With everyone wondering what kind of life Haku had lived, the screen began showing his past.
[Land of Water]
In a small village buried beneath deep snow, Haku was born into a poor family that survived through farming.
They didn’t have much.
But his parents were gentle people, content with their quiet life.
For several years, Haku grew up in a warm and happy home.
Then everything changed.
One day, when Haku was only six or seven years old, he crouched beside a patch of ice and excitedly manipulated it with his chakra.
“Mom!
Look!”
He beamed at her.
“Isn’t this amazing?”
He expected praise.
Instead, his mother’s face went pale.
“Why…?”
Tears filled her eyes.
“Why did you inherit it too?”
“Why does my child have this power…?”
Overcome with panic, she suddenly struck Haku across the face.
Haku froze.
His mother’s anger vanished almost immediately.
She pulled him close, horrified by what she’d done.
“I’m sorry.”
“I’m so sorry, Haku…”
But neither of them noticed that Haku’s father had witnessed everything.
That night—
Haku woke to violence.
His father had gathered several villagers.
With tears in his eyes, he killed Haku’s mother.
Then he turned his weapon toward his own son.
Haku was too terrified to understand what was happening.
He only knew that his father was coming to kill him.
In that moment of overwhelming fear—
his kekkei genkai erupted instinctively.
Ice exploded throughout the house.
The room froze over in an instant.
When Haku finally came back to his senses, the house had fallen silent.
His father was dead.
Haku stared blankly at the frozen bodies around him.
His mother was gone.
His father was gone.
And it was his own power that had killed the last family he had left.
That was when Haku began to understand something.
Maybe someone like him simply wasn’t meant to be wanted.
…
The scene changed.
Haku had become a homeless child.
With nowhere to go, he wandered alone through the streets, cold and starving.
One day, he crouched on a bridge, shivering beneath the winter air.
Footsteps approached.
Zabuza Momochi walked past him.
He glanced down at the miserable child.
“Pathetic.”
Haku slowly looked up.
Zabuza stopped.
Then he crouched in front of him.
“A brat like you has no one waiting for him.”
“No one needs you.”
“You’ve got no home, no freedom, no dream.”
“If nothing changes, you’ll end up dying in some gutter without anyone even remembering your name.”
Haku should have been frightened by him.
Instead—
he smiled.
It was a pure, almost innocent smile.
“You have the same eyes as me.”
Zabuza paused.
For a few seconds, he simply stared at the boy.
Then he asked,
“Kid.”
“Do you want someone to need you?”
Haku’s eyes widened.
Zabuza continued.
“Could you give everything you have to me?”
Haku didn’t answer with words.
He simply nodded.
Hard.
Zabuza smiled faintly.
“Good.”
“Then from today onward, your power belongs to me.”
He placed an arm around Haku’s shoulders.
“Come with me.”
…
The scene changed again.
Years later, Zabuza stood on a hill overlooking countless lights scattered across the Land of Water.
Haku stood beside him.
Zabuza’s expression was grim.
“Haku.”
“I’m leaving the Land of Water tonight.”
“For now, I’m abandoning this country.”
He stared down at the distant settlements.
“But I’ll return.”
“Someday, I’ll take control of this land myself.”
His voice hardened.
“And to accomplish that, I don’t need sympathy.”
“I don’t need encouragement.”
“What I need is…”
Haku smiled gently.
“I understand.”
“You don’t have to say it.”
He looked at Zabuza without the slightest hesitation.
“I am your weapon, Zabuza-san.”
“I gave you my word.”
“So use me however you need to.”
“Keep me beside you as your tool.”
Zabuza looked at him for a moment.
Then gave a satisfied smile.
“Good boy.”
]
…
The moment the footage ended, a heavy silence settled over the shinobi world.
Haku’s childhood had been brutal.
Once, he had possessed gentle parents and a happy home.
Then his kekkei genkai was discovered—
and everything disappeared in a single night.
His father killed his mother.
Haku killed his father without meaning to.
In the space of a few hours, a child who had been loved by both parents was left completely alone.
…
[Live Chat Group One]
Sakura struggled to understand what she had just seen.
[Sakura Haruno: But why?]
[Sakura Haruno: Having a kekkei genkai means Haku was talented, right?
He could’ve become an incredibly powerful shinobi someday.
Why would his own family see that as something horrible?]
Kakashi answered her.
[Kakashi Hatake: Because the Land of Water wasn’t always the place you know today.]
[Kakashi Hatake: After years of internal conflict, people began associating kekkei genkai with war and bloodshed.]
[Kakashi Hatake: Clans with unusual abilities were repeatedly used in conflicts, and ordinary people eventually came to see those powers as something that brought disaster wherever they appeared.]
Ao confirmed it.
[Ao: Kakashi knows his history.]
[Ao: In those days, people with kekkei genkai often hid their abilities and lived under false identities.]
[Ao: Once someone discovered the truth, things could turn deadly very quickly.]
Chojuro hesitated.
[Chojuro: Then…
Lady Mei too?]
Mei was silent for a moment before replying.
[Mei Terumi: I survived that period because I kept my own abilities hidden.]
[Mei Terumi: Revealing them carelessly would have put a target on my back.]
Kankuro frowned.
[Kankuro: I can understand why Haku felt completely alone after that.]
[Kankuro: But following someone like Zabuza?
And calling yourself his tool?
That’s too much.]
Temari agreed.
[Temari: Zabuza saw Haku’s Ice Release and realized he could use him.
That’s all.]
[Temari: Haku shouldn’t have thrown away his entire identity for someone who only wanted his power.]
Naruto had been unusually quiet.
Then he finally spoke.
[Naruto Uzumaki: Feeling like nobody needs you…]
[Naruto Uzumaki: I understand that.]
His next message appeared more slowly.
[Naruto Uzumaki: Maybe that’s why Zabuza became so important to Haku.]
[Naruto Uzumaki: Zabuza knew Haku had the kind of power everyone else was afraid of.]
[Naruto Uzumaki: But he still chose Haku.
He gave him somewhere to go.]
[Naruto Uzumaki: Even if his reasons weren’t good…
to Haku, being needed by someone probably meant everything.]
Sasuke understood immediately.
[Sasuke Uchiha: When someone has nothing left, they’ll grab the first hand reaching toward them.]
[Sasuke Uchiha: Even if they know that hand isn’t helping them out of kindness.]
Kiba stared at their messages.
[Kiba Inuzuka: You know…
you two understand Haku way too well.]
Neither Naruto nor Sasuke responded.
…
[Live Chat Group Two]
Gengetsu Hozuki was furious.
[Gengetsu Hozuki: So this is what Kirigakure became?]
[Gengetsu Hozuki: People slaughtering one another and blaming kekkei genkai for the consequences of war?]
[Gengetsu Hozuki: That’s madness!]
Yagura answered quietly.
[Yagura Karatachi: Lord Second…
those policies were carried out during my time as Mizukage.]
Another voice immediately appeared.
[Fuguki Suikazan: Lord Fourth, what were you thinking back then?]
[Fuguki Suikazan: That entire Bloody Mist system nearly tore the village apart.]
[Fuguki Suikazan: I ended up getting killed by Kisame because of everything that happened during that era!]
Yagura fell silent for a moment.
Then he revealed the truth.
[Yagura Karatachi: I wasn’t acting entirely of my own will.]
[Yagura Karatachi: Someone had placed me under a Sharingan genjutsu.]
Tobirama responded almost instantly.
[Tobirama Senju: Of course.]
[Tobirama Senju: Somehow, another disaster leads back to the Uchiha.]
Fugaku ignored the insult and focused on the important detail.
[Fugaku Uchiha: Controlling a Mizukage with genjutsu isn’t something an ordinary Sharingan should be capable of.]
[Fugaku Uchiha: That would require Mangekyō-level ocular power at the very least.]
He paused.
[Fugaku Uchiha: Given what we’ve learned…
Obito is the most likely suspect.]
Hashirama immediately turned toward Madara.
[Hashirama Senju: Madara.]
[Hashirama Senju: Was this part of your plan too?]
Madara gave a dismissive response.
[Madara Uchiha: You’re asking questions you already know I won’t answer.]