[Author's Note:

Because Mr. Kishimoto never gave Kakuzu a flashback… Ok, he sort of did. Still, it was only one to explain how he became part of the Akatsuki. I'm talking about one that explains how he became the immortal bounty hunter he is today. He needs one.

Therefore, I will use what I learned from the databook on him to make what's my theory of what his past was like. If you guys have different theories, I'm all ears. Mr. Kishimoto may have given Kakuzu a background story, but he never gave him a flashback to detail that story, so anything goes.

Enjoy,

RandomYori]

Prologue

Unknown Village - August 15, 1924

This was a time of depression. While only a few remain vastly fortunate, many suffer through poverty. Sadly, the vast majority of this small village slept with empty stomachs. While many endured, others never woke up again. Then we have the 5% got to fill their stomachs before bed. They were usually those of either royalty or even those of politics.

Being part of the 95%, a boy woke up the next morning yawning while his stomach harmonized with him. Today was supposed to be his seventh birthday, too. At the rate he and his family were going, he may never know what it's like to have a normal birthday. However, he never complained. He just got up, ate a piece of raw bread his mother provided, and headed out to work.

Back then, even children had to work to support their families. This boy was no exception. Every day until the sun would set, the boy would work 3-4 jobs. Sometimes he'd even take on more chores just for more pay. That's how his family managed to keep a roof over their heads even through these dark times. The funny thing is, he never saw it as a chore. It wasn't that he loved the work. In reality, he loved the pay. If offered better pay, he'd be more motivated to do the work. Money was his main motivation. He'd do whatever it took to make enough money to get him and his family out of poverty and become one of the 5%.

While looking for more jobs for more pay, he noticed a couple of wealthy men dining at the finest restaurant in the village. Their dishes looked so vibrant with color. He had never seen such color on food before. His stomach began to growl just from imagining what colorful food would taste like. He soon avoided contact with them after that. The last thing he wanted to be was a beggar. He had seen what would become of beggars. They eventually die out along with their dignities. He just continued searching for another job.

Eventually, the boy finally found one. This new job was to sell fish. It was probably the best paying job he had ever gotten, but it was also the most competitive one as well. Worst part was that he was never good with making public announcements. He was never the loud type. He'd always keep to himself. That's how you're supposed to behave if you want to survive in poverty. You basically have to keep your mouth shut and do the best you can to survive. Sadly, in this case, you have to run your mouth.

Seeing as how this could be his only chance of getting a decent job, he decided he'd go for it. The boy breathed in then shouted, "FISH! GET YOUR FISH RIGHT HERE! WE SELL COD, FLOUNDER, TROUT, SALMON, AND MORE!" The way he yelled that announcement made it seem like he was angry at everyone. It almost scared them away. Yeah, even he agreed that he's never going to do that again.

From the corner of his eye, the boy suddenly noticed another young man carrying a crate of fish. The boy only seemed to be in his preteens, not that much older than him. The boy watched as he noticed the teenager distract the customer with his products while another young man was picking his pockets. When the man left with his purchase, the boy saw as the two young man give each other a thumbs up. So they were working together, were they? If there was one thing this boy couldn't stand, it was punks like those two who give hard working citizens a bad name.

The boy then marched right up to those two delinquents and glared up at them. One of the teenagers took notice. He sneered back at him while the other one raised a brow to him. "What do you want, brat?" The one with the crate asked. "What you two doing is pitiful and you should be ashamed of yourselves." The boy answered, earning cackles as a response. "Oh, and what are you going to do? Cry to your mommy?" The one with the crate asked, making it painfully obvious that he was the dumb one of the two. The one who picked the pockets then grabbed the boy's face and knocked him onto his butt while trashing his crate of fish. "Beat it kid! This is our turf so we can do whatever we want because we're bigger, smarter, and stronger than you!" It was one thing to insult him, but to trash his only chance of making a decent living was unforgivable. That's when the boy lost his patience.

Getting back up, the boy proved just how wrong they really were. First thing he did was kick behind the leg from the punk who knocked him down. That same punk growled from both rage and pain. He was going to pay him back for that, but by the time he got to his knees, the boy used his elbow to give him an uppercut. Watching his friend lose consciousness thanks to some brat, the dumber one of the two became intimidated. When the boy's attention turned to him, the kid tensed up. He had never seen such piercing eyes that sent daggers to your very soul. They were practically saying, "You're next." Giving up, the punk quickly apologized, "Look, we're sorry, ok! Here take my crate!" He hoped that would make everything all right. Oh, he had no idea how wrong he was. He soon got the same treatment as his friend when the boy raised his foot up to knock down the teenager's crate with it. Now they were even on that part, but it wasn't enough. Not long after, the boy used his hand to chop right into the teen's stomach, bringing him to his knees as well. Then with one blow to the back of his head, he was knocked unconscious as well.

To make sure everything was made right, the boy picked one of their pockets to pull out the wallet they had stolen from that man. Tempted with curiosity, he looked inside. Never had he ever seen so many bills. Hell, he never even had the chance to see one bill so far in his lifetime. The temptation to take them all for himself and for his family was all too great, but then he remembered what his mother taught him. No, it was wrong. It was never his to take in the first place. Groaning and whining to himself, he finally made up his mind. He was reluctant at first, but soon enough, he finally decided to go looking for the owner. Who knows? He might even get a reward.

When he finally spotted the man, the boy ran up to him and stopped in front of him to block his path. The man, startled by the boy's sudden presence, stopped himself while cocking his brow, "What is it that you want, child? I don't have any change." The boy shook his head and said, "I'm not here to take your money, sir. I'm here to return it." Confused at first, everything was made clear when the boy held out a wallet to him. The man quickly checked his pockets to see that his own wallet was gone. This made him very curious. "And where exactly did you find my wallet, child?"

"Those two thieves took it from you while you weren't looking. You really should be careful with your money." The boy answered. So it was stolen, was it? This made the man even more curious. "Would you be so kind as to show me these thieves? I'll be sure to reward you for your services." He asked, kindly. He had that boy at 'reward'. Now more determined than ever, the boy led him straight to where they were.

They soon arrived to the scene of the crime. Good, those two punks were still unconscious. The man was surprised by this. There was no way just one small boy took down these two older kids. "…D-did you do this?"

"They had it coming."

"…I see…" Now the man was even more intrigued by the boy. For some dirty, poor boy, he really knew how to handle himself. He could use someone like him in the future. The man then knelt down and asked, "Young man, how would you like to train to become a ninja. You clearly have what it takes." This was not what the boy expected. Then again, judging by the man's uniform, he soon learned that this man was a ninja, himself. At that point, it made sense that he would make that offer. "What's in it for me?" the boy asked, getting straight to the point. The ninja didn't expect that kind of response from a child. Then again, this kid was probably only concerned about one main thing. "It pays better than selling fish. I can tell you that much." That was the ninja's answer. The boy was now interested in the offer. However, to become a ninja, he would have to leave his family behind. Well, all he had was his mother at this point, but that was still family to him.

Speaking of which, the boy soon noticed the time and realized that he was almost late. "I'll think about it." That was all he said before he took off running home. The ninja was surprised by this answer, however, he couldn't let a rare opportunity like this pass. How often would there be a chance of raising a young ninja into becoming an elite killing machine? Hardly any in those times. Most of the children were either too weak or not fit to be a ninja at all. This boy may be from a poor background, but he wasn't weak, and those were rare.

Following the boy, the ninja finally made it to a small shack where he stopped. While he watched, he saw that it was the boy's birthday. He had just turned eight. He was that young? He seemed older. He watched as his mother tried her best to make his birthday the best that she could. He then watched as the boy presented the money he had earned to his mother, only for the mother to close his hands. She was gesturing him to keep it. Noticing her weak condition and how violently she coughed, the ninja could tell that she would not last long. She was probably doing what any good mother would do in her situation, make the child come first in everything. While this was a noble thing to do, no good would ever come of it. The ninja then decided he'd let them to have their family moment and left. He'd try again tomorrow.

The Next Morning...

The boy woke up to yet another empty stomach. Performing his daily routine, he stopped to notice a change in that routine. His mother was still sleeping. She was coughing worse than ever last night. She needed the sleep. Deciding not to bother her, he grabbed a small piece of bread and headed out to seek more jobs.

While on duty, the boy thought about the ninja's offer. While he'd be leaving his mother alone, perhaps he could finally afford the medicine she desperately needed to cure her ailments. Perhaps he should take the offer, after all. Making up his mind, he ran all over town in search of the ninja. All day he had been searching, but with no luck in the end.

By the time the sun was setting, the boy knew that it was time to go home. Entering his house, not only was he sad that he didn't find that ninja from yesterday, but he was also sad for a different reason. He made less money than he did yesterday. Moping while entering the house, he noticed that none of the candles were lit. He took it upon himself to light each one. "Mother?" He asked, wondering if she was all right. When he finally found her, she was still in bed. Had she been sleeping all day? "Hey, mother, are you all right?" He asked as he reached for her. He let out a small gasp when he realized how cold she was. "…Mother…?" He asked, slowly turning her onto her back. She wasn't breathing. Everything around him grew silent. His body felt numb. He could no longer feel her cold shoulder in the palm of his hand. His eyes grew heavy. The boy knew now. He no longer had a family.

There was a knock at the door, but he couldn't even hear that. He couldn't even feel the hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry…" A voice spoke, but he couldn't hear that, either. When the voice tried to pull him away from his dead mother, the boy's grip instinctively grew tighter. It took minutes before he finally heard the phrase, "Let her go." The boy finally snapped out of his shock and slowly turned around. It was that ninja, the one he was looking for. "How did you…?"

"It's what I do best… Listen… my offer still stands. Have you thought about it?" Was this even the appropriate time to be asking about such things? The boy had thought about it before, but his idea was so that he could afford to help his mother regain her health. Now that she was gone, what was the point of trying? Still, what would be the point of saying no now? He had nowhere else to go anymore. Who'd take in a stray like him?

"… I'll go with you… This better be worth my time…" That was his final decision, as cold as it sounded. The ninja understood and said, "Very well then." He then called for backup to retrieve the boy's dead mother. That way they could give her a proper burial. He knew that the boy wouldn't be able to do so himself. "By the way, I never got your name."

"…Kakuzu…"