Chapter 31: Epilogue of the First Volume
"Cough, cough—!" Haku, who had already stopped breathing, suddenly coughed up a blood clot that had been blocking his airway and, incredibly, his faint heartbeat returned. He opened his eyes!
Haku was still alive! Sakura's jutsu might have coincidentally avoided a fatal spot, and the constitution of an Ice Style ninja allowed him to start breathing again!
"That's great, you're not dead, Haku..." Zabuza wanted to raise his hand, but he was already too weak to reach out and touch Haku's face.
"...Kakashi, Naruto, you guys... can you grant me one last request?" On the verge of death, there was no killing intent in Zabuza's eyes, only the most sincere plea.
"Take Haku with you... Look after him in my place, become... his important person in my place..." Tears flowed uncontrollably from Zabuza's eyes.
"...Tell Haku to live a good life... This is the final order of Zabuza the Demon..."
"...He must live a good life, for Zabuza the Demon's sake as well..."
"...This is the last request of my life. I'm begging you..."
And then, the light of life in the eyes of Zabuza the Demon dimmed.
From the heavens, a light drizzle began to fall.
In the very end, it was a happy ending for everyone.
The numerous thugs who wanted to avenge their client Gato and take the opportunity to rob Sakura's group charged forward menacingly, only to be thoroughly beaten up by an angry Sakura.
The little boy Inari, under the influence of Naruto's "talk-no-jutsu" aura, mustered his courage and arrived at the battlefield with a group of villagers armed with crossbows and harpoons. Although they missed the fight, it at least allowed Sakura to see that the people of the Land of Waves had regained some of their spirit. As an aside, the group of thugs that Sakura had beaten up were later detained by the villagers and were only released after they helped to finish building the bridge.
The kind and beautiful youth, Haku, after faking his death and reviving, suffered no lasting side effects, and his body was also slowly recovering.
After experiencing initial pain and confusion, he gradually walked out of the shadow of seeking death and planned to live a good life according to Zabuza's last wish.
Kakashi and the others accepted Haku because, in the clear eyes of this pure-white ninja, they saw no signs of wanting to take revenge on Team 7. Since Haku had not dealt a killing blow to Sasuke in that battle, Kakashi didn't mind giving him a chance this time.
And the facts proved that Kakashi's judgment was not wrong; Haku was indeed someone they could accept.
The only one who was a bit conflicted was Sakura. One moment she was an enemy who had nearly killed Haku with a single shot, and now she was a companion...
Sakura felt like her brain couldn't quite process it! To this, Naruto and Sasuke both expressed their lack of understanding: I was beaten like that by Haku and I don't care, so what are you, the one who nearly finished him off, still纠结 about? You're one of those people who just isn't comfortable unless they're conflicted!
In addition, Sakura also made a small fool of herself regarding Haku's gender.
That day, when they brought Haku back to Tazuna's house, Kakashi asked Sakura to apply medicine for her. Sakura blurted out, "Shouldn't you guys apply it for him? He's a boy!"
Naruto immediately looked as if he had seen a ghost. "Haku's a boy?"
Sasuke sighed with considerable regret, patted Sakura's shoulder, and said, "Sakura... I never knew your perception of gender was this warped! Not all women are as violent as you!"
Then, unsurprisingly, he received an angry bonk on the head from Sakura.
It was Kakashi who saw the truth. He glanced at Haku's chest and said meaningfully, "Sakura, judging a person by their chest is a bad habit! Actually..." Kakashi turned his head and said to Sakura mysteriously, "She just binds her chest, she's not actually flat-chested!"
"Also," Kakashi also sighed, glanced at Sakura's own lacking area, and patted her shoulder. "Not all women develop a chest when they grow up."
"Be mentally prepared."
Sakura: "..."
Outside, a light drizzle was falling.
The same kind of drizzle as the day Zabuza died.
The white-clothed girl with black hair and black eyes sat quietly under the eaves, watching the rain fall from the high heavens, a trace of deep-seated sorrow hidden in her delicate brows.
Sakura sighed softly, looking at her with a bit of heartache. She quietly walked up behind Haku, rested her chin on her shoulder, and hugged her—
"Haku-neechan, can you tell me what you're thinking?"
"...At that time, when I was being stepped on, I was actually almost awake... Hearing what Zabuza-san said, hearing those words that he cared about me... I was so happy, so happy... Why was I the only one who woke up in the end? Why couldn't I have followed Zabuza-san to hell at that time... If I could be with Zabuza-san, I would be willing to go to hell with him... Why... why was I the only one left behind..."
Tears of confusion streamed from her eyes. Haku Yuki was still deeply troubled by the matter of living alone!
"...When Zabuza-san discovered you were still alive, a happy smile appeared on his face. Perhaps it was the only time in his life! Although his ideals and his life were about to end, he still smiled because of you. Then he gave you all his hopes, hoping you would live on, ordering you to live a good life, because he had entrusted his share to you. So he ordered you to live enough for two people from now on, to reap a double share of happiness..."
This was the most artistic answer Sakura could squeeze out of her brain.
"Live on, for Zabuza-san's sake..."
Haku silently repeated this sentence, completely unaware that Sakura had already taken off her top.
"The wound is healing very well," Sakura said, untying the bandage. The wound on the girl's chest was recovering nicely, leaving only a small red mark. A faint, pleasant fragrance gradually filled the air. "Does it hurt?"
"It still hurts a little," Haku finally came back to her senses. "W-wait, Haruno-san! Please don't do this...!"
"This is a necessary medical examination...!"
Hmm, after fooling around like this, I suddenly don't feel conflicted anymore! Sakura thought silently.
Wait a minute? How did Kakashi know she wasn't flat-chested?
Then she quickly arrived at the answer: He is, after all, a ninja who reads Icha Icha Paradise every day!
In the distance, Kakashi, who was supervising the work on the bridge, suddenly sneezed. He rubbed his head. Who's bad-mouthing me?
And so, the mission in the Land of Waves came to an end.