At dawn, just as the sky began to lighten with a faint shade of white, a gentle mist hung in the air, cloaking the village in a hazy fog.
At the edge of the forest, Uzumaki Tong was continuing his daily training. The sandbags on his back had grown heavier, and now he wore additional weights on both his wrists and ankles.
With each punch and kick toward the wooden training post in front of him, fine beads of sweat gathered on his forehead. His heavy breathing mingled with the droplets flying through the morning air, scattering into the forest.
Not far away, Yuantai watched with a nod and smirked to himself.
"He's a raw gem. If he learns my swordsmanship—combined with that uncanny ability to predict his opponent's moves—heh… this time, I might've struck gold."
But after a few random punches, Tong suddenly stopped, as if something was weighing on his mind. He sat down heavily on the ground and looked toward the direction of his home, his brow furrowed in worry.
"Yesterday… there's no way Mom already knew about my chakra awakening. Something else must've been wrong…"
Muttering softly to himself, he sighed helplessly and began walking home.
Yuantai, watching from a distance, clicked his tongue.
"So careless... no awareness at all? But judging by that expression just now, something's bothering him."
With that, he vanished and flickered toward Uzumaki Tong's house.
When Tong stepped into the house, something felt… off.
His mother, who always woke early, was still in bed.
Frowning, he quietly walked toward the bedroom.
"Mom… I'm coming in, okay?" He gently knocked on the door. No response. He opened it and walked inside—only to freeze.
Uzumaki Keiko was unconscious, collapsed on the bed.
Her chest… was stained with a dark red patch. Blood.
His hands trembled as he reached out, touching her arm, not daring to believe what he was seeing.
But there was no response.
She wasn't moving—completely unconscious.
"M-Mom…?"
His voice trembled with fear. He sounded like a child on the verge of losing the most precious person in the world.
Whoosh!
A figure suddenly appeared beside him. Without warning, a hand slapped Uzumaki Tong, sending him flying aside.
The man—Yuantai—quickly examined Keiko's lips and eyes. As he flipped her eyelids open, Tong leapt up and launched himself at the man with a flying kick, like a falling mountain.
But Yuantai caught him effortlessly and threw him away again.
"Hmph. If you keep acting up, your mother might not survive! I didn't expect her condition to be this severe…"
Yes—it was Yuantai. His tone was serious now, and it caused Uzumaki Tong's body to go weak with panic.
Yuantai reached out to steady him and said in a calm voice, "Right now, the only option is the ninja hospital… even then, the odds aren't good."
In that moment, the system voice in Tong's head started to speak—but he ignored it.
With eyes blazing with resolve, he glared at Yuantai.
"I'll be your disciple. But if the Leaf Hospital can't cure her, Root must help me find the best medical ninja to save my mother. That's my only condition."
Yuantai was stunned for a second, then burst out laughing. It was the kind of laugh that came from sheer surprise and delight, like he had just stumbled upon the happiest moment of his life.
At Konoha Hospital, Uzumaki Tong stood by his mother's bedside, heart in turmoil.
From the very first day he arrived in this world, he had felt alienated from it.
But the night the Nine-Tails attacked, when his mother had held him close, rocking him through the night, singing to him until he fell asleep, he could never forget that warmth.
When people laughed at him for not speaking even at the age of two, it was his mother who talked to him every day, as if he were the most special child in the world.
When the Uchiha clan bullied him, it was his mother who always shielded him.
Even when his father looked at him with disappointment, it was his mother who defended him again and again.
Even after his Uchiha father died in a failed mission, she still smiled and comforted him, always putting him first.
All these memories blurred together in his mind, his thoughts tangled and filled with pain. His facial expression twisted with anguish.
And then… the doctors' words echoed in his ears.
"Your mother's condition… is beyond what our medical skills can cure. At most, we can delay the pain. That's it."
"Unless… unless you can find someone like Lady Tsunade."
That had come straight from both the hospital director and the head of the medical team. Those words had nearly shattered Uzumaki Tong's heart.
"If it comes to it… We can have Root's medics try," Yuantai said seriously, watching the boy who looked like he was trapped in a nightmare. "But I can't promise anything."
Tong didn't respond.
But his eyes… suddenly lit up.
What if—what if the next roulette spin gave him a powerful healing jutsu?
If it worked… maybe, just maybe… he could save her himself.
He closed his eyes immediately.
This time, however, he entered a strange conscious space.
A giant slot machine appeared in front of him, just like before.
"Why? Why am I able to spin again so soon? Isn't there supposed to be a one-year cooldown between spins?" Tong asked quietly, more to himself than to anyone else.
A mechanical voice answered him, as if reading his thoughts:
"Emotional trigger. Only under intense emotional stress can the cooldown be bypassed."
Tong let out a bitter laugh.
Then, with clenched fists, he shouted:
"Then, can I use this spin to trade for my mother's health?"
"No."
The voice was cold and emotionless, as if mocking him.
Tong laughed bitterly again.
"If that's the case… I don't even want this chance anymore."
Still, he stepped toward the machine.
He looked at the glowing button before him, helpless… yet filled with a desperate hope.
If he could get something like Tsunade's Strength of a Hundred Healing Technique, or Tony Tony Chopper's Doctor powers from One Piece…
Then maybe—just maybe—he really could save her.
With trembling fingers, he reached out to press the button.
The moment his fingertip touched it, it felt unreal.
His entire body was shaking. His eyes were squeezed shut tightly.
All he had to do was press the button again, and a new skill would appear.
But Tong… didn't dare to press it.
He was afraid.
Afraid the next skill wouldn't be a medical jutsu.
He took a deep breath, then shouted into the void:
"—If—this next skill can heal my mother, then take ten years of my life. No—take it all. If it saves her, I'll gladly die right now!"
And with that, he slammed the button down—his voice filled with defiance and endless hope.