Climbing Test

"Aah-ah, eee, hoo-ooh" "That doesn't mean you can just bring her here…" "Ah-aah, grr-eee, eee-ooh" "You can't expect me to take responsibility!?" "Ooh-ooh-ooh-haa!" "eee-eee-eee!" "Woo-woo-woo" "Fine. hey human, quit pretend to sleep."

Natsume regained consciousness to a strange situation. She wasn't sure if she was really awake, but after a while of listening, she confirmed it. She was laying down on a bed of leaves surrounded by red and white furred monkeys. One in particular was dressed in a tiger skin kimono and seemingly the only one that spoke. He was the one that called out to her and seemed to be the leader of these monkeys.

Natsume sat up and looked around. What she saw was a sea of beautiful flowers and thick trees. They were seemingly part way up a mountain side since she could vaguely make out a peak beyond the clouds. The monkey that spoke to her was patient and let her take in the surroundings before speaking.

"Where is this place?"

"Mount Kakazan." He huffed and answered. She scanned her inherited memories, but nothing came up. Looking at the monkey in a confused manner caused the other monkeys to begin hooting in laughter. Natsume frowned but then her eyes landed on the leader of this monkey group. He seemed strangely familiar, but she couldn't figure it out.

"Why did you bring me here?" One of the red furred monkeys hunched over with a guilty expression.

"That was Saru's fault. This kindhearted fool…" After hearing this, Natsume realized that her condition was much better and the internal problems she had were gone. After checking her chakra flow, it had even improved slightly. She turned to the sad monkey.

"Thank you, Saru-san. You really helped me." Natsume saw the cute monkey with his sad expression and couldn't help but feel warm hearted. She gave him a bow in thanks, and the monkey's attitude took a complete 180. He straightened his back and had a proud expression. Natsume laughed and gave him a thumbs up. The monkeys had never seen this gesture before, but quickly understood it. Before long, they were giving each other thumbs ups.

With her mood turned for the better, Natsume realized that the surrounding area was rich with Nature energy. Some ideas were forming, but she didn't jump to conclusions immediately. The leader was looking at the silly monkeys with a straight face. She wondered if he was really that serious or was just playing the part of a leader.

"My name is Uchiha Natsume. Thank you for taking me in." She bowed to the leader and genuinely thanked him. She had not given her real name to anyone, let alone her full name. However, she felt safe on this mountain, as if some hidden danger was suddenly gone. Anyway, hiding her name would only leave a bad taste in her mouth. Hearing her introduction, the leader's stiff expression relaxed a little and he saluted her back.

"I am the current Monkey King, Enma."

Natsume instantly recognized the name as soon as she heard it. Looking at his younger appearance, she had a vague familiarity. Observing him again, she instantly matched him with the image of the third hokage's summon. The pieces came together, and she made a huge inference. This was a hidden sage region in the Land of Earth! These were the monkey sennin! However, seeing that only Enma was capable of speech, something felt strange.

"Monkey King Enma-sama, is this mountain a sage region?" Seeing that she went quiet all of a sudden, Enma let her compose herself. However, when he heard her question, his eyes narrowed. She could tell that his temper was flaring up.

"The great Mount Kakazan is the best in the world! The Mount Kakazan of today… Haa!" He was so angry that he punched a nearby rock into dust. The other monkeys were also in an excited state because of his anger and were jumping around and shouting. Natsume stayed quiet until Enma grunted at the other monkeys to calm down. "Since you know about this, then you are fated with our Mount Kakazan. Unfortunately, there are no experts left to pass down our sage teachings. All I can do is lead you to the peak. What you can comprehend is up to you!"

The gang was excited to climb the peak. Judging from their exaggerated emotion, she guessed that they did not go to the peak very often. It must be a very sensitive location for Mount Kakazan. Like that, they began their journey. There were no roads or paths that led up the mountain, the only way was to climb. However, the mountain was extraordinarily difficult to get a foothold in. She observed the monkeys, and they were swinging between the trees with ease.

Natsume observed them for a few moments and began to mimic their movements. She felt that there was something significant in their motions of climbing, swinging, and jumping. Even the punch that Enma had let off earlier held some sort of fundamental technique to it. She didn't bother hiding it since her name was already revealed so she kept her Sharingan on during the whole process of ascending the mountain.

Soon, some monkeys were unable to continue and had to stop. Natsume felt an increasing pressure from the sky as if a palm was pushing her down. However, after observing the monkeys during this period of time, and particularly Enma, she had compiled and organized their technique of moving through the trees. Although it would require practice to become proficient, it was enough for her to resist the pressure.

As the group continued the climb, more and more monkeys were left behind. At some point, it was only Natsume and Enma. He stopped at a tree to look behind him and saw that all of his people were unable to go the rest of the way. He shook his head and observed Natsume. Enma had promised her to go to the peak, but he would not take her there. This was part of the test of Mount Kakazan. Once she caught up, he continued to climb.

Natsume noticed that his movement technique became more complex. Feeling the increased pressure, she took a moment to observe and replicated his moves with ease. If not for the Sharingan, she did not have the confidence of completing this trek.