What Kind of Gratitude Is This

Fucheng thoughtfully stroked his chin.

"Are the red-haired boy's parents both still alive?"

Mikoto shook her head. "During this operation to wipe out the remaining Rain Ninja, two of Salamander Doshin's men took refuge in the boy's home.

"They killed the boy's father first. His mother was also gravely wounded, but our people managed to save her."

Fucheng thought it strange. "Nagato's fate has already changed, so why hasn't there been a reward notification?"

Fucheng suspected that Nagato's mother's injuries might still worsen. As long as Nagato could still become an orphan, his fate hadn't truly changed.

"Come on. Take me to see the boy's mother first."

Fucheng rose to his feet. Two of the Misaka Sisters had already stepped forward, holding umbrellas and following obediently beside Fucheng and Mikoto.

Inside Konoha's field hospital, which had been converted from a row of homes, Nagato's mother was in critical condition and receiving intensive treatment.

Unlike in Nagato's original fate, his parents hadn't been killed by Konoha Ninja. Instead, they had fallen victim to the remnants of the Rain Ninja.

His father had died from a Rain Ninja's Kunai, his carotid artery severed.

His mother had been stabbed in the abdomen while protecting him, and had also been poisoned by the Ibuse's venom.

Severe blood loss, ruptured organs, and poison coursing through her body...

If Nagato's mother hadn't been from the Uzumaki Clan, with their exceptionally powerful ability to recover, she would have died before they could even treat her.

Even so, Konoha's medical ninjas couldn't do much more for her.

First, they used the Healing Technique to treat the internal bleeding. Then they used the Mystic Palm Technique to heal the damaged artery. Finally, they applied the Delicate Illness Extraction Technique to remove the Ibuse venom from her body.

That alone was the most advanced treatment available in the entire Shinobi World.

The rest depended on whether Nagato's mother could endure this ordeal through her own strength and willpower.

Outside the field hospital.

Mikoto asked softly, "Brother Fucheng, is Nagato important? Do we need to bring him back to Konoha?"

Fucheng considered it for a moment but didn't answer right away. "Let's see how things go first. Bringing him back to Konoha might not be the best choice."

In Fucheng's eyes, Uchiha Madara might be old and frail, but the Rinnegan was still the one thing Madara would risk everything to protect.

Remembering the power of Uchiha Madara's Perfect Susanoo, Fucheng had no intention of gambling with his life against Madara.

What's more, the Rinnegan was like a "tumor" growing inside Nagato's body, and it needed to keep absorbing nutrients from him in order to grow.

Even if Madara weren't willing to fight to the death over it, Fucheng himself had no intention of using the Rinnegan.

That thing could drain even Nagato, with his Uzumaki Sage Body, into a shriveled corpse. Fucheng wouldn't dare put it in his own eye socket.

For now, the best place for the Rinnegan was still in its host, Nagato.

At the Uchiha field hospital, Fucheng obtained a brief record of Nagato's mother.

Name: Fusō

Bloodline: Possibly from the Uzumaki Clan

Sex: Female

Family: Husband Ise (deceased), son Nagato

Injuries: Ruptured liver, ruptured intestines, abdominal bleeding, 6 cm abdominal laceration, Ibuse venom poisoning, electrolyte imbalance, moderate malnutrition.

Fucheng looked at the long list of injuries and furrowed his brow slightly. "This Uzumaki Fusō isn't in very good health."

Mikoto didn't say anything, but a door beside them opened halfway. A red-haired boy stood in the doorway, looking frightened.

"Sir, can my mother be saved? Please, please save my mom."

The red-haired boy was, of course, Nagato, overcome with fear and grief.

He had watched his father die with his own eyes.

He had seen his mother get stabbed by the Rain Ninja while trying to save him.

If Nagato had been from the Uchiha Clan, that intense mental trauma alone might have been enough to awaken his Three-Tomoe Sharingan.

The Rinnegan was also, at its core, an evolved form of the Sharingan.

The intense negative emotions and turbulent mental energy had plunged Nagato into a state of terror.

Just as a person's body flooded with adrenaline after being injured, Nagato's lack of a sense of security seemed to have awakened the power of his bloodline.

The Uzumaki Clan's vitality surged through him, flickering into view.

Under the gaze of Uchiha Fucheng's Mangekyō, Nagato's Rinnegan was also absorbing that vast, surging life force.

"An incubator!"

Those two words suddenly appeared in Uchiha Fucheng's mind.

The Rinnegan had only been awakened through Uchiha Madara's peerless talent, the life force in Hashirama Senju's cells, and nearly a lifetime's worth of Madara's efforts.

But for those eyes to fully take shape, they still needed Nagato, a one-of-a-kind bearer of the Uzumaki Sage Body.

They needed to be nourished by his life force before they could mature into a complete Rinnegan.

"Don't worry. I came here to save your mother." Fucheng gently reassured Nagato, doing his best to ease the boy's fear.

On the hospital bed, the deep red-haired Uzumaki Fusō remained unconscious.

Nagato was so tense that he could barely speak without stammering. "Th-thank you. Please tell me your name. When I grow up, I'll repay you for saving my life."

Fucheng shook his head and gently patted Nagato on the head.

"Don't worry about repaying me. Just remember that I saved your mother, and that the ninjas at Konoha Hospital saved you both. If you cause trouble someday, it would be great if you didn't tell anyone about us."

Fucheng's joking words left Nagato momentarily stunned.

Mikoto, standing beside them, smiled and reassured him. "Don't worry, Nagato. Lord Fucheng is the best medical ninja in Konoha. Your mother will be fine."

Seeing that Nagato had calmed down somewhat, Fucheng abruptly activated his Mangekyō Eye Technique.

The [Okuninushi] in his left eye landed precisely on Uzumaki Fusō.

His Mangekyō spun.

Blood trickled down his cheek.

The mysterious Mangekyō and Fucheng's bloodstained face left Nagato, who was staring up at him, too stunned to speak.

He seemed to understand that Fucheng's incredible eyes were using an immense amount of power to heal his mother.

Nagato turned to look at Uzumaki Fusō on the hospital bed.

His mother's pale face was visibly regaining its color.

The injuries caused by her severe blood loss were also rapidly healing.

Even though Mikoto had already seen Fucheng's Mangekyō Eye Technique work twice, witnessing it again still left her stunned.

The first time, it had been used to treat Fugaku.

The second time, it had been used to treat Hatake Sakumo's wife.

The visible healing effect was like a miracle!

But seeing Fucheng's eyes bleed so profusely after using his technique was deeply worrying.

Mikoto didn't know that Fucheng had already mastered the Lesser Kamui Tear Concealment technique.

He was deliberately letting his eyes bleed so much this time to deepen Nagato's admiration and gratitude.

Because he kept receiving rewards for changing people's fates, Uchiha Fucheng's Mangekyō Sharingan still lost sight when overused.

But with each reward strengthening it, the side effects of his Mangekyō Sharingan weren't as severe as he'd expected.

Instead, after gaining some of Fugaku's ocular power, his eyes were showing signs of evolving toward the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan.

With Nagato's mother visibly recovering, Fucheng had the medical ninja unwrap the bandages around Fusō's abdomen at the same time.

Once the bandages came off, the results of the treatment became even clearer.

A slash longer than a finger had still been oozing blood after the medical ninja stitched it up.

But now, the wound was visibly closing, fading, and disappearing.

A long-awaited system notification appeared in Fucheng's mind as Nagato's mother's injuries healed.

[Changed Nagato's fate]