Chapter 167 - 33

Chapter 33: At this moment, Haku's worldview collapsed. It turned out that being needed didn't require a reason."Won't he?" Naruto sneered, his laughter filled with disdain for such a naive notion. "You treat him like a god, but he treats you like a blade. This is, in itself, an unequal transaction.""People have feelings for pets, feelings for family, and even feelings for their enemies.""But for tools, there are no feelings whatsoever."Naruto extended a finger and lifted Haku's delicate chin, forcing him to look up."Have you ever seen a chef hug a broken kitchen knife and cry?""Have you ever seen a Ninja build a tombstone for a broken Kunai?""No.""If it breaks, you throw it away; if it's dull, you replace it. That is the fate of a tool."Boom!Haku felt as if something had exploded inside his mind.The belief that had sustained him all this time, the pillar known as a "bond," was violently dismantled by Naruto's words, exposing the cold, cruel steel and concrete beneath.He wanted to refute it.He wanted to shout at Naruto that things were different between him and Zabuza.But when the words reached his lips, he couldn't bring himself to say them.Because deep within his heart, in that corner of fear he had deliberately ignored, he had asked himself the same question countless times.If I became useless, would Zabuza still keep me?The answer was silence.A deathly silence."This is the reality you must face."Naruto let go and straightened up, sliding his hands back into his pockets. "You've pinned your entire worth on someone else; that's gambling. And you're spinning your life on someone else's roulette wheel.""Once you lose your utility, or the other person no longer needs you..."Naruto turned around, his back to Haku.His voice drifted over with the wind, as cold as a death sentence."That means you will be discarded.""Like trash, tossed by the roadside, without so much as a glance."Haku shuddered.It felt as if his bones had been removed, and he slumped against the tree roots.Abandoned.Those three words were the greatest nightmare of his life.His parents had abandoned him; the world had abandoned him.If even Zabuza...The wind died down at the treetops.A few withered, yellow leaves spiraled down, landing beside Haku's delicate straw sandals.The air was thick enough to suffocate.Haku stared intently at the blond youth before him. The face that always wore a gentle mask now had a crack in it—a fissure named "fear."Abandoned.Those three words were like a rusty saw, gnawing repeatedly at his most sensitive nerves."That's not true..."Haku's voice rose, carrying a sharp tremor."Zabuza isn't that kind of person!"He took a sudden step forward, as if trying to use his body language to add weight to his words."You don't understand at all!""For someone like me who has nothing, 'being used' is the greatest happiness!"Haku had lost control of his emotions.A mist welled up in his clear eyes, and his hands flailed in the air, trying to grasp the fragments of his collapsing beliefs."If no one needs me, if no one gives me orders...""Then how am I any different from a rock on the side of the road?""If I don't have that 'being needed,' then for me, it's a punishment!""The emptiness of not knowing why I'm living or where I should go—that's more terrifying than death!"Haku panted heavily.His chest heaving.He looked at Naruto with eyes full of pleading.As if begging him to take back those cruel words, begging him to admit that the "tool theory" was correct.As long as Naruto admitted it, his world would be safe again.Naruto stood where he was.He wasn't intimidated by this hysterical outburst.On the contrary.He extended his pinky finger and nonchalantly picked his ear.Then he blew on his fingertip."So noisy."Naruto frowned, looking impatient."Are you a broken record? You keep saying the same thing over and over."He lowered his hand, shoved both hands back into his pockets, and let out a lazy yawn."What emptiness? What rock?""To put it bluntly, you're just an unweaned child who doesn't know how to walk without an adult."Haku froze.All his indignation was choked off in his throat by that light, mocking remark."You think that's a bond?"Naruto took a step forward.The sole of his shoe crushed a dry branch, emitting a crisp "crack.""Placing your life in someone else's hands, biting whoever they tell you to bite, and dying the moment they don't want you anymore...""That isn't a bond."Naruto bent down, his handsome face drawing close to Haku's, carrying a heart-stopping sense of pressure."That's called slavery.""It's treating people like wrenches, screwdrivers, or foot rags.""A true bond isn't built on disgusting transactions of 'using' and 'being used.'"Haku retreated subconsciously.His back hit the rough bark.There was nowhere left to retreat."Then... what is it?"Haku muttered.His mind was in chaos.If they didn't talk about utility, what was the meaning of a Ninja's existence?If he wasn't a weapon, what was the point of his Bloodline Limit?Naruto straightened up.He rubbed his chin and scanned Haku, seemingly contemplating how to educate this stubborn stone.Naruto snapped his fingers.He had it."Listen up, kid."Naruto held up a finger and waved it in front of Haku."Do you know about ramen?"Haku blinked, stunned.Ramen again?Was there nothing in this guy's head besides food?"In ramen, there's something called narutomaki."Naruto gestured with a circle."It's that pink and white fish cake with a spiral pattern.""That thing doesn't fill you up, it doesn't have much flavor, and many people even pick it out and throw it away when eating ramen.""From a 'practicality' standpoint, it's useless.""Completely superfluous."Haku blinked.He didn't understand what this had to do with a bond."But."Naruto shifted gears, his tone suddenly becoming serious."If the owner of the ramen shop dared to serve me a bowl without narutomaki...""I'd flip the table.""I'd point at his nose, curse him for cutting corners, and tell him it had no soul."Haku: "..."What kind of bandit logic was that?"Why?"Naruto asked, answering his own question."Because I'm used to it.""Because in my mind, that bowl of noodles is supposed to have that thing in it.""It doesn't need to be delicious, it doesn't need to be nutritious, and it doesn't even need to be made of fish.""It just needs to be 'there'."Naruto reached out and gently pressed his hand onto Haku's thin shoulder.The warmth of his palm radiated through the thin kimono.It was shockingly hot."That is a bond."Naruto stared into Haku's eyes, speaking enunciating each word."A real bond is when, even if I know you're useless, even if I know you can't cut anyone, even if I know you'll cause me trouble...""I still want to keep you in that position.""Even if you're broken, shattered, or rusted.""I won't throw you into the trash heap.""I'll put you on a shelf, wipe you down every day, and just looking at you will make me feel at ease."Boom!A thunderclap seemed to explode in Haku's mind.Even if... useless?Even if... rusted?He would still keep him?Just to... feel at ease looking at him?This theory completely subverted the laws of the Ninja world.In the Hidden Mist Village, the weak were not only abandoned, they were eradicated.Yet, the youth before him was saying that existence itself was value."This... this is illogical."Haku's lips trembled, his face as pale as paper."This is just... keeping a pet.""Or a collector's obsession.""That's not how a Ninja should think at all!"He tried to refute it.He tried to use his reason to build a line of defense, to resist the erosion of this sugar-coated bullet.