Sure enough, those old geezers were treating me like a human blood supply!
Lightly shaking the arm from which another vial of blood had been drawn, Chiba walked out of Konoha Hospital with an unhappy look on his face, his eyes full of helplessness.
Now then, the medical equipment... I wonder whether the equipment Kakashi had kept can still be used, or whether the village has taken it back.
No! That old medical equipment probably won't do anymore.
I need to apply for higher-spec equipment.
This time, there absolutely can't be any mistakes.
Soon, after leaving Konoha Hospital and heading straight toward Kakashi's residence, this rather grave thought flashed through Chiba's mind.
The medicine he needed to prepare this time used Higan Grass as its primary ingredient, supplemented by all sorts of mostly toxic herbs with potent cold properties. It was exceedingly difficult to concoct, and there could basically be no error whatsoever in the proportions. Nothing could go wrong.
And Chiba intended to take this medicine himself. If anything went wrong, he might poison himself to death.
This medicine was called "Higan." It was a potent poison recorded in Tsunade's medical knowledge scrolls. It could put someone into a state of suspended death in which their heart stopped beating, lasting for half an hour. If the poisoned person's heart failed to resume beating within that half hour, it would enter a state of permanent cardiac arrest—true death.
As for this Higan, its most important ingredient was a national-treasure-grade herb of the Land of Wind, produced in pitifully small quantities, and it also required a large number of rare herbs. As a Konoha ninja, Tsunade had only ever prepared it once, when testing the formula. She had never prepared it again afterward.
If Konoha had not somehow obtained a great