He treks across the bridge and enters into the stone palace. It is most definitely impressive, made more so by the face that everything is carved from the stone of the cave. Even still, the artistry is far and beyond anything Hiruzen has experienced before. Furniture, light fixtures, artwork and decorations among the walls - all intricately worked stone. With soft tapestries thrown up to add color here and there, it does truly feel like a palace fit for the Daimyo, or maybe even for someone more important. Hiruzen knows the Sarutobi clan is hailed as heroes throughout the Land of Fire, but they have never been a considered noble. They are not like the Senju or the Uchiha, nor even the Hyuuga. They possess no aristocratic features and have never dined with great lords. He feels entirely out of place in this Stone Palace, and for the first time he fears the Monkeys may truly decide he is not worthy.
He is brought into a great hall before a swarm of monkeys even larger than the one outside, all of them jumping and clamoring. There is one figure, though, who sits silent and still above the rest. He is tall, cutting an imposing silhouette even while hunched over with a bored look upon his face. Hiruzen is ashamed to say that at first glance, he thinks it is a statue carved out of the same stone it rests upon which is shaped like a throne. He sees the pinching of the eyes and the pursing of the lips, though, and knows this monkey is dangerous, more so than any he has met until now.
"Welcome, Sarutobi, to Blossom Berry Mountain. I am the King Behind the Waterfall, the Ruler in the Stone Palace, the Exemplary Sage who Comprehends Paradise." His voice is like the rumbling of a landslide down the face of a mountain. Hiruzen knows this because once, on a mission, Koharu used an Earth Jutsu which accidentally caused an avalanche of rocks down a cliff face. As usual, it had been up to Hiruzen to save their civilian client from his impending demise. Although, truth be told, the voice of his host makes Koharu's accidental rock fall sound more like the scattering of a few pebbles in comparison.
Hiruzen may not be noble, but he knows his manners both as a man and as a shinobi; he has been trained in them all his life. He falls quickly and seamlessly into the most textbook perfect bow he can muster, lowering his eyes and his body to show his deference. "I am Sarutobi Hiruzen, great King Behind the Waterfall, and I am here to present myself as the new Sarutobi Summoner!"
"Says who?" At the simple question, Hiruzen's heart stops for a beat, possibly two, until the hulking ape continues. "Have I observed you? Have I accepted you? Who are you to say that you can represent us among the Elemental Nations without our consent or approval?"
A million things flash through Hiruzen's mind, then. The weight of his ancestors bearing down on him, the hot flash of betrayal from his guide the macaque, a burning rage that this beast thinks it has the right to judge him. What comes out of his mouth, however, is none of those things as he does his best to keep himself under control. I am the moon within the sky, placid and stalwart in my journey, he thinks to himself, a thought exercise he learned from Hashirama.
"I beseech you to reconsider, noble Ruler in the Stone Palace. I have journeyed here to beg your aid, and am willing to undergo any test you set forth. My Village is in dire straits."
"Oh ho? Is that so, young Sarutobi? You think you have what it takes to meet my standards?" Hiruzen tamps the lid upon the boiling pot of his fury, roiling along with myriad other emotions, and grinds his teeth so hard he feels his jaw lock in place.
How dare this creature question him? He will be the greatest ninja to ever come out of the Village Hidden in the Leaves, which is undoubtedly the strongest of all the Hidden Villages! This war will prove it, for Hiruzen will be on the front lines cutting a bloody swathe through his enemies, leaving the terror of his name in the heart of his foes! He will be fearsome, and all will tremble before him, even this petulant, swinging ape! Hiruzen's fingers twitch towards his kunai, ready to leap, to slash, to prove to this arrogant fool that he, Sarutobi Hiruzen, will be the god of shinobi!
There's a surge of panic at that thought, as Hiruzen recognizes emotions not his own coursing through him. He has honed his control over his emotions over years of practice. His Will of Fire burns brightly, he knows, and he still has issues with his rage, but he has long since killed his hubris under the light of self-reflection. Too often is he given thoughtless accolades to truly believe the praise other heap upon him.
God of shinobi? Danzo would never let him live it down if he ever seriously called himself that.
Hiruzen flexes his chakra just so, a fluttering of spikes to disrupt whatever has overtaken him. It does nothing and Hiruzen has a moment of panic and self-doubt that perhaps those were his own thoughts indeed, until he brings his hand into the symbol for release. He has not needed such concentration to dispel a genjutsu in years, but this is no ordinary foe.
This is the Exemplary Sage who Comprehends Paradise. This is the Monkey King.
The grin that spreads across the hulking primate's face is terrifying in its fierceness. The arrogance leaves him, as does the smoldering rage he feels. To salve his pride, he decides that what's left of the terror he feels is merely a healthy dose of respect.
"Good," the monkey rumbles. "I wondered if you'd ever catch it. Since the moment you entered Blossom Berry Mountain I've worked against you; remember that in our world, everything is a test. Being a shinobi is about more than strength, boy, it is about subtlety and stealth. Genjutsu is often the first and last line of attack for a shinobi. But you seem adequate, and it is not my area of expertise either."
Hiruzen, who has suffered under a genjutsu cast by an Uchiha, quails to think what expertise might mean in this creature's world if that insidious infliction of emotion is anything less than exceptional. He has no time to linger on this thought, however, for the monkey's hulking form shifts as it stands and stretches upwards, letting out a yowl that splits his ears.
"Now, child, to the second phase of the test. Had you been paying attention, you would have seen this bell upon my waist. Your goal is to take it from me. If you do not, I shall strike your name from our Summoning Contract and take it from your family forever. If you succeed, you shall earn the chance to learn from me. We shall test the next great ninja skill now: Ninjutsu." With that he curls down slightly and then leaps high into the air, gusts of wind propelling him higher than Hiruzen has ever imagined something of that size could fly.
Hiruzen has just enough time to imagine Tobirama staring sternly at him and lecturing you must look underneath the underneath, Hiruzen. A shinobi must anticipate the next moves of his opponent before the opponent has ever considered them before he sees the big gulping breath that the monkey takes. Hiruzen leaps and only just barely manages to dodge out of the way of the blast of fire more than three times his size that comes billowing forth.
Hiruzen has always imagined himself a well-rounded shinobi. He is fully aware that his natural chakra inclination is towards fire; his chakra courses through his veins like liquid heat, burning and searing its way around and through his tenketsu. But he has endeavored to master at least one jutsu of all five natures. A water bullet is always a fun surprise against an enemy who sees you throwing out smoke and flame like you were born to it. No better defense can be found than in an Earth Wall or the Hiding Like A Mole Technique. Nothing cuts sharper than the wind or pierces like lightning; having every tool at his disposal is just good sense.
Any jutsu he performs that is not a fire technique requires exacting hand signs from him, and he only knows one or two at most. With many of his fire jutsu he can decrease the number of hand signs necessary, mostly the ones dedicated to focusing chakra rather than transforming it. But his hand signs to draw up chakra and force his chakra into a nature that it finds unnatural must be precise and flawless. This is true of every person he knows who has mastered more than one element, and especially true for any who has mastered all five elements.
Though he is not on the level of mastery that Senju Hashirama or his sensei Tobirama are, he takes solace in the fact that he is paring down the number of hand seals slowly but surely, at the same rate he is learning more varied elemental ninjutsu to catch up to his idols.
His goal is to one day need only a few handsigns for any element he learns, no matter it's nature, so that he too might be feared as a master of all five chakra elements. He wishes to be able to proudly say that he can perform any jutsu known within the village.
How wrong he is on the nature of mastery.
The mythical creature before him weaves his way from element to element as though he is born of them. Fire to water, earth to wind, with lightning dancing in between them all. He skates across the stone floor with fire at his heels and wind at his back, lightning crackling between his fur before arcing along jets of water that burst forth and shoot out at Hiruzen every time he pauses to take a breath.
This is not to say Hiruzen is only on the defensive. He gets more than a few good hits in, but nothing that comes close to cracking the implacable, determined set of his opponent's face. His fingers twist and turn through as many jutsu as he knows. He is Substituting more than he is running, creating as many clones as he is able, and every time he thinks he has an opening to get near the bell hooked upon the giant's waist he throws his all into whatever elemental technique he knows is opposite and stronger than whichever element is bombarding him in the moment.
Unfortunately, the longer the fight goes on the less flexibility he has. The assault increases, it's pace quickening and the onslaught only growing fiercer. Soon enough he has no room to think, only to move and dodge and counter. He can only manage the time to perform those scant few fire techniques that are as easy as breathing. If he can't perform it in three hand signs or less, he doesn't have time to use it at all. Finally, after what feels like ages but can be no more than scant minutes, he sees his opportunity and he takes it; he casts the one elemental ninjutsu he can perform without any handsigns, hoping to shock his opponent.
Fire Style: Firestream! he thinks with a smirk as he breaths out a small jet of flame. He doesn't pause to look and see if the monkey is surprised, there's no time, but he chooses to imagine his opponent is gob smacked.
His triumph is dangling enticingly right before his eyes as a tight stream of screaming fire blasts against the rock and produces a dark, heavy smoke that billows out into the hall. The flame isn't so hot or powerful, being only a C rank jutsu, and it creates far more smoke than flame on impact, but it is the first elemental ninjutsu he ever learned and he has never quite been able to give it up.
He uses the cover of the smoke to dart in and leap. Hiruzen knows a joy like no other when he feels the brush of steel against his fingertips. The faintest ting-ting-a-ling of a clapper in its home taunts him mercilessly. A sharp crack is followed by the briefest moment of darkness and unending agony as the monkey brings an elbow down upon his back.
"Enough. I suppose that is as good a transition as any to switch into the last of our ninja arts, Taijutsu. Remember, desperate leaps leave you vulnerable when you cannot reposition yourself. You should have had a Wind Jutsu ready to propel you away from my attack. If you cannot use a jutsu quickly and effectively, you shouldn't be using it at all."
Hiruzen may be dazed, but even in his delirious state he can feel the yearning for this power. This, here, is why he signed the contract and came to Blossom Berry Mountain. Childhood stories of heroes and myth made ever more impressive for the sheer truth he can see in them now that he is faced with their progenitor. The stories of his grandfather's grandfather, fighting side by side with his ancestral allies the monkeys. Hiruzen wants this power for himself and for his Village.
"Up. The test is not yet finished."
His body groans, exhausted under the loss of so much chakra in so short a time, but he forces it up. He has weathered more than this for less in his own training regimen, and he will not be intimidated. He will impress this monkey and become his student!
He leaps forwards, not back, to meet this new challenge head on. Hiruzen's opponent is stronger, faster, and more experienced than he is. He does not lose hope, though, and he weathers the assault he invites with his reckless lunge forwards as best he can. His focus shifts slowly from retrieving the bell to matching the monkey, until slowly he can think of nothing but survival.
Sweep, leap, lunge, roll.
Block, weave, dodge.
Again and again they clash, trading blows back and forth across the stone floor. Then he sees it. Like a ghost of a memory, he sees the move the monkey is going for, knows it like he knows that water is wet and that fire burns.
All his life, he has been told fantastical stories at bedtime of the last great Sarutobi Summoner, his grandfather's grandfather. His favorite story includes a tale wherein his ancestor had bested an Uchiha who was attempting to use the secret Monkey Movement Taijustu he had stolen mid battle. His forefather kept one particular technique in reserve, waiting for just the right moment. When the time was right, and his ancestor saw the Uchiha attacking with a devastating blow which the Monkey King was about to perform, he used this one particular lunge and trap move which turned the tables on the Uchiha. Hiruzen fell in love with this story as a child and forced his cousin to practice that particular set of Movements until they were second nature to him. He has aspired to be like his ancestor, and of all of his taijutsu movements this counter is now his most seamless.
He thinks none of this as his body moves on its own without conscious thought, the Movements burned into his muscles, and he feels a moment of pure elation as the balance of power shifts. He does not cry out in exaltation, he does not whoop in joy, he merely reaches out quick as he can towards the bell, eager to prove his worth.
There is a blur of movement, then suddenly they are reversed in place, and Hirzuen has no idea how he has ended up in this position. The monkey rumbles above him, Hiruzen isn't sure if it's a laugh or a sigh. This is not how his bedtime story had always ended, and Hiruzen can't help but feel slightly betrayed.
"Stand, Sarutobi Hiruzen. Face my verdict." Hiruzen moves slowly, agonizingly aware of every aching bruise and sore joint on his body, but rises tall in the face of his judgement. "I have bested you in the three ninja arts. I have set out for you a simple goal, which you failed to uncover yourself. Have the Sarutobi fallen so low, that you have nothing to offer that might impress me? No Sarutobi has summoned us in many years. We had thought you had forgotten us, but we find instead your kin is likely too weak to sign our contract and sustain us in the Elemental Nations. That is the only conclusion if you are all that they have to offer."
His fingers press into his palms, and he refuses to look down to see if he's drawn blood. He feels humiliated in the face of his idol, the towering figure of his childhood dreams, and he can say nothing in his own defense.
Could he have worked harder? Studied longer? Trained more fiercely? Of course he could have - that was the whole point of this trip! To receive the training he needs to get to the next level! Apparently, the next level is so far beyond him that he might never reach it, a thought which irks him to no end.
"As per our deal," the monkey continues "I shall be revoking your clan's right to our Summoning Contract. As you are currently the only person alive who has signed it, be pleased that in this instance your failure affects none but yourself. On the battlefield you likely won't be so lucky." He snaps his fingers, and there's an undeniable flare of chakra that sends a shiver of regret straight down Hiruzen's spine.
Hiruzen stares at the face of the ape before him, figuring the monkey might actually be made of stone for all the emotion he shows at so casually destroying the entire legacy Hiruzen's clan has cultivated and treasured. He tenses his body tight as he forces it once more into a bow towards the King.
"Your Majesty the King Behind the Waterfall, Ruler in the Stone Palace, the Exemplary Sage who Comprehends Paradise. I thank you for this opportunity to learn from you and apologize for my faults!" He is terse, nearly shouting by the end of it but a shinobi must show no weakness, Shinobi Rule #12. He does his best to attend to his sensei's rules but cannot always adhere to them so strictly. Now is one of those times. As he hears a low rumbling once more emanate from the hulking beast he is bowed before his mind lingers, oddly enough, on his sensei Tobirama.
A mind is a terrible thing to waste, young Hiruzen. It is a shinobi's greatest asset. Outthink your opponent, and you have won before even lifting a finger. You must look underneath the underneath.
Remember that in our world, everything is a test.
What motive does the King of the Monkeys have for terrorizing him so? Is this still a test? If so, what is he looking for in Hiruzen that he hasn't yet seen?
As quickly as he's ever thought, Hiruzen runs through everything he knows of being the perfect shinobi. He thinks of his father and the stories of his great-grandfather. He imagines Tobirama and Hashirama standing before him lecturing him, teaching him, struggling to get some kind of instruction through his occasionally thick skull. He imagines his rival Danzo, his teammates, and his Village all cheering him on.
He sees the face of dead men killed by his hand, lying bloodied on the soil as he wipes his blade clean of them. The visceral sickness he had felt the first time, and the next, and every time since at the necessity of his actions. The deep, unmoving determination to do the unthinkable so that he might protect the things he holds dear.
Suddenly, it is all so simple. He straightens his spine out of his bow, nary a few heartbeats after he has announced his respect to the great ruler before him. "Hear me now, Monkey. I will return to my Village, and I will fight in our war. I will grow, and learn, and become better than I am as I stand here before you. Upon our victory against the other Villages, I will begin a new quest: I shall search you out. No secrets shall the world keep from me until I finally find the Blossom Berry Mountain once again. You don't have to cast me out now, as I willingly leave, but know that I shall return.
"Upon my return, I will challenge you again. You need not wait in suspense, as I lay the challenge before you now. We shall fight once more, in each of the three main arts of a Shinobi. When I defeat you, you will return the scroll to me and contract once more with the Sarutobi family. You will come when we call, and you will swear to defend the Village Hidden in the Leaves as partners of the Sarutobi clan."
Throughout his speech the monkey's low grumble increases ever so slowly in pitch and volume, until Hiruzen is nearly shouting his challenge and it's terms into the face of a beast which could likely strike him down with no more effort than it takes to swat a fly. Has he miscalculated? Will this be the end of him?
The growl breaks out into a roar, and Hiruzen flinches until he realizes it is not a battle cry but a laugh which bubbles forth. It resounds throughout the great stone hall they stand in, and like the pebble dropped into a placid lake the crowd of monkeys, apes, and primates of all sizes joins in. Laughing, braying, screeching, they're all jumping for joy. "Good. I was concerned you were actually about to leave. I would have been disappointed with you, young Sarutobi, if you didn't have the grit I was looking for. You may stay. We shall teach and you will learn. And when you call, we shall honor our ancient pact and answer."
"But the scroll-!"
"Is fine where it is. A simple fluctuation of chakra in an unusual way, and you were sure to draw the conclusions I wanted. You have much to learn in the way of subterfuge, young shinobi. But you are wounded, now, from a battle hard fought. Your skills are acceptable as a starting place. We shall begin with the rising sun."
"Will you be teaching me yourself?"
"I shall stop in on occasion to check your progress. I have a vested interest in those who would claim to be my students, after all."
"May I know the name of my teacher, then, rather than just his titles?" Hiruzen knows it's impertinent to ask, but his curiosity is not unlike an inferno within him!
"My name is not a simple thing to be bandied about. It is an honor to even know it, one you have not yet earned. Being able to speak it is a privilege reserved for the one I call partner. We have yet to see if you have what it takes to even learn my name! But enough of such somber talk! Tonight, we feast! Koji will show you where you will be staying during your training. Get ready, Sarutobi. We won't go easy on you!" For the first time since he's arrived, Hiruzen sees the Monkey King truly smile. A joyful grin spread across his face that goes quite literally from ear to ear. "Now, who has got my sake! Yokuto, are you trying to hide it from me again? Give me my liquor, whelp!"
With that, he leaps away, effortlessly graceful. It's still rather shocking to see something that size move so smoothly. A little weight alights itself upon Hiruzen's shoulder and he is too tired to flinch at it, either emotionally or physically.
It's his macaque friend from earlier.
"Nice to see you passed, boy! My name's Koji. Sit with me at the feast, I'll make sure you get all the best food! But no sake for you, we start your training bright and early tomorrow morning!"
Hiruzen only nods, not even upset at missing out on a well needed drink. This is why he's come here. He's succeeded.
He will become the greatest shinobi the Elemental Nations has ever seen.