Who are you calling a stable boy?!

After that, accompanied by Minato, he went to the Konoha prison to meet someone.

Obito Uchiha.

From Konoha's perspective, Obito hadn't truly stained his hands with the blood of his comrades yet. Minato, out of consideration for their past relationship, and with Kakashi pleading for him, would spare Obito's life, which was entirely within Zheng Jing's expectations.

Upon seeing Zheng Jing again... no, it should be said that Obito, upon hearing Zheng Jing's voice again, remained quite calm.

Although he was supposedly imprisoned, it was essentially a comfortable form of house arrest. In addition, Minato allowed Kakashi to visit Obito from time to time. Perhaps because he had completely lost his Sharingan, Obito gradually softened.

In response to Zheng Jing's question, he remained silent for a moment before revealing the location of Ban's remains.

"However, I'm not sure if his body is still there."

Sitting in a wicker chair, holding a Braille book in his hand, Obito said in a gentle tone, "After you captured me, I'm afraid you started working on moving Madara's body."

"It's fine, it's better than wasting time searching everywhere, and it's not necessary."

Zheng Jing stood up and prepared to leave.

"and many more!"

Obito suddenly called out to Zheng Jing.

"Ok?"

"......Thanks."

Kakashi and Minato had spoken to him about Rin many times.

Now that things have come to this, Obito surely understands that Madara may very well have taken advantage of his feelings for Rin.

He was reluctant to talk much with Kakashi and Minato because he was afraid he would no longer be able to deceive himself.

But when he faced Zheng Jing again, their brief conversation made Obito seem to have made up his mind.

Even though Zheng Jing never discussed this topic with him from beginning to end.

"You've thanked the wrong person? You should be thanking Master Men."

Without turning his head, Zheng Jing strode off.

"Take care of yourself."

After leaving Konoha Prison, Zheng Jing did not stay in Konoha.

He said goodbye to Minato and then set off for the Land of Lightning.

The Land of Lightning is mostly mountainous, and the Hidden Cloud Village is naturally located in the clouds and mist of the mountains. The climate is humid, so most of the Hidden Cloud ninjas have relatively fair skin.

However, every Raikage A has dark skin, whether due to his bloodline or the result of practicing the Lightning Release ninjutsu passed down through generations is unknown.

"Tsk, that old bastard Onoki..."

Holding a scroll in his hand, Ai muttered a curse as he sat in the Raikage's office.

The Land of Grass borders the Land of Earth, and Ōnoki used the incident in the Land of Grass as a reason to refuse to deliver a batch of strategic materials.

This batch of strategic materials was the reward for Yunyin's efforts in opening up a supply route between the two countries.

Because the small countries sandwiched between the Land of Lightning and the Land of Earth, including the Land of Rice Fields, had all sided with the alliance, Iwagakure and Kumogakure had made an agreement to open up a supply route with the Land of Iron, a neutral country, as the main channel.

Iwagakure Village, citing the need to guard against the Land of Rain and the Akatsuki organization, insisted that its military strength was insufficient and therefore offered to provide more supplies to make up for it.

In contrast, the Hidden Cloud Village would need to send more manpower.

At that time, Ai had a vague feeling that Onoki was going to cheat, but neither Kumogakure nor he had any other choice.

Among the three lands of wind, thunder, and earth, the land of thunder is the only unfortunate one that is sandwiched between the land of fire and the land of water.

This led to the fact that as neighboring smaller countries successively joined the alliance, the first problems that arose in the Land of Lightning were not security, but rather the issues of supplies and trade.

Realizing that it might be driven out of business if it didn't take action, Ai had no choice but to seek change.

Now that the supply channels have finally been opened, Onoki is indeed trying to renege on his debts, just as he expected.

The most frustrating thing is that he can't actually get this debt back right away.

"Lord Ai! Lord Ai!"

Just as he was getting angry, someone barged into Raikage's office.

Why are you in such a panic?

Upon seeing that it was his secretary, Ai swallowed back the words she was about to say.

He knew his secretary well; for her to be so flustered, something serious must have happened.

"I'm so sorry!"

Mabuyi took a breath.

"Lord Ai! The monster assassin Zheng Jing has come knocking on our door!"

"--ah?"

When Ai arrived at the entrance of Kumogakure, the scene before him made his already dark complexion even more gloomy.

"Oh? Here you come, bro."

Squatting beside a group of Cloud Ninja, Zheng Jing, who was looking up at the sky, lowered his head and saw the Fourth Hokage, A. His bored expression changed, and he started to grin.

At the same time, another figure arrived.

"Hey, big brother!"

Killer Bee greeted the fourth generation of Ai.

Ai frowned and glanced at Mabuyi behind her.

"I am extremely sorry! I acted on my own initiative, but—"

"It's alright."

Without blaming him, Ai turned her head and looked again at Zheng Jing, who was surrounded by Yun Ninja.

"Zheng Jing, the monster assassin, I never expected you to still be alive, and I never expected you to be so eager to die."

Ai said in a deep voice, "Cloud Village is not the weak Mist Village! Surrender now, and I might consider sparing your life!"

Wow! That's amazing?

Zheng Jing's eyes widened, he jumped up, and, shrinking back, asked the fourth-generation Ai, "Is it true?"

"Before I change my mind—"

"Hey!"

Zheng Jing raised his hand to interrupt him, pointing with a grin.

"I'm asking, do you rotten sweet potatoes and rotten eggs really think you can kill me, Old Zheng?"

Having said all that, how could the fourth generation of Ai possibly tolerate it any longer?

He really didn't want to deplete the village's resources for Zheng Jing's sake at this critical juncture.

—But as long as he can finish this quickly, he can minimize the cost of dealing with Zheng Jing!

As for why Zheng Jing is here, we'll find out once we take him down!

He immediately unleashed his strongest Lightning Release Armor, the Fourth A holding nothing back, aiming to defeat Zheng Jing in the shortest possible time.

That incredible speed, which even the Mangekyou Sharingan might not be able to detect in time, made this burly man appear before Zheng Jing like a blue lightning bolt, before the thunder even roared.

Aiming at Zheng Jing's chest, the fourth-generation Ai raised his right elbow and struck.

What a brilliant move, the Heavy Flow Storm!

"when!!"

The collision of flesh and blood produced a deafening roar more terrifying than thunder.

What stood in the way of the lightning was Zheng Jing's gleaming pectoral muscles!

At this moment, even the seasoned veteran Ai, facing the unmoved Zheng Jing, couldn't help but be taken aback.

That's what made him unable to dodge Zheng Jing's raised right elbow!

"Boom!!"

The elbow strike, deeply embedded in his chest, caused the fourth generation of Ai's eyes to widen, and his tall body flew backward with a thud.

Seeing this, Kirabi rushed over to catch him, but just as Ai was about to crash into the village wall, he suddenly flipped over, his legs digging into the ground, and his back slammed into the wall, instantly creating a deep and large crack in the wall.

"Oh? Not bad, not bad, you're quite resilient!"

Seeing the fourth-generation Ai kneeling on one knee, Zheng Jing waved his hand.

"Again! Again!"

Chapter 263: If it happens again, it'll be time for a proper rite of passage.

"Big brother?"

Kirabi reached out to help, but Ai pressed his hand against his chest to stop him.

She shook her head gently to indicate that she was alright, but glancing at the wound on her chest out of the corner of her eye, Ai realized that she had underestimated this infamous monster assassin.

Although the legends say that the Demon Slayer is a master of physical combat, he never expected that there would actually be someone in the world who has reached such a level in physical combat.

In Ai's view, it was impossible for any strong person in the world to injure him with a bare-handed blow while he was activating his strongest lightning armor.

"Zheng Jing, what is your purpose in coming to my Yunyin?"

He suddenly asked Zheng Jing this question.

Zheng Jingyi pursed his lips.

"Hey! It's all because of your subordinates. I, Old Zheng, already said I came to talk to you, Lei Ying, but as soon as they heard that, they all yawned and insisted on fighting with me, Old Zheng."

"Talk to me? Talk about what?"

"Let's discuss when you'll join the alliance, and while we're at it, let's borrow someone from your Cloud Village."

"...Who hired you? No matter how much they offer, Yunyin will offer double."

Staring at Zheng Jing, Ai said, "Zheng Jing, come and work for me."

He truly cherished talent.

Among the five great ninja villages, Kumogakure can be said to be both the most militarized and the most inclusive.

In fact, when Zheng Jing became famous in one battle, Ai had already thought of recruiting Zheng Jing to his cause.

Now that he had personally confirmed Zheng Jing's strength, this thought resurfaced without warning.

"Want me, Old Zheng, to do something for you? Sure, but I'm afraid you can't afford the price."

"Oh."

Ai chuckled and confidently extended her right hand: "Name your price."

No more, no less.

Zheng Jing spread his right hand and shook his five fingers, then clenched his fist, raised his thumb, pointed at himself, and grinned at the fourth generation Ai.

"As long as it makes me happy, that's fine."

"...Kid, you asked for this."

Feeling utterly humiliated, the fourth-generation Ai turned completely cold.

Sensing his older brother's anger, Killer Bee also got into a fighting stance.

"That's more like it."

Zheng Jing chuckled, pulled out his golden cudgel from behind his ear, and pointed it at the Abby brothers.

"Don't be shy, come on over!"

Battle is imminent!

The Abby brothers were both skilled in close combat. Their fists, feet, and swords, wrapped in lightning chakra and the Eight-Tails' chakra, attacked Zheng Jing like a storm.

With their tacit understanding, the offensive they launched was truly impenetrable.

However, faced with this murderous attack, Zheng Jing simply flicked his staff, and countless staff shadows swept upwards, causing the Abby brothers' offensive to crumble at the first touch!

Caught off guard, Killer Bee's swords shattered, and Azer was in even worse shape, his entire left arm being broken off.