Naruto: Aizen's Shadow in Konoha

"Disadvantages? Elaborate!"

Aizen's expression remained calm and composed.

Sasori glanced at Aizen before continuing to explain in detail:

"To use the abilities of the deceased, the puppet master must first learn and master the skills that the deceased possessed. Of course, since these abilities are performed through the manipulation of human puppets, the learning curve is slightly easier, but…"

At this point, Sasori hesitated and looked at Aizen, not continuing his explanation.

"However, this still requires the puppet master to have considerable skill and consumes a significant amount of time and energy," Aizen interjected.

"Exactly! That's precisely it. This is why, although my puppet Hiruko is technically a human puppet, I primarily rely on hidden weapons and poison mechanisms. It's the most time-efficient and practical choice for me. Unless the corpse belongs to an extremely valuable ninja, I don't bother retaining their original abilities as puppets," Sasori confirmed, nodding.

After a brief pause, he continued:

"If that were the only drawback, it wouldn't be too troublesome—just a matter of time. However, if the deceased's abilities involve unique secret techniques or Kekkei Genkai, then acquiring those skills becomes an entirely different challenge.

And that's where the real difficulty lies!"

In summary, using a human puppet to replicate the abilities they had in life requires both access to their unique techniques and a significant time investment for mastery.

Aizen listened thoughtfully, unsurprised.

In the original accounts, the only human puppet Sasori fully utilized with its original strength was the Third Kazekage. The rest of his human puppets relied almost entirely on traditional puppet mechanisms for combat.

"As for the legendary fourth scroll of his arsenal…"

Aizen pondered briefly but set the thought aside.

It made sense. If the puppet technique had no limitations and allowed its user to immediately access the full abilities of a strong corpse without additional effort, the technique would be completely overpowered—on par with the Impure World Reincarnation.

"So, to sum up, even if you acquire this body and the knowledge of its abilities, it will still take time to fully unleash its power," Aizen summarized.

"Precisely!" Sasori agreed, nodding repeatedly. He then added:

"Additionally, the so-called 'chakra' retained by a human puppet is not truly the deceased's chakra. Instead, it's chakra injected by the puppet master into the puppet's body and transformed through a special method to replicate the deceased's abilities.

Ultimately, how much power the puppet can exhibit depends heavily on the skill level of the puppet master."

Hearing this, Aizen's eyelids twitched slightly, and he remained silent for a moment. 

It seemed that expecting Sasori to manipulate Hatake Sakumo's corpse to assassinate the Third Kazekage was nearly impossible. 

However, if Sasori were given enough time to fully master Hatake Sakumo's human puppet, his strength would undoubtedly grow significantly. 

Thinking this through, Aizen retrieved another storage scroll and handed it to Sasori. 

"What's this?" Sasori asked, a look of curiosity flashing across his face. 

"It contains Hatake Sakumo's kenjutsu techniques and his Lightning Style secret technique," Aizen explained. 

A year ago, after Hyuga Gin carefully memorized all of Hatake Sakumo's sword techniques and ninjutsu, he passed the information along to Aizen. These techniques held little value to Aizen personally, so now was the perfect opportunity to entrust them to Sasori alongside Hatake Sakumo's corpse. 

To Aizen, these techniques were negligible. However, in Sasori's eyes, they were priceless treasures. 

Hatake Sakumo's kenjutsu and his White Lightning Chakra Mode were among the most revered secrets in the ninja world. 

Despite having only met Aizen today and just beginning his service under him, Sasori was deeply moved by the level of trust Aizen displayed by giving him such invaluable techniques. 

In reality, Sasori was overthinking the situation. 

First, Aizen understood Sasori's pride; once Sasori aligned himself with someone, betrayal was unthinkable for him. 

Second, even if Sasori did betray him, Aizen's overwhelming power ensured that Sasori would face dire consequences in mere moments.

These two points made Aizen completely indifferent to handing over techniques that would drive most ninjas to madness with envy. 

But Sasori didn't know this. 

Moved by Aizen's trust, Sasori's loyalty grew even stronger. However, this also made him feel somewhat guilty. 

"Lord Aizen, even with these incredible resources, mastering Hatake Sakumo's body will take a significant amount of time…" Sasori admitted, slightly embarrassed. 

"It's fine. When you do master it, I'll have tasks for you to accomplish," Aizen replied calmly. 

Sasori nodded firmly, his resolve unshaken. 

"But assassinating the Third Kazekage is an urgent matter for me. I can't afford to wait two months in Sand Village," Aizen said with a serious tone. 

Hearing this, Sasori's expression grew somber. 

"However…" Aizen continued, a subtle smile forming as he looked at Sasori, "I can assist you, allowing you to kill the Third Kazekage yourself." 

Sasori's eyes lit up, and he stared at Aizen with surprise and gratitude. 

"Thank you, Lord Aizen!" Sasori said sincerely. 

While he regretted not being able to eliminate the Third Kazekage on his own, he knew he was no match for such a powerful foe. His original plan relied heavily on poisoning to achieve his goal. 

With Aizen's help, he now had the opportunity to face the Third Kazekage in direct combat, which was an appealing prospect. 

For the next few days, Aizen and Sasori prepared carefully for the assassination. 

If Aizen had acted alone, the Third Kazekage could have been swiftly eliminated in the Kazekage's office, leaving no trace. 

But, to accommodate Sasori, Aizen had to engineer a situation where Sasori could confront the Third Kazekage directly. 

Thanks to Sasori's spy planted near the Kazekage, they knew the Third Kazekage's exact movements. 

It wasn't long before an opportunity arose—one that provided the perfect time and place for their plan to unfold.