"Furthermore, Mr. Kurosaki, who do you think has been residing in the Soul King Palace all this time, conveying the Soul King's will? The Soul King himself, the ancestors of the Five Great Noble Clans acting in his name, or the current members of the Zero Squad?"
This dangerous rhetoric from Urahara confirmed for everyone except Ichigo that this person was not Urahara Kisuke. Or, at the very least, Urahara had fallen victim to an enemy's ability, become confused, and was now being manipulated into spouting truths detrimental to unity and making malicious speculations about the Zero Squad. However, since Ichigo now knew the general truth of the world, trying to silence "Kisuke" was pointless. They decided to let him continue, to see what the enemy wanted to convey through him and what insidious plot they were trying to achieve, hoping to find a counter-strategy.
Ichigo's pupils constricted. Though he often appeared reckless and impulsive, like a simple-minded brute, Ichigo was actually very intelligent and a deeply sensitive young man. He was beginning to understand why Aizen had been so obsessed with attacking the Soul King Palace. If the revered Soul King, worshipped by all Soul Reapers, was merely a puppet—an important tool for maintaining the stability of the three worlds with no consciousness of his own—and the real rulers of the Soul Reapers were someone else behind the scenes, then with Aizen's pride, he would never submit to being ruled by a mere doll.
Moreover, Aizen probably felt ashamed of the ugly way the Soul Reapers ruled the three worlds and of having been deceived for so long. Upon learning the truth, a man like Aizen would undoubtedly take action, seeking to change everything he found displeasing and shape the world according to his own desires. However, that was no excuse for that bastard to wantonly harm innocent people and be willing to sacrifice all of Karakura Town. If given the chance again, Ichigo would still give his all to beat Aizen to a pulp. Thinking this, Ichigo's resolve hardened. His choice to sacrifice all his Soul Reaper powers to defeat Aizen had been the right one.
"The sins of the Soul Reapers do not end there. Simply using the Soul King's power to create the three worlds would have been impossible if the Soul King himself had resisted. With his power, the founding Soul Reapers could never have succeeded so easily. To some extent, perhaps advancing the world and creating the current three realms was the Soul King's own will. It's very likely he was aware of everything but offered no resistance.
"But the ancestor of the Tsunayashiro clan was suspicious even of that non-resistance. He feared, more than anything, that the Soul King would use his power to escape the seal and then destroy them all. Therefore, they neither killed him nor allowed him to live, but instead trapped him in a paradoxical spiral of continuous life and continuous death. They forcibly tore off his left and right arms, which governed 'progress' and 'stasis'."
Urahara's words left Ichigo utterly shocked.
"Why? Why would they go that far? Just because they were afraid of being held accountable later, they could commit such a cruel act?" Ichigo asked, struggling to control his emotions. He was starting to empathize with the situation, and even a gentle man like him couldn't suppress his rising anger.
"Calm down, Mr. Kurosaki. The sins committed by the founding Soul Reapers are far from over," Urahara continued. "Even tearing off his arms wasn't enough. The ancestors, led by the Tsunayashiro, spent an eternity gouging out the Soul King's heart, cutting off his legs, and mincing his internal organs, separating them from his body and stripping them of their power before casting them down to the lower worlds. They did all this just to create a 'King' who would only serve their interests."
"How could this be... If everyone's goal was the same, even if mistakes were made due to misunderstandings and suspicion, couldn't they have just admitted their faults afterward and sincerely apologized to the victim? There must have been a better way. Why did they have to...?" Ichigo's eyes widened, his expression one of deep anguish. The actions of the Soul Reaper ancestors were beyond his imagination. He truly hadn't expected them to be so vicious—not only refusing to admit their mistakes and seek forgiveness but compounding their evil by shamelessly exploiting the Soul King for their own gain.
"Mr. Kurosaki, you are very much like your ancestor. The Soul Reaper who founded the Shiba Clan opposed the Tsunayashiro's insistence on maintaining the seal. He advocated for 'revealing our sins to the world and leaving the judgment to the people.' Furthermore, he was searching for a way to substitute himself as the living sacrifice in place of the Soul King."
Urahara remarked with emotion, "Insisting on solving everything by sacrificing only himself... in a way, he was the most selfish of them all. It seems from the very beginning, the Shiba ancestor was prepared to become the foundation of the three worlds himself, even if he lacked the power, should he fail to persuade the Soul King."
"But my ancestor... he failed, didn't he? Otherwise, why wasn't the truth of the world made public, known only to a select few?" Upon hearing that his ancestor was a genuinely good man with courage and integrity, Ichigo's conscience eased slightly, and he even felt a bit of pride. His posture, which had been slumping, straightened. Yet, his heart remained heavy.
"Now, Mr. Kurosaki, you understand. The so-called 'King' is just a linchpin. If nothing unexpected happened, he would have continued to exist solely for the benefit of the Soul Reapers," Urahara said with a sigh.
"Something unexpected did happen. Does that mean people like Aizen and Yhwach?" Ichigo asked uncertainly. "Putting Aizen aside, what is Yhwach's goal? To defeat the Soul Reapers and... save the Soul King who is imprisoned by their leaders?" Ichigo's heart pounded with apprehension. If that were the case, he felt he had no right to stop the righteous Quincy from rescuing the savior of all humanity, the Soul King.
"If Yhwach is the progenitor of the Quincy, then the Soul King is the very source of Quincy power. Whether he is a child the Soul King left behind before being sealed, or a fragment of the Soul King's 'power' that manifested as a person, I cannot say for sure," Urahara answered. "However, it is clear that his goal is likely to kill the Soul King. Perhaps it is to free the Soul King from a million years of solitude where neither life nor death was permitted. Or perhaps it is to destroy the three worlds created by the Soul Reapers using the Soul King, returning the world to its original state to create a world free from the fear of death. I don't know which is the primary goal, but for now, his objective is to invade the Soul King Palace and kill the Soul King, the linchpin of the three worlds."
-------
Enjoying the story? Support the author and get access to early chapters by joining my Patreon!
Find me at My : pat*eon*com/RuneA
I, Herta's Fiancé, the Universe's Number One Male Fist (114 Chapter (Simulpub-Full) )
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Succubus in Sixth Street (400 Chapter)
Reborn in Type-Moon, My Sister is Aoko Aozaki (254 Chapter)
MyGO!! A Story Voiced by Me (140 Chapter)
BLEACH: Blade of Purification (158 Chapter)
Konoha: Starting the Game as Yoriichi (400 Chapter)
My Real Job is Spying on Konoha, but I'm Also its Hokage (140 Chapter)
The Pinnacle of the Navy! Starting from Being Captured by Garp (172 Chapter)
Watching Yu-Gi-Oh! short videos is making the veteran players lose...(80 Chapter)
Uma Musume : The Trainer Who Just Wants to Live (200 Chapter)
Zenless Zone Zero The Random Kamen Rider (200 Chapter)
Genshin Impact: It All Began With Me Being Stepped On by Arlecchino (120 Chapter)
Naruto: I Can Synthesize Summoning Beasts (96 Chapter)
Demon Slayer: The Great Swordsman's System, Disciple of Yoriichi (140 Chapter)
My Wife is a General, but I'm an Emanator of Abundance! (160 Chapter)
Type-Moon: My Nine-Fold Path (140 Chapter)
Uma Musume: They're Peeking at My Diary, and All of Tracen is Panickin (Ending)
The Wild History of Type-Moon world (70 Chapter)
Reborn in Conan, But I Refuse to Be the Bad Guy (80 Chapter)
Ruan Mei is begging me to go back? But there's no going back anymore (140 Chapter)
Just a Slacker at Tracen Academy (165 Chapter)
Survival in Blue Archive (70 Chapter)
Kimetsu no Yaiba: Doma Wasn't Hated Today, Either (100 Chapter)
The Vibe of This Chat Group is a Little Off (100 Chapter)
Heartbreak Simulator: I Broke Them and Made Them Cry (80 Chapter)
The Talentless Trainer Doesn't Want to Restart (80 Chapter)
A Journey Starting as a Quincy (80 Chapter)
Uma Musume: The Master of Romance Obstruction (80 Chapter)
Uma Musume: You Can't Be a Hero Without a Little Chemical Enhancement (40 Chapter)
Honkai Impact 3rd Your Boyfriend is Really Amazing (40 Chapter)
Warhammer 40K: My Fiancée, Fulgrim (168 Chapter)
Classroom of the Elite: Trying to Capture Me! (120 Chapter)
Genshin Impact My Named Senji Muramas (150 Chapter)
A Chef, the Vice-Captain of the Rocks Pirates? (160 Chapter)
Naruto : My Uchiha Girlfriend is Too Tsundere (130 Chapter)
Type-Moon: Reincarnated in a Lostbelt, I Became the Alien God (90 Chapter)
The Way These Horse Girls Look at Me Is Terrifying! (160 Chapter)
Naruto: Tsunade's Deskmate (130 Chapter)
I Just Want to Live a Normal (50 Chapter).
Genshin Impact: A Hundred Confessions? It's Just a System Task (70 Chapter)
OnePiece : Starting as a Veteran of the Roger Pirates (60 Chapter)
Uma Musume : I Have Special Horse Taming Techniques (180 Chapter)
Uma Musume : My other self is a Horse Girl (110 Chapter)
Jujutsu Kaisen : All Affection Stats Maxed Out (170 Chapter)
Satou Kazuma's Decision to Live by Swindling, Starting from Re:Zero (60 Chapter)
Bleach : Ichigo! Take Over the Soul Society (68 Chapter)
Crossover Anime: The Master of Plagiarism with a 'Love Obstacle (110 Chapter)
Arknights Succubus Nurturing System, But I'm a Quiet Office Worker (60 Chapter)
Genshin Impact: Using My Personas to Break the Hearts of Players (50 Chapter)
One Punch Man : i am King? (100 Chapter)
Genshin: My Stats Are Irresistible (50 Chapter)
If there's a particular novel you're enjoying on Patron, please give it a 'like' so I know to focus on it