At that moment, Sung-Sun, Apacci, and Mila Rose, who had already escaped, reappeared!
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!"
Sung-Sun, Apacci, and Mila Rose fired Bala at Pedro.
Although these Bala didn't cause any real harm, they made Pedro stagger slightly.
Seizing the chance, the three rescued Harribel from Pedro's grasp.
"Sung-Sun! Apacci! Mila Rose!" Harribel cried out upon seeing them.
"Damned small fries! You're asking for death!" Pedro shouted in fury.
Facing Pedro's threat, Apacci said indifferently, "So what? For Harribel-sama, we'd go through fire and water without hesitation!"
"That's right! We won't let you harm Harribel-sama!" Mila Rose and Sung-Sun declared.
Harribel said, moved, "You all-"
"Hah!"
Before Harribel could finish, Sung-Sun, Apacci, and Mila Rose charged at Pedro.
However, the gap in strength couldn't be bridged by fearless spirit alone. The three were easily severely wounded by Pedro, falling to the ground, unable to get up.
"Sung-Sun! Apacci! Mila Rose!" Harribel cried out in sorrow.
"It's all my fault. If I weren't so weak, this wouldn't have happened," Harribel lamented.
"Sung-Sun, Apacci, Mila Rose, I will avenge you!" Harribel said with determination.
"Hmph, with what? What can you do to me?" Pedro sneered at Harribel's words.
"Sonído!"
Harribel instantly vanished, then appeared behind Pedro, slashing at him with the bone blade on her right arm.
Squelch!
A wound appeared on Pedro's back.
Swish!
Harribel's figure appeared in front of Pedro again, then slashed with all her might at Pedro's shoulder.
Schlick!
However, although Harribel wounded Pedro, she only cut his skin, leaving a shallow wound.
"Harribel, don't underestimate me. Moreover, your blade is too blunt to pierce my Hierro," Pedro sneered.
Then, Pedro suddenly struck, injuring Harribel with his claws, then delivered a full-force blow that sent Harribel flying.
"It won't end like this. I'll torture you to death bit by bit!" As he spoke, Pedro walked towards Harribel.
Pedro walked to Harribel's side, stepped on her, then conjured a blade of Reiatsu in his hand, about to stab Harribel and torture her to death.
Just then, a voice suddenly rang out.
"Uh, could you wait a moment?"
Hearing the voice, Pedro instinctively paused.
Swish!
A figure suddenly appeared before Pedro, then kicked him.
Thud!
Pedro was sent flying.
Harribel, who had been lying on the ground waiting for death, couldn't help but open her eyes at the sound.
In her vision was a tall, handsome young man with white hair, wearing a cloak.
The sudden arrival was Toshiro… well, Toshiro in his adult form after full Bankai 'aging'.
"Yo, are you okay?" Toshiro asked, looking at Harribel on the ground.
Then, Toshiro extended a hand to Harribel, wanting to help her up.
Looking at Toshiro's outstretched hand, Harribel was momentarily stunned, then hesitantly extended her left hand.
She used her left hand not because she was left-handed, but because Harribel hadn't become an Arrancar yet, so her right arm was a bone blade.
Toshiro pulled Harribel up with a tug.
At this moment, Pedro, kicked away by Toshiro, stood up. He glared at Toshiro and roared, "Who are you?! Why are you suddenly here?!"
Harribel also looked at Toshiro, wanting to know who this person who suddenly appeared and saved her was.
"Me? I'm Hitsugaya, Hitsugaya Toshiro. A Shinigami who acts on a whim. The reason I'm suddenly here is simply because I wanted to ask for directions," Toshiro said casually.
"Ask for directions? Shinigami, are you mocking me?" Pedro said angrily.
In fact, Toshiro really wasn't mocking Pedro. Earlier, Toshiro decided to go to Las Noches to deal with the trouble that was Baraggan. But after entering the inner circle of Hueco Mundo, Toshiro suddenly realized an awkward problem… he didn't know where Las Noches was.
Although the future Las Noches would be so vast that it could be seen from anywhere in Hueco Mundo, the current Las Noches was just a small ruin, covering a tiny area.
Although Aizen had ordered Baraggan to renovate it, the renovation had just begun, and only a few buildings were completed.
Compared to Hueco Mundo, which was much larger than the entire Soul Society, the current Las Noches was just a drop in the ocean.
So, Toshiro, who had never been to Las Noches, very awkwardly realized he was lost.
Just then, Toshiro suddenly sensed two Reiatsu Signatures, both at the beyond-Captain-level.
Arriving at the scene, Toshiro discovered one of the Hollows was actually Harribel.
Although Harribel hadn't become an Arrancar yet and looked somewhat different from her anime appearance, Toshiro still recognized her.
Seeing Harribel about to be killed by her opponent, Toshiro decided to save her.
Although Harribel would later become an Espada, standing on the opposite side of the Soul Society, and even according to the original work, become his opponent during the final battle with Aizen, Toshiro still decided to save her.
Why? Simply because Hueco Mundo needed a ruler.
Hollows couldn't be completely eradicated because they evolved from human souls after death. As long as humans existed, Hollows wouldn't disappear.
The number of Hollows in Hueco Mundo was nearly endless. Without a ruler to restrain them, if these Hollows rioted, they would bring disaster to both the Living World and the Soul Society.
Therefore, in the original work, after the final battle with Aizen, the Soul Society didn't give Harribel a hard time. Instead, they allowed her to return to Hueco Mundo to become its new ruler.
Otherwise, over the years, with the Soul Society's power, eradicating Baraggan and previous rulers of Hueco Mundo wouldn't have been difficult.