Haku

**Haku** (白) is an orphan from the Land of Water, and a descendant of the Yuki clan. He later became a shinobi under Zabuza Momochi's tutelage whom he later partnered with, ultimately becoming a Mercenary Ninja. After his death, he was resurrected

## Background

Haku was born in a small, snowy village in the Land of Water, a land that had suffered from war not long before. In this war, different sides battled each other using ninja, some of whom possessed kekkei genkai. After the war ended, memories of the horrific battles still lingered in the minds of the people. Those with kekkei genkai quickly became feared and hated for their abilities, out of concern that their existence would only bring about more war.

Haku's father and mother were simple farmers, and they lived a peaceful life. They loved each other, and were kind to their child. Unfortunately, this would all change. Haku's mother was a wielder of a kekkei genkai: Ice Release. She hid this fact from her husband, hoping that the love and peace that was shared in their small family would last forever. One day, Haku discovered the ability to manipulate water. Amazed by this, Haku proudly showed this to his mother, who was horrified by what she saw. She harshly scolded and slapped Haku for displaying his ability, though she tearfully apologised to him immediately afterwards. Unbeknownst to them, Haku's father had seen everything from the shadows. When Haku's father discovered that his wife and child possessed a kekkei genkai, he assembled a small mob of villagers. With tears flowing down his eyes, he killed his wife. He then attempted to kill Haku. But before he could, Haku used his Ice Release to create several large ice spikes to kill his father and the rest of the mob.

Orphaned, Haku became a child who was wanted by no one and was forced to take to the cold streets and rummage through trash bins for scraps of food, even sometimes having to fight off the wild dogs that roamed the streets. In time, he was confronted by Zabuza Momochi, a man who had "the same eyes" as him. Zabuza later asked Haku to become his "weapon," which meant to become a dedicated shinobi for Zabuza. Haku readily accepted this role, due to the purpose it gave him, and devoting his life to becoming the ultimate tool for Zabuza to use. In the anime, upon leaving the Land of Water, Haku and Zabuza met Kimimaro. Haku appeared to sympathise with Kimimaro for his loneliness and lack of purpose by looking into his eyes. However, he was forced to keep moving by Zabuza, and left Kimimaro to be. Zabuza then trained Haku in the ways of the shinobi, as well as every fighting technique that he knew.

## Personality

Haku was a good-hearted, compliant, and eager shinobi, believing that a person becomes truly strong when they have someone important to protect. Despite his talent for battle, and incredible abilities, Haku disliked needing to kill others in his role as a tool, and avoided doing so whenever possible. When forced to face an opponent, Haku did all that he could to avoid inflicting great harm, even putting them into a death-like state to prevent them from fighting further, as he did to Sasuke during their battle. Before he met Zabuza, he suffered from a belief that he was unnecessary, and served Zabuza because he wanted to feel useful. His loyalty to Zabuza at times even appeared akin to seeing Zabuza as a father as upon hearing from Kakashi how much Zabuza actually cared for Haku, the boy cried in joy at learning this. Because of Haku's pure, kind-hearted personality, Zabuza believed, despite his deeds as his tool, Haku would be able to thrive in heaven while he was condemned to hell. As he was so devoted to Zabuza, he was quick to anger to those he perceived as disrespecting of him, breaking Gatō's arm and threatening Zōri and Waraji with their own swords when they tried to attack him.