The video ended there.
For everyone who had watched the diary footage, the weight in their hearts was crushing.
Especially after seeing the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, hold on until his very last breath to protect Konoha, paying for it with his life.
Even at the moment of death, he believed that Konoha could overcome any enemy. He never believed the village would fall like this.
"Orochimaru is absolute human trash."
Uchiha Sasuke wiped the corner of his eyes and spat the words out.
At this point, he was not yet the missing-nin he would later become. His sense of belonging to the village was still strong. Deep down, he had even secretly imagined becoming Hokage one day.
Not just for the sake of restoring the glory of the Uchiha Clan, but because that desire came from his heart.
That was why, during the Fourth Great Ninja War, he would later declare that he too wanted to contend for the position of Hokage.
Right now, Sarutobi Hiruzen perfectly embodied everything Sasuke believed a Hokage should be.
Powerful. Benevolent. Loving every person in the village. And possessing the resolve to sacrifice everything for the village and its people.
In the end, he fell on the road of protecting Konoha.
There were flaws, of course.
He had once spared Orochimaru.
But those flaws did not overshadow his virtues.
In fact, that very trace of human weakness made him even more admirable in Sasuke's eyes. If Sasuke were in his place, he knew he would not have been able to strike so coldly either.
In the future, when he spared Uzumaki Naruto again and again, it would be for the same reason.
Even though he knew the Third Hokage was still alive in the present, his respect for him had only deepened.
"Orochimaru!"
Jiraiya clenched his fists so hard they trembled.
He had known about the Konoha Crush Plan. He had known the Third Hokage would likely die.
But he had never known exactly how.
Now he did.
Orochimaru had done it himself.
Not only had he personally orchestrated the Konoha Crush Plan to devastate the entire village, he had also personally killed the Third Hokage.
And he had succeeded.
Orochimaru escaped.
The old man died.
"You should never have let him go back then," Jiraiya roared silently in his heart. But this time, you won't get another chance.
This time, I'll smash your face flat.
The old man said he wanted to see how well you'd mastered ninjutsu before deciding whether you should go back to the academy and start over. Fine. Let me see just how much you've improved over the years.
Let me see whether you're still humiliating the name of the Sannin.
He had already made up his mind.
This time, simply teaching Orochimaru a lesson was not enough.
Orochimaru lurked in the shadows like a venomous snake, staring at Konoha. There was no such thing as guarding against a thief every single day.
Jiraiya harbored resentment toward Konoha's higher-ups, especially toward his teacher, the Third Hokage.
Many of the problems had not been personally created by him, but his tolerance and silent consent had been at the core of them.
Yet now, Jiraiya had seen his teacher personally correct that mistake, trading his life for a sliver of hope for Konoha.
The battle likely was not over yet.
But with Orochimaru gone as the leader, Sunagakure would probably start considering retreat.
Konoha's crisis should be temporarily eased.
There would still be time to choose a Fifth Hokage. Even a Sixth.
If another great crisis awaited, it would likely be the day Yahiko destroyed Konoha with a single blow.
Konoha's future truly was filled with calamities.
Still, Jiraiya had lived through war. He had fought in at least two great ninja wars. This was not unfamiliar to him.
War was an eternal theme.
That was why he had placed his hopes in the savior foretold by the Great Toad Sage, searching for that figure for so many years.
Now it seemed clear.
That savior was neither Nagato, whom he had once believed in, nor his so-called perfect disciple Namikaze Minato.
It was Minato's son.
Uzumaki Naruto.
"I will never let you destroy Konoha. Your ambition ends here."
"Orochimaru… Orochimaru…"
Uchiha Itachi closed the diary, the impact of the video still echoing through him.
After learning about Shimura Danzo's actions, he had harbored deep resentment toward Konoha's leadership.
But after witnessing the Third Hokage give his life to protect the village, much of that resentment had faded.
He would never allow anyone to destroy Konoha.
His obsession with the village was second only to his obsession with Uchiha Sasuke.
For the sake of Konoha, he was capable of slaughtering his own clan. Compared to that, facing Orochimaru was nothing.
"Orochimaru, you're courting death."
Uchiha Itachi murmured softly.
After saying that, he did not allow emotion to overtake his reason. Instead, he began calmly analyzing the contents of the video.
"First, we now understand the full outline of the Konoha Crush Plan. Some details are still unclear, but the overall structure is already visible."
He wrote and sketched rapidly on paper.
Months ago, Kaede Kitahara had already mentioned the Konoha Crush Plan in his diary. Now, its shape had finally been fully outlined.
The Land of Rice Fields.
Otogakure.
There was a ninety percent chance it was Orochimaru's village.
Orochimaru had likely colluded with Sunagakure, using the Sound ninja to launch a surprise attack on Konoha.
This was the foundation of his confidence.
Because if strength alone were considered, even though Otogakure had caught Konoha off guard with a surprise attack, the gap in power was simply too large.
If it had only been Otogakure, Konoha would have slapped them to death with ease.
The number of Jonin in Otogakure who truly met the standards of the Five Great Villages was likely not even a fraction of Konoha's. Whether in quantity or quality, ninja at every level fell far short.
A small village was still a small village. It did not even qualify as a mid-sized one.
But once Sunagakure, one of the Five Great Villages, was added to the equation, everything changed.
Among the Five Great Villages, Sunagakure of the Land of Wind was the weakest, with the harshest environment and poorest national strength.
Even so, it was still one of the Five Great Villages.
If Sunagakure launched a surprise attack on Konoha, the damage would be unimaginable.
Only by joining forces with Sunagakure could Orochimaru realistically hope to destroy Konoha and slaughter its men, women, and children.
There was no doubt about that.
The division of labor was likely clear.
Orochimaru provided the high-end combat power.
In terms of ordinary ninja strength, Otogakure was almost negligible. The only truly noteworthy individual was Orochimaru himself.
Perhaps there were also elite subordinates he had cultivated over the years, some of whom might reach Jonin level and provide limited support.
"The only remaining question," Itachi tapped the table lightly, "is how deep the cooperation between Sunagakure and Orochimaru really went."
"So far, we've seen large numbers of Sunagakure ninja entering the battlefield. Otogakure's forces were mainly inside the village, already infiltrated into the Chunin Exams venue."
"That must have relied on Orochimaru's old network. Even though he's been a missing-nin for over a decade, with his strength and reputation, he would certainly have many spies hidden within Konoha."
"So Otogakure handled the internal strike and the decapitation."
"Orochimaru disguised himself as the Fourth Kazekage to carry out the decapitation. Sunagakure does not have that capability, so they attacked from the outside, breaking through layer by layer."
"Perfect coordination between inside and outside."
"That Gaara," Itachi continued, "based on Akatsuki intelligence, should be Sunagakure's One-Tail Jinchuriki."
"So Orochimaru's original plan was likely to have Gaara erupt in the center of the village. At that point, with the Third Hokage under Orochimaru's control, Konoha would fall into total chaos with no leader."
"A well-laid scheme."
"But fortunately, Gaara didn't follow the original plan and immediately undergo full Tailed Beast transformation inside the village. Sasuke stopped him."
"By sheer accident, Sasuke resolved a massive crisis for the village."
"He injured Gaara, causing him to lose control without fully transforming."
Thinking this far, Itachi finally let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding.
He knew exactly how terrifying Tailed Beasts were.
Within Akatsuki, there was a very clear evaluation of Tailed Beasts. To even attempt to contend with one, you needed to be at least Kage Level.
And even then, you needed the right methods, such as sealing jutsu.
Without sealing, facing a Tailed Beast head-on meant most Kage Level fighters would still lose.
That was unquestionable.
A Tailed Beast was, at minimum, a Kage Level combat force.
And when it came to massacring ordinary ninja, it was utterly unstoppable.
If a Tailed Beast were allowed to rampage freely, without Kage Level experts and proper sealing methods, even the weakest One-Tail would be enough to devastate Konoha or wipe it out entirely.
"Orochimaru and Sunagakure… what a vicious plan."
Itachi's expression hardened, anger flickering under the light.
"But the key issue remains."
"Where is the Fourth Kazekage?"
That was what truly worried him.
At that time, among Konoha's openly known Kage Level fighters, there had only been the Third Hokage.
So the question was simple.
If the Third Hokage was tied down by Orochimaru, who would face the Fourth Kazekage, the man with the ability to manipulate gold dust?
That was no easy opponent.
An unopposed Kage Level fighter could cause terrifying destruction.
Even if Konoha managed to repel Sunagakure's attack, the price paid would be unimaginable.
Konoha's status as the number one village in the ninja world would be impossible to maintain.
In the end, Konoha was no longer the Konoha of the past.
It no longer possessed the overwhelming presence to look down on all enemies.
Back then, how many Kage Level powerhouses had there been?
The Third Hokage.
The White Fang of Konoha.
The Legendary Sannin.
Namikaze Minato.
Each one of them had been an existence that swept all before them.
And now?
What was left?