The smell of disinfectant, the rough texture of bed sheets.
And the heavy, aching exhaustion from every limb, as if completely drained.
When Sawada Hiroki's consciousness surfaced from deep darkness, the first thing he saw was the notification in his consciousness space.
WARNING: Battery level below 5%, system has forcibly entered sleep mode.
Recommendation: Connect to power source immediately.
Power source connected. Current power adapter wattage insufficient. Performance may be limited to prevent battery drain.
Charging in progress...
Insufficient wattage?
Hiroki's consciousness smiled bitterly. Why were all these notifications so computer-like? He glanced over—those seemed to be previous alerts.
His battery had now recovered to about six percent.
That also seemed to be why he'd woken from unconsciousness.
—Which meant that Low Performance Mode corresponded to fake unconsciousness where he could wake anytime, but low battery sleep meant he'd genuinely passed out?
He'd have to be careful from now on. No matter what, he absolutely couldn't let his battery drop too low.
Hiroki opened his eyes with difficulty. The white ceiling of Konoha Hospital came into view. Beside him, an IV drip connected to a tube inserted in the back of his hand.
He was on an IV—probably that low-wattage power adapter.
Soft sunlight streamed through the window with the hazy quality of early morning, making Hiroki instinctively raise his hand to shield his eyes.
"...Hiroki?"
A voice thick with congestion, shocked and delighted, sounded by his ear.
Hiroki turned his head to see Uzumaki Kushina slumped over his bedside, tear tracks still on her face.
She seemed to have cried herself to sleep and been awakened by his slight movement. Her red, swollen eyes showed confusion at first, then filled with enormous joy.
"Hiroki! You're awake! You're finally awake!"
Kushina jumped up so abruptly that her chair tipped over with a harsh clatter. But she paid no attention, gripping the bed rail tightly, body trembling with excitement as tears flowed again despite herself.
"You scared me to death... The doctor said you just exhausted your chakra, but you were unconscious for a whole day and night... I..."
Watching her incoherent, crying with joy, Hiroki sighed but felt a warmth in his chest.
In his past life as a workhorse programmer, besides his parents, who would worry about him like this?
Whether he wanted it or not, whether he admitted it or not, he and Kushina had formed an unbreakable bond. He could no longer sit by like a bystander, watching her have the Nine-Tails extracted in the future, ignoring her death.
Even if reluctant, his original life plan of "living peacefully and quietly like a plant until old age" was completely scrapped.
He had to get stronger.
At least strong enough... to intervene in the Nine-Tails incident caused by Uchiha Obito!
...
"I'm fine," Hiroki's voice was somewhat hoarse, his body so weak he lacked even the strength to lift his hand. "Just... a bit hungry."
Hungry. Very hungry.
"I'll get the doctor! I'll get you food!" Kushina roughly wiped her face and turned to rush out.
"Thanks," Hiroki called after her retreating figure. "And I never said thank you. You've been watching over me for a long time, right?"
She'd said he was unconscious for a day and night. She must have been here the whole time to notice the moment he woke.
Kushina's steps halted. She turned back to look at the pale but clear-eyed boy on the bed, her cheeks flushing for no reason. She shook her head vigorously, puffing out her chest to recover her usual spirit: "D-dummy! What are you saying! I should be thanking you! You... you back then... were really amazing... Hmph! I-I'm going to get you food now!"
Her voice grew quieter as she spoke. Seeing the smile on Hiroki's face, she huffed indignantly and practically fled.
Hiroki shook his head with amusement, his gaze falling on his own body.
His previously well-proportioned frame had become practically skin and bones, the already minimal fat having vanished without a trace.
Just a thin layer of skin stretched over muscle and bone, looking disturbingly like a dried corpse.
Kushina hadn't mentioned this when complaining just now—probably to spare his feelings.
This was likely a side effect of his cheat ability—battery power, literally speaking, was what powered computers. If his body was analogous to a computer, then what powered him seemed to be fat.
So power consumption became fat consumption. That seemed logical, and he'd never have to worry about obesity.
But why had his battery drained so fast?
—What computer couldn't even last a minute on high performance mode?
Hiroki was puzzled, but then guessed it might be the Lightning Release: False Darkness—the jutsu he'd copied might have had some bug during execution, causing the rapid power drain.
As he pondered, the hospital room door was knocked twice.
"Come in." Hiroki responded.
The door opened and a golden head peeked in.
Namikaze Minato with his blond hair entered. Seeing the awakened Hiroki, his gentle face showed relieved relief: "Thank goodness, Hiroki-kun, you're awake."
His expression was complex. Hiroki couldn't quite identify the emotions—perhaps some envy mixed with other feelings.
Minato, carrying complex emotions, hesitated a moment before pulling over a chair and sitting down, leaning forward slightly, his azure eyes fixed intently on Hiroki: "There's a question I don't know if I should ask..."
"Go ahead." Hiroki nodded, waiting for what came next.
He knew Minato hadn't come just to visit. After all, his relationship with Minato wasn't as close as with Kushina.
"I followed the hair Uzumaki-san left all the way there... By the time I reached the cave, the battle was already over." His voice was light, almost feminine, very gentle.
"I examined those two corpses—they were pierced by the same jutsu. Instant death."
He paused, seemingly observing Hiroki's reaction, then posed the crucial question word by word:
"That was Lightning Release: False Darkness, right? A B-rank jutsu from Hidden Cloud Village. I've seen records of it in books."
Here it comes.
Hiroki looked at Minato. He wasn't sure if Minato had discovered this on his own or noticed through some other factor, but regardless, Hiroki was certain his answer was being carefully observed.
—Why would a Konoha ninja academy student know how to use an enemy village's advanced secret technique?
Hiroki took a deep breath, meeting Minato's eyes. Minato's face showed some conflict and some expectation—as if hoping he'd deny that answer.
After all, a Konoha academy student shouldn't know foreign jutsu unless he was a Cloud spy, which would explain why he knew Lightning Release, why he was captured with Kushina, and how he escaped.
But under Minato's somewhat hopeful gaze, Hiroki slowly opened his mouth.
He said:
"Yes. That was Lightning Release: False Darkness."