Bleach: Watch Closely, This Is How You Use a Zanpakutō

"In fact, the Soul King is nothing more than a puppet of the noble clans." Aizen Sōsuke declared with absolute certainty.

Masatsuki Aozaki put on a flawless performance, gasping in exaggerated shock. "What!?"

Aizen continued, his tone resolute. "The Soul King has been a puppet of the nobles for over a million years."

"This is the truth I uncovered after deciphering the Tsunayashiro Clan's ancient inscriptions."

He nodded solemnly, then lowered his voice.

"According to the Tsunayashiro Clan's hidden history, their ancestors ambushed the Soul King and sealed him within a crystal."

"They feared that, despite his lack of resistance, the Soul King might one day break free and annihilate them."

"So they severed his limbs, hollowed out his insides, stripped away his power, and scattered it across the world."

"Piece by piece, they weakened the Soul King's strength, all to create a 'king' who would be easy to control."

"But even after being reduced to nothing more than a mutilated husk, the Soul King did not die. Instead, he was trapped in an endless paradox—neither truly alive nor dead."

"The ancestors of the Five Noble Clans then used the Soul King's omnipotent power as a keystone to divide the once-chaotic world into three realms—Soul Society, the World of the Living, and Hueco Mundo."