File Copy

25 days?!

When the glaring red warning text of [Low Performance Mode] flickered into his consciousness, Hiroki nearly failed to maintain the composure forced upon him by the Task Manager.

What kind of international joke is this!

Don't even mention 25 days; he wouldn't even survive 25 hours!

The lead Cloud Ninja captain had already issued a clear order: as soon as they left the village perimeter, they were to find a place to "dispose" of him.

The idea of a full-disk copy seemed completely unfeasible; the copy efficiency of this computer of his appeared far too low! And he had no idea how to upgrade his hardware facilities...

He had to abandon the full-disk copy approach—that typical brute-force cracking method was the most inefficient and stupid way to go.

He had to think of a way to survive first, then figure out how to escape the current situation and get Kushina away from this scene!

For instance, he could first copy a ninjutsu that would allow him to break free from his ropes, then rely on his ability to try and delete the opponent's entire repertoire of ninjutsu and taijutsu, and then he... no, he didn't have a one-hit-kill ninjutsu; he would still need to copy a one-hit-kill technique to escape!

But that would only guarantee he could kill one person. The other Cloud Ninja hadn't made contact with him; how could he delete their files?

Hiroki forced himself to think at high speed.

The priority action right now was... to stall.

Stall until Minato arrived as in the original story, or until some Anbu caught up!

But as a programmer, what way did he have to stall for time?

He couldn't exactly plant a Trojan horse in the guy's brain, could he?

Wait...

A Trojan?

Hiroki had an idea, his eyes flickering.

He should be able to delete the files on the other side, right?

...No, that wouldn't work. Even if he could delete this guy's entire memory and wipe his entire consciousness, that would only kill one person. As soon as the other ninjas reacted, he would be killed instantly!

So, was there any other way?

Hiroki's consciousness turned into a mouse cursor and decisively clicked the [Cancel] button on the file transfer window. Afterward, he reopened the window labeled [Sakuchi's Computer].

Hiroki flipped through the files on this guy's C drive.

Where would a real programmer look when searching for system vulnerabilities?

The answer was self-evident.

Hiroki's gaze locked onto an inconspicuous folder—[Temp].

The temporary folder.

Various caches, logs, and temporary data generated during system operation were all dumped here. It was chaotic, massive, and unremarkable, yet it was the place most easily overlooked and the one that best reflected the system's current operating state.

Hiroki's consciousness "double-clicked" to enter.

Countless fragmented file streams instantly flooded his "screen." Their filenames were disorganized: footstep_sound_01.wav, leaf_shape_scan.jpg, task_priority_log.txt...

But Hiroki could still distinguish from the naming format that these files were external information and fleeting thoughts received by the brain of Sakuchi, the Cloud Ninja carrying him.

Hiroki browsed through these "cache files" at high speed, searching for any breakthrough he could exploit.

Suddenly, one filename made him stop.

Suspicion_Captain_Credit_Distribution.log

Hiroki's heart gave a violent jolt. He immediately "opened" this log file, which contained only a single line of simple text:

|xx-19:07:35|

|"That brat from the Uzumaki clan is worth a fortune... the captain wouldn't want to hog all the credit for this mission, would he..."|

This was it!

Hiroki's brain operated at an unprecedented speed, and he couldn't help but smile.

No, he couldn't smile yet.

Hiroki opened the Task Manager and quickly terminated the process named Joy; he still needed to remain calm. He hadn't verified if his bold idea would actually work yet!

He wanted to copy this folder—but not for himself; he wanted to copy it for Sakuchi, the Cloud Ninja.

He couldn't create a brand-new thought and force it into the other person's mind; that would be too abrupt. But

he could utilize this existing "thought file," modify and amplify it, and let this "flash of inspiration"—which Sakuchi himself had generated and which felt perfectly reasonable—fill the entire [Temp] folder.

His consciousness turned into a keyboard, and he began to operate at high speed.

He selected the file "Suspicion_Captain_Credit_Distribution.log" and pressed [Ctrl+C] to copy. Immediately after, he pressed [Ctrl+V] to paste.

Suspicion_Captain_Credit_Distribution_Copy.log

He renamed the copy to "Value_Assessment_Hostage.log"

Then, he "opened" this new file and, after the original text "...That brat from the Uzumaki clan is worth a fortune...", he planted a new "variable":

The unconscious brat beside him couldn't be killed just yet. What if the captain took the others and that red-haired brat and ran off while he wasted time disposing of the kid's body!

After finishing this, Sawada Hiroki didn't hesitate for a second. He selected the "thought file" he had modified, then used all his strength to press [Ctrl+V] hundreds of times into the other person's [Temp] folder!

In an instant, hundreds of identical "temporary thoughts" were forcibly injected into Sakuchi's real-time stream of consciousness, washing over his original train of thought like a tidal wave.

In the real world, the Cloud Ninja squad moving at high speed was about to emerge from the final stretch of forest. The captain in the lead glanced at the sky and spoke coldly: "We'll stop here. Sakuchi, take care of that brat. Make it quick, and don't leave any traces."

"Yes!" the Cloud Ninja called Sakuchi responded subconsciously, tossing Sawada Hiroki from his shoulder onto the ground and drawing the kunai from his waist.

However, the moment he prepared to strike, a thought surged into his mind like an electric current—incredibly intense, incredibly clear—this brat... should he really just kill him like this?

What if the captain wanted to take the others and that red-haired brat and run off while he was busy disposing of the kid's body! Could they be trying to use this opportunity to hog all the credit for themselves!?

This thought was so logical and natural, as if it were a conclusion he had reached after deep deliberation.

"Captain, wait!" Sakuchi blurted out.

The captain, who was preparing to keep watch, frowned and turned back in annoyance: "What is it? Stop dawdling."

"Captain, I think there's something wrong with this brat!"

As Sakuchi spoke, he kicked the motionless Sawada Hiroki with his toe. "Think about it, he managed to sneak out of the Ninja Academy with that Uzumaki girl, and we happened to run into them both—it's too much of a coincidence. What if... he's the descendant of some important figure, sent to secretly protect that red-haired one?"

A flash of impatience crossed the captain's eyes: "Stop guessing. A brat with chakra so weak it's pathetic, what kind of value could he have?"

"No, it's precisely because it's weak that it's suspicious!" Under the guidance of the "cache" Sawada Hiroki had implanted, Sakuchi's train of thought became exceptionally "clear." "This could be a disguise! Take him back and let the professionals in the village interrogate him; we might be able to get some unexpected intelligence about Konoha's defenses. That's worth way more than just killing him! Even if he's useless, it won't be too late to deal with him then!"

Seeing his subordinate so insistent, even somewhat agitated, the captain fell silent.

Although he felt this was making a mountain out of a molehill, Sakuchi's words were not entirely without merit.

This mission to kidnap the Uzumaki descendant was S-rank; any small gain was worth pursuing.

Most importantly, time was tight, and he didn't have the energy to argue over the life or death of a brat here.

"Fine," the captain finally waved his hand impatiently. "Then keep him for now. But you keep a close eye on him; if he tries any tricks, you deal with him yourself!"

"Yes! Captain!" Sakuchi felt a surge of joy, feeling he had easily seen through the captain's conspiracy to hog the red-haired brat for himself!

Sawada Hiroki, being hoisted back up by Sakuchi, let out a long sigh deep within his heart.

The gamble paid off.

His first "junk data attack" had successfully changed his death sentence to a "suspended death sentence."

But he dared not relax in the slightest, because a "suspended death sentence" was still death.

He had to continue finding a way to escape this predicament; that was the most important thing! He had attempted the junk file attack to buy time.

And the purpose of buying time was, naturally, to copy ninjutsu! Sawada Hiroki looked gloomily at the ninjutsu in the other person's library... it was so vast, yet he could only copy such a tiny amount...

What a pity.

But, survival came first! Sawada Hiroki didn't hesitate further and quickly selected three ninjutsu.

Rope Escape Technique, Lightning Style: False Darkness, and Cloud Style Taijutsu Basics!

Rope Escape Technique was essential for getting away, and the taijutsu basics might allow him to attempt physical contact with the enemy in future battles, finding an opportunity to implant junk information in an instant. As for Lightning Style: False Darkness, it would be his only sharp weapon to kill a Cloud Ninja while empty-handed!

The next moment, three new tasks appeared in his "download list."

[Calculating required time and space...]

[Total of 3 files, total size: 17.24MB]

[Copying files from other computer (Sakuchi) D1 Drive (Memory Disk) to my computer (Sawada Hiroki) D Drive (Memory Disk): Ninjutsu Backup]

[Remaining files: 3]

|File Name|Size|Estimated Time|

|Cloud Style Taijutsu Basics.zip|5.6MB|approx. 1 hour 2 minutes|

|Rope Escape Technique.zip|640KB|approx. 7 minutes|

|Lightning Style: False Darkness.exe|11.0MB|approx. 2 hours 3 minutes|