Haku

was a villager from the Land of Water. He later became a Ninja after meeting Zabuza Momochi. Haku had the kekkei genkai ability of Ice Release, which allowed him to control both water release and wind release.

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 all changed one day. 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, and harshly scolded Haku for displaying his ability. 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, 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 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 found by Zabuza Momochi, who 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 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 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 leave Kimimaro be.

Appearance
Haku had an androgynous appearance. Naruto exclaimed that he was "prettier than Sakura," after Haku informed him that he was male. He could also be seen, at times, wearing clothing which showed a slightly more masculine appearance, or at others a more feminine appearance. Haku had straight long black hair, that was just about to the length of his shoulder blades. He had pale skin and brown eyes. He was also quite short for his age.

Personality
Haku was a good-natured, 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 useful.

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 Ice Crystal Mirrors, and bombarded them with needles, tiring them out. When Sasuke appeared to die protecting Naruto from a "fatal" blow (in actuality being put in a death-like stance), 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. Recognizing 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 Blade. 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.

Abilities
Having been trained by Zabuza for years, Haku was a very dangerous ninja for his age. According to Zabuza, Haku possessed such prodigious talent that, in many ways, Haku had become more dangerous than him. 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.

Kekkei Genkai
Haku's most noticeable power was the utilization of water and wind chakra to create ice. His power over ice granted him special techniques, of which the only one seen in the manga was Demonic Ice Crystal Mirrors, which surrounds a target with mirrors that Haku could teleport between and attack from. 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. He was very fast with his attacks, such that Sasuke could not follow his actions until he had awoken his Sharingan. Upon that moment, Zabuza was shocked that Haku would actually lose to Sasuke in terms of speed. Haku also had the ability to perform hand seals with only one hand. Whether this was a product of his kekkei genkai or not is unknown.

Trivia

 * His name means "white."
 * Haku is the only character to ever be seen doing completely independent one handed Hand seals.
 * 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.
 * Because of his androgynous appearance, worship of his hero Zabuza, and role in the story, some fans believe Haku was female. Female voice actresses were used (Mayumi Asano, Susan Dalian, Mona Marshall and Carola Vàzquez).
 * In the anime, Kakashi simply drove his Lightning Blade 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.

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.  "
 * (To Zabuza) "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."
 * "Sorry Naruto, change of plans. I'm not ready to die quite yet."
 * "By the way... I'm a guy."