Naruto: Multiversal Shadows.

The Ambush – Ruins of the Purified

The mist thickened like clotting blood, swallowing the rebel hideout's entrance. Alternate Sakura halted, her ice claw crackling. "He's here."

A frost-laden breeze sliced through the air.

"Down!" Kakashi shoved Naruto aside as a barrage of ice senbon impaled the ground where he'd stood.

Haku materialized atop a fractured spiral pillar, his once-kind eyes glinting like shards of broken glass. "Naughty guests," he crooned, twirling a senbon between his fingers. "Lord Zabuza does so hate uninvited pests."

"Haku—!" Sakura's plea died as he vanished.

"Move!" Alternate Sakura roared, yanking Sasuke backward. A senbon grazed his arm, ice blooming instantly around the wound.

"Poison," Haku purred, reappearing behind them. "A slow freeze. You'll watch your veins turn to crystal."

The Missing Arm – A Rebellion's Price

"Still playing the victim, Sakura-chan?" Haku's smile widened as he flicked a senbon toward her throat. Alternate Sakura parried with her ice claw, the clash spraying frost.

"You took my arm," she snarled. "Not my resolve."

"Ah, yes." Haku's gaze dropped to her stump. "Your first rebellion. Such fire. Pity it melted so quickly."

Flashback:

The cavern trembled as Alternate Sakura, younger and whole, led a charge against Zabuza's soldiers. Haku emerged from the mist, his voice gentle. "Bravery deserves reward." Ice engulfed her arm, his grip tender as he tore it free. "A reminder… to obey."

"You were children!" Naruto screamed, gold chakra erupting. "He twisted you!"

"Twisted?" Haku laughed, ice mirrors materializing around them. "He freed me. Now… let me free you."

Mirrors of the Damned

The mirrors shimmered, reflecting not their faces—but their souls. Sakura's reflection dissolved into ash. Sasuke's burned with black flames. Naruto's stared back with golden eyes and a fanged grin.

"See yourselves as I do," Haku whispered. "Broken. Ugly. Worthless."

Sasuke lunged, Sharingan bleeding. "I'll kill you—!"

"No!" Alternate Sakura tackled him as senbon pierced the ground. "The mirrors trap more than bodies—they steal memories. Strike blindly, and you'll forget why you're fighting."

Naruto's scar pulsed. The mirrors' reflections warped, showing Haku as a child—weeping over his clan's corpses, Zabuza's hand on his shoulder.

"You were like me!" Naruto shouted. "Zabuza used you!"

Haku's senbon faltered. "Silence."

"He murdered your family!"

"He gave me purpose!" Haku's scream shattered the mirrors. Ice erupted, encasing Naruto's legs. "And I'll give you the same!"

The Scar's Answer

Naruto's hands phased through the ice, golden light melting the prison. "I don't need your purpose!"

The ground cracked as he teleported behind Haku, fist blazing. The blow connected—but Haku dissolved into mist.

"Clever," Haku hissed, reforming. "But your chakra… it reeks of fear."

Alternate Sakura's claw speared through Haku's chest—only to freeze and shatter. "You can't kill me," he laughed. "I'm already dead inside."

Kakashi's Lightning Blade pierced Haku's shoulder, forcing him back. "Retreat! Now!"

________________________________________________________________________________________

The rebels fled as Haku's laughter echoed. In the chaos, Sasuke clutched his poisoned arm, the ice shard in his pocket leaching black veins into his skin.

"Pathetic," Zabuza's voice growled from the shard. "But useful."

Above the bridge, the spiral symbol split open—a golden eye peering through.