The morning after the assessment ended, the rain had eased.
But the sky had grown darker.
The surviving candidates gathered in the center of the mine.
After two rounds of screening, bloodshed, interviews, and purges, only nine people remained.
Konan carried a wooden box past them, one by one.
"From today onward, you are Akatsuki's reserve candidates."
Inside the box lay nine black iron wristbands. They bore no decoration, only a tiny character for "reserve" branded on the inside.
"Candidates are not members." She fastened a band around each person's wrist, her voice soft and cold. "Full members of Akatsuki have rings."
"You do not."
"If you want to lose that 'reserve' mark, earn it through merit."
She stopped before Uchiha En and fastened the last band around his wrist. When she finished, she gave him a second look.
Last night, Pain had said one extra sentence about only one person.
Keep a separate file on that wanderer.
"Yasuo." Konan withdrew her hand. "Once we enter the village, you'll lead your Candidate Squad."
Uchiha En raised his wrist and weighed the iron band. "Lead the squad?"
"Minazuki Ren, Duangu Gāngtài, and the other six will be assigned to your squad," Konan said. "Any objections?"
Uchiha En glanced at the white-haired girl and the burly man in the ranks. One wiped her Kunai with a blank expression; the other grinned at him.
"No."
He lowered his sleeve over the wristband.
Before the group set out, Pain hovered in midair and addressed them.
"The forces of four great nations dared to attack our Land of Rain." His voice was quiet, yet it rang in every ear like a bell. "Akatsuki will remember this debt."
"But God does not kill ignorant soldiers. They are only the hands that hold others' blades."
"Those