To Uchiha Sasuke, his revenge against Uchiha Itachi was sacred, something that could not be defiled by anyone.
Kaede Kitahara's teasing only fueled his anger.
"Sasuke really does have talent."
Uchiha Itachi nodded in quiet satisfaction.
He had placed all his hopes on Sasuke. If Sasuke lacked talent, it would have been a bitter disappointment.
Still, Kaede's evaluation felt a little too high—top three in the entire history of the Uchiha Clan?
What troubled him more, however, was that Kaede had once again mentioned Indra—this time calling Sasuke the Indra of this generation.
From Kaede's words, it almost sounded as if Sasuke's genius wasn't simply because of his Uchiha bloodline, but because he was this so-called reincarnation of Indra.
Itachi didn't fully understand.
But there were things Kaede had said that he agreed with.
He himself had been taken to the battlefield at a young age, and later guided by someone like Shisui, who constantly trained and shaped him.
At the same age, Sasuke had been carefully protected, living as nothing more than an ordinary child.
If not for the Nine-Tails incident, if not for the clan's suppressed rebellion, if not for Shimura Danzo stealing Kotoamatsukami and taking away the last chance for a peaceful resolution…
Sasuke could have grown up healthy and happy.
But now, that possibility was gone.
"Cough… cough…"
Itachi covered his mouth as a faint cough escaped him.
As for the Kekkei Genkai Disease Kaede had mentioned, he didn't fully understand it either. Perhaps it really was caused by awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan too early.
Or perhaps it was due to overusing it.
His father had never shown any signs of vision deterioration, which likely meant he hadn't used the Mangekyō Sharingan much. Otherwise, there would have been symptoms.
—
[Uchiha Itachi vs. Uchiha Sasuke — The Battle Where Both Held Back]
Suddenly, a new video appeared in the diary.
Seeing the title, Itachi let out a quiet sigh.
So at last, he would see the battle between himself and Sasuke.
Everyone who saw the title felt their attention sharpen.
From the earlier diary entries, they had already pieced together fragments of what might happen.
But this was the first time they would truly witness the clash between the two brothers.
One by one, they opened the video.
Yet the opening scene was not the long-awaited battle between Itachi and Sasuke.
Instead, it showed a ruined battlefield by a shallow pool of water. A group of figures dressed in Akatsuki cloaks stood amidst the destruction, looking down.
"The Legendary Sannin, Jiraiya… is finally dead."
The words struck like thunder.
No one had expected the video to open with such a shocking revelation. It wasn't Itachi's death that was revealed first, but the death of Jiraiya, one of the Legendary Sannin.
"If we hadn't known that secret, we probably wouldn't have won."
The one speaking at the front was Pain.
He continued calmly, "As expected of my former teacher. He was worthy of praise."
The moment they saw his face, a chill ran down everyone's spine.
They had seen that face before.
The one who had destroyed Konoha in a single Shinra Tensei.
The leader of the Akatsuki—Pain.
"Yahiko… so it really is you?"
Jiraiya stared at the screen, hearing Pain refer to him as his former teacher.
There was no doubt about it—that was Yahiko, one of the three orphans he had once trained.
But something didn't make sense.
How had Yahiko obtained the Rinnegan, a power that originally belonged to Nagato? And where was Nagato now?
What unsettled him even more was that the figures standing beside Yahiko all possessed the Rinnegan as well.
The legendary eyes of the Sage of Six Paths—once thought to be one of a kind—now appeared in multiples.
Were they all somehow related to Nagato?
Jiraiya couldn't think of any other explanation for how so many Rinnegan users could exist.
"So… I died."
A wry, almost carefree smile tugged at Jiraiya's lips.
"Killed by my own former student."
There was no denying that the news struck him deeply.
Jiraiya had always been someone who faced life and death with acceptance, completely different from Orochimaru.
And yet, hearing of his own death—especially at the hands of a former student—left a strange feeling in his chest.
Perhaps he really had been nothing more than a frog in a well, unable to see the vast ocean beyond.
What secret had Yahiko and the others uncovered that allowed them to defeat him?
His thoughts shifted, recalling an earlier entry in Kaede's diary describing Uzumaki Boruto.
There had been mentions of Intel Jiraiya, Healthy Itachi, and Itachi's bounty notice.
Now, those fragments began to align.
Itachi's bounty notice likely referred to Uzumaki Boruto being hunted just like Itachi. If Boruto was forced into becoming a missing-nin, could that also imply Itachi's defection had been forced as well?
There had to be hidden schemes behind it.
Healthy Itachi clearly corresponded to the Kekkei Genkai Disease Kaede had mentioned. It seemed likely that this illness had plagued Itachi deeply, perhaps even leading to his death.
And then there was Intel Jiraiya.
It was obvious now—he must have suffered a critical defeat due to a lack of information.
No wonder he never appeared in later battles.
The further the timeline progressed in those videos, the less he was seen.
It turned out… he had already died.
"So Jiraiya… died?"
Tsunade stared at the diary in shock, tears streaming down her face.
She and Jiraiya had spent their lives bickering and drinking together. She knew he loved her, even if she had always kept her distance, her heart still tied to Dan.
But she had never imagined hearing of Jiraiya's death like this.
The impact was no less than when she had learned of the Third Hokage's death at Orochimaru's hands.
"How could you die… how could you?"
Her voice trembled as her shoulders shook.
"Didn't you know how to run?"
She couldn't understand it. With Jiraiya's strength, even if he couldn't win, he should have been able to escape.
Tears fell uncontrollably.
—
In the past timeline, Namikaze Minato was equally shaken.
"Jiraiya-sensei… is dead?"
His eyes reddened, fury rising in his chest.
To be killed by his own student—such betrayal was unforgivable.
For someone as gentle as Minato, it was rare to be angered so deeply, yet today, his emotions surged one after another.
"No… I have to find out what happened. At the very least, in my timeline, Jiraiya-sensei must not die like this."
He forced himself to calm down.
There was still time.
After all, he was standing at the beginning of the timeline. Everything could still be changed.
"Minato, what's wrong?"
Kushina's voice came from outside the study.
She had heard the sound of him striking the desk and called out in concern.
"The bath's ready. You can come soak whenever you're done."
"Got it. Thanks, Kushina," Minato replied.
He didn't tell her about Jiraiya's death.
Even as a mere possibility, such a future was too cruel for her.
—
"Jiraiya-sama… died?"
Hatake Kakashi was equally stunned.
He had never imagined that someone as powerful as one of the Legendary Sannin could fall in battle.
Just how strong was the leader of the Akatsuki?
Only Uchiha Itachi seemed less surprised. He let out a quiet sigh.
"So even Jiraiya wasn't his match…"
He had a clear understanding of both their strengths.
Jiraiya, unlike Orochimaru—whose repeated reincarnations had damaged his soul—was in his prime, a complete and formidable opponent on the battlefield.
Itachi could fight him with Susanoo, but there was a fatal problem.
He would die.
The Mangekyō Sharingan took too much of a toll on him. The Kekkei Genkai Disease Kaede mentioned was his greatest weakness.
If Jiraiya dragged the battle out, Itachi would almost certainly fall first.
As for the leader of the Akatsuki, he remained shrouded in mystery. The few glimpses of his power already revealed a presence far beyond ordinary shinobi.
Neither of them was someone Itachi could handle easily.
Now that the outcome was known, it was clear who stood at the top.
The one who could destroy Konoha in a single blow.
"Is the Akatsuki really this powerful?"
Uchiha Sasuke stared at the figures in the video.
He didn't understand that they were the Six Paths of Pain. To him, it looked like multiple Rinnegan users standing together.
One of them alone was enough to annihilate Konoha.
What if there were several?
How was he supposed to take revenge in the future?
"I need a way around the Akatsuki… or at least someone to hold them off."
Sasuke's thoughts sharpened.
The only ones capable of that might be Konoha itself.
A future Uzumaki Naruto, Sakura, Kakashi-sensei… even Kaede Kitahara could prove crucial.
—
"Come out. You've been lurking long enough."
In the video, Pain turned his head slightly.
From the wall, a strange figure emerged—half black, half white, wrapped in green plant-like matter.
"It took some time," White Zetsu said.
"Well, the opponent was Jiraiya," Black Zetsu replied.
"He was quite the obstacle. We've received orders from Madara to begin the hunt for the Nine-Tails," Pain said.
"In that case, I want to go watch the Nine-Tails hunt," White Zetsu chimed in.
"No. I want to observe another battle," Black Zetsu countered.
The two began to argue, their voices clashing even as the scene lingered.