Chapter 10: Ninja World
The next morning, Naruto dragged himself out of bed at dawn.
Three straight days of rest had nearly made him forget he was still a ninja. In this world without cell phones and where computers were too expensive to buy, there wasn't much in the way of entertainment.
What Naruto couldn't figure out was this—there was clearly electricity in the world of Naruto. And it wasn't chakra-generated electricity from Lightning Release either; it was genuine civilian-grade power.
That alone proved that this world's level of technology had already entered the electrical age. Power poles could be seen all over Konoha Village, and there were televisions, refrigerators, and even air conditioners.
Of course, Naruto was too poor to own any of those. Orphaned with nothing to his name, he had no choice but to succeed.
Right now, he was just an orphan living on welfare support—no background, no money, no ability, a complete loser.
The old fridge at home had long since broken down. Naruto scratched his head for ages, unable to fix it, and on the very first day after crossing over, he ended up with a few bottles of expired milk.
Still, his welfare allowance was fairly generous; as long as he didn't buy any large appliances, he could manage a decent living.
Normally, once he became a ninja, that allowance would stop, and he would have to support himself by taking on missions.
After spending a couple of weeks in this world, Naruto had gotten a rough grasp of its technology. Its development was weak, leaning more toward a kind of cyber-tech feel.
The emergence of ninjas had driven technological progress, but chakra's miraculous energy had also hindered it in some areas.
For instance, the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, who possessed all five chakra natures, didn't need a lighter to light his pipe, and surveillance required nothing more than a crystal ball.
The power and convenience of ninjutsu drew people's attention toward land disputes and conflict. Since the First Hokage, the God of Shinobi, founded Konoha, countless Ninja Wars had already been fought.
Under constant warfare, technology struggled to develop rapidly. Since ninjas were the main players, technology naturally evolved around their needs.
Thus, while there were communication devices within villages, cross-country or even inter-village communication systems were outdated due to the sensitivity of information.
When necessary, technology would simply give way to ninjutsu.
What caught Naruto's attention wasn't just this world's skewed tech tree, but also its level of weaponry.
Ninjas mostly used traditional melee weapons. At best, there were chakra blades like the short sword once wielded by Kakashi's father, Konoha's White Fang.
There were also weapons transformed from summoned beasts, such as the Third Hokage's summon, Enma. Then there were the Seven Ninja Swords of the Mist, cursed blades wielded by the Seven Swordsmen.
As for legendary weapons like the Kusanagi Sword and the Totsuka Blade, or the Six Paths Sage's relics—the Heavenly Spear, Golden Canopy Rope, Seven Star Sword, and Crimson Gourd—they seemed rather underwhelming.
By the time they appeared, they couldn't even stand up to the overwhelming bloodline monsters roaming everywhere.
And what about firearms?
Aside from Sasori of the Akatsuki, who was born in Sunagakure and had access to powerful firepower, and the Asura Path of Pain with its tracking missiles and laser cannons, hot weapons were virtually nonexistent.
Modern weaponry seemed to rely almost entirely on puppeteers. In the distant Land of Snow, there were chakra armor, steampunk-style airships, and steam-powered vessels, but due to geographical limitations, they still relied primarily on giant kunai launchers.
Sky Ninja Village even had flying fortress carriers and aerial battle groups. Though not nuclear-powered, they were still quite intimidating.
All in all, because of constant wars, major ninja villages had accumulated irreconcilable conflicts, making peace impossible.
Under such circumstances, ninjas, as the primary combat force, naturally held higher status than technology. For now, technology couldn't break free from its dependence on ninjas and remained severely constrained.
Ninjas had reshaped the world's structure, while the world's state of cold war restrained technological advancement.
After washing up, Naruto stared at his drowsy reflection in the mirror and let out a big yawn. Tossing his toothbrush into the cup, he ended his aimless thoughts in the washroom.
Once dressed, he headed out. By the time he reached the Ninja Academy, the classroom was already full. His tardy arrival drew a few glances, but no one came over to greet him.
Everyone was busy discussing who their future teammates might be and which jōnin would lead their squad. Ninja teams were always formed in groups of three.
After the end of the Second Great Ninja War, Tsunade, one of the Legendary Sannin, had proven the value of medical-ninjas in teams.
To a large extent, having a female medical-ninja in a squad greatly improved survival and mission success rates. Since then, the two-men-one-woman setup had become tradition.
That was the official explanation, but Naruto knew Konoha's reasoning was one-sided. Another major factor was that, after years of war, Konoha's population had been severely depleted.
A ninja village was essentially a militarized camp, and war was all-out slaughter. Having a female medic in every three-man squad simply wasn't realistic.
When Tsunade first proposed the two-men-one-woman team structure, Konoha's higher-ups weren't impressed. Some even thought she was being overly idealistic due to grief over her brother Nawaki's death.
But relentless wars eventually forced them to accept her proposal. The casualty rate had become so high that Konoha had no one left to send to the battlefield. In the end, even teenagers had to fight.
Without medics, they'd probably have to start arming old men, women, and children.
"Naruto, aren't you curious about what your teammates will be like?" Chōji nudged Naruto, who was spacing out with dead-fish eyes.
"Not curious. Not curious at all," Naruto replied listlessly, resting his head on his arms. "Even if everyone else is nervous, why are you three so worked up?"
As he spoke, his gaze drifted toward Shikamaru, Chōji, and Ino.
"Konoha's Ino-Shika-Chō combo. If I were the Hokage, I'd never break you guys up."
Ino clicked her tongue in annoyance.
"Teaming up with these two? Ugh, what a pain!"
"Troublesome," Shikamaru muttered.
"Heh heh," Chōji chuckled happily. Maybe this way, he wouldn't have to be separated from his childhood friends.
Perhaps because they had grown up together, Shikamaru and Chōji had never really seen Ino as a girl.
And Ino's gaze seemed fixed on Sasuke anyway, her tomboyish personality making her seem more like one of the boys.
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