Kenya jumped down from the granite.
He reached the beach in a few strides.
The waves receded one after another, leaving behind the white figure curled up on the sand.
The enormous block of ice the boy clutched tightly gave off wisps of cold air beneath the blazing sun.
Kenya frowned.
The Land of Water's Kekkei Genkai, Ice Release?
He took another look at the boy, whose features were as delicate as a girl's. His silky black hair was soaked with seawater and clung to his pale cheeks.
"This should be Haku from the original story."
Kenya rubbed his chin.
Judging by the timeline, Haku's Kekkei Genkai should have just been exposed at this stage, leading to his family's destruction.
He was currently wandering and had yet to be taken in by Zabuza Momochi.
To think the waves had swept him onto this deserted island. Did this count as snatching him away from fate?
"You're lucky you ran into me."
Kenya bent down as though picking up a kitten.
He lifted Haku off the sand with one hand and casually crushed the block of ice that was in the way.
Haku was very light, almost weightless.
Kenya returned to the platform on the mountaintop in a few strides and set Haku beside the warm campfire.
The fire left over from grilling the octopus had not gone out, and its warmth was just right.
Kenya casually made a wooden bowl with Black Iron Wood Release, collected some clean fresh water, tossed in a few pieces of leftover octopus, and brought it to a boil.
A simple bowl of hot soup was ready.
He picked up the wooden bowl, roughly pried Haku's mouth open, and poured the hot soup inside.
"Cough, cough... cough, cough, cough!"
The scalding broth flowed down his throat.
Amid a fit of violent coughing, Haku slowly opened his eyes.
His gaze was filled with confusion and fear.
What greeted him was a dancing campfire and a tall, muscular man with bronze skin.
"Awake? Then drink this soup yourself."
Kenya shoved the wooden bowl into Haku's hands, sat down beside him, and picked up a toothpick to continue picking his teeth.
Haku held the warm wooden bowl, his body trembling slightly.
He smelled the rich aroma of the broth, and his stomach let out an uncontrollable rumble.
But he did not dare drink. He merely stared at Kenya in terror, instinctively shrinking back.
"Y-you... why did you save me?"
Haku's voice was soft, with a trace of timidity.
"I'm a cursed person... I have the kind of Kekkei Genkai everyone despises."
"I'm a monster, worthless trash."
"I even caused my own parents' deaths... I should have died in the sea."
As he spoke, Haku's eyes reddened, and large tears rolled down his pale cheeks.
The Land of Water was known as the "Bloody Mist Village."
The persecution of those with Kekkei Genkai there had reached an appalling level.
Haku had grown up amid this extreme fear.
He was used to being treated as a monster, used to being abandoned, and even believed he had never deserved to live.
Kenya listened to Haku's words, so full of pessimism and self-loathing.
His hand paused in the middle of picking his teeth.
He turned his head and looked at the pitiful boy before him.
In the original story, Haku had willingly served as a tool for a cold-blooded killer like Zabuza, ultimately even taking a fatal blow for him.
At heart, this child simply yearned too deeply to be needed.
He longed for someone to accept a "monster" like him.
"A monster?"
Kenya scoffed and flicked the toothpick away.
"Brat, have you ever seen a monster as frail as you, who can't even hold a bowl of soup steady?"
He pointed at the still-steaming bowl of octopus soup.
"Quit wallowing in self-pity and drink!"
"I went to all that trouble to cook it. It won't taste good cold."
Haku flinched at Kenya's rather fierce tone.
But he could sense that, despite this man's rough appearance and harsh tone, he harbored none of that suffocating malice.
There was even... an inexplicable sense of security.
Haku carefully raised the wooden bowl and began drinking in small sips.
The warm broth flowed down his throat into his stomach.
It dispelled the chill inside him and brought a trace of warmth he had not felt in a long time.
After he finished the soup, a little color returned to Haku's face.
He set down the wooden bowl and lowered his head, still not daring to look at Kenya.
"Thank you for saving me... but I really am no use at all."
"I'm just a cursed tool."
Haku's voice grew quieter and quieter.
"A tool?"
Kenya stood up and looked down at Haku.
Suddenly, he reached out with his broad hand.
Smack.
He planted it unceremoniously on Haku's head, then roughly ruffled his hair.
He mussed Haku's silky black hair into a bird's nest.
"Enough of this tool nonsense. Don't give me those melodramatic lines!"
Kenya pulled a bag of rice crackers from his pocket and shoved it straight into Haku's arms.
"I don't need tools here. I need someone who can cook."
"You look soft and delicate, but you ought to be pretty sharp."
"Can you cook? Wash dishes? Grill meat?"
Dazed by the rough head rub, Haku held the bag of rice crackers and stared blankly at Kenya.
"I... a little..."
"Then that settles it!"
Kenya slapped his thigh and burst out laughing.
"From today on, you're my number one chef!"
"I don't give a damn about your Kekkei Genkai or curses."
"Here, I make the rules!"
"As long as you cook the meals properly, if anyone dares call you a monster, I'll punch his head into his stomach!"
Kenya's unreasonable declaration.
Like a thunderbolt, it tore through the cold gloom in Haku's heart.
A worthless tool?
No, someone needed him.
Not only was he needed, but this powerful man had taken him under his wing in an utterly overbearing way.
Haku looked at the rice crackers in his arms, then at Kenya's carefree smile.
His eyes reddened again.
But this time, the tears that fell were not tears of despair.
Haku nodded vigorously, carefully tore open the bag, and took a bite of a rice cracker.
The rice cracker was crisp, with a faint soy sauce aroma.
It tasted delicious.
"I'll work hard to learn how to cook... sir."
Haku spoke softly, the corners of his mouth finally lifting into a smile befitting his age.
"What's this 'sir' business? Call me Uncle or Boss."
Kenya waved a hand and turned to fetch some more seafood from the sea.
Just then.
Bzz-
A cold, piercing ring of a blade suddenly came from the thick fog in the distance that had yet to disperse.