"I refuse inspection."
That was the only sentence that came back from the sixth empty slot.
Konan did not open the paper seals.
If it truly contained a refusal left by Saiken, a forced inspection would destroy the boundary they had just established.
If Black Zetsu was hiding inside, respecting it outright would give him a foothold no one could approach.
For the first time, the refusal rule faced its most dangerous problem.
Anyone could say no.
But the one saying no might not be who they claimed to be.
The Five Nations representatives demanded that the sixth empty slot be sealed shut immediately.
Sealing it shut could prevent the remnant core from leaving.
It would also permanently connect whatever was hiding inside to the Demonic Statue's interface.
Someone else proposed having Saiken release a strand of chakra to verify his identity.
Tailed beast chakra was precisely what Black Zetsu lacked most.
Sending the material he wanted into the empty slot just to prove who had refused would make the verification itself produce the outcome.
Gen rejected both methods.
"First, ask whether the actual sixth party ever sent a message."
The question was sent only to Saiken's local seal.
It did not include the Demonic Statue's location.
Nor did it ask him to explain his reasons for refusing.
Saiken could simply answer whether he had sent it.
The local Jinchūriki was also given the right to respond separately.
If either was unwilling to respond, the Living World could not extract chakra as a substitute.
A string of bubbles soon rose within the seal.
The bubbles did not leave the local site.
They only formed a sentence on the paper.
"I never received an inspection request."
The Jinchūriki's records also showed that the only thing authorized for transmission had been the