"So, Haku is also a boy?" Mirai asked, her tone brimming with curiosity.
No matter how you looked at this face, it didn't seem like a boy's, right? Although someone close to her had been setting a counter-example ever since she was old enough to understand, Haku was clearly far more extreme than that certain someone.
Haku nodded, offering an affirmative answer.
At this moment, Mirai was holding Haku's hand, following closely behind Hagoromo step for step.
Hagoromo didn't interfere with the communication between the kids; he let them play on their own. Unknowingly, he had already reached the "uncle" tier in age... Picking up Haku seemed like an inevitable coincidence, and so Hagoromo hatched a new plan.
As for young Haku, he had already been given a new name—Minazuki Haku—and had officially become the newly appointed nanny.
Following these two people was Haku's own decision. After releasing the genjutsu, Hagoromo had given Haku the right to choose for himself. Since this concerned Mirai, Hagoromo didn't want any "reluctant compliance" that might lead to hidden dangers down the line.
The enemies hunting Haku had been defeated. He could choose to leave on his own, or he could choose to follow the two people before him.
Having been caught in Hagoromo's genjutsu, Haku was somewhat afraid of this white-haired young man with the friendly smile. Under the genjutsu, Haku's consciousness had been entirely clear, but he found himself utterly unable to disobey Hagoromo's commands. His mind couldn't control his body's actions—just thinking about it terrified him.
Yet, he still chose to follow Hagoromo and Mirai. This had nothing to do with fear or an inability to disobey, but stemmed from other reasons Haku himself couldn't quite articulate. This unspoken, ambiguous feeling led him to choose to step onto an unknown journey with unknown people.
Ultimately, these two people were his saviors.
Many times, the choices that define a person's entire life's trajectory are made under such inexplicable circumstances.
Because his mind had been clear at the time, Haku knew these two were fully aware that he was a high-power, low-energy, green-and-pollution-free living refrigerator. But unlike his past experiences, they didn't harbor any negative feelings toward him because of it—at the very least, there was no "disgust."
Due to everything he had been through, Haku was hyper-sensitive to the disgust of others.
But these two people weren't disgusted by him. This realization, mixed with his fear, made Haku feel a sense of profound relief. That someone was willing to treat him like a normal person was an absolute luxury he hadn't dared to hope for.
Haku vaguely sensed that their willingness to take him along was likely related to his ability. But that didn't matter. He even felt... Was I actually a useful person?
Even if this usefulness likely stemmed from an ability despised by the world, even so, it was something worth being thankful for.
In this brief period, Haku thought about many things, but guesses were ultimately just guesses... The young man remained silent, but the little girl was incredibly kind to him.
Mirai was willing to talk to him, and without showing the slightest disgust at his dirty appearance, she held his hand... If Haku had been asked to reach out and touch such a porcelain doll-like girl on his own, he never would have dared.
Therefore, Haku himself couldn't clearly define exactly what he was feeling at this moment.
What Haku didn't know was that if he were anywhere but the Land of Water, he wouldn't be viewed as a monster for his Ice Style; instead, it would be praised as "talent."
Hagoromo had indeed initially valued this talent.
Exactly how powerful Ice Style was, Hagoromo couldn't say for sure. But there were claims that Ice Style could rival Wood Style. Perhaps that was an exaggeration, but it was enough to illustrate the developmental potential of this Kekkei Genkai.
Even if Ice Style didn't reach that level of power, this child seemed perfectly suited to be Mirai's nanny anyway.
If you said Hagoromo could see straight through a person's heart at a glance, that would be an overstatement—he couldn't do that. But judging a child's character through a brief interaction wasn't exactly high-difficulty.
In an environment as hostile to bloodline limits as the Land of Water, Haku had probably faced pursuit more than once. Just imagining his past experiences confirmed that they were undoubtedly tragic. Yet, despite all that, he still maintained clear, unclouded eyes, which said enough about the child's true nature.
This was something Hagoromo valued even more than talent.
However...
"What a coincidence. Hagoromo is a boy too."
Mirai's response nearly made Hagoromo, walking ahead, spit blood.
Where is the coincidence here?! Why do kids love spouting such nonsense?
This child named Haku, even at this young age, clearly belonged to the "draw a girl and insist it's a boy" category. Was Hagoromo like that?
He absolutely was not. Hagoromo was a pure, manly man.
Walking barefoot in the snow wearing thin, ragged clothes, Haku was naturally freezing. Holding his hand, Mirai could feel the icy chill and sense his body shivering slightly.
Is he very cold?
After thinking for a moment, Mirai pulled her hand away, untied the scarf from her own neck, and without a word, stood on her tiptoes to wrap it around Haku's neck.
"Lady Mirai..."
Haku was at a loss... He was afraid of dirtying Mirai's belongings.
The red-haired girl's name was Mirai—Hagoromo had already told him that. And furthermore, his future "mission" would be to take care of her and protect her.
"Mirai. I'm Mirai Uzumaki. Just call me by my name. 'Lady'? That's not necessary," Mirai said. Despite slight resistance, she insisted on wrapping the scarf around Haku's neck layer by layer. "This is my most important treasure, so I can't give it to you. But I can lend it to you for now."
Mirai temporarily lending her scarf to Haku completely exceeded Hagoromo's expectations... Because that scarf truly was her most precious treasure.
So, she's already mastered the art of picking up girls (or boys) at such a young age?
Hagoromo's train of thought was always different from a normal person's... Shouldn't this be attributed to kindness or goodwill?
"Hagoromo, where are we going next?" After giving Haku a warmth buff, Mirai ran back to Hagoromo's side and asked.
"Next? Let's go find some clothes for this kid."
Just as Lightning Style ninjas can be electrocuted, it turns out Ice Style ninjas can get cold too. To prevent the new nanny from freezing to death on his first day on the job, Hagoromo decided to gear him up quickly.
"Hehe, Hagoromo is the best."
"..."
Lately, this child seemed particularly fond of handing out "Good Person" cards.
Hagoromo had originally come to the Land of Water just to check on the Three-Tails, which was currently wandering in the wild. But encountering Haku made his mind wander... One down, two to go. Should I start assembling a team for Mirai's future?
"Mirai, use your ability and see if you can find any more 'special' chakra."
Hagoromo was treating Kekkei Genkai like cheap goods at a flea market.
"Understood!"
Although she didn't know why, Mirai agreed. She treated bloodline ninjas as even cheaper goods.
Mirai's Kagura's Mind Eye was probably one of the most powerful wide-range sensory ninjutsu in the world. It typically covered a range of over ten kilometers. If she specifically marked and tracked a certain chakra signature, extending that distance to thirty kilometers wouldn't be a problem at all.
Furthermore, if Mirai used her jutsu to look for Hagoromo, she could probably find him no matter where he was in the world.
Finding an ordinary town was quick work. Getting this dirty little kid cleaned up and buying him a change of clothes wasn't difficult at all.
No one wants to host a wandering orphan, unless someone is willing to pay for him.
And ordinary ninjas are a high-income demographic. A ninja like Hagoromo, even though he hadn't had any income for five years, was still someone who didn't lack money.
Thus, Minazuki Haku received the full "wash, cut, and blow-dry" treatment.
As an adopted child who had only known them for a short time, Haku probably didn't fully understand Hagoromo and Mirai's personalities yet, so he could only let Mirai boss him around.
Mirai didn't mean to bully him, but she didn't hesitate to make decisions on his behalf for many things.
According to a certain unspoken rule, it seemed that people with faces like Hagoromo and Haku couldn't escape the fate of becoming someone's dress-up doll when they were young.
"Hagoromo, how does it look? How does it look?"
"Very nice..." It did look very nice, but... who is this little lady?
For little girls, the things they generally like are predictable. For example, no matter what it is, looking cute is the most important thing. So... Mirai had picked out a girl's outfit for Haku.
Oh well, under the age of ten, there's no real difference between boys and girls anyway, right? The primary goal was to keep warm, and that goal was achieved. What was there to be dissatisfied about?
For Haku... a wandering child can only weep silently for himself.
Having clothes to wear was good enough. Besides, there were signs indicating that this guy might just inherently enjoy crossdressing. Even without Mirai pushing him, he likely would have wandered further and further down this path of no return anyway.
Of course, Hagoromo didn't care about these things. As long as Mirai was happy, that was enough.
It wasn't him wearing women's clothes, so whatever. He was too lazy to correct this "mistake."
"So where to next?"
To Mirai, the world was full of wonders, and gaining a new companion didn't stop her curiosity.
"We rest for the night, then go see the pet," Hagoromo said.
According to previous intelligence, the Three-Tails had been in a wild state. He didn't know if it had been resealed by now, so he would just follow the old intel and go check it out. If Kirigakure had secured a new Three-Tails Jinchuriki, then Hagoromo's trip would be a bust—he certainly wasn't going to drag Mirai straight into the Hidden Mist Village.