"Zabuza, you've been unconscious for a day and a night. It was Terumi Mei-sana who brought you back."
Haku's delicate little face looked pitiful as he weakly answered Zabuza's question.
"From the hundreds of ninjas that Yagura-sama took out, only a little over a hundred came back, and they all had more or less injuries. Many of them were seriously injured and carried back."
"Zabuza, you were one of them."
"Yagura-sama....."
Haku paused, carefully observing Zabuza's face as he spoke: "The Mizukage... didn't come back yesterday."
Zabuza: "....."
After a few breaths of silence, Zabuza, with a bewildered look in his eyes, stared straight at the ceiling above.
How many ninjas died in Kirigakure village is not important to him.
What's important is that the most crucial person didn't come back alive.
That is to say, the Fourth Mizukage is probably dead.
He was killed by that Whitebeard.
"Tsk!" Zabuza muttered in a disdainful tone: "I didn't expect to be beaten by a pirate."
He had long intended to assassinate the Fourth Mizukage.
But there was never an opportunity to act.
After all, it's not that simple to assassinate a perfect Jinchuriki, whether it's poisoning or traps, they're all useless to Jinchuriki, Zabuza has been thinking about ways to do it recently.
But now he doesn't have to think about it.
The person he wanted to kill is dead beyond dead.
Zabuza, you haven't eaten anything for a day and a night,
shall I go and make some porridge for you?" Haku quietly said in Zabuza's ear.
"No need, I'm not hungry."
Zabuza spoke: "You don't need to follow me anymore, for me, you are now useless."
"Alright, then... Ah?" Haku was stunned on the spot,
his watery big eyes were covered with a layer of mist.
Haku tried to pull out a strong smile
"Za... Zabuza... You're joking, right?" Haku's voice was very choked.
And Zabuza, who was lying on the hospital bed.
At this moment, he turned his head to look at Haku.
That extremely cold and unfamiliar look in his eyes made Haku choke on the words he wanted to say.
"I adopted you, just to make you a tool to kill the Fourth Mizukage. Now that the Fourth Mizukage is dead, you are of no use to me."
"The Fourth Mizukage is dead, and I have no need to keep a brat like you. You are of no use to me, you have lost your value of use."
"In my eyes, you are no different from trash now! Do you understand? If you don't, I can tell you again."
Saying this, Zabuza's bloodthirsty aura spread out, enveloping Haku.
A bone-chilling sense of fear surged up in Haku's heart.
But no matter how great that fear was, it couldn't compare to the shock, grievance, disbelief and other emotions in Haku's heart.
"Za... Zabuza..."
plop.....
The misty big eyes could no longer hold back the tears inside, and the grievous and sad hot tears slid down his fair little face.
"Get away!" Zabuza's tone didn't change at all, his eyes were not the ones Haku was familiar with.
"Hmph, continue being an orphan! If you want to repay my kindness, stay out of my sight!"
".....Yes, Zabuza. I.....I understand."
Haku bit his tender lower lip tightly.
His lip was bitten and broken.
Blood oozed out.
Haku, who was lost and dazed, was a bit 'light-headed' when he stood up, his steps stumbled, and he almost tripped himself.
Just as he turned around and was about to walk towards the door of the ward, he couldn't help but look back.
The inner hope of staying did not happen.
All he saw was a pair of cold eyes.
Those eyes had no emotion, but they were like sharp blades, stabbing into Haku's heart, causing his body to tremble.
Haku sniffled hard.
Tears flowed uncontrollably.
Ever since being adopted by Zabuza, Haku had been prepared to be a tool. Whatever Zabuza asked him to do, he would do. Haku also felt that there was nothing wrong with being a tool, and even enjoyed being such a tool.
At least...
It meant he was useful.
But.....
Zabuza despised him for not even being able to be a tool, he had lost all value to Lord Zabuza.
Haku was completely lost.
And completely disoriented.
After gently opening the door of the ward and then gently closing it, he stood outside the door for more than half an hour, until his eyes were so dry that he couldn't squeeze out a single tear.
Haku's mood was unprecedentedly low.
Leaning against the door of the ward, he murmured softly: "If someday you need me again, Zabuza can come to find me at any time."
Inside the ward.
Hearing the sound outside, listening to the footsteps gradually going away, Zabuza's cold expression did not change at all, until he could no longer hear a bit of footsteps.
"The Fourth Mizukage is dead, the Blood Mist policy may end, Kirigakure village may get better and better. At least this village, no matter how bad it is, it won't be worse than it is now."
Zabuza finally spoke, speaking to the empty air: "There can be many meanings to your survival in this world, there is no need to follow a person like me."
"Live well! Brat!"
Just as his words fell, Zabuza's expression suddenly changed, he turned his head to look out the window with an ugly face.
A blush flashed across his cheek.
He was a bit annoyed on the spot: "How long have you been squatting here?"
"Just about ten or so minutes?" The window was opened by someone, and Biwa Juzo, who was wrapped in bandages, walked in from outside and sat directly on the windowsill.
Biwa Juzo was interested: "I didn't expect you to be such a person, this is the first time I've really seen this side of you, the mighty Demon Zabuza, can also be so 'gentle'."
"Damn it! You bastard!" Zabuza was so angry that he was smoking: "Shut up!!!"
"Alright, let's talk business. I came here to ask you one more time, and it's the last time." Biwa Juzo retracted his smile.
His expression was very serious: "Do you want to join the 'Akatsuki' organization with me?"
Zabuza frowned: "The Mizukage is dead, the Blood Mist policy may end, under these circumstances, you still want to leave Kirigakure?"
"I wanted to join Akatsuki before, with the intention of using Akatsuki's power to kill the Mizukage. But now my thoughts have changed, I want to join Akatsuki now, to kill a mysterious masked man in the Akatsuki organization who claims to be 'Uchiha Madara'!"
Biwa Juzo said coldly: "I learned some situations from Terumi Mei's mouth, the real mastermind behind the implementation of the Blood Mist policy is not Karatachi Yagura, but the mysterious masked man! I will infiltrate the Akatsuki organization to investigate everything and then kill him!"
"A masked man who claims to be 'Uchiha Madara'?"
Zabuza, lying on the bed, was taken aback.
....
"Terumi Mei! You're being too reckless!"
"Ao", who was also in the hospital with Zabuza, his arm and leg both heavily plastered, gritted his teeth and said: "Our plan has been in place for several years. Among them, there are Plan A, Plan B, and Plan C, but now none of the plans can be used.
"The key point is... we were so close! Just a little bit more and Kirigakure would have been wiped out! If it weren't for the fact that some of the ninjas were lucky and were blown away from the start, I'm afraid they would all have died in that forest."
"Even now, the Chunin and Jonin who survived in the village, added together, do not exceed 150 people! They do not exceed 150 people! Do you know what that means?"
Ao's tone was on the verge of collapse when he mentioned this.
Even such a steady man as him could hardly hold back his emotional fluctuations.
"If a few more people die, we'll be worse off than the Kusagakure Village!" Ao, who was sitting in a wheelchair, was very upset.
Who could accept such a loss!
During the Third Great Ninja War...
Kirigakure village didn't suffer such heavy losses, right?
Originally, Kirigakure village was barely at the bottom of the Five Great Ninja Villages, and now Kirigakure doesn't need to be "barely" anymore, it is the bottom of the Five Great Ninja Villages.
In fact, given the current remaining military strength of Kirigakure village, it can be called the "shame of the Five Great Ninja Villages"!
"Ahem! I think this is a case of survival from desperation."
Things have already happened, and it was because of her that they happened, and it was Terumi Mei who watched all this happen with her own eyes.
What else could Terumi Mei say?
She could only say nice things.
"That's not to say... that the village would be placed in such a desperate situation!" Ao was angry and wanted to say something, but couldn't, and finally could only sigh helplessly: "Forget it, let's think about how to restore the village."
"The only thing to be thankful for is that one of the sources of the Blood Mist policy has been eradicated. And that battle didn't happen in the village, so the village looks intact on the surface."
Saying this, Ao thought back to that apocalyptic scene, and his body shuddered violently.
In his eyes, the Fourth Mizukage, who was a perfect Jinchuriki, was already a monster among monsters.
But he didn't expect such a monster to be killed.
"Terumi Mei, are they... Whitebeard and his crew still in Kirigakure village?" Green asked curiously.
"Yes." Terumi Mei nodded. "They are all in the village."
Ao's tone was extremely serious as he analyzed the current situation: "Now our village is at its weakest. Although it's not a time of war, if other ninja villages find out what happened to Kirigakure village, they will definitely be itching to act, and it's very likely that a war will break out again."
"You mean?" Terumi Mei guessed something.
Ao suggested: "Perhaps, we could establish a deeper 'cooperative relationship' with Whitebeard-dono. As you know, Kirigakure village needs his power now, so as to deter other small fry."
"For example, the mysterious person from the 'Akatsuki' organization who you said seemed to control the Fourth Mizukage." Ao said: "Wasn't that mysterious person scared off by Whitebeard?"
Terumi Mei couldn't help but smile bitterly: "Cooperating with Whitebeard is not as simple as you think!"
No one knew better than her what would happen if they cooperated with Whitebeard.
In theory, she, Terumi Mei, should be the one in charge.
As a result, she was treated like that.
....
On the other side
"Zabuza no longer needs me... In Zabuza's eyes, I'm already a useless waste... How could this be... Why..."
Haku, in a daze, had already walked to the entrance of the hospital. The Kirigakure village's hospital didn't seem as big as the one in Konohagakure.
Haku stared blankly at the deserted street in front of the hospital entrance.
The injustice in his heart made his eyes turn red.
The Feelings of confusion lingered in his heart.
Haku didn't know, when he lost Zabuza's "need" for him, what else could he do?
What was the meaning of living on?
In the entire ninja world, besides Zabuza, who else would care about him
Those people...
Would only hate him, right?
Painful memories gradually surfaced. Haku was originally from a village in the Land of Water where it snowed all year round. His mother was a ninja with Kekkei Genkai bloodline, and his father was an ordinary villager, without any bloodline or ninja power.
Due to the Blood Mist policy's discrimination and targeting of "Kekkei Genkai" ninjas, the villagers were also affected, thinking that Kekkei Genkai ninjas would bring "disaster" and "war" to the village.
When Haku's father found out that his wife was a bloodline ninja, he led the villagers to kill Haku's mother in front of Haku.
It was also on that day, in fear and despair,
Haku awakened the Kekkei Genkai inherited from his mother.
In the end... Haku killed everyone, including his father, and became an orphan in just one night.
He begged aimlessly for survival in the Land of Water.
Until he was adopted by Zabuza.
You could say... Zabuza was a faint light in Haku's heart, this light was very faint, but it illuminated Haku's heart.
Now, the light has gone out.
Haku was confused.
Very confused.
"What should I do? Should I stay in Kirigakure village as a ninja? Or..."
Haku looked down at his palm.
This palm was even more delicate than a girl's, but it was white and pink, like white jade smeared with rouge.
A chill suddenly emerged from the palm of his hand, and an ice needle condensed out.
"Or..."
"End my life?"
Just then, a noisy voice came from afar, making Haku couldn't help but look up.
He saw a blond-haired kid rushing towards the hospital.
The kid's face was blue with suffocation, and he was holding his butt.
With a face about to collapse, he was still shouting loudly. "Doctor! Doctor! I have a stomachache! I've been to the toilet twenty times today, big sister said she's not good at treating this kind of disease, doctor! Doctor! Save me!"
Haku's clear eyes gradually began to widen.
The blond kid was not enough to make Haku so shocked.
Mainly because behind him...
There was a "giant"!
"Stupid son! Just because you ate a colorful mushroom, you're making such a fuss! You're really a disgrace to the Whitebeard Pirates!"
Whitebeard kicked Naruto's butt with a disgusted face.
This action was like kicking a small football.
He kicked Naruto towards the entrance of the hospital.
"Wahhhhh!!!" Naruto, who was kicked flying, screamed in panic, and suddenly found that there was someone in front of him.
"Quick! Get out of the way!!!"
Haku's reaction was half a beat slow.
He was hit head-on by Naruto.
Bang!!!
Haku didn't expect that a kid who looked smaller than himself would have such a great force when he flew over.
Nine-year-old Haku and six-year-old Naruto collided head-on, and Haku was directly knocked into the Kirigakure hospital by Naruto.
Naruto instinctively grabbed Haku's clothes.
The two of them immediately rolled into a ball.
They rolled on the ground for more than a dozen rounds before hitting the wall behind them. Coincidentally, Naruto just happened to cushion Haku's back.
Naruto's head hit the wall.
There was a dull "thud" sound.
Even the wall shook.
"It hurts..." Haku couldn't help but rub his bumped knee, and the next second he reacted, quickly got up from the ground, and looked at Naruto, who had hit his head against the wall, with concern: "Are you okay? Are you hurt? Do you need help?"
The dull sound of Naruto's head hitting the wall just now was unusually clear, this kind of force hitting the wall would definitely cause a concussion, right?
Haku even saw that the plaster on the wall had been cracked by the impact.
"I'm fine." Naruto also struggled to get up.
He was totally fine.
The pain in his head wasn't even as severe as the pain in his stomach. He held his churning belly, his little face full of bitterness.
"But you, you... huh?" Naruto also wanted to show some concern for Haku, after all, he knew his own "flying" force was not small.
But as soon as Naruto looked up.
He was stunned.
"What a... what a cute girl." Naruto, who was only six years old, was a bit precocious, he blurted out almost instinctively. This was the cutest girl he had ever seen in Kirigakure village, much cuter than that aunt named Terumi Mei.
Upon hearing this, Haku quickly explained softly: "I'm not a girl, I'm a boy like you."
"Oh! So... huh?" Naruto only reacted after a while, his eyes wide open.
"A boy!?"
"No, no..." Naruto was incredulous, his eyes wide and his tongue tied: "How can a boy be so cute?!"
"Eh? Hiss!" Speaking of this, Naruto remembered something, he touched his chin: "It seems that Sasuke is also quite cute, he also looks like a cute girl."
Why are all the cute girls he meets...
All boys?!
Uh!
Except for Karin.
"Are you really okay?" Haku pointed at Naruto's forehead, worried: "You're bleeding a bit here!"
"I'm fine! After all, I am Uzumaki Naruto!" Naruto showed Haku a bright smile: "In the future, I will surpass the Hokage! How could such a small wound make me feel pain?"
"Speaking of which, it wasn't my intention to knock you down, it was Pops who inexplicably gave me a kick....."
Bang...
"Ouch! It hurts, Pops!!!"
The familiar fist of love fell from above his head, Naruto knew without looking back that it was Whitebeard who had given him another hit.
The pain was so great that he couldn't maintain the bright smile on his face.
Fortunately, the first floor of the Kirigakure village hospital was quite high, even Whitebeard, who was six meters and sixty-six tall, could barely stand in it.
"Gurararararara! Foolish son!"
Whitebeard, standing behind Naruto, laughed heartily: "I didn't kick you for no reason! I was just conveniently saving a little devil who had a death wish in his heart."
Whitebeard glanced down at Haku: "You little brat who looks like a woman, the despair and death wish you emit is clearly visible!"
....
....
....
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