The One Who Dies Is You...

May 5th, Year 36 of Konoha.

East Sea, Land of Whirlpools, ruins of Uzushio Village, Mask Storage Hall.

Because the Little Tanuki Beast refused to leave the Mask Storage Hall even in its sleep, and kept its eyes on Akaseki to ensure he didn't wander too far, Akaseki remained in the hall while Minato and Ranwu stayed on the island, each occupied with their own training.

Akaseki, having nothing better to do, decided to indulge in a little "Big Red Bite"...

"Jiraiya-sensei said this Little Tanuki Beast is likely in a recovery phase and won't need me to provide 'power' indefinitely, but there's no telling how many [Big Red Bite]s it will actually take to satisfy it..."

Akaseki thought to himself, then glanced at the masks in the Mask Storage Hall, deciding to select some shorter dramas so he could sell a few more masks!

Once he had the funds, he could repurchase [Big Red Bite]—items already purchased could be bought again directly, sometimes even at a discount, which made Akaseki wonder if this was actually a discount at all...

To ensure he picked a "short" drama, Akaseki gritted his teeth and spent 9.98 to enter the on-demand page.

Suddenly, a dazzling list appeared before Akaseki...

Ten Thousand Iron Cavalry Ordered Back to Capital, <Dying in a Coffin Returning to Court, Wife Marries Another the Same Day>, <My Memories Exposed After Death, Empress Goes Mad with Regret>...

Some of these titles alone were enough to make his scalp tingle!

Akaseki quickly averted his gaze and chose to sort by duration, only to discover...

Even the shortest ones were 8 hours long!

"Why call them short dramas? Is it because... the Demon Gods are all just that bored?" Akaseki muttered.

At the same time, Akaseki noticed a pattern—these short-duration dramas usually had very direct titles, while the long-duration ones were impossible to decipher from the title alone, like Family Happiness...

"Huh? Why is this one so short?" Akaseki said, spotting a strange drama.

Its immersion time was the standard minimum of 8 hours, but its actual playback time was short, only 96 hours!

One had to realize that other 8-hour immersion dramas usually had hundreds of hours of playback time, compressing the duration through time dilation in the consciousness, but this drama was the shortest in actual time!

"Short is good, short is good..." Akaseki decided, this was the one!

Since the goal was just to quickly activate the "Liu Liu" function, Akaseki decided to treat himself a little better.

[Now playing the on-demand short drama The One Who Died Is Your Mom, duration 96 hours, non-member total playback time 8 hours...]

Hmm, the title was very direct; Akaseki suspected it might be a plot about losing a mother?

For Akaseki, who was an orphan himself, he didn't feel much about it.

[Default acquisition of "Hypothalamus" control permissions, automatic activation of "Hippocampus" and "Amygdala" control permissions...]

[Refuse!]

Hong Yan, the live-in son-in-law of Shen Qingqing, a female doctor from a wealthy family.

On this day, Shen Qingqing once again used working overtime as an excuse to go on a date with her first love, An Ruhai...

Akaseki had just immersed himself into the scene, doing chores, when he suddenly noticed his wife's work ID on the table.

Akaseki: ...

To draw an analogy, it was like a ninja claiming to go on a mission, only to leave their forehead protector behind!

Needless to say, the mission was definitely a lie.

"Xiao Yan, where did Qingqing go?"

"Ah... Mom, there's an emergency at the hospital, Qingqing went to work."

"Sigh, I saw you put it away just now... what a sin!"

"Mom, Qingqing is just playful for a moment, she's probably just with a friend..."

"What friend, it's that man surnamed An again! Truly... I shouldn't have let you marry Qingqing in the first place..."

"How can you say that? If it weren't for you and Uncle sponsoring my university education, I'd still be in the mountains! And you even paid for my mother's medical bills..."

"When Qingqing gets back, I'll have a clear talk with her... She shouldn't think that just because her father isn't here, no one can discipline her! If she does anything else to disgrace the family name, I'll cut ties with her!"

"Mom, please don't say such angry things..."

This scene was enough for Akaseki to grasp the main character's information.

The protagonist, to repay a debt of gratitude, married into his benefactor's family and was with the benefactor's daughter. After marriage, the wife was frequently entangled with her first love and showed little respect for the protagonist.

Hmm...

Akaseki felt no emotional fluctuation this time.

There was nothing to it, really!

Since it was about repaying a debt, what else was there to say?

Besides, it seemed the wife's family was a prominent clan, while the protagonist... wasn't even a commoner.

This "repayment" wasn't a loss at all; as long as he didn't take it seriously and get emotionally attached, it would be fine. If it really came down to it, he could just divorce after the old lady passed away... What was a few years of delay for the sake of "repaying a debt"?

From Akaseki's perspective, even laying down his life would be expected; this "repayment" was actually overly generous.

Just then, the plot took a turn.

When Shen Qingqing went out to work overtime again without her ID badge, her elderly mother called her, only to be brushed off and hung up on.

Just as Hong Yan was comforting her, the old lady suddenly suffered a medical emergency...

After being rushed to the hospital, the staff, knowing it was Dr. Shen's mother, stated that she was the only doctor in the hospital capable of performing this surgery.

Akaseki was initially puzzled, as up until this point, it seemed his blood pressure hadn't been triggered much.

"Dr. Shen, your mother is ill, come back to the hospital quickly!"

"What? How could my mother suddenly be ill?"

"Hurry up, your husband is worried sick..."

"Oh, they put you up to this too, didn't they?"

Akaseki: ???

"Huh? What are you talking about? You need to get to the hospital now!"

"Enough, Vice Dean, don't play these games. Tell them to stop wasting their efforts. I'm just out having a meal with a friend! Why go as far as involving the hospital!"

Akaseki: ???

"You... Shen Qingqing! As Vice Dean, I order you..."

Beep, beep, beep—

Akaseki: ???

Fine, fine, fine, the familiar flavor is back. It's starting, isn't it?

"She even dared to block me..."

"Let me call her, Dr. Shen will believe me... Dr. Shen, please come back quickly, your husband is worried sick..."

"What is he worried about? A grown man shouldn't be so petty, making up stories about my mother being ill."

"It's not a sto... Hello?"

Beep, beep, beep—

"It's no use, I've been blocked too."

Akaseki: ...

The first hour of Immersion ended.

After Akaseki's emotions returned, he felt a sudden urge to laugh out of frustration. Although he hadn't had a physical check-up, he knew his Overspread Burning had definitely spiked again!

At the same time, this "GG" was a bit different...

[Speed like the wind, imagine a life of velocity! Temple Run invites you to try it out...]

This time, Akaseki wasn't rewarded with a trial item; instead, he appeared directly inside a magnificent yet dilapidated structure.

"How is there Immersion within Immersion?" Akaseki's heart twitched—what kind of infinite hell was this?

The next moment, a monster suddenly appeared behind Akaseki!

Akaseki just wanted to form a hand seal, but he was prompted...

"I can only run? Fine then..." Akaseki said, starting to sprint forward.

It wasn't just about raw speed; it also involved dodging obstacles and other parkour techniques.

More importantly...

As Akaseki ran, he discovered that his current physical fitness was a perfect replica of his real body, only he couldn't use ninjutsu. If there was any difference in constitution, it was his stamina—now, Akaseki's stamina wouldn't deplete, and he could keep running forever.

At the same time, the Humanoid Monster behind Akaseki maintained a constitution similar to his own. Akaseki suspected this wasn't a coincidence, but rather that the monster behind him was likely configured based on his own situation.

Akaseki: ...

Realizing that this "reward" wasn't entirely useless—at the very least, he could train his "obstacle reaction running" ability—Akaseki calmed his mind and began to train...