Chapter 277: Rangiku Matsumoto

"Matsumoto... Rangiku."

H'el draped Rangiku's arm over his shoulder, supporting her slender waist with his right hand, and nearly dragged her along as they walked.

Occasionally, she felt the ground under her feet and realized H'el was carrying her. She would sometimes stumble, mustering enough strength to take a few steps with H'el, but mostly, she was being dragged with her toes barely touching the ground.

'Matsumoto Rangiku, huh.'

H'el's eyes flickered with thought as he searched his clear memory for any recollection of the name.

*Bleach*

If he remembered correctly, this was the name of the future lieutenant of the Tenth Division in the Gotei 13, a bold and unrestrained woman with a voluptuous figure.

The current Rangiku he was carrying showed none of these future characteristics. She was on the brink of starvation, with her ribs and cheekbones sticking out, nearly a skeleton. Her body felt bony to the touch, completely devoid of the future sensual curves.

"It seems I've arrived over a hundred years before the events of the story. Matsumoto being on the verge of starvation here in this desert must mean she hasn't met Gin Ichimaru yet."

H'el thought to himself, suddenly stopping. He raised his head and looked around, listening carefully to the environment, constructing a three-dimensional model in his mind, and said:

"Come out. I can hear the sound of you brushing against the withered cypress trunk."

H'el's weakness was not like that of an ordinary person. He still retained many of his powerful reflexes, and his senses were sharper than most.

He was just very hungry and somewhat weak, but in much better shape than Rangiku, who was on the verge of starvation.

H'el turned his head, looking towards a dried-up tree trunk.

From behind the trunk emerged a thin figure, shorter than H'el by two or three centimeters. The figure was very slim, dressed in rough, short gray clothes, with narrow eyes and a naturally upturned mouth that gave a fox-like, almost sinister appearance.

He was holding several dried persimmons as he stepped out from behind the tree trunk.

'Gin Ichimaru!'

The distinctive appearance was unmistakable. Knowing Matsumoto Rangiku and realizing this was *Bleach*, H'el immediately understood.

This scene originally depicted Gin Ichimaru meeting Matsumoto Rangiku for the first time, giving her a dried persimmon to stave off starvation, thereby forming their bond.

However, H'el's appearance had alerted Gin, who lived in this impoverished area, making him cautious and causing him to observe from a distance instead of approaching Rangiku directly.

Strictly speaking, H'el's presence had already altered their destinies.

"You're weak from hunger but you can still move, which means you must have spiritual power," Gin's voice was young but steady.

In the Soul Society, those without spiritual power would not feel hunger and could live normally with just clean water.

Therefore, people without spiritual power never experience changes in height or weight until death.

Conversely, those with spiritual power, especially those with strong spiritual power, sometimes can't survive on water alone and need food to sustain themselves.

Gin squinted, watching H'el drag Rangiku toward the village.

Without H'el, Gin might have felt pity and given Rangiku a dried persimmon to save her.

But with H'el present, Gin, who was accustomed to the harsh life in the impoverished areas, became cautious and wouldn't easily give food to them.

H'el was taller by a couple of centimeters, looked robust, and had a commanding, confident demeanor. Despite his current weakness from hunger, Gin couldn't predict what might happen if H'el were fed and regained his strength. After all, H'el appeared stronger than him.

This was the 62nd district of East Rukongai, Flower Desert, a poor, resource-scarce area where people were often violent and fought fiercely over food and resources. Gin, just a child, had managed to accumulate some food in such a vicious area, which was no small feat and demonstrated his capabilities.

"Yes, can you spare us two dried persimmons?" H'el asked, realizing that among those with spiritual power who needed food, he was relatively weak.

By observing Gin and Rangiku, H'el knew his spiritual potential was much lower than Rangiku's, let alone Gin's, who had the potential of a captain-level soul reaper. H'el had entered the world of Bleach with a very weak spiritual body.

He was not as starved as Rangiku and still had some strength left.

Without food, he would likely be the next to faint and possibly die from hunger.

Before Gin could respond, H'el gently laid Rangiku on the desert ground, bent down, and began picking up a few small stones, selecting ones slightly smaller than his thumb and holding them in his hand.

"No," Gin said without hesitation, his eyes narrowed and his mouth curling into a smile, decisively refusing while half-hiding behind the tree trunk.

The difficulty of obtaining food made him reject any notion of charity.

He had already discerned that H'el was not a good person, which made him wary.

"I mean you no harm. I'm just very hungry and need the dried persimmons. Wouldn't it be good if I owed you a favor?"

H'el held the stones in his hand and spoke calmly to Gin.

Gin's wariness peaked, his squinted eyes forming crescent moons. He hid further behind the tree, his half-exposed face curved into a fox-like smile:

"You're starting to go mad from hunger. Are you going to use your last bit of strength to attack me? You won't catch me since I've already eaten, and you can't hit me behind the tree. Why not lie down and wait to die like that girl?" Gin said. "I'll wait here until you faint from hunger and then leave."

For Gin, engaging with H'el posed a significant risk.

"You've already lost your chance to change your fate. Or maybe, the moment I appeared, your fate was altered."

H'el shook his head, transferring the force from his arm muscles to his fingers, and flicked the stone towards Gin's head.

The shot went astray.

It flew upwards, seemingly off-target.

Even from behind the tree, Gin could see H'el's stone flying towards his head but missing by a wide margin.

Gin chuckled.

'Pa!'

The stone hit the tree trunk above Gin's head, rebounded off a branch, and shot downwards.

It passed right in front of Gin's eyes, his pupils widening in shock.

He had no time to dodge.

The stone, after bouncing, struck Gin's foot right on the wooden sandal.

"Ah—!"

Gin cried out in pain, his face contorting as the stone hit a nerve, causing a sharp, numbing pain that spread through half his body. He involuntarily released the dried persimmons he was holding, tilting and almost falling out from behind the tree.

The persimmons scattered on the ground.

°°°

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