When Chiriku hurried out, not a single warrior monk in the front courtyard of Fire Temple was still able to stand.
That included the seemingly venerable monk.
Moreover, Arata had already held back. If the other side had belonged to a different faction, Akatsuki's slaughter of this place might have happened ahead of schedule.
"Uchiha!"
Even Chiriku, the abbot of this temple, could not help but feel rage rise within him upon seeing the courtyard littered with groaning figures.
These were all fellow disciples who cultivated alongside him every day!
The bonds between them went without saying.
"Abbot, he—he barged into the temple and injured our fellow disciples without reason. Please uphold justice for us."
When one of the warrior monks saw Chiriku appear, he immediately cried out in grief.
"How dare you?"
Hearing that, he clenched his teeth and rebuked Arata. Even his excellent composure could no longer be maintained.
"One of the former Twelve Guardian Ninja of the Land of Fire?"
Arata's gaze fell upon the cloth sash hanging from Chiriku's waist, recognizing his identity, yet his expression and tone remained cold and disdainful.
For such an accomplished monk to be stationed at this temple and still teach monks with such an attitude was truly laughable.
"As a former Guardian Shinobi, do you know that the Eastern Border of the Land of Fire, facing the Land of Water, is guarded by my Uchiha Clan?"
Ignoring the clamoring warrior monks, he stared directly at the man before him and asked.
Chiriku's expression shifted slightly, and a bad premonition rose in his heart.
The border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Water was indeed a place plagued by constant conflict. Yet it was precisely because the Uchiha Clan stood guard there, because of those Sharingan said to