After the White Vessel shook its head, not a single team withdrew immediately.
The Sealing Ship stopped tightening its chains, but still held the Old Temple in place.
The Mist Infiltration Squad guarded the underwater exit.
The High-Sky Ninja Eagle did not withdraw its tracking scroll, either.
All the factions did was change "immediate removal" to "temporary protection."
Who would provide that protection remained unresolved.
The Land of Earth team believed that a single act of rescue was not enough to prove full consciousness.
The Land of Water team suspected that the vessel was imitating the sailors' behavior.
The Land of Fire's fast boat suggested that it might merely be carrying out a subtler form of manipulation.
None of those risks could be ruled out outright.
But those risks could not automatically invalidate the refusal that had just occurred, either.
Three buoys had recorded the entire sequence of events.
Black Zetsu had ordered it to return to the ritual array.
It had defied his command to protect a sailor.
Shisui had asked whether it was willing to leave with Konoha.
It had shaken its head.
There were clear distinctions between those actions. They were not aimless chakra reflexes.
Through the public voice relay, Gen asked all factions to first remove their targeting locks on the vessel itself.
"Who gave you the right to judge on its behalf?" someone aboard the Sealing Ship demanded.
"No one."
"That's why Konoha's skiff won't approach it, either."
Gen was not proposing that control over its fate be handed to Konoha.
He was proposing that their temporary inability to act be written into a shared restriction.
The Land of Rivers Maritime Guild created a provisional record for it.
The name field was left blank.
Its origin was listed as the Old Temple at sea.
Its