Regarding Byakuya's latter statement about himself being inferior to a human puppet, Hanzo still held strong objections. He was a demi-god, after all. How could he be inferior to a puppet? Could an ordinary puppet use Water Body Flicker? Could it release salamander poison?
Well, it actually could…
However, in high-level battles, puppetry was often seen as inadequate.
The reason was simple: while puppet techniques were powerful in many respects, they had a fatal flaw: they required a puppeteer to control them.
No matter how strong a puppeteer was, they could only control their puppets within a range of a few dozen meters. For a Kage-level opponent, this distance could be closed in an instant. If the puppeteer was taken out, the puppets, no matter how powerful, would be rendered useless.
Reflecting on this, Hanzo began his critique, speaking from his experience as a veteran. "Byakuya, I think having Nagato use puppetry might be a waste of his talents. He possesses the Rinnegan, after all. The most powerful puppeteer is Chiyo from Sunagakure, and even she is no match for me."
Hearing this, Byakuya glanced at Hanzo and responded calmly, "Hanzo-sensei, have you considered that the strongest puppeteer in the ninja world might not be Chiyo, but someone else? If you were to encounter this person, your chances of winning wouldn't be high either."
Hanzo frowned and quickly asked, "If Chiyo isn't the strongest puppeteer, then who is?"
Byakuya showed a mysterious smile. "Hanzo-sensei, think about how this current ninja war started. Aside from the accumulated tensions between the major villages, what was the initial trigger?"
Hanzo thought for a moment and then said, "It was the disappearance of the Third Kazekage, and Kumogakure took the opportunity to attack Sunagakure."
Byakuya nodded. "Guess why the Third Kazekage disappeared, and who killed him? And when he disappeared, why did Elder Chiyo's grandson also vanish?"
"Elder Chiyo's grandson?" Hanzo was puzzled. He hadn't paid attention to a mere genin.
At this point, Byakuya continued, "Chiyo's grandson, Sasori, is a genius puppeteer from Sunagakure. After his parents were killed by Konoha's White Fang, he created the 'Mother' and 'Father' puppets. It was he who killed the Third Kazekage."
"That's impossible! How could a young boy kill the Kazekage? Besides, the Third Kazekage wielded Magnet Release, which is the natural counter to puppets!"
Hanzo quickly denied it. He couldn't believe Sasori had the strength to kill the Third Kazekage.
"What if he used a sneak attack? If he arranged to meet the Third Kazekage in secret without bringing his puppets, would the Kazekage refuse to meet a genius puppeteer from his own village? In such a scenario, a sudden attack would have a high chance of success."
After listening to Byakuya's analysis, Hanzo fell into deep thought. This scenario did increase the chances of success significantly. However, the Third Kazekage was known as the strongest Kazekage. Even if ambushed, he should have been able to react in time. If he seized the opportunity, Sasori wouldn't have stood a chance against him.
Yet, the Third Kazekage had indeed disappeared, and Sasori vanished along with him. If any other powerful ninja had killed the Kazekage, they wouldn't have concealed it. For the other four major villages, assassinating a Kage would be a testament to their strength.
"Think about it further. Under what circumstances would a puppeteer be able to counter Magnet Release and also be immune to your poisons?" Byakuya continued to prompt Hanzo, a mocking expression playing on his face.
Hanzo pondered for a long time. The weakness of a puppeteer lay in their physical body. As long as the chakra threads could be traced, the puppeteer's frail body could be targeted for a direct confrontation.
To win in a direct battle, a puppeteer had only two options: either be personally stronger than the enemy or eliminate the inherent weaknesses of being a puppeteer. At this point, Hanzo had a faint idea and tentatively said, "Byakuya, are you suggesting that one could turn themselves into a human puppet, hiding their real body among the other puppets?"
Byakuya nodded slightly, "Hanzo-sensei, your insight is sharp. Unfortunately, Elder Chiyo did not think of this back then, but her grandson did. That's how he was able to kill the strongest Kazekage, the Third Kazekage, at such a young age. But seriously, just the thought of such a monster existing in the ninja world keeps me up at night, always on edge."
You're one of those monsters too… Hanzo thought to himself, but Byakuya's idea indeed made him feel a chill.
Back when Sunagakure and Amegakure clashed over a decade ago, he used salamander poison to defeat the Sunagakure forces, forcing them to retreat from the Land of Rain. Chiyo's puppet brigade left a lasting impression on him. If puppeteers were immune to poison, he would have paid a much steeper price.
If Chiyo had turned herself into a human puppet back then, his chances of victory would have been slim. He would have had to rely solely on his masterful swordsmanship and taijutsu to dismantle the puppets.
At this moment, Hanzo suddenly thought of something and asked, "Byakuya, where did you get this information?"
Byakuya frowned slightly, "Hanzo-sensei, don't underestimate my intelligence network and analytical skills."
"This is the information network of the Uzumaki clan? Even after their destruction, they still have such resources."
Hanzo sighed with admiration, seeming to have found his answer.
He, as an ordinary person, even if he had the fortune to become a semi-deity in the ninja world, lacked the deep-rooted heritage of clans like the Senju and Uzumaki, which spanned centuries. His era only spanned a little over a decade, whereas these bloodline clans had endured for hundreds of years, producing formidable individuals every few decades that caught people's attention.
Since Hanzo was speculating on his own, Byakuya didn't bother explaining further, as everything could simply be attributed to the long-extinct Uzumaki clan.
Given the richness of his bloodline, even if an ancestor of the Uzumaki were resurrected, he would still be a direct descendant of the Uzumaki clan, and no one would doubt his identity.
At this moment, Hanzo seemed to recall something and said seriously:
"Byakuya, earlier you mentioned that Sasori killed the Third Kazekage. So, Sasori should still be wandering the ninja world now. Are you thinking...?"
Byakuya nodded.
"Yes, I do have the idea of recruiting Sasori. The Akatsuki currently has many members, but we still lack true elites. We need the addition of this fresh blood."
Hearing this, Hanzo thought to himself.
Still not enough... There are already several Kage-level strong warriors.
Apart from the shortage in numbers of ninja and territorial area, the strength of Amegakure now far exceeds that of Sunagakure, ranking among the top five ninja villages.
However, Byakuya shook his head, speaking earnestly:
"Not enough yet. We need at least the strength to overwhelm the five major ninja villages. We are still far from that."
However, aside from recruiting Sasori, Byakuya also intended to gather more powerful ninjas. After all, their strength would ultimately strengthen Byakuya himself.