Why is Ulquiorra the only Espada with a second release?


In Bleach Ulquiorra is the only Espada with a second release, and he admits he
has not shown Aizen. So I have come to a few questions:

  1. Why would he not show Aizen how powerful he is?
  2. Why is he the only Espada with a second release?
  3. If Aizen knew about his second release, where would he be in the Espada rankings?

![enter image description here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/xRbve.png)




Answer to first question:

> **A. Just in case.**
>
> Ulquiorra’s a pretty careful guy. He likes to make plans. And stick to them.
> So it’s possible that he hides his second release just because he knows that
> it’s good to have an ace in the hole, just in case he ever needs it. Not
> that he’s planning to use it for any nefarious purposes - he just figures,
> why tell if he didn’t have to?
>

>> **Ulquiorra** : Also, I’m not really a talker.

>
> **B. As a tiny act of rebellion.**
>
> Or you could read Ulquiorra as more of a Grimmjow-figure. You know, someone
> may recognize that Aizen is too powerful to actively rebel against, but who
> needs to do SOMETHING a little rebellious just to stay sane. Grimmjow leaves
> meetings early and sneaks off to the world of the living; Ulquiorra hides
> his second release. And this allows them to put up with working for a
> freakin’ shinigami.
>

>> **Grimmjow** : Um…I’m pretty sure that rebellion doesn’t count if nobody
knows about it.

>>

>> **Ulquiorra** : And that’s why you get spiritual pressure slammed to the
floor, and I don’t.

>
> **C. Because he was actively disloyal to Aizen.**
>
> It’s possible, though, that this wasn’t a tiny act of rebellion, but rather
> a big one - that Ulquiorra had some sort of secret plan to rebel against
> Aizen someday, and he was saving his second release for that time. In which
> case letting Aizen go off to the WOL with the top three espada was a damn
> good plan. Ulquiorra would have had the castle to himself if he hadn’t been
> killed by Ichigo. So close, Ulquiorra.
>

>> **Ulquiorra** : And I was really looking forward to sitting on that throne,
too.

>>

>> **Aizen** : Yeah, white marble is comfier than you’d think.

Source: ["Why does Ulquiorra keep his second release secret?" on
bleachlists.tumblr.com](http://bleachlists.tumblr.com/post/48837765884/why-
does-ulquiorra-keep-his-second-release-secret)

* * *

Answer to second question:

I came across an answer while scavenging the net (and I think it's pretty
good):

> Well..the arrancars sword and the soul reapers swords are the same except
> for how they are released or how to manifest themselves after they are
> released. Arrancars have the power of soul reapers and soul reapers swords
> have 2 different forms shikai (1st form) and then bankai (2nd Form or
> release state). Now most Arrancars only have 1 sword release thats their
> resurreccion, resurreccion means resurrection and if u notice all arrancar
> release states are in spanish for some weird reason, but they only have one
> b/c arrancars have only been around for only about 1 year or a couple of
> months b/c they didn't come into existence till azien stole hogyoku out of
> Rukia's chest. Seeing how they're a new form of hollow but with soul reaper
> powers they probably have not explored all of their powers unlike soul
> reapers who have been around for over a 1000 years which means they would
> know more about their swords and how they operate. So basically the 2nd form
> Resurreccion segunda, which means 2nd resurrection, is the 2nd form of the
> sword similar to a soul reapers bankai. So in other words Arrancars haven't
> been around for a while which is why a lot of them don't know the other form
> unlike soul reapers who know both forms b/c they've been around forever. Now
> every arrancar has one but Ulquiorra was just the first to learn it.

Source: ["Why does Ulquiorra have two forms?" on Yahoo
Answers](https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100522161233AAquE7o)

* * *

Answer for Third one:

**Ofcourse Aizen knew.**

> ...[m]aybe Ulquiorra just wanted to know how much Aizen really watched, or
> how much he could just deduce by being insanely smart. So he kept his
> release hidden to see if Aizen could figure it out for himself. And like any
> guy who tests a god, this just didn’t end well for poor Ulquiorra.
>

>> **Aizen** : Is there really any doubt that I knew?

and about the ranking:

> **Maybe he wanted to stay out of the top 3.**
>
> Maybe Ulquiorra just didn’t want to be in the top 3, and knew that with his
> second release taken into account, he would be. Ulquiorra’s smart - he might
> have guessed that the people who went with Aizen to Fake Karakura Town
> wouldn’t be coming back. Or maybe he just really likes the number 4.
>

>> **Ulquiorra** : Actually, I just know how important the number 3 is to
Halibel.

>>

>> **Halibel** : …

>>

>> **Ulquiorra** : Don’t worry, we’re not having a moment.

>>

>> **Halibel** : Oh, good!

Source: ["Why does Ulquiorra keep his second release secret?" on
bleachlists.tumblr.com](http://bleachlists.tumblr.com/post/48837765884/why-
does-ulquiorra-keep-his-second-release-secret)




Answer to first question:

> **A. Just in case.**
>
> Ulquiorra’s a pretty careful guy. He likes to make plans. And stick to them.
> So it’s possible that he hides his second release just because he knows that
> it’s good to have an ace in the hole, just in case he ever needs it. Not
> that he’s planning to use it for any nefarious purposes - he just figures,
> why tell if he didn’t have to?
>

>> **Ulquiorra** : Also, I’m not really a talker.

>
> **B. As a tiny act of rebellion.**
>
> Or you could read Ulquiorra as more of a Grimmjow-figure. You know, someone
> may recognize that Aizen is too powerful to actively rebel against, but who
> needs to do SOMETHING a little rebellious just to stay sane. Grimmjow leaves
> meetings early and sneaks off to the world of the living; Ulquiorra hides
> his second release. And this allows them to put up with working for a
> freakin’ shinigami.
>

>> **Grimmjow** : Um…I’m pretty sure that rebellion doesn’t count if nobody
knows about it.

>>

>> **Ulquiorra** : And that’s why you get spiritual pressure slammed to the
floor, and I don’t.

>
> **C. Because he was actively disloyal to Aizen.**
>
> It’s possible, though, that this wasn’t a tiny act of rebellion, but rather
> a big one - that Ulquiorra had some sort of secret plan to rebel against
> Aizen someday, and he was saving his second release for that time. In which
> case letting Aizen go off to the WOL with the top three espada was a damn
> good plan. Ulquiorra would have had the castle to himself if he hadn’t been
> killed by Ichigo. So close, Ulquiorra.
>

>> **Ulquiorra** : And I was really looking forward to sitting on that throne,
too.

>>

>> **Aizen** : Yeah, white marble is comfier than you’d think.

Source: ["Why does Ulquiorra keep his second release secret?" on
bleachlists.tumblr.com](http://bleachlists.tumblr.com/post/48837765884/why-
does-ulquiorra-keep-his-second-release-secret)

* * *

Answer to second question:

I came across an answer while scavenging the net (and I think it's pretty
good):

> Well..the arrancars sword and the soul reapers swords are the same except
> for how they are released or how to manifest themselves after they are
> released. Arrancars have the power of soul reapers and soul reapers swords
> have 2 different forms shikai (1st form) and then bankai (2nd Form or
> release state). Now most Arrancars only have 1 sword release thats their
> resurreccion, resurreccion means resurrection and if u notice all arrancar
> release states are in spanish for some weird reason, but they only have one
> b/c arrancars have only been around for only about 1 year or a couple of
> months b/c they didn't come into existence till azien stole hogyoku out of
> Rukia's chest. Seeing how they're a new form of hollow but with soul reaper
> powers they probably have not explored all of their powers unlike soul
> reapers who have been around for over a 1000 years which means they would
> know more about their swords and how they operate. So basically the 2nd form
> Resurreccion segunda, which means 2nd resurrection, is the 2nd form of the
> sword similar to a soul reapers bankai. So in other words Arrancars haven't
> been around for a while which is why a lot of them don't know the other form
> unlike soul reapers who know both forms b/c they've been around forever. Now
> every arrancar has one but Ulquiorra was just the first to learn it.

Source: ["Why does Ulquiorra have two forms?" on Yahoo
Answers](https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100522161233AAquE7o)

* * *

Answer for Third one:

**Ofcourse Aizen knew.**

> ...[m]aybe Ulquiorra just wanted to know how much Aizen really watched, or
> how much he could just deduce by being insanely smart. So he kept his
> release hidden to see if Aizen could figure it out for himself. And like any
> guy who tests a god, this just didn’t end well for poor Ulquiorra.
>

>> **Aizen** : Is there really any doubt that I knew?

and about the ranking:

> **Maybe he wanted to stay out of the top 3.**
>
> Maybe Ulquiorra just didn’t want to be in the top 3, and knew that with his
> second release taken into account, he would be. Ulquiorra’s smart - he might
> have guessed that the people who went with Aizen to Fake Karakura Town
> wouldn’t be coming back. Or maybe he just really likes the number 4.
>

>> **Ulquiorra** : Actually, I just know how important the number 3 is to
Halibel.

>>

>> **Halibel** : …

>>

>> **Ulquiorra** : Don’t worry, we’re not having a moment.

>>

>> **Halibel** : Oh, good!

Source: ["Why does Ulquiorra keep his second release secret?" on
bleachlists.tumblr.com](http://bleachlists.tumblr.com/post/48837765884/why-
does-ulquiorra-keep-his-second-release-secret)

