Meeting the New Generation [Open]

It appeared the kunoichi wasn't all too happy with the result of her throw, commenting about how she messed up. "No need to be so hard on yourself, we all start somewhere". Although Goto didn't want Xena to feel bad about her attempt, he also considered being your own worst critic a redeeming quality one can possess. It also meant they would always be looking for ways to improve, never satisfied. "I hope so, returning Konohagakure to its former glory is what I devoted myself to the day I accepted this position". A lot of things went wrong in the past and now it was up to the new generation of Leaf shinobi to make their village proud.

The young Senju then listened as Xena inquired about the reason he called her over in the first place, noting it couldn't simply have been to see her throw a shuriken at a training dummy and call it a day. "You were hard to miss. Standing by yourself, leaning against a pole. Quite easy to spot, how could I not notice?". Perhaps it was a coincidence and the female Uchiha would have indeed been in the middle of taking a break, but even if there was only a little more to it then the silver haired Deputy figured it wouldn't hurt to look further into it. "So how's life of an Academy Student? Still learning something new each day or do you have the feeling there's nothing more for you to learn?". Depending on the kunoichi's answer Goto would find out whether or not she was ready to graduate.

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The shuriken spun on the girls finger as she waited for him to go too take it, he commented on how he shouldn't be hard on herself, but that's just not how she's been raised, less then perfect would disappoint her father. And could possibly get her killed if she ever did become a jonin. She knew she wasn't ready for any of that, just by that simple toss of a shuriken, her father could throw 4 at once and nail the target in multiple spots, she couldn't even throw one properly. "You don't know me very well if you say that." She simply commented, a dull look in her eyes, she listened to his talk of returning Konohagakure to its former glory, she could understand a goal like that, but it wasn't her own. Perhaps you could say her one goal was to make her parents proud, in hopes that would give her some meaning to her life.

Stopping the shuriken with a added finger it cut, only a bit, but enough to draw blood. She didn't flinch that much though, simply taking the shuriken off her index and setting it on a wood post that held up some of the other fencing, he asked about her schooling, but what else was there to say, she had taken most classes, but simply never passed the exam. "There's always more to learn in the world, though I'm honestly not sure I can learn anymore from classes I've taken twice." She simply commented, licking the cut she made on her finger. "If I've failed twice though, there's clearly something I'm missing before I can properly become a ninja." Her gaze had then turned to the other student's they had gotten better in the short time she and goto had been talking, it looked like they we're managing to hit bullseyes almost every time, it was honestly impressive how much better they had gotten since she got here, when she first did they could barely even hit the target. "The younger generation will pick up my slack at the very least." She stated with a comment, her eyes duller now wondering if there's even a point to continue trying.

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Goto listened attentively, paying close attention to Xena's words as the kunoichi gave a little more insight into her life, both personal as well as academic. "Considering it's the first time we met it would be rather amazing if I'd already know everything about you" the young Senju replied with a smile. By then he was able to confirm the girl's point of view when it came to her studies as she responded to the silver haired his question. The deputy was able to find out that the female shinobi already took the exam twice, failing the same number of times.

Obviously he knew that the next step would be to ask Xena why she think she failed, but Goto decided not to, assuming it wasn't a lesson the girl wanted to hear from someone who perhaps in her eyes had it all. "I'd like to think we don't ask for the impossible" the Senju referred to the Genin Exam. Although the way it would go could differ from one proctor to the other but usually it all came down to the same test of skills. Perhaps she got nervous or a lack of confidence had gotten the better of her both times she tried to pass the exam but in the end that was something the kunoichi had to find out herself.

Considering the location they were in Goto decided he might as well give her a little one-on-one lesson, hoping it would help Xena the next time she attempted the Genin Exams. "Now that we're here anyway" he stated before continuing his explanation. "As you know, or should know, in order to pass you need to showcase both the Transformation and Clone Technique". Goto would briefly go over the mechanics of the techniques but kept it simple given how basic they were and something every shinobi would be able to perform without too much trouble.

Once that was out of the way he figured it would be better to simply teach her how it's done. "I'll show you all of the hand seals required for both of the techniques, I assume you remember which ones there are". He then formed the Dog seal before transforming into one of the shinobi he spotted into the distance. "Doesn't look that hard, does it? Try and imagine what you want to transform into, maybe that'll help". Goto then undid his transformation as he returned to his original state before moving onto the second jutsu an Academy Student needed to know in order to pass their exams, the Clone Technique.

Similar to the first one, the silver haired formed one hand seal, Ram to be precise. Once activated a total of four identical replicas of Goto appeared next to him. Although merely a projection and lacking any substance it would still be hard for someone to figure out who was the real one and which ones were the clones. "Again, not too hard. Remember the steps I took and try it yourself now". With a little bit of confidence Xena would be able to pull it off, that much he knew.

(WC: 519, TWC: 2001)

[Teaching Transformation and Clone Technique]

Xena had simply sat atop one of the fence posts, her pony tail flowing in the wind that blew through the area, the sound of it was almost piercing, as if the winds strength had grown on admiral amount since she got here. Her eyes watched across the field still, a soft glaze forming over them, she could hear what the deputy was saying but it's as though they we're muffled, her hands, if by unconsciousness moved on their own, forming the sign for dog, a cloud of smoke covering her, what you'd see afterwards was a man with dark hair and scarlet eyes, sharingan, this man was her father, he was donned in a uchiha cloak, with the clans emblem on the back of it, as she did it again her appearance would change to that of a woman in her late 30's the resemblance to her and Xena were uncanny, it was her mother, their appearance followed that of a woman in a kimono, the kimono had a pattern that followed the colors of black and red, her hair was down and reached the middle of her back, and her eyes too had the clans kekkei genkai, a set of 2 tomoe sharingan, though the transformation made them sharingan in appearance only, they had no true effect. It would be more then likely the deputy would not recognize either as her hands formed the sign of a Ram, as then about several clones appeared, they resembled Xena as a cloud appeared around the original her appearance returning to normal, she was more then capable of doing the two Jutsu at this point, the clones however all seemed to be in the same daze as the original, until Xena finally shook her head looking around, the clones seemed to come back from their daze as she did, all looking around before staring at Goto, though the original stayed focused on the distance, what had she seen that forced her to become so out of it. "Hm..." She simply muttered as the shadow clones poofed into smoke clouds, she finally faced Goto with a look of apologies. "Sorry, I'm not sure what came over me." She stated simply her hands seeming to tremble against the wood she sat on. 

As she stood up she asked simply. "What we're you saying, I seem to of, got caught in a day dream I believe." Her legs were wobbly though she paid no attention, in truth the reason she had failed the 2 exams was because despite her being able to easily cast the 2 Jutsu's it often made her weakened, the past 2 times she fainted immediately, she didn't have much chakra inside of herself at those times, she had however been largely training to gain more chakra as of late with her father who was more then happy to aid her, it seems to of at least made it so she wouldn't faint, though unless Goto had read the files on her tests he wouldn't even of known that was a issue. "I believe you we're talking about the exams... right?" She asked in a tone of sincerity her gaze now completely fixed on Goto. Her hair still blew softly in the wind, which had now softened in nature it was calmer. "Their coming up again soon I believe, are they not?" She asked simply, with what seemed to be possible excitement in tone though her face hadn't changed much. 

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Standing tall in a position where both his arms were crossed over each other Goto would be watching Xena as the kunoichi was about to perform both of the techniques shown to her. First up, the Transformation technique. The young lady with black hair tied in a ponytail would take on the appearance of multiple characters, all resembling the female shinobi in some way. He couldn't be too certain of it, but the silver haired Senju's initial thought was that they had to be family. It would make sense, usually the people coming to mind first were the ones closest to you.

Once the Transformation jutsu had ended Xena continued with the next one, the Clone technique. Similar to the deputy's performance the kunoichi decided to form more than just a single replica. Although she had successfully executed the technique, her clones seemed to be on their figurative last breath, a sign Xena had almost completely depleted her chakra. "That's alright, once you build up your stamina you'll notice it gets easier". Her mind seemed blurry, having forgotten what they were talking about before vaguely remembering as the topic of the Genin Exams came back to her again.

With the Chuunin Exams almost coming to an end time and space for another event would open up soon, perhaps an ideal moment to organize another exam for those wishing to graduate from the Academy. After having discussed it with the teachers they came to an agreement, a chance for the students to become a Genin would appear in the not so distant future. "I'll write you a letter of recommendation. In case they wonder where it came from they'll simply need to look at the signature to know it's authentic". Even though the piece of paper itself wouldn't do much, it would still act as some form of proof that he believed she was ready to take the exam. 

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Xena wasn't entirely sure what to make of the offer for a letter of recommendation, but the least she could do was take it, it could help her in the future. Looking off too the side again she watched the younger ninja finally start hitting bullseyes each throw. "Their getting better, I'd say they deserve it far more then me." She simply stated, figuratively showing her self worth was at a low point, not that she really had anything else to say. "I have plans to become a medical ninja, though I doubt those plans will ever come to fruition, my mother says it takes enormous chakra control, and if i can't even make a proper shadow clone without falling over I doubt I'd ever have a chance at medical ninjutsu." Stating that she took back her seat atop of the fence post taking the shuriken that was there and spinning it atop her finger. "The Uchiha clans been known for countless reason's, namely its talented shinobi, gifted from birth, and here I am, struggling with the very basics." She took those words to heart, very clearly disturbed by her own lack of progress, there was likely reasons for that, but none of it mattered currently. "I'll likely, just quit if I fail the exam again, I appreciate the help but, I just can't find the motivation to go on after another failure." Saying that she simplify chucked the shuriken across the field, it meeting the lower leg of the target, in the upper thigh on its side, a blow that would hurt like hell but cause no permanent damage to a real ninja. Her mind simply wandered thinking about what she could possibly do to raise her chakra strength, perhaps the easiest way would be to finally awaken her sharingan, but for that, she'd either need to do something horrible, or achieve something unprecedented, and frankly, she wasn't sure if she was ready for either of those options.

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He listened to Xena as the female Uchiha shared her dreams of becoming a Medical ninja, something legendary shinobi from the past had achieved before. "Sounds like a plan, we can never have enough of those" the silver haired said in response. Apparently her mother was part of the reason as to why the kunoichi wanted to pursue a career in the arts of medicine, having told her daughter about the chakra control it would require. "No one said it would be easy". If it was, everyone else would've done it by now. By then Goto had noticed how the Academy student's confidence started to reach a new low, no longer believing in herself.

It appeared a pressure was weighing down on her, causing Xena to struggle mentally. The two of them each came from a prominent clan, one being Senju while the other Uchiha, so in a way Goto could understand where she was coming from. "With a mindset like that you've already lost before even doing anything". No matter how difficult it was, there would be no reason to simply give up. Regardless of what she might be thinking, no one was born perfect or as a finished product. Even those possessing ridiculous talent would be nothing without putting in the hard work.

Even the thought of quitting crossed her mind, something Goto would hate to see become reality. Sure, life of a shinobi wasn't for anyone and he'd never force it upon someone as people should always find something they'd enjoy doing. "Simply throwing a couple of shuriken won't get them anywhere either. Of course, it's a good thing they don't skip any basics but increasing their chakra will be another thing". The most important thing for Xena now would be to focus on a single aspect of her training, whether it'd be ninja tools proficiency or sometihng else.

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Xena simply gave a shrug of acknowledgement, she didn't have that much else too say, she simply felt tired, unbelievably tired, as if she just ran a marathon, was it her chakra level, she wasn't entirely able to tell, her eyes simply looked across the field to the more advanced training area's where ninja we're sparring, not with ninjutsu, rather taijutsu to prevent damage to the field, then again that entire area was riddled with small craters, taijutsu was honestly just as dangerous as ninjutsu if it we're in the proper hands. She didn't know many taijutsu users though, her father knew quite a few, shinobi just happen to know eachother she guessed. "Like it or not, life blows with the wind, and with that, so too does winning and losing, some people have the unique quirk of undying commitment, the ability to keep going when others can't, but I'm just not like that, and I don't honestly know if I ever will." With that comment she seemed to just lose herself again her eyes gazing around the training area, observing those not training and those that are. "I'm sure you had your own doubts in the beginning, on if you could really do this, if you could truly become a shinobi worthy of praise from your family... Maybe not, I'm not entirely sure where you come from..."

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As he paid attention to Xena's words, listening attentively to what the kunoichi was saying, Goto assumed she wanted to hear his side of the story, his story. "Perhaps that's where the two of us differ", the silver haired began to speak. From the way the female Uchiha worded her last sentence it felt like it had indeed to do with her family and the pressure that came with being from a renowned clan such as the Uchiha. "I'm not looking to be praised, nor do I feel any pressure from my family name" he would continue. Of course he wanted to do good by them, make his parents proud, protect Toshiro,.. but they would no longer be the only ones the young Senju had to worry about after becoming Deputy Kage. 

Goto looked around once more before continuing to speak. "As cliché as it may sound, everyone in Konohagakure makes me want to do better". Did it feel good receiving compliments or a simple thank you as he passed by someone on the streets? Hell yeah. But was that the only reason he kept going? Not at all. "I would be lying if I didn't want my mom and dad to be proud of me, but the day the Hokage and myself decided to bring the winds of change to our village was also the moment I left my ego behind". No longer did he want to grow stronger for himself, from now on everything Goto did would be in Konohagakure's best interest. Not an easy task for someone his age, but the village had known far more difficult times than he could ever imagine. 

Still standing there the Senju stretched his arms, enjoying the soft breeze gently blowing through his silver hair. "You mentioned it yourself not that long ago, your plan of becoming a Medical shinobi. Is that truly something you want, or is it what you think you should do?". If the latter, then Xena had to realize she had to remove the shackles from her clan which were holding her back before she would be able to take a step forward. "Trust me, even if you choose a path different from the one your parents outlined for you, they'll still be proud of you no matter the choice you make". In the end, every parent wanted what was best for their children, regardless of the decisions they made.

(WC: 403, TWC: 3034)

As the shinobi spoke she simply turned her head once he began criticizing her reasoning, of course he wouldn't understand where she was coming from, she is at the beginning of her journey, while he is likely along the lines of the end, not at deaths point of course, not anywhere close, but he has already learned many things, experienced many things, things she couldn't even fathom currently, her eyes meticulously peered through the grounds, just with a glazed look, those 2 jutsus back to back had worn her out, annoyingly, she sighed looking back at the man. "If a Uchiha we're to become a shinobi, do you really think a medical ninja would be their parents first choices?" Her tone was that of genuine annoyance, almost every Uchiha ever to become a shinobi never went down the medical path to her knowledge, most honed their Genjutsu skills, in hopes of unlocking any secrets the Sharingan may or may not have, she never believed there was anything past the 3 tomoe despite any rumors. "For the deputy Hokage, you seem ignorant to the way the Uchiha clan runs, I can't blame you though, my father tells me some of their secrets likely aren't even known to the Hokage, but what do I know." As she spoke her tone was clear and soft yet with a subtle hint of annoyance directed at herself, she didn't know nearly anything about her clan, as due to how things have been, most of their traditions have simply melted away, never to be heard of by those who aren't of high rank in the Uchiha or are elders. Back in the day, simply showing a Sharingan to another Uchiha would cause a fight a to the death on the spot. Now a days most Uchiha don't ever bother deactivating it in town, from what she's seen at least, though its likely they deactivate it on missions to present themselves as less threatening, thus to not be a main target. 

"I want to be a medical ninja because I want to help more then specifically hurt, that might have something to do with why most of my ninjutsu skills even result in taking such a toll on me, if that's even how that could possible work, I've been able to do Genjutsu just fine, it's only ever been Ninjutsu." She muttered her glazed eyes looking across the landscape with a sigh before returning to the Deputy. "I genuinely wonder if you kages know everything, or don't know anything at times." She smirked having given whats basically a backhanded compliment, while meaning it genuinely as a compliment. "But in the end, who really does know everything?"




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