Breaking the Game, Freedom

The fish on the sickbed knew nothing, sleeping soundly. In the middle of the night, it even developed a habit of rolling up the blanket.

It would wrap the pillow and blanket into a ball, tuck it between its legs, and bury its head under the pillow – a habit the fish had always had.

However, the fish was not wearing any clothes, and its small body was exposed to the air. A nurse had come to tidy the blanket for the fish several times, but it would only mess it up again shortly after.

The weather was still good today. Everyone in the village knew what had happened last night, but the vast majority only knew about the official announcement released by Konoha.

"Uchiha Itachi colluded with foreign enemies and launched a rebellion..."

A pre-fabricated announcement was issued from the Hokage Building and spread to every corner of the village.

Ultimately, the village's handling of the matter was to designate Uchiha Itachi as an S-rank missing-nin of Konohagakure, forever listed on Konoha's mission board.

The only real action Konoha took was to dispatch a few teams of ninjas to pursue him, just for show. Afterward, Konoha began a series of information releases, aiming to guide public opinion and downplay the Uchiha incident.

Because the Uchiha clan's residential area was on the outskirts of Konoha, and most of the Uchiha clan members were very arrogant, ordinary ninjas and civilians couldn't easily interact with them. Coupled with the guidance from Konoha's higher-ups, the Uchiha clan's extermination did not cause significant upheaval in the village.

"Aaaah~~"

The fish, now awake, stretched with its eyes closed, kicking the cups beside it to the floor.

With sleepy eyes half-closed, the fish sat up. Still groggy from waking up, it momentarily forgot where it was.

It reached out and fumbled around on the bed.

"Where's my phone?"

For most young people in the previous world, the first thing they did upon waking was to find their phone, and the fish was no exception.

As it searched, the fish suddenly stopped, its consciousness gradually clearing.

Looking up at its surroundings, the fish was a bit bewildered.

"Why am I in a hospital room? Did I transmigrate again?" The fish's mind was filled with question marks. It remembered last night very clearly; it should have fallen into Danzo's Root, and they were preparing to dissect it.

But it was clearly not in Danzo's hands now. In the anime, Danzo's territory was always characterized by darkness, but the hospital room it was in now had no dark feeling at all. Everything was clean, and it could see the distant Hokage Building from the window.

It remembered the Hokage Building very clearly; it was one of the iconic buildings in the entire Konohagakure.

"So I must be in Konoha's hospital right now," the fish thought.

But this brought up another problem: why was it in Konoha's hospital?

It couldn't figure out how it ended up here.

Just then, the hospital room door was pushed open, and a beautiful nurse walked in, followed by a scene of mutual staring.

This scene lasted for about five or six seconds, ending when the nurse, blushing, lowered her head in "defeat."

"Why is she blushing?"

The fish pondered, then looked down, and its face instantly turned redder than the nurse's.

It was completely naked, staring at a girl, making the fish feel utterly mortified and incredibly awkward.

Next, the fish displayed unprecedented speed, grabbing the blanket from the floor and wrapping itself up.

Seeing the fish scrambling about, the nurse chuckled behind her hand, but quickly stopped, her expression shifting to one of pity as she looked at the fish.

"These are clothes for you, and this medicine. Remember to take it, just one dose a day," the nurse said, carrying a set of clothes and medicine to the fish's side and placing them on the cabinet next to the bed.

"Thank you!"

The fish thanked the nurse with a blushing face.

"You're welcome."

The nurse smiled at the fish.

"Can you tell me who brought me here?" Although embarrassed, the fish was more concerned with figuring out how it got here.

The nurse didn't think much of the fish's question and answered directly, "Lord Hokage personally brought you here last night. There was also another child about your age."

"Lord Hokage, that's Hiruzen Sarutobi! But why would he save me?" After receiving the news, the fish still couldn't understand. Hiruzen Sarutobi had no reason to save it!

"Maybe he had a change of heart?"

This reason seemed the most plausible.

"Never mind, I won't think about it. Judging by the situation, I should be safe now!"

Although it didn't know why Hiruzen Sarutobi saved it, it was clear that its life was no longer in danger.

Hiruzen Sarutobi wasn't exactly a good person in the anime, but one thing was certain: he was completely loyal to Konoha. As long as it didn't show any hatred towards Konoha, Hiruzen Sarutobi shouldn't harm it.

The fish was deep in thought. Seeing the fish looking down and contemplating, the nurse assumed it was lost in the painful events of the previous night.

The nurse had also heard about the Uchiha tragedy and couldn't think of any words of comfort, as such an event was beyond what most people could bear.

Moreover, general comfort might make things worse, so after putting down the items, the nurse quietly left, slowly closing the door so as not to disturb the fish.

After the fish finished thinking, it wanted to ask: Did Lord Hokage say how he would deal with me?

But when it looked up, the nurse was gone.

With no one there, it couldn't ask further. It decided to put on the clothes first. There was also a plate of fruit on the cabinet nearby. It picked one up, wiped it casually, and took a bite.

He took the first bite of fish and couldn't stop, quickly turning a plate of fruit into peels and pits.

After eating so much fruit, Yu You felt even hungrier, as if his appetite had been whetted. His stomach protested, indicating it needed more food.

"Can I go out now?"

Yu You looked at the hospital room door, unsure of his current state—was he being watched or was no one paying attention?

"Let's try."

After a few minutes of hesitation, Yu You decided to try.

As he approached the door, he reached out and slowly opened it. The process took about a minute. Once the door was ajar, he first secretly observed the scene outside.

Outside was a very ordinary hospital corridor, with no guards as he had imagined.

Confirming there was no danger, Yu You opened the door and walked out.

Two ninja were approaching from the other end of the corridor. They smiled and greeted Yu You kindly when they saw him. Yu You smiled and nodded back. The friendliness between them highlighted the peaceful atmosphere of Konoha.

Yu You wasn't wearing Uchiha clothes at the moment, so the regular ninja didn't know his true identity, mistaking him for an ordinary child.

"I'm free."

Yu You ran straight out of the hospital, not stopping until he reached a lakeside.

This was the most relaxed he had felt since transmigrating to the Naruto world. Although he didn't know what deeper difficulties awaited him, he had escaped a certain death. This was "freedom."