After the black ring was sent back to Konoha, Root issued its conclusion that same day.
The engraving represented a seat within the organization.
The ring identified a full member.
The wearer had participated in silencing witnesses, which was sufficient proof that Akatsuki had a clear hierarchy and unified command.
Danzo demanded that the ring be used as grounds to investigate everyone who had purchased similar metals at the Black Market and to expand the screening of exiles from the Land of Rain.
This time, even some of the Anbu considered the inference reasonable.
Ninja organizations did often use forehead protectors, tattoos, or special objects to identify their members.
An engraved ring hidden inside a glove was unlikely to be an ordinary ornament.
Yet Itachi wrote a single question on the review record.
What could the ring prove?
It could prove that the attacker had possessed the ring.
It could prove that the character for "void" had been engraved on it.
If its materials and manufacturing methods were verified, it could also prove that it came from a particular group of artisans or a particular transit point.
But it could not, on its own, prove the holder's standing within the organization.
Much less could it prove that everyone connected to Akatsuki answered to the same command.
After listing three possibilities, the Anbu added a fourth.
The ring might also have belonged to someone else, with the attacker merely tasked with carrying it.
The glove's inner compartment showed no wear from the ring being worn, and the dead man's fingers bore none of the indentations left by wearing a ring for a long time.
Although the inside of the band was worn, there was no proof that this man had caused that wear.
If it was an item being handed over,