Who are you calling a stable boy?!

Even that man probably couldn't force him, who had mastered the Rinnegan, to such a point through such a dignified and upright manner.

The monster assassin Zheng Jing possesses astonishing martial prowess.

Unfortunately, they could never rival the gods...

"Thump!"

A loud bang suddenly erupted from the giant sphere.

"Thump!!"

Before Nagato could react, another sound rang out, and suddenly countless cracks appeared on the sphere!

"—BOOM!!!"

The next moment, the huge stone sphere exploded!

In an instant, golden light burst forth, shooting straight into the Dipper Palace—

"Hehehe—Eehehehe! Woohoo!! Ahahahaha!!"

From inside the stone sphere, a colossal creature nearly fifty meters tall suddenly sprang out, its laughter booming like thunder. Its entire body shone with golden light, as if the sun were rising, instantly igniting the long-standing gloomy sky of the Rain Kingdom.

Who else could it be but Zheng Jing?

Then he swung his Ruyi Jingu Bang with immense force, and with a single strike, he caused the sunlight to pour down.

At this moment, the people of the Rain Country all looked up at the sky.

A cloudless blue sky and warm sunshine.

How many people in the land of rain are seeing such a sight for the first time in their lives?

Some people were stunned, some knelt down in worship, and some were even so frightened by the sunlight that they covered their eyes and fell down.

"hey-hey!"

With a somersault, his body shrank, and when he landed in front of Pain, Zheng Jing had suddenly returned to his original size.

He slung his staff over Pain's shoulder and said with a grin, "Well? Brother Nagato, are you convinced yet?"

"Oh, I almost forgot, you're also in poor health."

Withdrawing his golden cudgel, Zheng Jing grabbed Pain's hand: "Come on, let's see if I, Old Zheng, can handle you. I don't believe that even a char siu itachi can become a healthy itachi, and I can't make you a healthy Nagato? If you're not satisfied, we'll fight again when you're better!"

"...No need."

Pain spoke up.

He shook his head.

"I lost, and I accept it wholeheartedly."

Chapter 258: Old Yama, here I come!

Nagato believed that this was enough.

Almost all of the Six Paths of Pain were wiped out, and even Chibaku Tensei couldn't do anything to Zheng Jing. Although he still had the Gedo Mazo to try and fight, Nagato knew that with his current physical condition, if he forcibly summoned the Gedo Mazo to fight Zheng Jing, regardless of the outcome, he would most likely be worn down and killed on the spot.

Nagato knew his life wouldn't last much longer, but if he entrusted the burden of becoming the suppressor to Zheng Jing, he felt that before his own life ended, it was highly likely that he could achieve true peace in the ninja world.

Moreover, even if they were to fight to the death like this, he wasn't confident he could defeat Zheng Jing.

So instead of pointlessly stalemate, it would be better to try cooperating with Qitianfu first.

"Zheng Jing, may I continue to address you as such?"

"Sure, if you'd like, you can call me Old Zheng or Brother Zheng!"

"...Zheng Jing, the Rain Kingdom will join the alliance. From now on, the Akatsuki will also obey the orders of the Qitian Prefecture. But the premise is that everything the Qitian Prefecture promised will not change."

"Of course, of course! What Lao Lan says is the same as what I say. I, Lao Zheng, always mean what I say!"

"it is good."

"Let's go then."

As Zheng Jing spoke, he didn't let go of Pain's hand. He looked around and saw Konan rushing towards them from the sky. He quickly waved to her.

"Do I have to go directly to Qitian Prefecture now? Please give me some time to prepare; it won't be long—"

Changmen felt that Zheng Jing was indeed an impatient person who acted in a whirlwind.

However, from the perspective of the restraining force, he believes this is a good thing, since divine punishment should be swift and decisive, without any hesitation.

As for other aspects, with Aizen handling them, Zheng Jing probably doesn't need to worry about them.

But before he could finish speaking, Zheng Jing waved his hand.

"Hey! Just let me know whenever you want to go to the branch office, what's the rush? Didn't I tell you, I'll make sure you have good health and longevity—hey, Xiao Nan, come here!"

Konan opposes Zheng Jing's desire to see Nagato's true form.

Nagato's own body was too weak; even exposing himself to some powerful Jonin would be dangerous, let alone facing Zheng Jing directly.

But Nagato himself readily agreed.

He knew that Xiao Nan was just worried and confused.

If Zheng Jing really wanted to do something to his true form, there were far too many ways to force him to reveal himself.

And so, not long after, Zheng Jing, along with Konan and Pain, met Nagato in a secret location beneath the Land of Rain.

Upon seeing Nagato's face covered in blood, sweat, and saliva, and looking like skin and bones, Konan quickly went over and carefully wiped away the grime, then began to check on Nagato's physical condition.

"I'm sorry, but it's easier to talk to you like this than using my own throat."

Standing beside Zheng Jing, Pain spoke up: "As you can see, my days are numbered. Actually, I hesitated when Kakuzu came representing the Qitian Palace. The appearance of the Qitian Palace has greatly changed the situation in the ninja world..."

Zheng Jing suddenly moved.

He seemed not to have heard Pain's words, staring at Nagato, and suddenly lunged forward.

Konan instinctively tried to move, but Nagato grabbed her wrist.

Konan stopped moving, feeling both heartache and worry, because Nagato's grip was so weak that she could barely feel it.

"Ugh... hiss..."

Around Nagato, Zheng Jing scratched his head, turned left and right, and finally stopped under the watchful eyes of Konan and Nagato.

"In your condition, you deserve to die."

"you--"

Xiao Nan never expected that Zheng Jing would say something like that.

Enraged, Nagato could no longer hold her back. Konan stood up and reached out to grab Zheng Jing's collar.

"Hey, look at you, you're getting impatient."

Zheng Jing stepped aside and went around to the other side, leaving Nagato between himself and Konan: "Your situation here is special. In this situation, it would obviously be easier and safer to just let him die once and then bring him back."

Xiao Nan was stunned upon hearing this, and her angry expression froze.

"You—cough cough…you mean, the Reincarnation Technique?"

Even Nagato couldn't help but make a sound with his throat.

Although surprised that Zheng Jing knew about this forbidden technique, Nagato knew very well that he was the only one who could not use this Samsara Rebirth Technique to revive himself.

Just as he was about to explain to Zheng Jing, he heard Zheng Jing say, "No, I, Old Zheng, don't understand how that thing works either."

Zheng Jing waved his hand: "Can't you just call the old Yama King up here? What I mean is, you call him up, I'll talk to him, and once we've reached an agreement, I'll prepare a reliable body for you. You die right here, and he'll bring it up to you immediately. Isn't that enough?"

Konan and Nagato looked at each other in bewilderment.

If someone else had said these words, they would have just dismissed them as nonsense.

What does it mean to "talk to the King of Hell"?

But Zheng Jing spoke with such confidence that they were tempted to give it a try.

"Hey! Look at you guys, you have to try to know if it will work. There's no harm in trying. Anyway, don't you use the old Yama King as a lie detector all the time in your hell realm? Have you ever seen him go on strike?"

"Nagato...how about..."

Xiao Nan spoke first.

Seeing the expectation on her face, Nagato nodded silently.

Indeed, there's no harm in giving it a try.

Under Nagato's control, Yama responded to the call of the Hell Path and slowly poked his head out in the dim purple light.

Zheng passed by and smiled at Yama with narrowed eyes.

"Old Yama, do you recognize me, Old Zheng?"

"..."

"Huh? What, are you really someone who can't speak properly?"

Seeing that Yama had no reaction, Zheng Jing circled around Yama, looking him up and down, touching and poking him. When Yama still didn't move, he rolled his eyes, chuckled, and jumped onto Yama's head to pull at the big hat embroidered with the character "King".

This leap moved even the King of Hell.

He suddenly shook his head, opened his mouth wide, and his purplish-black tongue shot out like a giant hand, trying to grab Zheng Jing.

This wasn't done by Nagato; it was Yama himself who took action.

Zheng Jing dodged with a somersault, and as he landed, seeing that the tongue still dared to follow, he immediately reached out and grabbed it, managing to seize the tongue that Yama, the King of Hell, could steal souls and spirits.

"You old devil, I, Old Zheng, was willing to give you some face, but you didn't utter a word, yet you dare to speak? Good! Very good indeed!"

He glared, pulled the golden cudgel from behind his ear, threw it into Yama's mouth, and shouted "Long!" The cudgel stretched out, becoming thick and long, immediately stretching Yama's mouth so wide it couldn't close.

Yama twisted his head, trying to struggle, but his tongue fell into Zheng Jing's hand, and he was held up, unable to return to the purple light gate.

"Hmph! Trying to escape now? Too late! I'll show you what I, Old Zheng, can do!"

He plucked a few strands of hair, snapped his fingers, and blew on them. Eighteen clones of Zheng Jing chuckled and fell with the wind, grabbing Yama's tongue with their own hands and feet.

Now Zheng Jingke has a free hand.

"Here comes Old Zheng!"

With a loud laugh, as the stunned Konan and Nagato were left speechless, Zheng Jing leaped directly into the jaws of Yama!

Chapter 259: Wow! Don't touch me!

"This...Nagato? This?"

"...All we can do now is wait."

Nagato understood Konan's panic.

But he really didn't have any other options.

In fact, he no longer used the power of the Hell Path.

In other words, Yama was indeed dragged here by those eighteen Zheng Jings and could not go back.

The souls of the dead are swallowed by Yama, but Nagato doesn't know what Yama's huge mouth looks like.

Although he could use the power of the Hell Path to help Yama repair the less damaged Pain, he had never actually entered Yama's stomach.

Ultimately, does Yama (the King of Hell) really have a belly?

Could that gaping maw simply be the gateway to the Pure Land for souls?

Having possessed the Rinnegan for so long, Nagato realized with a start that he hadn't truly mastered its power to interfere with the cycle of life and death...

Just as Nagato was deep in thought and Konan looked tense, both of them staring at Yama, several sounds suddenly came from Yama's huge mouth, followed by a blinding golden light shooting out from it.

"Hehehe! Ee hehehe! Ahahahaha!"

Then, Nagato and Konan, who were staring intently, heard a familiar laugh, and a figure swayed and flew out from the golden light.

Who else could it be but Zheng Jing?

As he flew out, Zheng Jing casually put away the golden cudgel, wiped the two ends on Yama's hat, and then waved his hand to turn his clone back into strands of hair. Only then was Yama able to pull back his tongue, close his mouth, and plunge back into the purple light gate, disappearing without a trace.

"You, what are you doing...?"

Xiao Nan has a slight stutter.

Nagato, on the other hand, seemed much calmer.