Kirigakure and Konohagakure were two opposites and yet intertwined so deeply. Whether it be the natures of fire and water, the competing ideologies of Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju, the ideologies of the bloody mist and the blooming leaf or simply their dispositions with dark hair and tanned skin konoha shinobi and the albino frail kirigakure shinobi. There was an utter divide between the two nations and though friends now with greater threats such as Kumogakure being far more prominent there was still that rivalry held between the two nations. From these two nations the embodiment of their ideals would differ, Konohagakure's being the will of fire the concept that a Hokage or leader must be just, fair, powerful, respectable, wise and of course the creator of bonds that united nations so was the will of fire and Xiao knew no other shinobi in the leaf that embodied these ideals of his generation besides Sachihiro.

Kirigakure was another story, built on the concept of might making right and survival of the fittest what this meant was the ideal for Kirigakure was the silent killer type, the albino frail mystical eyed bloodletting maniacs that commonly populated the mist and just as Sachihiro had embodied the virtues of his village sadly Xiao knew that he was most likely the one Kirigakure shinobi in his village that delved furthest from these concepts. If Sachihiro held the will of fire like a grand torch, Xiao held the will of water in sifter with far too wide holes that caused it spill out.

He had made it a note to find the young senju, partially out of friendship of course but mostly as he had quite a lot of time thinking on things. In their last meeting he had been aspiring to be a doctor, aspiring to heal the world and now he could barely muster one jutsu due to Sero's thick syrup like chakra that coursed through his veins. When they last met Xiao could honestly say his wish was to become a swordsmen of the mist and guard Kirigakure and now not only had he discarded the nindo all together but the very concept of shinobi was becoming distasteful to him. He was a changed lad and the further time went on those changes would merely grow as time and distance were increased.

Making his way to the familiar training grounds, the place to be and the hot spot at the moment for many of the prospective genin, he searched the crowd looking for the white topknot he knew so well. With the amount of unique individuals it was oddly difficult to spot just who you needed. It was then that he saw him, walking towards his old friend and smiling through his blue mask with his arms thrown wide "Sachihiro! Hey! It's been way too long!" Xiao stated with a friendly tone that was a little too loud so that onlookers would glance over - much to Xiao's delight, his plans for this event were not to create a hype around himself nor was it to simply test Sachihiro, he needn't test the Senju, no this "match" he had planned would be something else, this would be free advertisement.

Sachihiro, in Xiao's mind, was going to be the Hokage one day and as Xiao had met far too many of the leaf shinobi who bore an animosity to Kirigakure or a lust for Power the young spider opted to take the opportunity to remind Konohagakure that they had their future hero already standing among themselves to cheer on and that he was already doing what many leaf shinobi may have wished to do - creating bonds that transcended borders. "How are you feeling about the exams, eh? We'll be discovering our opponents soon. What say you and me kick it like old times? Put on a real show eh? I can't promise I've improved all that much, but hey it'll pass the time"

Not long had it take the young Senju to find his way back to his homelands, the land of fire. Where he was taught the merits of a shinobi within Konoha. Anxious but yet excited he wasn’t sure what to expect when he had decided to sign up for the bi yearly exams. It wasn’t in his nature to look for a fight, but if the opportunity presented itself where he would be able to showcase his tenacity and good fortune then by all means was this tournament a proper way to showcase them. Taking with him a bento box filled with his home meals, two serving of white rice, two pork dumplings all topped with a large serving of eel douses in a spicy fish curry. The day was set as he would place his training bags and other accessories along a nearby table and properly adjusted himself for his training.

“Okay okay okay…" he repeated to himself, limbering up, always nervous but ever looking forward to a spar. A sort of, ‘fighting jitters’ he would call it.

Looking down at his hands, he was proud to have finally developed his wood style. Training under Verdandi, she had ben more than helped him on his journey to becoming a better shinobi. Her warm and kind assertions were what brought him to wanting to become better. Not only that, the many ventures with Kiri nin had taken him by surprise, feeling a sort of deep loyalty that would bring him ever closer to  wanting to improve relations among nations. He sighed at the thought, not too confident in his own growth however trusting the allies he would make would soon bring a sort peace within’ the coming years. He lamented at the thought, this world could be a dark one if one were to let it overwhelm you and his hands shook a little as his minor panic attacks began to ensue. Closing his eyes and taking deep breaths as he willingly managed to suppress it. Unbeknownst to him, without a healthy outlet, it was this emotional repression that would bring many shinobi to a path of hate and pain.

This trepidation was soon cut short as he heard a comforting and familiar voice. His face beamed having yet turning to the familiar face but knowing full well of who it was. They had met just a couple months ago but their friendship was that of one years in the making. It was one of the few and only situations where had a met a fellow shinobi of similar merits. Holding a deep respect for his tenacious positive attitude and ever welcoming kindness. He hadn’t realized this yet, but these small reliefs were what brought him back to reality, no longer lingering in the bitterness of death.

“Xiao!” he exclaimed back at the fellow shinobi, yelling out just as excitedly and going in for a hug “It’s been forever!” the last time they had come across each other was a brief spar back at Mt. Myabokou, though his memory was fuzzy he would soon remember and have a giggle at the thought.

“Yeah! I’m excited to see whatcha got man! Checkit, I’ve even improved on some of my wood techniques” the boy rolled up one of his sleeves and proceeded to protrude larger much more finite branches from his body. A much bigger improvement since the last time had showed back on Toad island.

“Whenever you’re ready. We could head over to that open spot down the field. I’ll bring my bento box. You want a dumpling?” the Senju offered one of them as he stuffed another in his mouth “I made them myself”

As the two embraced Xiao couldn't help but smile, he had formed a friendly rivalry with the top knot-haired Senju that had motivated him to push beyond his limits and embrace what it meant to be a shinobi. Previously he had denied his 'darker' half, trying to escape from it any way he possibly could but when it came to his meetings with Sachihiro he had always left feeling revitalized and entirely what the young shinobi needed to actually get his butt in gear.

As Xiao watched in amazement at Sachihiro's progress he couldn't help but smile, although obviously obscured by his mask "Wow! You'll be Hashirama any day now with this level of progress!" Xiao remarked with a chuckle gazing at the sprouted tree with a grin wondering just how far Sachihiro could potentially push such a power in the years to come. Would he be able to use those immense wooden dragons and golems? The thought alone made Xiao's imagination run wild.

"You can cook? That's amazing! You've gotta have some edge with the ability to make herbs and veggies, eh?" Xiao stated curiously as he accepted the gracious offer making his way to the cleared area and stretching out slightly "Weird as it may be, I was actually hoping we'd be opponents in the first round, but hey even if you're not I'm sure I can handle it" he said with a chuckle as he proceeded to sample the bun which was surprisingly good "I mean what's the worst that happens, right? We're all genin here, It's not like we're going to burst into flames or anything" Xiao stated in a light tone trying to keep it as light as possible, he wanted Sachihiro to feel at ease, ready for whatever laid before him.

"Is there anyone you have your eye on for a fight, eh?" Xiao inquired with a grin leaning forward somewhat hoping to hear if he had his eye on any prospective opponents that Xiao so too could keep his eye out for. "Oh! Almost forgot! This? This is amazing. You're a good cook" Xiao stated before bowing in his own flourish of movement as he finished the bun and prepared to put on a show "I'll let you start us off my friend"