Task Manager

Pain was his last memory.

A sharp pain in the back of his neck, as if someone had brought down a hammer with all their strength, plunged Hiroki's consciousness into darkness in an instant.

He felt his body crumple like a puppet with its strings cut.

When his consciousness gathered again, Hiroki found himself floating in an endless deep-blue space.

Before him was the familiar loading screen that had accompanied him for nine years, but now it had been completely transformed. A simple desktop had replaced the same old progress bar. In the upper-left corner were several clear icons: [My Computer (Sawada Hiroki)], [Recycle Bin], and [Network].

So this was the true face of the Golden Finger that had screwed him over for nine years? A personal computer built into his soul?

What use was a computer?

Before Hiroki could complain about the overly retro interface, a vague voice came through some unknown channel and played directly in his mind.

"...Hurry it up! The Konoha ninja could catch up with us at any moment!" a hoarse voice said.

"What do we do with this kid?" another voice asked.

"What do you think? Take him somewhere near the border and get rid of him. We can't leave any traces. He's just dead weight."

Those Cloud Ninja! An icy chill seized Hiroki's consciousness.

They were going to kill him to keep him quiet! He frantically tried to regain control of his body, like someone desperately shaking a mouse in front of a computer to wake a frozen screen.

But all that got him was the message: [Control Panel is not responding. Would you like to wait for it to respond?]

Huh?

Control Panel wasn't responding?

What did that mean?

Damn it! Hiroki forced himself to calm down. This newly booted-up "computer" was the only thing he could rely on now.

Wait, could his Golden Finger actually be treating his body as a computer that was running?

Hiroki "clicked" [My Computer] with his mind, and a window popped up, showing several drive partitions: [C Drive (System Drive)] and [D Drive (Memory Disk)].

But they were empty. Clearly, there weren't any usable applications.

Damn it.

Still, his theory had been partly confirmed.

--[D Drive (Memory Disk)] looked like the place where his memories were stored.

It seemed his Golden Finger really did treat him as a [personal computer].

?What use was that? Was there any way he could quickly regain control of his body?

Hiroki had no time to look around. Frowning, he immediately focused on the taskbar across the desktop. He needed a more powerful tool. He thought of the function that had saved him from freezing countless times in his previous life.

"Ctrl+Alt+Delete!"

He shouted the sacred key combination with all his might in his mind.

Bzzzt—!

The deep-blue desktop instantly switched, and a simple, efficient window popped up.

[Sawada Hiroki - Task Manager]

Under the [Processes] tab, rows of data refreshed rapidly.

|Process Name| CPU Usage|Memory Usage|Status|

|---|---|---|---|

|Fear.exe | 75%|2048MB |Running|

|Neck_Pain.log | 15%| 512MB |Running|

|Body Control Panel.exe | 5%|1024MB |Not responding|

|Dizziness.dll | 3%| 258MB |Running|

|Survival Instinct.sys | 1%| 64MB |Running|

|Consciousness Awake.bat | 1%| 32MB |Running|

|...|...|...|...|

Found it! Hiroki's mind had never been clearer.

That was right. His guess had been correct: his Golden Finger had broken his body down into a computer, with each of his abilities represented by a program.

That also meant he seemed to have absolute control over his own body.

Hiroki quickly looked through the Task Manager. The problem was obvious.

The process called Fear.exe was using almost all his "CPU" resources, leaving the Body Control Panel.exe responsible for controlling his body in a frozen, "not responding" state.

Meanwhile, processes like pain and trembling were constantly consuming his "memory," slowing his thoughts.

He couldn't wait any longer! He had to optimize the system manually and take back control!

Then he could control his body again.

Hiroki's mind became a mouse pointer and selected Fear.exe with pinpoint accuracy.

"End process!"

[Are you sure you want to end the process "Fear.exe"? Ending this process may cause system instability.]

"Confirm!"

He didn't hesitate for a moment.

The moment he clicked [Confirm], a cool stream seemed to rise from the depths of his soul and wash over his entire body.

The pounding of his heart as if it would burst from his chest, the chill of his blood seeming to freeze, and the overwhelming terror of facing death all stopped abruptly, like appliances unplugged from the wall.

In their place came an absolute calm, so complete it was almost frightening.

CPU usage plummeted from 99% to below 20% in an instant.

"It worked!"

Hiroki's spirits lifted, and he immediately did the same with the other processes.

Select Dizziness.dll -> [End Process] -> [Confirm].

The dizziness and headache caused by the heavy blow disappeared.

Select Neck_Pain.log -> [End Process] -> [Confirm].

The excruciating pain in the back of his neck, enough to cloud his consciousness, was blocked. The pain signals were still being sent, but the program that processed them had been shut down, so they could no longer affect Hiroki's core consciousness.

Now only one remained—the last, and most important, one.

Hiroki's mental pointer hovered over the unresponsive Body Control Panel.exe. He took a deep breath and chose [End Task].

[Attempting to end this task...]

The deep-blue space before him instantly turned pitch-black. All sensations vanished—the swaying feeling of being carried over someone's shoulder, the wind whistling past his ears, the coarse fabric brushing against his skin.

It was as if everything had been stripped away from him, leaving him to sink into endless nothingness.

But the azure system was still before his eyes. He seemed to have temporarily shut down both the signals from the outside world and his control over his body.

[Desktop Window Manager has stopped working and was closed.]

Hiroki took a deep breath. If his guess was right, all he had to do next was restart the Control Panel, and he would regain control of his body!

[Starting "Body Control Panel.exe"...]

Faint sensations began to gather again, like pixels lighting up in the darkness.

He could feel someone carrying him over their shoulder, his body jolting violently with each of their steps. The rough fabric of a vest rubbed against his cheek, stinging a little.

He could hear the wind, as well as the heavy breathing of the Cloud Ninja carrying him.

"That guy...did he just move?" the Cloud Ninja carrying Hiroki suddenly said.

"Impossible. I hit him hard enough to keep him unconscious until tomorrow morning." Another voice came from nearby. It was clearly the leader.

"Probably just an unconscious twitch from being jostled around. Still, to be safe..." The leader's voice turned cold. "When we get a chance, give him another hard hit to make sure he doesn't wake up and cause trouble."

Another hard hit?!

Hiroki had only just reconnected to his body. Alarm bells rang in his mind. He had already gathered what little strength he had left, ready to move his finger muscles—even if only a little—to look for an opportunity.

But the man's words poured over him like a bucket of ice water.

If he opened his eyes now or made any move to fight back, the only result would be getting knocked out even harder, or perhaps being killed outright. They were experienced ninja, while he was just a student who hadn't even mastered the Three Basic Jutsu. He had no chance against them.

What should he do?

Hiroki made up his mind in an instant. His thoughts sank back into the system.

Computers usually had a power supply! And in the power settings...

[Start] Menu -> [Settings] -> [Power Options].

A familiar window popped up.

◎ Recommended: [Balanced Mode] (Automatically balances performance and power consumption)

○ [High Performance Mode] (Prioritizes performance but consumes more energy)

● [Power Saver/Low Performance Mode] (Saves power by reducing system performance)

This was it!

Could Low Performance Mode make him seem like he was asleep? Hiroki wasn't sure, but it was the only thing he could think of!

Hiroki activated [Low Performance Mode] without hesitation.

[After switching to Low Performance Mode, the system will close nonessential background activity, limit the maximum CPU frequency, and reduce the refresh rate of sensory input/output to maximize runtime. Confirm?]

"Confirm!"

Hiroki finished switching modes before the Cloud Ninja carrying him could stop to check on him.

In an instant, his entire "system" seemed to enter standby. His heart rate was forced down to an extremely low level, and his breathing became faint and slow, almost imperceptible.

All commands to move his muscles were automatically blocked by the system as "high-energy activities."

From the outside, he looked like a seriously injured patient in a deep coma, with weak vital signs—more convincing than his previous "unconscious" state.

"See? He's fine." The leader checked Hiroki's pulse and breathing, then said impatiently, "Stop being so paranoid. Pick up the pace! We have to leave the Land of Fire before dawn!"

The crisis had been temporarily averted.

Hiroki's consciousness was like a ghost lurking deep within the system, calmly observing everything. He couldn't control his body, but his thoughts were more active than ever.

In [Low Performance Mode], all he could do was think and receive information.

As his body swayed, his arm was pressed tightly against the back of the Cloud Ninja carrying him.

Just then, an unexpected pop-up appeared in the lower-right corner of his mental desktop.

[ Ding! ]

[Another connectable computer, "Sakuchi," detected. A temporary connection has been established through "Chakra Communication Protocol."]

[Would you like to open and view the files?]

Hiroki's consciousness jolted.

That...worked too?!

The system had actually treated physical contact as a data cable connection?!

Was "Sakuchi" the name of the Cloud Ninja carrying him? Could he really see the man's real name?

Trembling, he selected [Yes] with his mind.

A brand-new window popped up, titled [Sakuchi (C1:) System Drive]. Beneath it was [Sakuchi (D1:) Memory Disk].

Folders and files filled the window, their names making him stop breathing.

[Folder: Cloud Flow Sword Technique Insights]

[Folder: Lightning Release Ninjutsu Training Notes]

[Folder: Assassination and Stealth Techniques]

[File: Chakra Nature Transformation (Lightning) - Beginner to Master.zip]

[File: Cloud Ninja Style Taijutsu.zip]

[File: Lightning Release: False Darkness.exe]

[File: Sensory Ninjutsu.dat]

This...was the lifelong accumulation of a Cloud Ninja! The very foundation that a ninja relied on to make his way in the world!

Hiroki's heart—or rather, his consciousness lurking beneath the surface—began to pound wildly. If he could copy all of it, could he go straight from ninja trainee to Cloud Ninja?

The hope of turning things around was right in front of him!

He didn't hesitate for a moment. He used his mind to press [Ctrl+A] and select everything, then [Ctrl+C] to copy.

Next, he opened his own [D Drive (Memory Disk)], created a new folder, named it [Ninjutsu Backup], then hit [Ctrl+V] with all his might!

A file transfer progress window immediately popped up.

[Calculating required time and space...]

[Total: 128,562 files, Total size: 3.2GB]

[Copying files from Other Computer (Sakuchi) D1 Drive (Memory Disk) to My Computer (Sawada Hiroki) D Drive (Memory Disk): Ninjutsu Backup]

[Files remaining: 128,562]

|Transfer Speed|Time Remaining|Estimated Power Consumption|

|---|---|---|

| 1.5KB/s |About 25 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 will continuously consume core power. In approximately 23 hours, system power will fall below the minimum 10% threshold required to maintain vital signs. Please proceed with caution!]

Twenty-five days?! What kind of joke was this?! He wouldn't even survive twenty-five hours!