The Kuro clan had once been one of the eight "great clans", ruling supreme above the general population; however, those days were long gone. Since then, they had adopted pacifism and fallen from fame, becoming a small, isolated clan living in a small, isolated village that bore no resemblance to the clan once recorded in legend. But that was enough for them.
But that was not enough for Akuma.
Akuma wanted, above anything, to become the saikyo.
It all started, one day, when the royal convoy was passing through their village.
All the children, including Akuma and his cousin, Asaka, watched as the wagons rode past.
Akuma still remembered the moment vividly, for that day may have changed his life forever.
The children, only about 6, watched and cheered as the golden wagons rode past, drawn by magnificent white and winged horse monsters, mounted by heavily armoured guards.
What interested Akuma most were the guards. From one glance, even from an untrained eye, you could tell that they were strong. Very strong.
Each guard seemed strong enough to take on the whole village, twice, and still come out unharmed.
Only one thought came to his mind, "Who's strong enough to have underlings like that?"
His question was soon answered as he overheard the village's adults speaking.
"I see the saikyo's convoy coming through again"
"They don't call him the saikyō for nothing"
"I wish I was as rich and powerful as him"
The saikyo.
The title bestowed upon the strongest person in the world (or saikyō), one must be able to win practically any battle against any other person before even being considered for the title. They must surpass the entire ranking system until no letters can describe their power. That is the only way they could be worthy to lead the council.
And Akuma wanted it.
He wanted to be the strongest. Not only for the money or the fame or the power - although that helped - truly, it was for his clan.
Even at such a young age, Akuma already cared about his family's reputation.
Of course he had heard the stories.
The disgraceful Kuro clan that were forced to adopt pacifism and and abandon their position after their family head inherited the wrong skill and was executed in a futile attempt to stop it.
He wanted to redeem the clan, regaining their position as one of the great clans and, to do so, he decided he would become the saikyo.
And so, he trained...
He spent nine years learning every remaining skill his clan had to offer, practicing each daily until he could perfect them all.
Under Hitogoroshi's mentorship, he quickly became one of the strongest in the village. But that wasn't enough. He needed to be the strongest in the world.
After all those grueling years, Akuma was finally old enough to execute his long anticipated plan to become the saikyo.