Soi Fon, born 57 years after the rebellion of her retainers, is now one of the oldest Soul Reaper, over four hundred years old.
His father, Zhuofeng, was the same classmate of Jun's former mentor, Hanazawa E, the one who was considered High Ambition, Little Talent, and the culprit who caused the rebellion of his retainers back then.
For the Fon Clan itself, Zhuofeng is the best patriarch. His plans and actions have brought the family to new heights, which is what Zhuofeng himself is most proud of.
There's an old China saying, "A great man cannot establish a family without achieving even the smallest merit," a saying attributed to Huo Qubing. This saying is also very applicable in Japan, including to the head of this Fon Clan, who only married and had children after completing his centuries-long plan.
Yes! To target Shihoin and to ensure the freedom of his retainers' families, he risked everything. If he failed, the Fon Clan would be wiped out. From this perspective, he wasn't as despicable as Hanazawa E made him out to be; he simply placed all his hopes on his own family.
In the fifty-seven years following the incident, the affiliation of the Second Division and the Punishment Force was essentially settled. During that period, Yoruichi, with the support of the Shopkeeper and Marechiyo Ōmaeda (the father of the fat man in the original work), struggled to maintain a tiny bit of control.
Soi Fon was born under these circumstances. By the time Soi Fon grew up and came into contact with the Second Division, more than a hundred years had passed since the incident. At this time, the Shopkeeper had already left for the Twelfth Division, Marechiyo Ōmaeda the burden alone, gradually becoming a centrist.
At this point, the Second Division became the members' own domain. From the Third Seat to the 10th Seat, those in charge of the Second Division were the true owners, along with a remotely controlled commander, Xing Jun.
In this environment, Yoruichi could only release her frustration by beating up other members. She personally became the training instructor for the Second Division members and brutally beat each trainee.
However, this is the Second Division. Shihoin is the head of the family, while the others are retainers. This is only a superficial relationship, so Yoruichi's beating was not a problem at all. Yoruichi herself knew her limits and would never kill anyone.
However, at this time, in the eyes of young Soi Fon, Yoruichi her lifelong pursuit—that strength, that dashing spirit, that formidable power as a woman to surpass men.
Soi Fon was unaware of her family's affairs; Zhuofeng had never discussed such matters with his daughter. A man shouldn't entrust such secrets to his daughter; it wasn't something to be proud of.
Furthermore, the centuries of coordination and the subsequent hundred-plus years of indirect rule following the successful plan have made the structure of the Shihoin Family's organization flawless. As long as the Shihoin exists, this organization will not break down.
Therefore, Soi Fon knew nothing about what happened back then, nor about the underhanded dealings between her own family and the Shihoin Family. Her personality wasn't suited to that. Growing up in such an environment, Soi Fon only had admiration for Yoruichi, nothing more.
Soi Fon isn't really suited for Stealth Force; she's too competitive by nature. She's not someone who can calm down easily. To paraphrase a popular saying online...
"I am an assassin, devoid of emotion."
Soi Fon isn't like that. Her heart burns with intense passion, and coupled with her exceptional talent, this leads to a very interesting situation: she possesses the Zanpakuto in Soul Society with the greatest difference between its Shikai and Kai.
Suzumebachi and Suzumebachi Raikōben
Why is that? It's because of Soi Fon's personality. She's strong-willed, and her true nature isn't suited to the Suzumebachi Shikai. However, she has exceptional talent, and so, somewhat naively, she chose Stealth Force, thus unleashing her sword into Suzumebachi.
While Suzumebachi is indeed suited for Stealth Force, it doesn't suit Soi Fon herself. Thus, for a long time, Soi Fon's exceptional talent remained untapped. Then, pure technique came into play; Soi Fon and her sword met, and she finally recognized her true nature, achieving her breakthrough.
However, the Suzumebachi Raikōben is a distorted product.
What exactly is solution? In pure understanding, solution is an essential sublimation; the Shikai becomes an essence. What is essence? We can understand it as a concept.
For example, peace, pure Non-Aggression is peace.
For example, Berserk, Kenpachi Zaraki's Nozarashi is Berserk.
Countless Zanpakuto represent countless concepts; some are the concept of a person's soul essence, while others are an imagined concept. Non-Aggression is the pure essence of the soul, Suzumebachi is Soi Fon's imagination.
However, liberation is an essential sublimation. If it is the liberation of the soul's essence, then without a doubt, this person only needs to sublimate their own soul to achieve the liberation of their Zanpakuto. The power of such liberation is beyond question.
But if it's about the liberation of imagination, then this solution requires understanding the essence of your imagination, and then elevating that essence. This elevation can take many forms.
For example, the knife of Kongbu, this punk-style idiot, has been purely interpreted as Hell Nightmare —a purely imaginary, extreme form of Kongbu. But it can also be interpreted in other ways, such as a classic title like 'Infinite Kongbu,' and even given abilities similar to those in the original novel. It's all possible, just a matter of cost.
Now let's look at the liberation of Suzumebachi and Suzumebachi Raikōben. By combining this with a pure understanding, we can see where this distortion lies.
Suzumebachi is Soi Fon's imagination, a product of Soi Fon suppressing her true nature to conform to Stealth Force. She needs Stealth Force; she needs a means of assassination.
But Soi Fon's nature is one of never giving up, of striving for self-improvement, and of taking on challenges. That's why she's so strong, and why she can forever chase after Yoruichi's shadow.
So, when she attempted to unravel the mystery, she chose the solution based on the essence of the soul. But a problem arose: her Shikai was based on imagination, while the solution itself was based on the essence of the soul. Ultimately, the power of the solution, the essence of the soul, distorted her imagination, resulting in a distorted product that was clearly a failed work— the Suzumebachi Raikōben).
The sword represents a person's inner world—this is the definition given by Soul Society, and Jun partially agrees with it. Jun's understanding is that the state of the sword represents a person's psychological state before and after achieving liberation, representing only a single time period.
Because people change, especially under the influence of some huge event. For example, it's hard to find a specific example, but if I had to, it would be Ichigo. His various Zangetsu forms all reflect changes in his inner self.
The distortion of Suzumebachi Raikōben also illustrates Suzumebachi's change, the distortion of her own aspirations, and her feelings during that period, all because of Yoruichi's betrayal.
The complicated and tangled relationship between Yoruichi and Soi Fon is truly fascinating, and Jun is having a blast behind the scenes.
The Shihoin Style -to-hand Hakuda techniques are primarily based on aggressive attacks, making them ideal for high-energy battles. To put it another way, imagine playing judo with Soul Reaper; even if you manage to pounce, they still have their burst potential. And most importantly, grappling techniques are useless against Soul Reaper.
Why do I say that? For example, imagine two Hulks fighting. One Hulk lifts the Hulk up and performs a backstab, lifting him up and slamming him onto his knee, then bending him down, which could break his spine. The other Hulk fights like he did with Loki in the Avengers, grabbing his foot and swinging it around.
Which is more damaging? The answer is a backstab. Why? Because given the Hulk's physical attributes, if you slam him to the ground, aside from creating a lot of craters, the actual damage to the Hulk himself isn't that high. In the Avengers, the Hulk didn't even kill Loki by slamming him down. Why?
Because the ground is soft. The degree of softness or hardness depends on the comparison. The ground is certainly tougher than human skin, but how does it compare to steel? And how does steel compare to the Hulk? The Hulk could withstand a barrage of machine gun fire from a helicopter and still survive. What's the strength of ordinary civilian steel compared to the Hulk?
So when the Hulk slams the ground, although the forces are mutual, the ground acts like a sponge for the Hulk, serving as a cushion. Therefore, when superhumans fight other superhumans, especially monsters with Kongbu physical strength, slamming them to the ground is definitely not a good way to attack.
For the Soul Reaper, while they may not have the physical abilities of the Hulk Soul Reaper, the problem is that Soul Reaper can use aerial momentum—they can use Shunpo to stay in place. Therefore, throwing and grappling techniques are meaningless for a being like the Soul Reaper.
Any technique other than these two is useful for the Soul Reaper, but not significantly, mainly because it relies heavily on practice and, most importantly, on the opponent's reaction speed. Reaction speed is Kongbu in Soul Reaper battles.
So although Yoruichi learned a lot of techniques from Jun, she was just playing around with them. She could deal very high damage by catching the opponent off guard, but if the opponent was prepared, they were practically useless.
The two exchanged a hundred or so rapid blows. Soi Fon discovered that her Suzumebachi was completely locked down, unlike in the original work where she was given ample time to showcase her Soi Fon, and Yoruichi could then defeat her in a single move after Shunkō.
At this moment, both of them were tired of this fruitless battle. Soi Fon's assassination attempts were thwarted by Yoruichi's various parries, and Yoruichi's close combat was incapable of truly killing Soi Fon.
Suddenly, a surge of Spiritual Power appeared within Soi Fon's body. Her speed increased dramatically, and her strength instantly intensified. Yoruichi took several hard kicks. Suzumebachi's hive pattern absolutely could not be imprinted on her, or she might lose her life in an instant.
"What's wrong!? Is that all you've got!?"
Soi Fon kicked Yoruichi in the stomach with tremendous force, sending her flying dozens of meters away. Even after being sent flying, Yoruichi had to block a series of attacks from Soi Fon, but thankfully she managed to withstand them.
Yoruichi wiped her mouth, her stomach really hurting; she was bleeding from her stomach. She smiled and said, "Not bad technique."
"This is the technology developed to kill you, a combination of Kidō and Hakuda!"
"Haha~", Yoruichi didn't know how to laugh, "Soi Fon, how many years do you think the Shihoin Family has existed? How do you think the Shihoin survived before Zanpakuto existed?"
"Shihoin hasn't moved in a long time, hasn't used his power in a long time, and people have almost forgotten about Shihoin power, making children think it's a power he created himself."
A cold glint flashed in Yoruichi. "You'll die right here, Shunkō!"
The massive burst of Spiritual Power left Soi Fon frozen in place. Just as Yoruichi's foot was about to strike Soi Fon's head, delivering a fatal blow...
"Petrification!" A beam of light slowed Yoruichi's speed.