Board Thread:Episode Discussions/@comment-1181222-20180207105402/@comment-25607614-20180207152848

Fonselot wrote: So... if genins can't fight... does it mean that Naruto can't fight either? And Sasuke?

Why are they so protective with the genins now? They are already ninja...

One of the themes of post-shippuden Naruto is the modernization of their world. It would appear that being a genin does not mean what it did to Naruto's generation. For instance, the additional school curriculum for post-genin learning would indicate that they're treated much more like children even as genin than Naruto's peers were.

The peaceful times brought around after the alliance of the five nations pretty has made treating genin like child soldiers less of a necessity. That and Sakura started a mental health facility for children in Konoha, so I'd imagine they've become pretty conscious of how life or death battle can mess up a developing mind.