NOVEL NEXT Chapter 171: Sasori of the Red Sand
Not long after leaving Konoha, Aizen encountered a caravan heading toward the Sand Village for trade. Without hesitation, he eliminated an unsuspecting individual, using the powers of Kyōka Suigetsu to seamlessly blend into the group unnoticed.
Unlike Cloud Shinobi Village, which has a direct road leading to the Land of Fire, the Land of Wind offers no such convenience. It's a desolate expanse dominated by deserts, where the concept of roads is non-existent. Aizen had no choice but to secure a "guide" for navigation.
This drastically slowed his pace, giving him ample time to reflect on the events and experiences of the past three years.
By the previous year, Aizen's Chakra reserves and natural energy had officially reached Kage-level, marking a significant milestone in his development. His strength underwent another monumental leap:
Base Combat Power: Comparable to the peak of Super Kage-level.
Full-Power Combat Potential: Nearing the quasi-Six Paths level, equivalent to the strength of legends like Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama
However, Aizen realized that his stamina in prolonged battles still lagged behind. While formidable in short bursts, his long-term endurance was closer to the level of Uchiha Madara during his early Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan period. This placed him at the lower end of the super Kage-level spectrum, indicating there was still room for growth.
Once Aizen achieved Kage-level, the pace of his Chakra accumulation began to slow dramatically. This was expected, as the limits of a ninja—or more broadly, the limits of a human—typically cap at Kage-level.
Most Kage-level shinobi peak in their twenties or thirties. Beyond that, breaking through requires extraordinary circumstances or abilities. Even Hatake Sakumo, an extraordinary talent, couldn't surpass this boundary.
The reason lies in the origin of Chakra: it is drawn from both the body and the soul. Breaking the limitations of the human form is a monumental challenge. Aizen, despite possessing a Sage Body, recognized that achieving Super Kage-level power required an immense investment of time and effort.
To overcome the human limit and ascend to Super Kage-level, Aizen needed time to allow his Chakra to mature and evolve. This process involved slowly accumulating and expanding his Chakra reserves until his life force underwent a fundamental qualitative transformation.
Even reincarnations of Ashura and Indra—the sons of Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo (Sage of Six Paths)—did not start with Six Paths-level Chakra. Their immense power was the result of gradual accumulation.
When Senju Hashirama co-founded Konoha with Uchiha Madara, he was already middle-aged, underscoring how arduous the journey to Super Kage-level truly is.
Characters like Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke achieved this power only because of direct intervention by Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo.
Aizen estimated that under normal circumstances, it would take him approximately 8–9 years to achieve Super Kage-level through steady growth. While this timeline was faster than most, it was still unacceptably slow for someone of Aizen's ambition.
Unwilling to wait nearly a decade, Aizen began orchestrating events to hasten his progression. He set his sights on triggering the Third Shinobi War, knowing the chaos and conflict would provide him with abundant opportunities to amass power.
If his plans unfolded smoothly, Aizen projected that the time required to achieve Super Kage-level could be halved, reducing his timeline to just four or five years.
This is also the fundamental reason why Aizen insists on eliminating the new faction and weakening Konoha's strength!
Of course, at the same time, Aizen's actions were also to settle an old grudge.
By this time, the world had entered the autumn of Konoha's 42nd year.
While the major ninja villages had completed their pre-war preparations and tensions ran high, no one dared to fire the first shot rashly.
The looming Third Shinobi World War was crucial to Aizen's plans for reaching Super Kage-level strength, so he naturally paid close attention to every development.
"If everyone is waiting for a catalyst, then I'll provide one myself," Aizen muttered with a sneer as he sat behind a caravan, watching the setting sun paint the desert horizon in blood-red hues.
Time passed, and after traveling for more than two months, the caravan finally reached the heart of the Land of Wind, a location not far from Sunagakure.
The harsh journey through unrelenting sandstorms and scorching heat left Aizen in an irritable mood.
While traversing one such sandstorm, Aizen decided to use Kyōka Suigetsu to manipulate the senses of the caravan, making them believe the intense, rolling sandstorm was nothing more than a gentle breeze kicking up a bit of sand.
Watching the caravan members panic and struggle against what they believed to be harmless weather amused Aizen, momentarily lifting his spirits.
"When boredom strikes, a little chaos is the best remedy," Aizen thought as a faint smirk crossed his lips.
Soon after, Aizen reached the vicinity of Sunagakure. Under the guidance of his spiritual perception, he located the village with ease.
Activating Kyōka Suigetsu on a wide scale, Aizen masked his presence and walked boldly into the village undetected.
Upon entering Sunagakure, Aizen refrained from immediately assassinating the Third Kazekage, instead dedicating time to gathering intelligence. His objective was not only to destabilize the village but also to locate a specific individual.
After covertly eliminating several Jōnin and extracting information through mental manipulation, Aizen finally discovered the whereabouts of his target.
He made his way toward an isolated, barren hill on the outskirts of the village, where a hidden cave lay concealed by a sophisticated barrier.
--
Within the cave, scattered puppet parts littered the floor. At the very back of the dimly lit space stood a workbench, surrounded by grotesque creations.
A young, red-haired shinobi—no older than fifteen or sixteen—was busily working on his latest creation. His delicate features hinted at an innate handsomeness, but his fanatical expression, tinged with madness, twisted his otherwise elegant demeanor into something unnerving.
On the workbench before him lay a bloody, dismembered corpse, adding an ominous and macabre air to the already unsettling scene.
"Hahaha! How could puppets made from cold, mechanical parts ever compare to this magnificent masterpiece?" the boy cackled maniacally. "The Human Puppet Technique is the ultimate art, the pinnacle of a puppet master's life's work!"
As he continued assembling the puppet, his laughter abruptly ceased, and his expression darkened.
"Damn that old woman," he muttered bitterly. "Just because I experimented with the Human Puppet Technique, she kicked me out of Sunagakure! And on top of that, she had the gall to forbid me from further studying puppetry!"
His words dripped with venom as he glanced at the half-finished puppet before him. His anger boiled over.
The newly crafted human puppet was hurled to the ground with a loud crash, its fragmented parts scattering across the dimly lit cave.
"This... this pitiful excuse for a puppet!" the young red-haired shinobi bellowed, his voice echoing with disdain. "Something made from the remains of an ordinary Genin? How could this ever be worthy of the name Sasori of the Red Sand? This trash is utterly worthless!"
His fiery gaze swept over the chaotic mess of discarded limbs and shattered components, his frustration boiling over into rage.
"Garbage! All of it!" Sasori snarled, his hands clenched tightly into fists. His voice carried a venomous edge, the weight of his perfectionist ideals suffocating the air around him.
...
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