People could that say he lived a satisfying life, he was feared for a long time, had memorable fights, was an important asset in the Akatsuki and had some good bounties, but for him?
It was humiliating
He was one of the most powerful ninjas in Taki history, he fought against Hashirama Senju and survived, stole the secret kinjutsu from his village and with it took the hearts of the elders letting him live 91 years fighting strong opponents, and in the end he was beaten by a brat that was hell bent on revenge and the Jinchūriki of the Kyubi who came at the last moment of the fight. He wasn´t naïve, he knew that he would die one day, after all, no one is truly immortal (Even his partner who claims it, just a good fire jutsu would leave him in ashes.), but to die against multiple opponents (It really only was Hatake, a Mokuton user and the Jinchūriki) and being left in such a weak state was not the way he thought he would go, he has to give credit to the Nara, his mind was as sharp as it is fearsome.
He DID manage to get some cathartic kills when he was resurrected by the Edo Tensei, and seeing those three Konoha brats was refreshing, but in the end the jutsu was stopped and his soul should had return to the afterlife.
Imagine his surprise when he opens his eyes to a bright light and loud crying.
"Wait a minute"
The former treasurer of the Akatsuki, Kakuzu, was pretty sure that the crying was coming from him, this burning sensation from his lungs as he took his first breaths was proof enough, turning his head he saw a woman with green hair and green eyes holding him.
"Look Hisashi! Our baby boy…" The woman said with tears on her eyes.
"Baby? Could it be…?" Kakuzu thought "Have I reincarnated? A second chance?"
The woman turned her head to the right to look at a man with frizzy black hair and green eyes, he gave her a big wide smile "It is! Wow, that are some unique eyes he´s got!" He said.
Unique? Most likely he kept his original eyes from his previous life, green irises, no pupils and red sclera. "Wait, they aren´t saying anything about my appearance" He thought with dread" Does it mean I do not have the Jiongu?!" That would be really problematic, he has spent most of his life with the kinjutsu, to not have it in this new life will mean that he would need to adapt and find a different fighting style, after all a second chance means—
"New opportunities to make money."
"Do you wish to hold him dear?" The woman asked
"Can I?!" Giggling at his antics, the woman gave him to his…father. He gently cradles Kakuzu in his arms and looked at him with a goofy smile.
"Disgusting" He thought, how is it possible for someone to give such a smile is beyond him
"Huh?! What's with that face little guy?!" He said in mock shock. The woman giggle again at the scene. "…What should we name our little boy Inko?" He asked
Inko, his mother, looked at her baby and gave a smile "Kakuzu, Midoriya Kakuzu" she answered, Hisashi mouthed the name "Kakuzu huh? I thought about Izuku, but Kakuzu sounds good" He whispered with affection and joy in his eyes. The now named (again) Midoriya Kakuzu could only anticipate what this new chance in life would bring.
6 Years Later
The moment Kakuzu left the hospital as a baby he knew he didn't reincarnate in the Elemental Nation, it seems he was born in a country call Japan, just by looking outside he could see the difference. Building and technologies that were probably centuries more advance, there is a stable economy for him to learn (though it looks like the other countries use a different type of currency for some reason), and the most noticeable change was the population. Apparently 80% of the population had something called a Quirk, that were basically kekkei genkais but different for each person, some quirks were weak like his "mother" Inko, with the abilty to attract small objects, but apparently it takes a lot from her to attract medium to big objects, but there were also strong and interesting Quirks like super strength or transformation.
Kakuzu was relieved when his "Quirk" manifested at the age of four, yes it was painful when he woke up suddenly in the middle of the night to see his body bulging and feeling thousands of threads rearranging his internal organs and body, but it was something that he could endure to get the Jiongu back. The look of Inko and Hisashi when they saw their son in the morning covered completely with stiches was amusing to say the least. After showcasing some of it to a quirk specialist (Only the basic, he wasn´t going to show every ace up his sleeve) they return to their home to celebrate.
As the years went by Kakuzu started to do some research about the world. It appears that the most popular profession in this world is the "Hero" industries, at first Kakuzu thought it was some kind of joke, people wearing tights uniforms like the Green Beast of Konoha and preaching about "Justice" was just ridiculous, but as he learned more he became more annoyed. Apparently only "Heroes" could use their quirks and if a citizen were to use their own abilities they would be breaking the law, so if Kakuzu ever wanted to use the Jiongu he would need to be a hero, and IF that happens he would need to go to a school, basically an academy all over again!
"Hm, and even if I did become a hero, I wouldn´t be able to get any hearts from my enemies since I would be committing a great crime in their eyes." Kakuzu thought out loud, he was sitting on his computer looking at the information available "If that were to happen I would need to think carefully and choose my targets wisely, I wouldn´t want to take a weak heart by mistake and get caught." Hearing the door of his bedroom opening Kakuzu turned to see his mother smiling at him.
"Are you ready to go to the park?" She asked.
Personally he thought it would be a complete waste of time, but he IS a kid, a 6 years old kid with the experience of an elite ninja who wants nothing more than be "old" enough to train this puny body.
"Just need to put on my shirt and scarf…mother" He responded, from the corner of his eye he saw her flinch. Kakuzu didn't hide his hesitance on calling Inko mother or Hisashi father, he just saw them as guardians that provide him with food and roof (in fact it was easier now since its only Inko who is at home), so it doesn't surprise him to see the hurt in her eyes, but even then she somehow manages to give a bright smile. "Alright then, I´ll wait for you at the door, oh! And please start wearing a shirt inside the apartment, it's starting to get cold lately"
Rolling his eyes Kakuzu went to his bed were his shirt was and started putting it on "Once I get my first heart I will need to ask Inko to buy me some backless shirts or I will need to get some big coats that is if I give her a good explanation on why I have a mask stitched on my back." With that thought he went to his dresser and took out a black scarf, putting it on around his neck Kakuzu turn to the mirror to look at himself. Short messy dark green hair, eyes with green irises, no pupils and red sclera, under his eyes he had four symmetrical freckles in a diamond formation. Underneath his scarf he hid his Glasgow smile that where held together by stitches at the edges, finally wearing a white long sleeved shirt, black pants and black shoes he went to the entrance door were Inko was waiting for him.
"Come on Kakuzu your friend Katsuki is waiting for you!" She tells her son with a smile.
Oh god not that insufferable brat.
Shizuoka Park
If he was asked to describe Katsuki Bakugou he would say that the brat has the personality of Hidan with the ability of Deidara, in short, a complete and utter annoyance. If it was up to him, he would just take his heart and be done with it after all his quirk is quite strong, sadly the brat is the son of Mitsuki, a really good friend Inko, so getting him killed would bring more problems than solutions.
Leaving his mother, he started walking to the park where he saw the brat talking with other kids, a fat kid with wings, a lanky one with long fingers and a clearly shy kid in a yellow shirt. Turning around Bakugou saw Izuku and gave a wicked smile.
"Yo Kaku! You finally decided to come eh?" The explosive blond asked.
Eyebrow twitching in irritation he turned his gaze to the blond.
"I hate repeating myself Bakugou, my name is Kakuzu, not Kaku."
"Yeah, yeah whatever you say." He clearly dismissed his threating tone "Oi! Now that you are here we can play heroes versus villain!" Bakugou said with excitement. Turning around he pointed at the other kids "Me, Kakuzu, Tsubasa and Nagai will be the heroes, you Kosuke will be the villain!" He finished pointing at the shy kid.
Said kid, Kosuke, froze in place while the other kids started surrounding him, Kakuzu opted to see where this would go. With vicious smirks the three jumped at the poor kid, punching, kicking and laughing, all the while Kakuzu watched with a cold gaze, until…
"Please stop!" Kosuke cried "Please I´ll do anything but just sto— "He couldn´t finished his sentence courtesy of a kick on his stomach, smirking Bakugou went for a punch on the face but his arm was grabbed in a firm grip.
"Wha-?!"
"Anything you say?" Kakuzu asked
Bakugou turned to ask what the deal was but froze. Kakuzu had a glint in his eyes, it's as if something he wanted long ago was within his reach. When he asked the question the other two kids stopped and turned to him, Kosuke looked at him with hope.
"You said you would do anything for it to stop, so I am asking…How much would you pay for my protection." He said.
"Bwa?! Protection?! Kakuzu, he is a villain! He shouldn't need protection." The blond said enraged, why the hell would he protect him?! Kakuzu didn't answered him, instead he narrowed his eyes at Kosuke making him flinch.
"I hate wasting time, after all time is money so I will ask one more time, how much do you have for me to defend you now?" He asked one more time, blinking Kosuke started searching his pockets until he took a slip of paper.
"I-I was saving this for some food later, but you can have a 1000 Yen if you make them stop." He said in pain. Walking Kakuzu took the money and stared at it, turning it to the sun he saw that while worn by use, it is authentic. Pocketing his payment Kakuzu stood infront of Kosuke.
Smirking behind his scarf at the expression of disbelief from the brats he started to tense his muscles, feeling his threads moving in anticipation. "From this moment onward the villain Kosuke is under my protection, sorry heroes."
…
"WHAT?!"
"It seems I got him quite enraged, that will be his undoing." He thought.
"What the hell do you think you are doing you KUZU*!" Bakugou screamed, tiny explosion started popping on his hands. "That is not how it goes! The heroes get in the scene and beat the shit out of the villain! And then they celebrate! THAT is how it goes! Not your shitty thing you are doing!"
"Then I will not be a hero." After all he never said that he would accept being a hero in this ridiculous game. "I will be a vigilante, this villain has paid for my service and I will provide with the best of my abilities."
The explosive kid gritted his teeth in rage "If that's what you want Kuzu then fine! Tsubasa! Nagai! Let's show these two villains how we hero kick ass!" With that cry, the three kids charged at them
"Hm, I don't want to get in trouble if I leave them crying, let´s try the scare tactic." Pulling up his right sleeve he showed the three charging kids his stitched up arm.
That stopped their charge, by the look of their faces it was from surprise and disgust, except for Katsuki who looked at his arm in curiosity.
"Is that his Quirk?" The explosive boy thought, "Will he finally show it to me?"
"Oh? That's right. I never showed you my quirk did I Bakugo?" Kakuzu asked, flexing his fingers in a clawed shape he willed the threads on his arm to squirm out, receiving looks from disgust and horror form all the kids present. "I call it the Jiongu" Shooting his arm forward more threads appeared along his arm, if one looked closely they would note that his forearm and bicep would twitch erratically, as if something is trying to get out of his skin.
Smirking at their horrified looks he continued "What it does is none of your business, just know that it will be you undoing…heroes." With that said he threw his arm forward surprising the children. Nagai didn't have time to even blink when Kakuzu´s hand caught him by the throat.
"AGH!" With a grunt of effort Kakuzu lifted him up and threw him at the sand pit, creating a cloud of sand. Hearing a scream of pain, he frowned "Hope that useless brat didn't break anything, I don't want to get in any more trouble." He thought "Even then I struggled to even lift him up, I will need to start training my body post haste if I want to be at my prime in time." Turning around he confronted the other two kids.
"So…who is next." Tsubasa could only shake in complete fear, with a scream, the fat winged kid left crying for his mom. The immortal chuckle and turn his gaze to Bakugo, "So it's only you and I. Well, come on now" He gestured at him to attack "I don´t have all day, time is money, and you are wasting mine."
That did it, with a scream of rage Katsuki went with a big right swing that was stopped by Kakuzu´s left, taking this chance before he could use his quirk the stitched boy threw a right jab at Katsuki´s nose, breaking it in the process. Falling down the blond could only hold his bleeding nose.
"Ouch! You fugin bathta! You bruk mi no-" Katsuki couldn't finish his cry courtesy of Kakuzu stomping his chest.
"It's over, don't you dare get up." The reincarnated boy said "I was not kidding when I said you were wasting my time, I could be training alone and unbothered or finding ways to make a profit but since our mothers are really good friends I am forced to spend time with an annoying brat like you." He started applying pressure on the blonde´s chest making him cry in pain "Do not try my patience the next time, this little "game" is proof enough that you will never be on my level, no matter . ."
Lifting his leg and lowering his sleeve Kakuzu started leaving an enraged Bakugo and a shocked Kosuke. Stopping suddenly, he turns around and said in the coldest voice possible for a six-year-old kid "And if you call me Kuzu again, I will kill you." With the final piece said he turned around and went home.
Katsuki could only stare at Kakuzu´s back in hatred. "Who the fuck does he think he is! You´ll see! I will beat you and become the Number one hero!" Grunting he stood up and walked home with a new goal.
…
"Does that mean I can leave?" The forgotten Kozuke asked no one.
Midoriya Household 9:30 PM
It was dinner time in the Midoriya household, for dinner Inko made monkfish liver, her son´s favorite, but she was worried, stilling her nerves she spoke to her only son.
"Kakuzu-kun?"
Kakuzu lifted his gaze from his plate and saw the worried look from his "mother".
"Yes mother? Is something wrong?" He asked, but in reality he had a guess why she looked worried. Frowning she continued, "Today I received a call from Mitsuki-san, saying that Katsuki-kun arrived home with a bleeding nose, and the mother of Nagai-kun said that her son had a big bruise arm! What happened at the park?" She asked with worry.
Closing his eyes Kakuzu put down his chopsticks and sighed, "We were playing heroes versus villains and it got out of hand, but don´t worry mother, I made sure that It will not happen again." Opening his eyes, he continued "So don't worry" He was glad the brat didn´t break anything when he threw him at the sandbox.
Seeing the calm aura that her son gave clear some of her worries, but that worry would persist for a long time.
"On a more important note, did father send his monetary support of the month?" He asks, that is a trait that amuses Inko, since the moment Kakuzu started to talk, his focus was always on the money, she was surprised when at the age of 4, the first month were Hisashi left overseas to work, her son asked to help her pay taxes and count the amount of money her husband sent to help them. At first she wouldn't even have entertained the idea, but when her son started showing efficient way to save their money and how to manage it she relented. Giving her son a smile she took out an envelope and gave it to her six-year-old child.
"Here it is honey, when you finish counting and managing it, go to bed, remember that you have school tomorrow." Inko said. Kakuzu nod his head while opening the envelope and started one of his favorite hobbies, counting money.
"But first! Let´s finish dinner!"
Groaning he closed the envelope and continued eating. Closing his eyes he started planning.
"I think I have enough basic information of this world, tomorrow I can start training my body and Jiongu…After I finish counting the money father sent us." The ex-immortal ninja thought with a smirk. This world is not prepared of what is to come.
XXX
*(Kuzu literally translates to waste or Garbage)
In the end this plot bunny won, I didn't even think on coming back to start writting fanfiction again, I don't even have the time, and then it came to this. Kakuzu will always be my favorite Naruto character and seeing so few fics about him pushed me to make this, now I will not give any false promises like the my other fics (god they were BAD) so don't expect regular updates, if I have the time I will write if I don't then I don't, I still have studies to finish in the university and with the Corona and Latin America going to shit…yeah don't expect a lot of motivation. Hope you liked it, I will probably add this fic on AO3, if you see any mistakes please point them out, I accept constructive criticism, it would really help if you tell me if I improved my English. Stay awesome and safe.