A Medical Ninja Should Solve Problems the Medical Ninja Way

Back home, Aoba immediately shut himself in his room.

He had no intention of keeping a long mane and fighting like a hedgehog. That would be far too troublesome.

More importantly, it was too ugly.

His thinking was actually worlds apart from Minato's. Being handsome was a lifelong pursuit, but Minato had found a better option.

He walked over to his desk, where a pile of jars and bottles sat.

They contained sand left over from his failed sand-control experiments, each holding a different kind.

Aside from varying grain sizes, there were different varieties as well.

River sand, sea sand, desert sand, and sand ground from various ores.

Ever since he had accidentally discovered chakra's contaminating and assimilating properties, he had spent some time researching them, only to quickly hit a bottleneck.

Ordinary sand was inert matter and conducted chakra terribly.

To control it, he first had to use chakra to "erode" the sand and forcibly imprint it with his mark.

But that imprint was extremely unstable.

Once he stopped supplying chakra, the mark on the sand rapidly dissipated.

Moreover, this kind of forced control consumed an enormous amount of chakra. It was like driving a car with an oil leak—it would not get far before breaking down.

Jiraiya's hair technique had given him an idea.

This technique was a key.

A key to solving the problem of "sand control."

As for learning this technique, that had been an accident too. Minato had said he wanted to teach him a ninjutsu, and Aoba had only asked on a whim. He had not expected Jiraiya to actually teach him.

Aoba grabbed a handful of sand and watched it slip through his fingers.

Gaara could control sand because of the One-Tail's unique Tailed Beast chakra, as well as the power his mother had left behind. The Third Kazekage could control Iron Sand because he possessed the Magnet Release Kekkei Genkai.

Neither was useful as a reference.

Ordinary chakra attaching to sand was like splashing water onto a rock. It could wet it temporarily, but it would soon evaporate and drain away.

To maintain control, he needed to continuously pour chakra into it. Unless he was a chakra-ton-level ninja, that kind of expenditure was practically suicide.

But Wild Lion's Mane Technique was different.

"Hair is made of dead cells shed by the body, yet because it originates from the body itself, it has an extremely high affinity for one's own chakra. It can even serve as an extension of the chakra system."

Aoba recalled the sensation from when he had used the technique earlier.

"What if I could make sand part of my 'body' too?"

A sharp gleam flashed through Aoba's eyes.

That was chakra affinity.

Hair could carry Yang Release chakra and undergo Shape Transformation because it contained his own genetic information and perfectly matched the frequency of his chakra.

Then, if he could "enchant" the sand and give it biological properties, would that solve the problems of difficult control and excessive chakra consumption?

Aoba's gaze sharpened. He pulled out a Kunai from his ninja pouch and, without hesitation, cut off a lock of hair.

Then he found a pair of nail clippers and cut off some nail fragments.

He did not have a high-precision centrifuge or grinder, but ninja had ninja methods.

Aoba wrapped a stone in chakra and gradually ground the hair and nail clippings into an extremely fine powder.

Then he mixed the powder into a small amount of sand and injected chakra into it.

[Experiment Record 01: Biological keratin powder mixture.]

After thinking it over, Aoba decided it was not enough. Keratin was a bodily product too, but its activity was too low.

He picked up the Kunai and unhesitatingly sliced open his fingertip.

Bright red blood dripped down, staining a small handful of sand.

[Experiment Record 02: Blood infusion.]

The next day.

Aoba injected chakra into Mixture No. 1.

The system displayed.

Chakra erosion rate, affinity, control sensitivity, and other data had all improved to a certain extent.

"It worked a little, but not enough."

Aoba shook his head.

Then he tried No. 2, the sand mixed with blood.

He did not even need the Chip's prompt.

This time, the feeling was completely different!

Previously, the sand had felt heavy and awkward, and his chakra scattered the moment it entered.

But this time, when his chakra touched those grains mixed with hair and nail powder, it actually produced a subtle "resonance."

It was like an electric current connecting to a conductor.

The crimson sand grains instantly rose into the air, winding obediently around his fingertips like a nimble serpent.

There was not the slightest sense of resistance.

It was as effortless and natural as moving his own fingers.

"The results are outstanding."

Blood contained large amounts of cells and moisture, making it the best carrier for chakra.

Summoning Technique contracts and all kinds of Fuinjutsu required blood for a reason.

"Just as I thought! I was on the right track!"

Ecstasy flashed through Aoba's eyes. "As long as I mix in biological tissue containing my own DNA, I can greatly increase the sand's chakra conductivity and retention rate!"

"But there was a problem. I could not exactly drain two pounds of blood from myself before every fight, could I? That would be hurting myself before the enemy even got injured."

Aoba watched the red sand dancing around his fingertips and found the sight a little strange.

He imagined summoning a vast crimson Sand Sea on the battlefield. Why did it make him seem like a villain?

What if he made a name for himself and the enemy gave him some kind of title?

It would probably be something involving blood or red—something that sounded like it belonged to a bad guy.

Titles like Flash, Technician, and White Fang sounded so much more impressive.

No, he at least had to change the color.

Besides, once blood dried, its activity would decrease. It was still better than pure sand, but there would be losses.

He needed something that could be produced in large quantities, contained his own genes, and remained active for a long time.

"Since I'm a medical ninja, I should solve problems the medical ninja way!"

Aoba leaned back in his chair, his gaze sweeping over the medical texts on the bookshelf.

"Cloning... cell culture..."

Those words surfaced in his mind.

In this world, Orochimaru was the expert at meddling with cells.

But Aoba did not need to cultivate something as heaven-defying as Hashirama Cells. He only needed to cultivate cells from his own body.

Cells capable of proliferation usually included hematopoietic stem cells, basal cells, and... cancer cells.

"However, cell proliferation is cyclical. They would also need modification before they could become a colony of my own cells that grew like moss across the surface of the sand grains. On top of that, I would need protection to prevent abnormal cell death."

"If I could extract my own oral epithelial cells, use the principles of Cell Activation in Medical Ninjutsu to make them proliferate in large numbers in a culture dish, then dehydrate and grind the cell tissue into a special Biological Coating that covered every grain of sand..."

The more Aoba thought about it, the more feasible it seemed.

That way, what he controlled would not be sand, but countless "miniature clones" wearing shells of sand.

This was no longer mere Earth Release. It was a Bio-Puppetry Technique combined with Medical Ninjutsu.

"I can't carry out cell culture under the conditions at home. Looks like I'll have to borrow the hospital's laboratory."

Aoba glanced around the room. Turning it into a laboratory was even less possible. He was not about to make dumplings just for a little vinegar.

Conducting biological experiments privately at home was more than his current small frame could handle. Why make trouble for himself when there was a safe, free option available?