Chapter 47: A Choice in the Snow
"What you want to know… they will never give you. Or perhaps, they simply can't give it to you."
"What do you mean?" Haku's voice was a sharp, pained hiss.
"Because…" Liumu watched the turmoil in her eyes, the fragile wall of composure beginning to crumble. He walked over and knelt in front of her, bringing himself to her eye level. "You don't need the answer from me. You already know it yourself."
A child with a Kekkei Genkai bloodline is taken by Kirigakure. Their relatives are then eliminated. What Haku sought wasn't really information from that cold woman; she was seeking an answer that would allow her to finally… let go.
How could Haku, who grew up in this hellish system, not suspect the truth?
She just needed confirmation. A definitive answer. This answer was both surrender and despair.
Despair for this village.
Despair for the fragile hope she had nursed in her heart.
Despair, even, for herself.
Yet, even that bleak certainty was denied to her. Even after she had given up, the last dregs of her value had to be squeezed out.
A Kekkei Genkai should be a blessing, a source of pride. But in Kirigakure, Haku's Ice Release had cost her everything—her family, her past, her identity.
"Why I appeared here… I'm sorry, I can't tell you that." Liumu offered a helpless, wry smile. "As for why I brought you here… maybe it's just selfishness on my part."
"You know the reality of Kirigakure better than I do. So, if you choose to stay, I will let you go back. But if you want to live…" Liumu clenched his fists, his voice hardening with resolve. "I will take you away. And no one will be able to stop me."
Haku needed time. Not to choose between life and death, but to choose between the faint, dying ember of hope and the cold, familiar embrace of despair.
Liumu gave her that time. She would have until the Konoha team's departure from the Land of Water to decide her future. To prevent any accidental information leak, however, Liumu kept her within the suspended time of the Time Chamber.
Day after day of fruitless searching had not only led Liumu to suspect Isobu was already captured; even Orochimaru and the others were beginning to doubt the veracity of their intelligence.
Their investigation had dragged on for over two months now. Apart from the grim secret rooms underground, they had found not a single trace of the Three-Tails.
On this day, after Orochimaru returned from another fruitless foray into Kiri, Minato performed a summoning technique. A small, light-blue toad appeared in a puff of smoke.
"Jiraiya-sensei sends a message: the Third Hokage has ordered that if the long-term search for the Three-Tails yields no results, you are to return to the village immediately."
Orochimaru gave a slow, thoughtful nod. "I concur. We have combed Kirigakure for too long with nothing to show. Moreover, Kiri's security has noticeably tightened recently. The village leadership may have sensed our presence. To continue is not only futile but recklessly dangerous."
"But the mission…" Tsunade hesitated.
"The Sandaime-sama's order is clear," Minato said gently but firmly. "If he issued this command, it suggests there may be inherent flaws in the original intelligence regarding the Three-Tails' presence here. And as Orochimaru-sama says, the increased patrols and guard rotations in Kiri indicate they are aware of prying eyes. We should withdraw."
"Then… we return to the village," Orochimaru declared, his tone final.
Liumu, who had been sitting quietly through the discussion, remained silent. As the group packed their meager belongings and made their way to the coastal rendezvous point for the return voyage, Liumu suddenly stopped in his tracks.
"I…" he began.
"What is it, Liumu? Did you forget something?" Minato asked, concern in his voice.
"It's nothing. Anything you need can be purchased once we're back in Konoha," Orochimaru stated, his opinion of Liumu having risen considerably over their months together. "This was an S-rank mission attempt. Even uncompleted, the compensation will be substantial. You can buy whatever you wish."
Liumu shook his head. He looked up at the three legendary shinobi. "There's something I must attend to. I need you to give me three days."
Minato: "…"
Tsunade: "…"
Orochimaru: "…"
For a ninja team to split up during a mission was a cardinal sin. No single shinobi, no matter how powerful, could see and hear everything. For Liumu, a chuunin, to request to act alone for three days in hostile territory was something Orochimaru, as mission leader, could never sanction.
Liumu knew his request was unreasonable. In the end, he told them about Haku—about the girl with Ice Release, her tragic upbringing, and the fate awaiting her in Kiri's brutal machine.
After listening to Liumu's account, Orochimaru's expression turned to ice. His serpentine pupils contracted. "No," he stated flatly.
"He's right," Minato added, his tone gentle but firm. "She is a shinobi of Kirigakure. However tragic her background, there is no guarantee she won't…"
Before Minato could finish, Tsunade stepped forward. She pulled Liumu aside, knelt down, and looked directly into his eyes. "I know you're more mature than any of us imagined. I know you wouldn't do something rash." She paused, then gave a small, decisive nod. "Go. We'll wait for you here. For three days."
"But the village… the order…" Minato protested.
"I will take responsibility," Tsunade said, her voice leaving no room for argument. She patted Liumu's shoulder and offered him a faint, encouraging smile.
"Tsunade-hime…" Liumu began, gratitude and something else in his eyes.
Tsunade touched her cheek, a faint blush coloring it for a moment as she watched Liumu's figure dissolve into a streak of light and speed away. She raised a hand to stop Minato and Orochimaru from giving chase.
Within the Time Chamber, Haku had witnessed everything—Liumu's narration of Kirigakure's bloody rule, his passionate plea to his comrades. She saw it all.
Liumu stopped in a secluded grove not far from Kirigakure's main gate. He released Haku from the chamber.
"Now," he said, his voice calm in the falling snow. "Two paths lie before you. One leads back to that village. The other… leads with me."
"Konoha is not some paradise. It has its own corruption and shadows. But believe me… with me there, you will have the freedom to choose your own path."
Liumu glanced toward the distant, mist-shrouded gates of Kiri. "As for what awaits you if you return… you know better than I. I won't repeat it. The choice is yours."
Kirigakure was the place of Haku's birth and upbringing. But it was also the source of her deepest despair and suffering. She didn't doubt Liumu's sincerity. Yet, leaving the only home she'd ever known, stepping into a completely foreign world, required a courage she wasn't sure she possessed.
Haku was still just a child. This choice would define the rest of her life.
Liumu stood silently to the side, saying nothing more, granting her the full weight of the decision.
Finally…
As the sky darkened and the first evening lights began to flicker within Kirigakure's walls—warm glows from homes where families gathered around tables—Haku, her knees buried in the white snow, slowly turned to face Liumu.
Her eyes, usually so guarded and cold, held a glimmer of something new—fear, yes, but also a fragile, desperate hope.
"I will go with you," she whispered, her voice barely audible over the wind. "But…"
(End of Chapter)
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