Board Thread:Naruto Discussions/@comment-40242313-20191028045201/@comment-9782468-20191029153050

@Gotei

They are reliable in that they are an average Shinobi. They know how to act and how to function in the field and can take charge or take orders. They are the average soldier. A genin may have the same combat prowess, but lack the experience or presence of mind to make rational decisions in the field.

In Shippuden, the average power level doesn't shoot up. We as the viewer just followed the main characters. The main characters that we see are the upper echelon in terms of abilities. Even in Part 1, the higher ranked characters are constantly saying things like" What? He's this powerful?" or "To get this far at such an age..."

In Shippuden, we're just watching the most powerful characters. And those characters kept growing very fast, unlike the average Shinobi.

And to your point about their performance in the war, they were up against the most powerful Shinobi from history, and those Shinobi would not die from any damage they took and had infinite chakra.

The Chunin may look like fodder compared to the best, but to everyone else they were just your average capable ninja.