Before the night could end, Arthur sat down by the still-crackling fire. His mind could not get over the others from earth.
William: capable of performing the Rasengan.
But Arthur had seen his uncoordinated movements firsthand. The man was a powerhouse in terms of chakra but lacked the finesse of a true combatant.
Jada: an Uchiha. She had a lot of destructive power.
However, Arthur sensed her lack of control over her immense potential.
Alice: tactful and surprisingly built for combat.
While she possessed excellent chakra control and a knack for reading her opponents, her overall skillset appeared limited—almost obsolete for this world's standards.
Margaret: a regenerative ability that kept her polished throughout the whole exam. Only her and Gaara had come out of the forest unscathed.
However, she was just a girl, no smarter than those like Sakura Haruno.
Jasper: very power-hungry.
What Arthur didn't like about his tactics was that he was doing most of it out in the open. He reminded Arthur of virtually every cocky villain in other stories.
Lastly, Alexander: an enigma. Or a walking cheat code if anything.
His overall skill seemed to surpass everyone else's. Not in fighting, but in maneuvering the ninja world.
Staying focused on those six alone was only half the battle since those originally from this world had to be looked at as well.
Naruto: one of many other anomalies. Unlike the others, he seemed to be evolving at an alarming rate.
Something was different about him that Arthur couldn't quite place. The behaviour Naruto continued to show was not pointing toward an orphan boy who was always seeking attention. And the way he was carrying himself seemed like he knew something the others didn't.
That's when it hit Arthur: the Nine-Tails.
From what Arthur recalled, Naruto wouldn't interact with the Nine-Tails until around this time. Even then, the two had a love-hate relationship.
In exchange for the hope of one-day escaping its seal, the Nine-Tails offered the boy its chakra while further seeping him into emotional turmoil.
Yet not once had Arthur heard of any interactions with the boy and the beast.
For instance, Naruto never unleashed the Tailed Beast chakra during his encounter with Haku. He also never used it during the Forest of Death because he never fought Orochimaru.
Say that William, a fan of the series, decided to tell Naruto everything about himself. That would spiral everything out of sync. Moreover, Naruto would become a powerhouse very early on.
Arthur didn't like that idea.
Jada's Sharingan, William's foreknowledge, Alice's mysterious background, Margaret's visceral strength, Jasper's outer space powers, and Alex's hacks—these were all the things Arthur had to stay on alert for every day.
All he desired was to return home. Not just for his own sake, but for the sake of those sharing his fate.
Perhaps not all of them were bad. But if they got in his way, he wouldn't avert a brawl that would dictate who the mightiest one from earth truly was.
The first sliver of sunlight was close to dipping over the horizon.
There was something Arthur needed answers to before sleeping. It regarded the Cayman Jungles, and the primates' Royal Registry seemed like the best place to find those answers.
With a swift leap, he navigated the terrain until he eventually reached the edge of their village. Next, he activated his Crimson Gaze to check everything he could.
The three giant gorillas seemed to be patrolling the village as if they never needed rest. But not everyone was like them. Most of the citizens were still sleeping in their huts, unaware of the man watching them from afar.
The Royal Registry was in his vision. But he was too far to truly see anything inside.
'Chakra disguise… Smoke jutsu…'
Arthur slipped in and waited patiently to see if any passerby would sense his presence.
After a while, with no one coming and no alarms being set off, he glided through their village with his Crimson Gaze scanning every corner.
Only then, did he finally make it to his destination.
The room was empty. Rows upon rows of scrolls still lined the walls. No guards, no prying eyes. He could take his time searching.
So upon reverting to his physical form, he eventually found a single scroll different from the others. Unfurling the scroll, he read what looked to be a historical record detailing the creation of the Cayman Jungle and the arrival of the first primate inhabitants.
The scroll even mentioned Elder Pepé, whose role was to be the protector of the jungle's 'sacred hot spring'.
Apparently, this hot spring had mystical properties called natural energy to help sustain the jungle's ecosystem.
Arthur's attention stopped at "natural energy".
If he was correct, the reason why he was having trouble looking through Elder Pepé's mountain was because the vapour emitting from his hot spring was laced with natural energy.
That's the only thing that made sense because his Crimson Gaze acted like the Byakugan, capable of registering virtually anything that had chakra. But if it was natural energy—something he'd never seen in person—then it could deter his vision.
This new information drastically changed things.
Arthur carefully re-rolled the scroll before placing it back on its shelf. His time had run out; the sun was about to fully rise. So he retraced his steps through the village via his smoke form, eventually emerging back at his campsite.
As he rested on his bed, he began to think.
At first, he was simply going to have the primates train him to better his skills. That was with or without knowing if they understood the properties of natural energy.
Now, after learning that they really did have knowledge of natural energy, his primary focus was solely on Elder Pepé's hot spring. Because with natural energy, he could do something even better: attempt to acquire Sage Mode!
However, there was a catch: learning Sage Mode was not an easy feat.
Each Sage Mode was different, and the one in this realm didn't provide any specific instructions on how to harness its natural energy.
The core principles of Sage Mode involved balancing three types of energies: physical, spiritual, and natural energy gathered from the surrounding environment. This balance is only achieved by staying perfectly still, allowing natural energy to passively enter the body.
The better someone is with their Sage Mode, the faster they can enter it.
Taking in too little natural energy rendered the transformation ineffective, while taking in too much had dire consequences. In the worst-case scenario, excess natural energy could turn the user into stone permanently or even transform them into the animal associated with their training ground.
At Mount Myōboku, the toads had a special tool that could expel excess energy to prevent petrification. At Ryūchi Cave, the White Snake Sage simply ate the practitioner if they failed.
Arthur had no idea what would happen if he attempted to harness this land's Sage Mode.
But if there was one primate who could teach him this realm's use of gathering natural energy, it would have to be Elder Pepé.
✟
Four hours of rest later, Arthur made his way to the mountain where their elder resided.
The journey felt shorter this time, and once he neared, he used his smoke form to ascend all the way to the top.
The vapour barrier in play was then passed through while in his physical form.
The next thing he did was silly, but it was the only method he knew to contact the elder: he beat on his chest loud enough to make an echo.
A moment passed as a low rumble could be heard before slowly, but surely, the colossal head of Elder Pepé emerged from the steam.
"Why have you come here at this hour?!" boomed the elder.
"Elder Pepé, I would like to receive training from you."
The giant macaque snorted as a plume of steam erupted from his nostrils. "I must first ask two things: why are you alone? Did you not meet with Enma as I instructed?"
"I did, but his wife threw me out of the village. Why I'm here now is because I read about your hot springs. It has natural properties that can be harnessed."
Elder Pepé's eyes beamed. "You speak of Simian Sage Mode?"
Arthur was right to have come here. "I do. What does it take for me to learn it?"
Elder Pepé regarded Arthur for another long moment before speaking. "No one has dared to harness Sage Chakra in centuries. Not even Enma has perfected it. Why do you seek it, young one?"
"You can see through lies, can you not? My desires are to help those in need, and to do so without stirring trouble in your land."
When Elder Pepé's face slowly neared Arthur, his eyes were so big that Arthur could visibly see his own reflection.
He showed no fear.
After a moment, the elder slowly pulled back. "You lie not, young one… Yet inside you, I do not see a child."
"Surely that can't be the reason why you would refuse my request."
"Nay. I am only stating what I see... Simian Sage Mode is a dangerous technique. I will not stop you from attempting to learn it. Should you fail, however, you will turn into our likeness."
So what?
He came here knowing that there would be some type of risk. And while he wasn't anything like Jiraiya, Naruto, Minato, Kabuto, or Margaret, he was still Arthur Bennett.
"Since the risks are so high, I would like to know something."
"Speak, young one…"
"Should I succeed, what will happen?"
Elder Pepé stared deeply into Arthur's eyes before answering. "Succeed first, and you will know…" Arthur scoffed, closing his eyes. He felt confident until he heard a loud rumble as Elder Pepé's head quickly closed the distance. "But don't succeed and you shall be an ape in the jungle forever…"
"Understood…"