Naruto: Awakening the Rinnegan at the Start. Land of Fire, Konoha Hidden Village. A secluded courtyard in the Uchiha Clan's district.
"Cheng! How are you feeling now?"
A woman with long black hair pushed open the door, her voice full of concern.
"I'm fine, Mom. Don't worry."
A weak voice answered her.
Inside the room, a small child of three or four lay in bed beneath a blanket. His face was pale, and beads of sweat periodically trickled down his forehead. His chest heaved violently, like a bellows, in short, ragged breaths, as though he might stop breathing at any moment.
The woman walked over and felt the child's forehead. Helplessness and worry showed on her face.
It had already been three months. They had gone to the hospital several times, but the doctors still couldn't find the cause. There was nothing wrong with his body, yet he was terribly weak. She was a medical ninja herself, but all she could do was watch her child suffer.
She felt utterly helpless.
Her hand confirmed that, as usual, he didn't have a fever.
"If anything feels wrong, tell Mom."
The woman spoke softly.
"I know, but I really don't feel uncomfortable anywhere. I just feel weak."
The boy sounded helpless. He had never encountered anything like this, either. Even with memories of two lifetimes, he had never seen anyone so weak: skin and bones, unable to move even a finger, like a vegetable. It was as if everything below his neck no longer belonged to him.
The woman nodded, helped the boy sit up, and slowly fed him some milk and juice. Then she wiped him down, tucked him under the covers, and carried the dirty water out of the room.
The boy lay on the bed. The room was silent, every minute dragging on with unbearable boredom.
The boy was named Uchiha Cheng, and he had just turned three. Yet for some reason, a month ago he had suddenly come down with a strange illness. His body had grown weak and limp, leaving him unable to move. The hospital couldn't find the cause, so all he could do was lie in bed and rest while they kept an eye on him.
"What rotten luck!"
The boy sighed.
He had been an ordinary wage slave on Earth until one day a billboard fell on him, killing him on the spot.
When he opened his eyes again, he had become a newborn baby and was raised by the woman who was now his mother.
Reborn, he had been full of ambition and planned to start a whole new life. But fate had dealt him another heavy blow.
He had been reborn, but he was already close to death.
In this life, he was a member of the Uchiha Clan, the same age as Uchiha Sasuke.
Uchiha Cheng could feel the world's malice keenly. In other words, when he was seven or eight, he would have to face the Night of the Uchiha Massacre and fight for his life against Uchiha Obito, Uchiha Itachi, and Shimura Danzō.
What kind of deadly start was this?
How could a seven-year-old child possibly defeat three major villains? Did they think he was the Sage of Six Paths? Even the Sage of Six Paths had waited until adulthood to challenge Kaguya!
To make matters worse, he didn't even have a system.
For the past three years, he had been searching for a way to escape the Night of the Uchiha Massacre.
But now he was free of that worry. He didn't need to think about seven years from now because he wouldn't live that long. At three years old, he had a strange, incurable illness. If things continued like this, he would soon die, so there was no need to worry about what would happen when he was seven. That was far too far in the future.
Time passed by, second by second. The boy lay there in silence, lost and helpless.
The door opened again, and the woman came in, pushing a wheelchair.
It was time to go outside for a walk.
"Mom, there's no need," the boy said helplessly. "I know my own body best. There's no saving me."
He knew his condition very well. At every moment, his life force was draining away. By all rights, he shouldn't have been able to sense something as mysterious as life force, but ever since he fell ill three months ago, he had somehow learned how to do it without being taught.
"You don't need to worry about that," the woman said firmly. "All you need to do is listen, take good care of yourself, and leave the rest to me."
Even Uchiha Cheng himself was close to giving up, but his mother in this life still clung to hope. She had never once given up. Taking him outside for a walk every day to lift his spirits and let him enjoy the sunlight and fresh air was part of their routine.
His mother settled him into the wheelchair and secured him with a cotton cloth. He slumped in it like Stephen Hawking.
The wheels began to turn, and mother and son left the room.