Hey, I have 50 chapters worth of words on Patreon and am mass-releasing, so read these instructions carefully if you're interested in reading ahead: go to patréon.com/eternalyujin and go to Collections —> The Cycle of Hatred.
After that, enjoy your reading!
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Haku often pondered the philosophy of shinobi. Strictly speaking, she wasn't a shinobi; she hadn't studied under any hidden village nor taken on the titles that rendered her as one. She was a civilian, but for circumstances beyond her control, the world had forced her to become a shinobi in all but name.
Her hand traced the mask fastened to her head.
"Even this…" she muttered, finger trailing across the red patterning.
It belonged to a hunter from the Mist's ANBU sent after them a few years ago. Usually, Zabuza would have dispatched them as he did with all the other hunters, but instead, he ordered Haku to do it; called it a final test seeing that she had learned all the Demon Brothers had to offer.
But she saw it for what it was—he wanted her to take another's life. He took her in when no one would and gave her purpose; for Zabuza, she would kill without question, but being willing to kill and able to kill were two different things.
In the end, it wasn't her but Zabuza who took the hunter's life. Gozu and Meizu teased her for it, and Zabuza glared, but neither of them ever disparaged her for it. She wondered what that meant when she was alone; in the end, it mattered very little. Mercy was a luxury, and soon, the gap would be close enough that it wouldn't be an option.
Maybe her master and teachers knew this. Maybe their laughter was on the part of her ignorance.
She nibbled her bottom lip and stayed on the periphery of the current battle. Would today be one of those times?
Haku shook her head, once again breaking the Leaf genin's momentum with a shower of well-aimed senbon. The symbols gleaming off their foreheads brought a series of memories to the front of her mind, but she squashed them before his face came to mind.
Her eyes focused on the biggest threat out of the three genin. The blond boy was the obvious leader, using his ninjutsu to thwart Gozu and Meizu's poisoned chain. If allowed to do as he pleased, the others wouldn't hesitate to kill her allies.
Haku came to a decision and flew across the battlefield, armed with four senbon and a curved knife in her offhand. The blond boy reacted immediately, abandoning his hand signs to spring back and deflect the volley. In the next exchange, she realised he was as fast as her and backed away.
Close-range combat was tantamount to suicide. She was strong, but her strength paled in comparison to her speed. The blond boy, however, possessed monstrous physical strength. Fitting another batch of senbon between her fingers, Haku formed seals with her free hand and a dozen more needles materialised using the vapour in the air.
She glanced at the ruined outpost in concern. There was more vapour in the air than usual, and dark plumes writhed skyward, standing out against the pink-hued sky. That moment's distraction was all her opponent needed to close the distance at blinding speeds.
He wasn't as fast as her—he was faster. His left hand came swinging, and she swayed back, barely avoiding a swipe from his kunai.
She felt it cut along her mask but succeeded in creating some distance and launched two dozen water needles at him. They were broken apart against a compressed gale, exploding in a shower, dousing the tall grass between them. The morning dew glistened, and it was cold enough that she could see his breath misting in front of his face.
An idea came to mind, then; Haku sent a chakra-coated senbon whizzing to his face. He leaned off-centre, but it ripped through the remaining vapour left on his breath, coalescing into a water needle and stabbing him. The blond boy twisted out of the way enough that it cut his forehead instead of puncturing his eyes.
Blood trickled down the blond boy's face, mingling with the sweat and grime. Haku noted his sharp intake of breath, the way his eyes flickered with both pain and fury at having nearly lost his eye. He charged forward faster than before. Haku barely had time to react, instinctively raising her arms to block the barrage of punches and kicks.
Unable to run, she parried his blows, feeling the force of his attacks reverberate through her slender frame. Her mind raced, seeking an opening. The blond boy was relentless, each strike more powerful and precise than the last. Haku spun on her heel, deflecting a kick aimed at her ribs and countering with a swift swipe of her curved knife.
The blade caught the edge of his sleeve, tearing at the mail sleeve but failing to draw blood. He retaliated with a knee to her midsection, and Haku doubled over, gasping as the wind was knocked out of her. She stumbled back, creating a momentary gap between them. Her hand moved in a blur in her panic, forming a series of seals.
Ice began to form around her, separated at first, but coalesced in an instant as a protective barrier that she hoped would buy her enough time to regroup. The blond boy hesitated for a fraction of a second, then lunged, creating a spiderweb of cracks in the barrier with one punch.
He shattered its front face with the second.
Shards flew in all directions, catching the light and shimmering like deadly fragments of glass. Haku ducked under his wild swing, her heart pounding in her chest. She couldn't afford to let him get too close again. He hurled a kunai at her but she weaved around it, slashing at his back before disappearing again just as quickly.
If she stopped her onslaught, he'd gather more chakra and use what she finally realised was chakra enhancement. His strength was still a notch above hers, but they equally matched in speed so long as he couldn't increase it using his technique.
Haku once again darted in under the cover of water needles, aiming for an incapacitating stab. The boy twisted at the last second, her blade grazing his shoulder instead of sinking deep into flesh.
He whirled around, blue eyes blazing with determination.
He closed the distance between them in what felt like an instant, grabbing her wrist and twisting it. Haku cried out, the knife slipping from her grasp. He yanked her forward with his other hand forming a fist aimed at her face.
She dropped to the ground, rolling away just in time to avoid the punch but before she could capitalise on the opening, Haku heard a cry that stopped them in their tracks for very different reasons.
"Naruto!"
The blond boy stiffened at the cry and gave her a cautious look, even as his eyes flitted to his comrades. He launched into a series of hand seals and immediately exhaled a massive gust strong enough that she could see its shape.
Haku countered immediately with Water-Release: Water Bomb, just about countering the jutsu. A light gale tousled her tied-back hair, and the grass below her drooped under the weight of her ninjutsu.
She blitzed over to her teammates, keeping the battle at bay with her presence. Her opponent did the same, standing guard over his injured teammates, allowing the dark-haired girl to attend to him.
"Haku," Gozu growled, his straight hair sticking to his forehead protector, "what are you doing? Why are you holding back!"
Meizu raised his unarmed hand placatingly and nodded at her. "Kid, I get you weren't raised in the Bloody Mist like us and Zabuza were, so but you can't afford to hold back."
She nodded numbly, hearing their words but not truly listening.
How could she when there was a chance—an infinitesimally small chance—but a chance that the boy she was fighting and nearly killed… might be her friend's son; with that realisation, all the fight left her body, vanishing just as easily as she had dispelled his—no, Naruto Uzumaki's—wind-release ninjutsu.
Haku met his eyes, remembering a conversation she'd had aeons ago.
"We also look nothing alike. He's got blond hair and blue eyes."
"I wonder how you explain your relationship to people," she smiled. "What's his name, if you don't mind me asking?"
"It's Naruto."
"Haku," Meizu shook her by the shoulder roughly, "get your head in the game, goddamn it."
She swallowed hard and nodded. "R-Right."