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Haku
Haku (Naruto)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Haku
(白)
Haku by Masashi Kishimoto
Debut Manga Chapter 15
Naruto Episode 9
Seiyū Mayumi Asano
Voice actor(s) Susan Dalian
Mona Marshall (as a child)
Profile
Age 15 (deceased)
Birthday January 9
Blood Type O
Height 155.9 cm
Weight 43.2 kg
Information
Current rank Missing-nin
Previous affiliation Zabuza Momochi, Kirigakure
Previous team Zabuza Momochi, Haku
Signature jutsu/Kekkei genkai
Hyoton techniques
Demonic Ice Mirrors
Thousand Flying Water Needles of Death
Haku (白? written in jōyō kanji, meaning "white" wink is a fictional character in the anime and manga series Naruto. In the Malaysian dub, Haku's given name was changed to Shiro in episode 15, leading to the belief that this was in fact his surname. Haku has never been given one, however.
Haku has a heavily androgynous appearance, leading to confusion about his gender both within and outside the show. Naruto Uzumaki in particular notes Haku's feminine appearance, claiming that he's even cuter than Sakura Haruno after Haku reveals he is actually male.
Despite only playing a prominent role at the beginning of the series, Haku has made several appearances in flashbacks throughout the series, including one in the second part of the manga. He also ranks consistently high in official character polls, though he's no longer in the top ten.
Contents
[hide]
1 Background
2 Part I
2.1 Land of Waves arc
3 Sources
[edit]Background
Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.
Young Haku manipulating water in the anime.
Haku was born in a perpetually snowy village in the Land of Water. Before he was born, civil wars ravaged the Land of Water, and since those with kekkei genkai were commonly used as the most terrifying tools of war, many people irrationally feared them. Haku's mother was one of those with a kekkei genkai, and attempted to hide that fact, eventually marrying and giving birth to him. While they were able to live in peace for a time, Haku eventually discovered that he had inherited his mother's gift, and accidentally revealed their secret to his father while toying with his newfound power. Haku's father rallied a small mob and had his wife murdered. He would have done the same to Haku, but Haku inadvertently created a field of icicles through the house in a panic, killing both the mob and his father, leaving him orphaned.
After this event, Haku wandered the Land of Water as a beggar child until he was found by Zabuza Momochi, who agreed to take him in, warning Haku not to expect any companionship. Haku, for his part, accepted this readily, devoting his life to becoming the ultimate weapon for Zabuza. Haku was fiercely protective of and devoted to the older ninja to an extreme, actually crushing Gato's arm when he attempted to grab Zabuza. He was referred to as Zabuza's "consort" in the English translation of the manga and in essence became Zabuza's possession, even asking Naruto to kill him when he feared he could no longer be useful to Zabuza.
Haku was kind but straightforward, a drastic contrast from Zabuza. His personality doesn't seem to have changed from that of his childhood, which suggests that Zabuza's personality never rubbed off on him, but that is understandable. Zabuza didn't treat Haku as family, but rather as a tool to be used and then cast off when no longer useful. Haku secretly suffers from peer pressure of both being kind to both Zabuza and the people around him. He himself admitted that he had trouble accepting the entire shinobi philosophy as it requires killing, something which Haku avoided doing if possible. It is obvious that Haku did not like to kill other enemies, from the fact that he did not try to harm Naruto when he met him, passed out in the forest. Instead of trying, Haku simply told Naruto to wake up, worrying about his health status. As an addition to not harming the hot-headed ninja, he gave Naruto tips on how to become stronger.
Haku's kekkei genkai, known as Hyoton, came from his unique ability to use both wind and water-based chakra at the same time, creating ice. Additionally, Haku is the only character in Naruto to be portrayed as being able to perform jutsu using one-handed seals, while all other characters use two-handed seals. Haku also had an amazing gift of observation and deviation, being able to learn the nature of the Sharingan and devising a way to counter it after seeing it only once.
Haku knew a great deal about human anatomy, and could incapacitate or kill a person with a single needle. Kakashi Hatake notes that ANBU members are taught to know every single detail of the human body, making it possible that Haku was trained as one. It is equally possible, however, that he could have learned these skills from Zabuza, who was a member of the Kirigakure ANBU before defecting.
[edit]Part I
[edit]Land of Waves arc
After Kakashi's defeat of Zabuza, Haku appears dressed as a hunter-nin from Kirigakure sent to kill the traitor Zabuza Momochi. By throwing two needles into the pressure points on the back of Zabuza's neck, Haku is able to give the appearance that he has killed Zabuza, preventing Kakashi from doing so first. Using his position as a hunter-nin, Haku departs with Zabuza's body so that he can revive Zabuza elsewhere, leading Kakashi to believe that something is amiss with the encounter.
Kakashi's suspicions are confirmed when Zabuza and Haku return a week later to continue the battle with Team 7. Haku is forced into a battle with Sasuke Uchiha, who is able to avoid Haku's Thousand Flying Water Needles of Death. Surprised that Sasuke is fast enough to dodge his attack, Haku uses his trump card: Demonic Ice Mirrors, trapping Sasuke in a prison of indestructible ice mirrors. With the ability, Haku is able to almost instantaneously travel through each mirror, giving his opponents the appearance of moving in slow motion and allowing him to easily attack with a barrage of needles.
The advantages granted to Haku are more than enough to overpower Sasuke and, later, Naruto. When one of Haku's attacks appears to kill Sasuke (who is actually put into a temporary death state), Naruto becomes enraged, causing him to tap into the power of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox sealed within him. In doing so, Naruto is able to become faster than Haku, allowing him to catch the latter and defeat him with a single punch, causing all of Haku's mirrors to shatter. As Naruto charges toward Haku to deliver a killing blow, the mask covering Haku's face breaks away revealing the face of the boy beneath.
Naruto, recognizing Haku from one of their earlier encounters, is able to stop himself from killing Haku, instead delivering a subpar punch to his face. Having been defeated and therefore no longer being useful to Zabuza, Haku asks Naruto to kill him, though Naruto initially refuses. After explaining his childhood and what Zabuza means to him, Haku is eventually able to persuade Naruto, and Naruto attempts to take Haku's life in the hopes that it will bring him happiness. Before Naruto can finish his attack, however, Haku senses that Zabuza is in danger, and departs with an apology to Naruto.
Haku sacrifices his own life for Zabuza's
As Kakashi charges toward a restrained Zabuza with his Lightning Blade, Haku appears before Zabuza as a human shield and releases Zabuza from his restraints. After Kakashi, unable to stop his attack, pierces Haku through the heart, Haku grabs onto Kakashi's arm with the last of his strength so that Zabuza can easily attack him, being a tool for his master to the very end. Zabuza appears unconcerned with the death of Haku, and is more than willing to chop through Haku's body in order to kill Kakashi. When Naruto, after learning of Haku's death, recounts how Haku had felt about him, Zabuza breaks into tears, his true feelings for Haku finally revealed.
In an act of retribution, Zabuza slaughters Gato and his mercenaries, and collapses due to his extensive injuries. As his last request, Zabuza asks Kakashi if he can be by Haku's side in death as Haku was by his in life. As Kakashi takes Zabuza to Haku it begins to snow, leading Zabuza to wonder if perhaps Haku is crying. With the last of his strength, Zabuza wishes that he could go to the same place as Haku, and Kakashi believes that Zabuza will be able to go to that place with Haku together.
Spoilers end here.
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