In the past, Kirigakure had the practice of pitting Ninja Academy graduates against each other in a battle to the death for a final exam. After Zabuza, not yet a student himself, killed all one hundred of that year's students, the practice was discontinued. Zabuza would thereafter be known as the "Demon of the Hidden Mist". His fame grew over the years, as he became both an ANBU and a member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. He also killed the Konohagakure ninja Kumade Toriichi. At some point he discovered Haku, a child with a special kekkei genkai and began training him to be the ultimate weapon. In time he attempted to kill the Mizukage in a failed coup d'état, and subsequently fled with Haku and some other followers, such as the Demon Brothers. The anime adds Zabuza to scenes depicting the Kaguya clan's history. When the Kaguya attacked Kirigakure, Zabuza did not help in the village's defence. He and Haku later ran into Kimimaro. Although Haku wanted to talk to the boy, Zabuza forced him to leave Kimimaro alone and keep moving.
Personality Edit
Zabuza was initially portrayed as aggressive, arrogant, cruel, cold and ambitious, willing to become Gatō's thug to gain enough funds to start a second coup d'etat on the Mizukage, and kill anyone who stood in his path, including plotting to kill Gatō once gaining enough funds from him. He willingly uses his own men and others as pawns to fulfil his ambitions, as he raised Haku to be an efficient tool to be discarded when he had no use to exploit; although unlike future villains, he was blunt about the purpose that his recruits were needed for, not the manipulation of pretending to be kind to inspire loyalty.
He is an observant adversary who is able to analyze his opponent's techniques after seeing it once, but becomes overconfident if he sees the technique as useless. In his last moments, it is revealed that he cared deeply for Haku, and after being convinced by Naruto Uzumaki, he sacrifices his life to kill Gatō, and dies wishing he could join Haku in the afterlife. However he seems reluctant to speak or hear about it, telling whoever does so to shut up. Kakashi has also noted that Zabuza had hesitated for a moment before the thought of slashing through Haku to get to Kakashi during their battle on the bridge; the lack of hesitation during the Fourth Shinobi War made Kakashi knew that the controlled Zabuza was completely different.
He has also shown to have a sense of honor, as after his resurrection he expressed disgust about the idea of working for anyone who would stoop down so low as to use the undead for their own gain, in the meantime making the revived immortal. His sense of honor is extended even further when he pleads with Kakashi to stop him and Haku from causing damage.Zabuza was a tall and noticeably muscular man with pale skin, short spiky black hair, brown eyes, and small eyebrows. He was normally seen wearing bandages like a mask over the bottom half of his face. Under his mask, he had a relatively narrow jawline and jagged-teeth, a trait he shared with his fellow Swordsmen. He wore his forehead protector sideways on his head, and prior to his defection from Kirigakure, donned its standard uniform and flak jacket. After his defection, and during his first appearance, he was seen bare-chested, with his chest only covered by a belt to which he attached his Kubikiribōchō, wearing baggy pants with the striped pattern typical of Kirigakure and mimetic wrist-warmers extending up to his elbows, with matching leg-warmers. During his second appearance, he wore a sleeveless black shirt and matching pants, complete with a waistguard, and yet again, Kirigakure's striped wrist and leg-warmers. Other swordsmen of his generation wore attire identical to this, implying that they might be clothes related to the group. While donning this attire, much like his fellow Swordsmen, he had bandages loosely tied around his neck like a scarf.
