Inside the cave, in Hiroki's consciousness space, that WiFi signal from "Namikaze Minato" shone like a lighthouse beacon in a dark ocean—steady and strong.
What the hell?! Why was there a WiFi signal, and how was it different from the physical contact connections?
Hiroki's mind raced.
He didn't think Minato also had a similar system cheat.
So he had to consider this from Minato's perspective. Minato was a sensory-type ninja who probably hadn't learned the Flying Thunder God technique yet. In the original story, no one knew exactly how he managed to rescue Kushina from the Cloud ninja single-handedly—especially when there were jonin among them.
Maybe his chakra sensing signals were being interpreted as WiFi by the system?
Whatever the principle, that wasn't the point now.
The point was this signal meant their escape had even better odds!
Without hesitation, Hiroki's mental command selected "Connect."
Connecting to |Namikaze Minato - Safe - Signal: Weak|...
Connected to |Namikaze Minato - Safe - Signal: Weak|
Soon, Hiroki tried opening the system to see if connecting to WiFi brought any new changes. To his slight disappointment, rather than connecting to the internet, it was more like remotely connecting to a new computer.
A computer named Namikaze Minato.
But remote connection meant one more person, and that was one more chance at success.
Hiroki immediately got to work. He created a new text document and named it "Information from Sawada Hiroki and Uzumaki Kushina.log."
He rapidly typed in the document: "I am Sawada Hiroki. Kushina and I are currently bound in a cave. We can break free at any time, but there are three Cloud ninja here—appears to be a squad with what might be a jonin leader."
Then Hiroki clicked save.
But the next moment, an upload progress bar popped up, making Hiroki pause.
—Remote transmission actually had lag?!
But that made sense too.
...
Outside the cave in the forest, a yellow figure moved like a phantom through the trees.
Minato's gentle face was full of anxiety as he followed the sparse, barely noticeable red hairs on the ground, tracking all the way here.
Uzumaki-san... and Sawada-san too...
They'd been taken!
Where were they?
Had they already been killed?
Just as Minato prepared to investigate further, an incredibly clear thought suddenly flashed through his mind—something that seemed like his own thought but absolutely couldn't be his own thought!!
"I am Sawada Hiroki. Kushina and I are currently bound in a cave. We can break free at any time, but there are three Cloud ninja here—appears to be a squad with what might be a jonin leader."
This... this was his own thought? He was Sawada Hiroki?!
Minato looked around in shock but saw no one.
Who was it?
Who had projected thoughts into his head?
Minato's steps came to an abrupt halt—he nearly fell from the treetops, his face showing a mixture of shock and confusion for the first time.
What was this?
But while Minato was still confused, new information appeared.
This should be my newly awakened kekkei genkai, somewhat similar to the Yamanaka family's secret techniques. I can transmit information to you this way...
Minato gritted his teeth.
Could this be real?
Should he believe it?
He had reason to believe! Minato quickly analyzed the situation! If the other party could project words directly into his mind and really wanted to harm him, they could have used genjutsu to control him completely—he wouldn't have had any ability to resist!
The next moment, Minato tried mentally reciting a message.
"Hello, I'm Namikaze Minato. Sawada Hiroki-san, please tell me your exact location, specific position, and surrounding environment. I'll come to support you immediately! Also, I've already notified ANBU ninja—they should arrive soon too!"
...
Exact location and surrounding environment?
Hiroki pondered silently. This was indeed necessary information, but how should he transmit it? He was in low performance mode with his body still appearing unconscious.
He'd have to rely on Kushina.
After briefly informing Kushina, Hiroki quickly opened her system drive, searching for the corresponding files.
"Hiroki.log": "I've found someone looking for us and made contact. I need you to carefully observe our surroundings—I want to try sending what you see to him!"
"Kushina_Shocked_Excited_Admiring_Trusting.log": "Okay! I'm looking around carefully now—see if you can read those images from my head!"
Found it!
Just a second or two after Kushina's reply, a new file quickly appeared.
"Cave_Environment_21:44:51_Cloud_Ninja_Preparing_to_Rest.jpg"
A JPG file! This was image cache!
Hiroki immediately opened it to look!
Instantly, a window popped up in Hiroki's consciousness.
The image inside was somewhat blurry and dim—exactly what Kushina saw from her perspective of the cave interior: flickering firelight, two Cloud ninja preparing to rest, and the squad captain facing the cave entrance, boredly polishing his kunai on guard duty!
So Sakutchi had left at some point?
Hiroki checked the connections and sure enough, the link with Sakutchi had disconnected. The notification had been buried among his conversations with Kushina and Minato, so he hadn't noticed.
But anyway, this should let him transmit information to Minato!
Hiroki immediately uploaded this file to Namikaze Minato.
Within seconds, he got Minato's reply.
"Success!" Hiroki rejoiced internally, quickly checking Minato's response!
"Minato's Reply to Sawada Hiroki_Maintaining Minimal Trust.log": "I know this place! I'll be there in five minutes at most! If possible, please prepare in advance!"
Brilliant!
Hiroki instinctively wanted to shout "Nice!" Everything was ready—he just needed to wait for the thunderous strike when he'd shatter the darkness with lightning spears!
But just then, something unexpected happened!
In Hiroki's consciousness space, a completely new WiFi signal suddenly flickered!
Samora - Safe - Signal: Strong
!!
Who was this? Near them?!
Alarm bells went off in Hiroki's mind. He immediately tried connecting. This time, perhaps because they were so close, the connection succeeded almost instantly. He rushed directly into the other party's Temp folder.
Rows of newly generated log files made his blood nearly freeze.
"Sensing_Abnormal_Chakra_Fluctuation.log"
"Finding_Source_Target_Brat.log"
"Is_This_Mental_Jutsu?.log"
A Cloud ninja?! They'd discovered him?!
Hiroki didn't even have time to be shocked. He immediately clicked on the newest log, and its contents made his soul nearly leave his body:
"...Abnormal chakra, seems to have sent something outward! Just for an instant! The source appears to be that unconscious brat?! So Sakutchi's previous suspicions about this kid were correct!?"
"Sakutchi's guess seems right—this brat really isn't simple! No good! This unknown jutsu or kekkei genkai is too dangerous! Too easy to affect this mission! Even if it leaves traces, we must kill him immediately!"
This Cloud ninja could actually sense the chakra fluctuations when he transmitted information?!
When he sent messages and images remotely, there were chakra fluctuations?!?!?
Damn it!
He had to attack before the enemy struck!
Hiroki quickly opened Task Manager and ended his fear process, making his brain absolutely calm in this moment.
He immediately made his judgment. There was no time to notify Minato of plan changes—Minato's signal was weak, information transmission took time, and the enemy would strike in the next second!
The only way out was to attack before the enemy could act!
At maximum speed, Hiroki immediately created a document in his connection with Kushina!
"Plan scrapped! They've discovered us! Attack now, immediately!"
----------
Powerstones please.