Monkey Ascent

Monkey Impact technique was more complex than the other two techniques. Although the old monkey demonstrated a fist attack, Enma had done a kick. This gave her a hint that the essence of the technique was a quick and precise strike. This worked well for her since she had long decided to use her kenjutsu as the core of her technique. Comparing it to the kenjutsu she learned as an Uchiha, she discovered some parallels which would make mastery easier.

The three foundational techniques of Monkey Geri could not break through the cloud barrier alone, instead they needed to be combined and deduced into a complete attack. Natsume refused to copy Enma's attack so she decided to pour all of her kenjutsu insight into the Monkey Geri technique and create something new.

After sorting her thoughts, Natsume stood in the middle of the training field with her sword out. She began to practice the basic techniques she learned from Hinako. After repeatedly swinging the sword for an hour, she was warmed up and in a good state of mind. The Monkey Impact technique played in her head, and she began to practice the motions. Instead of using her fist, she treated the sword as an extension of her arm and the point as the fist.

At the end of her arc, she struck one of the sturdy stones, and left no mark and tried again. The first few attempts were failures, so Natsume activated her three tomoe sharingan and tried again. The technique flowed better and after several repetitions, finally left a small scratch on the rock. Strangely, it seemed to regenerate a few moments later. She raised her eyebrow and no longer felt bad about potentially destroying the rocks.

Since she managed to get initial success in the technique, she began her repetition training just like before. Over the course of the next few weeks, she left several small marks on the rocks, but never deeper than her fingernail. Saru didn't waste any time either. He fully realized the punch attack and practiced wholeheartedly. It wasn't until a month later that he finally managed to leave a fist imprint in one of the rocks. It was very faint, but still noticeable.

At this point, Natsume was already starting to leave scratches on the rock without chakra. He was so excited that he ran out to the training field and jumped in front of Natsume. He stood tall and got into the initial Monkey Impact stance. Natsume wasn't opposed to his challenge and bowed to him. "Okay Saru, show me what you got!"

Like this, the two fought each other every day for a month. They would constantly refine each other's techniques and shortcomings. Eventually, they began to utilize all three stages of the Monkey Geri in their spars. At one point, Saru accidentally fused all three stages into a single attack, causing Natsume to be under extreme pressure. Although she managed to defend, she had to rely on her Sharingan.

"I guess this technique is really suited for monkeys!" She exclaimed and laid on the ground exhausted. She laughed and had no negative feelings about being surpassed. Their paths were different, and she was trying to create a completely different technique.

Despite trying, he could not replicate the move again. It seemed that he managed to do it by chance, but feeling it once was a great experience. They continued to spar and on the 9th month since entering Mount Kakazan, Monkey and Human stood apart from each other in silence.

Neither of them displayed any chakra and appeared to be weak and harmless. Then, suddenly, they exploded in strength toward each other. Saru did a somersault through the air and ended his spin in a fist-slam attack. Natsume lowered her stance and launched herself forward like an arrow. Her body was straight and even had a slight spin to it. The two attacks landed against each other, and since neither side gave in, the force shot out in all directions. A long scar was left in the ground of the training field.

"Saru! We did it!" Natsume exclaimed in excitement. He ran over in excitement and grabbed Natsume's arms while dancing around, spinning her in circles.

"Ooh-ooh-eee-eee-aah!" His excitement was intoxicating and made Natsume happier. It was a pure child-like joy. She didn't even think about it, just experienced the moment. After they finished celebrating, Natsume turned to look up at the peak. Saru also looked up and had a wild look in his eyes. They were both ready to break through the peak. After gathering all of her stuff together, she moved with Saru to the meeting place of the monkeys.

When they arrived, Enma was already there waiting for them. All of the monkeys lowered their heads respectively while Saru and Natsume cupped their fist and bowed to him. "You two have trained hard. This will be your last chance to challenge the peak, do you want to try now?"

"Yes!" "Ooo!" The two said simultaneously. Enma nodded his head and turned to the others. "I hope you can learn something this time!" The other monkeys started jumping around and hollering. After training for a long period of time, Saru became less excitable and had the temperament of a sage. Seeing his attitude, Enma nodded toward him.

Enma didn't wait any longer and immediately started moving upward. Natsume and Saru quickly followed behind him while the rest of the monkeys slowly reacted and followed as well. Now that she was able to use the three techniques freely and in any combination, she could enjoy the climb. She constantly took in the view going up the mountain and realized how much she had missed the first time. Everything was breathtaking.

The pressure she experienced before was practically non-existent and it wasn't until all of the other monkeys except for Saru were eliminated that she felt some resistance. Looking over at Saru, he seemed to be having an easy time as well, so she focused on the cloud barrier. Enma didn't stop this time and directly kicked through it. Natsume landed on a particularly thick branch and propelled herself forward.

As soon as her sword touched the barrier, it felt like the concept of barrier was a prank because she went right through it. Natsume continued flying upward before utilizing Monkey Acrobatics to safely land on a stone platform. She immediately turned back to the cloud barrier and clenched her fist.

"Come on Saru, you can do it!" She mumbled.