"They say monks don't lie..."

Hyōsube Ichibei calls himself a monk, and the Soul King bestowed that title upon him. Yet, his words are full of deceit. According to Ichibei, he merely cultivates his mind and nature, following the path of his own heart—so nothing he says, he claims, counts as a lie.

"Gone."

Ōetsu spoke, nodding toward the monk.

"Huh..."

"That Plague God is finally gone! If he'd stayed with the Zero Squad, I'd be finished! I'd probably be stuck serving His Majesty in the Soul King Palace for eternity,"

the monk said, wiping sweat from his forehead.

"You already foresaw Araki's return to the Soul Society, didn't you?"

Ōetsu asked.

"Of course..." Ichibei remained evasive, adding, "In truth, Araki himself understood the price he would eventually have to pay."

"What the hell are you planning?!"

Ōetsu was truly bewildered.

"No plan at all..." the monk replied, shaking his head. "Ōetsu, didn't I already tell you? Yhwach will return sooner or later. We must be prepared—and Araki is that preparation. As for how he'll react when Yhwach inevitably returns... even I cannot predict that."

"Forget it! I'm just a blacksmith... I can't understand the schemes of people like you..."

Ōetsu muttered, refusing to dwell on the tangled web between the monk and Araki.

Suddenly, as if something occurred to him, he asked, "Now that Araki's body has fully transformed into the King's Key, shouldn't his palace be constructed as well?!"

"Isn't it already built?"

The monk's eyes sharpened as he gestured.

"Ōetsu, take a good look around you!"

"When... was this built?!"

Ōetsu turned. To his astonishment, the two palaces on the Soul King Palace's main approach had become three! The third palace, unmistakably, belonged to Araki. It was constructed entirely of colored glaze—an ethereal structure through which only shimmering streams of light could be seen.

"It was built the moment Araki transformed,"

Ichibei said, gazing at it with a touch of unease.

"Compared to the rest of us, Araki is special."

"You already know," he continued, "each of our palaces is our heart. As long as it exists, we live on, resurrected endlessly. But Araki's palace goes beyond that—it is Araki. So long as it exists, he cannot die. And as long as he survives, the palace is eternal."

"Which means separating Araki from the palace is the only real solution..."

he concluded, staring into the luminous depths of the glazed palace.

"What? This is truly... incredible."

Ōetsu's forehead glistened with sweat as the realization hit him—Araki's very existence had transcended the typical cycle of death.

"So, how much change can Araki bring to the Three Realms now?"

the monk said softly, turning and striding away.

"Let us wait and see."

"Where are you going, Hyōsube?"

Ōetsu asked, puzzled—after all, he should be the one to leave, not Ichibei. This was Ichibei's palace, after all.

"Didn't I promise that brat Araki I'd go 'serve' the Soul King?"

Ichibei replied casually.

"At the very least, I have to hang around the Soul King's Palace a few days—make it look convincing."

He left without another word.

"Hmph... Really..."

Ōetsu watched the monk disappear into the distance, momentarily speechless.

"Ah, forget it! Forget it!"

He looked back and forth—at the departing monk, then at the descending Tenshu Chariot. With a long sigh, he turned and walked toward his own detached palace.

Meanwhile, aboard the descending Tenshu Chariot—Zero Squad's exclusive transport—

Araki opened his mission system.

[Burst Mission: Collect the 'Soul King' fragments scattered across the Three Realms!]

Reward: The power of the Soul King!

[Main Quest:

Gather the Soul King fragments scattered across the Three Realms and restore the incomplete Soul King within the Soul King's Great Chamber.]

Reward: ???

At this point, Araki held three main quests:

From the perspective of the Gotei 13:

Serve in the Gotei 13. This mission was partially complete; Araki had already secured his position. After being officially appointed, he would face the final decision—defeat Yhwach or be defeated by him.

From the perspective of Yhwach and the loyal Quincy:

Eradicate all traitors to the Soul King within the Soul Society. Then, launch an assault on the Soul King Palace to destroy the Soul King sealed in the crystal "wedge" that stabilizes the Three Realms—and absorb it. This would return the world to its primal form, where life and death no longer exist.

From the perspective of Hyōsubu Ichibei:

Collect the Soul King's scattered fragments throughout the Three Realms. Then, use Araki's powers to restore the original Soul King by reconstructing his lost organs and limbs.

Araki believed that the common thread among all three quests was peace—each path, even the second one involving the aid of Yhwach, would ultimately eliminate all threats and usher in stability. Yet, of the three, Araki considered the first main quest the most reliable, if only because it involved a direct continuation of the story as it stood. In that version, the likely outcome was the death of Yhwach and Araki's ascension as the new "wedge" replacing the Soul King, maintaining the balance of the Three Realms.

Of course, there was another possibility—that Araki would fail and be forcibly transformed into the wedge himself by the Monk. After all, he now possessed the potential to replace the Soul King.

The second quest was the most difficult. If Yhwach succeeded in unifying the Three Realms, Araki would likely become the "cornerstone" of that peace—a fate he absolutely rejected. To be the cornerstone of Yhwach's peace would be a betrayal of everything he stood for.

As for the third quest, it was the one Araki found most uncertain. The Soul King's current mutilated state was the result of fear—fear harbored by the ancestors of the Five Noble Houses. They dreaded the possibility that the Soul King might one day restore himself and resurrect through his own power. If Araki truly assisted the Soul King in restoring his lost limbs and organs, it could spark a rebirth the world was utterly unprepared for. Araki couldn't even begin to predict the scale of upheaval that might follow such a resurrection.

In truth, Araki didn't want to choose any of these quests.

Yes—even the first one, which he deemed the most reliable.

Even if he defeated Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni and succeeded him as the Captain-Commander of the Gotei 13, what then? He'd only be protecting a Seireitei that had decayed into a cesspool of corruption, controlled by incompetent, self-righteous nobles. Just seeing the vermin occupying the Central 46 made Araki feel physically ill.

He could protect Seireitei in Yamamoto's place—but it wouldn't be their Seireitei. If he had to protect something, it would be his Seireitei.

Besides, with the power of the "King's Key" now coursing through him—power equivalent to a Squad Zero member—Araki knew that if Yhwach returned, there would be no running. Yhwach would most certainly target him, coveting his body as a vessel. In the eyes of villains from every corner of existence, Araki's body was treasure.

With all that in mind, Araki finally asked himself:

"Why not let Aizen Sōsuke take the role of Captain-Commander instead?"

Whether it was purging Soul Society's failed aristocracy or eliminating Yhwach, Araki found no interest in such tedious duties. But in a world as vast and corrupted as the Soul Society, surely he wasn't the only one with such ambitions. A certain hairspray-wearing man who loved to gaze down at the world from above might, in fact, agree with him.

All Araki needed was for Aizen to provide him food and shelter. In return, he would lend Aizen his unparalleled blade, ready to cut down any who stood in their way.

Many years later…

When Aizen Sōsuke, with calm arrogance, activated Kyōka Suigetsu and deceived the Gotei 13…

When he tricked Urahara Kisuke into giving up half of the Hōgyoku…

When he was ready to return to Soul Society under the veil of the "anti-membrane thread" forged from the Hollows…

At that moment, the Captain-Commander of the Gotei 13, Araki—revered as the strongest Shinigami in Soul Society's history—patted Aizen on the shoulder and said with a faint smile:

"Sōsuke, if you really think about it, I've been running Soul Society for a thousand years now. I'm old. Tired. I'm handing over the Gotei 13 to you. Young people should be bold—if there's something you want to do, then do it with your whole heart."

"W-What?!"

Aizen's expression cracked.

His pupils quivered, and deep in his heart he questioned:

"Did I just fall prey to my own Kyōka Suigetsu?"

"Was that an auditory hallucination?"

"Did Captain Araki actually say those words—to me?"

But then, he remembered—the Hōgyoku pulsed in his hand. He could feel its power. What did it matter who led the Gotei 13 now?

Until Araki's voice once again shattered the illusion.

"Sōsuke, when did you fall under the illusion that your Zanpakutō was Kyōka Suigetsu? Or that half of Urahara's Hōgyoku and a nursery of underdeveloped 'evil spirits' from Hueco Mundo were enough to defeat me?"

Aizen: "Huh?!"

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