Bakorio continued his climb through the mountain of fruits and flowers while thinking 'There's definitely something more to this test, the question is, when is it going to happen instead of if it will happen…'

At the 80% mark, Bakorio was attacked once more by many gigantic animals, but his fighting mastery proved to be too great and allowed him to survive through the onslaught all the while resisting the power that was trying to confuse his mind. Although he was still injured despite all of his efforts as well as exhausted…

After reaching the 90% mark, Bakorio encountered a statue this time, it appeared to be from the long-armed monkey tribe and it was extremely huge compared to Bakorio's current size and it reminded him of the one that used that strong Genjutsu on him and sent him to the beast world.

This time however, the statue had gem-like fingernails and it spoke from its mouth and said "Only a monkey could climb any further" Then Bakorio felt a strong pressure weighing on his body and did not allow him to move any further up!

'Is this supposed to be a verbal test?' he thought before he said with a smirk "can you not be racist?" However, that didn't garner any reaction from the statue other than an increase in the pressure it was emanating.

"Well, I'm no monkey, but I still desire to climb this mountain" Said Bakorio, however just as before, he only felt the pressure on his body increasing and he was already barely able to stand…

'This is not good, I need to quickly figure out a proper answer' thought Bakorio as he started scanning his surroundings for any clues but there was nothing out of place, the wind blew gently, the sun shined brightly, and the animals each went through their lives as normally while following the laws of nature…

'That's right the animals!' Bakorio suddenly noticed that some of the animals and the insects were moving around freely even past the 90% mark, yet they weren't hindered by the statue!

'There's definitely a reason for this… What does all these animals have in common with the monkeys? There's definitely a clue somewhere… Don't tell me' Bakorio was suddenly hit by a sudden realization as he observed the animals around him and what happened right after the end of the first trial before he said with a smile "I'm not a monkey, but I also enjoy the fruits and flowers this mountain has to offer"

Right after Bakorio said this, the pressure disappeared and the statue spoke "You may pass"

'As I suspected, the name of this sacred ground as well as the fact that Shuma invited me to a feast right after I finished my first trial are both hints just for this moment' thought Bakorio, surprised by how well planned these trials were…

"I wonder what I will find on the peak of this mountain" muttered Bakorio as he continued his climb warily but he was surprised when he didn't encounter any further dangers and his journey was pretty much smooth sailing all the way to the top… And just like that, he reached the peak of the mountain of flowers and fruits…

However, different from the beautiful scenery he was expecting, the peak of this mountain was completely barren, with no beauty in sight. In fact, it simply felt empty…

Bakorio's eyes widened slightly as he stared at this scene his hardships led him to and an annoying feeling made its way to his heart as Kuma suddenly appeared near him and chanted something causing the bracelet to leave Bakorio's hand and his body slowly returned back to normal.

However, he still didn't move from his position and simply stared at the land underneath him in confusion.

Seeing this, Kuma cheerfully said "Congratulations on passing the second trial, the trial of will—"

"Who designed this trial?" Bakorio interrupted him coldly but Kuma's cheerful expression didn't waver at all "the trials were designed in a collaboration by the 4 great wise sages"

Then he walked beside Bakorio and stared at what he was staring at before he said "Unlike what people might think, the top of the mountain has no hardships, in fact, it has nothing. This is a reminder to those that g through it... Sometimes, the struggles are far more important than reaching the goal, because once you do reach it, there will only be emptiness left"

"That I know very well, take me to the next trial" Said Bakorio coldly not wanting to discuss this any further and Kuma couldn't help but think 'It seems like this trial hit a nerve on this kid's heart…' before he said "Follow me, the next trial is the trial of the self, and it would be conducted by the four eared monkey tribe"

Bakorio nodded at him and followed him back down from the mountain unaware that the statue he just encountered was observing him silently and relaying his results to the other statues…

….

Kuma led Bakorio to the 4 eared monkey king Renma, he appeared to be calm, but not the anti-social type like Shuma… He had for ears and glowing yellow eyes that overflowed with a magical feeling…

'This guy is a sage… a perfect one at that' Thought Bakorio as he observed Renma silently… In these sacred grounds, many animals study sage arts, especially since their bodies are suited for it. But even then, not many can truly master them since they don't have enough control or talent.

So, most of them ends up in half sage states like Jiraiya and his teachers… However, this Renma in front of him was actually a perfect sage. Meaning that these monkeys has at least 5 perfect sages! The biggest number he has encountered in one sacred ground….

"Follow me" sad Renma before he led Bakorio to a hall with only one statue inside that had four gem like ears…

"Are you ready?" He asked Bakorio and the latter calmly nodded at him, and right after, the statue's ears started rattling slightly creating a vibration that passed over Bakorio's body and resonated with him. Then, out of nowhere, a splitting image of himself appeared in front of him as a voice echoed from the statue's mouth "No weapons or Kekkei genkai allowed"

Bakorio who was about to retrieve his legendary sword ended up stopping mid action as he glared at the clone that appeared in front of him as well as the countless seals covering the hall before he rushed at his clone, and it moved at the same time as him!

'He actually has future sigh!' Bakorio was surprised by how perfect this imitation was, and when they clashed, he felt as if he collided with a rock 'strong! Is this really not a Genjutsu…' Bakorio was confused as he kept clashing with his clone but he couldn't gain the upper hand no matter what he tried to do… In fact, he was slowly losing it!

This fight went on for a whole day before Bakorio stopped while panting and so was his clone "How's this possible, how can they mimic everything... even my talents? This clone is actually getting stronger at a slightly faster rate than me as well!"

….

Meanwhile, as Yuki was contemplating the weirdness of what was happening, a giant stone hidden inside the very center of the mountain of flowers and fruits was shining with a multi-colored light that reflected Bakorio's image like a holograph. This was the sky stone, the rarest treasure of the monkey clan as well as a treasure that made it possible to manipulate the advanced forms of the yin and yang ( Reality and life transformations) which is why they were able to create this trial…

This is a power that anyone would desire, and if it ever lands in evil hands…The results would be disastrous. Thankfully the monkeys were wise enough to avoid such a tragedy…

….

Meanwhile, Bakorio was currently contemplating on how to surpass himself, However, such a question was never easy to answer…