Hyōsube Ichibē's expression darkened completely, and he was so enraged that an astonishing, invisible murderous aura radiated from his entire body.
Why had Hyōsube Ichibē once abandoned the Seireitei and instead withdrawn behind the scenes to control the world as a member of Zero Division?
It was precisely because, ever since ancient times, even after countless years had passed, the voices calling for Hyōsube Ichibē to be defeated and the Soul King to be rescued had never ceased.
To countless living beings, defeating Hyōsube Ichibē was a righteous and just cause.
Even though Hyōsube Ichibē had come up with countless ways to whitewash the truth throughout the process, and even had the support and cover of the Four Great Noble Clans.
As long as Hyōsube Ichibē continued using the "Soul King" to control the world, someone was bound to discover that fact, followed by wave after wave of calls to defeat him.
For countless years, although Hyōsube Ichibē had never entertained the thought of relinquishing control over the world, he had grown thoroughly weary of that seemingly endless resistance.
Therefore, a thousand years ago, Hyōsube Ichibē chose another way to control the world.
That was to reach an agreement with Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni. On the condition that Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni defeated the Sternritter, he acknowledged the establishment of the Thirteen Divisions and withdrew from the Seireitei, while also making numerous promises not to directly interfere in the Seireitei's internal affairs.
In this way, over the course of a thousand years, Hyōsube Ichibē gradually vanished from everyone's sight. By the time Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni, Unohana Retsu, and those other thousand-year-old Soul Reapers had died.
Perhaps only a very small number of exceptionally ancient noble clans in the entire Seireitei still retained a few fragmentary words about the truth of the past.