Fire Temple stood atop a small mountain five kilometers outside the capital of the Land of Fire. Due to its long history and grand buildings, it still enjoyed a thriving stream of worshippers.
"Your Highness the Prince, we'll have to proceed on foot from here!"
At the reminder from his steward, Kino, Li Chuan stepped down from the carriage. A long flight of stairs leading to the mountaintop appeared before him.
Unlike the deserted temples he had seen in anime as a child, these stairs were packed with ordinary people from the Land of Fire going up and down, making the place exceptionally lively.
Presumably, Fire Temple had only been temporarily closed by Chiriku back then because of the tomb-robbing incident.
"Let's go!"
Without wasting words, Li Chuan waved his hand and led Kino, the servants, and the guards up the stairs toward the summit.
His body had already recovered to its peak condition from his previous life. In addition, after entering this world, his body had instantly been endowed with the physique of this world's humans. His cell count had greatly increased, and he could clearly feel that he had become considerably stronger.
Thus, by the time he reached Fire Temple's gate at the mountaintop, he did not feel the slightest bit tired, unlike Kino and the other ordinary people, who were already panting for breath.
"I never expected Your Highness the Prince to be in such good health!"
In Kino and the other servants' eyes, their prince had always been the type to stay home all year round, rarely going out and exercising even less. They had never imagined his physical fitness would surpass theirs by so much.
"Is this the Sealing Iron Wall?"
Fire Temple's gate looked to be more than five meters tall. It was forged from pig iron and covered in gold paint, with two enormous stone statues standing on either side.
From his vague memories, Li Chuan recalled that the gate and statues were not merely decorations. They were part of the powerful defensive barrier that covered all of Fire Temple, created through barrier ninjutsu and Sealing Technique.
Once activated, only those with the Sage Art Chakra unique to Fire Temple's monks could pass through it. It was said to be an impenetrable defense that could never be breached.
Yet it seemed that it had been shattered once by the rampaging Sora, who possessed Nine-Tails Chakra, and then forcibly broken again by Akatsuki's Immortal Duo.
"Your Highness the Prince, should I send word for Fire Temple's head priest to come receive you?"
Seeing Li Chuan standing motionlessly at the temple entrance, Kino quietly asked.
In Kino's view, while Fire Temple was famous, it was still only a temple. Since such a distinguished prince had come, Fire Temple's head priest ought to personally come out to receive and accompany him.
However, Li Chuan shook his head.
"No need. Let's go in and look around first."
He had come to take a master and learn ninjutsu, not to throw his weight around. Naturally, he needed to maintain a good attitude. Otherwise, even if he truly joined Fire Temple, there was nothing he could do if Chiriku refused to teach him the real thing.
Although the Land of Fire's royal family held high status, it did not have absolute control over ninja villages and ninja temples.
Let alone a prince without power like him, even the daimyo could not force Fire Temple to hand over the ninjutsu it had inherited for generations.
After taking his attendants around the temple and burning a few sticks of incense, Li Chuan discovered that Fire Temple primarily enshrined two Buddhas: one was Guanyin, and the other was Acala.
"That certainly fits Fire Temple's famed ninjutsu, Raijin - Thousand-Armed Killing and Wrathful Vajra."
Having finished touring Fire Temple, he stopped wasting time and directly approached a steward monk in the front hall who appeared to hold considerable status. Politely, he said:
"I am Yuan Chuan. I have a matter to discuss with Head Priest Chiriku. Please announce me."
"Your Highness the Prince?"
The monk managing the front hall was no fool. The moment he heard Li Chuan's surname was Yuan, the surname of the Land of Fire's royal family, he immediately thought of the reclusive prince mentioned in rumors.
"That is correct."
Li Chuan nodded.
The steward monk immediately smiled and respectfully gave a Buddhist salute.
"This humble monk will have someone notify the head priest at once. Your Highness the Prince, please follow this humble monk to a guest room in the rear courtyard and rest first."
Unlike the bustling front hall, Fire Temple's rear courtyard was closed to visitors. Thus, apart from monks practicing Body Technique in the open space, no one else could be seen.
"Hmm? Is that young man also a monk of the temple? Why hasn't he shaved his head?"
As he followed the steward monk toward the rear courtyard's reception room, Li Chuan spotted a long-haired youth. His heart stirred, and he asked the steward monk.
Following Li Chuan's gaze, the steward monk's face showed a trace of disgust.
"Your Highness, that is Sora, a child brought into Fire Temple by Head Priest Chiriku. He is a Lay Disciple, so he does not need to shave his head."
"How old is he this year?"
Li Chuan asked casually.
The steward thought for a moment.
"He should be eleven."
Li Chuan nodded upon hearing that and did not ask further.
In truth, he had guessed who that youth was the instant he saw him. He had asked the steward mainly to learn the boy's age, so he could roughly determine when he had entered this world.
Although he still remembered the main plot of Naruto, it was an anime he had watched as a child. He was not particularly clear on which year specific events took place in the Naruto World.
However, he remembered that Sora was about the same age as Naruto. Since Sora was now eleven, Naruto should also be around eleven, and Naruto seemed to have graduated from the Ninja Academy at twelve.
With that calculation, he gained a rough understanding of the point in the timeline he was in, while also quietly breathing a sigh of relief.
This was actually an excellent time. The plot had not yet begun, and he would not face the awkward situation of having the Immortal Duo come to destroy Fire Temple immediately after he became Chiriku's disciple.
"Kino, wait outside with the others!"
After giving Kino that instruction, Li Chuan entered the guest room under the steward monk's guidance. As he sipped Fire Temple's hot tea, he waited patiently.
After about five minutes, a bald monk in his thirties, draped in monk's robes, knocked on the door and entered the guest room.
"Chiriku, head priest of Fire Temple, greets Your Highness the Prince."
"Head Priest Chiriku, there is no need for such formality."
Li Chuan hurriedly rose and returned the Buddhist salute.
"May I ask what business Your Highness the Prince has with this humble monk?"
After sitting cross-legged on a meditation cushion, Chiriku wore a puzzled expression.
Chiriku truly had no idea why such a distinguished prince had suddenly come to Fire Temple looking for him.
In his younger years, he had been one of the Guardian Shinobi Twelve of the Land of Fire, but his duties then had all involved secretly protecting the daimyo. He had only seen this prince, who rarely left his residence, a handful of times and had never even exchanged a single word with him.
"Head Priest Chiriku, I have come this time because I wish to become a monk at Fire Temple and become your disciple!"
Li Chuan did not beat around the bush and directly stated his purpose in seeking Chiriku. Given his status as a prince, there was no need for excessive verbal probing.
Chiriku's eyes instantly widened, his face filled with disbelief.
"Your Highness the Prince, surely you are not joking with this humble monk?"
A prince of the Land of Fire held an incomparably noble status, yet he wanted to become a monk at Fire Temple and take Chiriku as his master. It truly caught him off guard and left him somewhat unable to understand.
Before you continue