diff --git a/tidal-server/src/cluster/node.rs b/tidal-server/src/cluster/node.rs
index 8454564..b0fa737 100644
--- a/tidal-server/src/cluster/node.rs
+++ b/tidal-server/src/cluster/node.rs
@@ -3718,13 +3718,26 @@ impl ShardReplica {
         // that still holds a previously-followed leader's HWM (which left a
         // converged node reporting a permanent phantom lag). A leader has zero lag
         // against itself.
-        let lag_events = if is_leader {
-            0
+        // This node's KNOWLEDGE of the leader's frontier for the group it follows.
+        // Surfaced (as `leader_seqno`) because `lag_events` alone is ambiguous: it
+        // is an unsigned subtraction against this gauge, so a freshly-booted node
+        // that has learned NOTHING reports `0 - 0 = 0` — indistinguishable from
+        // genuinely caught up. That ambiguity is what made the 2026-08-20 incident
+        // unreadable: every group answered `lag_events: 0` while holding
+        // `applied_events` of 24, 14 and 0 against 5600 written items. With this
+        // exposed, `lag_events: 0 AND leader_seqno: 0` reads as "no information",
+        // which is the truth.
+        let leader_seqno = if is_leader {
+            last_seq
         } else {
             db.control_plane()
                 .lag_gauge()
                 .leader_seqno_for(leader_shard)
-                .saturating_sub(applied_events)
+        };
+        let lag_events = if is_leader {
+            0
+        } else {
+            leader_seqno.saturating_sub(applied_events)
         };
 
         let partitioned: Vec<String> = read_recovered(&self.partitioned, "partitioned")
@@ -3792,6 +3805,7 @@ impl ShardReplica {
             election_tail_term: election_pos.tail_term,
             election_frontier: election_pos.frontier,
             leader_acked: self.leader_acked_frontier(),
+            leader_seqno,
             reseed_required,
             reseeding,
             self_restart_refused: self.self_restart_refused.load(Ordering::Acquire),
@@ -4732,8 +4746,19 @@ impl ClusterNode {
                     term: s.term,
                     role: s.role,
                     applied_events: s.applied_events,
+                    leader_seqno: s.leader_seqno,
                     lag_events: s.lag_events,
                     commit_index: s.commit_index,
+                    // PER-GROUP reseed state. The flat `reseed_required` /
+                    // `reseeding` fields above describe ONE group — whichever
+                    // `replica_for(None)` resolves (the lowest id) — so on a
+                    // multi-group node they say nothing about the others. That is
+                    // how the 2026-08-20 incident hid: tidaldb-0 answered
+                    // `reseed_required: false, lag_events: 0` while a different
+                    // hosted group was stuck behind a compacted leader, and every
+                    // operator (and every diagnosis) read it as converged.
+                    reseed_required: s.reseed_required,
+                    reseeding: s.reseeding,
                 })
             })
             .collect()
@@ -5136,6 +5161,17 @@ pub struct LocalStatusResponse {
     /// new leadership's election baseline. Exposed for divergence diagnosis.
     #[serde(default)]
     leader_acked: u64,
+    /// This node's KNOWLEDGE of the followed group's leader frontier — the value
+    /// `lag_events` is subtracted from.
+    ///
+    /// Publish it because `lag_events` alone cannot be read: it is an unsigned
+    /// subtraction against this number, so a node that has learned nothing reports
+    /// `0 - 0 = 0` and looks perfectly caught up. In the 2026-08-20 incident every
+    /// group answered `lag_events: 0` while holding `applied_events` of 24, 14 and
+    /// 0 against 5600 written items. `lag_events: 0` together with
+    /// `leader_seqno: 0` means NO INFORMATION, not converged.
+    #[serde(default)]
+    leader_seqno: u64,
     /// Whether this node is quarantined with a divergent suffix (m11p4):
     /// fenced from the data plane until reseeded.
     quarantined: bool,
@@ -5194,10 +5230,29 @@ pub struct ShardStatusRow {
     role: String,
     /// Replication events this node has applied for this group.
     applied_events: u64,
+    /// This node's knowledge of THIS GROUP's leader frontier — the value
+    /// `lag_events` subtracts from. `lag_events: 0` with `leader_seqno: 0` means
+    /// NO INFORMATION (a node that has learned nothing), not converged.
+    #[serde(default)]
+    leader_seqno: u64,
     /// Events this node lags this group's leader by (0 when leading).
     lag_events: u64,
     /// This group's quorum commit index (meaningful when leading).
     commit_index: u64,
+    /// Whether THIS GROUP has a durable reseed marker latched.
+    ///
+    /// Load-bearing on a multi-group node: the flat `reseed_required` on
+    /// [`LocalStatusResponse`] reports only the group `replica_for(None)` picks
+    /// (the lowest hosted id), so a marker on any OTHER group was invisible in the
+    /// status surface. That is how the 2026-08-20 incident hid — tidaldb-0 answered
+    /// `reseed_required: false, lag_events: 0` while another hosted group sat behind
+    /// a compacted leader. `#[serde(default)]` so a gateway can still deserialize a
+    /// pre-fix peer during a mixed-version window.
+    #[serde(default)]
+    reseed_required: bool,
+    /// Whether THIS GROUP is mid-reseed (install/seed-join not yet converged).
+    #[serde(default)]
+    reseeding: bool,
 }
 
 /// Local replication / leadership status for THIS region.
diff --git a/tidal-server/tests/cluster_reseed.rs b/tidal-server/tests/cluster_reseed.rs
index 362ca95..288835c 100644
--- a/tidal-server/tests/cluster_reseed.rs
+++ b/tidal-server/tests/cluster_reseed.rs
@@ -747,11 +747,29 @@ fn mp_multi_group_node_converges_after_reseeding_several_groups() {
         match cluster.local_status(AP_SOUTH) {
             Some(s) => {
                 unreachable_polls = 0;
-                if s["reseed_required"].as_bool() == Some(false)
+                // EVERY hosted group must be settled, not just the flat fields.
+                // The flat `reseed_required` / `reseeding` describe only the group
+                // `replica_for(None)` resolves (the lowest hosted id), so on a
+                // 3-group node they can read "clean" while another group is still
+                // marked. That under-reporting is exactly what made the production
+                // incident look converged, and it fooled the first version of this
+                // predicate too — the node announced "settled after 0 restarts" and
+                // was missing an item. The per-group rows now carry the state.
+                let rows = s["shards"].as_array().cloned().unwrap_or_default();
+                let all_groups_clean = !rows.is_empty()
+                    && rows.iter().all(|r| {
+                        r["reseed_required"].as_bool() == Some(false)
+                            && r["reseeding"].as_bool() == Some(false)
+                    });
+                if all_groups_clean
+                    && s["reseed_required"].as_bool() == Some(false)
                     && s["reseeding"].as_bool() == Some(false)
                     && s["quarantined"].as_bool() == Some(false)
                 {
-                    println!("[multi] node 2 settled after {restarts} orchestrator restart(s)");
+                    println!(
+                        "[multi] node 2 settled after {restarts} orchestrator restart(s); \
+                         per-group rows: {rows:?}"
+                    );
                     break;
                 }
             }