Evaluation and Figurines

All joy, sorrow, bonds, and hatred vanished in the next instant.

Because the game was over.

Sasuke, who died in battle in the Virtual Reality world; Naruto and Rasa, who took the blow; Sakura, who committed suicide to follow her love; and even Gaara, the sole designated victor—all were ejected from the game "Shadow Breaking the Firmament" at the same time.

Team 7's trio had entered with their real-world memories intact, so they handled the exit a bit better. Gaara and his old father, however, stared blankly at the empty space ahead, as if still immersed in that all-too-real illusory world.

It was practically a real life!

When Gaara was jilted in the virtual game world, he'd wondered if an invisible hand was manipulating his world. But no matter how he thought about it, he never expected the truth to be like this.

Two sets of memories merged seamlessly, and Gaara's gaze at Rasa was incredibly complex.

So his father wasn't the cold, heartless man he'd always believed.

The memories from the Virtual Reality game had slammed his worldview and emotions with a massive shock. At a loss, Gaara instinctively put on the cold mask he'd grown used to wearing.

"Welcome back."

Wang Yan's half-smiling gaze swept over the five people present. Strangely enough, his lips didn't move, yet his voice reached Team 7's trio's ears.

"I rate your performance this trial: Sasuke—Excellent; Naruto and Sakura—Good."

As soon as the voice fell, a mechanical prompt tone showed in the depths of their consciousness.

Trial mission complete. Based on guide Wang Yan's rating of you, you have received 1200/900/900 Reward Points and one D-rank Destiny Gem.

Sasuke's face lit up with joy. With these points, he could begin a preliminary enhancement of his own strength.

This would be the turning point of his fate!

That foolish brother of his—he would be the one to save him!

Naruto's face was full of displeasure: "Why does that smug Sasuke get more points than me! I worked hard too! If I'd had that strong a talent in the game world, I'd have done better than him!"

Sakura stayed quiet, not shouting about unfairness. After all, her performance had been steady but unremarkable—she hadn't screwed up the mission, but she certainly hadn't shone. Compared to Sasuke, she was still far behind.

And that gap wasn't just about Combat power...

"Dummy."

Wang Yan tapped his temple, pointing the way: "You still don't get it. I scored you based on your subjective initiative during the game time."

"Think about it carefully. If you hadn't topped up, could you have gotten stronger... ahem..."

Wang Yan snapped his fingers, and an intangible, formless force field enveloped Team 7's trio.

"Huh? Did I just space out?"

Naruto rubbed his face, not noticing that the same thing had happened to Sakura and Sasuke.

"What does 'subjective initiative' mean?"

Wang Yan pursed his lips and flicked Naruto on the forehead. "Still haven't figured it out? The only reason you and Sakura completed your mission was because Sasuke led the way. If he hadn't deliberately controlled the battle rhythm, you two would have failed this mission outright."

"You can't even realize it after the fact. I'm starting to regret giving you a 'Good' rating."

Hearing this, Naruto touched his hair and grinned foolishly: "Hehe! Who knew that smug Sasuke was so nice? I thought he really couldn't beat Gaara..."

Sasuke's face darkened: "Idiot! Next time, I'll make sure you fail the mission! Just you wait!"

Seeing this pair of rivals about to start arguing again, Wang Yan felt a bit of a headache. He waved a hand and dispelled the hypnotic field over Rasa and his son.

In an instant, the four-person group from Konoha regained their "presence."

"Sasuke Uchiha!"

A voice full of killing intent rang out nearby.

Sasuke looked toward the sound and saw a red-haired kid with dark circles under his eyes staring coldly at him, looking like he might charge in for a fight at any moment.

"How dare you kill Grandpa Rasa and Naruto! I want you dead!"

Gaara's roar, brimming with killing intent and fury, made Naruto and the Fourth Kazekage cringe with embarrassment.

Naruto patted Gaara on the shoulder and said cheekily, "I'm still alive!"

Gaara's old father's expression was incredibly conflicted as he barked with forced authority: "What 'Grandpa'! I'm your father!"

That was the one annoying thing about Virtual Reality games—they directly blocked real-world memories. In the world of "Shadow Breaking the Firmament," the two had gotten along well, shared countless life-and-death experiences, and built deep bonds and perfect rapport.

In that world, Gaara cheerfully called him "Old Grandpa" at every turn, and Rasa was equally pleased, deeply fond of this tough-minded, ruthless little guy, almost wanting to adopt him as a grandson.

Now back in reality, recalling the game experience.

The Fourth Kazekage, his old face red, scolded his son, his inner embarrassment beyond words.

Scolded by his old father, Gaara's heart showed no ripple—he even laughed out loud on the spot.

The scene was incredibly awkward.

A certain behind-the-scenes manipulator's muttering shifted everyone's attention slightly: "Huh? Does Virtual Reality have this big an effect on personality? I remember that kid called Gaara used to be pretty annoying, but now he looks... actually kind of likable."

This remark suddenly made Rasa realize that his formerly psychotic son, who used to want to kill his own people at the drop of a hat, seemed to have become a bit more normal.

So the reprimand that had been on the tip of his tongue couldn't be spoken.

Wang Yan looked at him with a half-smile: "First-time players entering Virtual Reality games can indeed suffer from aftereffects where they can't tell reality from illusion. But rest assured—it's only the first time."

"Look, your son is doing just fine now, isn't he? And from what I can tell, the relationship between you, Lord Kazekage, and your son seems much stronger than before."

"Heh heh..." The Fourth Kazekage wore a smile on his face, but his heart was cursing up a storm.

Rasa's and Gaara's life experiment had sent Wang Yan's Resource Points stockpile soaring by twenty-seven thousand, reaching 179,259 points.

In high spirits, Wang Yan handed over the freebies from his earlier "Naruto" manga bundle to Gaara as toys, then led the three kids out of Sunagakure.

"These little things... are called figurines?"

Gaara stared with a complicated expression at the exquisitely crafted "dolls" on the ground.

There was Naruto Uzumaki, one of Gaara himself, and many others he didn't recognize.

Like some white-haired masked guy, a jonin with a bowl cut hairstyle, a shark-faced fellow, a gloomy, gaunt young man in a wheelchair, a big sister playing with origami...

He didn't know if all these people really existed, but these little toys were so beautifully made, he couldn't bear to put them down.

Beneath his cold, tough exterior, he was just a boy who had grown up starved of his parents' love.

Over a hundred delicate little figures called "figurines," each with its own characteristics—even the ugly ones had a unique charm.

Sand flowed from the gourd on his back, wrapping each figurine inside. He decided that when he grew old, he'd take this beloved collection into the grave.

Gaara suddenly clenched his fist, and the wind and sand surged.

The Sasuke figurine instantly shattered into dust, and the Sakura figurine was tossed out onto the street.

Of course, that didn't include that pair of bastards!

One more chapter before 12:30 PM!

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