In the dense forest, Zabuza was once again caught up by the thugs.
But this ti, there was no chance left for him to escape.
"Damn it!"
Gripping a kunai in one hand and supporting Haku on his back with the other, he glared fiercely at the surrounding pursuers, who were watching him like predators eyeing their prey.
"Zabuza...sama...please put down."
"Don't worry about . I'm just your tool."
If he could buy even a little more ti for Zabuza-sama, then he would have fulfilled his role as a 'tool', wouldn't he?
Haku, whose face was frighteningly pale due to excessive blood loss, whispered weakly into Zabuza's ear, but Zabuza did not respond at all.
'Even if we were to die, we would die together.'
At this final life-or-death mont, Zabuza finally confronted his true feelings toward Haku.
He no longer saw Haku as just a 'tool', but as his 'companion'… or even 'family'.
Such words felt foreign to him, a man who had clawed his way out of the bloodiest era of Kirigakure.
But after witnessing Haku risk his life again and again to protect him, even soone as emotionally detached as Zabuza couldn't help but be moved.
"I will survive."
"I will definitely survive."
Zabuza muttered to himself, as if speaking to his own heart, or as if he was talking to Haku.
"So stop talking nonsense. You're coming with . As my most reliable 'tool', don't even think about dying before I throw you away."
He roughly grabbed Haku's belt and tied him tightly to his own body. Then, gripping a kunai in one hand and senbon in the other, he charged at the enemy.
The surrounding henchn let out strange shouts as they rushed forward.
Money blinded their hearts, especially for n like them, who had no convictions and acted purely for profit.
As long as you kill the [Demon], Momochi Zabuza, they can not only receive a reward from Gato, but they can also take Zabuza's body to Kirigakure to receive another bounty.
In their eyes, Zabuza had transford into stacks of cash, fueling their greed.
Even as the first unlucky fool who charged ahead was killed by Zabuza, the others showed no hesitation.
For them, taking off Zabuza's head was worth throwing away their fear of death.
After slashing and stabbing another thug to death, Zabuza carelessly took a cut to his left arm, the senbon in his hand clattering to the ground.
Seeing this, the remaining attackers grew even more frenzied, their eyes practically glowing with greed.
No one noticed that at this mont, a figure was standing on the top of the tree, silently observing everything unfolding below.
Watching the two figures who refused to abandon each other even in their most desperate mont, a mory from the past seed to overlap with the scene before him.
Below, Zabuza seed to realize that he had reached the end. He closed his eyes and stood still.
'How...unfair.'
But the expected pain never ca. Before he could react, a series of thud sounds echoed around him.
Zabuza imdiately opened his eyes, only to see the once-ferocious thugs now collapsed on the ground, their eyes rolled back, so even foaming at the mouth.
"What...happened?"
Zabuza's voice was hoarse. Haku, who is limited by his position on Zabuza's back, hadn't seen what occurred either.
"To be honest, I was planning to deal with you two as well."
At this ti, a familiar voice rang out from above them.
Then, a figure leaped down from the tree.
It was Naruto, the Konoha's Genin they had encountered before.
Facing this absurdly powerful Ninja again, Zabuza's pupils contracted sharply. From Naruto, he felt an overwhelming pressure.
While Naruto seed to be full of flaws, his instincts scread at him-
Any thought of attacking would lead to certain death.
"Relax."
"If I wanted to kill you, you'd already be dead."
Naruto, who was leaning against a tree, said this lightly, then walked over and reached out to untie the belt wrapped around Haku's body without any hesitation.
The mont Naruto approached, Zabuza's entire body stiffened, his instincts urging him to strike.
But fortunately, his rationality held him back.
"Why...?"
'Why spare us? Why save us?'
Zabuza had countless questions he wanted to ask.
"Do I need a reason? I did it because I felt like it."
As he spoke, Naruto reached out to remove Haku's clothes to treat his wounds.
But when he got a clear look at Haku's delicate, feminine face, he couldn't help but feel a headache coming on.
"Man, you really...look like a girl, huh?"
As his clothes were being taken off, even Haku's usual calm deanor faltered. His pale cheeks flushed slightly despite himself.
"What's there to be shy about? We're all guys here."
In Naruto's eyes, Haku is just a young boy who hadn't fully grown up yet.
While he may seem like a teenager to others now, don't forget that underneath this appearance, he is actually a middle-aged man who has already passed his thirties.
Even the rough-looking Zabuza was only 23 years old this year, and is still a 'young man' in Naruto's eyes.
Casually patting Haku's head, Naruto then pulled out a roll of bandages from who-knows-where and began carefully dressing Haku's wounds.
Watching Naruto act so familiarly, Zabuza felt like his brain couldn't keep up.
'Just the day before, we had been enemies trying to kill each other. So why was this guy now so casually treating his opponent's injuries?'
Suddenly, a roll of bandages smacked straight into Zabuza's face, snapping him out of his thoughts.
"Quit standing there like an idiot. Patch yourself up."
Seeing Zabuza still frozen, holding the bandages, Naruto gave him a look of utter disdain.
"What, you want to bandage you up too?"
After hearing this, Zabuza fell silent. After a long pause, he finally spoke in a stiff tone.
"What do you want?"
To this, Naruto's answer was simple.
He just waved his hand dismissively.
"Don't overthink it. There's nothing you can give ."
As he spoke, he finished redressing Haku's wounds and helped him back into his clothes before adding, "I've already made myself clear."
"I did this because I wanted to. There was no deeper reason, no hidden motive."
"It's just because I'm stronger than you… Stronger than both of you combined."
"Even if you don't appreciate my kindness, you have no choice but to accept it. Understand?"
As he spoke those last words, Naruto looked down at the two of them.
Though his expression remained calm, both Zabuza and Haku felt as if the young man before them had suddenly transford into an insurmountable mountain.
"Only the strong can control their own fate. The weak are controlled by the strong."
This is the core idea of Naruto's words.
Realizing this, Zabuza and Haku fell silent. There was no refuting such logic.
"Alright, starting today, you two are 'dead'. Got it?"
"I won't be this rciful every ti."
With that, Naruto lightly leaped back onto a tree branch.
"Tools, huh-"
He listened to the entire conversation between Haku and Zabuza without missing a word.
He also noticed what Haku said, who always called himself Zabuza's 'tool'.
'Then again, weren't Ninja just tools for the Daimyo of various nations?'
After relearning the general situation of the Ninja World, Naruto found himself questioning, 'Is the existence of Ninjas really necessary?'
'Even the Marines under the World Governnt had a clear purpose.'
'But Ninja seed to exist solely for the sake of killing.;
'No matter how they were dressed up… whether with the [Will of Fire] or any other ideology, their true nature couldn't be hidden.'
'Even Konoha Village, which appeared harmonious on the surface, regularly took on assassination missions.'
'There is no justice in these killings.'
'Is this how the world should be?'
'Whether it was Zabuza, the Ninja chasing him, or even Kakashi and the others… they all seed like nothing more than tools, existing only to carry out soone else's orders.'
"Dragon… maybe you were right…"
Naruto's murmur was lost to the night wind, heard by no one but himself.
Only after Naruto's figure had completely disappeared into the distance did Zabuza silently stand up again, lifting Haku onto his back once more.
The two of them set off in another direction.
For a while, neither spoke.
"Zabuza-sama..."
"Hm?"
"Let's leave this place."
"…Shut up."
"Zabuza-sama…"
"Yeah."
"Please… don't abandon ."
"…Fine."
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