When Haku heard these words, his heart trembled. He launched an even fiercer attack, a storm of Senbon needles raining down on Naruto.
Naruto blocked only with basic taijutsu, every movement precise. The Senbon needles whizzed past him, yet not a single one managed to harm him in the slightest.
This absolute disparity in strength made Haku's attacks seem ridiculously comical.
"You're angry," Naruto said, easily deflecting the attacks, "because I've hit upon the deepest fear in your heart."
"I'm not!" Haku's voice trembled. "I am Zabuza-sama's tool! My reason for existing is to fight for him!"
"You're just fighting for his dream?"
Naruto stopped all his blocking movements.
He stood quietly in place, allowing countless Senbon needles to pass through every gap in his body, yet not a single one truly touched him.
This was not evasion.
It was a premonition.
A optimal standing position derived from precise calculations based on the enemy's attack patterns, psychological state, and even Chakra flow trajectories.
In Haku's eyes, Naruto was like an ancient, unchanging reef.
And the storm he unleashed was nothing more than futile waves crashing against the reef, changing nothing but splashing some meaningless foam.
This feeling of powerlessness suffocated Haku more than any fierce counterattack.
"Is there anything wrong with fighting for his dream?!"
Haku's voice rose, a hint of unnoticed wavering in its sharpness.
His attack frequency became faster and denser, as if he wanted to prove the correctness of his words in this way.
"What is his dream?"
Naruto asked, his tone as calm as if he were inquiring about the weather.
"Zabuza-sama's dream..."
Haku's words caught in his throat.
"It's to change that bloody Hidden Mist Village! It's to establish a new order where children no longer have to kill each other to survive!"
He almost roared these words, as if trying to convince Naruto, and even more so, himself.
"A very good goal."
Naruto nodded in agreement.
"So, in order to achieve this noble goal of 'establishing a new order,' what is his current concrete action plan?"
"Action plan?"
Haku was stunned.
This term was beyond his comprehension.
"It's the series of steps and plans he's taking to achieve the ultimate goal of 'changing the Hidden Mist Village,'" Naruto explained.
"He's working for that dirty merchant Gato, accumulating funds, then recruiting soldiers and horses, preparing to launch a coup."
Haku immediately replied, this was the path he had always firmly believed in.
"Very good."
Naruto nodded again.
"The first step of the plan is to accumulate funds. The method of execution is to become a henchman for a black-hearted capitalist, assassinating an old man who wants to bring hope to this country."
"Does this action logically conflict with his ultimate goal of 'establishing a new order'?"
Naruto's question was like a cold scalpel, precisely cutting open the shell Haku had wrapped in belief.
"This... this is a necessary sacrifice! It's a temporary means taken for a greater goal!"
Haku's defense seemed pale and powerless.
"Necessary sacrifice."
Naruto repeated the phrase.
"Then, you, Haku. As his sharpest weapon, are you, this 'tool,' also a part of the 'necessary sacrifice'?"
"I'm willing! I'm willing to offer everything to Zabuza-sama!"
Haku's emotions became agitated.
"Willing is a very subjective word."
Naruto took a step forward.
All the reflections in the ice mirrors rippled imperceptibly because of his step.
"Let's evaluate it in a more objective way."
"You possess the Bloodline Limit 'Ice Release,' you master the secret jutsu called 'Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals,' and you have extremely high movement speed and precise attack capabilities."
"Your overall tactical value is very high."
Naruto stated the analysis results without any emotion.
"And Zabuza Momochi, your master, how does he use you, this 'high-value strategic weapon'?"
"He makes you conduct long-term reconnaissance, disguise yourself as a Kirigakure, recover his 'corpse,' and now, trap a Genin who doesn't have much impact on the battle."
Naruto glanced at Sasuke next to him.
Sasuke's body instantly tensed; these words were a naked insult to him.
But he couldn't refute them.
Because from the beginning of the battle until now, he really hadn't played any decisive role.
"Do these tasks maximize your value?"
Naruto stared into Haku's eyes.
"Or rather, isn't this a kind of... waste of resources?"
"Shut up!"
Haku roared, all the ice mirrors shaking violently.
"You don't understand! You don't understand the bond between me and Zabuza-sama at all!"
"I understand."
Naruto's voice was not loud, but it clearly overpowered Haku's roar.
"I understand 'loyalty.'"
"In the place I was before, loyalty was a soldier's most precious quality. It meant obedience, it meant sacrifice, it meant placing the collective will above personal life and death."
"But loyalty does not equal foolishness."
Naruto took another step forward, his hand almost touching one of the ice mirrors.
"A qualified soldier, upon receiving a clearly erroneous order that would doom the entire squad, or even affect the entire battle, has the right, and the obligation, to question it."
"This is not betrayal, this is responsibility."
"And you, Haku, you have abandoned the responsibility of thinking."
"You have completely bound your will to a flawed decision-maker. This is not loyalty; it is self-destruction."
"You are not fighting for his dream."
Naruto said, enunciating each word carefully.
"You are accompanying him towards a destined failure."
"Your so-called loyalty, its ultimate value, is to die meaninglessly with him."
These words, like a bolt from the blue, struck Haku's heart fiercely.
His proudest, sole belief that sustained his existence, was, at this moment, torn to shreds by this blond youth with the most cruel language.
"No... it's not..."
His voice trembled, and the Senbon attacks had, unknowingly, completely stopped.
The cage formed by the ice mirrors began to become unstable, with even signs of melting at the edges.
Kakashi and Zabuza outside also felt the change here.
"Haku! What are you doing?!"
Zabuza's roar came from the dense fog, filled with anxiety and unease.
He found himself inextricably entangled by Kakashi, unable to break free to check the situation.
Kakashi was equally shocked.
What on earth did Naruto say in there?
He actually managed to shake the will of such a powerful Ninja with just words?
How should this be described? Talk no Jutsu?
Inside the ice mirrors.
Sasuke stared blankly at everything.
For the first time, he so intuitively felt how terrifying that "pure will" Naruto spoke of truly was.
Every word from Naruto was like a cannonball, precisely hitting the enemy's weakest point.
He wasn't fighting; he was performing a surgical "soul extraction."
"You are in great pain."
Naruto calmly stated, looking at Haku, who was on the verge of a mental breakdown.
"Because in your subconscious, you already knew that what I said was true."
"You had already discovered the loopholes in Zabuza's plan, and you had already felt uneasy about relying on someone like Gato."
"But your 'loyalty' made you afraid to think, afraid to question."
"You fear that once this bubble is burst, the meaning of your existence will instantly collapse."
Naruto finally reached out his hand and gently pressed it against the cold mirror.
A cold, authoritative, and unquestionable will instantly flowed from his palm into the core of the entire Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals.
This was not Chakra.
This was the power of "judgment" from another world, belonging to an Imperial Political Commissar.
Haku trembled violently; he felt as if his soul was clutched by an invisible hand, placed before a supreme court, forced to scrutinize everything about himself.
All lies, all self-deception, had nowhere to hide at this moment.
"Now, answer me, Haku."
Naruto's voice seemed to come from all directions, carrying a sacred and cold majesty.
"Are you loyal to the person 'Zabuza Momochi,' or to his dream of 'establishing a new order'?"
This question, like a key, directly entered the core keyhole of Haku's mental shackles.
Beneath Haku's mask, there was a suppressed, painful gasp.
His worldview was collapsing and restructuring.
Naruto waited quietly.
He knew that this weapon named "Haku" was about to complete its first "logical reconstruction."
And he would be the new master of this weapon.
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