All joy, sorrow, bonds, and hatred vanished in the next instant.
Because the game had ended.
Sasuke, who had died in the Virtual Reality world; Naruto and Rasa, who had taken blows for others; Sakura, who had committed suicide for love; even Gaara, the sole designated victor—all of them were ejected from the game Shadow Breaking the Firmament at the same time.
The three members of Team Seven had entered with their real-world memories, so they handled it a little better after coming out. Gaara and his old father, however, stared blankly at the empty space before them, as though they were still immersed in that incomparably real yet illusory world.
That had practically been a real life!
When Gaara had been rejected in marriage in the Virtual Reality game world, he had once wondered whether an invisible hand controlled his world. No matter what, though, he had never expected the truth to be like this.
The two sets of memories merged seamlessly. Gaara looked at Rasa with an exceptionally complicated gaze.
So his father was not as cold and heartless as he had once believed.
The memories from the Virtual Reality game had dealt an enormous blow to his worldview and emotions. At a loss, Gaara instinctively put on the cold mask he had grown accustomed to wearing.
"Welcome back."
Wang Yan's half-smiling gaze swept over the five people present. Strangely enough, his lips did not move at all, yet his voice entered the ears of Team Seven's three members.
"My evaluation of this trial is: Sasuke, excellent; Naruto and Sakura, good."
As soon as the voice fell, mechanical prompts showed in the depths of their minds.
Trial mission completed. Based on Guide Wang Yan's evaluation, you have received 1200/900/900 Reward Points and one D-rank Destiny Gem.
Sasuke's joy was written all over his face. With those points, he could begin strengthening himself.
This would be the turning point of his fate!
He would personally save his foolish older brother!
Naruto's face was full of displeasure. "Why does that smug Sasuke get more points than me?! I worked hard too! If I had talent as strong as his in the game world, I definitely would've done better than him!"
Sakura, meanwhile, remained very quiet. She did not shout about unfairness. After all, although her performance had been decent and she had not ruined the mission, it truly had not been remarkable. Compared with Sasuke, she still fell far short.
That gap was absolutely not a gap in combat power...
"Idiot."
Wang Yan tapped his temple and explained, "You still don't understand. I scored you based on your initiative during the game."
"Think carefully. If you didn't pay, could you become stronger... cough..."
Wang Yan snapped his fingers, and an invisible, intangible, inexplicable force field enveloped Team Seven.
"Huh? Why did I space out just now?"
Naruto rubbed his face, failing to notice that the same thing had happened to Sakura and Sasuke.
"What does initiative mean?"
Wang Yan pursed his lips and flicked Naruto on the forehead. "Haven't you noticed yet? The only reason you and Sakura completed the mission was because Sasuke guided you. If he hadn't deliberately controlled the pace of the battle, the two of you 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 that, Naruto scratched his head and grinned foolishly. "Hehe! I didn't expect smug Sasuke to be so kind. I thought he really couldn't beat Gaara..."
Sasuke's face darkened. "Idiot! Next time, I'll definitely make you fail the mission! Just you wait!"
Seeing the pair of rivals about to start arguing again, Wang Yan felt a headache coming on. With a wave of one hand, he removed the hypnotic force field around Rasa and his son.
In an instant, the group of four who had come all the way from Konoha regained their "sense of presence."
"Sasuke Uchiha!"
A voice brimming with killing intent rang out nearby.
Sasuke followed the sound and saw a little redhead with dark circles under his eyes glaring at him with a grim expression, as though he might charge over and fight to the death at any moment.
"You actually dared to kill Grandpa Rasa and Naruto! I'll kill you!"
Gaara's furious, murderous roar left Naruto Uzumaki and the Fourth Kazekage embarrassed to death.
Naruto patted Gaara on the shoulder and said with a smug grin, "I'm still alive!"
Gaara's old father wore an incomparably conflicted expression. Putting on a stern front, he barked, "What do you mean, grandpa?! I'm your father!"
Virtual Reality games were rather absurd in that regard. They directly blocked real-world memories. In the world of Shadow Breaking the Firmament, the two had gotten along happily, lived and died together countless times, and formed a deep bond with perfect understanding.
In that world, Gaara had happily called him "Grandpa" again and again. Rasa had also been deeply gratified and had liked this determined, ruthless little fellow immensely, even wishing he could recognize Gaara as his god-grandson.
Now that they had returned to reality and recalled their experiences in the game.
The Fourth Kazekage scolded his son with a red face, inwardly so embarrassed that words could not describe it.
As his old father scolded him, Gaara felt no emotional ripple at all. He even laughed out loud on the spot.
The atmosphere became extremely awkward for a moment.
The muttering of a certain mastermind behind the scenes diverted everyone's attention slightly. "Eh? Does Virtual Reality gaming have such a huge effect on personality? I remember this little fellow named Gaara being pretty irritating before. But now he actually looks... rather agreeable."
Those words suddenly made Rasa realize that his mad son, who had previously wanted to kill his own people at every turn, seemed to have become a little more normal.
Thus, the reproach that had reached his lips could no longer be spoken.
Wang Yan gave him a half-smiling look. "Players entering a Virtual Reality game for the first time may indeed suffer aftereffects that make it difficult to distinguish reality from illusion. But rest assured, it only happens the first time."
"Look, isn't your son doing just fine now? And from what I can tell, Lord Kazekage's relationship with your son seems much stronger than before."
"Hehe..." The Fourth Kazekage smiled on the outside while inwardly cursing.
The life experiment involving Rasa and Gaara caused Wang Yan's Resource Points inventory to surge by twenty-seven thousand, reaching 179,259 points.
In high spirits, Wang Yan gave Gaara the bonus items from the Naruto manga package he had exchanged earlier as toys, then left Sunagakure with the three children.
"These little things are called... figurines?"
Gaara looked at the exquisitely crafted "dolls" on the ground with a complicated expression.
There were ones of Naruto Uzumaki, ones of Gaara himself, and many others he did not recognize.
For instance, there was a white-haired masked man, a jonin with a bowl-cut hairstyle, someone with a shark face, a melancholy, gaunt young man in a wheelchair, and a young lady who played with origami...
He did not know whether all these people truly existed, but the little toys were so exquisitely made that he could not bear to put them down.
Though he appeared cold and strong, he was merely a boy who had lacked parental love since childhood.
There were over a hundred exquisite little figures named "figurines," each with its own characteristics. Even the ugly ones possessed a unique charm.
Sand flowed from the gourd on his back, wrapping each figurine within it. He decided that when he grew old, he would take this beloved set of toys into his grave.
Gaara suddenly clenched his fist, and wind and sand surged.
Sasuke's figurine instantly exploded into dust, while Sakura's figurine was tossed onto the street.
Of course, that did not include those two bastards!
There would be another chapter before 12:30 PM!
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