Escape Plan

Inside the cave, the firelight flickered, casting the shadows of the three Cloud Ninja across the rock walls like swaying specters.

In Hiroki's mental space, the blue pop-up window still hovered silently, like the only signpost in the darkness.

[Another computer, "Uzumaki Kushina," detected. Connect?]

Hiroki's thoughts became a mouse cursor. He fiercely "clicked" the only [Yes] button.

Bzz—

[Connecting to another computer, "Uzumaki Kushina"...]

[...Connection successful...]

A window almost identical to the one that had appeared when he connected to Sakuchi popped up:

One entry was labeled [Uzumaki Kushina (C1:) System Drive], and the one below it was [Uzumaki Kushina (D1:) Memory Disk].

The window was filled with densely packed folders and files, arranged and named in exactly the same way! By extension, perhaps all the other Cloud Ninja—and even every other ninja—were the same.

This was good news. It would save him a lot of time searching for files himself!

After all, the thing Hiroki lacked most right now was time!

Hiroki took a deep breath and began the strangest "instant messaging" session of his life. He immediately created a new file in the folder.

He named the file |A Message from Hiroki.txt|, then swiftly "typed" a line into it with his thoughts: "Kushina, don't be afraid. Don't make a sound. It's me, Sawada Hiroki."

Then he quickly changed the extension to log—|A Message from Hiroki.log|

The next second, Hiroki clearly felt the warm body behind him jolt. Her breathing instantly turned ragged.

Though he couldn't see her "system processes," he could directly sense her "hardware" reacting violently through their physical contact.

"Mm..." A faint, stifled whimper came from behind him.

He immediately created another file: |Calm Down_This Is My Kekkei Genkai.txt|, and explained inside: "This is a Kekkei Genkai that our family only awakens in times of crisis. It's similar to the Yamanaka Clan's mental techniques. I can use my mind to talk to you. We're safe for now. Follow my lead!"

Then he quickly changed the extension in the same way and saved it.

This was the explanation he'd come up with. If they were rescued, it would also make it easier to deal with questioning from the village's interrogators afterward.

After "saving" the file, he held his breath and waited.

He didn't know whether Kushina could understand this communication beyond all reason, much less whether she would believe him. Every second of waiting felt like billions of empty loops running on a CPU, an unbearable torment.

He didn't know how long passed. Maybe one second, maybe ten. Countless files flashed by in a rapid stream.

Suddenly, a file appeared.

|Reply to Hiroki—Is This...Real?.log|

Even its name was full of uncertainty and trembling.

Hiroki opened it. The contents were simple: "Hiroki? How... How could this happen? Is this real?"

"It's real," Hiroki immediately replied by creating a new file, |It's True_We Need to Work Together.txt|. "I've been awake the whole time, pretending to be unconscious. Those Cloud Ninja are on guard. We can't make any rash moves. By the way, did you leave any clues when they captured you?"

He had to shift Kushina's attention from "Why is this happening?" to "What should we do?"

This time, Kushina replied much faster.

A file named |I Left My Hair.txt| appeared almost instantly. "I did! I secretly pulled out my hair and dropped it along the way! My hair is red. Someone's bound to find it!"

"Good!" Hiroki's spirits lifted.

At least things were still going as they had in the original story. That meant he could hope Minato would catch up, just as he had before.

Still, he had to be careful and prepare for the possibility that he and Kushina would have to escape on their own.

They couldn't put all their hopes in Namikaze Minato. After all, no one could guarantee that things would unfold exactly as they had in the original story.

Hiroki continued replying to Kushina:

"Yeah, someone will definitely spot the marks you left. Your hair is so conspicuous. But until then, we need to be ready to save ourselves. We can't put all our hopes in someone else."

|Kushina's Reply_How Do We Save Ourselves.log|:

"But we're both tied up... And there are three ninjas..."

This time, a long silence followed.

Hiroki fell silent too. He didn't know how they could save themselves either.

No matter how he put it, or how useful his Golden Finger was, he was still just a programmer! What could a programmer who'd never been on a battlefield or witnessed a life-or-death fight do?

Silence...

Hiroki could feel Kushina's breathing grow heavier.

Perhaps she hadn't gotten a response.

But just then,

[Ding.]

"Install!" Hiroki answered without hesitation.

This was the only way he could see to turn things around!

In an instant, a stream of intricate data a hundred times more complex than the Rope Escape Technique and Cloud Style Taijutsu surged into the depths of his consciousness like floodwaters bursting through a dam. The hand signs, the changes in chakra nature, the way his throat and mouth had to resonate, even the tiniest tremor and coordination of each muscle as he released the technique...

Everything about this B-rank Lightning Style Ninjutsu—including Sakuchi's own experience using False Darkness—was broken down into its most basic code and forcibly written to his [D Drive (Memory Disk)].

Hiroki was almost certain that if he used the technique himself, it would be no weaker than the Cloud Ninja's.

Good news!

Even better, Lightning Style: False Darkness was an area-of-effect technique! It could split into multiple Thunder Spears at once! If the Cloud Ninja were caught off guard, Hiroki had a good chance of killing them all!

But...

There was one not-so-good piece of news.

This B-rank technique would consume almost all of Hiroki's chakra. If he missed with his first attack, he'd be left to die on the spot!

After thinking it over, Hiroki immediately told Kushina.

|Hiroki.log|: "I have a technique that can fire three Thunder Spears in an instant. If they hit, I should be able to kill the Cloud Ninja. But I only have enough chakra to use it once!"

|Kushina_Shocked.log|: "Really!? You can do that? Weren't your grades in class just average? How can you use it?"

Hiroki didn't answer. He took a deep breath and began creating the most important document of his life.

|Hiroki's Prison Break Plan.log|: "Kushina, we only have one chance! Help might come, but it might not! We have to prepare to escape on our own! What time is it?"

|Kushina_Embarrassed_Ready for Battle_Excited.log|: "It's nighttime! We can wait until the middle of the night to attack!"

Nighttime?

|Hiroki's Prison Break Plan.log|: "I can't see the time. If you think they've all fallen asleep, just tell me in your mind! Then I'll try to use the technique as fast as I can!"

"Before I use it, I'll notify you the same way! If one of them is keeping watch, I'll kill the sentry first. If any of the ninjas survive..."

"I'll try to get close to the one I didn't kill. My Kekkei Genkai should let me control a ninja for a while! Then you can find a chance to kill the rest or escape!"

After a brief silence, a file containing just one word appeared.

|Okay.log|

A long silence settled over the cave, broken only by the crackling flames.

Hiroki could feel Kushina's breathing calm once more. At that moment, a WiFi signal suddenly appeared!

|Namikaze Minato—Secure—Signal · Weak|