Naruto and Haku could now see the owner of the voice that they heard. Naruto was asking himself if Max was one Gato goons since he had the same style as the two that he took care before.
Haku on the other hand looked at Max's eyes for a while and latter sighed.
"It was weird enough to find someone that could understand me. Now that there is another one, I can't help but to think that fate is really playing with me." Haku said as he could already understand what kind of person Max is.
"Who are you?" Naruto asked Max after a while.
Max now noticed that he revealed himself towards Haku instead of just ambush him and kill him. But he felt that it was more important for him to speak.
"I'm Max. I heard a kid in the village asking for people to help a group in this bridge. If I'm not wrong, you should be Naruto." Max said as he faced Haku.
"So what its wrong with what I said? Finding someone that needs you, that values what you are, even if its for to be used as a tool. The happiness that it gave me. What is wrong with it?" Naruto was about to said something to Max, but Haku talked first.
"It's just wrong. I'm not naïve enough to think that every human in this world is destined to be happy, but our lives just have a fundamental meaning to it." Max said what he truly believes.
"Then tell me. You already know where I find the meaning of life in, so tell me where do you believe that this meaning can be found." Haku said.
"I don't know." Max said with a serious face.
Haku was taken back by how Max answered. His believe could not be shaken by anyone, but he still wanted to hear what someone that could understand him found out.
"Then why are you arguing whit Haku about it? If you don't have anything to say, just don't but in, ya know!?" Naruto couldn't help but to comment.
"What does it matter? I feel that the answer is different as the one that he said. If I feel like that, then I shall say so." Max said back.
"That doesn't make any sense!" Naruto shouted.
Meanwhile, Haku was taking seriously about what Max had said. In his mind, there was no way that someone could have an answer as what Max had, so he was thinking how could Max think that.
Haku thought as Max and Naruto argued and suddenly came to a realization. When Haku thought about it, he thought that he could understand why Max thought like that.
"Max, right? Answer me this." Haku interumpted Naruto and Max. Both of them turned towards him and Max nooded towards Haku.
"Do you have someone important to you in your life?" Haku said and looked dead in the eye at Max.
Max thought of what Haku said and started to think about his father. He remember how they used to live in that rundown house in the village. But then he remember that day.
The note that his father left him, the two books that were left for him as obligation and pity and the days after.
'You are a Burden'
"I used to think that I had someone like that. But it turned out to fake. An illusion created for to please someone and a illusion that was taken away when it was bothersome to continue with it." Max said truthfully. He didn't know why he took his time to answer and talk to the two, but he could feel that talking with them was important for whatever reason.
"I see." Haku said as Max confirmed what he concluded. "The darkness of solitud that you, naruto and me could be said to be different, but at least I can feel that I was loved and happy at some point, which is something that you never had. Even worst, you were let to believe that you had.
Since you why can share somewhat the same pain of solitud. I think that I can now believe in what you said. It may be different as my and Naruto's answer, but I believe that the answer that you'll find should also be right."
"Now you are not making any sense!" Naruto interupted.
This interruption made Haku shuckle a little. He looked at Naruto.
"Naruto. You should be able to understand it too. What you need to do is not try to reason it, as someone that shares the same pain, feel the answer. Make it your on. Only then, you'll understand."
Naruto frowned but did as Haku said. He momentarly closed his eyes for a moment, and when he open them a different light could be seen in them.
Haku and Max noticed this.
"It seems that it really fate that brought us together to make us share what we are with one another. Since this is the case, I shall tell you another truth that me and Naruto discovered.
Do you know, that when someone has something precious in their life that they want to protect, then they'll become trully strong."
Max was taken back and got confused. He was about to say something but Haky spoke first.
"I can see that you trained a lot. Even more that I could imagine. You should have spent years training without any rest. This form of training will make strong, no doubt about that.
But true strenght can not me obtain that way. Only when you fight for something that is more than you, something that you can't hope to lose, you'll see what true strenght is.
It can be anything and anyone, it just needs to be something that is trully precious to you." Haku said witha smile.
Max couldn't help but to think of what Haku had said. He stod there thinking and thinking as he forgot everything around him.
Haku on the other hand felt happy when he saw Max thinking hard about it. He looked at the sky for a moment and then looked at Naruto with resolve.
"Naruto! It's time to end this."
Naruto flinched at the intensity of Haku.
"You'll have to kill me now."
***
In Max mind, the conversation with Haku repeated itself over and over. He felt weid inside as he thought about it.
As he closed his eyes, he could see the time he spent training. The pain in his arms as he swang his sword and katana. The sweet and blood the he shed as he pushed his body to the limits.
'But, was I really trying?'
Max felt that he was really trying. He felt that with every motion he took during training, he became stronger and stronger. Each swing of his sword could cut trees, if he gave his all he could even pierce stone.
'So why do I feel like I did 4 years ago? Why do I feel this helplessness and void? Becoming stronger should fix this, right? It should fix-.'
Suddenly he could see another him in front of him. The other him was walking away from him holding both of his weapons in each hand. But Max could see that even as he was walking, he didn't move from the spot that he was at.
'Is this really me? Was I really stuck in the same spot all this years? Why?'
'You are a Burden.'
Max felt those words cut deeply in him. He also saw how the other him staggered and stopped walking. As he stop walking, he saw that 'his' body was been pulled backwards by something. After getting pulled back a couple of steps, 'he' stood up and regained the steps that he lost.
But when he got to were he was at, the same thing happened. His body was walking but he didn't move from place.
'Was that what I was doing? Fighting back the pain, but never moving forward? Then why did I train so hard? Is strength meaningless?'
'But true strength can not me obtain that way. Only when you fight for something that is more than you, something that you can't hope to lose, you'll see what true strength is.'
Max remembered the words spoken by Haku. He didn't know why, but he felt that he could trust those words for some reason.
As Max started to reflect on those words, another thing happened to the other him. 'He' stopped walking all of the sudden an turned around. Max noticed that 'he' was facing him, but wasn't really looking at him.
Noticing this, Max turned around to see what was at his back, which was nothing. But this nothingness was different, he felt pain as he looked at this nothingness'.
'So that was it. That is what 'I' was trying to walk away from. That is what I pulled me back. I used the strength that I gained all these years just to run away from that. So that is what my 'strength' amount to.'
'Do you know, that when someone has something precious in their life that they want to protect, then they'll become truly strong.'
As he remember Haku's words, he saw that the other him holster both weapons and took a stance familiar to Max.
He had taken that stance thousands of times already so he could identify it with a glance. The 'he' facing the nothingness was about to perform Blade Wave.
'Something is different.'
Max saw that the stance was the same as the one that he always took to perform that technique, but the air around 'him' was different. As he kept observing the other him, he finally noticed what he was missing.
'So that was it. That is what I was missing.'
Max couldn't help but to mock himself as he noticed his 'flaw'. The laughed with mockery and a little sadness. But after a while, he stopped and looked a little more hopeful at the end.
'True strength. Strength capable enough of facing anything that is throw at you. Enough to face the inner devils of the hearth and win.
Now I know what to do.'
Max stopped thinking as a katana materialized in his right hand. He walked towards the other him and faced the nothingness beside 'he'. With even thinking, he took the same stance as the 'he' prepared to use Blade Wave.
But what was different know was that the air of the two was the same. Max felt that he was no longer missing what he needed.