Naruto: Starting as the Third Hokage with Tears in His Eyes

Chapter 55 The Problem of Blood

The newly built Konoha Hospital is the first landmark project completed by Danzo's "Konoha Construction Team".

Thanks to the absurd construction efficiency of Danzo's "Konoha Construction Team," a brand-new comprehensive hospital, three times larger than the original, was built in just a few months.

The entire top floor of the hospital was designated as a dedicated research department for Tsunade and Orochimaru.

This five-story building, constructed with a brand-new chakra conductor metal framework mixed with soil, is scientifically designed and well-lit, making it the most advanced medical facility in the entire Land of Fire.

The research department on the top floor of the hospital was specially approved by Hiruzen Sarutobi as an "S-class confidential area," possessing the most advanced equipment and the most ample budget in the entire Hidden Leaf Village.

At this moment, the atmosphere in the largest laboratory of the research department was so tense it was about to explode.

"No!"

Tsunade slammed her hand hard on the experimental table made of a special alloy, making a loud "bang".

She pointed at the pale-faced boy opposite her.

"Orochimaru, your idea is insane."

"This is exactly the data I wanted to observe."

Orochimaru's voice was cold and calm. He adjusted his non-prescription glasses on the bridge of his nose, and his golden snake eyes gleamed with rationality.

"Tsunade, your thinking is too limited to your role as a doctor. We are scientists now. Science requires bold hypotheses and rigorous verification!"

Since Hiruzen Sarutobi enlightened them with the concept of blood type, Tsunade and Orochimaru's research has entered a fast track.

Through extensive animal experiments and dissections of captured enemy corpses, they successfully verified the correctness of blood classification.

They named this phenomenon "blood continuum" and, based on its different agglutination reactions, initially classified it into four basic types.

They were named as "Type A, Type B, Type C, and Type D".

This discovery represents a groundbreaking breakthrough in the field of medical ninjutsu.

This means that as long as a matching blood type is found, the success rate of blood transfusion will jump from less than 30% to over 90%!

However, new problems also arose.

How to quickly and accurately determine a person's blood type?

Their current method involves extracting a small amount of blood and mixing it with four known standard serums (A, B, C, and D) to observe whether agglutination occurs.

This process is tedious, time-consuming, and requires the consumption of precious standard serum.

In a battlefield where every second counts, it has no practical use whatsoever.

Orochimaru then proposed an even bolder and more insane idea.

He believed that the nature of blood's properties was determined by some unknown chakra imprint within the blood.

The goal is to find the pattern of this imprint through large-scale mixed experiments, and then develop a ninjutsu or test strip that can directly read blood type information.

Tsunade, however, strongly opposed this research method.

She believes that a safer approach should be taken, such as studying the patterns of blood inheritance between parents and children.

The two have been arguing about this for three whole days, and neither of them can convince the other.

"The laws of inheritance? Too slow!"

Orochimaru retorted without hesitation, "By the time we figure out all the genetic combinations, the third war might already be over. My method is the most efficient!"

"Hmph, woman's kindness."

"What did you say?!"

It looked like the two were about to escalate from an academic debate into a full-blown physical fight.

"Cough cough."

A gentle cough came from the laboratory doorway.

Hiruzen Sarutobi walked in slowly, his hands behind his back.

"teacher."

"teacher."

Tsunade and Orochimaru immediately stopped arguing and stood respectfully at attention.

"It seems your research is progressing quite enthusiastically."

Hiruzen Sarutobi glanced at the alloy lab table that Tsunade had cracked, then at the two men who were on the verge of exchanging blows, and chuckled sarcastically.

"I've heard about the difficulties you're facing."

Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't beat around the bush and went straight to the point.

He walked to the lab bench, picked up a test tube, looked at the bright red blood inside, and pretended to be deep in thought.

Tsunade and Orochimaru watched him nervously, hoping that their teacher, who always offered amazing insights, would once again guide them through their confusion.

Hiruzen Sarutobi pondered for a moment, then slowly spoke.

"Now that you know that different blood types have compatibility—some can blend together, while others will repel each other."

"Have you... considered whether this rejection reaction, besides coagulation, might manifest in other forms? For example... is there something in one type of blood attacking something in another type of blood?"

attack?

Tsunade and Orochimaru were both taken aback.

Their previous thinking had focused on the macroscopic phenomenon of coagulation.

I never imagined that a "war" could be taking place at the micro level.

"What the teacher means is..."

Orochimaru's snake eyes lit up instantly, as if he had grasped something crucial.

Hiruzen Sarutobi waved his hand and continued in an enlightening tone, "It's like how we ninjas fight. Some are good at taijutsu, and some are good at ninjutsu. Could there be something similar between blood?"

"For example, I call the four blood types you discovered A, B, AB, and O."

"Type A blood cells have a small 'A antigen' on them. Type B blood cells have a B antigen. Type AB blood cells have both types. Type O blood cells have none."

"At the same time, their serum contains antibodies that specifically attack these tiny hands. Type A blood contains anti-B antibodies, type B blood contains anti-A antibodies, type O blood contains both types of antibodies, and type AB blood contains no antibodies at all."

"So when you give type A blood to a person with type B blood, the anti-A antibodies in the type B blood will immediately rush up, grab the A antigens on the type A red blood cells, and stick them all together, which causes agglutination."

"The same applies to the reverse."

"Type O blood, because it has no antigens, will not be attacked by anyone when it is transfused, making it a universal donor. Type AB blood, on the other hand, because it has no antibodies, can accept anyone's blood, making it a universal recipient."

Hiruzen Sarutobi explained the underlying logic of the "ABO blood type system" to the two of them in the simplest and most straightforward way, like telling a fairy tale.

The entire laboratory fell into a deathly silence.

Tsunade, Orochimaru, and even Jiraiya, who was eavesdropping nearby, were all petrified.

Their mouths were slightly open, their eyes were wide like copper bells, and their faces were filled with the ultimate philosophical questions: "Who am I? Where am I? What did I just hear?"

Antigen? Antibody?

Type A? Type B? Type O?

Universal blood transfusion recipient? Universal blood recipient?

What... what kind of theory is this?

Especially Orochimaru.

His brain, which pursued truth and considered itself a genius, completely shut down at that moment.

I felt that my previous research report, which was dozens of pages long and which I was very proud of, paled in comparison to the teacher's "fairy tale" in just a few minutes.

So that's what the origin of blood is!

"Categorize...classify..."

"Antigen...antibody..."

Orochimaru began to chant those two words fervently, and his golden snake eyes blazed with brilliant light.

He seemed to see a door to a new world leading to the ultimate mysteries of life sciences slowly opening for him.

"I understand! I completely understand!"

Orochimaru grabbed Tsunade, who was still in a daze, and dragged her towards the other end of the laboratory, ignoring her disgusted look.

"Classification! That's right! How come we didn't think of that! We can create a standard reagent containing only anti-A and anti-B antibodies. With just two drops of blood, we can identify anyone's blood type in seconds!"

"We can even...we can try to isolate and modify these antigens and antibodies! Tsunade! We...we're going to change the world!"

The two of them, in their haste, completely forgot about their Hokage teacher.

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at their energetic backs and smiled with satisfaction.

He knew that before long, the medical standards of Konoha, and even the entire ninja world, would undergo earth-shattering changes because of this small "hint" today.

"Sigh, geniuses sometimes get stuck on the smallest details."

He shook his head, silently complaining to himself.

"Now that the blood type issue is resolved, it's time to consider improving the villagers' meals."