The next morning, Naruto dragged himself out of bed early.
After three days of rest, he had almost forgotten he was supposed to be a ninja. In this world—no cell phones, computers too expensive to buy—there really wasn't much in the way of entertainment.
What puzzled Naruto was that Konoha clearly had electricity. And not chakra-generated lightning from people, but genuine civilian electrical power.
That meant the world's technology had already stepped into the electric age. Utility poles could be seen everywhere in the village, and things like televisions, refrigerators, even air conditioners, washing machines, and dryers existed.
Naruto's situation, however, was that of an orphan living off government assistance. No family background, no money, and as a genin, not much ability either.
The old refrigerator in his apartment had long since broken down. Naruto had no idea how to fix it, and on his very first day in this world, he discovered a few bottles of expired milk inside.
Still, his stipend was fairly generous. As long as he didn't try to buy any large items, he could live a reasonably normal life. Normally, though, that stipend stopped the moment someone became a ninja; from then on, survival depended on taking missions.
Having been here for just under half a month, Naruto had gotten a rough understanding of this world's technology. It wasn't weak exactly, but more like a crookedly developed tech tree.
The existence of ninjas had pushed certain fields forward, but chakra—this overpowered energy—had also limited progress in other areas.
For example, Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, who possessed all five chakra natures, didn't need a lighter to smoke—just a spark of Fire Release. To monitor people, he only needed a crystal ball.
The sheer convenience of ninjutsu drew people's focus toward territorial battles and endless conflicts. Ever since the First Hokage founded Konoha, countless ninja wars had erupted.
In times of war, technology struggled to advance. Since ninjas were the main characters of this world, technology naturally developed only around their needs.
That was why communication devices existed within villages, yet cross-country or inter-village systems remained outdated due to intelligence risks.
Whenever necessary, ninjutsu always took precedence over technology.
What caught Naruto's attention wasn't only the crooked tech tree, but also this world's level of weaponry.
Most ninjas still relied on traditional melee weapons. The most advanced ones were chakra blades, like the short sword once wielded by Kakashi's father, the White Fang of Konoha.
There were also summoning-beast weapons like the Third Hokage's partner, Enma, or the seven cursed swords of the Mist's Seven Ninja Swordsmen.
As for divine artifacts like the Kusanagi Sword or the Totsuka Blade, and even the legendary Six Paths Sage's treasures—the Bashōsen fan, the Golden Rope, the Seven Star Sword, the Crimson Gourd—they already seemed outclassed by the overwhelming power of bloodline prodigies roaming the world.
And firearms?
Outside of Sasori of the Red Sand, who wielded heavy firepower, and Pain's Asura Path, which unleashed missiles and laser cannons, hot weapons were nearly nonexistent.
What little existed seemed tied to the puppet-user community. In the far-off Land of Snow, there were chakra armors, steam-era airships, and steamboats—but due to geography, they still relied mostly on large kunai launchers.
The Sky Ninja Village even had flying fortresses and aerial carrier fleets. Though not nuclear-powered, they still carried a degree of threat.
All in all, because of constant warfare, the major villages had stockpiled so much animosity that peace was impossible.
Under such conditions, ninjas, as the core fighting force, naturally held higher status than technology. Science could not break free from the shadow of shinobi.
Ninjas had reshaped the world's balance, and the cold-war-like stalemate between nations had shackled technological growth.
After washing up, Naruto yawned at his reflection in the mirror, tossing his toothbrush back into the cup and ending his bathroom musings.
Once dressed, he headed to the academy. By the time he arrived, the classroom was already crowded. His late entrance drew a few glances, but no one came up to greet him.
Everyone was caught up in speculation—wondering who their teammates would be, and which jōnin would lead them. Ninja squads were always three-person cells.
After the Second Shinobi World War, Tsunade's role as a medical ninja had earned recognition from the village elders. Having a healer in the team greatly improved both survival and mission success rates. From then on, the two-boys-one-girl setup became a tradition.
That was the official explanation. But Naruto knew the truth was more complicated.
The deeper reason was that Konoha had been bled dry by years of war.
A shinobi village was essentially a military camp. In all-out battles, there was no such thing as delicate squad formations. To place one female medic in every squad was unrealistic.
When Tsunade first proposed the idea after losing her brother Nawaki, the high council dismissed it as wishful thinking born of grief.
But as the casualty rate skyrocketed and even teenagers had to be sent to the front lines, the elders were forced to adopt her proposal. Without medics, the day might come when even the elderly and women were thrust onto the battlefield with kunai.
"Naruto, aren't you curious about what kind of teammates you'll get?" Chōji nudged him, noticing Naruto spacing out with his dead-fish eyes.
"Not curious at all. Not one bit." Naruto hugged his head, bored. "Even if you guys are nervous, what's there to fuss about?"
As he said that, his gaze drifted to Shikamaru, Chōji, and Ino.
"The Ino–Shika–Chō formation of the village. If I were Hokage, I'd never split you guys up."
"Tch." Ino clicked her tongue. "Being stuck with these two? So annoying."
"Troublesome," Shikamaru muttered.
"Hehe," Chōji smiled happily. At least that way, he wouldn't have to be separated from his childhood friends.
Maybe it was because they'd grown up together, but Shikamaru and Chōji had never really seen Ino as a girl.
And Ino, for her part, always had her eyes on Sasuke, her tomboyish nature making her seem more like one of the boys.