The Little Beggar Haku

"Fourth Mizukage, the rebellion of the Kaguya Clan has been quelled."

"From this day forth, the Kaguya Clan no longer exists in this world." Yagura possessed a baby face; despite his youthful appearance, he was already a grandfather.

Yagura had green hair and purple eyes, with an unstitched, sutured scar beneath his left eye: "Everyone may return to the village. Zabuza, come with me."

Momochi Zabuza obeyed Yagura's command.

"The Land of Water's Daimyo has issued a mission to protect a wealthy merchant. You are to go."

Zabuza dragged his Kubikiribōchō and accepted without hesitation.

The development of Kirigakure could not be separated from the support of the Land of Water's Daimyo.

Yagura expressed his approval of Zabuza's strength.

Amidst the thick fog, Kirigakure slowly emerged.

After reinforcing the village's defenses, Yagura walked toward his office alone.

Suddenly, a vortex appeared before Yagura.

"Sharingan: Genjutsu!" Uchiha Obito appeared, immediately unleashing the power of his Mangekyō Sharingan to trap Yagura in a genjutsu, his hatred shrouding the surroundings.

Yagura had no time to retaliate; his eyes went vacant as he was completely controlled by the genjutsu.

"Kisame, you have done well," Uchiha Obito said in a hoarse voice.

Kisame Hoshigaki walked out, carrying the great sword Samehada. He had a face like a shark and a tall, imposing build: "I agree to join Akatsuki and help you complete the Eye of the Moon plan."

Uchiha Obito said: "Go to the Land of Rain; Akatsuki will receive you there."

"Interesting things are about to begin." Kisame Hoshigaki left via Body Flicker.

Uchiha Obito stared at Yagura's face, the memory of Rin being killed surfacing in his mind: "Yagura, I will make you destroy Kirigakure with your own hands. Feel the despair!"

Uchiha Obito activated Kamui and departed without a sound.

Yagura flickered to the outskirts of the village, his body continuously emitting toxic gas that mingled with the mist.

From then on, without Yagura's permission, no one could leave Kirigakure, nor could anyone enter.

After three days of travel, Naruto finally set foot on the soil of the Land of Water.

However, it would still take Naruto some time to pinpoint the exact location of Kirigakure.

It was not difficult, though; ninjas from Kirigakure still emerged from the Land of Water to perform missions. Naruto used his chakra to sense the presence of ninjas nearby, singled out those wearing Kirigakure headbands, and after some forceful questioning, learned that Kirigakure was hidden deep within the mountains, shrouded in thick fog.

"There are four people currently holding ninja swords in Kirigakure. I'll just rob whoever I run into." Naruto felt that setting up a complex plan was a waste of time; after all, he only needed to collect one ninja sword to complete the mission. As for collecting all seven, time did not really permit it.

Naruto bought three servings of sea-fish sushi at a street corner. As he carried the bag to the end of the street, he saw three beggars, roughly ten years old, kicking and punching a smaller beggar.

"Bullying the weak? Is there no sense of justice here?"

Naruto applied a slight force to his feet and rushed over, pulling his punch to knock the larger beggars away.

The beggars hit the nearby wall and looked at Naruto in terror before screaming and running away.

"Are you alright?" Naruto asked, concerned as he helped the small beggar up. Just as his right hand touched the other's body, a sharp Ice Needle pierced his skin: "Hey, ninjutsu?"

The small beggar looked up in a panic: "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. They wanted to steal my food; I just didn't want to go hungry."

He was quite cute; Naruto could tell from the small beggar's facial contours, even though the child was currently covered in dirt and bloodstains.

The wound on Naruto's hand healed in the blink of an eye: "It's fine. I just bought this sushi, you eat it. The food in your hand smells rancid; you can't eat that."

The small beggar seemed suspicious.

Naruto took a piece of sushi and ate a bite: "I can see you aren't an ordinary child, and I'm not an ordinary child either, so rest assured. Don't worry about me hurting you."

The small beggar was truly starving; the last shred of doubt in his heart vanished, and he immediately took the sushi, eating it in large bites while tears streamed down his face.

Throughout this journey of begging, being beaten, and starving, he understood how difficult it was to stay alive.

"I'm Naruto. What's your name?" Naruto sat on the ground.

Haku stated his name.

Naruto asked one more question: "Are you a boy or a girl?"

Because his clothing looked like a boy's, but his features looked like a girl's.

Having eaten the sushi, Haku had regained some strength: "A boy."

Naruto extended his hand: "Haku, come with me from now on! Someone with talent shouldn't starve to death on the street."

Haku was a bit timid: "I can't control my own body; I might hurt you. You are a good person."

Being able to use ninjutsu without hand seals—Naruto felt he had encountered a child with a Kekkei Genkai. Bringing him back to Konoha and handing him over to Kushina for guidance might give him a clearer path, much like Karin.

Naruto dispelled Haku's concerns: "I can teach you how to control it. Come on, I'll take you to get cleaned up and change into some new clothes."

Haku took Naruto's hand.

Naruto's hand was very warm; Haku felt as if he had been reborn.

For a person to realize their own value, besides personal effort, meeting the right person is equally important.

Haku had spent some time begging in the Land of Water, so he was much more familiar with the environment here than Naruto.

After tidying himself up, Haku revealed a clean, delicate face, truly looking like a gentle little girl.

"The location of Kirigakure is inside this mountain. Naruto-kun, there are many powerful ninjas in Kirigakure; why are you looking for them?" Under Naruto's guidance, Haku had quickly learned to control the fluctuations of his internal chakra, which prevented him from triggering his Kekkei Genkai at will.

Naruto could already see the thick fog shrouding the area ahead, exactly as the intelligence report had described: "Haku, if I hadn't come looking for Kirigakure, I never would have met you. All of this is fate, but the main reason is that I'm interested in the Seven Ninja Swordsmen's blades. I've come to take one for myself to play with."

Haku's eyes were firm: "Naruto-kun, I will help you."

Naruto smiled: "If you want to help me, you must first protect yourself. Let's head into the mountains."

Kirigakure chose this location to build their village not only for the year-round thick fog but also because of the powerful beasts in the mountains; ordinary people who wandered in usually ended up as food in a beast's belly.

"Take that!" Naruto used a Body Flicker technique to deliver a fierce kick to the head of a black bear.

Naruto had heavy iron weights strapped to his shoes, which allowed him to train his body at all times and now served as a weapon as well.

Economical and practical.

The black bear's head split open and bled, and it fled in terror.

"Fighting monsters doesn't give me experience, and having them pop out one after another is a real waste of time." Naruto carried a compass to ensure he wouldn't get lost in the thick fog.

Haku focused on condensing his Ice Needle, his progress remarkably rapid.

Naruto pulled Haku along, leaped up, and landed behind a large tree: "There's a chakra fluctuation. Let's wait here and see."