WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Boruto: Naruto Next Generations Episode 173, "The Secret Behind The Underground Room," now streaming on Crunchyroll.
One of the biggest changes to the new shinobi era we're witnessing in the Boruto series is how science has become integral, not just to day-to-day living, but also to the tools for ninja on duty. This wasn't a major part of Naruto at all, as that series relied on ninjutsu and the mystical aspects connected to it.
But now, it's a whole new ball game as the Hokage, as well as veterans like Sasuke, have embraced it as the way forward. However, as much as Konoha is evolving, its scientific vision hasn't fixed its biggest problem: communication in the field.
This was a huge issue in the old days because ninja had to rely on scrolls and reports to be taken back in-person to leaders and war councils. This allowed many villages to co-opt information, kidnap messengers and build strategies against each other. It felt primitive and really lengthened the era of war unnecessarily. Now, one would assume knowledge transfer has improved but... it hasn't. Sure, we see more advanced technology in terms of computers; gauntlets that can store chakra and moves, robotics, and so many other advancements, but this simple issue still lingers and honestly, it hinders progress.
Ninja should have communication devices that can't be hacked so they can radio back home. Dedicated signals can't be intercepted, which would factor hugely into stories involving Rangers, like Sasuke, who roam all over and collect data. It's magnified even more with Konohamaru and Mugino now discovering the God Tree being born again in Victor's lab. They have to survive this ambush just so they send word back to Naruto when body cams could have solved the problem already by transmitting data in real-time back home. Seeing as this is such an important enemy, linking back to Kaguya's war and her overall plans to drain humanity's chakra, it's just stupid that the shinobi have to make it home alive to even speak of this incident.
You can't rely on this method because clearly if they perish, their info and secrets will die with them. Jiraiya used frogs as well as emissaries to send details on the Akatsuki years ago, so now we'd love to see drones being used in the present-day that can speed home and use ninjutsu to cloak. The possibilities are endless, especially as Konoha has the best scientists and ninja around. Yet they only use technology only for medicine or attacking and not for defensive measures or recon.
This old-school mentality needs to be purged because it's time-consuming, inefficient and endangers people's lives even more than they already are. Unfortunately, the show will likely stick with this approach as it adds drama in the form of feuds and ambushes, but honestly, it just makes the use of science so laughable when something as simple as comms is made such a tedious task.
