Who are you calling a stable boy?!

Zheng Jing felt that there was no need to go to such lengths to deal with Scorpion's Hundred Machine Manipulation, so in this battle, he only released a hundred clones.

—One hundred fully equipped clones.

With such a lineup, even if these hundred fully equipped clones were only wielding sticks that Zheng Jing had conjured with his internal energy, they would still be enough to smash Scorpion's puppets to pieces and shatter them into pieces!

"..."

Watching helplessly as his puppets were destroyed one after another, Scorpion stood still, as if resigned to his fate.

Then came the third round. When the last red-robed puppet exploded, Zheng Jing and his men jumped around, shouting and laughing, as they surrounded the scorpion.

At first glance, this scene might make someone who doesn't know the context think it's some kind of mysterious ceremony.

Kakuzu frowned upon seeing this.

He was a veteran in the organization. Although he hadn't worked with Scorpion many times, he believed he knew Scorpion quite well.

In his view, Scorpion was not the type to simply surrender when faced with a desperate situation.

"Ok?"

Kakuzu narrowed his eyes, his gaze fixed on Scorpion.

He noticed that the scorpion's movements were strange.

It looks too stiff, like a puppet being manipulated by a novice.

Scorpion did indeed transform himself into a human puppet, but given his pursuit of puppetry, the creation of this work using his own body as material could not possibly have any flaws.

In other words, what Zheng Jing and his men surrounded might not be a scorpion anymore.

—That was definitely not a scorpion.

Seeing that the situation was not good, and realizing that his Hundred Machine Manipulation was really no match for Zheng Jing's hundred clones, Scorpion did not hesitate and took advantage of the fierce battle to secretly transfer his core to a usable body.

In this way, while Zheng Jing's clones and his puppets were fighting, Scorpion could silently escape the battlefield and flee from Zheng Jing.

"Tsk..."

The successful escape did not bring the scorpion any joy.

Most of the time, Scorpios aren't actually that stubborn.

But when it comes to puppetry, it's really not something to laugh off!

"What the hell is that thing...?"

Scorpion muttered in a low voice, "That's definitely not a shadow clone!"

"It doesn't really count."

—The voice that suddenly came from above made Scorpion instinctively want to raise the mechanical arm in the direction of the sound.

But Zheng Jing's methods came even faster.

"Certainly."

-

Holding the book, having paid a hefty price to have the trembling innkeeper prepare a superior room for him, Aizen sat on a bench outside the inn where guests could rest.

Beside him stood a figure standing upright, like Aizen's attendant.

Just as Aizen was about to turn the page, his fingers suddenly stopped, and then he clenched his fist and closed the book.

"Old Lan!"

Zheng Jing, who appeared out of nowhere, sat down next to Aizen, crossed his legs, and casually tossed something slightly larger than a human heart to Aizen.

"This is... Orochimaru's partner?"

"Yes, you're interested in puppetry, so I kept an eye out for you."

As he spoke, Zheng Jing took the scorpion puppet body out of his backpack and placed it on the ground.

“As I said before, he turned himself into a puppet long ago. What you have in your hand is his core, which is equivalent to his consciousness. If you have any questions for him, you can use this body. I was very careful when I did it, so there shouldn't be any problems... Oh ho?”

Turning his head to look at the upright figure—Orochimaru in his current form—Zheng Jing laughed.

"Old Lan, so you've made some progress in your research?"

Just as he had developed the method of creating clones, Zheng Jing knew that Lao Lan also had his own research projects.

Besides being very interested in the Three Bodies Technique, Aizen also paid close attention to various genjutsu techniques in the ninja world.

Especially after actually coming into contact with the Uchiha clan, he began to make some attempts around the concept of "Kyoka Suigetsu" (Mirror Flower, Water Moon).

"Well, we've made some initial progress."

Aizen adjusted his glasses, smiled, and nodded.

Chapter 202: Do you want to understand the meaning of life?

In Aizen's view, chakra is a very interesting kind of energy.

Aizen was particularly interested in Yin Release chakra, especially in its nature as a form of spiritual energy.

If we were to find a bloodline limit in the current ninja world that could represent Yin Release chakra, the Sharingan would undoubtedly be the only one.

While in the Uchiha clan's territory, Aizen borrowed a large number of scrolls containing secret and forbidden techniques from the Uchiha clan.

This is definitely against the rules.

Not to mention that Aizen was not a member of the Uchiha clan, many of the secret and forbidden techniques he borrowed could only be read by the clan leader or Uchiha clan members who had made great contributions to the clan.

However, the current head of the Uchiha clan is Fugaku.

For Fugaku, who was determined to change the fate of his clan, his rules were the rules.

In short, Aizen gained inspiration after borrowing the book.

"That's enough, Orochimaru."

Before he could finish speaking, Orochimaru suddenly began to pant heavily.

"Thank you so much for your willingness to sacrifice yourself for my experiment."

Turning his head to the side, Aizen smiled at Orochimaru, his tone gentle, as if he were talking about a sunny day rather than the sword fight that had just taken place.

Orochimaru quickly adjusted his breathing.

Sweating profusely, he remained silent, his gaze lowered to avoid Aizen. He first glanced at Sasori's puppet body on the ground, then looked up at Zheng Jing.

"Ok?"

Zheng Jingyi raised an eyebrow.

"What, you want to spar with me, Old Zheng? Let me make it clear first, when I strike, I'm not as gentle as Old Lan."

Orochimaru did not respond.

He couldn't determine exactly how long he had been affected by that strange illusion.

It's impossible to deduce exactly how long Scorpion helped him stall for time.

So how can I be sure that I can successfully escape from Zheng Jing and Aizen's sight?

To put it another way—

At this moment, he wasn't even sure if he had broken free from the illusion's influence.

What if everything before your eyes is also an illusion?

"Don't worry, this is reality."

As if he could hear Orochimaru's thoughts, Aizen said with a smile, "Don't be so nervous. With your current spirit strength—well, you'll understand better if we use soul strength to explain it, right? Simply put, with your current soul strength, being nervous won't help. It just so happens that Old Zheng is back too. Why don't you relax and tell us how much you know about the courtyard and the players?"

"Oh?"

Upon hearing this, Zheng Jing looked at Orochimaru with a newfound curiosity.

"Little snake, are you still a player?"

"No, I think he just got information about the courtyard from some players."

Aizen shook his head.

"After all, quite a few players have already visited this plane."

"...That's true."

Orochimaru finally spoke.

After years of research into the path to immortality, coupled with the knowledge and items plundered from some players, Orochimaru was very confident in his reincarnation technique.

Although it can only be used once a year at most, and after a successful use, it requires several days to adapt to the body after reincarnation, the potential side effects on the mental level have been minimized.

This was also a key factor that gave Orochimaru the courage to come here in his true form to try his luck.

However, now, facing Aizen, he lost confidence in his reincarnation technique for the first time.

It wasn't just because he had suffered such a crushing defeat at Aizen's hands, but also because of the inexplicable panic he felt when he considered using the Reincarnation Technique to escape.

At this moment, compared to Zheng Jing, who had punched and kicked the Third Hokage, and captured Sasori of the Red Sand, Orochimaru felt that the pressure from Aizen was even more terrifying...

Even more terrifying!!!

Fortunately, the other party did not take his life directly.

Orochimaru knew that this meant that in the other party's eyes, he was more valuable as a living person.

At least for now.

In other words, there is still room for maneuver.

Orochimaru didn't want to gamble unless it was absolutely necessary, and he dared not gamble when facing both Aizen and Zheng Jing at the same time.

"Where are Kakuzu and the others?"

Aizen suddenly asked Zheng Jing a question.

"I was in a hurry to deliver Little Red Hair to you, so I left first. They're all grown up, how could they get lost?"

Zheng Jing shrugged.

Aizen looked up at the night sky.

"The moon is beautiful tonight."

He then looked at Zheng Jing: "You're quite good at having heart-to-heart talks with people, aren't you?"

Zheng Jing first straightened up, scratched his ears and cheeks a few times, and then sighed.

"Alright, alright, I, Old Zheng, didn't say I wouldn't do anything. That kid keeps overthinking even the smallest things. No wonder Tobirama disliked the Uchiha clan. They even learned the training method I gave them and completed the first round, and they still have this problem..."

As he spoke, Zheng Jing stood up.

Seeing the annoyance on Zheng Jing's face, Aizen couldn't help but chuckle and gently patted Zheng Jing's waist.

"Please call Kakuzu for me while you're at it. It'll be easier if the three of them are together for the rest of the process."

"to make."

With a nod, Zheng Jing stepped onto the golden cloud and soared into the sky.

Now, only Aizen and Orochimaru remained to speak.

Aizen lowered his head and carefully examined the regeneration core in his hand.

"Immortal..."

"Immortality."

"And the strength to delve into this path."

His gentle voice, like a hymn of praise, flowed into Orochimaru's ears.

"You and Scorpion are both outstanding individuals who possess both perseverance and talent."

"At the same time, they are also demons and monsters who will stop at nothing to achieve their goals."

"Old Zheng is kind-hearted; he just wanted to get rid of you all with one blow."

"But I'm different; I won't allow you to be so relaxed..."

Although Aizen was sitting and Orochimaru was standing, at this moment it seemed as if Aizen was sitting on the mountaintop and Orochimaru was standing at the foot of the mountain.

Orochimaru.