Tsunade practically stormed all the way into the high-security private laboratory deep within Konoha Hospital that belonged exclusively to Shinichi.
Bang!
The laboratory door was shoved open by Tsunade.
The room inside was spacious and equipped with the most advanced top-tier equipment Konoha could currently provide.
Although somewhat cluttered, the overall environment was exceptionally clean.
"Kid!" Tsunade turned around and fixed Shinichi—who had followed her in with the same calm expression as ever—with an intense stare. "Cut the suspense and get straight to the point! What's the idea behind these medical scrolls? How did you manage to successfully store medical chakra inside a scroll?"
Shizune and Kurenai hurried in as well, closing the door behind them. They obediently stood to the side, ears perked up, afraid of missing even a single word.
"It's like this."
Shinichi walked over to a nearby whiteboard, picked up a marker, and began explaining.
"Tsunade-sensei, you're well aware that the fundamental reason true medical ninjutsu scrolls have never existed in the ninja world comes down to one core problem—how to successfully seal and stably store medical chakra, a special form of energy rich in life vitality, inside a sealing scroll, which is fundamentally an inanimate container."
"None of the sealing scrolls currently known are capable of effectively carrying medical chakra. If you forcibly inject it into one, there are only two possible outcomes. Either the scroll paper collapses instantly, or the medical chakra rapidly loses its vitality once deprived of a living environment and quickly degrades into nothing more than worthless paper with no healing effect."
"You mean—?!"
Tsunade froze for a moment.
Then it was as if a flash of inspiration struck her mind.
Almost instinctively, she immediately pulled out the scroll containing the healing technique once again and carefully examined the material of the paper itself.
"Exactly. The material!"
Shinichi nodded, confirming her realization.
"I believe that if we want to create true medical scrolls, the first core breakthrough—and arguably the only prerequisite that absolutely must be solved—is the creation of a material capable of stably carrying medical chakra while preserving its vitality."
"This is the most fundamental breakthrough, the step from zero to one. All the technical problems that come afterward are secondary and can be improved gradually once the material issue has been solved."
Hearing Shinichi's analysis, Kurenai and Shizune were completely drawn in as well, listening attentively.
Tsunade remained silent.
Her brows were tightly furrowed as she focused entirely on sensing the scroll paper in her hands.
Very quickly, the shock on her face grew stronger and stronger.
Even though the scroll had not been activated and the medical chakra inside remained dormant and sealed, she could still clearly sense it.
The fibers of the paper itself were actually emitting a gentle, stable life-energy fluctuation, like newly sprouted buds.
"You made this paper from an entirely new material?!" Tsunade suddenly looked up at Shinichi, excitement filling her voice. "You discovered a new material capable of carrying medical chakra?!"
Ordinary writing paper was made from compressed wood-pulp fibers and could not withstand much chakra at all.
The chakra paper used by ninja, however—the specialized paper used for sealing scrolls, chakra test paper, and other ninja supplies—was produced from the bark fibers of several trees known to possess unique chakra affinity and chakra-bearing properties.
These fibers were mixed with trace amounts of mineral powder capable of stabilizing chakra before being processed through secret manufacturing methods.
Some higher-grade papers even contained tiny amounts of precious chakra metals.
It was this combination of specialized materials and unique craftsmanship that gave the paper the ability to store ninjutsu and sealed objects.
"That's right, Tsunade-sensei. For now, I've named it Shinichi Paper after myself."
Shinichi nodded openly.
"How did you do it? What materials did you use? What manufacturing process?" Tsunade immediately pressed further.
She knew all too well that discovering or inventing a new material relied heavily on inspiration, countless rounds of trial and error, and a bit of luck.
Researchers had to constantly experiment with different combinations of raw materials, adjust proportions, and test various processing methods, hoping to catch a glimpse of success amid an ocean of failures.
The ninja world's existing chakra-paper technology could be considered highly mature.
But that also meant it had reached a bottleneck.
There had been no truly significant innovations for a very long time.
Kurenai and Shizune held their breath, their eyes full of curiosity as they waited for Shinichi's answer.
"Honestly, I guess I just got lucky."
Shinichi smiled.
"About ten days ago, while training in the Forest of Death, I collected bark from several trees in one particular area. Using those as the primary material, I experimented with a few different combinations of supporting materials."
"In the end, I accidentally created a type of paper capable of stably carrying medical chakra while preserving its vitality."
As he spoke, Shinichi reached into the ninja pouch at his waist and pulled out a small section of branch he had prepared in advance, handing it over.
In reality, things had naturally not been as simple as he made them sound.
Those trees were indeed special.
But they still required precise combinations of other materials and specialized manufacturing processes before mature Shinichi Paper could be produced.
If someone else tried to replicate it, they would still need countless rounds of tedious material testing and process experimentation.
That was simply the nature of materials science.
The same ingredients could produce vastly different properties through different manufacturing methods.
Likewise, the same target performance could be achieved through countless combinations of compositions and structural designs.
Trial and error, along with experimental verification, would always remain at the heart of material development.
As for Shinichi?
It had taken him less than a day.
Trial and error?
Take that up with my luck.
"What's this?"
Tsunade immediately accepted the branch and carefully examined it, sensing the unusual qualities hidden within it.
Her brows knitted together.
Then suddenly, as though she had realized something, her other hand shot toward the green crystal pendant she always wore close to her body—the First Hokage's necklace.
"It's Wood Release!"
As she sensed the identical life-energy fluctuations coming from both the branch and the First Hokage's crystal, Tsunade blurted out: "This is the unique aura found only in trees created by Grandfather's Wood Release! Shinichi, the trees you found in the Forest of Death and used as raw materials were trees created by the First Hokage's Wood Release!"
"Hm?"
Shinichi froze for a moment, apparently not having considered that possibility.
Then realization dawned on him.
"So that's it. No wonder the life-energy fluctuations in those trees were so exceptionally vibrant and completely different from ordinary trees. Thinking about it now, it's not strange at all. The First Hokage's Wood Release was famous for its immense vitality. It's only natural that trees left behind by his Wood Release would retain such properties."
At that point, Shinichi paused briefly before continuing.
"If they're trees left behind by the First Hokage, then calling it Shinichi Paper doesn't seem very appropriate anymore. Perhaps we should call it—"
"Shinichi Paper!"
Before he could finish, Tsunade cut him off.
Speaking in a serious tone, she said, "If we name it after the First Hokage, then once these medical scrolls eventually enter mass production and spread throughout the ninja world, the name itself will become a giant clue."
"People from other villages would immediately associate it with Grandfather's Wood Release. From there, they could deduce that the key to this new material might be connected to the trees he created back then."
"They would do everything they could to infiltrate the Land of Fire, searching for trees left behind wherever Grandfather used Wood Release in the past. They would try to transplant them, cultivate them, or even replicate the technology. The chances of success might be extremely low, but as long as that risk exists, it must be eliminated from the very beginning."
Tsunade gently placed the scroll on the workbench and concluded, "So Shinichi Paper is a perfectly good name. It's simply a new type of paper developed by its creator using unknown materials and unknown manufacturing methods."
"That way, even when medical scrolls become widespread in the future, people will first focus on what Higashino Shinichi invented this time. Was it a new synthesis process? Some unique chakra-processing technique? Their attention will be directed toward you."
Shinichi listened quietly.
After a moment, he slowly nodded.
"I understand, Tsunade-sensei. You've thought this through very carefully. In that case, it'll continue to be called Shinichi Paper."
"Good."
Tsunade's expression softened slightly as she shifted her attention back to the scroll and the branch before her.
"Then let's continue."
She looked up, her gaze passing over Shinichi before turning to the two students beside him.
"Using Shinichi Paper as our foundation, we're going to overcome the remaining technical challenges and find a way for these medical scrolls to achieve stable, reliable mass production one day."
"Shizune! Kurenai!"
"Yes!"
The two girls immediately straightened their backs.
"Your job is to record everything. Experimental procedures, material ratios, chakra-reaction data, every idea we discuss, every bottleneck we encounter—even every single sentence spoken here. Don't miss anything. Understood?"
"Understood, Tsunade-sensei!"
"Good."
Tsunade nodded before looking at Shinichi.
"Kid, bring out all your experimental notes, failed samples, and every manufacturing concept you've come up with so far. We'll reexamine everything from the ground up."
As her words fell, the atmosphere inside the laboratory changed instantly, like a precision machine springing to life.
Shinichi and Tsunade immediately plunged into an intense technical discussion, their ideas colliding at high speed.
Shizune and Kurenai quickly entered working mode as well.
One rapidly recorded key points and parameters in the experiment log, while the other operated the instruments nearby, ready at any moment to verify new ideas or gather data.
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