He's in the Marvel universe, and his first step is marrying Scarlet Witch.

Chapter 3 Becoming an Apprentice to Di Lu

The Temple of Fire is located on a small hill five kilometers outside the capital of the Land of Fire. Due to its long history and grand temple, it is still quite popular.

"Your Highness, we will now be proceeding on foot!"

At the reminder of the steward Ji Nai, Li Chuan jumped off the carriage, and a long staircase leading to the top of the mountain appeared before him.

Unlike the deserted temples I saw in the anime when I was a child, the steps were now bustling with ordinary people from the Land of Fire going up and down.

It's likely that the Fire Temple was temporarily closed due to a tomb raiding incident.

"Walk!"

Without further ado, Li Chuan waved his hand and led Ji Nai, his servants, and guards up the stairs toward the top of the mountain.

Because his body has now recovered to its peak level from his previous life, and after entering this world, his body was instantly endowed with the physique of humans in this world, the number of cells increased significantly, and he could clearly feel that his body had become much stronger.

So when he reached the gate of the Fire Temple at the top of the mountain, he didn't feel tired at all, unlike ordinary people like Kino who were already panting.

"I never imagined His Highness's health would improve so much!"

In the eyes of Ji Nai and his servants, their prince was the kind of person who stayed at home all year round, rarely went out, and rarely exercised. They never expected that his physical fitness was so much better than theirs.

"Is this the Iron Barrier of Seal?"

The gate of the Fire Temple is estimated to be over five meters high, made of cast iron, and covered with gold paint. On either side of the gate stand two huge stone statues.

Based on his vague memory, Li Chuan remembered that the gate and stone statues were not just decorations, but also a powerful defensive barrier created by the Fire Temple using barrier ninjutsu and sealing techniques, covering the entire Fire Temple.

Once activated, it requires the unique Sage Chakra of the Fire Temple monks to pass through, making it a defense that is said to be impossible to break through.

However, it seems that in addition to being broken once by "Ku" who possesses the Nine-Tails' chakra going berserk, it was also forcibly broken once more by the immortal duo of the "Akatsuki" organization.

"Your Highness, shall we go and inform the abbot of the Fire Temple to receive you?"

Seeing Li Chuan standing motionless at the temple entrance, Ji Nai asked softly.

In Kino's view, although the Fire Temple is famous, it is still just a temple. When a prince of such high status comes, the head of the Fire Temple should personally come out to greet and accompany him.

Upon hearing this, Li Chuan shook his head:

"No need, let's go inside and take a look around first."

He came to learn ninjutsu from a master, not to show off, so he naturally had to be more polite. Otherwise, even if he did become a disciple of the Fire Temple, if Jiraiya was unwilling to teach him his true skills, there would be nothing he could do.

Although the royal family of the Land of Fire holds a high position, they do not have absolute control over the ninja villages and ninja temples.

Even if it were a daimyo, let alone a prince without power, he couldn't force the Fire Temple to hand over the ninjutsu that had been passed down in the temple for so many years.

After touring the temple with his entourage and burning some incense, Li Chuan discovered that the Fire Temple mainly enshrined two Buddhas: Guanyin and Fudo Myoo.

"This is quite fitting for the Fire Temple's famous ninjutsu, Welcoming Thousand Hands Kill and Wrathful Vajra."

After visiting the Fire Temple, he wasted no more time and went straight to the seemingly high-ranking steward monk in the front hall, where he politely greeted him:

"My name is Yuanchuan. I have something to discuss with Abbot Jilu. Please inform him."

"Is it His Highness the Prince?"

The monks in charge of the front hall were all shrewd and as soon as they heard that Li Chuan's surname was Yuan, which was the royal family of the Fire Kingdom, they immediately thought of the rumored prince who rarely went out.

"Exactly."

Li Chuan nodded.

The head monk immediately smiled and respectfully performed a Buddhist salute.

"This humble monk will immediately have someone inform the abbot that Your Highness, please come with me to the guest room in the back courtyard to rest."

Unlike the bustling front hall, the back courtyard of the Fire Temple is off-limits to tourists, so apart from the monks practicing their martial arts in the open space, you won't see anyone else.

"Hey, is that boy also a monk from the temple? Why isn't he ordained?"

As Li Chuan followed the steward monk on the way to the back courtyard living room, he saw a boy with long hair. A thought struck him, and he asked the steward monk a question.

The head monk followed Li Chuan's gaze, a hint of disgust appearing on his face:

"Your Highness, that is Kong, the child brought into the Fire Temple by Abbot Jiraiya. He is a lay disciple, so he does not need to be ordained."

How old is he this year?

Li Chuan asked casually.

The manager thought for a moment:

"She should be eleven years old."

Li Chuan nodded upon hearing this and did not ask any further questions.

In fact, he guessed who the boy was at first glance. He asked the steward mainly to find out the boy's age so that he could roughly determine when he entered this world.

Although he still remembered the main plot of Naruto, it was an anime he watched when he was a child, and he wasn't very clear about the specific events that took place in the Naruto world in which year.

However, in his memory, Sora's age was not much different from Naruto's age. Sora was eleven years old now, so Naruto should be about eleven years old as well. Naruto graduated from the Ninja Academy at the age of twelve.

With this calculation, he had a general understanding of his timeline and secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

The timing is actually quite good; the plot hasn't unfolded yet, and there won't be an awkward situation where he's just joined the Fire Temple and then encounters the immortal duo coming to destroy it.

"Kino, you guys wait outside!"

After giving instructions to Ji Nai, Li Chuan entered the guest room under the guidance of the steward monk. He patiently waited while sipping hot tea from the Fire Temple.

After waiting for about five minutes, a bald monk who looked to be in his thirties and was wearing a monk's robe knocked on the door and entered the guest room.

"The abbot of the Fire Temple, Jiriku, greets His Highness the Prince."

"No need for such formalities, Abbot Dilu."

Li Chuan quickly stood up and returned a Buddhist salute.

"What business does His Highness have with this humble monk?"

After sitting cross-legged on the futon, Di Lu looked puzzled.

Jiro was completely baffled by the fact that the esteemed prince had suddenly come to the Temple of Fire to find him.

Although he was one of the "Twelve Guardian Ninjas" of the Land of Fire in his youth, his mission at that time was to secretly protect the daimyo. He had only met this prince, who always lived a secluded life, a few times, and had never even spoken a word to him.

"Abbot Jiraiya, the main reason I have come here is to become a monk at the Fire Temple and become your disciple!"

Li Chuan didn't beat around the bush and directly stated his purpose in seeking out Di Lu. Given his status as a prince, there was no need for excessive verbal probing.

Upon hearing this, Di Lu's eyes widened in disbelief.

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

The fact that a prince of the Land of Fire, with such a noble status, would want to become a monk at the Fire Temple and even take him as his master was truly unexpected and hard to understand.

(End of this chapter)