Chapter 295: What Are You Planning?

"What happened?"

H'el furrowed his brow slightly as he looked at the arrow on the ground, following the trail of blood drops leading into the forest outside the village.

Instead of immediately chasing after it, he looked up and addressed a scrawny lackey from the Urahana group, his tone cold and detached.

This little ant had once delivered food to H'el, so H'el had some impression of him. Among the crowd of people who avoided him, feared him, and dared not meet his gaze, this unfortunate soul was picked out by H'el to answer his questions.

"It's like this... Boss, after you chased the Shinigami away, another Shinigami appeared and... and... and struck down Gin Ichimaru, knocked out Rangiku, and took her away... Gin went after them."

The scrawny lackey stammered, drenched in sweat, and did his best to recount the events in detail, hoping to avoid being slashed by H'el.

In their eyes, H'el was a capricious figure who could kill on a whim. Appearing before him usually meant a bad end, as had happened with the square faced man, who now didn't even dare stay in the village and fled to who knows where.

'Aizen.'

Upon hearing the lackey's stammering report, H'el deduced from the footprints nearby what had happened. Gin had been overpowered and struck down, sustaining some injuries, and then tracked the Shinigami who took Rangiku, marking his path with his own blood as he pursued them into the forest.

And the only one who would take an interest in Rangiku was none other than Aizen.

"Is this the time when Aizen took a part of Rangiku's soul?"

There were always different theories about what Aizen had taken from Rangiku.

As far as H'el knew, there was speculation that Aizen had taken the Shinigami soul power he needed from Rangiku.

In the early days, Aizen needed Shinigami-potential souls to create the Hōgyoku. During this period, Aizen was also collecting souls with Shinigami powers extensively.

Early on, it was hard for Aizen to make moves within the Gotei 13, so he targeted those in Rukongai who had Shinigami potential but hadn't become Shinigami yet. He encountered Rangiku and took a part of her soul power.

Some said he took the Soul King's fingertip from Rangiku's soul.

Rangiku supposedly had the Soul King's fingertip within her.

Aizen's Hōgyoku went into overdrive after consuming the Soul King's fingertip, vastly increasing his need for souls, which eventually led him to devise a plan to steal Urahara's Hōgyoku to feed his own. This set off a series of events.

It could be said that the foundation of Aizen's Hōgyoku was the Soul King fragment from Rangiku.

There was also speculation that Aizen directly took Rangiku's Bankai, which was the evolutionary trait needed by the Hōgyoku.

In the later stages of the original story, more characters would achieve Bankai, but Rangiku, who had always been very talented, couldn't activate her Bankai because Aizen had stripped away her potential for evolution.

Regardless of which theory is correct, each has its rationale.

Had her soul not been tampered with, Rangiku had the potential to achieve Bankai and become a captain-level force.

Even with part of her soul taken, she quickly became a vice-captain, demonstrating her inherent talent and potential.

Becoming a vice-captain despite having a fragmented soul shows Rangiku's unique and significant potential.

Such exceptional talent, which is rare in this world, is something H'el would not allow Aizen to destroy.

H'el swiftly heightened his senses, followed the arrow and blood trail left by Gin Ichimaru, and used Shunpo to chase after them.

Entering the forest, where fragmented sunlight filtered through the leaves and dust floated in the sunbeams, he sensed a cool breeze rustling the leaves.

Gin Ichimaru, clutching his aching chest, gritted his teeth, suppressing the urge to cough up blood. He endured the pain to avoid making any noise that might give away his presence in the forest.

His narrowed eyes betrayed his exhaustion as he struggled to maintain his strength. Injured and straining his stamina to chase a Shinigami was a tremendous challenge for him.

Had it not been for H'el's recent guidance in unlocking his potential, Gin wouldn't have had the strength to pursue the Shinigami who took Rangiku. This pursuit pushed Gin's mental faculties to their limits, forcing him to accurately track the Shinigami through the forest, despite the confusing currents, scents, and visuals.

A single misstep could mean losing the Shinigami.

Fortunately, the Shunpo of Masaki wasn't as refined as H'el's, which allowed him to create illusions without making any sound.

Masaki's Shunpo still caused significant air disturbances and produced a thudding sound, which Gin could detect.

Masaki moved through the higher parts of the forest, using Shunpo and occasionally stepping on tree trunks to propel himself further, startling birds as he went.

He never anticipated that Gin, even while severely injured, would continue to pursue him.

After all, a child he could easily injure or kill with a casual move wasn't worth considering for his courage and wisdom.

"Aizen-sama!"

Masaki took a deep breath, using Shunpo to cross a thick tree trunk, carrying Rangiku as he descended from the sky. He landed on one knee and bowed his head to the ground, saying, "She has been brought."

Aizen, who was admiring a pink four-petaled flower, turned his gentle gaze within his black-rimmed glasses towards Masaki. His warm voice said, "Good work, Masaki."

Masaki Seino felt relieved. Aizen hadn't used that seemingly gentle but chilling tone, which meant the issue with Ichiro Urahana could be put to rest.

Thinking this, Seino showed a serious expression.

Aizen's eyes behind his black-rimmed glasses reflected a satisfied smile as he reached into his robe and took out a transparent box containing a black, iron-like object. This was the Hōgyoku he was creating, requiring a large number of high-quality souls.

"Bring her over," Aizen ordered.

"Yes," Seino replied, lifting the unconscious Rangiku. He walked a few steps forward, knelt again, and offered Rangiku as if presenting a tribute to Aizen.

Rangiku's limbs and head hung limply as she was presented to Aizen.

Aizen's glasses reflected a slight glint as he focused on Rangiku's head, extending his fingers towards it.

Slowly, his hand reached towards Rangiku's head.

Suddenly, Aizen's hand stopped in mid-air, and his eyes behind the glasses glanced towards a nearby bush.

He showed an amused smile.

"Lord Aizen, is something wrong?" Seino asked, confused by Aizen's halt.

"Nothing," Aizen replied with a smile full of hidden meaning.

His large hand continued moving towards Rangiku's head.

Just as he was about to touch her head, a rustling sound came from the bush. A figure stepped out and said calmly:

"What do you plan to do with my subordinate?"

Aizen's pupils widened slightly in surprise.

°°°

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