6 Resolve and an Unexpected Encounter

The mist was particularly thick on the day that Haku and I left the small town behind. Visibility was only around 20 meters, and Haku was nervous about being unable to see ahead of us. Thankfully, I was able to awaken my Byakugan before the attack that killed my mother, and I was able to guide us without having to worry about wandering off the poorly maintained dirt path.

The look Haku gave me the first time she saw my Byakugan was something else. She had tried her best to maintain a smile on her face, but her shaky voice and twitching eyebrows made me realize something that I would have never guessed while watching the anime. The Byakugan is intimidating!

I suppose I should have seen it coming, but I never looked at myself with it active before and I never saw my mother in this life use it, which is probably why the old Haruka didn't understand that his mother was a Hyuga, despite their world-famous doujutsu.

Time passed slowly on our track to Kishinami town, and Haku and I began to have more and more spirited and friendly conversations. I knew it would take at least a weak to get there by wagon, though if I ran using Chakra, I would be able to make it in a day. I spent my time trying to get Haku to open up to me. I told stories of old Haruka's childhood, taught her Caligraphy on the parchment I purchased before leaving, and when we stopped for the night, and even started training my Yin and Yang Strengthening Methods. I even taught Haku, though I used a revised method I had figured out which allowed her more control over the Shape Transformation of her [Ice Release].

All the while, Haku slowly began to open up to me. She told me about her past, and about how her own father had betrayed and tried to kill her due to her Kekke Genkai. I had told her that I knew she used [Ice Release] and that it was an amazing ability that I would make use of, which earned me an afternoon with Haku crying happily into my chest while I gently guided George along the road.

During our rest stops, I had Haku teach me some E-Ranked water jutsu so I didn't have to worry about bathing without her. Apparently, E-Rank Jutsu are all listed as basic jutsu that anyone can use and civilians most often use them for everyday instances to make their lives a little easier. Somehow I have a feeling that this is how the sage of the Six Paths originally intended Nishu to work. The more you know I guess.

Ironically, Haku was extremely hesitant to teach me these 'everyday jutsu' because she thought that I would end up abandoning her once I didn't need her to use them for me. I was able to reassure her by promising to allow her to do most of the cooking and cleaning with it and to only use it when she wasn't there.

Over the next few days, I learned that Haku would make a surprisingly great Japanese housewife, as she was both a surprisingly good cook for someone who hadn't eaten anything freshly cooked in months and she enjoyed doing menial tasks like cleaning and pampering me. She claims that she does this because she likes it, and not because I asked her to. I was surprised and thought was a step in the right direction from a master-servant relationship into a true friendship.

Over the course of the weeklong journey, Haku and I encountered no less than 4 different bandit groups who tried to rob us, but a combination of my father's self-defense jutsu, our Kekkei Genkai, and my own studies with the scrolls of the Kaguya Clan, allowed both Haku and I to make short work of these untrained vagabonds. Haku was hesitant about killing them at first but after I had a talk with her about it, she became a merciless killing machine, cutting down our enemies with brutal efficiency.

(Flashback several days)

After finishing off the last of the three, scruffy-looking middle-aged men on my side, I looked over to Haku. She was standing over several people doing porcupine impressions with the amount of Ice Senbon that Haku had fired at them.

"Haku. I know you don't like to kill people, and I know how gentle of a soul you are, but you can't allow your enemy to live, especially after you defeated them." I say as I place my hand on her shoulder.

She looks at me for a minute before deciding to ask the question that is raging in her mind.

"Hakura-sama, is killing them really necessary? I've already rendered them unconscious and I have looted their belongings as you have instructed." She said, looking directly into my eyes.

"Unfortunately it is necessary Haku. Think about it for a moment. These people have seen you performing [Ice Release] Jutsu and me performing [Bone Release] as well as my Byakugan. If any of them are allowed to live, they will want revenge for their humiliation and will report us to Kirigakure.

Both of our clans are extinct by the hands of their ninja, so they will send shinobi to kill us off and eliminate the potential future threat." I say. The more words I speak, the smaller Haku seems to shrink. She realizes that I am right, but she doesn't want to admit to me, or herself, that killing is what must be done.

I look at her for a few minutes before coming to another conclusion. This one is cold and maybe heartless, but if I say it now, Haku will definitely get over her fear of killing, and on the contrary, she will kill without hesitation in the future, though I feel if I say these next words, both Haku and I will lose something that can never be regained. Unfortunately, we are still inside the territory of the Land of Water and can be killed at any time by passing Kiri nin.

"Haku!" I say, slightly hesitating. I look at her for a brief moment and she meekly looks me in the eye once more.

"Haku if we do not kill our enemies, they will kill us. It may not be right now, it may not even be for years, but as we are now, we are weak. You and I have both seen how society treats people like us. I refuse to allow myself to be killed, and more than that, I refuse to allow you to be killed because of me." I say.

"Haku. What about you? Do you wish to see me getting hurt or even killed because of this hesitation? Are you strong enough to protect me from all of the enemies in the future if you allow them to live today!?" I say.

Haku trembles slightly at my raised tone of voice and tears begin to well within her eyes. I know that the thought of me dying, especially because of her own actions, is worse than any other nightmare she can experience.

"NO!" she screeches! "NO! NO! NO! NO! I don't want Hakura-sama to die! I refuse to let Hakura-sama die because of me!" She says hurriedly, though she says it more to herself than to me.

I feel immediate guilt at my manipulation of Haku. I know that she has grown dependent upon me for her emotional support, though I also know that by saying this, Haku will lose what little remains of her innocence. I was never this manipulative during my past life, though if I don't start to change my ways, and harden my resolve, then I will like the boat without oars, tossed aside and eventually smashed against the shore of the world by a tide that I cannot control.

I look down at the unconscious bandits below Haku and I. 'I refuse to allow myself to be controlled by my weaknesses. I will overcome it!' I think as I raise my finger into a gun shape.

While not quite at the level of Kimimaro, I am able to use Shikotsumyaku to create extra finger bones and fire them off like his [Ten-Finger Drilling Bullets], though due to my only recently awakening my memories and my Kekkei Genkai, I can only fire one shot per hand. I named the technique [Finger Pistol] after the One Piece Rokushiki technique, although my use is far more deadly since I can sharpen my finger bones before firing them, giving more penetrative power and a higher range, while combining it with my Byakugan to close Tenketsu points or deal lethal damage to critical areas of the body.

I fire two shots into each bandit. One in the head, one in the heart. When I get to the last one, Haku stops me by grabbing my arm.

"P-please Haruka-sama... let me do it" She says. Her voice may be small, but it has a newly found determination rising behind it. I can almost see the faint fire in her eyes as she resolves herself.

Seeing this, I only nod and she takes out one of her metal senbon and places it right through the last bandit's throat. I use my Byakugan to see that she simultaneously pierced his gullet and trachea, so he will drown in his own blood, if slowly.

Afterward, Haku silently walks towards me and plants her head in my chest as she silently wept until she fell asleep in my embrace.

(Flashback End)

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It is the last day of our journey to Kishinami town and we should be there around tomorrow. We stopped at a nearby settlement to restock on spices and, once again, I was amazed and bewildered by the technological progress of the ninja world. Although slightly more expensive than in my previous world, most shops had a selection of spices that would make the Spices Ilse in any supermarket blush, and because of this, I was able to secure quite a bit of salt, pepper, cinnamon, and other spices. Haku was overjoyed, as she loved showing off her cooking skills to impress me.

At night, we were headed off to the wagon to get some sleep. We often slept in the wagon with the Canopy up to protect us from any surprise rains, something I learned from my parents in this life, but as we approached the wagon, we saw a group of people in mob formation murmuring to themselves about a grey and orange demon in a child's skin who destroyed a village a day's journey by foot to the east.

I was very confused by this and thought for a while about it. Demons in this world are generally amorphous or monstrous or ethereal in nature if the Naruto and Naruto Shippuden fillers and movies are to be believed.

Haku didn't seem to be particularly interested in it until the group mentioned that the demon may come for their town next. She instantly was filled with killing intent that sent the villagers running for their homes at the thought that a demon would try to kill her precious 'Haruka-sama'.

Haku's killing intent was the final click that I needed when thinking on what this Demon could be.

'Killing Intent! Grey and Orange Demon in the body of a Child! Destroying a town! THAT'S JUGO!' I thought in revelation. Jugo was one of Orochimaru's subordinates and he had the unique ability to channel natural energy and transform it into nature chakra without becoming a Sage. His unique Kekkei Genkai was so strong that it directly led to Orochimaru's development of the Curse Mark.

I turned to Haku before saying "Haku! I've decided on who I want our next companion to be!"

Haku looked stunned for a brief moment before she composed herself. "As you wish Haruka-sama."

I turned my compass towards my next ally and someone who may be the key to not being useless if I can't stop the events of the 4th Shinobi War or any Juubi Jinchuriki from being created. If I had Jugo, I could master Sage Mode without learning it from a summoning animal.

My compass once again let out its signature *Ding* as Jugo became its new focus.