Serial Number 007

Watching Gaara's childish movements, Rasa couldn't bring himself to scold him.

His heart softened, and he sighed.

"There are some things I should tell you now."

"?"

Gaara looked confused.

"Your mother never left you. She's been right here beside you..."

The Fourth Kazekage spoke in a weary tone, revealing the secret of the gourd on his son's back.

The story wasn't complicated; within the time it took to sip tea, it reached its end.

"...She's been silently protecting you."

A long silence.

Gaara's eyes stung, and his vision blurred.

Then, he suddenly noticed something hidden inside the figurine that looked exactly like him.

Sand wrapped around the figurine and flew to Gaara.

He opened the small gourd on the figurine's back and took out the note sealed inside.

"Want to know the meaning of life? To truly live?"

"Haha... just kidding!"

"Want to resurrect your mother? Become a Reincarnator! No lies, no tricks!"

The signature read: "Main God Space Pimp · Dimensional Traveler · Troublemaker King · Gold Medal Guide · Council Fabricator · Wang Yan."

Though many terms—meaning of life, pimp, dimensional traveler, troublemaker, guide—were beyond Gaara's understanding, the words "resurrect your mother" he grasped.

"I... want to resurrect my mother. I want a complete family, a real one."

Gaara silently recited in his heart.

The note's contents seemed utterly unreliable, but recalling the wonder of that Virtual Reality game, Gaara decided to trust Wang Yan this once.

Just as he was pondering how to find Wang Yan, a cold, emotionless voice rang in his mind.

Your Reincarnator Number is 007. Your Novice Mission has been issued.

Mission: Join an organization named "Akatsuki" and infiltrate it.

Success Reward: One B-rank Destiny Gem, Reward Points distributed via Instant Calculation.

Novice Mission has failure immunity; no penalty for failure.

The authority of the Main God, the uses of Reward Points and Destiny Gems, the rights and duties of a Reincarnator...

All of it showed in his mind.

After digesting the information, Gaara asked softly, "Father, do you know an organization called 'Akatsuki'?"

Meanwhile.

On the streets of Sunagakure, a Whirlpool Mask Youth in a Black with Red Clouds coat happened to pass by.

He picked up Sakura's figurine: "Huh? A puppet?"

"Looks pretty unique. Sasori-senpai and Deidara would probably like this... Now this is a true work of art with real value!"

His gaze casually swept over the ring on his finger, reading the character "Kong" engraved on it. The goofy youth felt a subtle dissonance.

This ring originally belonged to Orochimaru. After the guy left Akatsuki and made compensation deals, he'd taken over the codename "Kong."

"Actually, I'd prefer 'Gyoku'... but that's Sasori-senpai's ring..."

"I recall the last guy who pissed him off was called the strongest Kazekage in history. Later, that guy got turned into a puppet... Oh well! 'Kong' is a pretty decent codename!"

"Is the mission for Gaara a bit too tough?"

On the road back to Konoha with three tagalongs, Wang Yan suddenly had a pang of conscience.

"Young people need more tempering. A tough mission means I believe in him. It's not just my twisted sense of humor—definitely not!"

Wang Yan split off a thread of Spiritual Power to scan the three Genin of Team 7.

They were trying to keep up with his pace while eyeing the Exchange List greedily, checking what they could afford.

Unfortunately, their mood matched Jiraiya's earlier: the good stuff they liked was too pricey, and what they could afford wasn't worth wasting points on.

"Young people always want to save up for a big move."

Wang Yan shook his head and thought to himself, "During my time in Sunagakure, I noticed a problem."

"Lord Main God, please speak." The Assistant Program's etiquette plugin and personality simulation subroutine ran smoothly, like a courteous old butler.

"I can't see my own past timeline. Is that related to my identity as the Main God?"

"Not at all. In truth, whether as the Ordinary person Wang Yan or the Main God Wang Yan, you are still you. Different identities don't cause a split in fate."

Wang Yan's brow furrowed slightly. "Then perhaps my mastery of time observation isn't deep enough yet."

Having received his answer, he didn't dwell on it.

Law exchanges were far too extravagant. Even the entry-level Lesser Time Law cost three hundred thousand Resource Points, nearly ten times more than elemental laws like ice, fire, water, earth, wind, or lightning.

Not an urgent need, so no point wasting resources for now.

One day later, Land of Fire, Konoha.

Or rather...

New Konoha.

"Teacher, did you take the wrong road?"

Staring at the bustling village, Naruto rubbed his eyes, his face full of shock.

Sakura covered her mouth, her persecution complex kicking in. "What... happened in the past few days? Was this place attacked by another ninja village?"

"Probably not..."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "Less than a week—no force meets that condition."

The Akatsuki Organization was still lying low, raising funds, and hadn't even started collecting the Tailed Beasts yet. They didn't fit the bill.

He noticed that the flowing crowd—whether travelers passing through or locals—all had excellent spirits, far better than before.

"Alright, don't overthink it. Just normal internal strife."

Wang Yan smiled calmly. "No matter who becomes village chief, us common folks still live our lives the same way."

"Now, I'm off to promote the Game Helmet. You three can look around on your own."

With that, he flew straight toward the Hokage's Office, leaving Team 7 standing there, messing in the wind.

"When we came back, I saw a similar Game Helmet on the Exchange List."

Sakura's face was full of sorrow. "The cheapest one costs two hundred Reward Points each—totally unaffordable... Where does Teacher get so many Reward Points to give away? Everything he's done doesn't seem to bring any benefit at all?"

"Not necessarily."

Sasuke's face was full of envy and jealousy but no daring to hate, his tone gloomy. "I saw the Blueprint for the Game Helmet. Exchanging it only costs two hundred points. That means if you can gather the materials yourself and understand the crafting method, the cost is nearly zero."

"And... I suspect that when a mentor brings someone into the Main God Space, they also receive rewards from Lord Main God. My guess is that the Jinchuriki from Sunagakure will soon become our comrade."

"You mean... Gaara?"

Sakura felt a chill. "Naruto, do you think..."

Halfway through her words, she suddenly realized Naruto had already run off without a trace.

"Hmph... That guy's been yapping about it for over a year. Ten to one, he's on his way to Ichiraku Ramen."

Sasuke arrived at the correct conclusion.

After exchanging a few more words, Sakura hurried home, eager to return.

"The new masterpiece endorsed by Fifth Hokage Tsunade-sama is out now!"

A few kids around eight or nine years old carried stacks of flyers, handing one to every passerby. Sasuke got one too.

"Fifth Hokage... the last heir of the Senju Clan, Tsunade?"

The information was overwhelming, leaving Sasuke momentarily stunned.

He grabbed one of the kids handing out flyers and asked, "When did Tsunade become the Fifth Hokage? What about the Third Hokage?"

The boy in the pale yellow shirt's face flickered with gloom. He wiped the tears from his eyes with his blue scarf and replied...

(Konohamaru Sarutobi's face flickered with gloom. He wiped his tears and replied, "One day, blade in hand, I'll slay every cliffhanger dog in the land!")