I'll be really pissed if Kishimoto makes up another batch of characters from nowhere just to fawn all over Sasuke and be expendable.

You want to treat your underlings as cannonfodder, fine, but you should at least have to suffer the consequences of...running out of underlings.

Although, really, you could say he already has replacements. Between Madara's ability to pull him out of danger, and Zetsu's ability to refill his chakra, he's already got his next group of support staff all lined up for him...