The sight of a heart being pierced carried a visceral shock that no one in the ninja world could easily withstand.
For a long, breathless moment, the entire world fell into silence.
Whether it was elite shinobi locked in deadly combat, officials buried in paperwork in distant offices, or ordinary villagers walking along crowded streets, every single person froze in place. They were shaken by the sheer brutality and unwavering devotion unfolding before their eyes.
"How… how could he…" Sakura whispered, unable to finish the sentence.
She simply could not comprehend it.
Only moments earlier, Zabuza had declared with chilling indifference that Haku was nothing more than a tool. And yet now, that so-called tool had thrown himself into the path of death without hesitation, offering up his life to protect the very man who denied his humanity.
What kind of bond could possibly give birth to something like this?
On the bridge in the Land of Waves, even the air itself felt frozen.
Kakashi stared at the lightning-shaped strike that had pierced Haku's body. It was his own jutsu, Raikiri. The event had not truly happened yet, but the vividness of the vision was overwhelming. He could feel the phantom sensation of flesh and bone tearing apart, as though the scene were unfolding in front of him, not on a sky-borne screen.
"To protect Zabuza… he didn't even care about his own life?" Kakashi murmured, the Sharingan reflecting a tangle of emotions he could not begin to unravel.
Naruto was completely stunned, staring blankly upward, his mind swallowed by shock.
Haku himself, upon seeing his own future death, had instead grown strangely calm.
He turned, looking at the astonished Zabuza beside him, and a faint, serene smile touched his lips.
"Good… Lord Zabuza. It seems I succeeded in protecting you. I have fulfilled my role as your tool."
His voice was soft, yet Zabuza heard every word.
Zabuza's body trembled. Slowly, stiffly, he turned toward Haku, but for the first time in his life, he could not bring himself to meet the boy's eyes. The relief on Haku's face felt like an invisible fist closing around Zabuza's heart.
It hurt. It hurt more than any blade ever had.
The vision continued to shift.
In the future shown on the screen, Kakashi withdrew his arm. Haku's body crumpled quietly to the ground.
Zabuza stared at the cooling corpse with a blank expression. His gravelly voice broke the silence.
"Well done, Haku."
The moment those words left his mouth, the ninja world erupted.
"What is wrong with him?"
"His comrade died for him, and that is all he has to say?"
"He really is a monster. Absolutely heartless."
Angry shouts filled the air. Even ninja who previously agreed with the idea of the tool-and-master relationship now felt a chill spreading through their bones.
It was one thing to speak of tools. It was another to watch one willingly die for its master, only for the master to remain cold and unmoved.
This was cruelty in its purest form, and they could not bear it.
On the screen, someone was even angrier.
"You bastard!"
The future Naruto, still young but burning with righteous fury, let out a raw cry. He was like a cornered cub baring its fangs at a predator.
His eyes were bloodshot, tears merging with falling rain. His tiny fists shook with rage.
"He… he cared about you so much. He gave up his life for you!"
"Why… why aren't you sad? Not even a little?"
"He died for you. He never got to see his dreams come true. And even in death, you call him a tool. That is… that is too cruel!"
Every word Naruto shouted struck viewers like a hammer blow. The final sentence captured what every witness felt in their hearts.
Too cruel.
On the bridge in the present moment, Naruto watched his future self trembling with fury and felt the same burning anger rising inside him. He turned and glared at Zabuza, his eyes aflame with emotion identical to the boy on screen.
"You bastard!"
Zabuza ignored him entirely.
His gaze was locked on the projection above. Every accusation from the future Naruto was like a sharpened kunai carving into his chest.
Cruel. Yes. It was cruel.
He had always known that the shinobi life was soaked in blood, sacrifice, and merciless rules. That was the way of the world.
But hearing a simple, ignorant child speak the truth so plainly… it created a fracture deep within the heart he had long tried to hide.
"Master Zabuza…"
Haku, in the present, could no longer hold back his tears.
Watching the cold expression his future self faced, hearing Naruto's agonizing condemnation, he felt his heart break.
He saw his own end.
He did not fear death.
He only feared one thing: that Zabuza would carry the pain alone.
Because Haku knew better than anyone that Zabuza was not truly heartless. Beneath the mask of the Demon of the Bloody Mist was a soul far gentler than he dared show the world.
And this death… his death… would shatter that hidden gentleness.
"Hahaha. Perfect."
Just as sorrow thickened the air, an ugly laugh rose from the riverbank.
Everyone turned.
Gato, the short and bloated merchant, stood surrounded by hired thugs. He pointed arrogantly toward the sky-screen, sneering.
"A tool breaks, you throw it away. Isn't that obvious? That boy dying saved me money. What a convenience."
His loud, grating laugh stabbed through the heavy atmosphere like a rusted blade.
Gato's mockery ignited the world's anger all at once.
Before anyone could respond, however, the screen shifted again.
Rain began to fall.
Cold droplets washed the blood from the bridge. Zabuza stood unmoving, water soaking his hair and cloth wrappings.
The camera zoomed in.
A single drop slid down his cheek.
Then another.
It was impossible to tell whether it was rain or…
And then the lens focused.
Through the frayed gaps in his bandages, a single clear tear escaped from the corner of Zabuza's eye.
One tear.
The Demon of the Bloody Mist was crying.
The man forged from cruelty and carnage, the man who slaughtered his own classmates, the man who preached the heartlessness of the tool doctrine… was crying.
The ninja world stopped breathing.
Every insult, argument, and accusation evaporated.
People stared wide-eyed at the magnified image of a monster who, for the first time, looked painfully human.
That single tear carried more weight than all the death and violence that came before.
"Kid…"
Zabuza's voice echoed softly across the world.
It no longer sounded cold or emotionless. It trembled with pain.
"Your words cut deeper than any blade."
"Haku… you stayed by my side all these years."
"How… how could you think I would not want to follow you to the same place?"
The world shattered.
Everything people believed about him collapsed.
He was not a monster.
He did feel pain.
He did grieve.
And he had never once considered Haku replaceable.
Behind the mask of a demon had always been a man who cared so deeply it could break him.
The revelation overturned the beliefs of countless ninja and shook the world to its core.