Inside the cave, in Hiroki's consciousness space, the WiFi signal originating from "Namikaze Minato" shone like a lighthouse in a dark sea, steady and strong.
What was going on!? Why was there a WiFi signal? Was there a difference between connecting through a WiFi signal and connecting through physical contact?
Hiroki's mind raced.
He didn't think Namikaze Minato had a system Golden Finger of his own.
So he could only consider Minato himself. Minato was a sensory-type ninja, and at this point he probably hadn't learned the Flying Thunder God Technique yet. In the original story, nobody knew how he'd managed to rescue Kushina from the Cloud Ninja all by himself—after all, there had been an elite jōnin among them.
Perhaps his chakra-sensing signal had been identified as a WiFi signal by Hiroki's system?
Whatever the reason, that wasn't the important thing right now.
The important thing was that this signal meant they had a better chance of escaping with Kushina!
Without hesitation, Hiroki turned his thoughts into a command and selected [Connect].
Hiroki quickly tried opening the system to see whether connecting to WiFi had brought about any new changes. But, to his slight disappointment, it was less like connecting to the internet and more like remotely connecting to another computer.
A computer named Namikaze Minato.
Still, remote access meant one more person, and that meant one more chance.
Hiroki immediately got to work. He created a new text document and named it |Sawada Hiroki and Uzumaki Kushina's Information.log|.
He quickly typed into the document: "I'm Sawada Hiroki. Kushina and I are tied up in a cave. We can escape at any moment, but there are three Cloud Ninja here, apparently a squad. The leader may be an elite jōnin."
Then Hiroki clicked Save.
But the next moment, an upload progress bar appeared, making him pause.
—Remote transfer had a delay, too?!
But that made sense.
In the woods outside the cave, a yellow figure darted through the trees like a ghost.
Namikaze Minato's gentle face was filled with worry. Following the few scattered red hairs on the ground, almost impossible to spot, he had tracked them here.
Uzumaki... and Sawada...
They'd been taken!
Where were they?
Could they already have been killed?
But just as Minato was about to investigate further, an incredibly clear thought suddenly flashed through his mind. It seemed to be his own thought, yet there was no way it could be his own!!
"I'm Sawada Hiroki. Kushina and I are tied up in a cave. We can escape at any moment, but there are three Cloud Ninja here, apparently a squad. The leader may be an elite jōnin."
W-what? Was that his own thought? Was he Sawada Hiroki?!
Minato looked around in shock, but didn't see anyone.
Who was it?
Who had projected their thoughts into his head?
Minato stopped in his tracks, nearly falling from the treetop. For the first time, his face showed a mixture of shock and confusion.
What was this?
But while Minato was still bewildered, a new message appeared.
|This must be the Kekkei Genkai I just awakened. It seems somewhat similar to the Yamanaka Clan's secret technique. I can use it to send you information...|
Minato gritted his teeth.
Could this be real?
Should he believe it?
He had reason to believe it! Minato quickly considered the situation and reached a conclusion. If the other person could project words directly into his mind, then if they really wanted to harm him, they could simply use Genjutsu to control him. He wouldn't be able to resist at all!
The next moment, Minato tried silently thinking a message.
"Hello, I'm Namikaze Minato. Sawada Hiroki, please tell me your exact whereabouts, your precise location, and what's around you. I'll come to help right away! I've also notified the Anbu Ninja, so they should arrive soon, too!"
His exact location and surroundings?
Hiroki considered it. That was certainly necessary, but how could he send the information? He was operating at low performance, and his body still seemed to be unconscious.
That left Kushina.
After briefly explaining the situation to Kushina, Hiroki quickly opened her system drive and searched for the relevant files.
|Hiroki.log|: "I've noticed someone looking for us, and I've managed to contact him. I need you to carefully observe your surroundings. I'm going to try sending him what you see!"
|Kushina_Shocked_Excited_Admiring_Trusting.log| "Okay! I'm trying hard to look around. See if you can read the images in my head!"
Found it!
A second or two after Kushina replied, a new file appeared.
|Cave_Environment_21:44:51_Cloud Ninja Preparing to Rest.jpg|
It was a JPG file! An image cache!
Hiroki opened it at once.
In an instant, a window popped up in Hiroki's consciousness.
The image inside was dim and a little blurry. It showed the cave from Kushina's point of view: the flickering firelight, two Cloud Ninja getting ready to rest, and the squad leader, a Cloud Ninja standing guard at the entrance and idly wiping his kunai!
So Sakuchi had left at some point?
Hiroki checked the connection and, sure enough, the connection with Sakuchi had been severed. But the notification had been lost among his conversations with Kushina and Minato, so he hadn't noticed.
Anyway, now he could send the information to Minato!
Hiroki immediately uploaded the file to Minato.
A few seconds later, Minato replied.
"It worked!" Hiroki thought excitedly, and quickly checked Minato's reply!
|Namikaze Minato's Reply to Sawada Hiroki_Trust Only to the Bare Minimum.log|: "I've been to this place! I'll be there in about five minutes at most! If you can, please get ready ahead of time!"
Nicely done!
Hiroki instinctively wanted to shout "Nice!" Everything was ready; all they needed was one thunderous strike. Then he'd shatter the darkness with Thunder Spear!
But just then, something unexpected happened!
A brand-new WiFi signal suddenly flickered to life in Hiroki's consciousness space!
|Samora-Secure-Signal|
!!
Who was this? Were they nearby!?
Alarm bells rang in Hiroki's mind. He immediately tried to connect. This time, perhaps because the signal was right next to him, the connection succeeded almost instantly. He rushed straight into the other person's [Temp] folder.
Row after row of freshly generated log files made his blood run cold.
|Sensing_Abnormal Chakra Fluctuation.log|
|Searching for Source_Target: Brat.log|
|A Mind Technique?.log|
Cloud Ninja!?? Had they discovered him!?
Before Hiroki could even process his shock, he opened the newest log. Its contents made his blood run cold:
"...Abnormal chakra. It seems to have sent something outward! It was only for an instant! The source seems to be that unconscious brat?! So the earlier anomalies around Sakuchi were caused by this kid!?"
"Sakuchi's guess seems to have been right. This kid really isn't ordinary! No! Whatever this is—a secret technique or a Kekkei Genkai—it's too dangerous! It could too easily interfere with this mission! Even if it leaves a trace, we have to kill him immediately!"
This Cloud Ninja could sense the chakra fluctuations when he transmitted information!?
There had been chakra fluctuations when he sent information and images remotely!?!?!??
Damn it!
He had to attack before the ninja could!
Hiroki quickly opened Task Manager and ended his fear, bringing his mind to a state of absolute calm.
He immediately assessed the situation. There was no time to tell Minato to change the plan. Minato's signal was weak, the messages took time to send, and the enemy would act in the next moment!
The only way to survive was to attack before the enemy did!
As fast as he could, Hiroki created a document through his connection with Kushina!
"The plan's off! They've found us! Now—attack!"
Before you continue