Chapter Seven: Continuing the Deception!

“He’s really dead.”
The person dressed in gray, wearing a white mask emblazoned with the symbol of the Hidden Mist Village on the forehead, stood upright on a tree branch, their words cold and devoid of any warmth.
Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura clenched their teeth… Someone who could fight evenly with them for so long was killed with just three ice needles? Who exactly was this person?
Hao Yun’s gaze examined the figure intently… Hm, no Adam’s apple, wearing a long robe, the body showed no curves… As expected, this was one of those characters in the world of shinobi whose gender couldn’t be discerned; the disguise was simply too perfect!
“Thank you very much,” the masked figure bowed slightly in gratitude. “All this time, I’ve been looking for an opportunity to kill Zabuza.”
“That mask… You’re a pursuit ninja from the Hidden Mist Village, aren’t you?”
Kakashi stepped forward, initiating the conversation.
Hao Yun stayed silent, quietly listening as the two exchanged words.
“As expected of you, you know so much. Your battle is over. I need to take him away as soon as possible, to prevent more secrets of the village from leaking.”
With a flicker, the masked figure landed beside Zabuza’s apparent corpse. Without delay, they hoisted Zabuza up and prepared to leave.
Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura stirred, wanting to intervene, but stopped.
The person before them, in terms of height and build, was about their age. Yet they had managed to kill Zabuza, who matched them in strength, in a single blow… Were all the pursuit ninja from the Mist this powerful?
Even Kakashi, struck by the combination of their youth and strength, offered no objection.
Just as the masked figure was about to leave carrying Zabuza, Hao Yun finally spoke.
“Say, do you think it’s appropriate to just take away your companion—the one who attacked us and tried to sabotage the Leaf’s mission—like this?”
“What?”
Kakashi, Sasuke, and the others all turned to Hao Yun, then fixed their eyes on the masked figure… What did he mean? Companion?
The masked one’s body trembled slightly, but quickly regained composure. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“You, Haku, shinobi of the Yuki Clan from the Hidden Mist Village, the sole survivor of the Ice Release bloodline.”
Hao Yun approached, slowly revealing the truth. “Or perhaps I should call you Haku of the Momochi? During the era of the Bloody Mist, the village was purging all bloodline clans. You, as the last of the Yuki, were saved by Zabuza. You swore to become his tool, to live and die for him, yet you are gentle at heart—so gentle you can’t even bear to harm small animals… Haku, am I wrong?”
“And as for you, Zabuza, pretending to be unconscious.”
At these words, not only Haku but even Zabuza, playing dead, could no longer keep up the act.
Zabuza flipped down from Haku’s shoulder, signaling Haku to remove the mask… Hao Yun scrutinized Haku’s face: oval-shaped, willow brows, pale skin, impossible to distinguish as male or female.
With the accidental sway of long hair exuding an alluring charm, Hao Yun could only curse inwardly—was this person a man or a woman?
“Who are you? How do you know so many secrets?”
Zabuza fixed a bloodshot stare on Hao Yun. The strange policies of the Bloody Mist era had always been shrouded in mystery, and Hao Yun’s revelations only deepened his suspicion that this man knew the truth.
Even though he had become a rogue ninja, Zabuza still loved the Hidden Mist Village deeply and would not easily let go of any chance to uncover the truth.
“So, you want to know the true story of the Bloody Mist? You want to know why the Fourth Mizukage changed so suddenly? Zabuza, Haku, if you want to know everything, let Haku become my apprentice, and you, Zabuza, become my bodyguard!”
Off to the side, Sasuke, Naruto, Sakura, and Kakashi’s faces twitched as they watched Hao Yun raising his arms like some cult leader… Yes, this was exactly how he convinced us, too!
Zabuza was not so easily swayed, and gazed at Hao Yun deeply… After a long silence, he finally spoke.
“Fine, as long as you tell me the truth!”
“Lord Zabuza…”
Haku hesitated slightly.
But Zabuza had always felt pity for Haku and no longer wished to drag him along into a life fraught with danger. Now, presented with a chance to be redeemed and to finally learn the truth he had sought all his life, how could he refuse?
“A tool must accept its fate as a tool!”
Without turning his head, Zabuza spoke coldly.
Hao Yun shook his head wordlessly. Zabuza really did remind him of his own father from his past life; a man who cared deeply for his child, but because of the role of a strict parent, always wore a stern face. To protect the one he loved, he would rather show an expression of disgust and severity.
Yet deep inside, his heart was softer than anyone could imagine.

“All right, Zabuza, there’s no need to frighten anyone. Everyone knows you’re a kind man at heart. If you want to know the truth, come here—I’ll tell you everything.”
Haku smiled, supporting Zabuza as they walked over to Hao Yun, quietly listening as he played a recording of the secrets behind the shinobi world.
Not far away, Kakashi’s face twitched again… Zabuza, a good man? Did they think he’d earned the title “Demon of the Mist” by accident? He had slain every single one of his classmates upon graduation from the Mist’s ninja academy!
Kindness? What nonsense! The classmates Zabuza had killed would be rolling in their graves!
Hao Yun waved his hand indifferently. During Zabuza’s graduation, it was the era of the Bloody Mist. If he hadn’t killed, he would have been killed himself… perhaps even more of his fellow villagers would have died at each other’s hands.
Some things were simply beyond the control of a child.
As usual, Hao Yun made sure to keep Tazuna away, so he wouldn’t overhear.
After a long while, as the tale came to an end, both Zabuza and Haku’s eyes were red with tears… They had never imagined the root of the Bloody Mist, the tragedy of the Yuki Clan, was all due to a Black Zetsu saving his mother!
“You Leaf villagers really are something!”
Zabuza gritted his teeth. “Uchiha Obito, Uchiha Madara… Heh, manipulating the Mizukage, well done!”
Kakashi turned his head aside, unable to face Zabuza… What could he say? Whatever the conspiracy, it was carried out by Konoha’s Uchiha Obito!
There was no denying that.
Hao Yun smiled, patting Kakashi’s shoulder in comfort, then turned to Zabuza.
“Have you ever thought that even without Obito, without any conspiracy, all of this would still have happened? As long as there are shinobi and ambitious men, as long as there are disparities in resources and population pressures, war can never be avoided.”
What Hao Yun didn’t say was that the intention behind Hashirama’s distribution of tailed beasts was good. Just as in the modern world, the best way to prevent war between great nations is mutual deterrence—everyone having the power to destroy each other.
Yet even with that, covert economic and resource wars still wage on.
Of course, human ambition can never be eliminated. To truly put an end to war, besides the threat of force, the people must also yearn for peace.