minato echoed her sentiment.

"I'm just telling the truth."

That's true, Tsukiki is really speaking from the heart, though there's another layer of meaning to it as well.

"Ramen is here."

The young and old alike came out together, each carrying a bowl of ramen that belonged to Yue Shu and the others.