Chapter 54: Dissolving Kiss

Chapter 54: Dissolving Kiss

Choose five hundred million, or fifty million?

Uchiha Ci stood silently, staring at the two options in front of him.

Honestly, all the suffering he had endured seemed insignificant in the face of five hundred million.

With that five hundred million, he could slap "big brother" across the face with cash, making him regret it to the core, kneeling and desperately licking his newly bought Berluti leather shoes.

He could drive the luxury car he had once only admired from afar, no longer needing to struggle through the wind and rain every day.

He could even casually spend two million, and in an era when housing prices were plummeting, he could grandly buy out his stingy landlord's house with a wave of his hand.

Then, under the landlord's disdainful gaze, he would upgrade himself in such a lavish way that they'd wonder if he was the long-lost son of some billionaire.

Five hundred million! That's a fortune!

With that, I'd be the living Dragon King!

However, Uchiha Ci couldn't help but recall the brief year he had spent in the Shinobi World,

where he didn't have to worry about tomorrow or basic needs, and merely by following the clan's training schedule and completing insignificant tasks, he could amass a seven-figure savings. Although the adults in the clan were harsh with their words, they genuinely took care of him, and every week, a basket of rice, flour, vegetables, and eggs would appear at his doorstep.

This peaceful year had left him feeling unsettled, filled with an inexplicable unease.

And after leaving the clan, the clan's great elder, Uchiha Setsuna, sacrificed half his life to save him and remained in an uncertain state between life and death.

His newly met little brother Hidan, who, despite knowing the danger, continued to stick to him like a shadow, and out of trust, would leap off a cliff with his eyes closed.

And then there was the cutest girl he had ever seen in his life, who, holding his seemingly lifeless body, wore a face of sorrow.

Watching this made him drool, wishing he could transform into a devil and pounce on her.

But,

Uchiha Ci knew that all of this was fake.

The brief year of peace in the Shinobi World was fake.

The grand image of him in others' eyes, pursuing the grand purpose and sacrificing himself for it, was fake.

The real Shinobi World was filled with blood, hatred, rage, and madness.

And he was no hero destined to save the world, neither noble nor righteous.

From the start, he was just a greedy, lustful mortal—an impostor.

However, the five hundred million, that was real!

Being four hundred and fifty million short was more painful to Uchiha Ci, who prided himself on his frugality, than getting slashed.

So,

Uchiha Ci's eyes sharpened as he stared at the two options before him.

He pressed his palms together, muttering a prayer to Buddha, apologizing to his little brother Hidan. "Brother, I've already burned out. Whatever happens next is up to your fate. I'll burn three incense sticks for you in the next world."

If that doesn't work, I could burn some cash. Spend 500 yuan for 10,319 yen, all in 1-yen bills—it would make quite a thick stack. That's sincerity!

After all, you saw it yourself. I only have 5.26 yuan left in my pocket, and I'd even have to take out a payday loan to burn money for you—quite the sacrifice.

Sorry, little brother, but this day's friendship is only worth 500 yuan to me—really, not a penny more.

After finishing this long mental monologue, Uchiha Ci grinned.

Standing tall with confidence, he raised his hand and pressed down on the option, ready to embrace a new tomorrow as the living Dragon King!

However, just as his fingertip was about to touch the selection,

"Whoosh"

A sweet strawberry-scented breath, filled with a girl's sigh, blew in from the storm, through the crack in the window, and from the endless darkness.

After being passed along again and again, hundreds and thousands of times, it finally reached the room shrouded in heavy rain.

Uchiha Ci's burnt-out heart, his empty and cold chest, was suddenly filled with a surge of heat, spreading instantly through his entire body.

Thump! Thump!

Thump! Thump!

Thump! Thump!

The world froze, and cracks began to spread.

A radiant red glow broke through the stormy night.

It was the light of dawn.

It was a kiss that could even dissolve Susanoo.

"1310."

"1311."

"1312."

Land of Hot Water.

On the cliff beside the headquarters of the Jashin Cult, Shinnō glanced at the scene before him. Casually, he healed the wound on Uchiha Ci's chest while silently counting in his mind.

This was all he could do.

Stuffing a heart into Uchiha Ci's chest, everything else was handled by his body's automatic Forbidden Technique: Body Revival and the Secret Technique: Earth Grudge Fear stitching everything together.

There wasn't even a need for chest compressions—utterly effortless.

Any medical ninja seeing a patient like this would eagerly shout, "Give me three more like him!"

But whether Uchiha Ci would survive or not, Shinnō honestly wasn't sure.

Cases like this would likely stump even Tsunade, one of the Legendary Sannin.

Not to mention an unlicensed doctor like him.

"How is he? Is he alive?"

Terumi Mei asked breathlessly, her chin lifted, a glistening thread of saliva still connecting them. She glared furiously at Shinnō.

Upon hearing the girl's question, Shinnō immediately put on a serious face, replying sternly:

"Almost there, almost there. I can feel it—there's a force awakening inside him."

Terumi Mei gritted her teeth. "You said the same thing half an hour ago! Can he make it or not? Give me a straight answer!"

Shinnō glanced at the lifeless Uchiha Ci on the ground. Considering how long he'd been still, he figured he was probably a goner.

Maybe it was time to take him back for dissection?

Just as he was wondering whether dragging him away would be too rude,

he suddenly sensed a surge of evil and cold chakra rising from the ground.

Shinnō narrowed his eyes and looked at Uchiha Ci's eyes, then gravely said:

"This time, it's for real."

A faint smile crossed Terumi Mei's face, but veins bulged on her forehead. This guy—did he even realize what her first kiss meant to a girl?

"Fine. This is your last chance!"

"If there's still no change, I'll melt you both down together."

She coldly threw out this ultimatum, gave Shinnō a harsh glare, then turned back around, expertly lifting Uchiha Ci's chin and, as if still not satisfied, bit down on his lips.

Perfectly sealed.

Looking at the boy in front of her, Terumi Mei thought, if Uchiha Ci didn't wake up this time, then next time she'd use Boil Release: Skilled Mist Technique instead.

But before she could exhale,

Uchiha Ci, who had been lying lifeless for over an hour, suddenly opened his eyes, gasping sharply.

His ragged breath blew onto Terumi Mei's face, leaving her momentarily stunned.

A pair of Sharingan instantly lit up, the whites of his eyes filled with blood vessels.

Seeing the five hundred million slip away before his very eyes, the single tomoe in Uchiha Ci's eyes started spinning furiously, splitting into two, then into three—

However,

in the next moment, the boy and the girl locked eyes, and the air instantly fell silent.

Uchiha Ci blinked.

Seeing Terumi Mei kissing him, the rising anger in his chest suddenly vanished.

His pupils dilated, unfocused, and he began to wonder if he was already dead, now in heaven.

As he met the girl's indignant yet flustered gaze, he suddenly felt the urge to rush to an online forum and post:

"Damn it, I was kissed by a super cute girl! Should she take responsibility for me, or should I take responsibility for her?"

Ah, he really wanted to scratch his head.

Bro, I wasn't prepared for this—haven't even met her parents yet. How did it get to this point?

Meanwhile, Terumi Mei, who had been administering mouth-to-mouth, froze,

her face instantly turning beet red, her head almost steaming.

The embarrassment and frustration of this moment were off the charts.

Online now, urgent:

After giving CPR to a cute boy over 1,300 times, will he think I have ulterior motives?

Terumi Mei immediately propped herself up, covered her face, turned her head to look at the sunrise, and in one smooth motion, pretended as if nothing had happened, as if she was simply admiring the dawn, trying to make Uchiha Ci believe everything that just happened was an illusion.

Thus, the fresh morning breeze of spring, filled with the scent of youth, awakened the rising sun.

Uchiha Ci dumbly touched the corner of his mouth, blushing as his eyes followed the girl's lively figure.

She stood in the dawn, her ears flushed red, and her reddish-brown hair swayed in the wind.

Her silky hair fluttered, glowing in the soft light.

The atmosphere suddenly became delicate.