Haku

was a villager from the Land of Water. He later became a Ninja after meeting Zabuza Momochi. Haku has the Kekkei Genkai ability Ice Release which allow him to control two types of nature chakra. He is able to control both water and wind chakra; this gives Haku the ability to use ice chakra, a mixture of the two. Ice Release is literally translated as "Ice Release" in English. Haku also had the ability to perform Hand Seals with only one hand.

Early Life
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, which are passed down through the generations. 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 ability 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 all changed one day. Haku's mother was a carrier of the 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 and harshly scolded Haku for displaying Ice Release's ability. After a slap to Haku's face and a few harsh words, Haku's mother embraced her child and apologized.

Unbeknownst to his mother, Haku's father had seen everything. When Haku's father discovered that his wife and child possessed a kekkei genkai, he assembled a small mob of villagers that evening and killed his wife. He would have done the same to Haku, but before he could, Haku killed them.

Orphaned, Haku became a child who was wanted by no one. Haku 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 mongrel dogs that roamed the same streets eating the same scraps of food.

Life with Zabuza
Some time after this Haku met Zabuza Momochi, a missing-nin from Kirigakure. Zabuza asked Haku to become his "weapon", which meant to become a dedicated kekkei genkai shinobi for Zabuza. Haku readily accepted this role due to the purpose it gave him, devoting his life to becoming the ultimate weapon for Zabuza. Zabuza then trained Haku in the ways of shinobi, as well as every fighting technique that he knew.

Abilities
Haku has always been treated poorly because of his powers, and his mother always told him to be quiet about them because they are sins. In his flashbacks, we see him manipulating water and transforming it into ice. His power over ice grants him very powerful techniques such as 1000 Needles of Death which causes the water on the floor to become ice needles with just one stomp on the ground. His power is also what is known as a Kekei Genkai or a bloodline limit. His signature technique causes the air around him and his opponent to become much colder and then appears with dozens of crystal ice mirrors. On all of these mirrors appears Haku and is able to move from one mirror to other and causes major damage with the use of his senbon. With the help of his natural speed, his technique is very deadly and cannot be copied by the sharingan. This technique is called Crystal Ice Magic Mirror of Death. Another technique is the ice teleportation technique which allows the user to instantly teleport from one ice mirror to another using a minimum amount of chakra.

Appearance
Haku has an androgynous or feminine appearance at some points in time. Naruto exclaims that he is "cuter than Sakura" after Haku informs him that he is male. He can be seen at times wearing clothing which shows a slightly more masculine appearance, or at others a more feminine appearance.

Personality
Haku is a good-natured, compliant, and eager shinobi, believing that a person becomes truly strong when they have someone important to protect. Despite his incredible abilities, Haku dislikes needing to kill others in his role as a tool, and avoids doing so whenever possible. When forced to face an opponent, Haku does all that he can 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 serves Zabuza because he wants to feel useful.

Land of Waves Arc
During Team 7's mission to the Land of Waves, Haku appears as a hunter-nin, giving the impression of being sent to kill Zabuza when in reality was there to save him. Haku was soon revealed to be Zabuza's subordinate in the story and fought Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki on the Great Naruto Bridge.

Prior to his defeat by Naruto, Haku's purpose in life had been to fight for and protect Zabuza and his dream of ruling over the Land of Water. His defeat at the hands of Naruto made him believe that there was no longer any purpose in living, because he then considered himself to be "weak" and of no use to Zabuza. Having lost his only purpose in life, he wished for death. But before Naruto could reluctantly deal the finishing blow as requested, Haku used the Demonic Ice Mirrors and senbon to release Zabuza from Kakashi's summoning and take the full force of his Lightning Blade. Haku's noble and selfless sacrifice for the one who mattered most allowed Zabuza to avoid certain death. Unfortunately, despite Haku's last efforts, Zabuza was eventually defeated by Kakashi and then killed by the combined efforts of Gatou's hired thugs before he managed to kill Gato. When Haku was dead on the floor and Zabuza was next to him, he thought about his ways in treating Haku and was finally able to understand his love for Zabuza. Before Zabuza dies, he whispers in Haku's ear that he won't be with him in the next life, but that he will be in a better place. Even though Haku died, a tear passed down his face and then Zabuza died happily knowing that Haku was happy.

Other involvement
In the anime, it is 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 sympathize with Kimimaro for his loneliness and lack of purpose by looking into his eyes. However, he was forced to keep moving by Zabuza and let Kimimaro be. The manga does not present this meeting.

Quotes
"Don't touch Zabuza-san with your dirty hands......"

"When a person... has something important they want to protect... that's when they can become truly strong"

"Mister... you have the same eyes as me..."

"If possible, I don't want to have to kill you......... nor do I want you to have to kill me...... However, if you come at me......... I will kill my heart with a blade and become a true shinobi"

"This bridge is where our dreams are tied together. The place where we fight. Me, for my dreams. You, for your dreams. Please don't resent me"

I want to protect the person important to me... I want to work for that person, I want to fight for that person... I want to make that person's dream come true... That is my dream..."

"Can you understand? Not having a dream... not being needed by anyone... The pain of merely being alive."

Trivia

 * Despite his early death and short appearances in the story, Haku has remained a relatively popular character in the story. He routinely appears in favorite character lists, but has fallen out of the top 10 characters.
 * Because of his androgynous appearance, worship of his hero Zabuza, and role in the story some fans still like to speculate on Haku being female.