Chapter 317: Two-Stage Return of the Blade
Ulquiorra's black wings seemed to block out the very sun. He wore a white full-body robe, with his tear marks on his face becoming more pronounced and deep. His original half-helmet had transformed into a complete double-horned helmet, and his Zanpakuto had disappeared. His black nails had elongated into sharp claws.
"Is your true form that of a demon?" Kakuzu undid the buttons on his coat and tossed his black cloak aside. "Then I'll get serious too."
"Swish."
The stitching on his back tore open, and four pitch-black Yomi Bello monsters emerged from Kakuzu's body.
Miku and Wendy visibly grimaced, turning away from the unsettling scene.
Ulquiorra stood quietly in the distance, his calm face showing no change.
"Ready to finish?"
"Ah..."
Ulquiorra received a reply, and with his slender right hand, he casually grasped the sword's hilt. The Moonlight Sword, glowing with a green light, formed in his palm. In the blink of an eye, he appeared in front of Kakuzu.
"That's fast!" Ulquiorra moved like lightning, as quick as a gust of wind. Kakuzu barely had time to react. His entire body turned black, and he raised his hardened arms in front of his chest to block.
"Boom!"
The Moonlight Sword, shining with a green glow, slashed down. The field was almost filled with the emerald light, and the violent airwave rushed out, the intense tremor vibrating through the ground beneath their feet.
The blinding light dissipated, and the smoke from the explosion cleared.
Kakuzu's hardened ability to defend against physical attacks shattered under Ulquiorra's strike.
"Clink."
Fresh blood dripped down Kakuzu's arms, falling due to gravity.
A deep wound appeared on Kakuzu's arms, and there were bloodstains on his chest and black mask as well. It was unclear whether the blood had splattered from his arm's injury or if it was from the attack just now.
Breathing heavily, Kakuzu leapt back, quickly forming hand seals.
"Wind Release: Crushing Harm, Lightning Release: False Darkness, Fire Release: Head Hard, Water Release: Water Curtain!"
The four Yomi Bello monsters quickly surrounded Ulquiorra, attacking him from all directions.
Blazing pillars of fire, high-pressure wind balls, lightning spears that pierced rocks, and torrents of high-pressure water cannons were fired from the four monsters' mouths and surged toward Ulquiorra.
Ulquiorra, who rarely showed emotion, watched the attacks come. With a forceful swing of the Moonlight Sword, the thick fire pillars were split in two, the high-pressure wind balls shattered into storms, the sharp lightning spears broke in half, and the powerful water jets were cut off by the sword's light.
However—
Kakuzu's attacks weren't over!
The Yomi Bello's ninjutsu was continuous. The monsters with their wide-open mouths continued to convert their chakra into more ninjutsu attacks.
The four different elemental attacks struck Ulquiorra's body in the next instant.
Boom—Boom—
The explosive sounds pierced everyone's eardrums, with flames growing fiercer under the storm's power, and lightning becoming sharper under the cleansing of the water flow. The four elements surrounded Ulquiorra entirely.
The combined elemental ball exploded—
The roaring airwaves swept the entire area, and thick smoke poured into everyone's nostrils.
Wendy, with a worried expression, asked, "He won't be in danger, right?"
"It's fine. Ulquiorra's aura is strong," Eric reassured. "If anything happens, I'll intervene."
Kakuzu narrowed his eyes, his green gaze trying to see through the smoke to locate his opponent.
He activated his Observation Haki—
The thick smoke was suddenly pierced by a hole, and a flash of green light instantly passed through the entire battlefield. Kakuzu used all his strength to dodge to the left—
The hardened skin of his Earth Spear could not stop Ulquiorra's sharp Moonlight Sword. The sword pierced through Kakuzu's right shoulder, and the immense force sent him flying backward, impaling him into a tree trunk.
"Ha!" With a powerful flap of his wings, Ulquiorra's windswept air cleared the smoke away.
Ulquiorra's white robe was covered in ash, and his black wings, which could reflect sunlight, had lost their former shine, bearing burns from the flames and lightning.
"Plop!"
Kakuzu pulled the Moonlight Sword from his shoulder, and black tendrils began stitching up the wound.
"Did you block it with your wings?" Kakuzu manipulated the Yomi Bello monsters of Wind Release and Fire Release, causing them to get closer. The black tendrils on their bodies intertwined, fused, and merged, forming a Yomi Bello with two masks.
Meanwhile, the Yomi Bello of Lightning Release and Water Release also combined into a two-masked Yomi Bello.
Aside from Eric and Deidara, the others were surprised: "It can be combined like this?"
The combined Wind and Fire Release Yomi Bello drilled into Kakuzu's back—
"Shhh!"
With a sound like tearing cloth, Kakuzu's arms extended, becoming three sections, and the stitching lines connected by the dense black tendrils.
"Yikes!" Miku closed her eyes in fear.
The black mask was blown off by the tendrils emerging from Kakuzu's mouth. Kakuzu's appearance now... was less than pleasant.
His back, now covered in thick tendrils, was larger than his original size. It was hard to believe how he managed to fit so many tendrils inside him.
"Hisss."
Several black tendrils erupted from the ground, binding Ulquiorra's arms and legs.
Ulquiorra turned his eyes, calmly muttering, "Are these extending from underground?"
"Let me explain first—" Kakuzu's words were unclear due to the tendrils in his mouth, "The next move will be completely different from the previous ones—"
"You can still surrender now. Your power is already..."
"Stop talking and come at me," Ulquiorra raised his arms, the tendrils bound to them seeming completely ineffective in limiting his movements. He pointed his index fingers at Kakuzu and the other Yomi Bello monster.
A black-hole-like aurora began to form at his fingertips.
"...Hmph," Kakuzu snorted. "Since that's the case, don't blame me for being ruthless!"
"Combined Ninja Art: Flame Wind Tempest!"
Both masks opened simultaneously, gathering a tornado inside their mouths. Flames ignited within, and a more violent fire pillar, accompanied by the storm, surged toward Ulquiorra.
"Combined Ninja Art: Thunder Water Break!"
On the other side, brutal lightning surged in the masks, and water filled with electricity was sprayed from their mouths, a lightning-charged water cannon aimed at Ulquiorra.
The Black Cero, a technique only the Espada in Return of the Blade state could use, formed, its dark veil seemingly able to block out the sun, rushing toward both directions.
The sea of flames was shattered by a black flow, and the water columns containing lightning evaporated under the black light. The two powerful combined ninja techniques were forced back by the Black Cero's impact.
"This is impossible—!" Kakuzu stared, his vision completely covered by the black sky.
"Boom."
In the nick of time, Kakuzu leapt nimbly, dodging the fatal attack. The Black Cero swallowed the other Yomi Bello, and the apocalyptic black light obliterated everything in a straight line, carving two wide paths.
"..." Kakuzu's eyes twitched, his two hearts destroyed in an instant, reminding him of the Nine-Tailed Demon from his past...
Kakuzu pondered the strategy to fight Ulquiorra: 'Close-range combat—his light spear can break through my physical defenses. Long-range attacks are also extremely powerful. This is the only way...'
"Woo—!"
Kakuzu began refining chakra within himself, producing a massive amount of black tendrils. The black tendrils erupted from his mouth, and the tendrils on his back grew, forming several giant black lines, wildly growing like seaweed in the ocean.
His three-part arms retracted, and the black lines quickly stitched them back together.
Kakuzu's final form was completed—his neck surrounded by eight giant black lines.
Artoria commented, "You look like an octopus."
Though his body had become strange, it didn't impede Kakuzu's agility. He quickly charged toward Ulquiorra.
The blue light in his hand gathered into a spear, and Ulquiorra stood still, waiting for Kakuzu's next attack.
"Take this!"
Under Kakuzu's manipulation, the eight giant black lines surged again, cutting through the space between them with a sharp, hissing wind, aiming directly at Ulquiorra.
"Shhh!"
The Moonlight Sword, glowing with a blue light, easily tore through the attacking giant black lines. With each swing, Ulquiorra cut through at least one giant tentacle, and a carpet of black tendrils covered the ground beneath his feet.
Kakuzu, unwilling to back down, gathered even more chakra. He was determined to create more black tendrils!
The black lines swayed with the wind, rapidly growing according to Kakuzu's will. Like seaweed under the ocean, they surged toward Ulquiorra below.
The densely packed black tendrils tried to devour the green light but were instead severed one by one by the blue brilliance. Everyone could clearly see the black-and-white demon swinging his sword.
Boom—
With a sonic boom, Ulquiorra's figure suddenly appeared behind Kakuzu.
"What...?!" Kakuzu turned in shock. The tendrils on his back were about to move—
"Enough," Ulquiorra's voice rang out, and his left fist slammed into Kakuzu's face, a powerful and simple punch, sending Kakuzu flying.
"Ah—" Deidara, an old acquaintance of Kakuzu's, sighed, "You lost."
"..." Kakuzu, rising from the ground, said nothing as he deactivated the Yomi Bello state. The masks on his shoulders returned to his back, and the mass of tendrils retracted back into his body, leaving only the two masks on his back.
"Losing a match doesn't matter. Here," Eric consoled the defeated Kakuzu, handing him back his clothes, "Victory and defeat among comrades don't matter that much."
"What was that final move?" Kakuzu asked in a low voice, "Why did you suddenly appear behind me?"
"Resonance," Ulquiorra's voice was devoid of emotion, as if he had no feelings at all. "It's a high-speed movement technique. Want to learn it? I can teach you."
"Hmph—" Kakuzu, now dressed, turned his head away in a childish manner.
Eric muttered, "Ulquiorra, you just defeated Kakuzu and then rubbed salt in his wounds."
Kakuzu: "..."
"Sorry, I don't understand that feeling."
"When you understand the feelings of your companions, that will be the moment you find your answer."
"..." Ulquiorra lowered his head, trying hard to understand but unable to grasp what was in others' hearts.
"Even if you stay here and think about it, you won't get any answers." Since he agreed to have Ulquiorra as his future partner, Kakuzu let go of his prejudice and began educating his confused teammate. "In my long life..."
Eric quietly murmured, "Aren't you 91 years old?"
"..." Kakuzu continued, "In my 91 years of life, I found something that would always accompany me—money. Money will never betray me and will never perish."
"But paper currency decays. Remember to exchange it for gold."
Kakuzu: "..."
"By the way, it seems all the money you saved was spent by little Nan."
"..."
The conversation fell silent, truly my style.
"However, now, everyone here will live forever." Eric patted Kakuzu on the shoulder. "So, there's no need to fear losing your way in the long life. The Dawn Pirates will always be your home, and I will guide you on the right path."
[Kakuzu's affection increased, Bond Level remained unchanged.]
"Hmph, Boss, you should learn how to talk to the atmosphere." Kakuzu snorted, "Don't use such flirty lines on me."
"Clearly, you're happy inside."
"..." Kakuzu's face darkened, almost dripping water.
"Alright, alright, I won't say anything more," Eric raised both hands in surrender, then turned to Ulquiorra. "Ulquiorra, I have one more favor to ask of you."
"Master Eric , please tell me."
"Use all your power and fight Esdeath."
Everyone: "..."
Esdeath, unable to contain her rising battlelust, stepped into the arena.
Kakuzu asked in confusion, "Why?"
"One of your team members needs to become a member of the Seven Warlords and infiltrate the Marines. However, killing numerous bounty criminals is not enough to catch the attention of the Marine Headquarters or the World Government."
"However, if you clash with one of the Four Emperors, the Dawn Pirates, and manage to survive, it will be the best publicity for you."
"I was going to have you join the Seven Warlords, but your secret techniques are best kept hidden. The less others know about your five hearts and the ability to steal others' hearts to replenish your own, the safer you will be."
"I understand," Kakuzu accepted the responsibility and turned to his partner. "You didn't use all your strength earlier?"
Ulquiorra nodded in acknowledgment. Kakuzu felt a mix of emotions, but at least now he didn't have to worry about accidentally killing his partner.
Eric and Kakuzu left the arena, leaving only Esdeath and Ulquiorra standing there.
"Following Master Eric 's orders, I will use all my strength—"
Ulquiorra's spiritual pressure began to rise sharply, black spiritual energy pouring from his feet as his white robe gradually faded—
"This is the two-stage return of the blade that no one has seen before."
(END CHAPTER)
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