"Haku, I'll definitely find you!"
Deep in the forest, Zabuza Momochi crouched beneath the shade of a tree, silently watching Naruto Uzumaki and the others train in the distance as he made a secret vow to himself.
It was only after Haku disappeared that Zabuza realized just how important Haku was to him. Zabuza's entire life had been shrouded in darkness. From the moment he understood anything, he had been raised by the Mist Ninja as a weapon for killing. After slaughtering all his peers, there had been no bonds left in his heart.
Then he met Haku and kept Haku by his side. Their years together had long since forged a deep bond between them. After Haku vanished, Zabuza felt as though his life had returned to the bleak darkness of the past, devoid of hope.
Zabuza was highly skilled at concealing his presence. Even Kakashi had failed to notice that he was being watched.
Having finished their training early, Naruto and Karin sat off to the side and watched Sasuke struggle to climb the tree. Before long, they began to nod off, while Kakashi, bored out of his mind, pulled out Jiraiya's latest work—a green copy of Icha Icha Paradise—and began reading. Seeing this, Zabuza knew his opportunity had arrived!
"Hidden Mist Technique!"
Zabuza formed a seal with one hand, and moisture slowly began to gather throughout the forest. He carefully controlled the ninjutsu, slowing the mist's formation so it would seem as though the fog had arisen naturally.
As Zabuza maintained the technique, a faint mist gradually gathered through the woods. This change did not alert Kakashi and the others, because the climate of the Land of Waves was like this. Whenever evening came, mist would form in the forest. Today, it had merely arrived a little