The master bluffer

In the forest, three people were training hard when someone unexpectedly showed up.

Long, flowing hair, fair skin, rosy lips, pearly teeth, and big, watery eyes.

The newcomer was none other than Haku, who had rescued Zabuza that day. The three of them stared, a little dumbstruck.

Seeing all three staring at him, Haku chuckled.

"Have you stared enough?"

Haku smiled sweetly, charming them so much they could barely take it.

"Hello, miss. My name is Naruto Uzumaki. It's nice to meet you." Who knew where Naruto found the courage, but he went straight into introducing himself to Haku.

Meihui watched with great satisfaction. That blockhead had finally caught on. Too bad Haku was a guy.

"Ahem. Little brother, I really don't mean to interrupt, but look at how cute he is. He's got to be a boy." With a tactical clearing of his throat, Meihui interrupted Naruto's game.

"Sorry, mister, you guessed wrong. I'm a girl," Haku said, covering his mouth as he laughed.

That hit Meihui like a thunderbolt, leaving him thoroughly baffled. Why is this different from the Hokage World I know?

"Huh? Haku, when did you become a girl? Aren't you a boy?"

The moment Meihui finished speaking, he realized he had let something slip.

Before he could explain, Haku demanded an answer.

"Mister, this is our first time meeting, isn't it? How do you know my name?"

Seeing Haku's angry expression, Meihui felt rather helpless. He had accidentally let it slip.

What do I do? I let it slip. Wait, I've got it! An idea came to Meihui.

"Haku, right? Come with me. I'll explain what's going on."

With that, Meihui dashed into the woods. Haku gritted his teeth and followed anyway.

"Whoa, Sasuke, look! This is what my brother meant by taking someone into the woods, right?"

Naruto's thoughtless remark made Sasuke roll his eyes repeatedly.

He stopped paying Naruto any attention and went back to training on his own.

After walking some distance, Meihui stopped.

Before long, Haku caught up.

"Your name is Haku. You were born in the Land of Water, but your village hunted you down because of your kekkei genkai. Eventually, you met Zabuza, and he took you in."

Before Meihui could finish, Haku pressed a senbon against his throat.

"Talk. Who are you, really? Why do you know all this?"

With the senbon so close, Meihui shrank back.

"That thing's pretty dangerous. You shouldn't play around with it." As he spoke, he tried pushing the senbon away with his hand, only for Haku to press it harder against his throat.

"Talk already. Stop changing the subject."

"Ahem. I'll talk, I'll talk. Actually, an old man calling himself the Sage of Six Paths told me all this in a dream. He said I'd meet a ninja carrying the Kubikiribōchō, and that he had a follower named Haku."

"The Sage of Six Paths? Did he say anything else?" Haku pressed.

"He also told me to save you two. The bond between you deserves to be known by the world."

"Save us? What do you mean?"

"You'll die at Kakashi's hands while trying to save Zabuza. Only then will Zabuza realize how much losing you hurts, and in the end, he'll die at Gato's hands." Meihui spun black into white and white into black. The master bluffer was now on the job.

Seeing that Haku was still doubtful, Meihui decided to bring out something stronger.

"Haku, I know you might not believe what I'm saying, but this is your only chance to save Zabuza. Think it through."

The air seemed to freeze. Haku fell silent, then finally sighed.

"All right, I believe you. What do I need to do to save Lord Zabuza?"

Meihui leaned close and spoke into Haku's ear.

"Here's what we'll do..."