In Jōdo.
Pakura watched the scene where she had trusted Maki, urged her not to throw her life away, and encouraged her to create a future of her own.
Something inside her finally settled.
Yes—
she had never accepted being abandoned by Sunagakure.
She had never accepted being betrayed and murdered by Kirigakure.
But if she truly threw away everything she once believed in, slaughtered her own people, and took her anger out on innocent shinobi…
would she still be the same Pakura who had once been proud to protect her village?
She had been wronged.
That much was undeniable.
But being brought back through the Impure World Reincarnation had also allowed her to see Maki grow.
It had shown her a future where shinobi from different villages were beginning to move toward peace.
Perhaps that wasn’t such a terrible final experience after all.
Pakura smiled faintly.
“Maki…”
“Keep getting stronger.”
“I’ll be watching the future you create from here.”
“And don’t die young like I did.”
…
Sunagakure.
Countless shinobi found themselves respecting Pakura all over again.
A kunoichi like that deserved to be remembered as one of their heroes.
Before long, the village spontaneously organized another memorial for her.
But this time—
the story was different.
No one claimed that Pakura had fallen in battle against Iwagakure.
Instead, the truth was acknowledged.
Pakura had sacrificed her young life as part of a political arrangement meant to secure a temporary peace between villages.
That day, Rasa arrived at the memorial with several senior Sunagakure officials who had been involved in the decision.
They stood quietly before Pakura’s grave and offered their apologies.
Whether every word came from genuine remorse or from the pressure of having the truth exposed to the entire shinobi world…
no one could say.
But at the very least—
the apology Pakura had deserved for years had finally arrived.
Far too late.
But it had arrived.
…
Pakura’s segment finally came to an end.
This time, the viewers hadn’t received any tangible reward.
No chance to speak with the dead.
No opportunity to ask the mysterious screen a question.
And yet, many felt they had gained something even more valuable.
Hope.
Hope that someday—
the hidden villages might stop killing one another.
Hope that enemies could become comrades.
Hope that the shinobi world might eventually find a path toward peace.
Then the screen changed once again.
A new name appeared.
[TOP 20 TRAGIC SHINOBI]
[NO.
17: HAKU]
[Reason for Ranking: A Kindhearted Shinobi Who Willingly Lived and Died as Another Person’s Tool]
Across the shinobi world, countless people stared at the name in confusion.
Haku?
Almost no one had heard of him.
He didn’t seem to be a famous shinobi.
So why had someone so unknown earned a place on this ranking?
…
Land of Waves.
The instant Zabuza saw Haku’s name appear, his heart skipped a beat.
For a brief moment, genuine tension entered his eyes.
But he quickly forced it down.
“Tch.”
“He’s just a tool.”
“If he dies, I’ll find another one.”
“This world has no shortage of abandoned children with nowhere to go.”
“I’m not going to get sentimental over some brat.”
Zabuza kept telling himself that.
Again.
And again.
Haku was only a tool.
Nothing more.
Yet his hands had already stopped whatever they were doing.
And his eyes remained fixed on the screen.
Soon, Haku’s profile appeared.
[Name: Haku]
[Sex: Male]
[Age at Death: 15]
[Rank: Missing-nin]
[Kekkei Genkai: Ice Release]
[Relationship: Partner — Zabuza Momochi]
[Cause of Death: Chest pierced by Kakashi Hatake’s Lightning Cutter]
Several details immediately caught the audience’s attention.
First—
none of the earlier profiles had included a separate entry for sex.
Yet Haku’s did.
Second—
like Pakura, Haku possessed a kekkei genkai.
And finally—
his death involved Kakashi Hatake.
That alone suggested that whatever happened to Haku had involved a serious battle.
Live Chat Group One quickly filled with messages.
[Ao: Ice Release?]
[Ao: Could he be a survivor of the Yuki Clan?]
Another Kirigakure shinobi responded.
[Heki: Wasn’t the Yuki Clan wiped out more than ten years ago?
There was actually a survivor?]
Mei’s expression sharpened.
[Mei Terumi: And Zabuza again.]
[Mei Terumi: Kirigakure has sent hunter-nin after him repeatedly without success.
If Haku possesses Ice Release, I imagine he played no small part in keeping Zabuza alive.]
Zabuza immediately responded.
[Zabuza Momochi: Mei Terumi, you aren’t fit to carry the title of Fifth Mizukage.]
[Zabuza Momochi: Kirigakure needs someone strong enough to tear down the old system completely.]
[Zabuza Momochi: I’m the one who should lead the village into a new era.]
Chojuro fired back almost immediately.
[Chojuro: Keep dreaming!]
[Chojuro: You’re known as the Demon of the Hidden Mist for a reason.
Someone as ruthless as you has no right to become Mizukage!]
Haku immediately stepped in.
[Haku: Don’t speak about Zabuza-san like that.]
[Haku: You have no idea how much he has endured or how much he has risked trying to change Kirigakure.]
Zabuza cut him off.
[Zabuza Momochi: Haku.
Enough.]
[Zabuza Momochi: In the end, success or failure is decided by the result.]
[Zabuza Momochi: If I take control of Kirigakure, then people can judge whether my methods were worth it.]
Haku fell silent.
Then answered obediently.
[Haku: Understood, Zabuza-san.]
At that moment—
the screen began revealing Haku’s past.