Danzo's Buddha Slaying: The Shinobi World's Fastest Speed

After planting Uchiha Setsuna in the capital as a hidden pawn, Toji and his group set out from the capital's southern gate and took the official road back.

The sun rose and set, and before they knew it, evening was drawing near.

The dim wilderness carried an oppressive atmosphere, making people instinctively wary that some burly man might leap out of the grass at any moment.

The outline of the capital behind them gradually shrank into a tiny black dot at the edge of their vision.

The scenery along the way continually changed, and before long, a somewhat dilapidated Buddhist temple appeared ahead.

Speaking of Buddhist temples, they were a distinctive product originating from the Land of Fire.

Just as the Land of Grass had a shinobi branch called Hozuki Castle in addition to Kusagakure, the Land of Fire had the Fire Temple, which stood apart from Konoha.

Fire Temple was a general term, encompassing countless temples of all sizes.

The monk shinobi in these temples likewise did not engage in production and rarely became involved in war. They relied on the daimyo's funding and worshippers' offerings to make a living. Since they did not participate in battle, the daimyo's funding was limited. Temples with many offerings were wealthy, while those without them were not.

Though they did not fight, monk shinobi could refine chakra just like ordinary shinobi and wield Buddhist-style ninjutsu. Their combat strength was not to be underestimated, and no one knew how many monk shinobi all those temples contained in total.

Buddhism held deep influence in the Land of Fire. Many of Hashirama's Wood Release techniques incorporated Buddhist elements. In contrast, the Uchiha's dōjutsu was associated with Shinto. Their differing religious alignments also symbolized that they were destined to stand on opposite sides.

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