Naruto: I'm in Konoha, my name is Uzumaki Menma

Chapter 14 First Time Leaving the Village

A coastal city on the eastern coast of the Land of Fire.

Menma, who was leaving the village for the first time in this world, had changed into a simple outfit and was strolling along the city's port.

"Sir! Do you need workers? I can do anything!" Along the streets near the dock, some unemployed ordinary people were looking for work.

Most of them were ragged and emaciated, and when they looked at the port pedestrians, especially some of the well-dressed people, their eyes were filled with fear and longing.

Menma has traveled all the way from Konoha Village and has seen too many ordinary people who have been displaced by war.

At this time, the war between the Land of Fire and the Land of Lightning was coming to an end. The ninja forces of the two countries were facing off in the Land of the Moon and the Land of Hot Water. Although there were occasional small-scale clashes, both sides were still relatively restrained.

Furthermore, with the Hidden Cloud Village having already sent a special envoy to the Hidden Leaf Village for 'peace talks,' the war was about to end, and the coastal cities of the Land of Fire were gradually returning to their pre-war prosperity, with various merchant ships coming and going, including many from the Land of Lightning.

The ninja world is not at peace.

Besides the wars between major powers, there are also various bandits running rampant. The level of civilization in the entire ninja world is still stuck in the feudal era, with 'daimyo, nobles, merchants, ninjas, and commoners' forming a strict social structure.

Yes, even though ninjas possess combat power far exceeding that of ordinary people, their social status is only comparable to that of merchants, and most of the time they are even employed by merchants to earn money.

Ninjas, who specialize in fighting and killing, have a status only slightly higher than that of ordinary people.

Of course, there are also some rogue ninjas or wandering ninjas who kill merchants and plunder them.

This situation usually occurs with small merchants, while large merchants generally have noble backgrounds and are not to be trifled with by ordinary ninjas.

After all, if a nobleman were killed by a ninja, it would alarm the highest ruler of a country—the daimyo, and even the entire noble class of the country would offer a reward for the ninja.

In order to maintain the rule of the nobility.

This strange social structure persisted for nearly a thousand years.

During her time in the 'Limited Tsukuyomi World', Menma studied this social structure in her spare time and always found it incredible.

Although many aspects of the 'Limited Tsukuyomi World' are the opposite of reality, the social structure remains unchanged. While ninjas possess extraordinary powers, they generally do not have the power to interfere with the nation.

A delicate symbiotic relationship has 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 the ninja clans and ninja villages.

Mianma walked into a small seaside restaurant.

"Please have a seat, sir. Are you alone?" The waiter greeted them warmly, showing no disrespect despite Mianma's appearance of being only a teenager.

The social structure of the ninja world is quite strange. Some large cities have developed rapidly in technology, while other places are like ancient times.

In comics and anime, classical architecture appears sometimes, and modern architecture appears at other times. In some theatrical versions, even aircraft carriers have been introduced.

Menma found a window seat with a view of the ships docked at the pier, and waved two banknotes in his hand: "I'll have a ramen set meal, no Naruto rolls. Also, are there any merchant ships going to the Land of Lightning lately? The safer the better."

As a ninja, Menma naturally didn't need to hitch a ride on the merchant ship; he was just looking for an excuse to find out who the most powerful merchant in the area was.

The waiter took the two hundred-yuan bills with both hands and enthusiastically introduced, "The safest one is definitely Lord Kado's shipping company! There are even samurai and ninjas escorting you."

Although ninjas are the mainstream in this world, samurai have not disappeared.

Not to mention the samurai of the Land of Iron, most countries have samurai ronin, who are mostly gangsters, thugs, bodyguards and the like.

After all, in the established lore, ninjas generally don't get involved in disputes between ordinary people, and ninja wars are designed to avoid involving civilians. However, once a war breaks out, it's difficult to control.

With two hundred taels of silver in cash, after deducting the cost of the set meal, the waiter would receive at least one hundred taels as a tip.

The currency system in the ninja world is complex, with almost every country having its own currency. As the strongest of the five great nations, the Land of Fire has the most stable currency.

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

In chapter 150 of the manga, "Start Training," Jiraiya gives Naruto three hundred-yen bills and tells him to go have fun, which is about three thousand yen, less than 200 RMB.

(In the early anime version, a bowl of Ichiraku Ramen cost 400 ryo, but in the manga it cost 60 ryo, less than 36 RMB. Here, we adopt the simpler and easier-to-calculate setting from the manga.)
"Kado?" When Menma heard this name, deep memories in his brain were awakened.

"Yes, Lord Kado is a newly emerging big businessman in recent years!" The waiter introduced him to Menma because of the large tip.

"It is said that Lord Kado has the backing of nobles from the Land of Fire, and his fleet can sail freely in this sea area. Even the war of the past two years did not have much impact on him."

Mianma listened quietly.

I vaguely remembered that it was Konoha year 54, and there were still nine years until Naruto graduated and the story began in Konoha year 63.

Nine years later, Gato was one of the wealthiest men in the ninja world, able to hire an S-rank rogue ninja like Zabuza for an extended period.

After all, Zabuza was a ruthless man who attempted to assassinate the Fourth Mizukage and managed to escape unscathed after failing. He was also an elite Jonin who could fight Kakashi to a standstill, so his price wouldn't be low.

Mianma vaguely remembered that the reward for an S-rank mission was one million taels.

Furthermore, Zabuza also has Haku by his side, whose abilities are at least those of a standard Jonin.

If Naruto hadn't activated Nine-Tails Mode, he really wouldn't have been a match for Haku.

After the waiter left, Mianma rested his chin on his hand, looked out the window at the bustling dock, and pondered the purpose of his trip out of the village.

He had previously eliminated the White Zetsu around the orphanage, but that was only a temporary solution. The best way to completely stop the White Zetsu from monitoring him was to move to a neighborhood in the center of the village near the Hokage Building, or a neighborhood near the Hyuga clan's territory.

Using the ANBU ninjas and sensory squads in the Konoha building, as well as the Byakugan's X-ray vision, they should be able to get White Zetsu and Obito to stop monitoring him.

However, Menma's true form is just a three-year-old child, making it impossible for him to live on his own, let alone move to the Hokage Building or the neighborhood surrounding the Hyuga clan's territory.

Not only do they need money, but they may also need some influence.

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

By having them settle in Konoha Village, and then finding an excuse to adopt an orphan, they can choose to move out of the orphanage.

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

If you want to live in the neighborhood around the Hokage Building in Konoha or the Hyuga clan's territory for a long time, it's best not to use genjutsu to control the pieces; you have to make the pieces willingly serve you.

In that case, it would be unsuitable for the aristocracy, who have been accustomed to the mindset of being superior to others for hundreds of years.

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(End of this chapter)