In his eyes, the Underworld was most likely Hagoromo's private domain. At a rate of roughly fifteen to twenty Kage-level warriors every twenty years per generation, over a thousand years there would be no less than seven or eight hundred warriors.
In fact, this number might even be conservative.
Would an army composed of such warriors not be more reliable than Kaguya's White Zetsu Army?
At least from his past-life memories, ordinary Kage-level fighters could still manage to participate in top-tier battles. When organized into battalions working together, their combined strength would be even greater.
He even suspected that Hamura Otsutsuki's quiet creation of puppet bodies on the Moon using the Great Tenseigan might have been intended to serve as vessels for the elite warriors' souls collected by Hagoromo.
Under such circumstances, techniques like Impure World Reincarnation, which merely borrowed souls, weren't too bad. But something like the Dead Demon Consuming Seal outright intercepting souls would be unforgivable!
Even worse, the Impure World Reincarnation technique, a secret trump card of the Uzumaki clan, was essentially specialized for killing elite warriors.
If it was just one or two Shinigami, Hagoromo might have tolerated it. But the Uzumaki clan had created twenty-seven Shinigami! This wasn't merely disrespecting Hagoromo—it was dragging him through the mud!
"If it were me, I wouldn't be able to tolerate it either!" Aizen thought inwardly.
This wasn't him being malicious either. In his view, the mainstream value of this world always emphasized sacrificing the individual for the greater good.
From Itachi Uchiha wiping out his clan to Hashirama Senju killing Madara, and finally to the Sage of Six Paths sealing Kaguya, personal sacrifices were always seen as trivial in the face of world peace.
Masahide asked with concern, "Lord Aizen, will you suffer punishment for forcibly summoning souls?"
"Don't worry," Aizen smiled lightly. "Sasori's parents were merely ordinary Jonin; they don't meet the threshold for causing serious problems."
"Besides, I never said I would do it myself!"
Let alone the fact that he had guessed from the Great Tenseigan that Hagoromo might have some reservations—even without that, could Hagoromo really come after him, an "innocent person"?
Masahide blinked. "Now that I think about it, you're right!"
Aizen smiled. "After all, I never claimed I would perform Impure World Reincarnation myself!"
"I will deploy my Puppet Army to launch a full-scale attack on Konoha!" Sasori suddenly declared. "And seize the Scroll of Seals during the chaos!"
"Seizing the Scroll of Seals? That's entirely impossible!" Aizen shook his head slightly. "Seiki Shimaseki must have left behind a Flying Thunder God Technique Form in Konoha. If they urgently summon him back in an emergency, can your Puppet Army survive even three seconds?"
Sasori instinctively clenched his fists. Though he had significantly improved over the past three years, he still had a huge gap compared to Seiki even from three years ago—let alone now.
Aizen smiled and said, "I can offer you a secret piece of intelligence."
Sasori asked, "What kind of intelligence?"
"My spies in Cloud Village have reported that the Raikage will soon be convening the Kage Summit," Aizen said. "And the agenda will focus on responding to the Akatsuki threat! This will be your opportunity!"
Sasori's eyes lit up instantly. "Ambush the Hokage en route to the Kage Summit, capture him alive, and force Konoha to exchange the Scroll of Seals for their leader!"
Aizen shook his finger. "Given that Hokage's popularity in Konoha, chances are rumors will spread that he'd rather die than surrender, and eventually we'd be accused of killing him!"
Sasori asked in disbelief, "So... you could twist things like that?"
"If you tried exchanging that Hokage for something else, they might just grit their teeth and accept it," Aizen shrugged. "But considering the importance of the Scroll of Seals and that Hokage's popularity... they probably won't agree!"
Sasori hesitated. "Then what if we let him go and ask him to return with the Scroll of Seals to redeem his subordinates?"
Aizen chuckled. "Then you probably won't see him coming back at all!"
Sasori's eyes widened. He didn't know much about that 'Darkness of the Shinobi World,' but how could a Hokage have such a bad character?
Still, he couldn't imagine Aizen lying to him about this, so he muttered gloomily, "Then what should we do?"
"Hehe, just leave Konoha with no way to deny anything!" Aizen grinned. "For instance, capturing the Hokage right in front of the other four villages!"
"In front of the other four villages..." Sasori exclaimed. "You mean, to take action during the Kage Summit?"
Aizen grinned. "What's wrong? Scared?"
"Even if I bring all my puppets, it's simply impossible!" Sasori shook his head.
He was confident, sure, but not delusional.
If it was just the Hokage alone, he might have a chance if he gave it his all.
But attempting this in front of the other four Kage and even the royal guards of the Five Great Hidden Villages would be pure suicide.
Sasori frowned and mused, "It might be possible if I could convince the Akatsuki organization to act, but currently, the organization is laying low. The chance of convincing them to act for me is extremely slim!"
"You might be surprised!" Aizen smiled. "The target of the Kage Summit is the Akatsuki, which means the organization has already drawn attention... Moreover, isn't the organization's main goal collecting the Bijuu? As long as this purpose remains undetected, using some seemingly reasonable reasons could actually divert their attention!"
"Seemingly reasonable reasons..." Sasori contemplated. "The most convincing lies are truths. How about using 'reviving the dead and preventing tragedies' as our ideal? On one hand, such an ideal suits a secret organization, making it less suspicious. On the other hand, there might even be people within the organization who share my same goal?"
"You decide the reason," Aizen said, pointing toward the four watching spectators. "But for now, these four can help you out!"
The four exchanged surprised glances.
"Us?"
"Getting to move around a bit might actually be fun."
They didn't object. After all, to them, Sasori had always been one of their own.
"Additionally, you can reveal that these puppets possess life and can be used as sacrifices for the Impure World Reincarnation," Aizen calmly added. "Just make sure I'm completely out of the picture!"
"What? You actually..." Still reeling from the shock of suddenly gaining four powerful allies, Sasori was once again stunned by Aizen's words.
What in the world was this man planning to do?
Seeing the astonished look in Sasori's eyes, Aizen felt a rush of emotion inside him. "To speed up the process, I have no choice but to kick things up a notch. However, the one driving this progress can't be me—better leave this mission to Black Zetsu."
No matter what he thought inside, what he said aloud was, "You should be able to handle it, right?"
"With those four boosting my influence in the Akatsuki organization and giving me solid grounds, if I still can't pull this off, then I really don't deserve to be here!" Sasori paused for a moment after speaking, then declared with finality, "From now on, whatever you ask me to do, I won't refuse!"
"We feel the same way!" the Four Uzumaki F4 chimed in at once.
"There's no need for that. I'm not like ordinary leaders," Aizen smiled. "I believe in giving before I take. Only after each of you has achieved your dreams, and when it's my turn, you'll have my back with everything you've got, right?"
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