As one of the famous "big three" of the anime sphere, Naruto remains an incredibly popular shōnen that still exists as a favorite for many fans around the world. The journey of the endlessly enthusiastic Naruto Uzumaki, a young ninja with a somber past, is a narrative that remains timeless. Naruto's determination and steadfastness, no matter the obstacle, continue to inspire viewers today.
One of Naruto's first missions as a genin, or junior ninja, turned out to be a journey that no one, not even the rest of Team 7, could have anticipated. The series of battles against the bloodthirsty rogue ninja Zabuza Momochi and his protégé, Haku, may have occurred early in the series, yet their legacy would not be forgotten. After all, had luck not been on Team 7's side, the entire Naruto narrative would have developed very differently.
Zabuza Momochi: The Heroes’ First True Enemy
A Legendary Ninja Known as the "Demon of the Hidden Mist"
Zabuza Momochi, also known as the "Demon of the Hidden Mist", is a man that fans still know very little about regarding his past. However, what viewers do know of Zabuza's upbringing directly correlates with the dark past of Kirigakure. Long ago, the land was called the "Village of the Bloody Mist", as young ninja who wished to graduate would have to fight their fellow students to the death.
This deadly practice was brought to an end one day after a young boy, not yet a student of Kirigakure Academy himself, slaughtered an entire graduating class single-handedly. The child would later be identified as Zabuza, though the event would be how he gained his now-infamous nickname. Though the morbid final exam practice was never held again after that fateful day, this legacy remains a great shadow over the entire history of the Village Hidden in the Mist.
Years later, Zabuza led a coup against Yagura Karatachi, the Fourth Mizukage, after he came to disagree with his policies. However, his plan failed, and Zabuza and some of his remaining followers escaped from the Village Hidden in the Mist. In order to make ends meet, Zabuza would become a mercenary ninja, his reputation speaking of his brutal and cunning tactics. Many of Zabuza's clients were corrupt and selfish, including Gatō, a feared man who secretly acted as a drug dealer and smuggler aside from his role as a shipping magnate. He terrorized the people of the Land of Waves, and even publicly executed Kaiza, the stepfather of Inari. After Kaiza's death, the people of the Land of Waves were too afraid to try to stand up to Gatō. However, after Tazuna made plans to build a bridge that would greatly help the Land of Waves, Gatō hired Zabuza to assassinate him.
Haku: Trained To Be the Ultimate Weapon
A Mercenary Searching for a Purpose
Ages ago in the Land of Water, a terrible war occurred, during which ninja with supernatural abilities, known as kekkei genkai, were enlisted. Following the war, people who possessed some type of kekkai genkai became feared and even persecuted. As such, those who lived in the Land of Water and possessed a kekkai genkai did their best to hide away such power. One woman, who possessed the kekkei genkai known as Ice Release, kept her abilities hidden for many years, even from her beloved husband.
However, when her son, Haku, discovered that he had inherited his mother's ability, she harshly reprimanded him before apologizing to her frightened child. Tragically, Haku's father witnessed the entire exchange, and led a group of villagers to kill his wife and son. After finding out that his father killed his mother, Haku used Ice Release to kill his father and his followers and ran away from his village.
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Haku was forced to fend for himself, even having to fight off stray dogs for scraps of food he found in the garbage. It was around this time that Haku first met Zabuza, just as the child was desperately searching for purpose. Upon hearing the young boy's claim that they had the same eyes, Zabuza asked if Haku would become his apprentice, a weapon of destruction. Even if it meant becoming a tool for violence, and becoming a shinobi, which he never wanted to be in the first place, Haku accepted.
Years later, a fifteen-year-old Haku worked for Zabuza still as a mercenary and a master at the Ice Release kekkei genkai. However, Haku was not fond of unnecessarily killing his opponents, an act that Zabuza would comment on with disdain. Regardless of how cold Zabuza was, Haku nevertheless followed in his footsteps, towards a fate that would truly solidify just how somber the life of a ninja in the world of Naruto could be.
How Did Zabuza and Haku Nearly Change the Anime’s Narrative?
Had Sasuke Truly Died, Naruto’s Story Would Have Been Very Different
After tasking the members of Team 7 with various D-rank missions, Naruto expresses his dislike of such boring tasks to Kakashi Hatake. Thus, Kakashi allows Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke to take on their first C-rank mission, in this case to guard the bridge builder Tazuna while he embarks on a journey to the Land of Waves.
However, after the group battles the Demon Brothers, they soon learn that their C-rank mission is truly an A-rank mission in terms of difficulty, as the criminal Gatō was hiring different mercenaries in an attempt to kill Tazuna. If Tazuna succeeded in building a bridge connecting the Land of Waves to the Land of Fire, the citizens of the former would be able to break away from Gatō's reign of terror. In order to prevent this event, Gatō acted from the shadows during the arc, and was furious over the Demon Brothers' failure to assassinate Tazuna. His next plan was to hire Zabuza, who was known and even feared by other mercenary ninja for his brutality.
Just as Team 7 and Tazuna arrive in the Land of Waves, Zabuza appears and attacks the opposing ninja, even enclosing Kakashi in a Water Prison. Thankfully, Naruto and Sasuke are able to work together and come up with a plan to deceive Zabuza, freeing their teacher from the Water Prison. However, the mercenary ninja is then seemingly killed by a masked Haku, who claims to be a tracker ninja from the Anbu of Kirigakure.
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Because of the severity of his wounds, Zabuza is forced to recuperate in the shadows. However, Naruto crosses paths with Haku later on while the latter collects medicinal plants; as Haku is no longer wearing a mask and wearing civilian clothing, Naruto does not recognize him as the ninja who supposedly killed Zabuza. The two converse about their goals and about those they wish to protect, the exchange further solidifying Haku's loyalty to the Demon of the Hidden Mist, despite the tragic role he must play. Though this is a peaceful moment, things later become far from serene when Zabuza arrives once more to try and kill Tazuna, bringing Haku along with him.
Haku arrives wearing the same outfit he wore after he "killed" Zabuza, allowing Naruto and the other ninja to recognize him. While Kakashi duels against Zabuza, and while Sakura guards Tazuna, Sasuke and Naruto battle against Haku. The two find themselves trapped in a prison created by Haku's ice-based kekkai genkai, a phenomenon known as Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals. In the midst of battling, Haku seemingly kills Sasuke.
The shock and grief brought about by the discovery of his teammate's death causes Naruto to use the power of Kurama, the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox, for the first time. This event nearly brought Naruto to kill Haku, but once he broke the latter's mask and recognized him as the boy picking medicinal plants from before, he stopped to hear the other ninja's story. Feeling as if he could no longer aid Zabuza, Haku asked for Naruto to kill him. However, before such an action could be done, Haku sensed that Zabuza was in danger, and took the killing blow from Kakashi meant for his mentor. It was Naruto's words that allowed Zabuza to realize just how much Haku cared for him, and as Gatō and his men kicked the deceased young ninja's corpse, Zabuza killed Gatō at the cost of his own life.
In the aftermath of the conflict, the group discovered that Sasuke was, in fact, still alive. Team 7 was thus honored by the people of the Land of the Waves for their aid, and when everyone was healed, they began their journey home. However, the legacy of the team's fateful series of battles against Zabuza and Haku, along with their own personal stories, is one that remains an echo even as the anime expands its narrative. For instance, these battles played a key part in how Naruto would continuously remain loyal to his allies, due to his fear of losing those close to him.
Most of all, had Sasuke truly died, the entire narrative of Naruto would have gone very differently. If the Uchiha clan's sole survivor had passed on, what would their legacy have been then? Had Sasuke never left his home and gone down a dark path, how would the later narrative of Naruto have developed? Most of all, what would have become of Naruto and Sakura, whose own paths were connected to Sasuke's? Though the audience can never truly know for sure, if Sasuke had truly passed during the battle against Haku, then the legacy connected to the Uchiha clan, and the fates of Naruto and the rest of Team 7, would surely have been clouded by sorrow.
Naruto
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget- Release Date
- 2002 - 2007-00-00
- Showrunner
- Masashi Kishimoto
Cast
-
Junko Takeuchi -
Noriaki Sugiyama
