Pain was his last memory.
A searing agony erupted from the back of his neck, as if someone had struck him with an iron hammer. Hiroki's consciousness plunged into darkness in an instant.
He felt his body collapse like a puppet with severed strings, slumping limply to the ground.
When his awareness coalesced again, Hiroki found himself suspended in an endless, deep blue space.
Before him was the familiar loading interface that had accompanied him for nine years, but now it had been completely transformed. A clean, minimalist desktop had replaced the eternally unchanging progress bar. In the upper left corner were clear icons: [My Computer (Sawada Hiroki)], [Recycle Bin], and [Network].
So this is the true form of the Golden Finger that screwed me over for nine years? A personal computer embedded in my soul?
What good is a computer?
Before Hiroki could even mock the overly retro interface, a muffled voice began "playing" directly in his consciousness through some unknown channel.
"Hurry up! The Leaf shinobi could catch up any minute now!" a hoarse voice rasped.
"What do we do with this brat?" another voice asked.
"What else? Take him near the border and dispose of him. Leave no trace. He's just a liability."
Cloud Ninja! A bone-chilling cold gripped Hiroki's consciousness.
He was going to be silenced! He frantically tried to regain control of his body, like shaking a mouse in front of a frozen computer screen, desperate to wake it up.
But his efforts only yielded the message: [ "Control Panel is not responding. Wait for response?" ]
Huh?
Control Panel is not responding?
What does that even mean?
Damn it! Hiroki forced himself to stay calm. His only hope now was this newly activated "computer."
Wait... could my Golden Finger be treating my body like a running computer?
With a thought, Hiroki "clicked" on [ My Computer ]. A window popped up, displaying several disk partitions: [ C Drive (System Drive) ] and [ D Drive (Memory Drive) ].
But they were both empty, clearly lacking any usable applications.
Damn it.
Still, his theory had gained some validation.
—[D Drive (Memory Drive)] This must be where my memories are stored.
It seemed my Golden Finger treated me like a personal computer.
What good is this? How can I quickly regain control of my body?
Hiroki didn't have time for detailed inspection. Frowning, he immediately focused his attention on the taskbar across the entire desktop. He needed a more powerful tool. He remembered the function that had saved him from countless system crashes in his previous life.
Ctrl+Alt+Delete!
He mentally shouted this sacred key combination with all his might.
Buzz—!
The deep blue desktop instantly switched, and a clean, efficient window popped up:
Sawada Hiroki - Task Manager
Within the window, under the [ Processes ] tab, rows of data were rapidly refreshing.
ProcessNameCPU UsageMemory UsageStatus | |---|---|---|---| | Fear.exe75%2048MBRunningSeverePain_BackOfNeck.log15%512MBRunning
[ BodyControlPanel.exe ] | 5%1024MBNotResponding
[ Dizziness.dll ] | 3%258MBRunning
[ SurvivalInstinct.sys ] | 1%64MBRunning
[ Consciousness.bat ] | 1%32MBRunning
[ ... ] | [ ... ] | [ ... ] | [ ... ] |
Found it! Hiroki's consciousness sharpened like never before.
Yes, my hunch was right! My Golden Finger has granularized my body into a computer, and my skills have been broken down into various programs.
This also means I seem to have absolute control over my body.
Hiroki quickly scanned the entire Task Manager. The problem was glaringly obvious.
The process named Fear.exe was consuming nearly all his "CPU" resources, causing BodyControlPanel.exe, responsible for bodily control, to freeze into a "Not Responding" state.
Meanwhile, the processes Severe Pain and Trembling were continuously draining his "memory," making his thoughts sluggish and disjointed.
He couldn't wait any longer! He had to manually optimize the System and reclaim his control.
Then he would regain control of his body.
Hiroki's will materialized as a mouse cursor, precisely selecting Fear.exe.
"End Process!"
["Are you sure you want to end the process 'Fear.exe'? Terminating this process may cause system instability."]
"Confirm!"
Without the slightest hesitation.
The instant he clicked "Confirm," a frigid stream seemed to surge from the depths of his soul, instantly washing over his entire body.
The heart-pounding agitation, the blood-freezing cold, and the overwhelming panic in the face of death—all vanished as abruptly as an appliance with its power cord yanked out.
In their place came an absolute, even frightening, calm.
The CPU usage rate plummeted from 99% to below 20% in an instant.
"It works!"
Hiroki's spirits lifted. He immediately repeated the process:
Select Dizziness.dll -> [ End Process ] -> [ Confirm ].
The dizziness and headache caused by the severe blow vanished.
Select SeverePainBackofNeck.log -> [ End Process ] -> [ Confirm ].
The excruciating pain at the back of his neck, enough to blur his consciousness, had been blocked. The pain signals were still being transmitted, but the program processing them had been shut down, preventing it from affecting Hiroki's core consciousness.
Now, only the final, most critical step remained.
Hiroki's mental cursor hovered over the unresponsive `bodycontrolpanel.exe`. He took a deep breath and selected "End Task."
["Attempting to end this task..."]
The deep blue space before him instantly dissolved into pitch black. All sensations—the jostling from being carried on someone's shoulder, the wind whistling past his ears, the rough fabric against his skin—vanished completely.
He felt stripped bare, plunged into an endless void.
Yet the azure system interface remained visible before him. It seemed he had temporarily severed all external signals and his control over his body.
["Desktop Window Manager has stopped working and been closed."]
Hiroki took another deep breath. If his calculations were correct, all he needed to do now was restart the control panel to regain control of his body!
["Starting `bodycontrolpanel.exe..."]
A faint glimmer of sensation, like a pixel lighting up in the darkness, began to coalesce.
He could feel himself being carried on someone's shoulder, jolting violently with each stride. The rough fabric of the vest chafed against his cheek, causing a sharp, stinging sensation.
He could hear the wind rushing past, and the heavy, labored breathing of the Cloud Ninja carrying him.
"That guy... he seems to have moved a little?" the Cloud Ninja carrying Hiroki suddenly spoke up.
"Impossible. I hit him hard enough to keep him out until morning," another voice replied from nearby, clearly that of the leader.
"Probably just an unconscious twitch from the jostling. But just to be safe..." The leader's voice turned cold. "Find an opening later and give him another hard one. Make sure he doesn't wake up and cause trouble."
Another hard one?!
Having just regained control of his body, Hiroki's heart pounded in alarm. He had already mustered every last shred of strength, preparing to move his fingers—even a slight twitch could create an opportunity.
But the leader's words were like a bucket of ice water dumped over him.
If he opened his eyes or made any move to resist now, he would only be knocked out more severely, or even killed outright. His opponents were seasoned ninja, while he was just a student who hadn't even mastered the Three-Body Technique. He stood no chance against them.
What should I do?
Hiroki made his decision in an instant, his consciousness diving back into the System.
Generally, computers have power settings! And within those settings...
["Start Menu -> Settings -> Power Options."]
A familiar window popped up.
["◎ Recommended: Balanced Mode (Automatically balances performance and energy consumption)
○ High-Performance Mode (Prioritizes performance but consumes more energy)
● Energy-Saving/Low-Performance Mode (Reduces system performance to conserve energy) "]
That's it!
Could Low-Performance Mode allow him to feign sleep? Hiroki wasn't sure, but it was the only idea he could think of right now!
Without hesitation, Hiroki activated Low-Performance Mode.
[" After switching to Low-Performance Mode, the system will disable non-essential background activities, limit CPU maximum frequency, and reduce sensory input/output refresh rates to maximize runtime. Confirm? "]
"Confirm!"
Hiroki completed the switch just before the Cloud Ninja carrying him stopped to check his condition.
In an instant, his entire "System" seemed to enter standby mode. His heartbeat was forcibly slowed to an extremely low rate, and his breathing became shallow and prolonged, almost imperceptible.
All commands attempting to activate his muscles were automatically intercepted by the System as "high-energy activities."
From an external perspective, he appeared to be a critically injured man in a deep coma, his vital signs barely detectable—even more convincingly unconscious than before.
"See? Nothing's wrong," the Cloud Ninja leader said impatiently, checking Hiroki's pulse and breathing. "Stop being paranoid and pick up the pace! We need to cross the Land of Fire's border before dawn!"
The immediate crisis had passed.
Hiroki's consciousness, like a ghost lurking deep within the System, calmly observed everything. He couldn't control his body, but his mind was more active than ever before.
In Low-Performance Mode, all he could do was think and receive information.
As his body jostled against the back of the Cloud Ninja carrying him, his arm pressed tightly against the ninja's back.
Just then, an unexpected pop-up appeared in the lower right corner of his mental desktop:
[" Detected another computer: 'Sakuchi'. Establishing temporary connection via 'Chakra Communication Protocol'. "]
["Ding-dong~"]
[" Detected another connectable computer, "Sakuchi." A temporary connection has been established via the Chakra Communication Protocol. "]
[" Open and view files? "]
Hiroki's consciousness jolted violently.
This... is possible?!
Physical contact actually registered as a data cable connection by the System?!
Is "Sakuchi" the name of this Cloud Ninja carrying me? I can actually see his real name directly?!
Almost trembling, he willed the System to select Yes.
A new window popped up, titled Sakuchi (C1:) System Drive, followed by Sakuchi (D1:) Memory Drive.
Within the window, folders and files were densely packed, their names making his breath catch in his throat.
[" Folder: Cloud Stream Sword Art Insights
Folder: Lightning Release Ninjutsu Training Notes
Folder: Assassination and Stealth Techniques
File: Chakra Nature Transformation (Lightning) - Beginner to Mastery.zip
File: Cloud Ninja Style Body Techniques.zip
File: Lightning Release: False Darkness.exe
File: Perception Ninjutsu.dat "]
This... this was the culmination of a Cloud Ninja's entire life's work! The very foundation of a ninja's livelihood!
Hiroki's heart—no, his dormant consciousness—began to pound wildly. If he could copy all of this, could he transform directly from a ninja apprentice into a full-fledged Cloud Ninja?
The key to breaking free was right before his eyes!
Without a moment's hesitation, he mentally executed Ctrl+A to select all, followed by Ctrl+C to copy.
Immediately, he opened his own D Drive (Memory Drive), created a new folder named "Ninjutsu Backup," and slammed Ctrl+V to paste!
A file transfer progress bar window popped up instantly.
[" Calculating required time and space...
Total: 128,562 files, total size: 3.2GB "]
[" Copying files from another computer (Sakuchi)'s D Drive (Memory Drive) to my computer (Sawada Hiroki)'s D Drive (Memory Drive): Ninjutsu Backup
Remaining files: 128,562 "]
TransferSpeedRemainingTimeEstimatedPowerConsumption | |---|---|---| | 1.5 KB/sApproximately25 days 1285.7%
Below the progress bar, a line of glaring red warning text made his heart sink.
[" Warning: Currently in "Low-Performance Mode," data transfer speed is severely restricted. The transfer process will continuously drain core power. Estimated remaining system power will drop below the minimum threshold of 10% required to sustain vital functions in 23 hours. Proceed with caution! "]
Twenty-five days?! What a joke! He wouldn't even survive twenty-five hours!