The white mark asked three times in succession.
"Are you the Sealing Holder?"
The first White Vessel did not answer yes.
They had seen how Black Zetsu turned a correct response into an authority check.
They also knew that an affirmation they did not understand might turn them into a key again.
"I don't know."
The mark did not punish them.
Nor did it forcibly read their body.
It merely marked the answer as identity unconfirmed.
The Recorder then had an ordinary Sealing Ninja answer yes.
The white mark immediately demanded a second layer of verification.
The ninja could neither provide Hamura-lineage chakra nor explain their duties on the lunar surface, so the answer was marked invalid.
Next, a White Zetsu imitated the Vessel's fluctuations beneath the sea and likewise answered yes.
The mark did not open.
It detected black authority overlaying the response from the outside in and immediately isolated the forged response.
The gatekeeping rules did not grant passage merely upon hearing the right words.
They still checked whether the respondent possessed the appropriate origin and could respond independently.
The ancient authority Black Zetsu had left behind never accepted "I don't know."
It allowed only the moon, unification, and awaiting return.
The lunar surface mark, however, retained the option of unknown.
This became the clearest difference between the two structures.
Gen did not ask the Vessel to keep probing.
The Land of Rivers recorded every change in the mark.
Konan covered the Maritime Stone Gate with chakra-free sheets of paper.
The mark could still emerge from the moonlight, proving that its source was not in the ruins in the physical world.
Nagato briefly stirred the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.
The mark immediately inspected the Ten-Tails Husk, but made no attempt to acquire the Rinnegan.
Fugaku had