Chapter 405: No Return

"Don't think I'll let you go just because you spout something inexplicable!"

Sasori's voice trembled with anger, his face twisted in rage. Minato's words had clearly struck a nerve, but they were words he refused to hear. After all, who would listen to the reasoning of their enemy in the heat of vengeance?

With a flick of his fingers, the Third Kazekage puppet lunged forward, its many hidden compartments opening to unleash a barrage of ninja tools and hidden weapons.

The Minato standing in place didn't flinch as the projectiles tore through him—only for his form to waver and disappear. An afterimage.

Sasori's instincts screamed danger. He leaped backward, his fingers pulling the chakra threads to reposition the puppet. In an instant, beads of sweat formed on his forehead.

Minato was already less than a meter away, his expression calm but his eyes piercing.

Yet Minato didn't attack. Instead, his gaze shifted momentarily to the chakra threads controlling the Kazekage puppet.

Sasori followed Minato's line of sight, and his eyes widened in horror. Before he could react, Minato's kunai, enhanced with a sharp wind chakra blade, sliced downward. Half of the chakra threads snapped under the blade's precision.

"Click, click!"

Sasori yanked hard on the remaining threads, pulling the Kazekage puppet away just before Minato could sever the rest. The puppet whirled through the air and landed by Sasori's side, but only one thread remained intact.

Sasori's chest heaved, his eyes wide with realization. Minato had held back. He hadn't made a mistake—he had deliberately spared him.

The fear in Sasori's eyes twisted into frustration and fury. "You!" he spat, his voice filled with hate. But deep inside, he knew the truth. He couldn't win against Minato. Not here. Not now.

Minato's face betrayed a flicker of hesitation as he observed the young man in front of him. Despite Sasori's hatred and madness, Minato understood the root of it all. The boy's desire for revenge wasn't inherently wrong. It was war that had sown these seeds of hatred.

Yet Sasori had chosen the worst possible path—poisoning the Kazekage, betraying his village, and losing himself to the pursuit of "eternal art."

Minato tightened his grip on his kunai. Sasori's potential for destruction was too great to ignore. Leaving him alive would be a gamble, one that could cost many lives in the future.

But before Minato could act, Sasori's expression twisted into something darker.

"Bang, bang, bang!"

Explosions echoed through the forest as a faint purple mist began to rise.

"What's going on?" Kakashi, Obito, and Rin, who had just reached the outskirts of the forest, turned at the sound. They stared in alarm as the mist spread, its color unnatural and foreboding.

Minato's eyes narrowed, his senses expanding to take in the situation. "Poison fog…" he muttered.

He recognized the composition immediately—Desert Sorrow. The toxic mist Chiyo had once used during the Second Ninja World War. Wherever it spread, it killed indiscriminately, leaving only withered vegetation and lifeless silence in its wake.

Sasori's breathing was labored as he watched Minato, his lips curling into a deranged grin. "Konoha and Hot Spring Village are allies, aren't they? What will happen to your alliance if the civilians of Hot Spring die because of you?"

The madness in Sasori's eyes left no doubt—he had prepared for this moment. If he couldn't kill Minato directly, he would strike at the village's reputation, forcing Konoha to shoulder the blame for the poison's devastation.

Minato's gaze turned steely. If the mist reached the town, countless lives would be lost. There was no time to hesitate.

"Shadow Clone Technique!"

Three clones appeared beside him, their expressions mirroring his grim determination. Without a word, Minato's real body disappeared, while the clones darted in different directions to contain the spreading poison.

Sasori saw the murderous intent in Minato's eyes just before he vanished. The realization sent a shiver down his spine.

Sasori didn't wait. He turned and fled deeper into the forest, heading directly toward the source of the poisonous fog.

Near the town gates, Minato appeared beside his students. His sudden arrival startled them.

"That purple mist is poison," he said urgently. "Warn everyone in the town to evacuate immediately!"

Kakashi, Rin, and Obito nodded without hesitation. Though the realization shocked them, they obeyed Minato's orders and sprinted into the town to raise the alarm.

Minato watched them for a moment before sitting cross-legged. Natural energy swirled around him as he began to gather power.

Within seconds, the transformation was complete. Orange markings appeared at the corners of his eyes, and his blue pupils shifted horizontally. Sage Mode.

In the distance, Minato's three clones also entered Sage Mode. Their speed increased dramatically, allowing them to reach the poison's edges far faster.

"Hurry," Minato muttered to himself as he observed the mist creeping closer to the town.

Yet something felt off. His senses searched for Sasori but found nothing. The boy had vanished, likely using a technique to suppress his presence.

At the forest's four corners, Minato's clones formed seals simultaneously. A massive barrier of purple flames erupted, encircling the forest.

"Four Purple Flame Array!"

The poisonous mist writhed against the barrier, unable to escape.

At the town gates, Minato created another shadow clone to stabilize the formation. His real body ascended to the top of the barrier, where he quickly formed seals.

"Fire Release: Great Flame Bullet!"

A massive orb of fire erupted from his mouth, burning through the mist. The addition of a wind-enhanced pressure wave spread the flames further, intensifying the blaze.

Yet Minato knew fire alone wouldn't be enough. Sasori's poison was insidious, and even evaporating it would leave behind dangerous remnants.

Leaving another clone to maintain the barrier, Minato disappeared once more, his real body hunting for Sasori.

At the foot of a cliff behind the forest, Sasori leaned against the rocky surface, his breathing ragged. The purple mist swirled faintly in the distance, held back by the barrier Minato had erected.

Fear flickered in Sasori's heart. He had come dangerously close to being trapped within the formation. Yet, for now, he had escaped.

His hand trembled as he steadied himself. "Namikaze Minato," he muttered, his voice low and bitter. "Just wait. I won't give up."

His red eyes glimmered with determination as he forced his weakened body into the shadows of the mountain.

From that moment on, Sasori stepped onto a path of no return—a path where there was no looking back.

==============================================

Support me at p@treon.com/goldengaruda and check out more chapter of this or more early access chapter of my other fanfic translation.

=============================================

Check out a new Fanfic [ Supernatural: Adam, The 3rd Winchester Brother]

Not a translation but my own fanfic