25 days?!
As the glaring red warning text from Low-Performance Mode flooded his consciousness, Hiroki nearly lost the icy composure forced upon him by the Task Manager.
What kind of sick joke is this?!
Forget 25 days—he wouldn't even survive 25 hours!
The Cloud Ninja captain had already given explicit orders: as soon as they left the village limits, they were to find a secluded spot and "deal with" him.
This plan for a full system replication was clearly a dead end. His computer's replication efficiency was far too low. How am I supposed to upgrade the hardware in this situation...?
He had to abandon this brute-force approach, the most inefficient and foolish method possible.
First, he needed a way to survive. Then, he could figure out how to escape his current predicament and flee with Kushina!
For example, he could start by replicating a Ninjutsu that would break his restraints. Then, relying on his abilities, he could try to delete all of the enemy's Ninjutsu and Taijutsu. But... no, I don't have a Ninjutsu capable of delivering a one-hit kill. I need to replicate one of those before I can escape!
But even if he killed one Cloud Ninja, how could he delete the files of the others who hadn't made contact with him?
Hiroki forced himself to think rapidly.
His immediate priority was to stall for time—to hold out until Minato arrived as in the original story, or until the Anbu caught up!
But as a programmer, what could he do to buy time?
He couldn't exactly implant a Trojan horse into their minds, could he?
Wait a minute...
Trojan horse?
Hiroki's eyes flashed with inspiration.
Could he delete the enemy's files?
No, that wouldn't work. Even if he could erase this guy's entire memory and thought process, he'd only kill one. The other ninja would react instantly, and he'd be dead in seconds!
What other options did he have?
Hiroki's mental focus materialized as a mouse cursor. He decisively clicked the "Cancel" button on the file transfer window, then reopened the window titled "Sakuchi's Computer."
Hiroki began browsing the files on Sakuchi's C drive.
Where would a real programmer look first when searching for system vulnerabilities?
The answer was obvious.
Hiroki's gaze locked onto an inconspicuous folder: "Temp."
[" Temporary Folder. "]
This is where all the various caches, logs, and temporary data generated during system operation are piled up. It's chaotic, massive, and unremarkable, yet it's both the easiest place to overlook and the most accurate reflection of the system's current operational state.
Hiroki's consciousness "double-clicked" to enter.
Countless fragmented file streams instantly flooded his "screen." Their filenames were a jumbled mess: [ footstepsound01.wav ], [ leafshapescan.jpg ], [ taskprioritylog.txt ]...
Still, Hiroki could discern from the naming conventions that these files represented external information received by Sakuchi, the Cloud Ninja carrying his brain, and fleeting thoughts that had flashed through his mind.
Hiroki rapidly scanned these "cache files," searching for any exploitable vulnerabilities.
Suddenly, a filename stopped him in his tracks:
[" DoubtCaptainMerit_Allocation.log "]
Hiroki's heart leaped. He immediately "opened" the log file, which contained only a single line of plain text:
[" xx-19:07:35 "]
["That Uzumaki brat is worth a fortune... The Captain wouldn't try to hog all the credit for this mission, would he...?"]
That's it!
Hiroki's mind raced faster than ever before, and he couldn't help but grin.
No, not yet. I can't let myself smile.
He opened the Task Manager and quickly terminated the process labeled "Joy." He needed to stay calm. His audacious plan hadn't been proven effective yet!
He wanted to copy this folder—but not for himself. He intended to give it to Sakuchi, the Cloud Ninja.
He couldn't simply force a completely new idea into Sakuchi's mind; that would be too abrupt. But...
He could use the existing "ThoughtFile," modify it, and amplify it, letting Sakuchi's own plausible "flashofinsight" fill the entire [Temp] directory.
His will materialized into a keyboard, and his fingers flew across the keys.
He selected the file `DoubtCaptainCredit_Allocation.log` and pressed [Ctrl+C] to copy it. Immediately afterward, he pressed [Ctrl+V] to paste it.
`DoubtCaptainCreditAllocationCopy.log`
He renamed the copy to `ValueAssessmentHostage.log`.
Then, he "opened" the new file and inserted a new "variable" after the original text, "...that Uzumaki brat is worth a fortune...":
["The unconscious brat beside me can't be killed yet. What if the Captain runs off with the others and that red-haired kid while I'm busy disposing of the body?"]
Having done all this, Hiroki didn't hesitate for a moment. He selected the modified "Thought File" and, with all his might, pressed Ctrl+V hundreds of times into Sakuchi's [ Temp ] folder!
In an instant, over a hundred identical "temporarythoughts" were forcibly injected into Sakuchi's immediate memory stream, flooding his original train of thought like a surging tide.
....................
In the real world, the rapidly advancing Cloud Ninja squad was about to emerge from the final stretch of forest. The Captain, leading the group, glanced at the sky and coldly ordered, "This is far enough. Sakuchi, deal with the brat. Make it quick and leave no trace."
"Yes, sir!" Sakuchi instinctively responded, throwing Hiroki from his shoulder onto the ground and drawing a kunai from his waist.
But just as he was about to strike, a thought surged through his mind like an electric shock—clear, vivid, and overwhelming: Kill this brat just like that?
What if the Captain uses the time while I'm disposing of the body to flee with the others and that red-haired brat? Could they be trying to hog all the credit for themselves?!
The thought seemed so logical, as if it were the natural conclusion of his own careful deliberation.
"Captain, wait!" Sakuchi blurted out.
The Captain, who had been preparing to set up a perimeter, frowned and turned back impatiently. "What is it? Stop dragging your feet."
"Captain, I think there's something strange about this brat!"
As Sakuchi spoke, he nudged the motionless Hiroki on the ground with his toe. "Think about it—he slipped out of the ninja academy with that Uzumaki girl, and we just happened to run into them? It's too much of a coincidence. What if... he's the son of some important figure, secretly assigned to protect the redhead?"
A flicker of impatience crossed the Captain's eyes. "Stop speculating. What value could a brat with such pitifully weak chakra possibly have?"
"No, that's precisely why he's suspicious!" Guided by the "cache" Hiroki had implanted, Sakuchi's reasoning became unusually "clear." "This could be a disguise! Let's take him back to the village and have the experts interrogate him. We might extract unexpected intelligence about Konoha's defenses. That would be far more valuable than simply killing him! And if he turns out to be useless, we can deal with him later!"
Seeing his subordinate's insistence, even bordering on agitation, the Captain fell silent.
Though he felt Sakuchi was making too much of it, his words weren't entirely without merit.
The mission to capture the Uzumaki Descendant was S-Rank, so even the slightest gain was worth pursuing.
Most importantly, time was of the essence. He didn't have time to argue over the life or death of some brat.
"Fine," the Captain finally waved his hand impatiently. "Keep him for now. But keep a close eye on him. If he tries any tricks, you deal with him personally!"
"Yes, Captain!" Sakuchi's heart leaped with joy, convinced he had easily seen through the Captain's scheme to claim the red-haired brat for himself.
Hiroki, slung back over Sakuchi's shoulder, let out a long, silent sigh of relief deep inside.
His gamble had paid off.
His first "Garbage Data Attack" had successfully commuted his death sentence to a stay of execution.
But he couldn't afford to relax even for a moment. A stay of execution was still death.
His top priority remained finding a way to escape this predicament. The Garbage Data Attack had been a stalling tactic.
And the purpose of stalling was, of course, to copy Ninjutsu! Hiroki gazed wistfully at the vast library of Ninjutsu on Sakuchi's Computer... so much, yet he could only copy a tiny fraction...
What a pity.
But survival came first! Hiroki didn't hesitate any longer, quickly selecting three Ninjutsu:
["Rope Escape Technique"]
["Lightning Release: False Darkness"]
["Cloud Style Taijutsu Fundamentals"]
The Rope Escape Technique was essential for escape. The Taijutsu Fundamentals might allow him to attempt physical contact with opponents in future battles, creating opportunities to instantly implant garbage data. And Lightning Release: False Darkness was his only lethal weapon against Cloud Ninja while unarmed!
In the next moment, three new tasks appeared in his "Download List":
[" Calculating required time and space...
Total: 3 files, Total size: 17.24MB
Copying files from other computer (Sakuchi)'s D1 drive (Memory Disk) to my computer (Sawada Hiroki)'s D drive (Memory Disk): Ninjutsu Backup
Remaining files: 3 "]
FilenameSizeEstimatedTime | | --- | --- | --- | | CloudStyleTaijutsuFundamentals.zip5.6MBApproximately 1 hour and 2 minutesRopeEscapeTechnique.zip640KBApproximately 7 minutesLightningRelease: False Darkness.exe 11.0MBApproximately 2 hours and 3 minutes
.........................