Everyone jolted.
They all knew Kaede Kitahara's habits. He rarely updated his diary more than once a day. To him, it usually felt like completing some assigned task. Nothing he lingered on.
Today was different.
And the title alone snapped everyone to attention.
Nine-Tails' Rampage!
That name touched the deepest, most forbidden corner of their memories.
The Nine-Tails incident had shattered all prior plans. After that night, everything spiraled out of control. The later defection of the Legendary Sannin, the destruction of the Uchiha Clan… all of it traced back, in one way or another, to that catastrophe.
No one hesitated. They opened the video immediately.
The scene began with Uzumaki Kushina lying exhausted after giving birth to Naruto. The room was filled with relief and joy. Even Sarutobi Hiruzen's wife, Sarutobi Biwako, was present.
"Sensei… ma'am…"
Hatake Kakashi's thoughts drifted back.
It really had been a different time.
But his chest tightened almost instantly.
He knew what was coming.
"Alright. I know you've just given birth and you're exhausted, but I need to stabilize the Nine-Tails completely."
Namikaze Minato clasped his hands together, energetic as ever.
He was about to reinforce the seal. The most dangerous part of the delivery should have already passed.
Then Biwako's scream tore through the night.
She and the attending medical ninja collapsed.
In that same instant, the newborn Naruto was snatched up by a masked man.
"Fourth Hokage Minato, step away from the Jinchuriki. Otherwise, this child will live no longer than one minute."
The masked man's voice was cold and steady.
Everyone watching froze.
Many of them held high positions now. Tsunade. Jiraiya.
But back then, Kushina's delivery site had been top secret. All direct witnesses died that same night.
They only ever knew the result.
The Nine-Tails was released.
The Fourth Hokage and his wife died.
Sarutobi Biwako died as well.
Now, for the first time, they were seeing the truth.
"Uchiha Madara."
The name surfaced in every mind at once.
They had heard that voice before. During the video of Uchiha Sasuke hunting down Danzo, the man who called himself Uchiha Madara had appeared.
They might have their doubts about his identity.
But everyone in that footage had addressed him as Uchiha Madara.
"So it was Uchiha Madara who attacked the Fourth Hokage during Kushina's delivery."
Uchiha Itachi's hands clenched.
His own fate was tied directly to that night.
The Nine-Tails incident claimed the life of the Fourth Hokage, who had maintained decent relations with the Uchiha Clan. Without him, the clan's position in the village deteriorated rapidly.
And later, when Itachi made his choice…
Uchiha Madara had been there, whispering in the shadows.
In truth, the destruction of the Uchiha Clan had been the combined result of Uchiha Itachi, Uchiha Madara, and Root.
Madara had severed the clan's last chance to reconcile with Konoha.
He had driven them toward rebellion.
"You deserve to die, Uchiha Kenji."
In Itachi's mind, that nickname could only belong to Uchiha Madara.
"So he used Naruto as leverage…"
Jiraiya exhaled slowly.
No wonder Minato had been forced into a corner.
In theory, Minato did not have to die. With Flying Thunder God, escape should have been simple. Who could stop him?
Something about this felt wrong.
Tsunade frowned.
The location of Kushina's delivery had been an absolute secret. Even the due date was tightly guarded information.
That explained why there were not many guards. The key was secrecy, not numbers. With Minato personally present, it should have been foolproof.
If danger arose, he could simply teleport away.
And yet…
Uchiha Madara had infiltrated the site and taken Naruto.
There had to have been a breach somewhere.
"So that's how he was born…"
Uchiha Sasuke stared at the screen.
Naruto had not been born an orphan.
He had parents. He could have grown up as the village's golden child.
Instead, he grew up shunned and alone.
And the one responsible was a member of the Uchiha Clan.
A faint guilt crept into Sasuke's heart.
In the future, he himself seemed to align with Uchiha Madara.
That man was Naruto's enemy. The one who destroyed his family.
He had always called Naruto dead last.
Yet somewhere along the way, he had begun to acknowledge him.
Sasuke lost his parents at seven.
Naruto lost his on the day he was born.
On screen, Minato's expression hardened. His mind raced.
Every barrier around the site had been guarded by Anbu. If triggered, alarms would sound instantly.
Under normal circumstances, infiltration was impossible.
"It was space-time ninjutsu."
Kakashi's teeth clenched.
That night had been his watch. He had been one of the Anbu assigned to guard the barriers.
To this day, he had no idea how the enemy slipped through.
Every guard had been trustworthy.
Afterward, Konoha investigated thoroughly.
Nothing.
It became an unsolved mystery.
But now, remembering the masked man's display of space-time techniques in previous footage, everything clicked.
Space-time ninjutsu.
He had simply bypassed the barriers entirely.
The others reached the same conclusion.
That night had not been a random disaster.
It had been premeditated.
"He didn't just want the Uchiha Clan to fall. He wanted revenge on Konoha," Jiraiya sighed.
When Uchiha Madara left the village, the clan had refused to follow him. They broke with him. He later fought Senju Hashirama and lost.
He was believed dead.
But what if…
Jiraiya's thoughts jolted.
In the Sasuke versus Danzo footage, Danzo had used Izanagi to rewrite his own death.
The masked man had recognized the technique instantly.
What if he had used it himself?
Izanagi could twist reality at the cost of permanent blindness in one Sharingan.
The masked man had only one eye visible.
The pieces fit.
That explained the rumors of Madara's "death."
It also explained his half-modified body. Perhaps the grotesque reconstruction was not only for longevity, but to treat the wounds inflicted by the First Hokage.
"Using a baby's life as leverage… how pathetic," Tsunade spat. "Uchiha Madara, you've fallen."
Even she felt a flicker of doubt.
Was this really the same Uchiha Madara her grandfather spoke of?
Senju Tobirama had always viewed Madara as an enemy, yet still acknowledged his pride as a warrior.
Would that Madara stoop to this?
If people spoke of Uchiha Madara, they also spoke of Senju Hashirama.
If Madara fell this low, it reflected poorly on Hashirama as well.
On screen, events spiraled further.
As Minato weighed the masked man's identity, Kushina began losing control.
The Nine-Tails thrashed within her.
Childbirth had drained her strength to its lowest point. The seal had never been weaker.
It was breaking.
"Minato!"
He faced two choices.
His wife.
Or his newborn son.
"The Nine-Tails' seal isn't complete."
"Step away from the Jinchuriki," the masked man said coldly. He raised a Shuriken to Naruto's throat. "Or do you not care what happens to your child?"
"Wait… calm down."
Minato's voice was steady.
But everyone watching knew.
This was the moment.
The night Konoha changed forever.