Chapter 14: Leaving the Village for the First Time

A coastal city in the eastern part of the Land of Fire.

Menma, having left the village for the first time in this world, had changed into simple, minimalist attire and was strolling along the city’s harbor docks.

"Sir! Are you looking for workers? I can do anything!" Along the streets near the docks, unemployed commoners were seeking work.

Most of them were in rags, sallow and gaunt, their eyes filled with fear and longing as they looked at the pedestrians in the port, especially those dressed in fine clothing.

Menma had seen too many commoners displaced by war on his journey from Konoha.

At this moment, the war between the Land of Fire and the Land of Lightning was nearing its end. The ninja forces of both nations were in a standoff within the borders of the Land of Moon and the Land of Hot Water; although there were occasional small-scale skirmishes, both sides remained relatively restrained.

Furthermore, with Kumogakure having already sent envoys to Konoha for "peace talks," the war was drawing to a close. The coastal cities of the Land of Fire were gradually recovering their pre-war prosperity, with various merchant ships coming and going, including many from the Land of Lightning.

The ninja world was not a peaceful place.

Beyond the wars between the great nations, bandits ran rampant. The civilization of the ninja world remained stuck in a feudal era, with a rigid social structure composed of "Daimyo, nobles, merchants, ninjas, and commoners."

Yes, even though ninjas possessed combat power far exceeding that of ordinary people, their social status was only on par with merchants, and in most cases, they were even hired by merchants to earn their keep.

Ninjas, who specialized in fighting and killing, held a status only slightly higher than commoners.

Of course, there were some rogue ninjas or wandering ninjas who would kill merchants to plunder their wealth.

This situation generally happened to small-time merchants; large merchants usually had noble backgrounds, and ordinary ninjas could not afford to provoke them.

After all, if a noble were killed by a ninja, it would alarm the highest ruler of the nation—the Daimyo—and even the entire noble class of the country would pool their money to place a bounty on that ninja.

This was to maintain the ruling power of the nobility.

This strange social structure had persisted for nearly a thousand years.

During his time in the "Limited Tsukuyomi World," Menma had studied this social structure while practicing, and he always found it incredible.

Although much of the "Limited Tsukuyomi World" was the opposite of reality, the social structure remained unchanged. Even though ninjas mastered extraordinary power, they basically never touched the power of the state.

A delicate symbiotic relationship had formed between the state power and the ninjas; the ninjas never thought of seizing state power, and the state never thought of replacing the existence of ninja clans and villages.

Menma walked into a small restaurant by the sea.

"Please have a seat, guest. Is it just one?" The waiter greeted him enthusiastically, not looking down on him despite Menma appearing to be only in his teens.

Come to think of it, the social structure of the ninja world was also very strange. Some large cities had rapidly developing technology, while other places were just like ancient times.

In the manga and anime, classical architecture appeared at times, while modern architecture appeared at others. In some theatrical versions, they even had aircraft carriers.

Menma found a window seat where he could see the ships docked at the pier. He took out two banknotes and waved them in his hand: "I'll have a ramen set, no narutomaki. Also, are there any merchant ships heading to the Land of Lightning recently? The safer, the better."

As a ninja, Menma certainly didn't need to hitch a ride on a merchant ship; he was just using it as an excuse to inquire about who the most powerful merchant here was.

The waiter took the two hundred-ryo banknotes with both hands and introduced enthusiastically: "The safest one has to be Gato-sama's shipping company! They even have samurai and ninjas for escort."

Although ninjas were the mainstream in this world, samurai had not gone extinct.

Not to mention the samurai of the Land of Iron, most countries had ronin samurai; they were mostly the types who acted as gangsters, thugs, and bodyguards.

After all, according to the setting, ninjas generally did not participate in the disputes of ordinary people, and ninja wars tried their best not to involve civilians.

It was just that once a war broke out, it was hard to control.

With the two-hundred-ryo note, after deducting the cost of the set meal, the waiter could get at least a hundred ryo in tips.

The currency system in the ninja world was complex; basically, every country had its own currency. As the strongest of the Five Great Nations, the Land of Fire's currency was the most stable.

According to the manga's setting, 1 ryo in the ninja world equals 10 yen.

In "Manga Chapter 150: The Training Begins," Jiraiya gave Naruto three hundred-ryo notes to go have fun, which was about three thousand yen, equivalent to less than 200 RMB.

(In the early animated version, the price of a bowl of Ichiraku Ramen was 400 ryo, but in the manga, it was 60 ryo, less than 36 RMB. Here, the simpler manga setting is used.)

"Gato?" When Menma heard this name, memories from deep within his brain were awakened.

"Yes, Gato-sama is a big merchant who has risen in the last few years!" Seeing the generous tip, the waiter began to introduce him.

"It is rumored that Gato-sama has the nobles of the Land of Fire as his backers. His fleet can be said to be unimpeded in these waters. Even during the war of the past two years, it didn't have much of an impact."

Menma listened quietly.

He roughly recalled that it was now Konoha Year 54, and there were still nine years until Naruto graduated and the plot began in Konoha Year 63.

Nine years later, Gato would already be one of the few richest men in the ninja world, capable of hiring S-rank rogue ninjas like Zabuza for the long term.

After all, Zabuza was a ruthless man who had attempted to assassinate the Fourth Mizukage and managed to escape unscathed, an elite Jonin who could fight Kakashi to a draw; his asking price would not be low.

Menma vaguely remembered that the reward for an S-rank mission was around one million ryo.

And Zabuza had Haku by his side, whose ability was at least that of a standard Jonin.

If it weren't for Naruto entering the Nine-Tails mode, he really wouldn't have been Haku's match.

After the waiter retreated, Menma rested his chin on one hand, looking at the busy pier outside the window, pondering the purpose of his trip out of the village.

The White Zetsu he had eliminated around the orphanage could only solve his worries for a moment. The best way to ensure White Zetsu would no longer monitor him was to move to a neighborhood in the center of the village near the Hokage Building, or a neighborhood near the Hyuga clan compound.

By utilizing the Anbu ninjas and the sensory squad of the Hokage Building, as well as the perspective ability of the Hyuga's Byakugan, he should be able to make White Zetsu and Obito give up their surveillance of him.

However, Menma's main body was only a three-year-old child; it was impossible for him to live on his own, let alone move to a neighborhood near the Hokage Building or the Hyuga clan compound.

It would not only require money but perhaps some influence as well.

Therefore, Menma prepared to find a merchant to act as his pawn, preferably a merchant from the Land of Fire with some noble background.

By having them settle in Konoha Village and then using the excuse of adopting an orphan, he could get himself chosen, thus allowing him to move out of the orphanage.

As for why he didn't just find a noble from the Land of Fire to adopt him, it was mainly because he was afraid of trouble.

To live in a neighborhood near the Konoha Hokage Building or the Hyuga clan compound for a long time, it was best not to use genjutsu to control the pawn; the pawn had to be willing to work for him.

In that case, nobles who had been accustomed to the "superior" mindset for hundreds of years were not suitable.

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(End of chapter)