This ninja in Naruto is unscientific

Chapter 83 Methods for Treating Hemophobia

The police department's laboratory.

The chill of the night seeped in through the cracks in the window, while the indoor incandescent light was still blindingly bright.

Nishikawa Tetsu sat at his desk, which was piled with drawings and scrolls, twirling a pen in his hand. The whiteboard in front of him was covered with densely packed nouns.

In the very center of the whiteboard was a photograph retrieved from the archives—Tsunade, one of the legendary Sannin.

The photo was marked with a large red question mark.

"Hemophobia."

Nishikawa Tetsu stopped twirling his pen and stared intently at the question mark.

"In psychology, this is an external manifestation of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It's not simply a fear of blood itself, but rather that the visual symbol of blood forcibly triggers painful memories in the hippocampus of the brain about Nawaki's internal organs being ripped out and Kato Dan dying in his arms."

"This can lead to an overload of the sympathetic nervous system, causing tremors, paralysis, or even shock."

Nishikawa Tetsu closed his eyes, and the plot of the anime he had watched in his previous life floated into his mind.

In the original work, the opportunity for Tsunade to overcome her hemophobia was Naruto Uzumaki.

That foolish boy, to protect her, repeatedly stood in front of Kabuto, getting beaten half to death and covered in blood, yet still stood up and shouted, "I want to be Hokage!" At that moment, Naruto's figure overlapped with that of the dead Nawaki and Dan Kato, his strong will to protect them overcoming his fear of loss.

"Core logic - resetting conditioned reflexes."

Nishikawa Tetsu opened his eyes and tapped his fingers lightly on the table.

"In Tsunade's mind right now, the formula is: [Blood = Death / Loss]."

"What I want to do is to rewrite this formula using scientific methods as: [Blood = Profit / Hope], or at least downgrade it to [Blood = Some Common Liquid]."

Since there's no Naruto, the "most unpredictable ninja," to act as a meat shield, then we can only rely on technology and ruthless tactics.

Nishikawa Tetsu picked up a pen and scribbled down several proposals on the whiteboard, each one exuding an air of "effective but inhumane."

Option A: Systematic desensitization method

"Showing her human blood directly is definitely not an option; it would cause an immediate stress response. So let's start with things that resemble blood to blur the concept of blood."

Nishikawa Tetsu took a row of test tubes out of the drawer.

It contained ketchup, strawberry jam, watermelon juice, and a bottle of artificial blood plasma that he had just mixed in the lab—the color, viscosity, and consistency were exactly the same as real venous blood, but the taste was sweet.

"The first step is visual confusion."

He added a note next to the plan: "Make these things into bursting dumplings or drinks. When she puts the red, viscous liquid in her mouth and finds it sweet, her brain's alarm mechanism will hesitate slightly. As long as she's willing to eat it, the desensitization is halfway done."

Option B: Shock Therapy

"If they don't eat, then we'll have to increase the intensity."

Nishikawa Tetsu looked at the silicone mannequin in the corner, which was used to test the penetrating power of bee stings.

He walked to the workbench, picked up the welding torch and several tubes, and began to modify the dummy.

"High-pressure blood pumps are implanted in the cyborg's chest and abdominal cavities. The program is set so that when the cyborg is subjected to external force or is triggered at a set time, it will simulate the ejection effect of an artery rupture."

"Of course, what's spraying out isn't real blood, but that special warm red dye."

"In a safe environment, force her to confront this visual shock. When she realizes that even though blood has been sprayed all over her face, no one around her has died and no danger has occurred, the fear circuit will gradually become fatigued and dulled due to the lack of negative feedback."

But this move is too risky. If Tsunade overreacts and accidentally kills herself with a punch, that would be a real problem.

Nishikawa Tetsu put a question mark after Option B as a backup.

Option C: Gambler's Trap

"If you make good use of the gambler's psychology, the results should be quite good."

Nishikawa Tetsuya's lips curled into a playful smile as he drew an exquisite diagram of a box structure on a piece of paper.

As everyone knows, Tsunade is a notorious gambler who always loses, yet she's addicted to gambling. The dopamine released during gambling can temporarily suppress cortisol secretion.

Design a set of medical blind boxes.

"The box might contain a large sum of cash checks, top-quality vintage wines, or it might contain... a bag of warm blood plasma, or a still-beating bionic heart."

"The rules are simple: reach in and touch, whatever you touch is yours."

Nishikawa Toru marked several key points on the drawings:

"Take advantage of her desire to gamble and lure her into reaching for the unknown. When her attention is completely focused on whether she can touch the money, her defensiveness against gambling will be at its lowest."

"As long as she dares to reach out for the first time, even if she touches sticky blood plasma, as long as her first reaction is bad luck, that she has lost, instead of fear that someone has died, then the treatment is a success."

"This is called—using greed to defeat fear."

Option D: Final Contingency Plan

If all those fancy tricks don't work, then we'll have to resort to that one method.

Nishikawa Tetsu took a specially made tactical vest from the shelf next to him—the [Full Sensory Simulation Bleeding Vest].

This is a small invention he came up with, originally intended to be sold to film crews or used for exercises.

"Wearing it, you can simulate the effects of various wounds spurting blood simply by inputting chakra."

Nishikawa Tetsu inspected the miniature nozzles and blood reservoir on his vest.

"Whether it's the jet-like spray of a ruptured artery or the gushing out of a severed vein, it's all terrifyingly realistic. It even includes a spray of blood with a rusty smell and heating pads to simulate body temperature."

"If options A, B, and C all fail."

Nishikawa Tetsu touched the vest, his eyes becoming somewhat resolute.

"Then I'll have to play the unlucky guy who needs to be protected."

"The plot of the original work is replicated: in a controllable crisis, she witnesses her companions fall in a pool of blood to protect her, forcing her to choose between saving her and running away."

"As long as she overcomes her fear even for a moment in order to save people, and places her hand on the wound to perform the palm magic, the psychological suggestion knot will be untied."

Of course, to prevent himself from being accidentally killed by Tsunade's monstrous strength, Nishikawa Tetsu added a high-strength protective plate to his vest.

"For the sake of the principle of the Yin Seal, this risk is still worth taking."

Nishikawa Tetsu compiled all the proposals into a booklet, placed it in a sealed bag, and wrote a line on the cover:

The Fat Sheep Rescue Project.

Outside the window, the sky was already beginning to lighten.

Nishikawa Tetsu stood up, stretched his stiff neck, looked at the pile of bottles and jars and strange props on the table, and gave a smile that even Orochimaru would find endearing.

"Lady Tsunade, your treatment is ready."