3 Chapter 2: Let the Games Begin.

"Let's table this discussion for later. We aren't in a position to bargain at the moment, so we will have to grit our teeth and bear it." With those very reassuring words, I concluded the staff meeting. As everyone left the room, I smiled seeing the numbers go up slightly on my System's screen.

"Ryuichi-san?" Ame tapped my shoulder, pulling me out of my thoughts. "Yes, Ame-san?" I asked the kunoichi who was looking at me with an indiscernable emotion in her eyes. "I didn't say this earlier, but... congratulations on your promotion." She said, making me blush involuntarily. "Thank you, Ame-san. And, uh, have a nice day." I wished awkwardly, only getting a slight smile in return.

"I know it feels like you have to do a lot, but take a rest once in a while, ya know?" She advised with a grin before she turned and walked past me and out of the wooden door. I mulled that over for a moment and nodded. While it was necessary to complete the tasks provided by the system, I didn't have to be so focussed on making it harder for myself. I vowed to take a break at least once a day. Even the Kazekage did that, didn't he? Take a break to wander around the Village? Sadly, none of us were in the Village proper, because that's a really stupid base-of-operations.

For clarification, Sunagakure is very close to the borders of the Land of Wind, which made it easier to travel to the other nations and also brought some rain due to the winds that blew Southwards from Rain Country. But other Village's ninjas weren't allowed into the Village barring exceptional circumstances and at least a month's notice, especially so soon after the war. So if, say, a Shinobi from another Village were to collect on a bounty, they'd have to do it in a place that was within the jurisdictional boundaries of the Village (because administration is already a pain without having to add in a distance factor) but far enough from the Village itself that the Village's safety wouldn't be compromised.

It wasn't called a "Hidden Village" because it was so easy to find, after all.

[All Targets Achieved.]

[+5 Resource Crates]

At last, the day had come to an end. The sun was making its way down the horizon and the people in the building were making their way to the dorms or to the housing complexes that were a bit further away in the Village outskirts.

'Open Resources Tab.' I asked Ezra.

[Resources]

[Crates Available: 10]

[Welcome Bonus]

[Coin Balance - 800]

"Neat." I whistled appreciatevely.

'Open all Crates.' I commanded the System.

[Crates Opened (x10)]

[1 Golden Tag, 1 Black Book, 2 Agent Charges, 12 Gems, 2000 Coins]

'Ooh. What do we have here?' I thought slightly greedily.

[Golden Tags: A Golden Tag is a single-use artefact that allows an Agent to tag an individual and track them regardless of distance and share their senses.]

[Black Book: A Black Book allows an Agent to find out blackmail material on any person which increases with interaction. The information in the book is perfectly accurate.]

[Agent Charges: An Agent charge fully refills rest time for deployed Agents.]

[Gems: Gems are Higher Order System Currency used to purchase or upgrade Agents.]

[Coins: Basic System Currency. Used to purchase Upgrades, deploy agents and so on.]

'Thanks for the infodump, Ezra.' I said grumpily, reading through the information quickly. Frankly, this was a good haul. It was useful in the long-term, but it was a good haul nonetheless.

'How about we open that Welcome Bonus now?' I mentioned and got a single ding from the System in return.

[Welcome Bonus opened.]

[A-Rank Agent : Soga Masayuki received!]

[Harmonious Battle Rhythm Technique gained.]

[Treasury Notes (x5)]

[10 Gems gained.]

[10,000 Coins gained.]

'Whoa! I got a free Agent?' I marvelled at the gift I had just received.

[Yes! Your agent isn't a real entity, but you can benefit from its work nonetheless.] Came Ezra's helpful answer. I already knew what to do from the tutorial, so I immediately opened the Agents tab.

[Agents]

[Soga Masayuki (A)]

The Rank of an Agent was in no way an indicator of their actual Shinobi Rank, which would normally put Soga at the same level as the average Jonin. An Agent's rank depended on how quickly I could expect them to get the work done and at what cost. It also factored into the efficiency of the Agent and the quality of the data gained. A higher-ranked Agent could get more data within a shorter time-frame and cost less Coins per day relative to the data gained. Of course, the best part was that an Agent only existed within the System. It was the perfect Espionage tool. If any Shinobi in the world, even those from my own Village knew about it...

Well, Ninja never really have needed a good reason to go to war anyway. I might just single-handedly cause the Third War ahead of schedule.

Thinking of it, I was reminded of an important detail that I decided to put away for a later date because it was that important. I might throw a spanner into Zetsu's works by causing Nagato's escape from Danzo's maniacal actions. It might even delay the devestation of the coming wars by many decades!

I quickly selected Soga to deploy him for 500 Coins, which would bring me one day's worth of data. I knew exactly whom to devote time to finding out about just now. This was a pivotal moment in my new life, because I was actively choosing to profit off of an otherwise innocent man's death. But I was now a loyal Shinobi of the Sand. So it was entirely justified.

[Target Selected - Hatake Sakumo]

"Perfect." If my idea worked out as I intended for it to, it might make my position in the village rise by an order of magnitude. I went and sat down on my chair to pen a letter to a certain Chiyo of the Sand Village.