Ugh… how long had he been down here… he tried calling out but no one ever came. Kakuzu hadn't come… maybe the old geezer had finally bit it. He was so hungry… his lips felt chapped but he still forced his tongue to lick fruitlessly at the dirt. Eventually he'd escape and kill all these heathens.
…
He couldn't believe that this was how he’d been defeated. Whatever jutsu that jinchuriki had used had rendered him insensate. He felt the threads writhing within his broken vessel, but a sharp pain was the last thing he felt as his final heart was torn apart.
He wasn’t sure what he’d expected the afterlife to be, but blinking into more pain wasn’t what he expected. He stifled a groan of pain and coughed up blood. His arms were sore and he didn’t feel the jiongu, no he was remade of bruised and battered flesh. He glanced around in a panic and realized he was back in the cell.
His head throbbed and he tried to move his hands to his head and realized his arms were still restrained and his fingers were broken. He shook his head, how had he returned to the cell. Was he condemned to relive the worst moments of his life? But no… this wasn’t the worst per say, this was a bit after the worst of the torture.
If he recalled correctly a guard would sneak in to torment him and he would take his chance to escape. It hadn’t been carefully planned, but in his desperation he’d managed to survive. Right, he was a survivor. This time he’d do it all again… he didn’t have any regrets over the 92 years he’d lived right? His eyes burned as tears formed. With his arms restrained he couldn’t even wipe his eyes.
If he’d been reborn couldn’t he go back to a time before the damn mission. His ribs hurt as he coughed even more blood up. It wasn’t fair, none of it was. He’d do it all again. Build his pawn shop empire again, collect bounties, fight powerful enemies. Fight in this life like he had all his last life. Endless fighting… a lifestyle that he couldn’t escape apparently.
He heard footsteps approaching and prepared himself. Originally he’d had to rip out the bastard’s throat with his teeth. If he had no other option he would do it all over again.
To his surprise, Wadachi had come to his cell. Originally the snake hadn’t even been man enough to look him in the eyes and had tacitly supported the council’s punishment for his failure. He’d relished ripping out his heart. He glared at his former comrade.
“...Kakuzu I’m sorry. I never should have let the council punish you. No one can defeat Hashirama alone… and I used you as a scapegoat for my own selfish ambition. I do not have the face to ask your forgiveness.” When the cell opened he was too confused to strike. The restraints were loosened, but his arms dropped down to his sides as he stared up at his former squad member.
“I am such a coward my friend.” He tensed up as Wadachi reached for him, but to his surprise he was lifted into his arms.
“I won’t let them hurt you anymore. I will protect you. They don’t value you the way I do.” Wadachi whispered into his ear. He was carried out of his cell and realized genjutsu had been used on the guards. He was unsure what was happening now… in his original life Wadachi hadn’t so much as glanced at him. Was he living some sort of alternative history, but after a lifetime of solitude he couldn’t trust this. It couldn’t have been that easy for Wadachi to help him.
“I’m the brains, you’re the brawn. I’ll get you out of this. There’s a forbidden jutsu that can heal your injuries, I secured it for you. Then together, we can eliminate the corrupt council members.” Wadachi ran carrying him. He couldn’t allow himself to get confabulated, this version of Wadachi had the confidence to carry out a power play. But ultimately he was the same selfish bastard that had left him to the wolves.
He hid his suspicion and asked, his voice weak and shaky.
“How did you manage to get it?” It had been hidden deep in the booby trapped treasury, both physical endurance and intelligence were required to get it. Wadachi had the intelligence, but not the ability.
“Like you say Kakuzu, preparation leaves no room for sorrow. Your injuries are extensive, the forbidden jutsu is the only thing that can save you now.” When he’d used it originally, the healing had been an incidental bonus. He’d just wanted to take everything from this wretched village.
Wadachi brought them to their secret hideout behind the waterfall. From a scroll he summoned the sealed Earth Grudge Fear jutsu. He ignored the pain in his fingers as he unsealed it. He read it performatively, dripping his blood onto it to obscure the key text. Despite the years, even in his second life he would never forget the contents of the scroll.
During his life he had never regretted completing the earth grudge fear. It was merely a matter of necessity, the source of his power and longevity. No… he could never regret it. Even if it left him a monster and forced him to live a life with no personal ties. It didn’t matter. Such things didn’t interest him, only money. Yet the fact that fate had seemingly ordained that he must complete the jutsu no matter the circumstance irritated him. He sucked in a metallic painful breath and forced his fingers to quickly do the signs and muttered the incantation.
“Grudge of the Earth, I give my body… my heart to the jiongu.” He screamed, feeling his heart throb inside of him. His legs kicked, feeling the start of the jiongu emerging from his heart once again. As the tendrils grew they consumed the flesh and bones inside him. Sure the injuries were healed, but the price was that every nerve was devoured and every bone dissolved. He tried to clutch his head as he felt the tendrils ripping into his organs again, but like last time his body flopped on the ground helplessly. Eventually the transformation finally finished leaving him staring up at the ceiling. Subtly he dragged the scroll into his body.
Later he’d have to add the scars for mobility, for now he would make do with ripping through his skin. He’d been rage filled and barely able to handle the new power last time. Now having lived a lifetime with the jiongu he had the mental fortitude to control it. The first time around he'd sat up and immediately set about killing the council. Now it wasn’t that he was hesitating, but he pondered the merits of biting the hand that feeds.
Wadachi had freed him this time after all, life for a life perhaps. He had never given the man another thought besides the rabid satisfaction of tearing out his heart and taking it for himself. It felt weird to look at him after sustaining himself with the very heart beating in his chest over seventy years ago.
“Go Wadachi… I’m not a total ingrate, but you still betrayed me. After everything we’d been through together you still sent me on the mission, you still sold me out. Since you freed me I’ll let you leave with your life, cross my path again and I’ll kill you.” His voice didn’t waver and he turned his back on him. The jiongu were tense and ready if he sensed his approach.
“Kakuzu my love, I was momentarily possessed by a spirit of greed. I truly love you. I couldn't bear to see you hurt a second longer. It's why I saved you.” He didn't let his heart waver for a second. Decades of solitude having been enough to shore up his defenses against idle words.
“Your words are cheap, your love cheaper. The next time a ‘spirit’ possesses you what will you do? Belated affection is cheaper than grass.” There'd been little moments leading up to the final series of betrayals. Public humiliations followed by hidden apologies… it was always the same.
“Words alone can’t make up for anything I know. I realized power and authority are meaningless without you beside me.” His heart didn’t waver. Maybe in his first life his words would have moved him.
“What did my peerless beauty haunt your dreams?” He said sarcastically, “Beauty fades, now that I’m a vessel for the jiongu I’ll slowly become more and more scarred. More than I already have, in a few years I’ll be so hideous you won’t be able to stand me.” Wadachi was vain, always weaving flowers into his hair or telling him to put make-up on his scars. He knew him well, soon the only value he’d have to him was his strength. Wadachi bowed onto the ground in front of him.
“In my eyes you will always be as dazzling as the sacred waterfall. I’ll never abandon you again. Together we can make Takigakure worthy of our ideals.” His heart beat faster, meaningless words couldn’t be enough to sway him.
“Think idle chatter can move my heart? The wounds you left are deeper than that. I have some unfinished business to attend to. Stay away from me, Wadachi, I mean it.” He left the cave. Last time he’d barely been able to walk, he’d had to drag himself to them and killed them all brutally. This time he could walk effortlessly, control the jiongu precisely. It was different yet the events were the same. One of the old bastard’s gasped seeing him appear in front of him. He smiled, he would relish this.
“Impossible! Quick sound the alar-” He plunged his fist into his chest. One down… he made quick work of the rest. Wadachi hadn’t had that much chakra, so rationally his heart wasn’t worth much. More of a symbolic thing really. There was no reason to care that he hadn’t collected it. He’d have to find strong bounties to get better chakra. Though the bingo system was still in its infancy, he could still make big money. And he already knew where some sacred treasures were. With the last of his sworn enemies eliminated once again he figured it was time to defect.
He jumped out the window, but was shocked to see a crowd led by Wadachi.
“My treasured companions, today we bring about a new Takigakure. Those who would stand against our progress have already been dealt with. Kakuzu is our most loyal asset. The debt we owe him can never be repaid.” Wadachi approached and tied a forehead protector to his head. Did he expect him to be the same naive fool he’d been before he defected? He reached up to rip it off,
“Save your empty words. Wadachi I told you not to get in my way. I won’t hesitate to kill you. I’m leaving and I’ll kill whoever tries to stop me.” He wasn’t the same idiot, desperate for a crumb of affection.
“You would abandon the village after everything it’s done for you! Fed you! Clothed you! Trained you! You would be nothing without Takigaure!” Shouted some asshole he didn’t remember. If Wadachi wanted to convince him to stay, shaming him wasn’t going to work.
“Then yes… I am an ungrateful wretch, what of it? None of you are strong enough to challenge me.” He turned to leave, but Wadachi grabbed him by the hand. He remembered the original's last words, standing in front of him now it was as if he was a completely separate person.
“Silence! Kakuzu we’ve wronged you. This village relies on you, you are our precious treasure. We should never have harmed you, never even thought to discard you.” He wasn’t hesitating… these late words meant nothing to him now.