In the dark night, Muzan wandered aimlessly through the forest.
"W-what have I done...? Am I a monster...?"
He kept mumbling, desperately trying to forget what had transpired just hours ago.
Muzan's current situation was a cruel joke of fate.
Once, he had wanted to lead a happy life. Then he desperately wanted just to survive. When he finally accepted death, Genzo sacrificed himself for him.
The will to live reignited in his heart. He wanted to stand up once again. But when he finally did, it wasn't as a human—it was as a monster. A demon.
His originally yellow eyes had turned crimson red. His once pale, shallow, thin face had become even paler, yet fuller and exceptionally handsome with delicate features.
Moreover, whenever Muzan flexed his fingers or jaw, his fingernails elongated into claws, and his canines sharpened into long, deadly fangs.
Becoming a demon had also granted Muzan inexplicable strength. He could easily tear apart thick trees and sprint dozens of meters in a single second.
But Muzan felt another change as well.
His body now craved flesh and blood.
Having spent most of his sheltered life at home—especially confined to his room—he had developed a love for reading. According to his knowledge, early humans were assumed to be herbivorous. But as countless species emerged and many lands became barren due to climate change, their main food sources—fruits and vegetables—grew scarce.
At that point, humans began eating dead animals. Yet humans didn't evolve into complete carnivores because they learned to ignite fire. It was the turning point that made humans truly human.
Humans learned to cook meat and evolved differently from carnivores, gradually developing into omnivores. Now, the human body cannot digest raw meat precisely because their evolutionary path diverged.
So the fact that Muzan currently craved raw flesh meant he had undergone another evolution.
But one thing puzzled him: when he consumed human flesh, he felt a strange warmth flowing through his body. If his guess was correct, this warmth should be what shinobi called chakra.
He remembered reading that "chakra exists in all things." Chakra meant drawing out physical and spiritual energy and mixing them together within one's body.
He should have chakra too, then. But he didn't know how to use it.
As Muzan lost himself in thought, a glimmer of light began to pierce the night sky on the horizon.
The sun was rising.
Sizzle!!
Like raw meat being scorched, Muzan jerked his hand back from the sunlight as if electrocuted. Intense pain shot through his nerves before his wound healed in the blink of an eye.
Muzan's body blurred past the trees. The sunlight pursued him from behind, as if determined to burn him to ashes.
In the distance, he spotted a cave.
BOOM!!
The earth beneath his feet crumbled as he launched himself forward in a massive leap.
CRASH!!
With a single bound, he landed before the cave's entrance, shattering the ground beneath him. He quickly dove inside.
From within the cave, Muzan slowly watched as sunlight illuminated the outside world.
At that moment, it finally struck him—he was no longer human. He could no longer live like them, nor could he afford to think like them. He had changed fundamentally. He was a being that belonged to the darkness. He could hope for the light but never approach it.
"This is a curse... but this might also be a gift."
Muzan closed his eyes.
In his daze, he seemed to see his mother, his father, Genzo, his sensei.
When Muzan opened his eyes, they gleamed with determination.
"I couldn't control my past. But now that I have this strength, I will control my future."
The heir to the Land of Iron was returning, stronger than ever. But no one knew what storm he would bring.
---
Night finally fell.
Muzan left the cave, heading for any nearby villages he could find. After all, he didn't know how to return to the Land of Iron, nor where he currently was.
With his extraordinary perception and speed, it didn't take long to find human traces.
Under the moonlight, Muzan walked along a narrow mud road.
After some time, a glimmer of light appeared in the distance.
As he drew closer, Muzan saw small camps. Not a village.
His senses picked up people approaching. He rapidly moved back and hid behind trees.
After he left, two people appeared where he had been. They both had spiky hair and a red and white fan crest on the back of their attire. Their eyes glowed red.
Even from a distance, Muzan could see them clearly. "Huh?! Are they like me too?"
But he quickly noticed that their eyes had two and three dots respectively, rotating within them.
As he was looking at them, their heads snapped toward him. Before Muzan could process what was happening, his whole world darkened.
The two men appeared before him.
"Toshiro, check his body. He could be an enemy scout."
Toshiro nodded. He crouched down and removed the bush, finding Muzan's naked body.
Toshiro turned back and called out to his superior.
"Amanai-san, he doesn't have anything on him. In fact, he is nak—"
Before Toshiro could finish, a kunai passed by his face. Toshiro's eyes widened in surprise as his body flickered away, reappearing near Amanai.
Amanai looked at Muzan, who had somehow broken through his genjutsu and dodged his throw so easily. One thing was certain: the guy before him wasn't a civilian.
Muzan rushed at the two men. Just as he was about to transform his hands into whips, he heard one of them call out.
"Your eyes?! Are you an Uchiha?"
Toshiro called out, seeing Muzan's crimson eyes.
But Amanai attacked. Even though Muzan sensed the attack, he didn't dodge because he could feel Amanai didn't attack with intent to kill.
Amanai's hand shot forward, gripping Muzan's wrist tightly. His other hand pressed against Muzan's shoulder, forcing him down. Within seconds, Muzan found himself pinned to the ground, arms twisted behind his back.
Muzan didn't resist. He could feel the strength in his body, the power that could easily break free from this hold. But he wanted to wait and see. These men had asked about "Uchiha."
"Don't move," Amanai commanded, his knee pressing into Muzan's back.
Toshiro approached cautiously, crouching down to get a better look at Muzan's face. "Are you an Uchiha or not? Answer me."
Muzan remained silent. His mind raced. He didn't know what an Uchiha was, but clearly it had something to do with red eyes.
Toshiro leaned closer, studying Muzan's eyes carefully. His own Sharingan spun slowly as he examined them. Then his expression changed.
"Amanai-san, look at his eyes."
Amanai moved closer, peering at Muzan's face in the moonlight. "What about them?"
"He has two tomoe," Toshiro said slowly. "I could have sworn there were none when I first saw him."
Amanai's eyes widened. "That's impossible. The Sharingan doesn't just appear like that."
What they didn't know was that Muzan had felt something strange moments ago. When Amanai grabbed him, when he looked into those red eyes with the spinning dots, Muzan had felt an instinct. His body had reacted on its own.
He didn't understand how, but he had changed his eyes. Shaped them. Made them look like theirs.
It was the same power that let him grow claws and fangs. His body could transform into what he saw. When his eyes changed, he felt the same warmth he had felt before flowing into them. But it was gone as soon as the change occurred.
"Where are you from?" Amanai demanded, his voice sharp. "Which part of the clan sent you?"
Muzan finally spoke. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Don't lie to me," Amanai snapped. "Only Uchiha have the Sharingan. If you have it, you're one of us."
"I'm not lying," Muzan said. "I don't know what an Uchiha is."
Toshiro and Amanai exchanged glances.
"He's either a very good liar or..." Toshiro trailed off.
"Or what?" Amanai asked.
"Or he doesn't know he's an Uchiha."
Amanai pulled Muzan up roughly, keeping his arms pinned. "We're taking you to the camp. Lord Urashi will decide what to do with you."
Muzan didn't struggle as they dragged him forward. He needed to know where he was and how to return home. These people were the only way he could gather information.