Codename 007

Seeing Gaara's childish behavior, Rasa could no longer bring himself to scold him.

His heart softened, and he sighed.

"There are some things I should tell you."

"?"

Gaara looked bewildered.

"Your mother never left you. She has always been by your side..."

The Fourth Kazekage began telling his son, in a weathered tone, the secret of the gourd on his back.

The story was not complicated. By the time it took to drink a cup of tea, it had reached its end.

"...She has been silently protecting you."

A long silence followed.

Gaara's eyes stung, and his vision began to blur.

Then, he suddenly noticed that something seemed to be hidden inside the figurine identical to himself.

Sand wrapped around the figurine and carried it to Gaara.

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

"Do you want to know the meaning of life, to truly live?"

"Hahaha... Just kidding!"

"Do you want to revive your mother? Become a Reincarnator! Absolutely genuine, guaranteed!"

It was signed: "Main God Space Pimp · Dimensional Traveler · Troublemaker King · Gold Medal Guide · Council Fabricator · Wang Yan."

Although Gaara could not understand many of the terms—meaning of life, pimp, Dimensional Traveler, troublemaking, Guide—he had no idea what any of them meant. But he understood the words "revive your mother."

"I... want to revive Mother. I want a complete family, a real family."

Gaara silently recited the words in his heart.

Everything written on the note seemed utterly unreliable, but recalling the wonders of that virtual reality game, Gaara still decided to trust Wang Yan once.

Just as he was wondering how to find Wang Yan, a cold, emotionless voice sounded 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 will be issued through Instant Calculation.

Novice Missions have failure exemption. No penalty for failure.

The Main God's authority, the uses of Reward Points and Destiny Gems, the rights and obligations of Reincarnators...

Everything surfaced in his mind.

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

At the same time.

On the streets of Sunagakure, a Whirlpool Mask Youth wearing a black cloak patterned with red clouds happened to pass by.

He casually picked up Sakura's figurine. "Eh? Is this a puppet?"

"It looks rather unique. Senior Sasori and that guy Deidara should like it... This is a work of art that truly has value!"

His gaze inadvertently swept over the ring on his finger. Looking at the character "Sora" engraved upon it, the goofy young man suddenly felt a subtle sense of incongruity.

This ring had originally belonged to Orochimaru. After the other man left the Akatsuki Organization and made a compensatory deal, he took the opportunity to inherit the codename "Sora."

"Actually, I prefer 'Gyoku'... But that's Senior Sasori's ring..."

"I remember the last person who angered him was supposedly the strongest Kazekage in history. That person seemed to have been turned into a puppet afterward... Forget it! 'Sora' is actually a pretty good codename too!"

"Was Gaara's mission a little too difficult?"

On the road back to Konoha with three burdens in tow, Wang Yan suddenly discovered his conscience.

"Young people need more tempering. If a mission is difficult, that means I think highly of him. This isn't sadistic amusement, absolutely not!"

Wang Yan sent a thread of Spiritual Power sweeping across the three Genin of Team Seven.

The three of them were trying their best to keep up with his pace while greedily browsing the Exchange List to see what they could afford.

Unfortunately, they felt just as Jiraiya had before: they could not afford the Good things they wanted, while they were reluctant to waste points on what they could afford.

"Young people always want to hold back for some big move."

Wang Yan shook his head and thought, During my time in Sunagakure, I discovered a problem.

"Please speak, Lord Main God." The Assistant Program's etiquette plugin and personality simulation subroutine were functioning perfectly, making it seem like a courteous old butler.

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

"It is not related in any way. In fact, whether you are ordinary person Wang Yan or Main God Wang Yan, both are you. Different identities do not cause destiny to split apart."

Wang Yan frowned slightly. "Then perhaps my attainments in temporal observation aren't deep enough yet."

Having received his answer, he did not 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 expensive than Elemental Laws such as ice, fire, water, earth, wind, and lightning.

If it was not urgently needed, there was no need to waste resources on it for now.

One day later, Land of Fire, Konoha.

Or rather...

New Konoha.

"Sensei, did you take us to the wrong place?"

Looking at the bustling village, Naruto rubbed his eyes, his face full of astonishment.

Sakura covered her mouth, her persecution complex acting up. "What... exactly happened these past few days? Was this place attacked by another ninja village?"

"Probably not..."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "In less than a week, no force meets those conditions."

The Akatsuki Organization was currently keeping a low profile as it developed and gathered funds. It had not even begun collecting the Tailed Beasts, so it did not fit the conditions.

He noticed that the countless passersby, whether travelers passing through or local residents, all seemed to be in excellent spirits—far better than before.

"All right, don't overthink it. It's just ordinary internal strife."

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

"All right, I'm going to promote some Game Helmets. You can wander around on your own."

With that, he flew straight toward the Hokage's Office, leaving the three members of Team Seven in disarray.

"On the way back, I saw similar Game Helmets in the Exchange List."

Sakura looked miserable. "Even the cheapest one costs two hundred Reward Points each. We simply can't afford them... Where did Sensei get so many Reward Points to hand out? The things he does don't bring any benefit at all, right?"

"Not necessarily."

Sasuke's face was full of envy and jealousy, though he did not dare feel resentment. His tone was faint. "I saw a Blueprint for Game Helmets. It only costs two hundred points to exchange for it. In other words, if you can gather the materials yourself and understand the method of making them, the cost is practically zero."

"Besides... I'm afraid mentors who bring people into Main God Space also receive rewards from Lord Main God. I suspect that Sunagakure's Jinchuriki will soon become our companion."

"You mean... Gaara?"

A chill ran through Sakura. "Naruto, what do you think..."

Before she could finish, she suddenly realized Naruto had already run off without a trace.

"Hmm... He has been shouting about it for over a year. There's an eighty percent chance he's on his way to Ichiraku Ramen."

Sasuke arrived at the correct answer.

After chatting for a while longer, Sakura hurried home.

"A promising new work personally endorsed by Fifth Hokage Tsunade-sama is now on sale!"

Several children of eight or nine held stacks of flyers, handing one to every passerby. Sasuke received one as well.

"The Fifth Hokage... Tsunade, the Senju Clan's last heir?"

There was too much information to process, leaving Sasuke unable to recover for a moment.

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

The little boy in a pale yellow shirt had a flash of sadness cross his face. He wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes with his blue scarf and answered...

(Konohamaru Sarutobi had a flash of sadness cross his face. He wiped away his tears and answered, "One day, when I hold a blade in hand, I'll slaughter every chapter-breaking bastard beneath the heavens!")