Chapter 24: The Monkey King
Boom!!!
The entire Third Training Ground shook violently, as if struck by a minor earthquake.
The earth cracked open, dirt and stones flew in all directions. At the center of it all, the ground beneath Sakura Haruno's feet fractured like a spiderweb, radiating outward!
Several massive trees nearby toppled over, and even the lake in the distance began to flow into the deep crevices torn into the land!
Hiruzen Sarutobi rolled his eyes in shock, clinging to the branches of a tall tree as he witnessed the devastation below.
This scene...
This was just too damn familiar…
If he didn't already know Sakura's background, he would have suspected that this pink-haired girl was secretly Tsunade's daughter!
Sakura stood in the center, panting slightly. She could feel that her chakra had completely emptied after that single devastating punch.
She silently noted to herself: next time she's in a battle, if there's no guaranteed hit, she must control the amount of chakra she uses.
After all, getting hit with a hundred-pound iron block or a ten-pound iron block—either way, you'd end up just as dead. The only difference is how gruesome the corpse looks.
"Huh?"
"Sensei?"
"Why are you up so high?"
Sakura waved cheerfully up at Sarutobi, who was perched awkwardly in a tree.
The moment Sakura had thrown that punch, Hiruzen had sensed something was terribly wrong and bolted immediately, not even looking back as he leapt to safety. He wasn't about to risk that dainty pink fist sending him to have tea with the First Hokage in the afterlife.
"L-Little Sakura, next time you're going to unleash that kind of monstrous strength, at least give this old man some warning."
"My old bones can't take that kind of shock anymore."
Sarutobi grimaced, looking down at the war-torn training ground with an aching heart.
"You're the one who told me to go all out, sensei."
"And besides, there's nothing strong enough around here for me to actually fight."
Sakura looked at him seriously, almost like she was scolding him.
Sarutobi: (||_||)
"Alright, alright, fair enough…"
Sarutobi decided not to continue that line of conversation. What on earth had he been thinking, asking a user of monstrous strength to show him just how strong she was?
Still, for someone her age to have mastered monstrous strength to this degree—it was no longer appropriate to use the word "genius."
It was as if monstrous strength had been made just for her.
As he stared at the pink-haired girl before him, Sarutobi couldn't help but see the image of young Tsunade overlapping with Sakura.
"Sakura, since I've decided to take you on as my disciple, there's a certain jutsu you must learn."
Shaking the image of a metaphorical giant sheep out of his mind, Sarutobi became serious once again, focusing on the girl in front of him.
"What kind of jutsu?"
Sakura tilted her head curiously.
Sarutobi bit his finger, drawing blood, and began weaving hand signs slowly and deliberately.
Sakura blinked in confusion.
Summoning Technique?
Was the old man planning to give her access to the Monkey King clan?
But… hadn't she already likely formed a contract with the Slug clan?
Not that the Monkey King clan was weak—far from it.
In fact, they were considered the strongest summoning clan, according to Orochimaru himself!
And that's a big deal, considering Orochimaru had seen all three of the so-called Legendary Sanctuaries:
The toads of Mount Myōboku
The slugs of Shikkotsu Forest
The snakes of Ryūchi Cave
But even so, he admitted the Monkey King, Enma, was stronger than any of them.
The Monkey King didn't just possess an indestructible body—he could also transform into a massive staff!
Hmm...
Now that she thought about it, the combo of monstrous strength plus a giant staff was actually kind of… thrilling.
But hold on—that's not the point!
What if she signed a contract and accidentally summoned a giant snot-dripping monkey instead?
Sakura's thoughts raced at lightning speed. And very quickly, she arrived at one decisive plan:
If things are going to happen anyway… strike first!
Sarutobi was purposefully forming his hand signs slowly so Sakura could memorize the sequence.
Boar – Dog – Rooster – Monkey – Sheep
After completing the signs, he slammed his hand down on the ground.
"Summoning Technique!"
"Monkey King!"
POOF!!
A massive explosion of smoke burst forth. A towering black shadow with arms crossed emerged, dwarfing Sakura's small figure.
"Hiruzen, this time's opponent is… a little girl?"
The Monkey King's heavy, gravelly voice rumbled through the smoke, even before it cleared.
He stared blankly at Sakura, clearly stunned. His serious expression faltered almost immediately.
As the smoke cleared, his form became visible:
He wore a Konoha forehead protector, a muscular body covered in leather armor, with snow-white fur and a long fluffy tail. He was easily over two meters tall.
A white-furred giant monkey, through and through.
"This is my new disciple. Cute, isn't she?"
Sarutobi said with a grin, clearly proud, almost like he was showing off to an old friend.
"Huh? Sakura doesn't look surprised at all."
"Did she already know that the Monkey King is my summoning partner?"
Sarutobi looked mildly disappointed that Sakura wasn't reacting with shock and awe like he'd expected.
"Wow~"
"Sensei has such a big monkey friend~"
Sakura said with an exaggeratedly sweet voice, trying to play along.
"…"
Sarutobi's face fell. That performance was faker than a Genjutsu.
"Hahahahaha! Hiruzen, your new disciple is hilarious! I like her!"
Unlike Sarutobi, the Monkey King laughed heartily, completely unfazed by being called a monkey.
"Ahem… Sakura, this is my old comrade and friend—the Monkey King."
"Be sure to get along with him from now on."
Hearing those words, the Monkey King's eyes sharpened.
So… this was the one Sarutobi had chosen to inherit his legacy.
Tsunade, Orochimaru, and Jiraiya—none of them had signed with the Monkey King clan.
But now, this little girl was being groomed as Sarutobi's successor.
The Monkey King didn't mind one bit.
An aging old man or a beautiful young girl? The choice was obvious.
Besides, this was Sarutobi's chosen successor.
More importantly, the Monkey King could sense no darkness or malice in this girl—unlike what he'd sensed in Orochimaru.
When it came to judging people, the Monkey King was confident he had better instincts than Sarutobi himself.
"I'm Sakura Haruno, Monkey… um… sir?"
Sakura hesitated, extending her hand awkwardly.
"Hahahaha, just call me by name. No need for 'sir'—makes me feel weird."
"I'm the head of the Monkey King clan—Enma."
Enma sat cross-legged in a relaxed pose. Even seated, he still towered over Sakura.
"Please take care of me, Enma."
Sakura reached out with both hands. Enma's hand was massive—easily larger than her head—but he gently grasped her much smaller palm.
Sarutobi stood by with a satisfied smile, then turned to Enma and said:
"Well then, let's have Sakura try summoning one of the lesser monkey clan members."
"Go get the summoning scro—"
He hadn't even finished the word "scroll" when he heard a crisp shout.
"Summoning Technique!"
POOF!!
Sakura's entire body vanished in a puff of white smoke, right before their eyes…
"Crap… crap…"
"This is bad!"
Both Sarutobi and Enma were left frozen in shock.
(To Be Continued)
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