Bleach: From the moment I was invited by Squad Zero.

“I did have some ‘interactions’ with him.” Soi Fon’s tone was sarcastic, her eyes revealing a recollection of the past and a deeper sense of disgust.

"He always had a carefree and cynical demeanor, as if all rules and disciplines in the world were jokes that could be trampled on at will."

Acting recklessly and without regard for consequences, treating dangerous research as a game!

At this point, Soi Fon's eyes deepened, revealing more personal emotions: "And what is most unforgivable is... that Yoruichi was involved."

When she mentioned "Master Ye Yi," her voice trembled involuntarily, a complex emotion that mixed the pain of being abandoned with endless resentment.

"Lord Yoruichi... is the master to whom my Bee family has served for generations, and the goal I have wanted to follow for the rest of my life!"

Soi Fon's voice was hoarse with excitement, "But...but it's all because of that man! Because of the mess that Kisuke Urahara made!"

Lady Yoruichi actually... actually betrayed the Seireitei, betrayed everything she protected, betrayed... us!

She practically growled out the last few words.

"It was him! He stole Yoruichi! It was him who, with his irresponsible tricks and hypocritical friendship, dragged Yoruichi into an abyss of no return!"

Soi Fon clenched her fists tightly. "What genius? What wise man? He's just a coward who hides behind women, causes huge trouble, and expects others to sacrifice everything for him!"

She seemed to be venting all the resentment that had been building up in her chest for years, then stared at Liu Chuan and uttered her final conclusion:

"If this person ever dares to set foot in the Soul Society again, I will personally wash away this disgrace with my own blade!"

Soi Fon stared intently at a point in the void ahead, as if the grotesque figure of Kisuke Urahara, whom she loathed, was standing there.

After a long while, she took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled, her voice returning to normal:

"Just now... I lost my composure, Mr. Yanagawa. I was talking about some old matters and my emotions got a little out of control. Please forgive me."

Her apology was straightforward and to the point, without much explanation or attempt to cover up her earlier lapse in composure, simply attributing it to "emotional loss of control."

But Liu Chuan could sense that behind that “loss of control” was a torrent of emotions that had been accumulating for a century.

It seems that Kisuke Urahara holds a much heavier place in Soi Fon's heart than she had anticipated.

"It's alright," Liu Chuan replied calmly.

He truly hadn't expected a name to elicit such a strong reaction from the other party, which made him even more curious about the grudges and entanglements between Soi Fon, Kisuke Urahara, and Yoruichi Shihouin.

Just then, Soi Fon suddenly spoke again.

"Lord Liuchuan, now that we have met today, I... actually have something I would like to ask for your help with."

Soi Fon temporarily put aside her earlier emotional turmoil and focused on the current problem.

"Oh?" Liu Chuan gestured for her to continue.

Soi Fon paused slightly, as if organizing her thoughts, before saying:

"Recently, I have been trying to research a new fighting style—a deeper fusion of 'Hakta' (hand-to-hand combat) and 'Kido' (ghostly arts)."

"In the traditional combat mode, 'Hakuda' is close-quarters combat, while 'Kido' is mid-to-long-range attack or support. Although the two can be used in combination, they are essentially separate."

The Ghost Path requires chanting or highly concentrated mental manipulation of spiritual particles, which is often difficult to execute perfectly in the ever-changing close combat, or its power and accuracy will be greatly reduced.

Soi Fon's voice became calm and methodical, fully entering a state of professional discussion.

"Covered and mobile missions often require life-or-death situations to be decided at extremely close range in the blink of an eye."

Her words immediately made Yanagawa understand Soi Fon's intention, and the idea itself aroused his great interest.

To be honest, aside from learning a little about the art of "white-handed fighting" as a required basic course at the Shinigami Academy, Yanagawa has hardly ever practiced it in depth.

As a "mage" who devotes most of his energy to the study of the nature of spirit particles and the way of the demons.

Close-quarters combat has never been his fighting style.

He is better at solving problems from a safe distance using exquisite combinations of demonic arts.

However, Soi Fon's idea of ​​"merging Hakuda and Kido" came like a bolt of lightning.

It instantly illuminated a problem area in Liu Chuan's mind that he hadn't paid special attention to before, but had always vaguely sensed.

The Shinigami of Soul Society, especially the Gotei 13, rely far too heavily on their Zanpakuto.

It's true that Zanpakuto is a reflection of a Shinigami's soul and an extension of his power.

However, the problem is that when the "Zanpakuto" itself becomes the absolute core of power, or even the only weapon in battle, the fragility of the entire system is exposed.

Several vivid examples flashed through Liu Chuan's mind:

The Hollow that fought Shiba Kaien before had the ability to temporarily disable Zanpakuto. If it weren't for my intervention, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

Not long ago, Kuchiki Ginrei mentioned that his son-in-law, Kuchiki Kyouga, wielded the Zanpakuto "Muramasa," whose terrifying ability was to control and turn others' Zanpakuto against their will!

Faced with that kind of power, a Shinigami who relies on a Zanpakuto is like a disarmed soldier, with less than one-tenth of their fighting strength remaining, and may even be devoured by their own sword.

This is only what is known. In the vast Three Realms, who knows how many unknown abilities or rules exist that can target or restrain the existence of "Zanpakuto"?

Once a Shinigami loses their Zanpakuto, the combat power of most Shinigami will plummet.

They might be able to hold their own with basic techniques like Shunpo, Hakuda, and Kido, but defeating an opponent of equal strength with full power would be virtually impossible.

Soi Fon's idea is to try to break the limitation of this "only Zanpakuto theory".

She attempted to deeply integrate another fundamental ability of the Grim Reaper—"Kido"—with the close-quarters combat style of "Hakuda".

To create a combat technique that does not rely on a Zanpakuto, yet can unleash astonishing power in close combat.

If this skill can be researched, perfected, and even widely adopted...

Therefore, the Bleach combat system's fault tolerance and adaptability will be significantly improved.

"A very interesting idea," Liu Chuan finally spoke, his voice carrying a hint of genuine interest.

Chapter 128 The Power of Squad Zero

The brief discussion with Soi Fon about the fusion of Hakuda and Kido.

Yanagawa realized that if he wanted to truly understand and even put this fusion approach into practice, it would be a pipe dream to rely on his "bare-handed" skills, which were only at the level of the basic courses at the Shinigami Academy.

A deep understanding of the techniques and rhythm of Hakuda is a prerequisite for combining the subtleties of Kido with Hakuda.

Therefore, Yanagawa made a simple and direct request to Soi Fon—to have a free sparring match with her.

Soi Fon immediately understood the other party's intention, and without hesitation, she nodded in agreement.

The next day, Liuchuan entered the training ground of the Second Division at the agreed time.

Upon entering, the expected one-on-one sparring session with Soi Fon did not materialize. Instead, he first heard heavy breathing and the dull thud of flesh hitting the ground.

In the center of the training ground, a round figure lay sprawled on the ground, his chest heaving violently and his face deathly pale.

Covered in sweat, it was none other than Omaeda Kichiyo, staring blankly at the ceiling.

He looked utterly hopeless, as if he had just endured a brutal and inhumane torture.

Standing beside him, arms crossed, looking down at him with a cold gaze, was Soi Fon.

At this moment, she looked at Ōmaeda, who was sprawled on the ground like a rag doll, and there was not a trace of sympathy on her cold and beautiful face.

"You've already given up at this level? What a useless piece of trash." Soi Fon's voice was icy, like a whip lashing through the air.

"With your behavior, you've completely disgraced the Second Division!"

Her reprimand was merciless. Ōmaeda lay on the ground, seemingly without the strength to argue or beg for mercy, only letting out muffled sobs, his eyes filled with even more despair.

Clearly, Soi Fon kept her word. The so-called "personal special training" started early this morning, and judging from Ōmaeda's appearance, the intensity of this "special training" probably far exceeded his tolerance limit.

Just then, Soi Fon noticed Yanagawa's arrival.

"Lord Yanagawa, you've arrived." Soi Fon stopped looking at Ōmaeda on the ground, as if he were just a piece of trash that needed to be cleaned up.

When Omaeda, who was lying on the ground, heard that Yanagawa had arrived, his dying eyes suddenly lit up with a "I'm saved" light!

He struggled to turn his eyes and saw Liu Chuan's figure, as if he had seen the dawn of escaping hell.

Taking advantage of Soi Fon's distraction, he somehow managed to muster a bit of strength and "wriggle" towards a rest area with buckets and towels at the edge of the training ground.

When he finally managed to "sneak" to the bench in the rest area and sat down with his back against the wall, he looked as if he had just been pulled out of the water, but his face showed an expression of relief.

However, only one thought remained in my mind: It's over. The happy days of the past (especially referring to laziness and enjoying delicious food) are probably really gone forever...

Yanagawa found this little "prelude" somewhat amusing and nodded to Soi Fon: "Captain Soi Fon, thank you for your trouble."

"Let's begin." Soi Fon said succinctly, walking to the center of the training ground and assuming a standard and sharp starting stance for white fighting.

“Okay,” Yanagawa replied, walking to the opposite side of Soi Fon and adopting a basic starting stance as well.

Although the posture was standard, it inevitably revealed a kind of "academic" rigidity in the eyes of a master of white-box fighting like Soi Fon.

As the sparring began, the two engaged in combat.

As the battle progressed, Soi Fon could sense Yanagawa's powerful physical abilities.

What immense force! After Soi Fon blocked Yanagawa's attack, she felt a distinct tingling and numbness in her arms!

Moreover, the opponent's speed... every movement, every attack, is astonishingly fast!

Although his technique was crude, his terrifying physical abilities forced this master of martial arts to take it seriously and even temporarily adopt a defensive stance!

"Bang! Bang! Thud!"

In the arena, the two figures clashed, and the sounds of fists and feet colliding began to ring out frequently.

Liu Chuan completely abandoned complex moves and techniques, simply using straight punches, hooks, kicks, blocks, and dodges in the simplest and most direct way.

However, driven by his body that transcends the limits of death, these basic movements unleash astonishing power!

His punches whistled through the air, his legs moved like whips, and each strike, whether hitting the air or colliding with Soi Fon's parries, produced a dull thud.

His movements, sometimes left, sometimes right, seemed simple, yet he always managed to evade Soi Fon's cunning counterattacks.

Although due to a lack of skill, he often used too much force, causing his center of gravity to shift slightly, or his transitions between moves were not smooth enough, which allowed Soi Fon to seize the opportunity and neutralize his attacks.

But Soi Fon became increasingly terrified as she fought that immense power, ghostly speed, and seemingly tireless, terrifying stamina!

This isn't sparring with a "beginner in hand-to-hand combat" at all; it's clearly a battle against a ferocious beast disguised in human form, possessing top-tier combat instincts!

Soi Fon's prized, meticulously honed fighting skills often fail to achieve their full potential.

Because her opponent didn't play by the rules at all, or used brute force to overcome skill, she was forced to focus more on dealing with the overwhelming pure power and speed suppression.

Is this... the power of the Zero Division? Soi Fon's solemn eyes were filled with shock and gravity.