Double King and Second Release

Zabimaru's blade pushed Ulquiorra towards the open space outside the palace, leaving ample room for Ōmaeda and the Renji to fight, while Renji followed the blade to Ulquiorra's side.

Ulquiorra maintained his impassive expression, flicking Zabimaru back to Renji's side with a single finger, and asked, "Bleach, why are you here? Is this revenge for last time?"

The last time Ulquiorra was referring to was when Aizen led a group of Arrancar into Soul Society.

If Stark hadn't reacted quickly that time, they might all have been left behind in Soul Society. Of course, the main reason was that the Bleach had no desire to fight them. The key at that time was Aizen's intrusion into the Soul King Palace.

"There's no need for all that beating around the Las Noches," Renji said, carrying Zabimaru.

Just then, from behind Renji, Yammy's spiritual pressure emanated from afar, and his enormous body burst through the palace—it was the Enraged Beast.

Seeing Yammy use his Resurrección, Ulquiorra's expression softened slightly. "Yammy and I can leave. There's no need to fight."

With no reason to fight, and since the person who said he would lead him to find his empty heart never returned to Las Noches, Ulquiorra naturally had no reason to fight.

"I see, you're worried about that big guy behind you, right?" Renji grinned mischievously. "I won't let you pass unless you defeat me. If you keep this up, that behemoth might die."

As soon as Renji finished speaking, the sound of metal clashing rang out in front of him. Ulquiorra instantly went berserk, but Renji easily parried the attack.

As they parried, Renji continued to taunt them, "I advise you to hurry up, because I can't say what your three teammates left behind might do."

Unexpectedly, Ulquiorra stopped his attack and leaped to a spot a short distance away, his eyes seemingly able to see through Renji's deception.

"What exactly do you want by constantly luring me into fighting?"

Renji's affectedly wicked expression crumbled, and he asked in a frantic voice, "Is my acting really that bad?!"

"Very bad."

The swift reply, delivered in a flat tone, was a fatal blow to Renji's heart. All that internal monologue he'd just put in had only served a purpose, albeit a brief one; it had only fooled Ulquiorra for a fleeting moment.

"Ahem." Since that's the case, Renji stopped pretending and said seriously, "I know you fought Ichigo Kurosaki, and I want to fight you too, to see if I can catch up with them."

"I don't understand, it's meaningless." Ulquiorra's face was filled with emptiness and boredom.

Fortunately, Renji had read Ulquiorra's user manual; otherwise, even if he had been able to stand still and kill, Ulquiorra might not have been able to fight him with all his might.

"Fight me with all your might, and no matter the outcome, I'll take you to someone who can fill the emptiness in your heart and help you find new purpose in this boring life!"

"Heart?" Ulquiorra unzipped his jacket, revealing the number 4 insignia on his left chest. He once believed that following Aizen and becoming Espada was his heart's desire. After losing his goal, could he still find his heart's purpose?

"Then let's fight! Let's blockade! Resurrection: Black-Winged Demon!"

Black wings sprouted from Ulquiorra's back, and a green Reishi light sword appeared in his hand, but this was far from enough; it wasn't the full power Renji demanded.

"Second stage, Resurrección." All the clothes on his body disappeared, leaving Hollow Hole in the middle of his cold white upper body, stained with black blood. His limbs became more like those of a bat.

Feeling the deep, ocean-like spiritual pressure emanating from Ulquiorra, Renji smiled, his joints creaking as he began to use his own power.

"That's more like it! Bankai, Sōō Zabimaru!"

A giant bone claw covered Renji's left arm. Suddenly, hair grew from the bone claw, forming a giant hand with immense power and defense. This was the power of the Baboon King in Renji's Zanpakuto.

A bone snake, similar to the Hihio Zabimaru, coiled from Renji's waist to his right arm. The bone snake opened its mouth and wrapped it around his right hand. As if flicking its tongue, a blade sprang out from the bone snake. The rest of the snake's body was wrapped around Renji's waist; this was the part belonging to the Snake King.

After countless humiliating and tormenting attempts, Renji finally moved the sword spirits. The Baboon King and the Snake King both recognized him and agreed to give him their power, which led to the birth of the Sōō Zabimaru.

Actually, when Renji first approached the snake behind the Baboon King, the snake king was confused. He knew that Renji didn't recognize him, but he didn't think Renji was smart enough to find his existence.

After some questioning, the Snake King learned that it was Sawada Tsunayoshi had revealed his Double King form in front of Renji. One of the Snake King's requests to Renji was to beat up Sawada Tsunayoshi.

Having witnessed Tsuna's strength firsthand in his Zanpakuto, the Snake King naturally dropped the promise. He still entrusted his power to Renji, but it would be a hundred years before he fully accepted Renji.

"A very strong Bankai." Judging from the spiritual pressure alone, Ulquiorra gave an affirmative answer, "But he's no match for me."

The next instant, Ulquiorra crept up behind Renji, his lightning spear already poised to strike, and hurled at Renji the moment it hit the ground.

Renji only had time to turn halfway around in his haste, but that was enough. Renji "Baboon King!" and the furry hand on his left arm swelled up again, like a giant shield blocking Renji way.

Ulquiorra's Thunder Spear was clearly not so easy to parry; with just one strike, he blasted the Baboon King's large hand down to its skeleton, its fur scattered all over the ground.

Renji paid no attention to the damage done to the Baboon King. He picked up the Great Serpent King and thrust it at Ulquiorra. Ulquiorra conjured another spear to fight Renji. Renji's Zanjutsu did not gain much advantage against Ulquiorra.

On the contrary, Ulquiorra seized the opportunity and once again appeared behind Renji with Sonido. In his view, this strike was enough to secure the victory.

However, Renji flicked his finger, and the blade in his right hand split into several connected sections, like the Zabimaru in its Shikai, and chased after Ulquiorra, slashing with a snake-like sound.

As a result, Renji's offensive tactics became more flexible. The Baboon King fur on his left arm gradually returned to normal. He swung the whip-like blade to trap Ulquiorra's arm and then punched him with all his might.

Boom! Ulquiorra was slammed into an unknown palace by Renji's punch. The immense strength of the Baboon King was beyond Ulquiorra's small arms and legs to withstand.

A deep green light flashed through the smoke and dust. Renji sensed something was wrong. He raised his left hand, the Baboon King, in front of him, and his spiritual pressure rapidly condensed. "Higa Zekkou!"

The crimson Higa Zekkou had barely begun its advance when it was stopped by a dark green beam of light—a flash of light from Ulquiorra, the Gran Rey Cero.

The two clashed so fiercely that they blasted the palace Ulquiorra had fallen into to smithereens. Neither of them waited for the smoke to clear before they resumed fighting through the haze.

Ulquiorra's Thunder Spear was incredibly powerful. After he started dual-wielding weapons Renji, the Baboon King he used for defense began to shed more and more pelts.

The Baboon King's defense is decreasing, and Ulquiorra is engaged in close combat with Renji, so Renji has no chance to use Orochi King to make any clever moves.

Although Orochi King is unreliable, Renji can still use Baboon King. Even if only his skeleton remains, Baboon King is still very useful.

Unbeknownst to Ulquiorra, the bald, bony hand made a hand seal, causing the fallen fur around him to tremble. Dozens of large hands suddenly appeared and seized Ulquiorra firmly.

"Baboon skin reincarnation".

All those controlling Ulquiorra were the giant hands of the Baboon King, and at this moment Baboon King in Renji's left hand returned to its original state.

"Your speed is indeed making things a bit difficult for me, but twenty seconds is enough time for me to unleash a strike!"

Twenty seconds—that's the time it takes for the baboon-skin reincarnation to control the enemy. The stronger the enemy, the less time they have. The fact that Ulquiorra couldn't defeat Renji in one move shows that he couldn't escape the Baboon King's control either.

Renji, through the gap in the Baboon King's arm, extended the blade towards Ulquiorra's chest, his spiritual pressure surging, signaling his next attack.

"Sōō Zabimaru - Shatetsu no Teppou!"

A giant golden tongue composed of pure spiritual pressure bit down on Renji and Ulquiorra. The moment its mouth closed, the spiritual pressure exploded like a cannonball. This was a single-target finishing move that Renji had developed, which could only be used when the Double King coexisted.

The explosion completely leveled the chaotic debris, an attack that would engulf everything except Renji.

Ulquiorra, at the epicenter of the explosion, suffered the most devastating attack of his life. On the verge of death, his body's instincts drove him to do everything in his power.

"A very strong attack, but it's not enough to kill me."

Renji was shocked. What appeared in front of him was a white, humanoid liquid, and the voice was coming from right in front of him. Without a doubt, this was Ulquiorra.

As the liquid subsided, Ulquiorra's appearance returned to normal. It was High-Speed Regeneration; in the instant between life and death, the power of High-Speed Regeneration had done its utmost to protect his internal organs.

With his internal organs intact, the rest regenerated; it was through this power that Ulquiorra managed to withstand Renji's Shatetsu no Teppou.

It can only be said that Renji was overconfident in this move; he merely placed the blade on the surface of Ulquiorra's body instead of piercing through Ulquiorra.

If the blade pierces through the body, it will destroy the internal organs along with the body, at which point Ulquiorra will be completely reduced to ashes.

Ulquiorra had also considered this possibility. He immediately used his Sonido to appear at a distance, avoiding Renji's close-range Shatetsu no Teppou while also avoiding being entangled by those baboon skins.

As long as they attack from a distance, both the Thunder Spear and Gran Rey Cero are powerful attacks, and the battle quickly devolved into a contest of spiritual pressure between the two sides.

Will Ulquiorra's spiritual pressure run out first, or will Renji be the first to succumb to the barrage of attacks?

However, Renji clearly had no intention of engaging in a prolonged battle with Ulquiorra; the Baboon King on his left arm grabbed the tail of the giant snake king wrapped around his waist.

The Great Serpent King was then tossed around like a lasso by the Baboon King, and spiritual pressure was transmitted segment by segment to the Great Serpent King through the Baboon King's large hands.

Ulquiorra's ranged attacks are useless as long as he doesn't run away; Renji has another attack with an extremely wide range waiting for him.

The Great Serpent King was engulfed in intense flames. When he swung his arms, it was as if Renji was carrying a fireball the size of a meteorite. The fireball grew larger and larger, and its power increased.

As the energy reached its peak, Renji forcefully hurled it towards Ulquiorra, sending a massive fireball hurtling towards Ulquiorra with an aura of annihilation.

"The Serpent Skull Roar!"