As one of Grimmjow's Fraccion Edrad tried to decapitate a stunned Rangiku with his striking Flaming Spiritual Punch, a hand wrapped around the fist before it was able to reach its intended destination. A furious Naruto stood before Edrad as his left hand infused with Shunpo reishi wrapped around Edrad's fist.
"W-What the…" Edrad began to stutter until he was interrupted by his arm being lobbed off by Naruto's zanpakuto. Edrad began to howl in pain before being beheaded by the blond Shinigami, who held out his right palm in the face of the beheaded Arrancar.
"Hado Number 31: Shakkaho!" Naruto roared as a red light bathed the area in its glorious light, the defeated Edrad being eviscerated by the attack. One of Grimmjow's other Fraccion, Shawlong, did a flash step to avoid an incoming attack from Soi Fon, staring back at the red light covering the area Edrad once stood.
"Did he…?" Shawlong began before finding himself stabbed in the chest by Soi Fon's zanpakuto, a black butterfly sprawling across Shawlong's chest as the tip of the blade touched his skin. Naruto shot out the red light below them like a bullet, using Shunpo to kick Shawlong across the face while he was distracted. Soi Fon followed up with a devastating kick to Shawlong's jaw, which sent him careening into the ground beneath them. Shawlong looked up with an alarmed look spreading across his face as Naruto held out his right palm once again.
"Hado Number 31: Shakkaho!" Naruto bellowed as the red ball of energy shot from his palm, Shawlong using a flash step to appear above the attack, the red ball hitting the ground causing a blanket of smoke to cover the area.
"Nice try Uzumaki Naruto," Shawlong told the blond Shinigami, who only gave him a smirk in response. Shawlong looked confused at this until he looked down toward the front of his chest, where Soi Fon stood before him with her zanpakuto once again stabbing him in the same spot where the butterfly mark was located. Shawlong's eyes rolled into the back of his head as he collapsed to the ground below, dead.
" Nice move Soi Fon," Naruto remarked as Soi Fon slightly blushed in response.
"It was nothing, I am a Captain after all," Soi Fon responded coolly, with Naruto turning away with a grin to take on the next member of the Fraccion. But as he turned behind him, Soi Fon's eyes widened in fear as Naruto's chest was caved in by a massive gut punch from the returning Grimmjow, who only had one arm.
"That attack could have killed me," Grimmjow hissed in Naruto ear as Naruto's head fell onto Grimmjow's shoulder in response to the attack. Grimmjow shrugged, causing Naruto to stumble back, Grimmjow approaching him and lifting up his chin with one finger. Grimmjow then backhanded the Shinigami to the ground, before appearing to his side, kicking him in the chest, which caused blood to fly out Naruto's mouth in response. Grimmjow continued to kick the Shinigami in the side consecutively, more and more blood beginning to form a puddle next to Naruto's mouth. As Naruto tried to force himself up, Grimmjow's foot slammed into the back of his neck, causing him to fall back to the ground in a fetal position.
"This time, there won't be a second chance," Grimmjow stated with a wild grin slithering across his face as he lifted up Naruto by his blond hair, staring intensely into the blond Shinigami's eyes. "It's time for me to give you a warrior's death Uzumaki Naruto. You've earned that much at least… Now grind…"
"Enough, Grimmjow," a voice insisted as a hand sprawled over Grimmjow's own hand, causing him to glare at the hand with killer intention.
"Now I know you're not interfering with my business Ulquiorra," Grimmjow growled as Ulquiorra looked at him with his cold, calculating expression covering his face.
"Lord Aizen is not pleased that you came here Grimmjow," Ulquiorra remarked as Grimmjow dropped Naruto, kicking him in the face as he did, which sent the Shinigami into a nearby building. "Uzumaki Naruto is not to be killed. Neither is Kurosaki Ichigo. You know this, yet you are defiantly here, causing me to abandon my own mission to clean up your mess…" Ulquiorra glanced at Soi Fon, who was laid out on the ground from a sneak attack by the Arrancar.
"You don't tell me what to do Ulquiorra!" Grimmjow roared incessantly as Ulquiorra shook his head in disappointment.
"You have failed here Grimmjow, your Fraccion has been wiped away and the Soul Society is now aware of our movements due to you," Ulquiorra stated as he observed the battlefield. "I would not worry about my opinion, it will be Lord Aizen's that you will have to worry about."
Grimmjow spit on the ground angrily, holding out his remaining hand toward Naruto's prone body.
"Do not make me repeat myself Grimmjow," Ulquiorra warned as Grimmjow snickered, lowering his hand and placing it inside his pocket. He began to turn away before he sensed another spiritual pressure forming not too away.
"I must have really been into that fight to not notice our little traitor nearby," Grimmjow murmured as he grinned viciously. "Seems like he's about to finish Yammy."
"I guess we shall see," Ulquiorra remarked as he and Grimmjow disappeared from the area.
Sasuke stood before Yammy, who had already lost both of his arms and one of his legs, kneeling before the Uchiha prodigy.
"Yammy, you should have went with Ulquiorra," Sasuke stated as he placed his hand on Yammy's forehead. "Now, be gone with the thunderclap…"
"Look out!" Chad screamed to Sasuke before Sasuke found himself covered in a black flame, causing the Uchiha to panic.
"Foolish brother," a voice retorted as Uchiha Itachi appeared before Sasuke from seemingly nowhere. Sasuke's eyes widened in shock as the appearance of his older brother was the last person he expected tonight.
"Sasuke, let me help you!" Orihime took off toward the Uchiha, who was suddenly replaced by Itachi, Itachi's hand wrapping around Orihime's throat.
"B-But how…?" Orihime choked out as Itachi's Sharingan slightly spun as she looked into his eyes, revealing that this was a clone of Itachi, the real Itachi and Sasuke right next to them.
"Orihime!" Chad shouted angrily, which caused Ichigo's eyes to suddenly open in response. Ichigo looked up from the ground, retrieving his zanpakuto as he tried to collect himself and figure out his surroundings.
As this occurred, Sasuke used this moment to reveal that he had covered himself in lightning before he was struck by the black flame, Sasuke letting out a beastly wail before he dissipated the lightning, pushing the flame away from his body, revealing that he was completely unaffected.
"You've grown Sasuke," Itachi responded to this with a rare smile on his usually stoic face.
"Just let me show you how much I've grown," Sasuke shot back as he took a swing at Itachi with his zanpakuto, Itachi dodging the attack with relative ease, placing one finger on Sasuke's left temple. Sasuke used a flash step to avoid this, which was met with a flash step by Itachi, who appeared in front of him. Sasuke flash stepped backwards, Itachi using his own flash step to appear at Sasuke's side. Sasuke took another swing at Itachi, but this time he didn't try to dodge. The attack phased through him, Itachi disappearing as this occurred.
"I'm right here Sasuke."
A bead of sweat rolled down Sasuke's forehead as Itachi stood behind him, Sasuke using one of his wings to push Itachi away.
"You still have not trained your Sharingan," Itachi scolded as he once again appeared behind Sasuke. "If you did, you would know that I've been in front of you this whole time…"
Sasuke blinked twice, Itachi coming into focus as his zanpakuto buried itself into Sasuke's abdomen.
"H-How…?" Sasuke stammered as Itachi simply chuckled at this in response.
"You are simply… too weak," Itachi told Sasuke in his ear as Sasuke began to viciously swing his sword into every inch of his vicinity. "And now, it's time to die…"
Itachi dodged a massive Getsuga Tensho from Ichigo with a flash step, who went on the offensive after witnessing Sasuke swinging at air and Orihime being choked out by Itachi's clone.
"I'm done, I won't let you hurt Orihime!" Ichigo roared with resolve as he lifted his zanpakuto in the air, letting his spiritual pressure cover the battlefield. "Ban-kai!"
The battle of Ichigo vs Itachi begins next chapter!