Chapter 3

The Fire Temple, located on a small mountain five kilometers outside the capital of the Fire Country, was renowned for its long history and grand temple buildings, and its incense was still quite flourishing.

"Your Highness, we'll be proceeding on foot from here!"

At the steward Kinano's reminder, Juan alighted from the carriage, and a long staircase leading to the mountaintop appeared before him.

Different from the deserted temples seen in childhood cartoons, the stairs were now filled with ordinary citizens of the Fire Country, making it quite lively.

Perhaps back then, there was a tomb raiding incident, and the Fire Temple was temporarily closed by the authorities.

"Let's go!"

Without further ado, Juan waved his hand and, accompanied by Kinano, servants, and guards, ascended the stairs toward the mountaintop.

Because his body had now recovered to the peak level of his past life, he hardly felt anything when he reached the gate of the Fire Temple at the mountaintop, unlike Kinano and some of the servants who were already panting heavily.

"I didn't expect Your Highness's body to be so good!"

In the eyes of Kinano and the other servants, their prince was the type who usually stayed at home and rarely went out or exercised. They didn't expect his physical fitness to be so much better than theirs.

"So this is the Sealing Iron Wall?"

The gate of the Fire Temple was estimated to be over five meters tall, made of wrought iron, and coated with gold paint. On both sides of the gate stood two huge stone statues.

According to his vague memory, Juan remembered that these gate and statues were not just decorations but were created by the Fire Temple using barrier ninjutsu and sealing techniques, forming a powerful defensive barrier that enveloped the entire Fire Temple.

Once activated, this barrier could only be passed through by monks of the Fire Temple with the unique chakra of the celestial clan, making it known as an impregnable defense.

However, it seemed that besides being broken once by the rampage of "Kurama," the tailed beast, it was also forcibly broken by the "Akatsuki" organization's immortal duo.

"Your Highness, would you like me to inform the Fire Temple's abbot to come and receive us?"

Seeing Juan standing motionless at the temple gate, Kinano asked softly.

In Kinano's view, although the Fire Temple was famous, it was still just a temple. When a noble prince like Juan came, the abbot of the Fire Temple should personally come out to receive and accompany him.

Juan, however, shook his head at the suggestion.

"No need. Let's go in and have a look first."

He came here to apprentice and learn ninjutsu, not to show off. He needed to maintain a good attitude; otherwise, even if he were admitted to the Fire Temple, if Tsuchigumo was unwilling to impart real skills to him, he would have no way forward.

Although the status of the Fire Country's royal family was high, they did not have absolute control over the ninja villages and ninja temples.

Even if someone with authority came, like a daimyo, they couldn't forcefully demand that the Fire Temple hand over the ninjutsu passed down within the temple for so many years.

After wandering around the temple with his entourage and burning several sticks of incense, Juan discovered that the main deities worshipped in the Fire Temple were two Buddhas: Guanyin and Fudo Myoo.

"This is quite appropriate for the renowned ninjutsu of the Fire Temple, like Byakugan: Thousand-Armed Murder and Anger of the Vajra."

After touring the Fire Temple, he didn't waste any more time. He directly found the steward monk in the main hall who seemed to hold a high position and politely said, "I'm Marukawa. I have some matters to discuss with the abbot Tsuchigumo. Could you please inform him?"

"Is it Your Highness, the prince?"

The monk in charge of the main hall was quite shrewd. Hearing Juan's surname Yuan, which was the royal family's surname of the Fire Country, he immediately thought of the prince who rarely went out according to rumors.

"That's correct."

Juan nodded.

The steward monk immediately smiled and respectfully performed a Buddhist salute. "This humble monk will inform the abbot. Your Highness, please follow me to the guest room in the backyard to rest for a while."

...

Unlike the bustling main hall, the backyard of the Fire Temple was off-limits to visitors, so besides the monks practicing physical skills in the open space, no one else could be seen.

"Hmm, is that young man also a monk in the temple? Why hasn't he been tonsured?"

As he walked with the steward monk toward the guest room in the backyard, Juan noticed a young man with long hair and couldn't help but ask the steward monk.

Following Juan's gaze, the steward monk's face showed a hint of disgust.

"Your Highness, that's Kū, a child brought into the Fire Temple by Abbot Tsuchigumo. He's a lay disciple, so there's no need for tonsuring."

"How old is he?"

Juan asked casually.

The steward monk thought for a moment. "He should be around eleven years old."

Juan nodded in response, not probing further.

In fact, he had guessed the identity of the young man at first glance. His inquiry to the steward was mainly to ascertain the age of the boy, to roughly determine the time when he entered this world.

Although he still had impressions of the main storyline of Naruto, after all, it was an anime he watched as a child, and he wasn't very clear about specific events occurring in the Naruto world in which year.

However, he remembered that Kū's age was not much different from Naruto's. Kū was currently eleven years old, so Naruto should also be around eleven years old, and Naruto seemed to graduate from the Ninja Academy at the age of twelve.

Doing the math this way, he roughly understood the timeline he was in, and at the same time, he felt relieved in his heart.

This time was actually quite good. The plot hadn't unfolded yet, and he wouldn't encounter the awkward situation of just joining the Fire Temple and facing the dilemma of the Akatsuki trying to destroy the temple.

"Jino, wait outside!"

After instructing Jino, under the guidance of the steward monk, Juan entered the guest room, sipping the hot tea from the Fire Temple, patiently waiting.

After waiting for about five minutes, a bald monk in his thirties, dressed in a monk's robe, knocked on the door and entered the guest room.

"Abbot Tsuchigumo, I have seen Your Highness the Prince."

"No need for formalities, Abbot Tsuchigumo."

Juan quickly stood up and returned a Buddhist salute.

"I wonder what instructions Your Highness the Prince has for me?"

Sitting cross-legged on the cushion, Tsuchigumo's face showed a puzzled expression.

Actually, Tsuchigumo had no clue why the distinguished prince suddenly came to the Fire Temple to find him.

When he was young, although he was one of the "Guardian Ninjas of the Fire Country," his tasks at that time were all about secretly protecting the daimyo. This prince, who usually kept a low profile, he had only seen a few times, and they had never spoken a word to each other.

"Abbot Tsuchigumo, I have come here this time mainly to join the Fire Temple and become your disciple!"

Juan didn't beat around the bush and directly stated his purpose for coming to Tsuchigumo. With his status as a prince, there was no need for too much verbal probing.

Tsuchigumo's eyes widened in disbelief at Juan's words.

"Your Highness the Prince, are you sure you're not joking with this humble monk?"

The distinguished prince of the Fire Country, whose status was so noble, actually wanted to join the Fire Temple and become his disciple? This truly caught him off guard, and he found it somewhat difficult to understand.