Starting with Kengan beating up the Pirate King

Chapter 258 Goodwill
Aizen first noticed Guan Yi when Urahara Kisuke delivered the invention, which combined the Wuhou Divine Machine, to Soul Society. Because Guan Yi was by Urahara Kisuke's side, Aizen paid more attention to the strangeness that Guan Yi showed than anyone else.

Especially when Mayuri Kurotsuchi personally went to the human world to capture Kaneki and returned in failure, Aizen's interest in Kaneki reached its peak.

He sent Ulquiorra to the mortal world, to China, to investigate Guan Yi's origins more thoroughly than Kisuke Urahara and Yoruichi, but he found not a trace of Guan Yi's existence.

Gradually, he noticed more details—Guo Yan and Ye Huohuo, who secretly started a company with Guan Yi and made a lot of money in the real world, had their identities also obtained later.

These three people seem to have sprung from a crack in a rock; there's no trace of where they lived or practiced before 1998.

Later, Aizen discovered four other people in the same situation as the three of them, namely the four 'Fullbringers' including the Great King and Xie Chen.

He was very curious about the secrets hidden within.

After taking the Great King to Hueco Mundo, he used the power of Kyoka Suigetsu to perfectly disguise himself as Ye Huohuo and 'accidentally' meet Xie Chen.

Because obtaining information about Fog Star from explorers through deception, manipulation, or mind reading will not result in the explorers being punished by the secret realm.

Aizen learned some shocking information from Xie Chen!
Fog Star, Secret Realm, Explorer, Strategy Guide, Special Training Camp, Demon Race, Second Round...

Is the world I live in merely a tiny corner of a vast world?
All of this left Aizen in a state of turmoil, but Aizen was Aizen after all, and he calmed down in just three days, making corresponding changes to his plans.

First and foremost, he must ensure that the explorers 'complete' this mission!
The initiative is in the explorer's hands. If the so-called strategy fails, the Three Realms will have to re-enter the cycle of reincarnation. Even if he becomes the Spirit King, he probably won't be able to resist the power of that world. Time will return to 1998, and he will lose his memories.

Aizen couldn't allow that to happen, after all, he didn't know if he would ever be able to detect the explorers again or have another chance to deal with them.

Only the person you are right now is truly yourself!

After much verification, he roughly determined that the condition for explorers to successfully conquer the realm was to 'become the king of the world', and most secret realms would end after one or more explorers reached the summit.

Thus, Aizen began to plan a 'destined defeat' scenario.

His initial target was the Great King. After all, when he met the Great King, the Great King already possessed power far exceeding that of an ordinary captain, and his ability was the very strange 'sharing'. As long as he found an opportunity to let the Great King share the power of the Hogyoku, everything would fall into place.

Of course, before that, he would do his best to clear away other obstacles for the king.

However, Guan Yi's rapid growth forced Aizen to change his target, and the change was somewhat hasty and caught him off guard.

Guan Yi was already capable of completing the mission without him. His goal now had become to ensure that Guan Yi could both succeed in the mission and survive.

Therefore, he never regarded Guan Yi as an enemy. He lent Guan Yi his power, making it easier for Guan Yi to kill Yhwach. He also established a friendly alliance with the king, allowing Guan Yi, who was familiar with the king, to 'conquer' him last.

He fueled the fire when the Zero Division was capturing the Explorers, and immediately opened a passage for the King, allowing the King to help Guan Yi invade the Spirit King Palace.

During this time, he cleared away the last obstacle for Guan Yi—Seireitei!
Everything, everything, was for this moment. So that when I surrender to Guan Yi, the explorers can leave their world!
Of course, in order to gain the so-called world's approval, Aizen's surrender was genuine. Unwilling to be subservient, he had done ample mental preparation and even self-hypnosis to make himself a subordinate of Guan Yi. But people are fickle. Six months and a year after Guan Yi left, he believed that he would definitely "reborn" with the desire to ascend the throne.

By then, he will have more time to rule and change the Three Realms, and make sufficient preparations for the explorers' return!

When Guan Yi's figure froze, seemingly enveloped by some strange power, Aizen, who was pinned to Guan Yi's Zanpakuto, revealed a smile.

Looks like I won my bet.

hum-

But in the next instant, a terrifying force once again surged from Guan Yi's Zanpakuto into his body, destroying his internal organs!

Aizen coughed up a mouthful of blood, his face turning deathly pale in an instant. A cracking sound came from his chest—the sound of the Hogyoku breaking!

"you……"

"That's amazing. You knew everything all along and even thought of using a power that doesn't belong to this world to break the deadlock." Guan Yi shook his head and said, "I don't know who you got the information from, but you definitely couldn't have gotten all the details out of them."

For example, whether you can stay briefly in the secret realm after completing the walkthrough is something everyone who has experienced it knows; you have no reason to ask.

Aizen paused for a moment: "Is that so?"

He wasn't unaware of this possibility, but he had no better way to deal with it.

Being in the secret realm, his resources and abilities were vastly unequal compared to those of the explorers, making it a huge gamble. "How much time does Guan Yijun have left?"

"Less than half an hour."

"Half an hour." Aizen closed his eyes. It was too long. He couldn't possibly last that long.

It seems this is the end of it.

Aizen is not a kind person, and at this critical moment, he would not have any thoughts like 'at least temporarily driving away the invaders for the three realms'.

If he cannot become king, what kind of change can the weak bring about in the future?

He allowed Guan Yi to destroy and absorb the Hōgyoku, and allowed himself to revert to the form of a Shinigami. At this moment, Guan Yi drew his sword, and his wounds gradually healed.

Guan Yi healed his injuries, but Aizen was neither surprised nor pleased by it; in fact, it was the worst-case scenario he had anticipated.

Guan Yi had the ability to kill him, but he let him go!

This signifies Guan Yi's indifference to his survival, and that no matter what he does, he cannot resist the invasion of that vaster world. It shows that his insignificance surpasses even his expectations, and that Guan Yi believes his 'surrender' will inevitably become real!

We still lost, and we lost completely.

Looking at Aizen's expression, Guan Yi knew that someone as intelligent as him would immediately understand why he hadn't killed him—it was an absolute difference in their worlds.

Once the strategy is completed, it means that a stable passage will be established between the Mist Star and the Secret Realm in one to three years. At that time, martial artists with runes of the same or even higher rank as the Spirit King, such as the Great King, will be able to enter the Secret Realm with their own power.

In the secret realm, cooperation is the only option.

At this moment, he suddenly remembered what Yin Yarong had said before—that in fact, for each secret realm, there is no difference between humans and demons.

Apart from the 'Seven-Colored Infinite' level secret realms, the moment a secret realm is discovered, it is already in the hands of the human race, sooner or later.

With Aizen's wisdom and skillful maneuvering, the Mysterious Realm of Death might even gain a little more benefit, which is a bit of goodwill that could be considered superfluous.

And then...

Guan Yi looked at Urahara Kisuke and Yoruichi, who had long since lost track of what they were saying and were becoming increasingly wary with the changing circumstances, and suddenly flung his Zanpakuto out.

Kisuke Urahara was horrified and tried to intercept it, but without any warning and with the sword flying at a speed that seemed to traverse space, he could only watch helplessly as it pierced Ichigo Kurosaki's chest, freezing Ichigo in place!
"Guan Yi! You...?!"

boom--

The next instant, a violent spiritual pressure suddenly erupted from Kurosaki Ichigo's body, and Kurosaki Ichigo howled in pain.

"That was the power of the Hogyoku within Aizen just now; only Ichigo has the aptitude to contain it. Since you don't want to play football, then take on the mission of restraining Aizen and protecting the three realms," Guan Yi said with a smile.

"Also, Manager Urahara, Yoruichi, please say goodbye to Xiaoyu and Jinta for me. I don't know when we'll see each other again."

Guan Yi's figure gradually faded: "Try to get along well with Aizen. He will be the new leader of the Zero Division from now on and will manage the Three Realms well for me. He already knows everything. If you have any questions, just ask him."

Getting along well with Aizen? Urahara Kisuke's head was about to explode; what on earth was going on...?

Aizen suddenly said, "Kan Yi-kun, it hasn't been half an hour, has it?"

Guan Yi smiled and said, "Guess?"

His figure slowly disappeared.

Aizen sat up, a smile returning to his face: "With good intentions? This is the best news I've received in almost a year."

He turned to Urahara Kisuke and said, "Come on, let's... get along well."

(End of this chapter)