The ground beneath Naruto and the wall behind him disappeared, vaporized in an instant by his savage dispersal of chakra. The instant the ten-foot ditch was created, Naruto flew towards Ichigo, orange aura still forming into claws around his hands.
He swiped at Ichigo, who flash stepped behind him.
Ichigo reared back both swords to strike, only for two hand seemingly formed from orange bubbles to burst from Naruto's back and slam into Ichigo's double zanpakuto.
They were locked in that position for a few minutes.
Naruto stomped his foot in anger.
Shards of rock ruptured upwards. One sliced across Ichigo's calf and caused him to step back unsteadily.
Naruto swiveled with a backhand, knuckles thrashing into Ichigo, the impact flinging him into the far wall in an instant, pulverizing it.
Ichigo flew on, skidding across the landscape, before rolling ten feet straight, and then popping up into a backflip, heels digging in.
Instead of rushing after his adversary, Uzumaki Naruto suddenly fell to his knees.
He looked at his own arm through lamplight yellow eyes. The skin drifted past him, as the rest peeled off more and more. Naruto screamed.
Ichigo, one hundred and thirty yards away, forced himself to stand straight. "I can't...let my master down..." He mumbled, barely able to get the self-motivational words out. "Gotta...use it, eh?"
Ichigo brought his right hand up to the left of his face and gathered reiatsu, the black energy flowing through the air like a torrent of rain, swirling around him, and coalescing into a solid dark mass, his fingers digging in to his skull as he stocked up his power.
He unleashed it and brought his hand down in one smooth motion.
Meanwhile Naruto's transformation was complete.
Naruto's small amount of mental control was completely gone now, his reason stripped away - he was merely a ferocious beast now. Red covered his body like a bloodbath, and two rabbit-like ears sprouted out the top of his head. Four appendages were attached to his body, slithering around and flitting in midair as if they had a mind of their own.
It turned this way and that, looking for a possible target.
Ichigo yelled to get Naruto's attention, "Oi, ugly! Stop ripping off Spice and Wolf and come fight me!"
The beast was puzzled. The orange-haired boy's voice sounded vastly different from before. But it realized it didn't care. An expression some would categorize as a smile appeared on the Jinchuriki's face.
Ichigo flash stepped directly in front of Naruto, who attempted to smack him. Ichigo flash stepped again, darting as a blur out of the fiend's field of vision. The Nine-tails hit the ground again in frustration, only for its head to be split open by Ichigo's blade. Before the sword penetrated deep enough to kill, the monster flicked its head to try and send Ichigo soaring.
Instead a pale, white skull engraved with deathly black markings appeared in front of the senseless Naruto, black eyes with yellow pupils mirroring the Jinchuriki's own in intensity.
IIII
The gate slid open by one stage.
IIII
The rows and rows of teeth and dangerous aura made the four-tailed Naruto feel threatened enough for it to cower momentarily.
IIII
The gate creaked open by two more stages, leaving only two stages left. Kurama's essence sluggishly seeped out of the cage through the opening, as the Nine Tails himself began to disappear. Normally someone would be disturbed by such a development, but Kurama only showed its teeth in a ghoulish smile.
IIII
Then Naruto roared and lashed out in a blind rage.
Hollow Ichigo threw one of his swords into the air to free his hand and intercepted the attack devoid of a weapon, standing firm.
A shockwave burst past him, decimating the arena and carving a deep chasm across it.
Ichigo let go, grabbed his sword out of the air and slashed an 'X' into the devilish Naruto's chest.
IIII
The gate fully tore open. Kurama howled and began gleefully clawing his way out.
IIII
Naruto crumpled to the ground, the seal on his chest glowing through his shirt and illuminating Ichigo's set face. I knew this was a possibility, he thought. Ichigo Kurosaki took a step back. But I didn't know it would be this...gigantic.
The Kyuubi towered over the entire arena, its tails whipping around and casually razing the auditorium seats and sweeping all the ninja off them. Its imposing presence alone would have caused Superman to weep, but its incredible height put a giant to shame, as its shadow outstretched over the Ichigo
The Soul Reaper dropped both swords and fell to his knees, completely overwhelmed.
Then the gargantua opened.
And Sosuke Aizen stepped out.