Haku

was a villager from the Land of Water, and a member of the Yuki clan. He later became a shinobi after meeting Zabuza Momochi.

Background
Haku was born in a small, snowy village in the Land of Water, a land that had suffered from war not long before. In this war, different sides battled each other using ninja, some of whom possessed kekkei genkai. After the war ended, memories of the horrific battles still lingered in the minds of the people. Those with kekkei genkai quickly became feared and hated for their abilities, out of concern that their existence would only bring about more war.

Haku's father and mother were simple farmers, and they lived a peaceful life. They loved each other, and were kind to their child. Unfortunately, this would all change. Haku's mother was a carrier of a kekkei genkai: Ice Release. She hid this fact from her husband, hoping that the love and peace that was shared in their small family would last forever. One day, Haku discovered the ability to manipulate water. Amazed by this, Haku proudly showed this to his mother, who was horrified by what she saw. She harshly scolded and slapped Haku for displaying his ability, though she tearfully apologised to him afterwards. Unbeknownst to them, Haku's father had seen everything from the shadows. When Haku's father discovered that his wife and child possessed a kekkei genkai, he assembled a small mob of villagers. With tears flowing down his eyes, he killed his wife. He then attempted to kill Haku. But before he could, Haku used his Ice Release to create several large ice spikes to kill his father and the rest of the mob.

Orphaned, Haku became a child who was wanted by no one and was forced to take to the cold streets and rummage through trash bins for scraps of food, even sometimes having to fight off the wild dogs that roamed the streets. In time, he was confronted by Zabuza Momochi, a man who had "the same eyes" as him. Zabuza later asked Haku to become his "weapon," which meant to become a dedicated shinobi for Zabuza. Haku readily accepted this role, due to the purpose it gave him, and devoting his life to becoming the ultimate tool for Zabuza to use. Zabuza then trained Haku in the ways of the shinobi, as well as every fighting technique that he knew.

In the anime, it was revealed that Haku and Zabuza met Kimimaro some time after Zabuza cast aside the Land of Water and set out with Haku. Haku appeared to sympathise with Kimimaro for his loneliness and lack of purpose by looking into his eyes. However, he was forced to keep moving by Zabuza, and left Kimimaro to be.

Personality
Haku was a good-hearted, compliant, and eager shinobi, believing that a person becomes truly strong when they have someone important to protect. Despite his talent for battle, and incredible abilities, Haku disliked needing to kill others in his role as a tool, and avoided doing so whenever possible. When forced to face an opponent, Haku did all that he could to avoid inflicting great harm, even putting them into a death-like state to prevent them from fighting further, as he did to Sasuke during their battle. Before he met Zabuza, he suffered from a belief that he was unnecessary, and served Zabuza because he wanted to feel himself useful.

Appearance
Haku was a young man with an androgynous appearance and was even viewed as being beautiful by Naruto, who exclaimed that he was "cuter than Sakura", even after he informed him that he was male. He had long black hair, pale skin and large, dark-brown eyes, a slender frame, and was also quite short for his age. Haku's normal shinobi outfit consisted of the standard Kirigakure pinstriped outfit which stopped at his knees. Over this he wore a green haori with white trimmings, and around his waist a brown sash with a fringed trail wrapped around his waist twice.

He also wore light-brown platoon sandals with straps in the same colour as his kimono and nail polish on his fingernails and toenails in matching blue green colour. When wearing this outfit, Haku's long hair was gathered in a white bun holder, while two locks of his hair fell loose framing his face, bound with metal hair cuffs at the ends. Haku also wore a black forehead protector with the Kirigakure's symbol upon it. When in battle or moving covertly, he wore a hunter-nin mask on top of his forehead protector, which was white with thin, curved eye-holes and a red wavy design in place of the mouth, as well as the Kirigakure symbol etched in the top.

When Haku was not in combat, he wore his long hair loosely, and wore a pink sleeveless, kimono, with pale red edges and decorated with small plum-coloured swirls, that went to his ankles. Around his waist was a simple white obi tied in a bow, and he wore a pair of light brown sandals with dark straps. He also wore a dark-coloured choker around his neck.

When he was a child, Haku wore a over-large, shredded light-brown shirt which fell off his shoulders, and a pair of shredded knee-length pants, as well as the dark choker. Later when taken in by Zabuza, Haku is spotted wearing a short blue kimono with light blue edges and a dark grey split skirt, similar to those ones he wore as a shinobi, and also similar to those he wore as a younger child when his parents were alive.

Abilities
A gifted individual, and having been trained by Zabuza himself, Haku was a very dangerous, and powerful ninja for his age. According to Zabuza, Haku possessed such prodigious talent that, in many ways, Haku had become more dangerous than him. His skills and renown was great enough for Kabuto Yakushi to reincarnate him with the Summoning: Impure World Reincarnation technique to fight for Akatsuki during the Fourth Shinobi World War.

Taijutsu
One of Haku's defining battle-traits was his sheer speed. He was very fast with his attacks, such that Sasuke could not follow his actions until he had reawakened his Sharingan. Upon that moment, Zabuza was shocked that Haku would actually lose to Sasuke in terms of speed. His speed is so tremendous that he was able to quickly close the gap between Zōri and Waraji and take their swords from them before either of them realised what had happened.

His speed increased to incredible levels using his Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals, making it appear like he was in all the mirrors at once at one point while he was just travelling in between them at extraordinary speeds. It was such that he could launch several senbon from all the mirrors, looking like he was literally in all of them.

As shown in a few circumstances Haku was also quite strong, such as being able to carry Zabuza's body a safe distance without losing speed and breaking Gatō's arm by simply tightening his grip around it.

Nature Transformation
Haku's most noticeable power was the utilisation of water and wind nature manipulations to create Ice Release. His power over ice granted him special techniques, like the Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals, which surrounds a target with mirrors that Haku could travel between and attack from, even if his opponent is in the sky. During his flashbacks of his youth in the anime, Haku was shown to release large spikes made of ice when he was about to be killed by his father. He could also use water-style techniques, such as Thousand Flying Water Needles of Death, which causes the water on the floor to concentrate into needles with just one stomp on the ground.

With his Ice Release, he could create an ice dome that is capable of blocking multiple explosive tags at once.

Intelligence
Haku possessed a very detailed knowledge of human physiology, thanks to Zabuza's former ANBU training. His knowledge was great enough that he could disable an opponent with acupuncture by hitting a precise point on the body with a senbon, to cause immediate death or a temporary appearance of such. Haku was also very keen-minded, as he had been shown to have great observational and analytical abilities, capable of quickly determining a way around an opponent's technique or strategy. Haku also had the ability to perform hand seals with only one hand, a skill that amazed even Kakashi. Haku also appears to have knowledge of some animals as he was able to detect the Allied Shinobi Forces' Surprise Attack Division based on the unusual flight pattern of the birds Sai had made. Haku also knew a lot about herbalism, as he often collected plants to use them for medical purposes.

Land of Waves Arc
When Zabuza was about to be killed by Kakashi Hatake, Haku appeared, disguised as a hunter-nin, playing the part by appearing to kill Zabuza. He took the body, and, elsewhere, revived him, leaving Zabuza to rest a week before he could have a rematch with Kakashi. During this time, he met Naruto, and had a conversation with him about their purposes in life and those they care about.

During Zabuza's second fight with Kakashi, Haku (wearing the same mask as when he saved Zabuza) was drawn into battle with Kakashi's students: first Sasuke and then Naruto. He trapped both with his Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals, and bombarded them with needles, tiring them out. When Sasuke appeared to have died protecting Naruto from a "fatal" blow (in actuality being put in a death-like state by Haku), Naruto, in anger, tapped into the power of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox sealed within him. He was able to attack Haku, and break through the mirrors, in turn breaking Haku's mask. Recognising Haku from earlier, Naruto regained his senses in time to stop himself from killing Haku.

Haku, defeated, and thus of no further use to Zabuza, asked Naruto to kill him anyway. Though reluctant, Naruto tried to comply, if it would make Haku happy. Before Naruto could do so, however, Haku sensed that Zabuza was about to be killed by Kakashi. Finding one final purpose, he parried Naruto's attack and went to Zabuza, using himself as a human shield against Kakashi's Lightning Cutter. Before he died, he grabbed Kakashi's arm, hoping that in death he would be useful to Zabuza in defeating his opponent. Zabuza thanked him, and tried to cut through his body to kill Kakashi, but Kakashi was able to pull away from the attack.

When Zabuza's employer, Gatō, arrived soon afterwards, and chose to end his contract with Zabuza, he was quick to defile Haku's body. While initially unperturbed by this, Zabuza was brought to tears by the act when Naruto told him of how Haku felt about him. In a final act of repentance, Zabuza killed Gatō, at the cost of his own life. As he died from the injuries given to him by Gatō's men, Zabuza asked to be beside Haku in death, and asked if they could go to the same afterlife together.

Shinobi World War Arc
In preparation for the Fourth Shinobi World War, Haku was reincarnated by Kabuto Yakushi to fight against the Allied Shinobi Forces, before being mobilised alongside Gari, Pakura and Toroi. Conversing with Zabuza, Haku noted their situation to be unusual, as his body was moving of its own accord despite his mind being clear.

Ambushed by the Surprise Attack Division, Haku quickly protected both himself and Zabuza from the explosive tags carried by Sai's ink birds. Locating the enemy's position in the sky, Haku created a mirror above them and shot them down with his senbon, before rejoining the other reincarnated shinobi below. Involuntarily storming the grounded opposition, Haku was intercepted by Rock Lee before he could deal the deadly blow. As Zabuza talked with Kakashi, the latter revealed that Naruto had become an admirable shinobi since they had fought him, to which Haku happily remarked that he believed Naruto would only continue to improve.

As Kabuto erased their consciousness, Haku pleaded with Kakashi to stop them again while stating his belief that he had failed as Zabuza's tool, since the latter was also dead. However, when Kakashi informed him that he had in fact succeeded, and that Zabuza didn't simply view him as a tool, a tearful Haku silently thanked Zabuza as the last of his consciousness faded away. An unthinking Haku then launched into an assault, killing several shinobi of the Third Division, until he is eventually repelled by Might Guy and Rock Lee.

After the previous generation of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist are summoned to the battlefield, Haku returned to his mirrors, as the swordsmen began their silent massacre on the mist-covered battlefield. Kabuto later moved Haku to intercept Kakashi's attempt to incapacitate Zabuza, reflecting how he had blocked Kakashi in their first encounter. An impaled Haku then kept Kakashi still so that Zabuza could attack, bisecting Haku in the process. Ensui Nara then immobilised Haku after Kakashi's signal, and was later bound and sealed by Maki, after Zabuza's defeat.

Later, with the release of the Impure World Reincarnation technique, a light of sorts encased Haku's sealed body as the technique was dispelled, and his soul was returned to the afterlife.

Trivia

 * 'Haku' means "white", while his clan's name 'Yuki' means "snow".
 * Despite his early death, and short appearances in the story, Haku has remained a relatively popular character in the story. He routinely appears in favourite character lists, but has fallen out of the top 10 in more recent polls.
 * In the Serbian version of the anime, other characters erroneously refer to Haku as female.
 * In the anime, Kakashi simply drove his Lightning Cutter onto Haku's chest. However, in the manga, Kakashi's hand went right through his body.
 * Haku and his Ice Release ability were made reference to in Part II, when Naruto was learning about different kinds of chakra.
 * Haku's mask made a cameo appearance in the ending omake of Shippūden episode 129 along with Tobi's mask and Baki's mask. He also appears in person alongside Zabuza, Hayate Gekkō, and several Rain ninja in episode 183 of Shippūden.
 * In Naruto Shippūden episode 146, a hunter-nin appears with a mask and hair style similar to Haku's.
 * In the Ishikawa Prefecture of Japan, there is a snow-covered, potentially active volcano known as Mount Haku.
 * After being reincarnated by Kabuto Yakushi, Haku was depicted wearing what appeared to be a dark shade of lipstick. This was not present when he was alive in Part I.
 * In Part I, Haku wasn't depicted wearing lipstick neither in the manga nor anime. In Part II, however, when he is reincarnated in the manga he is seen wearing a dark shade of lipstick both in the present and in flashbacks. In the anime depictions both after his reincarnation and in the subsequent flashbacks, he is depicted wearing a light shade of lipstick.

Quotes

 * (To Gatō)
 * (To Naruto)
 * (To Zabuza)
 * (To Naruto)
 * (To Naruto)
 * (To Naruto)
 * (To Naruto)
 * (To Naruto)