Naruto: Why Lady Tsunade is afraid of blood, explained

The strong-willed Lady Tsunade is arguably one of the most essential characters in all of Naruto. She was the fifth Hokage and played an extremely vital role towards progressing the entire plot of the anime.

Despite all her strength and mental fortitude, Lady Tsunade struggled with one thing in particular: She was afraid of looking at blood.

Unfortunately, not many fans know what exactly led to the development of this phobia. Here, we look at one plausible reason that might have contributed to this fear.

Disclaimer: Given the vast scale of Naruto, there are several plotholes throughout the series, as a result of which, fans can always have their own theories and interpretations about the occurrence of specific incidents.

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Why Lady Tsunade's blood phobia in Naruto developed after Dan's death

Lady Tsunade was not only one of the Legendary Sanins from the Hidden Leaf village, but was also among the best medical ninjas across Naruto. However, her life was not devoid of tragedies.

Over the course of the series, she lost so many people who were close to her, that she eventually became timid and disconnected from everything else. This is why, despite all her capabilities, she eventually let go of her life as a ninja and instead resorted to spending most of her time gambling and getting involved in other things.

Her blood-related phobia, too can be connected to the numerous losses that she faced in life.

Lady Tsunade's first major loss came with the death of her little brother, who ran into an explosive trap during battle and was heavily damaged. Lady Tsunade rushed to him but Orochimaru claimed that the body was mutilated beyond recognition.

The second major loss that she faced in life was the death of her boyfriend Dan - someone she thought she would spend the rest of her life with. However, during the Second Great Shinobi War, Dan was fatally wounded in battle, which left him bleeding profusely.

Even though Lady Tsunade managed to stop the bleeding, she was unable to save Dan since he had already lost way too much blood. At the moment of Dan's death, her hand was covered in blood. This sight, combined with the death of the man she loved, was so traumatic for her that it instilled in her a permanent fear of blood.

Dan's death left her with so much despair that she decided to leave everything behind and separate herself from all forms of conflict.

It is already known that Tsunade did return after she met Naruto. Jiraya also played a massive role in convincing her to become the Fifth Hokage. It is vital to mention here, though, that Tsunade's blood phobia still existed even after she became the Hokage.

Her share of loss and despair continued when she lost Jiraya, who was probably the only family (not blood-related) that she had left in life.

In fact, the only bet she ever won in life was Naruto. That apart, she lost every other bet, which included everyone she had ever loved and held dear.