Game

Wang Yan cleared his throat, his tone mild. "The Council has recently achieved a breakthrough in technology. Based on that, we developed the first Virtual Reality game, named 'Shadow Breaking the Firmament.'"

"The purpose of this game is—to give everyone the chance to become a ninja! At the same time, it will cultivate powerful people of good character who love life!"

Rasa was a little dumbfounded.

What necessary connection was there between playing a game and having the possibility of becoming a ninja?

He did not interrupt Wang Yan. He merely listened in silence.

"This game can adjust the speed of human brainwaves and accelerate consciousness. One year in the game is equivalent to only one full day in reality."

"This is practically the same as extending one's lifespan by another means."

By this point, Rasa was already tempted.

Wang Yan smiled faintly and rubbed the Coiled Dragon Ring on his little finger.

Swish!

A Game Helmet brimming with a sci-fi atmosphere appeared in his hand.

"Finally, while playing this game, the player's body and mind will both receive ample rest."

Rasa stared blankly at that incomparably exquisite matte-black helmet, his heart swaying.

If Wang Yan had not just displayed the miracle of an ordinary person tearing apart a Jinchuriki with his bare hands, he would never have believed that such a wondrous item existed in the world.

"Was this left behind by the Sage of Six Paths?"

With his mind short-circuiting, he could not help complaining.

"I already told you, this is a new product from the Council. It can be mass-produced on an assembly line. The goal of this mission is to ensure that Sunagakure, Kumogakure, Konoha, Kirigakure, and Iwagakure, these major ninja villages, all possess helmet samples."

Wang Yan smiled warmly. "Like I said, doing is better than talking. I've talked myself dry here, and you still don't know exactly what it is, right? There happen to be five Game Helmets here, all standard models. You can give them a try."

Five helmets naturally meant five people.

Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke, and Rasa.

Who was the fifth?

The Kazekage's gaze fell upon the son who gave him the greatest headache.

Gaara's blood-red short hair stirred in the wind. Expressionless and silent, he stood there as quietly as a chicken.

He had not "quickly returned to normal" as Wang Yan had previously said.

Still, this state was quite worry-free. At the very least, he no longer shouted about killing people all day.

"Wouldn't four people be enough?" Rasa looked as though he had something difficult to say.

Wang Yan merely said indifferently, "Do not worry. Nothing will go wrong."

His gaze fell on Gaara, and he could not help but sigh with emotion.

This unlucky child had been feared by the villagers since childhood because One-Tails Shukaku was sealed inside him. Then, due to betrayal by those closest to him, his personality had become cold and ruthless, and he had developed a fondness for killing.

It could be said that Gaara and Naruto were twins of light and darkness. Their experiences seemed similar, but their circumstances had in fact been completely different.

Wang Yan sighed and explained, "As everyone knows, an ordinary person's sleep is divided into five stages: falling asleep, light sleep, sound sleep, deep sleep, and rapid eye movement."

"Your son has long remained in a state of false sleep, meaning he is always in light sleep. That has caused endocrine imbalance; his body has affected his mind, twisting his personality and making him somewhat... irritable."

"Based on the Council's research, beyond the rapid eye movement stage, there is another stage named Subconscious Sleep. In my homeland, this kind of sleep is called Fetal Breathing. Only those whose spiritual realm has reached an extremely profound level can possibly enter it."

"But now, by using our Game Helmets to enter Virtual Reality games, one can simulate the state of Fetal Breathing. Although the effect is only one-twentieth of the real thing, it is still far superior to ordinary sleep."

"Under such circumstances, your son's mental strength will far surpass what it is when he is awake. There is no need to worry about One-Tails Shukaku taking the opportunity to go berserk."

The moment those words left his mouth, Wang Yan knew he had won Rasa over.

His Resource Points inventory was rapidly recovering. The previous expenses for gold bricks and Game Helmets were replenished in an instant.

The fate of the Fourth Kazekage had begun to change.

Rasa said nothing more. He simply put on helmets for himself and his son.

Naruto held a blazing-red Game Helmet in his arms. "Hehe, who knows whether what Teacher said is true..."

Sasuke and Sakura exchanged a glance, then obediently began putting on their helmets as well.

"Gain great power, take control of fate, revive Father and Mother..."

As he put on the helmet, Sasuke quietly muttered those words to strengthen his resolve.

Although the Naruto manga mentioned that Nagato's forbidden technique, Rinne Rebirth, could also revive humans, Sasuke did not think Nagato would be willing to sacrifice himself for him.

Before long, all five people present were ready. Wang Yan snapped his fingers in satisfaction.

Snap!

The five instantly lost consciousness and connected to a bizarre, fantastical virtual world.

The game world named "Shadow Breaking the Firmament."

Ninja Continent.

There was no magic here, no Daoist arts, no battle aura—only ninjutsu evolved to its utmost limit.

People ranked ninjutsu by power and stored it within Scientific Ninja Tools. As long as the Chakra within one's body reached a certain level, one could freely unleash any ninjutsu!

If one's Chakra was strong enough, Scientific Ninja Tools could unleash power capable of destroying heaven and earth!

Gaara had been born into such a world.

Shadow City, Sunagakure Clan.

Before dawn, the moon shone bright amid sparse stars, while the blazing sun had yet to rise.

At the training grounds, before the testing platform.

"Chakra, Lower-Rank Second Stage!"

Gaara expressionlessly removed his hand from the testing crystal, yet his heart was filled with bitterness.

Three years ago, he had been the greatest genius in all of Sunagakure. Before he was even ten, his Chakra had reached the peak of the middle rank, only a single step away from becoming an Upper-Rank Ninja!

But from that day onward, his Chakra had begun to leak away. No matter how he cultivated, he could not reverse the decline in his strength.

The mockery and ridicule of his former companions reached his ears, and Gaara's heart bled.

"I will never give up."

Gaara coldly swept his gaze over the useless fools around him who were taking pleasure in his misfortune, and killing intent rose within him.

Once he returned to his peak, he would definitely slaughter those bastards!

Just as Gaara secretly made up his mind, in Shadow City's Konoha Clan, three young people awoke from their dreams at the same time.

"Wow... so this is the game world!"

Naruto blinked his watery blue eyes, looking like a curious child. "It doesn't seem fake at all!"

"Tch, idiot."

Sasuke sneered. "Do you really think Instructor Wang Yan sent us here just to play? Think carefully about the message he left us."

Before entering this virtual game world, Wang Yan had transmitted instructions directly into the minds of all three.

"I will help you break through the game's suppression of your real-world memories, but you must play your roles in the game properly. This concerns the final evaluation I give you."

In the eyes of the three children, Wang Yan had received an outsourced mission from the Main God for rookie Reincarnators, so his final evaluation would surely be directly proportional to Reward Points!

Therefore, even though Sasuke was not very willing to speak to Naruto right now, he still reminded him.

"My mission is... to become the closest friend of Gaara, the Young Master of the Sunagakure Clan."

Naruto blinked his azure eyes, seeming somewhat expectant. "Sakura, what about you?"

Sakura Haruno's face darkened, and even her pale-pink tousled hair drooped listlessly. "My mission is to go to Sunagakure..."

After hesitating for a long time, she finally ground out those two words with full resentment.

"Break off an engagement."

Please collect! Please recommend!