Light filtered through the gaps in the tent fabric. Muzan opened his eyes and judged from the brightness that the sun had been up for at least an hour. Outside, he could hear footsteps, voices layered over each other, and the crackle of cooking fires. Smoke drifted through the tent's seams carrying the smell of roasted meat.
Two sets of footsteps approached with purpose. They stopped outside his tent.
"Muzan," Amanai called. "Time to start your training. Come out."
Muzan sat up slowly. If he stepped outside, the sunlight would burn his skin within seconds. Everyone would see him smoke and blister. That couldn't happen.
"I can't," he said.
Silence followed. Then Toshiro spoke. "What do you mean you can't?"
"Sunlight burns me. I can only go outside at night or in complete shade."
He heard them conferring in whispers just outside. Their voices were too quiet for normal hearing but Muzan caught every word.
"Is he stalling?" Toshiro asked.
"Maybe. Or he's trying to buy time to escape."
"Let's test it."
The tent flap flew open. Sunlight poured across the ground inside, stopping just short of where Muzan sat. He moved backward instantly, pressing himself against the tent's far corner where shadows still remained. His speed carried him across the space faster than any normal person could track.
Both Amanai and Toshiro's hands went to their weapon pouches.
"Stay back," Muzan said. "Don't force me into the light."
Amanai's eyes narrowed as he studied Muzan's position in the shadows. "If you're telling the truth, prove it. Show us what happens."
"No."
"Then you're lying," Toshiro said. "Lord Urashi needs to hear about this."
Muzan weighed his options. They would either drag him out and watch him burn, or he could demonstrate the effect on his own terms with minimal exposure. The second option gave him more control.
He extended his right hand toward the beam of sunlight cutting through the tent entrance. Just his hand, nothing more. His fingers crossed into the light and his skin began to smoke immediately. Thin wisps of vapor rose from his flesh as the tissue reddened and blistered within seconds.
Muzan pulled his hand back. The damage covered his palm and fingers, the skin raw and angry-looking where it had been exposed.
Amanai and Toshiro stared at his hand without speaking. Their mouths had gone slack.
Muzan watched his palm as the burns healed. The blistered skin smoothed out and the redness faded until his hand looked completely normal again. The entire process took less than ten seconds.
"What the hell," Toshiro breathed.
Amanai's expression shifted from shock to calculation. "You heal that fast naturally? Without any technique?"
Muzan said nothing. He hadn't intended for them to see the regeneration but there was no taking it back now.
"Stay here," Amanai said. "Toshiro, post two guards outside. Make sure this tent stays closed. No one enters or leaves without Lord Urashi's approval."
They left quickly, pulling the tent flap shut behind them. Muzan heard them issuing orders to nearby shinobi. Two sets of footsteps approached and stopped just outside his tent, taking up guard positions.
Muzan sat back down on the bedroll. He'd revealed more than he wanted but the alternative would have been worse. At least now they knew he wasn't lying about the sunlight weakness. The rapid healing would raise questions but he could work with that.
He'd stayed in this camp deliberately despite having opportunities to escape last night. The Uchiha had knowledge he needed about how shinobi operated, how they used chakra, what techniques existed in this world. His raw strength was considerable but strength alone wouldn't be enough to survive. He needed understanding and skill to back it up.
Last night he'd overheard conversations about a war between the Uchiha and Senju clans. From what he could piece together, these weren't just random shinobi groups but major powers locked in extended conflict. That meant they would be desperate for any advantage they could get.
His regeneration and his copied Sharingan made him valuable despite his sunlight weakness. The Uchiha would see him as a potential weapon against their enemies. They might suspect he wasn't telling them everything but as long as he proved useful, they would invest in training him rather than killing him. And if they tried to betray him or revealed his weakness to their enemies, he could destroy this camp before reinforcements arrived. The calculation was simple.
He was using them for knowledge. They would try to use him for their war. As long as both sides got what they wanted, the arrangement would hold.
Footsteps approached again ten minutes later. Multiple sets this time, one with a heavier gait that Muzan recognized as Urashi's. The tent flap opened just wide enough for a face to appear in the gap without letting sunlight penetrate deep inside.
"I heard about your condition," Urashi said. His voice was level but his eyes were sharp as they studied Muzan in the shadows.
"It's real," Muzan said.
"And the healing."
Muzan nodded once.
Urashi pulled back and spoke to someone outside. "Close it and come in."
The tent sealed again and Urashi entered with Amanai, Toshiro, and a woman Muzan hadn't seen before. She had grey streaks running through her dark hair and carried herself with the confidence of someone used to being listened to.
"This is Uchiha Hana," Urashi said. "She has medical knowledge and experience with unusual conditions. She's going to examine you."
Muzan stayed seated but didn't object.
Hana approached and knelt beside him. She studied his face first, her eyes moving across his features with clinical precision, then reached for his hand. "Show me the one that was burned."
Muzan held out his right hand. The skin was unmarked, showing no trace of the blistering that had covered it minutes ago.
Hana turned his hand over and examined both sides carefully. Her fingers pressed against his palm, checking for scar tissue or irregularities. "Amanai reported severe blistering. There's nothing here now. Not even discoloration."
"I heal quickly," Muzan said.
"Obviously." Hana released his hand and sat back on her heels. She looked at Urashi. "I've studied medical techniques for twenty years. I've seen shinobi use chakra to accelerate healing during surgery. I've seen bloodline abilities that enhance recovery. But nothing works this fast and certainly nothing that activates automatically without conscious effort or hand signs."
"Could it be a bloodline trait we haven't documented?" Urashi asked.
Hana frowned, her brow creasing as she considered the question. "The Uchiha bloodline doesn't include regeneration. Our abilities center on visual prowess and enhanced perception. This is something different entirely. If it's connected to his Sharingan somehow, it would represent a mutation we've never seen before."
"What about the sunlight reaction?"
"That I've heard of in medical texts," Hana said. "There are rare blood disorders that cause extreme photosensitivity. But those conditions typically weaken the body overall. The afflicted are frail and prone to illness. He doesn't appear frail."
She turned back to Muzan. "Are there others in your family with these conditions? Either the regeneration or the sunlight sensitivity?"
Muzan had been expecting this question. Claiming ignorance would make him suspicious but claiming knowledge would require details he couldn't provide. "I don't remember my family," he said. "My earliest clear memories start after I was already living alone."
Hana's eyes narrowed. "How convenient."
"It's what I remember," Muzan said without inflection.
Urashi raised his hand. "The past doesn't matter right now. What matters is whether he can be useful. Hana, can he fight?"
Hana stood and brushed dust from her knees. "If he can only operate at night, his deployment options are limited. But if his regeneration is as powerful as it appears, he would be extremely difficult to kill in combat. That makes him valuable for night operations where taking casualties is normally expected. Scouting enemy positions, assassination missions, sabotage. He could take risks other shinobi couldn't survive."
Urashi nodded slowly, his expression thoughtful. "Then we'll work within those constraints."
He looked down at Muzan. "You stay in this tent during daylight hours. After sunset, Amanai and Toshiro will train you in our techniques and clan history. If you prove yourself useful, you'll have a place here. If you prove to be a liability, we'll deal with that accordingly."
"Understood," Muzan said.
Urashi turned toward the exit, then paused. "One more thing. Your regeneration. Can it heal any injury or are there limits?"
Muzan considered the question. He genuinely didn't know the full extent of his abilities yet. "I haven't tested it extensively. I don't know where the limits are."
"Then we'll discover them together," Urashi said. "Training will reveal what you're capable of."
He moved toward the tent flap, then stopped again. "And Muzan, don't mistake your regeneration for invulnerability. Sunlight may be your most obvious weakness but there are dozens of ways to kill someone that don't require daylight. Poison, suffocation, decapitation, fire hot enough to burn faster than you can heal. Remember that before you consider doing anything foolish."
"I'll remember," Muzan said quietly.
Urashi left with Hana following behind him. Amanai and Toshiro remained near the entrance.
"Rest while you can," Amanai said. "Tonight we'll see what you're actually capable of."
They exited and sealed the tent behind them, leaving Muzan alone in the dim interior.
He lay back on the bedroll and stared at the tent fabric above him. The conversation had gone better than he'd expected. Urashi was practical enough to see value in unusual abilities rather than simply executing anything he didn't understand. That practicality would keep Muzan alive long enough to learn what he needed.
The training would begin tonight. He would need to be careful about what abilities he revealed and in what order. Show enough competence to be valuable but not so much power that they started viewing him as a threat rather than an asset. The balance would be delicate.
His thoughts drifted to the hunger building slowly in his chest. He'd fed heavily two nights ago but his body was already beginning to demand more. The rapid healing and constant regeneration burned through resources faster than a normal metabolism. He would need to feed again soon, probably within the next few days.
That would be complicated in a military camp surrounded by watchful shinobi. He would need to plan carefully, find an opportunity that wouldn't expose what he really was. One problem at a time though. First he needed to learn everything the Uchiha were willing to teach him about chakra and combat techniques.
Muzan closed his eyes and focused on steadying his breathing. Outside, the camp continued its daily routine with the sounds of training, conversation, and preparation for whatever conflict these people were engaged in. He listened to it all and filed away every detail for later use.
Tonight his education would begin. He would make sure to learn everything he could.