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Chapter 179 Dignity in Defeat, Mercy in Victory
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Secret Technique: Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals.
A sound like shattering glass echoed across the mist-drenched bridge.
Twelve perfect mirrors bloomed into existence, rising out of the frozen mist like lotus petals made of ice. They spiraled around Naruto, forming a dome of crystalline death. Each one catching and reflecting not just his form, but Haku's as well.
The air hissed as the temperature plummeted.
Frost curled along the Elite Knight pauldrons hugging Naruto's shoulders. His breath steamed, and the mist turned to rime beneath his boots.
Naruto exhaled slowly, murmuring a quiet thanks to Sasuke for teaching him fire chakra manipulation. Sasuke had intended for him to use it for the Fireball Jutsu, but the young knight had repurposed it, channeling a steady stream of heat around his armor. The warmth insulated his body, helping his cold-blooded system function properly in the freezing air.
"I'm sorry," Haku's voice rang out, gentle as snowfall. "But I'm going to have to kill you."
Naruto didn't respond immediately. His eyes flicked from mirror to mirror. The Way of Focality hummed behind his hawkeyes, whispering something was off. The motion between attacks, the position resets... there were discrepancies.
Then, a blur.
Haku's image launched from the left mirror.
Naruto tried to sidestep, but it was too late. A kunai screeched across his breastplate, scraping sparks over the enchanted metal.
Shit.
Haku vanished into another mirror and performed another strike.
Naruto pivoted, fist flashing, but there was nothing there. "What the hell?" he muttered, pulling a black-edged rapier from his inventory with a snap of compressed space.
"You're a greatsword user," Haku said from everywhere at once. "Why the switch?"
Naruto slid into a low duelist's stance, one arm back, tip forward. "If I use the Zweihander," he said calmly, "you die in three seconds."
The ice quivered.
"I've spent a long time preparing for you. If I fought seriously, you'd be dead before the first breath left your lungs. And honestly? That'd be boring. So let's play a little. I want to see what you can do before I take your soul."
Haku didn't laugh. He didn't think it was arrogance. He just moved.
Attack. Attack. Feint. Attack.
Each Haku launched forward in a staggered rhythm. Not quite simultaneous, but enough to disorient. Wind-infused kunai sliced toward Naruto's head, hips, neck. Each cut intended to bleed or blind, not kill.
Naruto leaned just enough for each strike to glance. He could feel the wind chakra wrapped around Haku's kunai. To counter it, Naruto began channeling his own wind chakra into the Elite Knight armor itself, reinforcing the metal so that the moment Haku's blades struck, the energies would clash and cancel out.
It worked.
But it also meant his body had to deal with the stupid cold.
Naruto's eye twitched. I need to figure this jutsu out quickly and counter it...
A kunai grazed his thigh.
He lunged forward and stabbed a mirror, and Haku was gone before the blade even reached the surface.
He frowned.
You're not teleporting. You're transmitting... like light.
Haku appeared again, this time behind him.
CLANG!
Naruto parried blindly over his shoulder, sparks screaming as rapier met kunai. Then he spun with dancer's grace, stabbing mid-spin at a second angle. The tip of his blade nicked Haku's sleeve.
Haku vanished back into the mirrors.
The boy inside the dome wasn't grinning. He was calculating.
"I'm tracking your moment of exit," Naruto said, slowly. "There's a delay between the strike and your return. Not much. But enough."
Haku hesitated.
For the first time, there was a gap between attacks.
Naruto used it. He plunged the rapier into the ground. The blade hummed with chakra. He'd laced it with wind.
A pulse.
A sonic hum exploded through the frozen mist, rippling into the mirrors like a radar ping. Naruto's eyes sharpened. A single mirror vibrated too long. Too late.
"There."
He threw a kunai at a mirror.
BOOM.
The kunai detonated with an explosive seal as shrapnel splintered upward, catching Haku mid-transition. One shard tore a line down his thigh before he fell back into the mirror. Blood hit the ice.
Naruto's armor hissed with fire chakra, burning off frost before it could sap his mobility. He surged forward. No wasted movement. Rapier stabbing straight into the mirror.
Haku phased out.
But Naruto was learning. He feinted. Let the blade glide past the next mirror, then twisted, reversed grip, and stabbed behind him.
Haku yelped as the edge grazed his hip.
"You're not fast," Naruto said softly. "You're predictable."
"You... figured it out so quickly," Haku whispered, now breathing harder. His kunai dripped with chakra, but even they were starting to dull from Naruto's reinforced armor.
Haku launched another strike, this time with three wind-infused kunai at once, weaving them in a spiral pattern meant to blind and skewer.
Naruto deflected one. Let the second bounce off his hip. Then he moved into the third, shoulder-first.
It hit him dead-on.
But his reinforced armor didn't even have a scratch left behind.
Naruto strangely threw the rapier back into his inventory. In its place, he summoned a new weapon.
The +5 Uchigatana.
A black blade shimmered under the mirrored dome. It hissed faintly, as though remembering every soul it had cut through. Naruto exhaled slowly and shifted into a defensive stance with his feet shoulder-width apart, sword low, angled, edge pointed slightly forward.
Haku surged forward, vanishing in a blur of motion.
Ting.
Naruto's arm didn't move more than a centimeter, but the edge of his blade deflected Haku's kunai cleanly, sending the boy skidding across the dome. Another blur at another angle.
Ting.
Again deflected. Then another. Then another.
The sound of metal-on-metal echoed like wind chimes in a graveyard. Every time Haku struck, Naruto met it with minimal movement and maximum precision, cutting only where he needed to, never more.
Haku was no longer attacking. He was watching, slack-jawed behind his mask.
"I figured out your mirror technique," Naruto said casually, not even winded. "You use the reflections between the ice panels as a light channel, bouncing images and chakra through them to project your presence from one surface to another."
Haku's eyes widened behind the mask.
"But it's more than that," Naruto continued. "You don't just send a clone. You send a chakra apparition, which acts as a medium for your mass to reattach once it reaches its destination. Very efficient."
Haku's breathing grew heavier.
"But…" Naruto's eyes narrowed. "Since your body moves at relativistic speeds, you can't track your own position once you initiate. Your eyes can't keep up. Your attacks all come in perfectly straight lines. Linear. No mid-course correction."
Haku was stunned. He had trained for years. No one—not even the elite of Kirigakure—had cracked the true principle behind Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals. But this boy had read it in battle.
"W-Why are you telling me this?" Haku asked, shaken. "You're not supposed to explain how you beat someone."
Naruto smiled, tapping his temple. "I figured if I showed you how smart I am and dismantled your jutsu, you'd reveal something new. Something better."
"And if I can't?" Haku asked, voice brittle.
Naruto vanished.
Every mirror lit up simultaneously with an afterimage. Then the blade came down.
Wind Style: Vacuum Blade.
A swirling vortex of slicing air surged along the length of the Uchigatana. Then a second surge of deep red wind spun around it. The Nahr Alma's Sigil had activated, turning the wind chakra into a blood-colored spiral. The blade howled.
SHHRRKKKK!
It cut through the mirror like it was made of paper.
Haku jumped away just in time, but the tip nicked his thigh.
A shimmer erupted beneath his skin. A burning sigil branded itself across his body, pulsing like molten wire. Haku gasped as a dozen hair-thin gashes opened across his body, blood spurting from nowhere.
[Name: ?]
[HP: 50/300]
Naruto glanced at the HUD. Huh. Mask must be interfering with your name readout.
He looked back at the bleeding shinobi.
Naruto raised an eyebrow, briefly wondering if the enemy's name wasn't displayed because of the mask. A minor curiosity. He didn't care enough to press it. What mattered was the bloody mess collapsed on the bridge, barely clinging to consciousness.
"I hope that's not all," Naruto said coldly. "Because if that's your best…"
His gaze hardened.
"…I'm going to be very disappointed."
Behind his silence, memories replayed every torment, every trial, every monster he had clawed past in Lordran to get this strong.
And if this... if this was all his enemy had to offer, then it wasn't just disappointing.
It was insulting.
Meanwhile, Haku's eyes quivered in fear, doubt, and dread. He had faced powerful shinobi before, but this wasn't a shinobi.
This was a monster.
And if this monster marched beside Kakashi… Zabuza-sama would die. Haku's hands clenched. His resolve hardened. I won't let that happen.
With shaking fingers, he pulled a black capsule from inside his sleeve. A chakra pill used only by Mist ninja during suicide missions. Once ingested, it would flood his body with chakra… but at the cost of cell stability, heart strain, and possible total organ failure.
He bit down.
Crack.
The air exploded.
A freezing shockwave of chakra burst out of Haku's body, tearing through the snow around him like a gale. The frost deepened. Crystals formed midair. His breath came out in clouds thick as smoke. Even the shattered remains of the earlier mirrors started reforming into jagged ice pillars from the sheer ambient chakra.
[Name: ?]
[HP: 200 / 300]
Across the bridge, Naruto grinned behind his helmet. "Now that's more like it."
He sheathed the Uchigatana and flickered forward, thrusting a straight jab at Haku's core.
Crack!
An ice mirror surged into existence mid-punch. Ripples traveled outward from the impact like a gong had been struck.
Naruto's smile widened beneath his helm. "Not bad."
He channeled chakra into his arm. Bracing, grounding, and shattering the mirror with a second burst of strength. But Haku had already vanished into the swirling mist of his next jutsu.
Ice Style: Yuki-Onna.
A blizzard erupted inside the dome. Howling winds and biting snow enveloped Naruto from every direction. It was more than just disorienting, it was maddening. The wind pressure cut visibility. The chill numbed reflexes. It twisted sound. Shapes became illusions. Motion was smeared.
Naruto raised a gauntleted arm as a blade of ice slammed into him.
Ting!
The Grass Crest Shield shimmered into being, blocking the strike.
When the smoke cleared, Haku stood before him wielding a massive ice greatsword—its edges curved like fangs, the spine serrated with glacier ridges.
Naruto exhaled and finally summoned the Zweihander.
"You can use a greatsword," Naruto muttered. "Zabuza must've trained you himself."
Then they clashed.
Haku attacked first, his ice greatsword rising overhead as he brought it down in a vertical cut.
Naruto moved cleanly, stepping off the line at a diagonal deflection. The massive blade crashed down just inches from his shoulder, kicking up frost and mist. With the momentum already flowing, Naruto swept his Zweihander low in a crooked cut, aiming to buckle Haku's knees.
Clang!
Haku blocked with the flat of his sword, sliding back. Then the wind rose. The blizzard wailed through the bridge. The air warped. Snow whipped in dense, shifting patterns. Naruto's visibility dropped to mere inches.
It didn't matter. He advanced.
But Haku used the cover brilliantly. From behind the blinding veil, Haku unleashed ice kunai, timed precisely. Naruto intercepted the first—ping!—with a short parry, but three more came from odd angles. One grazed his vambrace. Another shattered against his helmet. The third clipped his thigh.
A flicker of motion to Naruto's left.
He turned too late.
Haku darted in, using the mist to mask a horizontal cut aimed at Naruto's ribs.
CLANG!
Naruto caught it with his blade's flat and shoved back, creating space. But even as he advanced to retaliate, the snow swirled violently. A mirror briefly flashed; not from jutsu, but ice bent by light. Haku's silhouette split into two, then three.
Naruto's eyes narrowed.
"Clever," he muttered as he reached into his inventory and pulled out a massive tower shield, the steel slab glinting despite the howling blizzard.
"Turtle Formation," he said lowly, forming a cross sign.
In a burst of chakra, twelve clones shimmered into existence, each one conjuring their own reinforced shield and locking into a protective phalanx. A shell of interlocking defenses taught to him by Siegmeyer during his training in Lordran.
"Shields high! Lock tight!" the clones shouted in unison.
The dome clicked together with audible thunks as steel met steel. Their formation was perfect. A wall of unbreakable resolve, unmoving even as the wind screamed around them.
Haku, hidden within the blizzard, knew he needed force. A clever tactic met with clever defense. But overwhelming power crushed cleverness. His hand blurred.
Ice Style: Ice Dragon Jutsu.
From the storm itself, a serpentine behemoth burst forth. An enormous dragon of pure ice, its body formed from river water and frozen using ice release. Its mouth opened in a shriekless roar, and it slammed into the turtle shell like divine punishment.
CRASH!
The first wave cracked the outer shields. The second shattered three clones instantly, their bodies bursting into steam. The final impact detonated through the phalanx, sending the remaining clones flying.
The original Naruto was launched into the sky, limbs splayed, his body spinning above the bridge like a ragdoll. But even as he rose, his eyes locked onto something in the storm.
Mirrors.
Hundreds of ice mirrors now spiraled vertically, forming a twisting tower that rose into the sky beside the bridge. They'd been hidden, camouflaged by the blizzard.
This was Haku's final gambit.
Ice Release: Blade Against Heaven.
From the base of the spiraling tower, Haku launched upward, flickering from mirror to mirror, each movement faster than the last. The space between jumps compressed, velocity stacking with every phase. The mirrors weren't just reflections. They were railguns.
And Haku was the projectile.
Naruto's pupils narrowed, tracking the blur of motion. "He's not just moving," he murmured. "He's accelerating. Compounding speed. Using chakra, gravity, and angle like a slingshot..."
His gaze sharpened.
"He's turning himself into a blade. A single, perfect strike meant to cut me clean in half."
The thought excited him.
A weaker shinobi would've panicked. But Naruto? He smiled as he created a handsign. "Genius."
Boom.
From below, chakra surged. A colossal spiraling column of shadow clones rose into the air, forming a counter-tower. Each clone held the one above it with their left arm, balancing with core strength and reinforced chakra. With their right palms extended forward, they synchronized.
A thousand red eyes opened.
CRACK.
The structure shuddered violently as each clone began to pull at the tower of mirrors with raw telekinetic force.
Cracks spiderwebbed through the delicate formation. The mirrors began to twist out of alignment.
Haku felt it instantly. The precise rhythm of his movement, the seamless transitions from mirror to mirror, was collapsing beneath him. He tried to compensate, correcting his trajectory with ice platforms, but it was too late.
The mirrors vanished beneath him, pulled apart and torn free by Naruto's clones, leaving nothing.
Only open sky.
Haku's body was carried upward by sheer momentum, but he could no longer guide it. He couldn't reach Naruto, who remained above them all like a dragon sitting upon heaven's throne.
Naruto clenched the talisman. An orb of white energy began to form, rippling with compressed shockwaves.
"Emit Force."
The orb pulsed once, then launched like a divine projectile. A cannon blast of pure miracle energy slammed into Haku mid-air.
BOOM.
The explosion rang out across the bridge. Haku's mask shattered into fragments. His body jerked violently in the blast, sent tumbling in slow, painful spirals through the smoke.
[Name: Haku Yuki]
[HP: 1 / 300]
The clone tower puffed away, dispelled as Naruto descended gently.
Haku; broken, bloody, and limp fell through the sky, a bloody comet trailing mist. He closed his eyes.
I'm sorry… Zabuza-sama… I can't win.
But he never hit the ground.
At the last second, Naruto's palm eye flared red as telekinesis catching Haku mid-fall. The force slowed him gently, cradling him before setting his body down softly on the bridge.
A mercy.
"...You," Naruto whispered, recognition dawning as he floated down. "You're that nice girl from the forest."
Haku just chuckled. "Just for that… you spare my life?"
Naruto tilted his head slightly, eyeing the broken ice mirrors, the melting frost at their feet, the cracked mask lying like a broken identity between them. "Call it… a moment of curiosity."
"Then… will you kill me after that curiosity fades?"
Naruto didn't answer right away. It wasn't even clear if Haku was asking or requesting.
"You are already dying?"
Haku turned his face upward. The smile that met Naruto's question wasn't joyful. It was resigned, fragile, like the last snowflake before spring.
"That should be my fate. I'm a failed tool. A weapon that couldn't serve its purpose is cast aside."
"So being a tool for Zabuza… that's your life's purpose?"
"...Yes."
"That's pathetic," Naruto said, but not unkindly. "Because when we met in that forest, you weren't a tool. You were a person. You talked about precious people… about getting stronger to protect them. Where's that person now?"
Haku's gaze fell to the ice at his feet, cracked and slowly turning back to water. "Precious people…" he murmured, almost too quietly to hear. "I used to think… my parents were mine. I loved them. I trusted them."
Naruto leaned in, attentive.
"And yet…" Haku went on, his voice like glass. "My father murdered my mother… just for her bloodline. And he tried to kill me too."
Naruto's eyes widened.
"The Land of Mist," Haku continued, "has been a graveyard of war for generations. And we, those born with kekkei genkai, we're seen as curses. Monsters. Abominations."
His voice trembled, but only barely. "Even after the wars ended, the hate didn't. People like me had to hide, afraid our blood would betray us. My mother did. My father found out. And then… before I could even think... I killed him."
Naruto didn't speak. The weight in Haku's voice wasn't something you interrupted.
"I remember that moment more vividly than any other. Not because of the death. But because it was when I truly understood. I was alone. Superfluous. Unwanted. I wasn't a person... I was a mistake."
Naruto closed his hand into a fist.
"And then Zabuza found me." Haku's lips curled; not quite a smile, not quite pain. "He saw what I was. My bloodline, the thing that made me hate myself… he didn't just accept it. He needed it. He needed me."
Tears traced his cheek, but his voice didn't break.
"For the first time… I was something someone could use. I wasn't invisible. I wasn't a mistake. I was a tool, but I mattered. That's all I ever wanted."
Naruto swallowed. "You call that love?"
Haku didn't answer at first. His breathing was shallow. Frost still clung to his eyelashes.
"I don't know," he said finally. "But it felt like it. He gave me a reason to live. Even if that reason was just to die for him… it was still something."
"...And what if he never saw you as anything more than a tool?" Naruto's voice was quiet but firm. "What if Zabuza only ever valued your usefulness? What if the person you'd give your life for wouldn't even flinch if you died?"
"Then I would still be grateful. Because a tool doesn't feel the cold of being alone."
"That's messed up."
Haku looked up, startled.
"Really messed up," Naruto repeated. "I get being loyal. I get wanting to protect someone you care about. But what you just said? That's not love. That's giving up on yourself."
Haku didn't speak.
"Why are you telling me this?"
"Because," Haku said slowly, "I think you'll understand what I say next." He looked directly into Naruto's eyes. "Did I give you the kind of fight you were hoping for?"
"Yeah. You did."
Haku's shoulders sagged with relief. "Then… please. Save Zabuza-sama. I know it's a selfish thing to ask. But if I'm going to die anyway, let it mean something."
"No."
Haku blinked. "What?"
"I'm not going to save him."
"...I see." Haku looked down again, voice barely audible. "That's fair. You have no reason to."
"I didn't say it because I hate him," Naruto added. "I said it because I won't make promises I'm not sure I can keep."
Haku stood there, quietly trembling.
"Then," he whispered, "please kill me. If I can't protect him… if I can't even slow you down… then at least let me die with some dignity."
There was silence.
Then Naruto spoke, and his voice shook with something Haku couldn't name.
"I know what that's like."
Haku's head snapped up. "What?"
"I know what it's like to want to be useful… to be needed so badly you'd give up everything." Naruto looked away, like he was remembering a different life. "Before Team 7. Before Kakashi-sensei. Before Oscar… I didn't matter to anyone. No one looked at me like I was real. Not even to use me. I was just… there. A ghost."
Haku stared at him, stunned.
Naruto looked back. "So yeah, I get it. That kind of desperation. That kind of pain. I understand why you think dying for Zabuza is the only thing left for you."
Then he stepped closer, slowly. "But I won't kill you."
Haku's breath hitched. "Why… not?"
Naruto's voice was quiet. Strong. "Because you're not a tool. And if you really are, then let me be the one who breaks that part of you."
Thunder cracked across the river.
Chidori.
A flash of light, somewhere distant.
Zabuza and Kakashi were reaching their conclusion.
Haku turned his head. The chakra signatures told him what was happening. Zabuza was losing.
"Please," Haku said. "You don't understand. If Zabuza-sama dies… then none of this meant anything. I have to fight. I have to protect him. He saved me. I owe him…"
"No." Naruto cut in gently. "You don't owe him your death."
"But I don't have anything else!"
"You could." Naruto pointed to his own chest. "You could live for something else. You don't have to be someone else's weapon."
"But what would I even be without him?"
"You'd be Haku. And maybe that's enough."
Haku's body trembled.
"I'm not going to make the choice for you," Naruto said. "But maybe… maybe it's time you asked yourself if dying for someone is really the same thing as living for them."
And then, warmth.
Haku gasped softly as a golden light wrapped around him. The Heal miracle had taken hold.
"...Why?"
Naruto looked at him. "Because someone healed me back then. So I'll be that person, for you."
A beat passed.
Then Haku turned his gaze toward the mist, toward Zabuza's fading chakra.
"...Thank you," he whispered.
And then, in a blur of frost and breath, Haku vanished into the mist.
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A Few Minutes Ago
Zabuza and Kakashi landed with practiced ease atop the cold waters of the bay, ripples echoing outward with every step.
"You either a fool or suicidal for fighting me on water," Zabuza growled, shifting his stance. The Kubikiribōchō rested heavy against his shoulder, mist beginning to coil around his feet.
Kakashi simply stared at him, calm and unreadable. Then he raised his forehead protector, revealing the dull red glow of his Sharingan.
"I think you're the fool who forgot who almost killed you last time on the water," Kakashi said. His voice was casual, but cold. "You know my Sharingan can see into the future, right? And in that future… you don't live to see tomorrow."
Zabuza gave a rasping laugh. "Cute bluff."
He pressed his hands together. Water Style: Hidden Mist Jutsu.
Thick fog exploded across the water like a suffocating blanket. But this time, it wasn't normal mist. It was denser, chakra-packed, almost gelatinous in how it clung to everything.
"You like it, Kakashi?" Zabuza's voice echoed from everywhere and nowhere. "I developed this version just for you. It blinds your Sharingan's ability to read hand signs."
There was silence for a moment until Kakashi's low chuckle rolled over the water.
"You really don't get it, do you?" Kakashi murmured, hands forming a seal. "I'm Kakashi Hatake. The man with a thousand jutsus."
He inhaled.
Wind Style: Wind Breakthrough!
A concussive gust blasted outward, shredding the mist like tissue paper. The wind slammed into the water's surface, parting the fog and flattening waves as the battlefield became clear once more.
Zabuza leapt forward, Kubikiribōchō coming down like a guillotine.
Clang!
Kakashi raised his gloved hand, stopping the blade with his arm. The impact rang like a bell. Then he vanished in a flicker of movement.
Zabuza's eyes widened too late.
A foot slammed into his ribs, hard enough to make him cough blood. He was airborne before he even knew he'd been struck. He twisted midair, sword spinning, but Kakashi was already there.
Another flicker. Another blow. Another fall.
Zabuza tried to turn his body into a slide as he landed on the water, but Kakashi didn't give him the chance.
It was a dogwalk.
Zabuza swung again, wild and wide, but Kakashi stepped into the arc, trapped Zabuza's wrist, and headbutted him straight in the bridge of the nose.
Blood spurted.
Zabuza stumbled back, gasping.
"Water Style: Great Waterfall Technique!" Zabuza shouted, trying to regain distance as he formed rapid seals.
But Kakashi was already ahead of him.
"Water Style: Great Waterfall!" he said a half-second faster.
The lake heaved. A massive cascade of water erupted like a tsunami, dwarfing Zabuza's half-formed wave and obliterating it. Zabuza barely leapt clear before the wave struck, his landing awkward and uneven. The water churned beneath him like a boiling sea.
That's when he saw the eye.
Kakashi's Sharingan glowed, and suddenly everything felt wrong.
Zabuza blinked, and chains erupted from the water.
Genjutsu Art: Four Cardinal Chains.
Black iron chains lanced up like spears, piercing through his limbs and shoulders, coiling around his chest, dragging him down. He screamed inside his own mind as the illusion tightened. His body couldn't move. His chakra felt sluggish.
He growled. "How… how did you get this strong?"
Kakashi raised one glowing hand. The Chidori crackled in his palm, bright as a star, high-pitched and shrieking like a thousand birds.
"Let's just say a miracle happened to me," Kakashi murmured with a rare smile. His Chidori crackled in hand, illuminating the water's surface in flashes of blue lightning.
He stepped forward to finish it when suddenly...
"Kakashi-sensei, dodge!"
Naruto's voice thundered across the bay. Kakashi turned just in time to see the sky filled with arrows, dozens of chakra-tipped projectiles fired in unison by hundreds of clones stationed along the bridge. They weren't just aiming blindly. They were tracking something fast.
Before he could move, Kakashi felt an unseen force grab him. His body was yanked violently back, skimming the water like a skipped stone under Naruto's telekinesis. And then, his Sharingan caught it, just barely.
Haku, moving faster than any normal shinobi, appeared behind Zabuza, inserted a needle into his neck, and with the ice of his mirrors blooming around them, the two vanished into an ice mirror.
The arrows landed where Zabuza once stood. The air burst with chakra shockwaves. The water roiled beneath the power, but the targets were long gone.
Kakashi exhaled slowly, letting the Chidori fizzle out with a faint crackle in his palm. He pulled his forehead protector back over the Sharingan with a practiced tug.
"...Damn," he muttered, surveying the bridge through the thinning mist. "Got away."
Naruto dropped beside him a moment later, crouched low, wind tugging at the hem of his cloak. He looked up toward the sky, squinting like a kid whose firework fizzled too early. "Aww, shucks. They slipped through."
"You say that like it wasn't on purpose."
Naruto grinned, tilting his head with exaggerated innocence. "Me? Let the enemy escape? Perish the thought."
"Uh-huh." Kakashi crossed his arms. "So why'd you let them go?"
There was a pause.
"You're too smart for your own good, old man."
"I'm not that old," Kakashi said flatly.
Naruto didn't reply at first. He just sat back on his heels and finally explained what had happened between him and Haku. He didn't dramatize it. He just told it as it was.
When Naruto finished, Kakashi stood in silence for a long moment, then slowly pinched the bridge of his nose. "Good grief, Naruto…"
"I know, I know."
"After you wiped out Gato's entire gang like a divine executioner, I thought you'd start acting a little more… ruthless. You know. Pragmatic. Controlled."
Naruto shrugged, calm. "I killed Gato's men because I decided they needed to die. They were scum. Abusers. Killers. That decision was mine."
"And Haku?"
"I looked at him," Naruto said, his tone shifting, more grounded. "And I didn't see someone who needed to die. I saw someone who didn't know how to live."
Kakashi frowned. "...And if he comes back to haunt us?"
"Then I'll deal with it. If it was a mistake, it's my mistake. I'll take responsibility."
He tapped his chest with two fingers. "That's what it means to be a knight. Not just fighting, but choosing what kind of world you want to protect."
Kakashi sighed again, deeper this time, as if the entire bridge weighed on his shoulders. "What am I going to do with you…"
Naruto smirked. "Love me. Feed me. Let me stab people."
"Great," Kakashi muttered.
"Just think of it like this," Naruto added, holding up a finger. "A heroic knight saves a beautiful, tragic girl trapped in a life of darkness."
Kakashi blinked at him. "...Naruto. Haku's a boy."
There was a beat of silence.
Naruto stared at him. "Surely… you jest."
Kakashi's expression didn't even flinch. "ANBU captain, Naruto. Trained medical knowledge. Sharingan. Trust me. I know what I'm seeing."
Naruto's face crumbled like wet clay. He dropped to his knees on the water, arms limp at his sides.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO—!"
His voice echoed off the mist and mountains like some kind of mythic heartbreak. Naruto sat up suddenly, water dripping from his sleeves. "Alright. I'm over it."
Kakashi sweatdropped.
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"Haku… what the hell is the meaning of this?"
Zabuza's voice was rough but not angry.
Haku stood a few paces away, head bowed. His hands were shaking, slightly.
"I'm sorry, Zabuza-sama," Haku said quietly. "But… the situation was unsalvageable."
Zabuza slowly turned his head, only one eye visible behind matted hair. There was no fury in that look. Just calculation.
"You left the field," Zabuza muttered. "You never leave the field."
"I had to. If I hadn't…" Haku hesitated. "I wouldn't be standing here. And neither would you."
Zabuza was silent.
The only sound was the soft creak of the hideout's ceiling and the gentle crackle of the nearby oil lamp.
"Zabuza-sama… it wasn't Kakashi. It wasn't the numbers. It wasn't a tactical disadvantage. It was him."
Zabuza blinked. "Him?"
"Uzumaki Naruto."
Zabuza sat a little straighter, his eye narrowing. "You're telling me a loudmouth genin was the threat?"
"No," Haku said, shaking his head slowly. "Not a loudmouth. Not anymore. He was… something else. I don't even know how to explain it. The way he fought… the way he thought. He dominated me in everything. The only reason I live is because he decided it."
Zabuza stared. His lips parted as if to speak, but no words came out.
"And Aoi…" Haku hesitated. "He's dead."
"You're sure?"
"I saw his body. Naruto's teammates took him down. And since the Hozuki family isn't back, it's fair to say they have been eliminated."
There was a long silence.
Finally, Zabuza leaned back and let out a breath like the air had been knocked from his lungs.
"Well, shit."
He lay down again, throwing an arm over his eyes. "Guess you made the right call, after all."
"What's the next step?"
Zabuza didn't answer for several seconds.
"We pull back," he said at last. "Regroup. Go back to the main hideout. Lick our wounds and figure out who we want dead next."
"And the mission?"
Zabuza snorted. "Abandoned. To hell with it. Gato wants miracles for pocket change. He can shove it."
There was a rare stillness after that for the next hour as the duo rested. They didn't speak. But something in the air gnawed at them. A creeping feeling, cold and formless, like the moment before the mist turns red.
And then the world exploded.
A deafening roar ripped through the roof as a crystal dragon burst downward like a divine hammer, its jagged pink body spiraling through timber and stone like paper.
Zabuza and Haku flickered away on instinct, narrowly escaping the crash.
When the smoke cleared, they stood amid the wreckage, weapons drawn, eyes scanning the destruction.
And then they saw them.
A group of shinobi watching them from the shadows.
From the darkness emerged a woman.
She wore an outfit that split the line between elegance and death: a flowing coat like an executioner's robe. Her spiky blue hair was tied neatly. Her face powdered pale. Lips blood-red.
She brought a radio up. "Zabuza. Haku. I'm disappointed."
That voice on the radio was Gato's.
"You know," the radio continued, "I invested quite a bit into you two. A lot. I even held up my end of the deal, gave you men, supplies, safehouses… and for what? You lost. Worse, you ran away."
Zabuza's grip on his sword tightened.
"And let's not forget," Gato added with oily smugness, "you let your little boyfriend fall to some brat in armor."
"Careful what you say next," Zabuza growled.
"You think you're scary, demon boy? You're a relic. Washed-up. I've already found someone better."
The blue-haired woman gave a polite wave. "Hello, boys."
"Meet Guren," Gato said. "Your replacement."
"Say that again. To my face, you cowardly little parasite."
"I'm not interested in words anymore," Gato replied, the malice bleeding through the static. "I'm here to collect the debt you owe me."
A pause.
"Zabuza… your head will fetch a fine price. But Haku?" Gato chuckled darkly. "That body's got potential. I've already arranged buyers. They're very interested in what a pretty little ice-user can do."
The radio clicked off.
Silence fell.
Zabuza stood like a statue. Haku said nothing, but the stillness in his expression was no longer calm.
Guren stretched her arms over her head like she'd just woken up from a nap. "Well, that's enough preamble. I'll make it quick. Try not to scream too loud."
She cracked her knuckles.
The mist grew heavier.
And Zabuza, still staring into the fading static of that radio, said only two words.
"He dies first."
Haku didn't ask who.
He already knew.
Zabuza rolled his neck with a sickening pop. Every muscle screamed, joints aching from the bruising blows he'd taken, but his grip on the Executioner's Blade never wavered.
"Tch. Been a while since I felt this banged up."
Across from him, Guren flicked her wrist like a painter preparing her brushstroke. In an instant, a storm of razor-sharp crystal shuriken shimmered into being, mid-air, refracting moonlight in fractured rainbows. They hissed toward him with deadly grace.
Haku moved before Zabuza could lift his sword. Senbon snapped through the air, intercepting the crystals with pinpoint precision. Each shuriken shattered into harmless dust before it reached its mark.
"Zabuza-sama," Haku said. "You need to go. Now."
"The hell are you saying? You think I can't handle some kunoichi?"
"No," Haku replied. His tone held no insult, only certainty. "I know you could. If you were at full strength. But you're not. You spent most of your chakra fighting Hatake. You're still bleeding internally from my senbon during the last mission. Right now, staying means you die. And if you die… everything dies with you."
Zabuza scoffed, but it was weak.
Haku turned slightly, just enough for Zabuza to see the faintest, bittersweet smile curve his lips.
"Do you remember what you said to me? When you found me in the snow? You said you didn't need loyalty. Or companionship. Just a weapon. One that could never betray you. One that would kill when ordered."
The words hung heavy.
"I tried," Haku whispered. "I really tried to be that. I killed for you. I bled for you. I let go of everything else so I could stay at your side. I smiled too much. I hesitated when I shouldn't have. I know I was never the perfect tool. But… I hope I was good enough."
Zabuza looked at him.
For a long moment, he said nothing. Then, slowly, he stepped forward. His hand trembled as he reached out and placed it on Haku's shoulder.
"You weren't a good weapon."
Haku flinched.
"But you were a great partner."
Haku's breath hitched. That word landed harder than any punch. Not tool. Not pawn. Partner.
"Buy me time. I swear to you, this won't be the last time we see each other. You better be alive when I get back. That's an order."
"Yes, Zabuza-sama."
Zabuza leapt into the trees.
A moment later, movement in the mist. Guren's men charged to pursue.
They didn't get far.
Ice Mirrors bloomed, stretching from mist and moonlight. Haku flashed through them like a ghost. His senbon were no longer gentle. They struck with surgical violence.
One by one, Guren's men fell.
Guren watched, interested rather than alarmed.
"Fascinating," she said. "Such elegance in your murder. That kekkei genkai of yours... it's even more stunning in person. Orochimaru-sama will adore you."
The curse mark on her neck pulsed. Black lines slithered down her throat, writhing like snakes.
"Let's not waste time. You have so many experiments to be part of. And I am not a patient woman."
Haku didn't respond. His fingers were steady. His senbon were ready.
He was not afraid.
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Meanwhile, Zabuza ran.
Branches tore at his arms. The wind howled past his ears. Every leap through the canopy was a heartbeat closer to what, he didn't know. Redemption. Forgiveness. Maybe just the chance to say one last thing before it was too late.
He wasn't fleeing. He was chasing the one thing he never admitted he needed.
Haku.
"How long…" he muttered under his breath, teeth clenched against the cold. "Since the moment I picked him up off that snow-covered street? Did I ever see him as anything but a tool?"
The weight of the Kubikiribōchō on his back was nothing compared to the truth pressing against his ribs.
"I hated the Mist," he snarled, voice rough. "Swore I'd burn that cursed system to the ground."
And yet...
"I became it. I took a boy with kind eyes and made him sharpen them into needles. I broke him before the world could. And I told myself it was mercy."
His pace didn't falter.
"No more."
He launched off a thick branch, landing hard atop a sloped ridge. The village shimmered in the distance, faint and clouded by mist.
"If I have to crawl through the dirt… if I have to beg the Konoha shinobi for help… then so be it."
Pride had always been his armor. Now it was a chain he ripped off without hesitation.
"I don't care what it costs me."
Zabuza didn't slow.
"Please," he whispered to the silence, to the ghosts, to anyone listening. "Just let me make this right."
And the darkness swallowed him whole.
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Author's Note:
Well, wasn't that an exciting chapter?
Let's take a moment to address a few recurring questions.
Q – Is Dark Souls Naruto Overpowered?
Yes. He is. Let's not kid ourselves.
But here's the thing—when I say he's OP, I mean it. This isn't one of those fanfics where the author claims Naruto is overpowered, but then he struggles more than canon Naruto ever did. You know the ones where the story insists on his strength, but he still gets clowned by Sasuke or random Chunin.
In this fanfic? I've written Dark Souls Naruto to be overpowered. That's the point.
Dark Souls Naruto is actually OP. And the fact that this is coming up so often in the comments just proves I'm writing him that way successfully.
Now, just for fun, let's break it down:
Who Would Win: Wave Arc Canon Naruto vs. Wave Arc Dark Souls Naruto?
Feats:
Canon Naruto defeated Haku. With a rage-boosted Nine-Tails amp, sure. But that was his big moment.
Dark Souls Naruto defeated a stronger version of Haku—one who took a suicide soldier pill, used more advanced jutsu, and fought at full intent. And DS Naruto still won, without getting bailed out by the fox.
Stats:
Smarter: DS Naruto figured out Haku's mirror mechanics within a minute.
Stronger: He's shown lifting strength, AOE damage, and high-speed movement.
Skilled: He uses multiple elemental jutsu, sword styles, miracles, magic, and hybrid combos that canon Naruto would not survive.
Equipped: His armor literally no-sells most of what canon Naruto could throw at him—even if he was amped.
This isn't just "a stronger Naruto." This is a trained warrior with experience, strategy, and gear far beyond anything twelve-year-old Naruto ever had.
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Q: But... Haku Was Stronger Than Kakashi?
Let's unpack this.
Zabuza says, "Haku is stronger than me." Kakashi immediately calls BS. So why does the Naruto powerscaling community cling to this statement like it's gospel?
Kakashi literally refutes it in the story. Zabuza was hyping up Haku to psych them out. That's it. It wasn't fact. It was bragging.
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Q: Isn't Haku Lightspeed?
Ah yes. The databook statement.
It claims Haku moves at "light speed" in the Demonic Ice Mirrors. But let's be real:
These are the same databooks that say Temari can blow away the universe.
And that Madara's Susanoo can cut anything in the universe.
So no. That's not literal. That's flavor text.
Also, if Haku really was lightspeed, then:
Sasuke with a one-tomoe Sharingan would be lightspeed too, since he was tagging Haku mid-mirror.
And if Genin Sasuke is lightspeed, why is Kakashi cutting a lightning bolt later considered a big deal?
It doesn't hold up.
Dark Souls Naruto low-diffs canon Kyuubi-amped Naruto. It's like Arima vs. early Kaneki in Tokyo Ghoul. Calm, controlled execution versus raw, chaotic power.
And honestly? That's the point. This is a Dark Souls Naruto story. It's an RPG. He's been grinding. He's earned that power.
So yes. DS Naruto is overpowered. I'm pretty sure I tagged the story that way. And even if I didn't… come on. You knew what this was.
But let me flip the question back to you:
What version of canon Naruto do you think could beat current Dark Souls Naruto—without using Everlasting Dragon mode (his second phase)?
Seriously. Let's make this fun.
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Q – Doesn't Naruto Being So OP Break the Story?
No. And here's why:
It only "breaks" the story if you think this is just a slightly modified version of canon Naruto.
It's not.
In Naruto: The Chosen Undead, Naruto's entire journey is different. The tone is different. The scaling is different. The threats he faces aren't designed for a genin squad with basic missions and filler arcs. They're designed for a dark fantasy world where survival is never guaranteed.
Yes, my Naruto could probably no-diff most of early canon.
But that's not the story I'm writing.
This is a different Naruto story. That's why the Wave Arc is so long in this fanfic.
I've put a ton of time, detail, and tension into it—not because I'm padding, but because I'm building something bigger. Something earned.
In The Chosen Undead, Naruto doesn't break canon.
He rewrites it.
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Q – Let's Talk About Dark Souls Lore (and Why Naruto Is Still Screwed)
A lot of you think Naruto being OP makes future fights boring.
But if you actually look at Dark Souls lore, you'll realize he's still very much in danger.
Let's go over a few bosses.
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Early Game Bosses:
Gaping Dragon: Lore-wise, this is an Everlasting Dragon. Think tailed beast level. Naruto fights it early.
Chaos Witch Quelaag: Not just some sexy spider lady. She's a warrior who's slaughtered dragons, commands lava and chaos magic, and survived the collapse of Izalith. She's a walking apocalypse.
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Mid-Game Bosses:
Ornstein and Smough: Literal dragon slayers with millennia of battle experience. They are what Havel could've become if he hadn't gone off the deep end.
Havel: As strong as a Seventh Gate Guy tier character, and that's before magic enhancements.
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Late-Game Bosses:
Artorias the Abysswalker: Stronger than Havel. Fought the Abyss alone. Has feats of resisting mind-corrupting horrors.
Black Dragon Kalameet: One of the strongest dragons in franchise history. The gods fear him.
Manus, Father of the Abyss: Arguably the most broken being in DS1 lore. So powerful he pulled the protagonist backward through time.
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And that's just Lordran.
You don't even want to know what I'm cooking up for Naruto's future enemies in the Elemental Nations.
I'm building a world where Naruto being strong doesn't spoil the story. It escalates it.
Because just like in any good Souls game... the stronger you get, the worse the world becomes.
So yes, Naruto is powerful. That's by design. But trust me when I say…
He's going to need every ounce of it.
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Q – Big Question: The Team-Up
So, I left you on a cliffhanger for a reason. I need your help deciding:
What kind of Konoha + Zabuza team-up would you love to see most?
Full Team 7 + Team 8 backing Zabuza against Guren and Orochimaru's agents?
Mixed reactions among the Leaf ninja—some support Zabuza, some don't, leading to tension and conflict?
Stealth mission: just Naruto and Zabuza going into the shadows together to take Guren down?
Comment your favorite idea below. Or pitch your own if you've got a twist in mind.
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That's it for now!
As always, I appreciate you all taking the time to read, comment, and just come along for the ride.
—Adam
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[ Personal Note: First off, thanks a ton to all of you for sticking with this story. Seriously, you guys are awesome. Now, if you're interested in supporting me on P@treon, let me just say that over there, I post these massive 5k-word chapters. But heads up, if you're jumping to P@treon, you'll need to start from Chapter 86, since that's where this chapter lines up with the content there.
To everyone here just reading along, please don't forget to leave a comment! Honestly, your comments make my day, and they let me know you're as invested in this story as I am. So yeah, thanks again, and I hope you have an amazing rest of your day!