Haku lay on the soft vines, struggling to open his eyes.
The cloying floral scent in the air felt like countless tiny hands tugging at his nerves, lulling him to sleep.
"Mr. Zabuza..."
He bit his lip and summoned every ounce of strength to force himself to stay awake.
His vision finally cleared a little.
He saw the Primeval Forest that blotted out the sky, and the Kubikiribōchō that had been snapped in two.
He also saw Zabuza, the man he had once considered as invincible as a god, kneeling helplessly at the languid boy's feet like a dog with its spine broken.
"No... how could this happen..."
Haku's heart spasmed violently.
His prized Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals had been as fragile as paper toys before those towering trees that burst from the ground.
Absolute power had crushed him.
That despair-inducing gulf had shattered every last shred of his pride.
He struggled to get up, desperate to protect Zabuza.
But to his sorrow, he realized he lacked even the strength to lift a finger.
Let alone form hand seals and use ninjutsu.
Under the assault of that terrifying yellow pollen, he was now nothing more than a helpless ant at someone else's mercy.
The commotion at the end of the bridge shattered the brief, deathly silence.
"Get them! Chop them into mincemeat!"
Gato's shrill voice was as grating as nails scraping glass.
Hundreds of thugs and ronin carrying samurai swords charged onto the Great Bridge, howling like a pack of hungry hyenas.
"Gato..."
Kneeling on the ground, Zabuza slowly raised his head.
His eyes beneath his browless forehead were bloodshot, filled with bone-deep hatred.
He had been betrayed.
That disgusting nouveau riche, whom he had always despised but had been forced to serve for money, had treated him like trash