'WH—' Hotaru began, but was interrupted.
[Initially, I thought they wanted to test the host's blood. However, they kept extracting it every day, to the point that it began to have a harmful effect on the host's body. At that moment, I feared they intended to kill the host while making it seem natural.]
[But once the blood essence was seriously depleted, they became more cautious about the amount they extracted. They never went to the point that would kill the host. At that moment, it was clear they wanted the host's blood essence for something, though I don't know what.]
'Why do they want my blood essence?' Hotaru asked anxiously.
[I don't know. As I mentioned, I can only see what is happening inside the host's body.]
The System continued.
[So, every day they would take blood essence from you with a syringe and heal you to remove traces of the puncture wound.]
[The System needs the host to be conscious for Initiation. Even if System had been initiated, it does not have the ability to use chakra to wake up the host. That said, every day, when your body was being healed by them, the System had access to chakra.]
[So, I did the only thing I could do without being Initiated. Every day, whenever I detected chakra in the host's body, I would copy some of the data from the System's internal memory into the host's brain.]
[I was done copying everything in two and a half years. For the past six months, there had been nothing else for me to do except wait for the host to wake up.]
The idea that the System was able to copy data into his brain sounded as creepy to him as his soul being purified, but that was something he could deal with later.
[The host's data would have been returned regardless of whether the host had agreed to the System Initiation. However, someone needed to provide the host with chakra for about 15 hours to transfer all the data.]
[I took the liberty of doing it before the host was even aware of the System so that the host would not be a naive and innocent child upon waking up.]
Hotaru had to agree that the System made the right decision. No one would provide chakra for 15 hours without growing suspicious. As a result, he would have been left with no choice but to wait until he learned to mold chakra and then do it himself.
And who knows how long a foolish kid would waste before getting started with ninja training? He couldn't help but feel grateful to the System. After all, it had worked diligently for two and a half years with whatever chakra was available to it and had transferred all the data. 'I have to hand it to you; you did a great job, System. I am very thankful for your help.'
[#####] 53%
The progress bar was now over halfway filled.
But the System was not yet done.
[Just as I was preparing for the host to wake up, they were planning to keep the host confined to the hospital even after the host had emerged from the coma. So, they began doing something truly sinister.]
Something sinister? What could it be? With his heart pounding wildly, Hotaru focused intently on what it was about to say next.
[First, the eyes. They wanted to blind the host so that even if you woke up, they could carry out their work without the fear of being recognized.]
A chill that had nothing to do with the cool breeze wafting through the window crept up his spine.
[They wanted to blind the host gradually, ensuring that the medical-nin only noticed the host's eyes deteriorating day by day. By the time the host went completely blind, the medical-nin would think it was a normal progression, given that the eyes had been deteriorating for so many years.]
'…'
[Second, the body. To keep the host confined to the hospital, they had been injecting all kinds of chemicals into your body. They wanted to ensure the host remained weak and highly susceptible to illness.]
'…'
[As a result, the host would have been confined to the hospital and bedridden—no different from how host had been until now, except for being in a coma.]
Who could be evil enough to do such things?
His heart was now beating so loudly that he thought it was impossible for Mikoto not to hear it.
[#####] 58%
[Although they tried their best to extract the host's blood essence while keeping host alive, the body was dangerously depleted and very close to death. Perhaps the host's subconscious realized how dangerously close the body was to dying, it finally woke up the host's mind.]
Hotaru felt cold sweat trickle down his brow upon learning just how close he had been to dying a day ago.
[Fortunately, they had only recently begun their work on the host's eyes and body. They would be back to normal in a year or so.]
Hotaru let out a sigh of relief. Although he didn't want to fall behind other kids in the academy, this was still better than going blind and being stuck in the hospital.
[######] 69%
[But the sad part is that… they extracted so much blood essence from the host that… that… host's body is now suffering from yang deficiency. That dull ache in the host's groin is because of it.]
Although he didn't understand what that meant, he suddenly had a very bad feeling.
'W-what d-does that m-mean?'
[It means…]
The System lowered its voice and whispered something to the boy in his mind.
'NO F*KING WAY! I CANNOT ACCEPT THAT!'
[But it is still not at the point of no return. Maybe in five years, it will be back to normal.]
'Five years?! And a maybe at that? I cannot accept this for even a moment. No way. NO WAY!!' he continued to yell in his mind.
[########] 88%
Hotaru took a few deep breaths to calm himself. He set aside thoughts of his yang deficiency for now and considered any questions he wanted to ask.
He had many questions: Who was stealing his blood essence? Why were they doing it? Was there no one to protect him while he was in a coma?
But he knew that the System could not answer those questions, as it was confined to his body.
He wasn't able to understand why they wanted his blood essence. 'Is there anything special about my blood essence?'
[Again, I don't know the answer to that. Since I was only aware of host's body, I could understand what they were trying to do to you. Even if there really was something special about your blood essence, I wouldn't know about it.]
Hotaru let out a sigh. It seemed there was nothing more he could learn from the System.
[#########] 99%
[I have pretty much told the host everything that was happening to you when you were in a coma.]
[Once again, I want to remind the host that this is not a game, and there won't be any do-overs if the host dies. The Host was reincarnated into this world, not transmigrated. The host was born in this world, and the people around you are real people.]
Hotaru remained silent as he recounted his conversation with the System. He was finally getting used to the idea that he had actually been reincarnated into this world.
And in his opinion, this world was not such a bad place to live in.
[Also, since host has mentioned having memories of this world, maybe you will find the answers about who was stealing your blood essence if you carefully think about it.]
That's true. There may be some clues about who would do such a thing if he scoured through everything he knew about this world.
[##########] 100%
[Ding!]
Hotaru heard a clear, sweet chime of a bell. Then he noticed that the System Interface had stopped flickering. The progress bar was full, indicating the completion of System Initiation.
The progress bar faded away, and another message appeared in its place.
[System has been Initiated.]
'Finally. Let's f*cking go!'
And below it, another message—
[Commencing the one-time System configuration process.]
—came into view.
'F*ck no! Not another one!'
Then, the System went silent once again leaving Hotaru with his thoughts.
As he had nothing else to ask the System, he decided to sift through his memories of Naruto to identify possible suspects responsible for such a thing happening to a six-year-old child.
He was determined to find the person who wanted to use him like livestock and make them pay.