Morishita Lan: You've Had Your Moment, Now It's My Turn

Wang Meiyu seemed to see a golden phantom tear apart the pale lightning.

"B-Buddha himself has appeared?!!!"

In that instant, everyone felt time come to a standstill.

Raindrops hung suspended in midair.

Between heaven and earth, only white and golden light remained, endlessly entwined.

BOOM!!!!

The force of the punch erupted from the tip of the Kirin Arm, tearing through the lightning body and crushing everything in its path.

Then...

It pierced through the dense thunderclouds.

Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!

The terrifying air pressure left everyone dizzy and their ears ringing!!

"!!!!"

Yamada's eyes bulged so dramatically they nearly punched through his sunglasses!!

He had seen it more clearly than anyone else!!!

This...

I'm not still dreaming, am I?!!!

After piercing through the thick dark clouds, that punch force showed no sign of stopping!

Upward!!

It kept charging upward!!

Straight at the heavens!

It directly shattered the void!!!

Rumble--

A massive fissure stretched across the sky overhead, extending from directly above the plaza all the way to the edge of the horizon, as if someone had given the sky a middle part.

A trace of gorgeous seven-colored light could vaguely be seen within it!!

And at that moment.

When everyone finally took in the scene before them...

They realized--

The rain had stopped.

The wind had dispersed.

The thunderstorm had vanished.

The young man stood tall amid the ruins.

Uchiha slightly raised his head.

"Only losers who lack sheer force run away. True kings sit calmly amid thunder and rain."

[Swagger +211]

[Swagger +236]

[Swagger +5]

[Swagger +300]

[...]

[Current Swagger: 2345]

[Note: 10,000 points have been deducted to exchange for the Invincible Golden Body superpower.]

"...???"

Faced with such a suffocating display, the teachers and students alike were dumbfounded.

Was this really the Jiahao they had mocked?!

He had shattered a thunderstorm with one punch?!!

Yamauchi was the first to jump out and stir up trouble. "A trick of the eye, it has to be a trick of the eye!!"

Koenji was utterly awed. "Show time."

Ike looked completely confused. "Show time? Time to show? I don't get what you mean..."

What the hell was "time to show"?

Please learn English properly.

The elusive Ayanokoji explained with his usual blank expression.

"A god-tier moment."

Kushida climbed up from the ground, burying the darkness in her eyes deep within her heart.

She casually wiped the crocodile tears from her face, while her head was still buzzing.

Remembering what Uchiha had said earlier—"If I don't leave, you'll die."

She finally came to her senses.

Everything he had said had been true.

"I'll block the lightning for you"—what an obscure phrase, yet it had been true too!!!

From beginning to end... they had been the clowns.

Just as everyone was wavering in shock and uncertainty, the school broadcast came on at the perfect moment.

"The safety crisis has been resolved."

"Just moments ago, a sudden comet passed close by Earth, dispersing the severe typhoon..."

"This is a repeat broadcast..."

"Citizens need not panic. It is normal for comets to tear open the sky..."

Yamauchi was beside himself with delight. "See? I told you it was a trick of the eye!!"

"Oh, and there's something I can't figure out. Everyone else's hair goes flat after getting rained on, so why is Uchiha's standing up against gravity like a Super Saiyan?!"

The students present: We get what you mean.

But no one paid him any attention.

Uchiha wore a calm, unruffled expression as he sat cross-legged atop the wreckage.

But inwardly, he was already losing his mind--

Holy shit, I didn't die!!!!

The Invincible Golden Body is fucking awesome!!!

I'm still harvesting Swagger like crazy!!

This feels so damn good!!!!

At that moment, Kushida and the others cautiously emerged from the school building and slowly approached Uchiha.

The Uchiha that came into view was charred black as coal, with an explosive sheep-like afro that looked both pitiful and hilarious.

Yamada: Twin brother!!!

Passerby A: "Damn, damn, damn. Survive a great disaster, and great fortune will follow."

Passerby B: "Seriously? Even passing ants were fried to ashes, yet the King of Swagger is actually fine?!!"

Passerby C: "Are you blind? The lightning didn't even hit him. Let me educate you: more than 4,000 people worldwide are struck by lightning each year on average. Based on the global population, the chance of a single person being struck by lightning in a given year is around 1 in 1,750,000, which is even lower than winning the lottery!!"

"Besides, science has proven that 90% of lightning strikes don't actually kill people. At most, they leave some aftereffects, like nerve damage or something."

Yamauchi's thought process took a very roundabout route, and somehow a wire got crossed in his brain.

"Master, can you say something harsh to me and motivate me to forge ahead?"

"You're like a mountain. Only by crossing you can I see more beautiful scenery!!"

Uchiha raised an eyebrow in surprise. Sometimes, he really worried that insulting this guy too much would awaken some weird fetish.

So he held back and spoke normally.

"Mountains are generally high above sea level, where the air is thin. I hope that after society beats you up, you'll still be able to breathe freely."

Ignoring Yamauchi, whose face had gone gray with despair, Uchiha picked up a broken mirror and took a look at himself. He seemed quite satisfied with his fluffy curls.

"Not bad. I even saved money on getting a perm!!"

"..."

"???"

Everyone was speechless once more.

You had just barely survived, and the first thing you cared about wasn't your physical condition, but that hideous explosive afro?!!

What incredible swagger?! (gritting their teeth)

They were triggered, completely triggered!!

Their ears started hurting whenever they heard Jiahao speak!!!

Then.

Under everyone's complicated gazes, Uchiha walked up to Koenji and solemnly handed him the mirror.

"You, honestly."

"You're too careless."

"When you run away, remember to keep your belongings safe."

Well said. Don't say it again next time.

Koenji's eye twitched wildly. Could you stop putting emphasis on the word "run away" when you talked?!!

Ayanokoji leaned closer, nearly dying of curiosity.

"You... dodged the lightning?!"

Uchiha answered as if it were only natural.

"On the journey to retrieve the scriptures in the West, I learned Ultra Instinct from Kakarot. Isn't avoiding lightning strikes perfectly normal?"

"?"

There were too many elements to process, and Ayanokoji's thoughts became a little tangled for a moment.

Meanwhile.

Morishita Lan, the girl Jiaxin, looped a rubber band around her fingertips and blankly fired it at the back of the hooded boy's head.

"Uchiha Jiahao, you are a great threat to me."

"I will defeat you with Little Lan Style Ancient Martial Arts."

"It wouldn't be shameful to fall beneath my pomegranate skirt."

Uchiha turned around. "..."

Little girl who likes calling people by their full names, you've completely out-swaggered me!!!

"Do you need something from me?"

Morishita Lan said, "No."

That casual "no" completely threw Uchiha off.

Besides.

We've only met twice at most... I'm obviously so innocent and harmless, so how did you decide on the spot that I'm some huge threat?!

"What if I punch you into oblivion?!"

Hearing that, Morishita Lan remained expressionless.

"You can't."

"Behold our army's strongest weapon! Gatling cannon—rapid fire."

This time, she seemed to transform into a dual-wielding gunslinger, continuously flicking rubber bands from her fingertips.

???

!!!

Don't aim for my eyes, you're way too brutal?!

Uchiha had just been about to say something, but she did not play by the rules at all.

She turned and returned to the group, then began doing something strange to a certain girl--

With a mischievous smile, she blew into the ear of a plain-looking girl regardless of the setting...

"I blow~"

"Meow~" The girl's face turned bright red.

Uchiha shut his eyes in despair.

This was too cringe.

He couldn't bear to watch!!!