Chiriku

was one of the Twelve Guardian Ninja, who once was hired to protect the Land of Fire's Daimyo.

Background
He was once part of the Twelve Guardian Ninja, indicated by the sash on his waist, at which time he developed a strong friendship with Asuma Sarutobi. When six of the members tried a coup d'etat, he fought against them along with the other five members of their group. Chiriku, Asuma, and Kazuma were the only survivors of the fight.

When the group disbanded he became head monk at the Fire Temple, an elite monastery that is home to monks with special abilities. During his time with the Twelve Guardian Ninja, some underground organization put a 30 Million Ryō bounty on his head.

Fire Temple arc
When it was discovered that the graves of his fallen allies were robbed, Chiriku contacted Konohagakure for help. It was also revealed that since the failed coup d'etat, Chiriku had been looking after and training Kazuma's only child, Sora. Ashamed of Kazuma's decision to join the coup d'etat, Chiriku chose to never tell Sora the truth. Despite how the rest of the Fire Temple felt and treated Sora, Chiriku was sympathetic to Sora's hardship and did what he could to keep his morale up, yet at the same time keep him in line.

After an attempt to retrieve the stolen corpses failed and it became clear that Sora's demonic side was becoming more uncontrollable, Chiriku decided to have Sora join Team Yamato return to Konoha under the guise of filling in for the injured Sai, where in truth it was for Sora to be better watched after.

Hidan and Kakuzu arc
After entering the Land of Fire, Hidan and Kakuzu of Akatsuki arrive at the Fire Temple believing that such a religious place would perhaps house the country's Jinchūriki. They completely wiped out the monks and the temple and Kakuzu took Chiriku's body to a black market exchange point to get the bounty for his body.

Abilities
As the head of the Fire Temple, Chiriku is well-versed in all of the Fire Temple's secret teachings. During his battle against Hidan and Kakuzu, he showed tremendous taijutsu prowess from how skillfully he initial dodged and countered their attacks. He has also demonstrated great skill in sealing jutsu from how in a flashback he along with several other monks attempted to suppress Sora's demon chakra. He also placed a fairly powerful barrier around the Fire Temple to protect it from intruders.

The highest level of his skill is shown from his mastery of the Fire Temple's ultimate jutsu Amida's 1000-arm Death Embrace, which he used to initially over-power both Hidan and Kakuzu simultaneously.

Trivia

 * Chi meaning "earth", and riku meaning "land".

Quotes
(To Hidan and Kakuzu) "I am Chiriku of the Fire Temple, and I won't lose to the likes of you!"