In Konoha, This Naruto Has Decided To Take It Easy

"Please follow me." Chiriku said, stepping aside and gesturing for Naruto to follow.

The two walked through the front hall, passed through the red-painted corridors, and finally stopped in front of a long row of rooms in the back hall. Chiriku made a welcoming gesture and turned to open the door of the third room.

Naruto sat down casually, while Chiriku picked up a kettle of hot water, demonstrating his straightforward and unpretentious tea-making skills.

"Chiriku-dono, your tea-making technique is truly simple yet profound." Naruto complimented.

Chiriku laughed heartily as he poured the tea and said, "Let's not be so formal. You can just call me Chiriku, and I'll call you Naruto."

"Isn't that a bit inappropriate?" Naruto replied with an awkward smile.

Naruto could somewhat guess why Chiriku was being so friendly. The Fire Temple, being a well-known Shinobi Temple in the Land of Fire, had always maintained a close relationship with Konoha.

Naruto, being closely associated with Tsunade, often felt a sense of not fully understanding the influence of the legendary Sannin. He never truly realized how significant their impact was.

Aside from their combat abilities, their track records and qualifications were the next steps toward becoming Kage of their village. Jiraiya was not only a literary giant in the Shinobi World, but also a master of Senjutsu.

There are only a few Sage Inheritances, and Konoha had them all.

And Naruto is a person who has such a huge pile of resources stuffed on him. If he were to be included in the Xianxia World, his identity would be like Uzumaki Naruto, the Holy Son of Konoha Sect, a true second-generation Young Master.

While Shinobi from other villages were still struggling to learn basic Ninjutsu, Konoha had already prepared various Forbidden Techniques for Naruto to study.

Tsunade's letter was not the main focus, and her original intention was just to have Naruto meet Chiriku at the Fire Temple and get acquainted with him. Chiriku is young and promising, so he naturally understood Tsunade's intention.

The Godaime Hokage was paving the way for the boy before him, and Chiriku was happy to go along, repaying the favor to the Godaime Hokage and building a good relationship with Naruto.

"I'm not that much older than you, so you calling me 'Chiriku-dono' feels rather overwhelming." Chiriku said cheerfully, "Tea is just like people. Regardless of fancy teaware or elaborate techniques, ultimately, it just needs a bowl and some hot water."

"There is no difference between me, the other monks of the Fire Temple, and you. We are all just people."

Hearing this, Naruto was slightly stunned. This perspective sounded somewhat familiar, and he couldn't help but smile.

"Chiriku-san, your words seem to lack logic, and the analogy of tea to people sounds a bit off. It's like casually saying something and then adding that love is the same, isn't it?"

"What do you mean?" Chiriku asked with a smile.

"You can't drink water the moment it's boiled, and the same goes for love." Naruto said casually, "Anyway, that's roughly what it means."

The tea cups steamed gently as time quietly ticked by.

Naruto was surprised to find that Chiriku, despite his stern appearance, was unexpectedly talkative in private. They chatted about various topics, including Tsunade.

As they talked, the conversation turned to the Akatsuki.

Chiriku was quite surprised that Naruto knew about Akatsuki, but then he remembered Naruto's teacher was Jiraiya, so he didn't find it strange anymore.

After thinking for a moment, Chiriku said, "I don't know much about the Akatsuki organization. I only know that they're a group of S-Rank Missing-nin who wear black cloaks with red clouds pattern and usually operate in pairs."

"Chiriku-san, you also need to be careful. The Fire Temple has too many enemies, and you're also one of their targets." Naruto reminded.

Hearing this, Chiriku just smiled.

He looked at Naruto calmly and said, "I grew up in Buddhism. The Fire Temple is my home. Some troubles are unavoidable. Whether it's Akatsuki or others, we must face them calmly."

"Alright." Naruto sighed as well, 'Since Chiriku didn't want to avoid the danger, then it was all up to fate.' "However, since I've already given you a warning, Chiriku-san, you should still make some preparations, shouldn't you?"

"Of course, I understand. If there's any unusual activity, I'll directly notify Konoha." Chiriku said, his face remaining calm.

Naruto realized he couldn't change the monk's mind, so he decided to switch topics. After all, he wasn't here just for idle chat.

"Chiriku-san, do you believe that gods exist in this world?"

"This…" Chiriku frowned and looked at Naruto deeply, "Cough, I'm a monk, is it appropriate for you to ask me this topic?"

Naruto felt a little embarrassed, it was like asking a temple monk about the Christianity, which could get him thrown out. What's more, he was inquiring about something even more taboo, which are Jashin and Shinigami.

"Of course I wouldn't dare ask others, but since it's you, the knowledgeable Chiriku-san, I think it's okay." Naruto said with an embarrassed smile.

Chiriku remained silent for a while, his expression becoming solemn. He then lowered his voice.

"Such words shouldn't be spoken lightly, but you've indeed asked the right person."

Hearing this, Naruto raised an eyebrow. He thought to himself, 'Of course it's you, Chiriku. You are indeed the good friend of Asuma, who can't stay serious for more than three seconds.'

"You should know that I have a friendship with Asuma, right?" Chiriku asked.

"No, I didn't." Naruto shook his head, lying so convincingly that it was seamless.

"It's normal that he didn't tell anyone about it. Asuma wasn't always like how he is now." Chiriku chuckledand slowly drifted into his memories.

In general, there are only a few key points that Chiriku wants to express.

He regretted joining the Twelve Guardian Ninja, which accomplished nothing except getting tangled up in the messes of the Daimyo, foolish and troublesome matters that led to a 30-million bounty on his head.

As the head monk of the Fire Temple, he's second only to the abbot. Chiriku spent his time training himself and the Shinobi Monks, enjoying a comfortable life.

It was sheer bad luck that, in his youth, he got carried away and took on a part-time job that caused trouble to himself.

Lastly, Daimyo is just an idiot!

"Those are all things from my youth, so let's not talk about them anymore." Chiriku sighedand took a sip of the tea that had already gone cold.

Naruto blinked and thought to himself, 'I didn't even ask about your past. I was asking if gods really exist, and you ended up reminiscing.'

Listening to Chiriku's rambling, Naruto's head began to ache. He wondered where Chiriku's aloof monk vibe had gone.

"Chiriku-san, you have a 30-million bounty on your head? I'm kind of curious, how much is Kakashi-sensei's bounty?" Naruto suddenly asked.

Chiriku gave Naruto a very odd look before asking, "Do you even hear what you're saying?"

"Huh? What do you mean?" Naruto was a little puzzled.

"Putting a bounty on Kakashi's head? Does his head even need a bounty?" Chiriku stared at Naruto, "Kakashi has offended so many people that there's no need for a bounty. If someone could kill him, he would have been killed already."

"Given Kakashi's current status, no one would dare to take the reward even if he were to have a bounty. The bounty exchange office is a place where people hire assassins to settle personal grudges, but making money doesn't equate to courting death."

After saying that, Chiriku finally started to talk about the topic of gods.

"As for the gods you asked about, I did have some knowledge about them when I was younger. For example, there have been cultists of Jashin active in the Land of Rivers, and besides that, there are believers of the Shinigami."

"So… do they exist?" Naruto asked cautiously.

"What do you think?" Chiriku countered.

"Me?" Naruto was a bit bewildered, "I think they probably don't exist. In this world, there's only Ninjutsu."

Chiriku reached out, patting Naruto on the shoulder across the tea table and said, "Then, where do you think Ninjutsu comes from? A thousand years ago, there was no record of Ninjutsu, but the believers have always been around."

Naruto felt stirred. He thought of the twenty-seven masks stored in his seal space, his heart suddenly racing, 'Dealing with cultists like Hidan was relatively troublesome, but if I could use magic to defeat magic…'

"But haven't they declined?" He asked.

"That, I do not know." Chiriku said, taking a sip of tea and speaking casually, "I'm just a monk. I don't understand those messy pagan things."

"However, if you truly want to know, why not ask Tsunade-sama?"

"Ask her?"

"Don't underestimate Tsunade-sama. She is an amazing woman in the Shinobi World."