| Shonen Hero Trinity Battle Royale | |
|---|---|
| |
| Season 2, Episode 10 | |
Vital statistics
| |
| Air date | 1/9 |
| Written by | SlashLion5K |
| Directed by | SlashLion5K |
Episode guide
| |
| Previous | Next |
| Little Mac VS Ryu | Xurkitree VS Feedback (Season 3 Premiere) |
The Holy Shonen Trinity Battle Royale is a What-If? episode of DEATH BATTLE! pitting Naruto Uzumaki, Ichigo Kurosaki and Monkey D. Luffy in a battle to the death.
Description[]
The rivalry ends here! Three heroes, loved throughout the world finally duke it out to the death! It's the final clash as these three Shōnen Kings meet in the ring!
Interlude[]
(Begin Invader)
Blade:- Rivalry. It burns between friends and brings them closer through competition and gives them the drive to prove themselves to each other.
Lion:- And when it comes down to it, like the pirates, ninjas and samurai of all the tales we hear, these three super-powered anime heroes are always ready to prove themselves, and have a burning rivalry we're here to settle today.
Blade:- Monkey D. Luffy, the stretchy captain of the Straw Hat Pirates.
Lion:- Naruto Uzumaki, the nine-tailed hero of the Hidden Leaf Village.
Blade:- And Ichigo Kurosaki, the black-clad substitute Soul Reaper. Though these three Shonen giants have met before, they've never truly settled things. However, their rivalry is legendary and they're gonna settle it right here, right now. For this battle, all combatants will wield their own strength, so no summoning or outside help allowed. However, inner sources such as Naruto's Nine-Tailed Fox and Ichigo's Zangetsu merging form are fair game.
Lion:- He's Blade and I'm Lion...
Blade:- And it's our job to analyze their weapon, armor and skills to find out who would win a DEATH BATTLE!
Monkey D. Luffy[]
(Begin Theme of Luffy)
Lion:- Hey Blade, what's a pirate's favorite letter?
Blade:- R?
Lion:- Nah, dude, it's the C.
Blade:- Great, the episode just starts and already you've made a pun. Buuut I'll give you credit for a double-bladed joke.
Lion:- Thanks.
Blade:- Now it's my turn to ask you a question. What do you imagine when you hear the word "pirate"?
Lion:- 50-year old man with a black eyepatch, gold teeth, a scruffy beard, a few battle scars on his face, getting drunk way too often with an annoying parakeet on his shoulder and a hooked hand and peg-leg set.
Blade:- Yeah, I'm not surprised given that's what the average pirate is like. But does this look like a pirate to you?
A picture of Luffy is shown on-screen.
Lion:- WOAH, what the hell is with that guy's muscles?! Why does he look like he's 12 but can punch the shit out of anyone that challenges him? And why is he grinning like that?!
Blade:- Well, Lion, that's Monkey D. Luffy of the Straw Hat Pirates.
Lion:- Woah, woah, woah, wait. THIS guy is a pirate? AND a member of the STRAW HATS? The same pirates with Roronoa ZORO among them?
Blade:- He's not just a member, he's their captain.
Lion:- What in the name of- he's one of them, AND he's their captain? I'll give him this, he's way tougher than he looks.
Blade:- Ever since he was a child, Luffy grew up inspired by the exploits of the pirate known as Red-Haired Shanks. Following the ideals of his brothers Ace and Sabo, Luffy grew up with a particular admiration for Shanks, and, unable to sate his urge to join the crew, he became obsessed. However, Shanks never accepted Luffy into his crew as he believed he was too young to join.
Lion:- Soooo he stabbed himself in the face and then he decided to stand up to a bunch of mountain bandits to prove to Shanks he could stand up to them.
Blade:- This led to Luffy's unknowing consumption of a Devil Fruit, which is very impressive, because it's very difficult, even for an adult not to keel over in pain from eating one. Eating the Gum Gum Fruit mutated his body and gave it elastic properties. So yeah, it did give him stretchy powers. However, it also made him unable to swim, which is essentially a pirate's worst nightmare.
Lion:- Aaaand when he got caught by one of the evil bandits and almost got drowned, Shanks lost his arm trying to save him from a giant kraken monster, scarring Luffy forever.
Shanks:- You can't cry... You're a man now.
Luffy continues crying into Shanks' chest.
Luffy:- But Shanks, your arm. YOUR ARM!
(Begin Luffy's Charge)
Blade:- However, Shanks finally found it.
Lion:- He found his dismembered arm?
Blade:- No. He found Luffy's inner potential and left him with a straw hat as a sign of things to come. This straw hat later on became Luffy's signature possession, as when
he finally did build his own pirate crew, Luffy named it the Straw Hat pirates and set out to find the lost treasure of Gol D. Roger, the One Piece.
Lion:- And Luffy's superhuman abilities are more than enough to warrant his captaincy! He's faster, stronger, and stretchier than even the most flexible human! He has the strength to easily lift boulders, pull apart buildings, and PUNCH THE EVER LIVING SHIT OUT OF HIS ENEMIES!
Blade:- Well, part of this comes from the fact that Luffy does some... really weird training, but the other might be another effect of the Gum Gum fruit. Either way, Luffy is an expert martial artist and fighter, being able to take on foes as powerful as the feared pirate Donquixote Doflamingo when he needs to.
Lion:- He also has a great rate of healing, as he was able to recover from Zoro's Oni Giri and keep fighting in just a matter of seconds.
Blade:- Unlike Sanji or Zoro, Luffy has no particular code of honor and will thus do almost anything to win. He fights mainly by relying on instinct and using unorthodox methods and techniques to fight, which, surprisingly enough, works.
Lion:- But what about his stretchiness?
Blade:- Well, Luffy is very flexible, and can use his stretchy body in very creative ways, however, I should note that since it possesses the properties of rubber, Luffy must put some force in in order to actually stretch anything. However, it can extend up to over half a mile, and he can still use it to increase the power of regular physical attacks. He uses the rubbery properties of his arms in many creative ways, moving his limbs in imitation of certain firearms, including gatling guns, rifles, pistols and bazookas. And, since he's made of rubber, Luffy has temperature resistance, poison immunity, and is completely invulnerable to bullets.
Lion:- He also possesses the world's biggest appetite, because his very appetite does indeed, pose a threat.
Blade:- Luffy's jaws are strong enough to cut through metal bars, and he can literally get stronger with the temptation of food. In fact, Luffy hates missing meals so much that he even knows how to eat while he's asleep.
Lion:- Geez. Talk about a strict diet.
Blade:- I highly doubt Luffy's on a strict diet considering how much he eats.
Lion:- Then how the fuck is he so muscular?
Blade:- Anime logic. Don't argue with it.
Lion:- Wasn't gonna.
(Begin Fury!)
Blade:- Good. Like Zoro, Luffy also has access to the spiritual energy known as Haki. Haki is a spiritual energy not different from the five senses that every human being possesses, but few have truly awakened their Haki.
Lion:- And unlike Zoro, Luffy has access to all the three forms of Haki. He has Observation Haki to sense things from far away and predict incoming attacks, Armament Haki to basically surround himself in an invisible defense and harden parts of his body, and the best form of Haki, Conqueror's Haki.
(Begin To the Ocean!)
Blade:- Conqueror's Haki allows those with strong wills to control the wills of others. The level of effect this form of Haki has depends on the willpower of the opponent, however, it's very powerful even against the most dreaded of pirates, as Luffy was able to even overpower Whitebeard using it. At its strongest, Conqueror's Haki can be used to knock people out provided they have a weak enough will.
Lion:- And, because this is anime, Luffy has to have a few badass forms at his disposal. Having eaten a Gum Gum Fruit allows Luffy to augment his body in many different ways, which Luffy refers to as Gears. With Gear Second, Luffy uses his legs to pump blood into his body and drastically boost his heart rate, giving him a huge burst of strength and speed. And since his two-year training session at Rusukaina, he can pump individual parts of his body instead to conserve energy.
Blade:- This has been compared by Rob Lucci to steroids as they power Luffy's muscles to the point where he can perform otherwise impossible tasks. In addition, Gear Second speeds up Luffy so much that his gatling gun and pistol techniques are much faster and have been renamed with the word "jet". In addition, Gear Second in conjunction with Armament Haki can be used to use a technique known as the Gum Gum Red Hawk, where he literally ignites his fists on fire.
Lion:- But if he wants, Luffy can bite a small opening into his finger and pump air through his bones to gain himself one huge puffed-up arm. This gives him some pretty absurd abilities, which, considering the size of that arm, I'm not surprised by.
Blade:- And though this originally used to slow down his movement, Luffy now has better control over the arm by adding an equal pushing force to the back of it, allowing him to stretch it out. To top it off, Gear Third allows Luffy to completely bloat himself up, or individually bloat parts of his body if needed, allowing him to throw his weight around like it's nothing. In conjunction with his Armament Haki, Luffy can harden this arm to the point where it can knock out krakens with a single punch, and can be used in combination with Gear Second to launch himself around like a cannonball.
Lion:- But perhaps Gear Third's craziest technique combined with Armament Haki is the Gum Gum Elephant Gun, where he uses the Haki to turn his arm black while massively increasing the size of his fist. And then, he slams it into his enemies full-force with a forearm that literally looks like an elephant!
(Begin Terror of the King Cannon)
Blade:- But even better than this is his Gum Gum Gatling Elephant, with which Luffy uses the Armament Haki in combination with Gear Third to make the Elephant arms and then perform the Gum Gum Gatling barrage. This is possible as the bulk of the air sits in his forearms and fists rather than the back of his arms, allowing him to punch rapid-fire.
Lion:- Yet another enhanced version of the Gum Gum Elephant Gun is the Gum Gum Thor Elephant Gun, where he uses the Elephant Gun to hammer his fist into the ground, creating an electric shockwave as he does so. And another powerful technique of Third Gear is the Gum Gum Grizzly Magnum, a technique where he gets some distance before charging forward and jumping, inflating his forearms while also powering them up with Armament Haki and retracts them, unleashing the attack full-force afterwards.
Blade:- He can also absorb electricity from clouds while in Gear Third and slam them down to create a shockwave afterwards.
Lion:- However, Luffy's most powerful gear yet is Gear Fourth.
Luffy's Gear Fourth is briefly shown.
(Begin Shinkensoubu)
Blade:- Coated with Armament Haki and bloated like a cannonball, Fourth Gear turns Luffy into what's basically an iron balloon of mass destruction. His skin becomes so bouncy that he can no longer stay still on the ground and bounces around like a loose wrecking ball, which is both dangerous and awesome. He can even "fly" by simply kicking the air.
Lion:- His kicks are now powerful enough to send someone flying right into a town center with a single blow, and aside from the upgraded versions of his original techniques, Luffy has access to one of his most powerful techniques yet, the Gum Gum King Kong Gun, where he punches with a hardened fist with so much power that when it makes someone fall to the ground, the sheer force of the fall alone can level an entire town. And to top it off, Luffy has a rapid-fire version of this too, known as the King Kong Organ. How many guns does this guy have?
Blade:- I mean technically he has none considering they're all part of his stretchy ability.
Lion:- It's no stretch to say Luffy's a tough cookie.
Blade:- Please shut up. But you're right, Luffy is a tough cookie. He's strong enough to run around while carrying a 60-thousand pound golden ball, has survived being impaled, and can run so fast that he literally set the ground on fire while doing so.
Lion:- His jaws can easily cut through steel chains, and he's so strong he destroyed half of Noah, a ship half the size of an island, while suffering from blood loss!
Blade:- Luffy has also defeated self-proclaimed gods, easily wiped out entire armies, and even overpowered a steroid-buffed fishman and punched him deep underwater. Keep in mind that the average fishman at birth is twenty times stronger than a human being.
Lion:- He's also just really, really tough. Not only has he defeated several dreaded warlords with bounties far higher than his own, but also survived a war after he was declared Enemy No. 1. And just to top things off, since he's made of rubber, even if you shot him with a million cannonballs, nothing would happen.
Blade:- Being made of rubber doesn't make Luffy invincible though. Not only is he extremely simple-minded, but, being a Devil Fruit user, has a mortal weakness towards water. Coming in contact with the ocean or a special mineral known as Seastone will effectively remove all of Luffy's energy, leaving him vulnerable.
Lion:- So he's got Superman weaknesses now. Why am I not surprised?
Blade:- Additionally, while being made of rubber has its benefits, it does also pose danger to Luffy at the same time. Not only is Luffy vulnerable to water, but he's also threatened by most forms of cutting attacks, meaning he needs to stay the hell away from those swords.
Lion:- And though the timeskip changed a lot of things for our favorite elastic pirate, making him way stronger than he was before, Gear Second continues to be very stressing for his body to use pressuring it beyond fast recovery, and Gear Fourth takes a full ten minutes to recharge from after it's used. And though he can come up with strategies on the fly, there's no guarantee he won't let himself get caught off-guard and end up getting himself killed! But even then, Luffy is one of the most hotheaded heroes out there, and can definitely stretch his limits when he needs to. Try not to piss him off, yeah?
Blade:- Again with the puns...
Death Battle doors close.
Naruto Uzumaki[]
(Begin Sadness and Sorrow)
Blade:- He was left without a family the day he was born. He grew up despised by his fellow village-folk, shunned by society, and viewed as a monster by all. He wished to become the Hokage, leader of his village, but he was the one being ignored all the time. And the question that wandered the mind of academy student Naruto Uzumaki was "why?".
Lion:- Wait, he was orphaned as soon as he was born? Then how the fuck did he survive?
Blade:- That... was never explained, but it's likely that after the Nine-Tailed fox destroyed his home village and killed his family, the Third Hokage probably provided for him until the fateful day he became a ninja.
(Begin Turn Over)
Lion:- Basically, this took four steps. First, he had to be fooled by this asshole into stealing an ancient scroll that would apparently grant him the power to graduate and become a fully-fledged ninja. Second, he had to find out that, surprise, the guy who told him to do so was actually evil. Then, he found out that the guy was working for a crazy snake ninja that wanted to destroy the Leaf Village, and that the scroll contained forbidden techniques that it'd be better for Naruto not to know. And then he watched a guy get stabbed in the back by a giant shuriken while trying to protect him, found out the reason people hated him so much, and then he used his newly learned technique to beat the EVER LIVING SHIT OUT OF THE DOUCHEBAG WHO DID THIS TO HIM IN THE FIRST PLACE!
Blade:- The truth behind the villagers' hatred for Naruto, however, came from a different source than the fact that he was a mischievous prick. The dark secret of Naruto that he never knew was that he... was the Nine-Tailed fox that had layer waste to the village all those years ago.
Lion:- Oh come on, he's not the fox, the fox is sealed inside of him!
Blade:- More or less, that's what people thought of him as, but as Naruto became a ninja, he found out that people deep down inside do care for him. Over the years, not only has he gotten stronger, but he's also formed several bonds and ties between both his superiors and his equals. In fact, ultimately, these bonds are what drives him to keep fighting.
(Begin The Raising Fighting Spirit)
Lion:- And trust me, Naruto is no joke in combat. He's got superhuman strength and speed, enough to easily react to lightning, and to just beat the ever living shit out of iron-masked assholes.
Blade:- Naruto is extensively trained in the shinobi's way of hand-to-hand combat, having practiced it for years. This ninja-fied form of melee combat is known as Taijutsu, and Naruto's physical prowess and extensive training makes him a daunting opponent in this category.
Lion:- He additionally possesses an artificial hand that can be ignited on fire, which lets him blow things up like an Electrode on steroids!
Blade:- He is also efficient in the wielding of ninja tools. These sharp metal weapons can be used for all purposes, whether as rope-darts, throwing knives and stars, melee weapons, explosives and traps, but Naruto's favorite tool is the Demon Wind Shuriken. This four-bladed throwing star is huge compared to other shurikens, and Naruto often uses these wind-driven weapons in conjunction with his transformation techniques to get up close and personal with his enemies. In addition, he carries one of his late father's Teleportation Kunai, which instantaneously teleports him to where he throws it.
Lion:- Speaking of transformation techniques, he can use them to play some nifty tricks on his opponents. The most commonly used transformation trick, the Substitution Jutsu disguises him as an inanimate object and switch places with it instantly. He can also use them to turn into and imitate practically anyone, but he doesn't get their powers from doing so.
Blade:- However, it serves as a good way of distraction nonetheless as it allows him to also turn into... naked people?
Lion:- Ah, diversions. And he can combine this ability with his favorite technique to make entire harems worth of these things. I think I can finally relate to someone.
Blade:- This favorite technique of Naruto's is his trademark Shadow Clone Jutsu. With this jutsu, he can create up to 1000 flesh-and-blood doppelgängers of himself, dividing his chakra between them and using them for multiple purposes, including throwing himself at his opponents, distractions, and for powerful team combos developed from observing other ninja in combat. Additionally, once Naruto's clones return to him, they retain all memories of their individual experiences, which is effective for future strategies.
Lion:- It's also his main way of using his signature technique, the Rasengan.
Two Narutos are shown running at Itachi, with a blue sphere in their hands.
"Giant Rasengan!"
Naruto uses the Giant Rasengan, blowing up both Itachi and most of his surroundings.
(Begin Heaven-Shaking Event)
Blade:- Originally developed by Naruto's father, the Fourth Hokage, the Rasengan is a powerful sphere of pure chakra that is compacted into the user's hands. Once it lands on an opponent, the Rasengan has a powerful impact that sends them spinning backwards like a pinwheel, and is powerful enough to create deep craters in the ground. Considering the size of said craters, a single Rasengan should easily be powerful enough to blow right through an average human's chest.
Lion:- And if he wishes, Naruto can make his Rasengans bigger, stronger, and better. He can even expend some extra chakra by multiplying himself into any number he wants and attacking his opponents with several Rasengans at once! But chakra doesn't only come in one form!
Blade:- Chakra is a spiritual bodily energy possessed by all ninja in the Naruto universe. Chakra can be produced from reserves in the body in conjunction with special hand signs or movements to use ninjutsu, which may or may not possess a change in chakra nature depending on the justu used.
Lion:- In order to use chakra efficiently, one requires balanced control over it, and should try and avoid producing excess amounts, cause that's just a fucking waste! And though Naruto originally had trouble controlling it, he's gotten way better since!
Blade:- He's actually able to make a change in chakra nature as well. Naruto possesses Wind nature chakra, which means his chakra is like an extremely sharp blade, cutting through essentially anything. By changing the chakra nature in his Rasengan, Naruto can evolve it into a Wind Style technique.
Lion:- And when fully added to the Rasengan, Naruto's wind chakra creates an advanced version of the original jutsu known as the Rasenshuriken. This giant spinning storm of a near-infinite number of sharp-as hell needles takes the form of a huge blue disk that Naruto can boomerang at his opponents. It's so powerful, it can be used to kill the unkillable! Or, in a manner of speaking, anyway.
Blade:- I should also mention that a lot of people, including Naruto's team mentor Kakashi, have tried and failed to add a change in chakra nature in the Rasengan. Whereas Naruto has done it in just a few days.
Lion:- So by this point, he was already getting as strong as hell, but he wasn't done pursuing his asshat of a friend Sasuke, so he kept on training with the advice of his mentors to back him up. Eventually, when his pervy sage of a master died fighting a crazy guy with a God complex and a huge case of edgy, Naruto began training rigorously at a place known as Mount Myoboku to attain the power of a true sage.
Blade:- And when he returned, Naruto did so in his newly attained Sage Mode. In Sage Mode, Naruto utilizes the forces of natural energy. Also known as Senjutsu, Sage Mode enhances Naruto's senses and tracking ability by a huge amount, and also grants him increased strength and speed, as he was easily able to fight off and eventually defeat Pain with the help of his father and the Nine-Tails.
Lion:- I thought his dad was dead.
Blade:- Apparently his dad's chakra can incarnate him within Naruto for a brief period.
Lion:- Yeesh. Anime logic.
Blade:- I know. It's weird.
Lion:- Anyways, after he, er... Learned the truth about his subconsciously alive dad and defeated Pain, Naruto was finally accepted as a hero among the people of his village. Finally, he had the acknowledgment he desired! I feel you, dude.
Blade:- Now stronger than ever, Naruto had achieved the respect of everybody he knew. Beloved as a savior by the entire village, Naruto was quick to gain popularity among all. All except one. His inner demon, the Nine-Tailed fox.
Lion:- Yeah, despite the fact that he gave Naruto accelerated healing, huge bursts of his own chakra, which comes with inhuman stamina and endurance, and access to multiple tailed states for battle, he never really liked the guy. The only reason he even helped Naruto at all was because he wouldn't survive without him, and though he deeply respected Naruto, he needed a bit of a push to get him there.
Blade:- After a journey to the Land of Iron and a brief encounter with Sasuke, Naruto was sent to the back of a giant turtle under the supervision of multiple experienced ninja from the Hidden Leaf Village, the idea of doing so being that Naruto wouldn't know about the war that had been declared on the ninja world and try to interfere, because at this point literally everybody wanted to protect him for the world's sake.
Lion:- It was then that Naruto met Killer Bee, a rap-obsessed sword-wielder that was also a Jinchuriki as Naruto was. Naruto asked Killer Bee to train him, and though it took a while, it eventually worked.
Blade:- The term "Jinchuriki" refers to a human being that has one of the nine Tailed Beasts sealed away within them. As Naruto is the Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails, Killer Bee, bearing the Eight-Tails, showed Naruto a certain place where he subconsciously battled the fox, and after a long battle, gained an incomplete control over his chakra, as Nine-Tails wasn't ready to accept Naruto just yet.
Lion:- No biggie though. In Nine-Tails Chakra Mode, Naruto gains a massive speed boost that easily makes him faster than lightning, cause he can not only blitz a guy going at that speed, but bullet into people at speeds nobody can track.
Blade:- In addition to this, Nine-Tails Chakra Mode allows Naruto to generate several extra arms from his body to add to his melee combat, and he can stretch out his own limbs if required. This form can also use a new and enhanced version of the Rasengan known as the Planetary Rasengan, which is one colossal sphere of his chakra surrounded by three smaller ones.
Lion:- With this form, he's strong enough to fight off fully-formed Tailed Beasts, even though he isn't in Tailed Beast state yet. He was able to fight quite a few of them before he finally did it.
Blade:- Naruto did the unthinkable. He talked his way into the heart of and befriended his inner enemy. He befriended the fox.
Guy:- What's going on?
Kakashi looks up at the Nine-Tails.
Kakashi:- We're inside the Nine-Tails' chakra.
Lion:- Fox? Oh please, he prefers Kurama.
(Begin Breakdown)
Blade:- Befriending Kurama means Naruto can essentially manifest him in a physical form and fight alongside him. While linked with Kurama, Naruto is insanely more powerful than ever before, and the two can do some insane things. Kurama's tails alone are strong enough to destroy huge parts of forests just by being waved, and he can also condense and launch the Tailed Beast Balls, which are like huge bombs of Tailed Beast chakra that are powerful enough to blow up mountains.
Lion:- But that's not all, as Naruto in this state is powerful enough to both launch giant Rasenshurikens at his opponents and make mini-Tailed Beast Balls in his hands and use them like the Rasengan! He's also got the ability to float up his cloak a bit and block attacks using it! Oh, and he can fly!
Blade:- With this power, Naruto was able to take on the mastermind behind the ninja war, Madara Uchiha, however, even with his and Sasuke's combined might, it wasn't enough. Nearly killed in battle and having Kurama extracted from him, Naruto met the Sage of the Six Paths, the son of the progenitor of all chakra. The Sage explained to him his true purpose and exactly what and who he was. And enlightened with that knowledge, because this is anime, Naruto was brought back with a new form that surpassed all his other previous forms.
Lion:- Yeah. Turns out the masked asshole that set the Nine-Tails loose on his village all those years ago became a good guy after Naruto gave him his deadly Talk no Jutsu. He helped in Naruto's survival by sealing the chakra of all nine Tailed Beasts, including the other half of Kurama, inside of him. Yes, there is actually another half of Kurama. And yes, this is important to the story.
Blade:- In his Six Paths Sage Mode Naruto possesses seven Truthseeker Orbs that circulate him. These orbs melt things on a molecular level, and can be melded and formed into different shapes, including staves and shields and can be launched individually as projectiles.
Lion:- He's also able to fly, recreate perfect organs, sense ghost beings present in other realms, and retains the upgrades of both his Kurama Link Mode and his Sage Mode.
Blade:- In addition to this, with the chakra of all Tailed Beasts within him, Naruto can add multiple other changes in chakra nature to his Rasenshurikens. He can not only launch a Tailed Beast Ball-augmented Rasenshuriken, but also use Explosive Style, Lava Style, Acid Style and Liquid Style Rasenshurikens. Now the basic chakra natures are Wind, Fire, Earth, Lightning and Water, but a combination of two different changes in chakra nature can create a kekkei genkai, a feature that is usually unique to those with more than one chakra nature, but not exclusive. As such, though he has only Wind nature chakra, using the Tailed Beasts' chakra, Naruto gains access to his own kekkei genkai and can launch multiple Rasenshurikens at once using extra generated chakra limbs, which is very useful to strike multiple far-away foes.
Lion:- He can also augment the Magnet Style into his Rasengan, which can be used to seal away opponents by striking them. Geez, it took him this long to build a sealing jutsu despite the fact that it was the first jutsu that was ever used on him. Talk about a slow learner.
Blade:- Naruto is anything but slow, Lion. His development is rapid and his strength unmatched, as after the final battle to save the world, he took on Sasuke one last time. During this battle, he showed that Kurama can multiply himself with the Shadow Clone Jutsu as well, and by merging the Kurama clones, he enters Asura Kurama Mode, his most powerful form yet.
The Six-Paths enhanced Asura Kurama is briefly shown.
(Begin Gekiha)
Lion:- With Six Paths Sage Naruto at the helm, Asura, or Yin-Yang Kurama can fly extremely high into the air and ram around really fucking fast without tiring. He has multiple heads, several arms, and access to Naruto's most powerful technique yet.
Blade:- The Yin-Yang Rasenshuriken is a Six Paths technique where Naruto launches two massive Rasenshurikens backed by Tailed Beast Chakra. During Naruto's fight with Sasuke, this attack clashed with Sasuke's Indra's Arrow with so much force that it created a storm that it created a storm that decimated most of the valley they were fighting in, sending a colossal ripple into the clouds and shaking the ground with so much force that it send dust flying up several miles away. And yet, Naruto and Sasuke were still alive and kicking after that clash, despite the fact that the battle had lasted dawn to dusk and they literally just shook the earth.
Lion:- Now that I think about it, Naruto's done pulled a lot of both crazy and awesome shit! Like the time he healed from being stabbed in the lungs with a blade of lightning! And then he just kept on fighting like it was nothing! Or the time he got up after all his chakra points, basically his pressure points were struck, then beat the ever living shit out of the guy who did it to him! Or the time he fought a guy that was moving at the speed of lightning! OR the time he survived a punch that broke the fucking MOON in half!
Blade:- Naruto has recovered from many a brutal beating and fought back as strong as ever. He has held his own against multiple powerful ninja, and has surpassed all the strongest people in the history of his village.
Lion:- With a single Tailed Beast Ball, he and Kurama countered five other Tailed Beast Balls, which can destroy mountains with one shot, blow up multiple meteoric planetoids with his Rasenshurikens, move faster than eyesight, and dodge lightning!
Blade:- He is also strong enough to throw Kurama several feet by lifting him by the tail. This is impressive because Kurama dwarfs Naruto in size by a massive amount. Considering Naruto's official height is 5'5" and Kurama in comparison is about a hundred times his size, putting Naruto at the height he stands, even lowballing it Kurama is well over a 100 metres tall. This means Naruto was able to support and hurl all 100 metres worth of Kurama, who must weigh at least over tens of thousands of tons given his size and volume.
Lion:- What about the time he dodged light?
Blade:- Yes, as absurd as it sounds, Naruto was able to dodge this Light Fang attack from Madara. The Light Fang is officially described as a thin stream of energy that cuts through everything at the speed of light and is unavoidable by normal human means. However, when it was roughly 3 centimeters from his face, Naruto was able to duck and dodge the Light Fang entirely, meaning he moves at at least the speed of light, or just above a whopping 299792458 meters per second.
Lion:- What about that time he punched the literal origin of all energy in the face?
Blade:- Yes, Naruto is brave enough to charge into battle and even punch gods in the face, as shown when he knocked away Kaguya Otsutsuki and made her flinch with a single punch. Soon after this, Kaguya would attempt to expand a massive Truthseeker Orb that was going to wipe out her entire planet-sized realm with her chakra. However, looking further into this, Naruto eventually returned to Kaguya's dimension in the future, revealing the dimension's day-and-night cycle in the process, meaning it also contained a star. With this much chakra sealed away in her, it's impressive that Naruto was even able to harm Kaguya, let alone send her flying and eventually help seal her away. He's even successfully achieved his dream of becoming Hokage.
Lion:- But sometimes... He's a bit too brave.
Blade:- Though Naruto is an expert in-battle strategist, he never showed a true knack for paying attention to detail. He is brash, short tempered, and often hotheadedly rushes into situations without thinking. This has led to some serious screw-ups on his part, and his refusal to give up has almost gotten him killed before.
Lion:- There's also the fact that even with the Tailed Beasts' extra chakra supply, he can run out of it by using too many jutsu. Then the only thing he can really do is wait to recharge and fight by punching and kicking in the meantime. But when you're one of the most powerful beings in your universe, it's natural to let your guard down sometimes. Threaten the Hidden Leaf Village, and Naruto Uzumaki will be behind you, no matter where you are. Beware the hero of the Hidden Leaf.
Death Battle doors close.
Ichigo Kurosaki[]
(Begin Number One)
Lion:- Y'know, ghosts are pretty freaky fuckers. It's like one second you're not looking at anything and the next, when you look away, the bastards sneak up behind you and scream "boo"!
Blade:- If that's the best thing you can say about the souls of the departed, then Ichigo Kurosaki would like a word with you. Well, words coming out of your mouth begging for mercy while he beats you up for disrespect to the dead.
Lion:- For fifteen years, Ichigo was pretty much an average high schooler in his town living with his dad and two sisters. The only really special thing in Ichigo's life was his strange ability to not only physically look at ghosts, but also talk to them.
Blade:- His mother dying at an early age, Ichigo pretty much had very few odd experiences in childhood, and this continued for years. Then, one day, he encountered the evil spirit known as a Hollow.
Ichigo stares into the Hollow's face until Rukia suddenly jumps in, slicing open the Hollow's face and drawing blood.
(Begin Blaze of the Soul Reaper)
Lion:- So... after that weird encounter, the same girl that appeared to stop the Hollow that attacked him showed up again that night, this time in his bedroom... Which is already creepy, but then they got into a fight and she revealed that she was a Soul Reaper. Whatever that is, Ichigo didn't buy it and continued to question her, but another Hollow appeared and attacked Ichigo's sisters. When the Soul Reaper lady tried to fight the Hollow, Ichigo interfered and it resulted in her getting injured pretty badly. But because someone needed to fight the Hollow, the Reaper, Rukia offered Ichigo some of her power and stabbed him through the chest, but then Ichigo absorbed almost all of her power, and suddenly he had a black samurai outfit and a stereotypical giant anime sword. A little late and dangerous to go trick or treating, isn't it?
Blade:- And that, is how Ichigo became a Substitute Soul Reaper. And though he started off reluctant about the job, after an encounter with another Hollow, this time a person he'd known before, he slowly began his development as a Soul Reaper, and was driven by his wish to help people. And though it'd take time for him to commit, Ichigo got the hang of things pretty quick. He enters his Soul Reaper form by exiting his real body, or just having his soul knocked out of him, and boom, he's essentially a sword-swinging invisible samurai ghostbuster of sorts.
Lion:- So as if he wasn't badass enough, Ichigo was unique compared to other Soul Reapers, too. Most Soul Reapers take an astral body form of their soul that's been removed from their original body, but that isn't good enough for Ichigo! He's a living Soul Reaper! AND he's not only a Soul Reaper, he's also a Quincy! That's the OPPOSITE of Soul Reapers! Like how do you even be one thing but also be the opposite of it?
Blade:- This is likely because Ichigo's mother Masaki had a Hollow sealed within her at the time of her death, which had transferred to Ichigo afterwards. In addition, it could also be his inheritance from his parents, as he was the unique Soul Reaper child conceived using a unique Gigai body. Plus, Masaki had Quincy blood, so...
(Begin Demolition Drive)
Lion:- Okay... Too much information. Anyway, since he's a ghostbusting samurai guy, Ichigo has multiple nifty powers up his arsenal. Not only does he possess enhanced strength, speed, and durability, but he's not half bad with his giant sword either.
Blade:- This sword, the Zanpakuto, is a katana-like blade that every individual Soul Reaper possesses, however, not all of them carry one around. Every Zanpakuto has a living soul within it, and in Ichigo's case, his Zanpakuto represents his two sides- his Soul Reaper and Hollow side, and his Quincy side.
Lion:- Ichigo is overflowing with spiritual energy and so is his sword! Not only is it basically made of his soul but it's got so much of the stuff that it's always in a state of release!
Blade:- This spiritual energy, in its released form is called Reiatsu. Within the body, however, before release, it is called Reiryoku, which all Quincies have in high levels. Great! Yet ANOTHER spiritual energy in anime land! Brilliant! Trained by Kisuke Urahara, Ichigo is efficient at Zanjutsu, the art of using the Zanpakuto for combat.
Lion:- He also knows a technique called Flash Step, which augments his speed to the point where he can casually fool the human eye.
Blade:- However, there is more to a Zanpakuto than just using it in combat. Depending on the Soul Reaper's ability to communicate with the spirit resting within their blade, the Zanpakuto can manifest itself in two additional forms and revert to its sealed state. These two forms are known as Shikai and Bankai, and each have their unique traits to them.
Lion:- In its sealed state, a Zanpakuto can be used to send wandering souls off to a place called Soul Society or to hell. It can also be used to fight and purify Hollows, all of which are basic goals of the Soul Reapers. And it's got a nifty cloth wrapping that Ichigo can use to freely control it, even from afar! The Shikai is the first upgrade available to a Zanpakuto. To access Shikai, one must know the name of their Zanpakuto, but it isn't so easy.
Blade:- This is because the living spirit within every Zanpakuto already has a name, so you can't just name you Zanpakuto "Bill", "Harry" or "Bob" and continue on your way. In Ichigo's case, the name of the spirit within his Zanpakuto is Zangetsu. Unlike Ichigo, who tends to be more merciful in his approach, Zangetsu is more violent, vulgar, and ruthless than anything. His wish was to essentially overtake Ichigo's personality. It's pretty much like an inner demon that it's really hard to make peace with.
Lion:- It's like when you're on the road and really need to use it, but the trip takes hours and you can't keep it in anymore. Ichigo feels you.
Blade:- Being able to effectively communicate with the spirit in one's Zanpakuto is what allows access to Shikai, in addition with knowing the spirit's name. To activate it, one must say the release incantation for the Zanpakuto's Shikai, followed by saying its name. It's crucial to memorize the release incantation, as they are unique for each Zanpakuto. Achievement of the Shikai is the mark of a Soul Reaper's control over their Zanpakuto.
Lion:- The Bankai, on the other hand, literally translates to Final Release. It can be obtained by materializing and subjugating one's Zanpakuto Spirit in the physical world. The problem is, this much power can take up to 10 years to master, so Ichigo used a device created by Urahara to speed up the process. Basically, Zangetsu was forcibly brought into the physical realm so Ichigo could achieve his Bankai early, at the risk of probably dying if he didn't finish the training in less than three days. Surprisingly, Ichigo did so, proving once again, that he's a badass. A Bankai's power comes from the spirit's acknowledgement of the wielder, so the higher they think of you as, the stronger your Bankai is.
(Begin Quincy's Craft)
Blade:- Additionally, Bankai only disappear with the user's permission, so it's a rather trusty weapon to use. It also acts as a sort of warning button as it will disappear without permission when the wielder is close to death. Ichigo's Bankai is called the Tensa Zangetsu, a thin-bladed longsword that condenses Ichigo's energy, allowing him to move and fight at far higher speeds. In addition, it can be activated by yelling "Bankai", after which a huge wave of Reiatsu will appear followed by the blade's transformation.
Lion:- Speaking of Reiatsu being fired off, Ichigo can do that, too, with his famous technique, the Getsuga Tensho. This wave of ghost power can be launched out of Ichigo's sword anytime, and when he decides to charge up the Zanpakuto for a while and stabs it into the ground, it launches off omnidirectional spiritual explosions. He also knows the Quincy defensive technique Blut Vene, where he infuses Reishi into his bloodstream to increase his durability. That's a shitload of things for one sword to be able to do, but we're not done yet. Cause like every good anime hero, Ichigo just couldn't stay away from over-indulging in alternate forms. I mean, that's a LOT of forms!
All of Ichigo's forms show up on-screen.
(Begin Power to Strive)
Blade:- ...You're right, that is a lot of forms. Except most of them are gone now.
Lion:- Oh.
Blade:- Since the Hollow side of Ichigo is his Zanpakuto, Ichigo does possess some Hollow powers. Due to their constant strife, Ichigo had a hard time accepting Zangetsu as a part of himself, and Zangetsu did overtake him a few times, giving him some rather violent outbursts of ruthlessness in battle. However, when his Bankai's sword was destroyed, Ichigo learned the truth about how he never had a true Zanpakuto and it was basically part of his Soul Reaper heritage. Fortunately for him, Zangetsu was eventually reforged into its true form by the creator of all Zanpakuto.
Lion:- Once he had his sword back, Ichigo learned about how Zangetsu was his inner Hollow. By making peace with him, Ichigo got rid of the dangers of being possessed by Zangetsu, which basically ended all those freaky possessions, got rid of the possessed Hollow powers, and, you guessed it, got another form.
Blade:- The Merged Hollow form melds Ichigo and Zangetsu, but unlike full possession, he only undergoes a partial transformation and can still fully control himself. Not only does this form greatly boost his strength and speed, but it also greatly increases his spiritual energy. And, like his fully possessed form, Merged Hollow Ichigo can also fire Cero blasts using Zangetsu's sword as a substitute horn.
Lion:- And even his sword has more upgrades. Because he lost his old Hollow powers and got a real Zanpakuto, he now has true versions of his Bankai and Shikai! His True Shikai is a pair of black swords, with one resembling the original form of Zangetsu, and the other being a smaller dagger-like shortsword! And his True Bankai... Well, look at it! This huge white khyber knife is not only super strong, but it's also got a beastly Getsuga Tensho that lets it easily cut through a guy that merges worlds for a living without any effort!
Blade:- To top it off, if the True Bankai breaks, Ichigo can still keep fighting as it'll just reveal Zangetsu's original form instead. But Ichigo's most powerful attack has got to be the Getsuga Jujisho, a giant cross-shaped Getsuga Tensho fired using the two blades of his True Shikai.
(Begin Into the Storm)
Lion:- Talk about a badass ghostbuster. As you'd expect, Ichigo definitely has a shitload of feats behind all his crazy forms and abilities. He's strong enough to casually block and break giant axes, fast enough to dodge point-blank headshots, and tough enough to get impaled through the chest and keep fighting.
Blade:- He's so quick that he left afterimages just by running using his Bankai, and he can effortlessly move faster than the human eye. He can casually cleave the tops off plateaus, crack the ground just by swinging his sword, and so on, but if we only mentioned these feats, we'd be underestimating him.
Lion:- Ichigo can outrun explosions, simultaneously blitz FOUR sternritter that move faster than lightning, dodge hypersonic attacks by just moving his head, destroy parts of mountains just by clashing his sword, and deflect ten thousand flower petal swords coming at him at once, but none of that is impressive compared to his crazier feats. Remember the guy that merges worlds for a living? Yeah, well, that guy, Yhwach, got sliced in half by Ichigo not just once, but twice! And to top things off, Ichigo blocked his sword arm with just one hand!
Blade:- He's so tough he can keep on fighting after being impaled, stabbed in the neck, and surviving explosions that can easily destroy mountains, the list goes on, but that doesn't mean Ichigo is necessarily the best there is.
Lion:- Ichigo has an irrational streak, often preferring to run into things guns- or in this case ghost powers blazing, and while his Shikai can regenerate if broken, his Bankai can't. Break the blade, break his ability to fight.
Blade:- And even if Ichigo is invisible to regular humans in his Soul Reaper form via the help of his Substitute Shinigami badge, he can still be spotted by spiritual beings or beings with spiritual powers. But worst of all, Ichigo is extremely merciful to his opponents. An admirable trait, sure. But is it useful when he's fighting for his life? Hell no.
Lion:- Maybe he doesn't kill his opponents, but that must have a reason behind it. Someone needs to fight him and live to tell the tale. You gotta respect the badass that is Ichigo Kurosaki.
Death Battle doors close.
DEATH BATTLE![]
(Begin Invader:- Jim Johnston)
Blade:- Alright, the combatants are set, let's end this debate once and for all.
Lion:- It's time for a DEATH BATTLE!
(Begin Will of the Heart)
A colossal forest...
Overviewing the forest, there's lots of trees and birds flying across the blue sky. Water crashed down a huge waterfall going down a rocky cliff leading down to the forest's several streams and lakes. Lush green everywhere, and pretty much peaceful all around.
Sitting down in the shade of the trees and taking a nap was the infamous pirate captain Monkey D. Luffy. The straw hat-wearing menace had his arm on his stomach, which was muscular and lean. His chest bore an X-shaped scar, and another one was under his right eye. Luffy's hair was a messy black, and he snored loudly as a bubble expanded out his nose every time he did so. His other arm was on a treasure chest, which rested safely beside him. He'd obtained it a few hours ago, at the ninja village known as the Hidden Leaf, where he'd stolen it from the mansion of their leader, the Sixth Hokage. He had no idea what was in it, but since it was in a treasure chest, he'd decided he'd go ahead and grab it.
Flashback...
(Begin Afternoon of Konoha)
Luffy's arm crawled through the window of Hokage Kakashi Hatake's mansion for the third time in an attempt to avoid the eye of the watch ninja that was standing there. Kakashi was busy as always, filling in important documents, so Luffy wasn't in any big dilemma. He slowly let his extended rubbery arm creep through and finally grab onto the wooden chest that was there on the floor. Luffy put his hand around the chest and grasped it firmly. He made to pull it out, when-
"Hold it right there, thief!"
Luffy quickly pulled the treasure chest away and onto his lap, lifting it with his back and running off. A few ninja chased after him, but Luffy quickly ran off and entered the massive and winding forest after a while. He figured he'd nap before continuing on his course to the ship, considering the size of the forest, so here he was, snoring away in the cool shade.
Present, Meanwhile...
(Begin Heat of the Battle)
A bit further into the forest, a black and white blur shot through the trees, at blinding speeds. He had orange in what would be his hair, and was wearing what looked like a black and white robe from the blur he was going at. He was carrying a huge black blade with silver edges and had brownish eyes judging by the short glimpses he showed between his blitzes. This was no doubt Ichigo Kurosaki, the Substitute Soul Reaper. Ichigo continued his trek along the forest, his eyes shut in deep thought about recent events. He recalled reports of a massive spiritual energy near this forest. He'd heard how there was a possibility of a Hollow more dangerous than anything he'd ever faced around here. Naturally, going against warnings, Ichigo followed his instincts and charged in, ready to face this Hollow he'd heard of. He continued running through the trees, recalling the warnings.
Flashback...
Ichigo stood there atop a mountain. He was overlooking the cliff's view as Rukia stepped up behind him.
"Ichigo. Have you heard about it yet?"
"Heard about what?"
Rukia put her head down in hesitation. If she were to tell Ichigo the secret, he'd definitely investigate the situation. A trickle of sweat poured down her face, but she swallowed her instincts and broke the news to Ichigo anyway.
"There's been reports of an extremely powerful spirit somewhere near the forest that's north of here. It's said to emanate massive energy and is more powerful than any other Hollow we've ever encountered. I'm not even sure how much of a spirit it is than some sort of demon..."
A smirk crossed Ichigo's face as he kept his arms crossed and replied.
"It's not causing any problems, is it?"
"No, but we've been instructed to go investigate the situation. But nobody is to go alone."
Ichigo kept his arms crossed and retained his cool attitude. Wind blew his red hair as Rukia curtly nodded and walked off. Naturally, when he was out of her eyesight, Ichigo had set off to investigate the situation on his own. And here he was, navigating the area as fast as he could.
Present, Meanwhile...
(Begin Bad Situation)
A black sandal kneeled down as an orange-clad leg observed the sleeping Luffy. Black headband flowing in the wind, which also ruffled his spiky blonde hair, Naruto Uzumaki pulled out a kunai knife and raised it above his whiskered blue-eyed face. He'd been instructed to bring back this criminal dead or alive, as he'd stolen records of pretty much every major threat in the bingo book after the war. He recalled his mission...
Flashback...
"Naruto, we need you to hold off the criminal as long as you can. Lord Hokage asked for him dead or alive, so bring him back either way. Now keep in mind we have no intel on this opponent or what he can do, so we've addressed Sasuke to come in for backup as soon as he can. Good luck."
Naruto took the flier from Iruka and looked down at Luffy's face. After the Great Ninja War, he was confident this foe wouldn't be a threat, so he wasn't too afraid. He looked down at Luffy's scarred face and smirked. Piece of cake for the unpredictable shinobi that stopped the war. He threw away the flier and headed in the direction he was pointed to make his encounter, and here he was, right there, poised to kill Luffy.
Present...
Naruto positioned his Kunai at Luffy's head and let it comfortably spin out the gaps between his fingers as it darted right at Luffy.
CLANG!
(Begin Heavy Violence)
A black blitz shot by as the kunai flew off into the distance, and the sudden commotion awakened Luffy, who was surprised to spot two tall boys standing before him. Naruto jumped off his tree and landed on his knees, getting back up and cracking his knuckles.
"Listen, weirdo, I'm busy on a mission here, so I'd appreciate it if you got outta my way."
Naruto waved a hand aside passionately as he said this, but Ichigo, who'd landed turned diagonally with his robe blowing in the wind, turned his head around with a cold expression. He stepped forward and spun, swinging Zangetsu over his shoulder.
"How 'bout no?"
Luffy, confused, took a step forward and cracked his knuckles.
"How about you two tell me what YOU'RE doing here?!"
Naruto put away his kunai and calmly stood with his posture straight.
"Shut up and come with me, or I'll fight you!"
Ichigo's eyes grew comically larger in anger.
"You're not going anywhere, not until you give me answers!"
"I was talking to Straw Hat!"
"Yeah? Talk to me, because I'm not leaving until I have answers!"
"What answers?!"
Naruto's eyes were now comically angry too, as he pointed at Ichigo. Ichigo closed his eyes in thought. The spiritual power he'd been sensing. He had no idea what it was but it was definitely originating from this kid in orange. He took Zangetsu off his shoulder and held it to his side. This power was unbelievable, and he needed answers now.
"That energy... It's like nothing I've ever felt before. Looks like I'm gonna have to cut this guy down. He's too stubborn to give me answers..."
"What're you mumbling to yourself, punk?!"
"Punk?!"
Ichigo stared at Naruto angrily, their comical angry eyes locked as they did so. An anime sweatdrop slid down Luffy's head.
"These two are pretty pissed. But I needed a warm-up before we set sail again..."
Luffy stepped between the two, and his head grew huge in anime fashion as he yelled down at them. The background shifted to fire as he did so.
"BREAK IT UP, WEIRDOS! I'M HERE, TOO, AND I WANNA KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON!!"
With every word, Luffy's head kept turning between Naruto and Ichigo. Finally, the two broke away from each other in startled shock, but Ichigo was the first to react.
"How about you shut up, I have no time for you."
Luffy's head turned red with rage at these words.
"So go dress up in your dorky straw hat somewhere else."
At this, Luffy nearly punched Ichigo's head off, stretching his arm forward like a bullet, but Ichigo jumped back just in time, his face shocked.
"Woah... What the hell was that?"
Ichigo now knew there was no turning back. The three were pretty much acquainted as enemies at this point and the only thing they could do was settle it.
"It looks like I can't get out of this one. Fine then, you two are down and out."
"Tell that to my fists!"
"Heh, you have no idea what you've just walked into, jerks."
(Begin Pleasures of Combat)
The three charged at each other as time appeared to slow down, but quickly, they'd thrown their first attacks. Luffy punched right in Ichigo's direction, Ichigo jumped and slashed at Naruto, and Naruto ducked and did a spinning kick, which knocked back Luffy, but Ichigo quickly lost all visibility as he turned into what was essentially a black blur zooming through the clearing. Naruto quickly flipped backwards to dodge another one of Luffy's punches, before leaping to the side as another long arm extended out its fist. The punch shattered the boulder it struck, but Naruto remained unharmed. He ran ahead as Luffy tried to pull back his fist in time, but before he was able to reach Luffy, the black blur that was Ichigo zoomed by and cut at Luffy's arm, temporarily forcing him to pull back, and began swinging back and forth while zooming circles around Naruto.
"Gah...!"
Ichigo's sword continued to clearly damage Naruto's jacket, and he was able to inflict a few cuts and wounds. However, a yellowish energy surrounded Naruto as Ichigo was knocked away by a single punch from Luffy, which felt like a knuckle of pure diamond had just punched his face. The Soul Reaper was knocked right into a boulder, but as he got up, Luffy used his arms to grab him and swing him around. Naruto was exhausted and huffing on the ground, but to both Luffy and Ichigo's surprise, the wounds healed as the yellow aura dissipated, and Naruto was back up in no time.
Luffy hurled away Ichigo and ran at Naruto, but Naruto ducked and swept him down with one kick. Ichigo balanced onto the ground and swung Zangetsu down at the incoming Naruto's head, but Naruto blocked it with his arms, which slightly bled only for the wound to quickly heal back up.
"How do ya like THIS!"
Naruto slammed his head, mainly the headband, into Ichigo's forehead, causing him to stagger from the pain as Naruto jumped back, making the famous hand sign for his favorite technique, but to his surprise, an arm stretched out behind him and grabbed him. Luffy's fingers latched onto Naruto and slammed him into the ground, much to his surprise. Luffy then reached out with a punch for Ichigo, who was a bit busy trying to recover from his throbbing pain in the forehead, and punched him away into the forest. Ichigo flew aside and landed a few ten meters away, skidding with so much speed that the ground gathered up as he landed, forming a soft lump on his head. Ichigo got back up and brushed dust off his shoulders and ran forward to continue the fight.
Meanwhile, Luffy was keeping Naruto at bay by punching ahead repeatedly, whereas Naruto was forced to keep jumping back to avoid getting his lights knocked out. Luffy eventually backed him off to a decent length, nearly slamming his fist into him, but Naruto edged his head to one side and avoided it. Getting his opening, Naruto formed his hand sign. Two fingers sticking upwards and two sideways in front.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Two extra Narutos popped out of the wind in puffs of smoke and ran at Luffy, who was forced to jump back himself to avoid them, but Naruto's actual self had successfully used that time frame to switch places with the log connecting the two platforms in the center of the clearing, which Luffy was standing directly under. Shifting back into himself, Naruto zoomed down and pulled back his fist, but again, as if time slowed down, a black blur passed by and struck Naruto right in the waist, cutting through his jacket and drawing a bit of blood. Naruto fell down a bit in front of Luffy as Ichigo landed on the other side. Blood dripped out Naruto's waist, but to both their shock, he turned back into the log!
Ichigo and Luffy both slowly turned their heads. Two sets of two Narutos were behind them both, and both sets held a blue sphere in their hands. Both were entirely unharmed, and both were grinning smugly.
"Take this!"
The dual Narutos behind Luffy slammed onto his back with the sphere.
"Rasengan!"
(Begin Rinkai)
And for Ichigo, too. For both the others, it was too late to react as they were blasted right into and past each other with light blue pinwheels propelling them. Luffy skidded out the clearing and bumped his head on a tree, whereas Ichigo flew into a boulder, which instantly shattered. And on the larger platform in the center of the clearing, Naruto landed and wiped his mouth.
As the dust around the knocked over Ichigo and Luffy cleared off, Naruto jumped back into the shadows before they could get up. He then created two more clones as his opponents both got up and were instantly kicked down by the clones. Ichigo quickly slid back and locked blades with the clone's kunai while Luffy was kicked away by the clone and broke his slide backwards by latching onto the ground with a stretched out arm and grabbing the mud, sliding back and skidding to a halt. The actual Naruto quickly returned to the ground and ran to assist the clone facing Ichigo. Unsuspecting, Ichigo had just finished the kunai-to-Zanpakuto clash with the cloned Naruto, and gathered soul energy at the tip of Zangetsu, however, he was caught off-guard by the incoming Naruto from the back and kicked in the back of the head. The cloned Naruto recovered and punched Ichigo in the face, as the two quickly rushed in from either side of the Soul Reaper. Ichigo quickly slashed diagonally ahead to knock away the first Naruto, and turned around right afterwards to intercept the next one, kicking him in the chest. Naruto skidded over and got back up, running at Ichigo, who still had his sword drawn, but out of nowhere, another Naruto came flying in and struck Naruto exactly where he was at that instant of his run, causing them to roll into the ground and fall over. Ichigo turned, but his face was violently punched as soon as his head turned. Steaming and reddened, Luffy had entered Gear Second, and as Naruto and Ichigo got back up, the clone illusion dropping, they stared at Luffy, who slowly raised his head to reveal furious eyes as his muscles continued steaming.
Ichigo and Naruto both ran at Luffy. As Ichigo jumped, Naruto slightly ducked mid-run and did a slide tackled, but with a single jump, Luffy caused Naruto to slide too far and slam straight into solid stone, damaging his leg. Ichigo quickly attempted to swing down with his Zanpakuto, but the attack was intercepted by Luffy stretching out his arm and punching him so hard he coughed up blood, his face contorted with agony as he crashed into a few trees, straight-up knocking them down as he slid through the forest. The force of Luffy's punch created loads of dust as the debris of the shattered ground flew up, but behind Luffy in the dust, two Naruto clones had been formed and ran at him as he landed. Luffy punched one away and kicked the other one into the air, and as Ichigo ran ahead and prepared to swing from sideways, Luffy stretched his body back to avoid the swing of Ichigo's Zanpakuto and punched him in the stomach, causing him to cough blood, followed by uppercutting him far off, sending him flying into the nearby pool of water. The only place Luffy hadn't cared to look, however, was above him.
"Wind Style:- Rasenshuriken!"
Naruto, directly above Luffy, boomeranged the colossal blue star right at him. Luffy had no time to dodge, and the attack landed full-force on his face as Naruto leapt back. A huge blue half-sphere now spun where Luffy was standing. Inside, Luffy was being pelted with an endless storm of tiny swords, and when it ended, Luffy crouched there, incredibly wounded and bleeding from the attack. Huffing from the pain, Luffy's arm was on his knee as blood dripped out all over his body. As Ichigo burst out of the water, he flew up right in front of Naruto, but was kicked right in the chest, with so much force that he, too rolled off and collapsed next to Luffy. As he and Luffy recovered, Luffy's muscles relaxed. They both got back in combat position, ready to team up if they must. And when Naruto's eyes opened, the blue was gone. Yellow had replaced it, with a black cross on his irises. Around his eyes was orange shading, and Sage Mode Naruto set ten clones up and commanded them forward with his hand.
"How about we settle this, once and for all?!"
(Begin Nankou Furaku)
The cloned Sage Narutos ran forward at Luffy and Ichigo as the actual one charged up a Rasenshuriken. Luffy punched away the incoming clone, but the other two four that were sent at him quickly kicked him into the ground and were on top of him in an instant, punching away at him like hell. Ichigo ran forward to meet the five clones that charged at him. One kicked forward, but Ichigo dodged and ducked as another attempted to slash at him from upwards with a kunai, and swept the third incoming one with a kick. He slashed at the other two that attacked him earlier, but the other two that successfully punched him in the chest and face, knocking him back slightly. Luffy quickly pressured himself and punched away the remaining clones, whereas Ichigo held back the two that kept slashing at him with kunai using the edge of Zangetsu, and finally found an opening to kick them away. As Luffy and Ichigo got up, however, the very ground shook with the sheer force as Naruto hurled it at them.
"This stops now!"
A spinning cyclone of furious swords, a huge Rasenshuriken rapidly spun ahead towards the pirate and the samurai, but they quickly let go of their shock. Luffy pressured power into both his arms and grabbed the spinning cyclone of wind with his bare hands, as Ichigo slid under the attack and ran at Naruto. Naruto remained vulnerable for a second, and Ichigo quickly swung his Zanpakuto forward, cutting right through him, but instead of blood, smoke flew out to reveal a log.
"Hah! Both of you fell for it!"
The Rasenshuriken turned into the actual Naruto in a puff of smoke, and as Luffy was temporarily stunned, he diagonally kicked him across the face and sent him flying off into the air. Luffy fell back, smashed into the ground as debris flew up. Ichigo ignored this and ran ahead at Naruto, as the ninja did the same, locking sword to kunai as before.
"Whatever you are..."
Ichigo shoved hard against the kunai, knocking it out of Naruto's hand.
"I'LL CUT YOU DOWN!"
Ichigo took advantage of the second and swung Zangetsu into Naruto a few times, but what he didn't know was what was incoming behind him.
WHAM!
Ichigo's face contorted as Luffy's fist slammed into his cheek, knocking him over like a stray bullet in the air. Naruto tried to recover, but Luffy was a step ahead of him and launched himself into the air, pressurizing his arms.
"GUM GUM..."
As he said these words, Luffy's fists lit up on fire.
"RED HAWK!"
(Begin Overtaken 2)
Naruto dodged by jumping just in time as Luffy's fists met the ground, scattering embers and debris everywhere. Naruto pulled out a kunai and chucked it in Luffy's direction, but Luffy's arm stretched out and punched it away, slamming into Naruto and launching him into the air. Luffy stretched out his arm again to punch the airborne Naruto, but Ichigo had recovered and blurred forward. He jumped in and kicked Luffy away, giving Naruto time to recover in midair. Ichigo and Luffy rolled onto the ground, with Ichigo on top. Quickly, the Soul Reaper raised his Zanpakuto and rapidly slammed the end of the hilt into Luffy's chest several times, but Luffy turned the tides and punched him in the face. Naruto had meanwhile generated a clone in midair, and the clone and the original quickly ran ahead, restraining Luffy and Ichigo by grabbing their arms. The Narutos, both clone and original, quickly locked into combat with Ichigo and Luffy. The clone quickly jumped back to dodge a punch from Luffy, tackling him into the ground. The original grabbed Ichigo by the shoulder and hurled him into the forest, jumping in himself afterwards. Luffy watched the two get into the forest, wishing he could follow, but was quickly punched again by Naruto.
"Take this, Straw Hat!"
Naruto began continuously punching Luffy now, going very fast and drawing more and more blood out Luffy's face. The pirate grew more and more tired, but he definitely wasn't done. To the cloned Naruto's surprise, as he walked away, Luffy punched him right in the back full-force, and turned him around.
"I've had it with you, jerk! Take this! Gum Gum Jet Gatling Gun!"
Luffy punched the clone several times until finally, his fist lit on fire from the sheer speed he was punching at, and slammed it into the clone, causing him to dissipate with a groan. Luffy then slammed his fists together and looked into the forest with his Observation Haki to find Naruto and Ichigo running through the branches and fighting.
"Time to go!"
Luffy, like a monkey, shot out his arms and quickly began swinging from branch to branch in the maze of trees.
In the thick of the forest, two blurs were rushing along the apparently endless line of trees. Naruto and Ichigo dashed among the green bushes and wood, jumping from branch to branch and occasionally meeting to clang kunai and Zanpakuto. They ran fast along the forest as they engaged in conversation.
"You know, for a Hollow, you're taking a hell-load of effort to put down!"
"What the heck is a Hollow? Are you some kind of an alien or something?"
"Don't play dumb with me!"
As the two said this, they shifted courses towards each other again, kunai meeting Zanpakuto, as time slowed down to show the sparks of metal clashing as the kunai slid down the edge of the Zanpakuto, the expressions in both Ichigo and Naruto's faces detailed with the heat of battle. As they landed back on either side of the tree, however, Naruto found a chink that was formed in his kunai from the last clash. Too late to discover this, however, Naruto was struck with a sudden attack coming from his side.
"Getsuga Tensho!"
Ichigo swung Zangetsu sideways and let loose a wave of powerful spiritual energy. The whitish blue-looking blast took Naruto by surprise and launched him several meters away onto another tree, cutting down the other rows in between in the process. Naruto rolled over and fell down at the foot of one of the trees, whereas Ichigo continued running through the forest to find a more suited location for combat. Naruto recovered and raised his leg to jump ahead, but stopped himself at the sight of Luffy.
Moving faster than ever, Luffy had quickly caught up, and Ichigo was yet to be aware of this. Naruto ducked into the bushes as Luffy was right behind Ichigo. And when Ichigo turned around, it was too late.
"Gum Gum Jet Pistol!"
Hardened by Armament Haki and steaming with the backing force of Gear Second, Luffy's arm extended and slammed into Ichigo's stomach, knocking him through the thick of the forest into an area more around the central region. Naruto now smirked, but to his surprise, Luffy's arm reached out from afar, grabbed him, hurled him into the air and punched him into the distance too, before Luffy landed and jumped ahead by pressuring his legs.
The tree now landed in the very heart of the huge forest. Trees surrounding the area, as the fighters got up, they found themselves in a place with a lake, a few jutting stones, and one large hill with a pointed top that jutted diagonally upwards.
"Time to settle this!"
Naruto had recovered for battle as usual, and charged ahead first towards Ichigo. Luffy wound up his arm and punched at Naruto, but Naruto slid under the attack as did Ichigo. The two drop-kicked each other, before Ichigo got up while slicing upwards into Luffy's arm.
"GAH! That hurts!"
Luffy pulled back his slightly bleeding arm as Ichigo decided to take a second so comically laugh at him in true anime hero fashion, but didn't expect-
"GIANT RASENGAN!"
Two Narutos ran at Ichigo and slammed the spiral chakra sphere right into his chest, knocking him sideways and away on a pinwheel of wind. Naruto smirked and wiped his mouth, cocky as ever.
But.
"Aw man."
"GUM GUM GIGANT PISTOL!"
Luffy had taken the opportunity to blow air through his hollow bones! Hand inflated, Luffy punched Naruto right into the air, before jumping up and hammering him down. Ichigo joined the combo by assisting Luffy for a second, jumping into the air himself and using one kick to knock down Naruto, but their alliance only lasted a second as Ichigo then proceeded to slice down Luffy's chest, causing him to crash into the ground as well. As Naruto and Luffy landed on the ground, a few debris rose up as Ichigo landed. He stabbed his sword into the ground beside him to look at the two unconscious fighters, but didn't know where one had just went.
Inside Naruto's head...
"Hey, Kurama! Wake up for a sec!"
The giant beast slowly rose from his slumber. His nine tails rose into the air as he sat up in his full size.
"What the- Naruto? I was a bit busy, err-"
"Doesn't matter. I'm kinda busy facing a couple opponents here, mind lending a hand?"
"Do you need the chakra of the other Tailed Beasts?"
"Not sure yet, but it won't be a problem! Just lend me a hand for right now!"
"Well then, I'll give you as much as needed to go into our imperfect chakra link. If anything goes wrong, I'll give you a boost."
Naruto grinned at this.
"Thanks! That's all I'm gonna need!"
"Don't get cocky... I sense some pretty heavy power in there..."
Kurama reached out his fist towards Naruto as he said this, as Naruto did the same. Their fists met, and the chakra spread throughout Naruto's body.
Back outside...
WHAM!
(Begin Standing up on Roaring Earth)
Ichigo was met with a kick right to the lower jaw as Naruto sped past him right afterwards. As Luffy got up, scratching his head, too, Naruto, now glowing yellowish orange with Kurama's chakra, blitzed into him, too. He then did the same so fast to both him and Ichigo that the speed caused fire to light up on the ground as Naruto put them back out just with pure speed. Once the attacks were done, Luffy and Ichigo were huffing from their wounds as Naruto, glowing with enhanced power, appeared right in front of them.
Like a bullet out of hell, Naruto dashed off for the second time, circling the area tenaciously. Luffy and Ichigo turned with their guard up, trying to keep up with their fast nemesis, but the afterimages looked so physical that they couldn't tell where he was. He was moving so fast that their eyes couldn't track it, leaving the afterimages literally everywhere like a huge yellow circle.
"Take this!"
Naruto suddenly blitzed out the circle and, leaving a yellow trail of speed behind him, kicked Luffy right in the jaw. As Luffy was sent flying, he launched himself into the air and kicked him down towards the ground, but Ichigo had jumped behind him within that time. Unable to react, Naruto was struck with Zangetsu's flat side. He flew into a tree and stood temporarily unconscious, holding onto his throbbing head.
"GETSUGA TENSHO!"
Ichigo swung his blade forward as he landed on the ground, launching a semi-aerial assault on Naruto. As the wave of spiritual energy shot at the ninja, Naruto recovered and, unable to raise his own arms in time, generated two huge arms that extended right out his back and grabbed the wave, dissipating it instantaneously. The arms returned inside Naruto, as Ichigo stumbled back.
"Wait- DID YOU SERIOUSLY JUST GROW EXTRA ARMS?!"
THWAP!
Ichigo was uppercutted several feet into the air as he said this, before he could even react. Launched into the air, Ichigo was then grabbed by Luffy's stretched out huge arm and slammed into the ground. Luffy then smacked him away, causing him to bump his head on a jagged rock, damaging his skull as he rolled over unconscious. Luffy then shot his arm at Naruto, as Naruto smirked and shot out a chakra arm.
WHAM!
The two arms met with huge force as they locked into a brutal clash, energy and flames slowly shredding out the hands as they wrestled for dominance. Luffy pushed hard, quickly gaining the advantage, and backed Naruto slightly off. But Naruto strained himself and to Luffy's major surprise, not only overpowered him, but also knocked him right into the air, as several more chakra arms extended out and formed a huge Rasengan, which instantly slammed into Luffy full-force, causing him to holler as the blast sent him flying into the air as he landed back on the ground, carried by a pinwheel, and fell over motionless.
"How do ya like THAT?!"
Luffy lay on the ground without response.
"I thought so!"
Meanwhile, Ichigo had awakened and rubbed his head as he picked up Zangetsu and raised it in combative position. Naruto turned to him, expression intense. The two's eyes locked, and they dashed at each other for combat. Naruto jumped as Ichigo lowered his sword under Naruto. As the ninja kicked ahead, Ichigo blocked Naruto's leg with his elbow, shoving it aside, and swung Zangetsu at him. Naruto barely avoided the attack by edging back in the nick of time, but Ichigo blitzed behind him, delivering a kick to his back that knocked him backwards, causing him to slide a bit as he backflipped and returned to the ground, brushing dust off his chakra coat. Ichigo ran ahead, but Naruto knew better than to just charge in. He shut his eyes, and sensed.
Ichigo was running at massive speeds, but Naruto was able to detect his energy moving ahead. Nearer, nearer, and...
WHAM!
One punch from Naruto launched Ichigo into the distance. He smirked and dashed ahead, flashing right above Ichigo and kicking him into the ground.
Ichigo slammed into the ground full-force, and as he got up, Naruto landed.
"There. Had your fun?"
Ichigo spun Zangetsu around in the air a few circles and swung it over his shoulder.
"The fun's just beginning!"
Naruto smirked.
"Let's rock!"
(Begin Showing Off)
The duo charged at each other, turning into black and orange flashes as they clashed, creating huge sound waves as their dashing figures met while racing around each other. The very clashes caused trees to waver as the black and orange met and met, slamming with every encounter. Eventually, as time slowed down, Naruto and Ichigo were shown, dashing ahead, Ichigo in midair with Zangetsu swung over his shoulder, and Naruto, half-ducking with a kunai in hand, and then reverted to normal speed, the two blitzing into each other as orange and black flashes.
Luffy, on the other hand, got up and rubbed his head. He wasn't exactly happy about his wounds, and, looking ahead at his opponents, he grinned. It may have looked like too fast a clash for him, but Luffy let steam rise through his body as before as he puffed into his fingers, letting in air that bloated his arms. He then hardened them with Armament Haki, and raised them above his head, before launching them both forward using the wind as a propeller.
"GUM GUM ELEPHANT GATLING GUN!"
Luffy's fists joined the blitz-fest, grey flashes continuously punching into the flurry of orange and black, sending debris flying and occasionally clanging with metal. Would the speeding blurs that now echoed through the forest never end? Luffy was punching constantly. Ichigo was slashing away as quick as possible. And Naruto was speedblitzing around like a glowing orange bullet slamming everything he struck!
A barrier of flashes formed at this point, debris flying everywhere as the dodging, daring bullet barrage continued. The fighters kept going at it, waves of speed being left behind as the clashing raged on.
"Okay, I'm done with this."
Ichigo had decided to stop trying to attack something he could inevitably keep clashing, and jumped out of the way just as Naruto extended a fist to try and punch him. Ichigo slid back as Luffy, unable to control his aim, slammed one fist at Naruto, which was dodged by a quick sliding duck, and the other swerved out of his control and jetted off in the wrong direction. Ichigo and Naruto both came at Luffy from two directions, and, cornered, Luffy had one option.
"Gum Gum Elephant Gun!"
Luffy launched his remaining fist forward, slamming it into Naruto. Too late to generate a blocking limb, the ninja was knocked several feet away, where he backflipped and landed with a backward slide, but not unscathed. Luffy pulled back his other arm as fast as he could as Ichigo jumped up and raised Zangetsu above his head to slice at him, but to his dismay, Luffy was too fast and tugged back the iron-hard arm, knocking Ichigo off air balance and rolling him onto the ground, after which Luffy stretched out his foot and kicked him away, causing him to land in some debris.
Luffy then looked around for where Naruto had gone, but as he stared, the ninja stared from behind him. Luffy stood there searching, and a knife dropped to his feet with a small chink. Luffy looked down at the knife and picked it up.
"What's on this tag... B-U-R-S-T. Wait- WHAT?!"
KABOOM!
The flaming tag erupted into smoke as Luffy was blasted upwards, Naruto rocketing down with a knee slam as he did so. Naruto then retracted his knee and did a rising kick, knocking Luffy into the air. As he began free-falling, though, Naruto set loose an arm out his stomach, letting it reach out and grab Luffy. Spinning in midair, Naruto whirled Luffy in his chakra arm.
"Try THIS on for size!"
Full-force and just upon landing, Naruto crashed Luffy into the ground, causing debris to fly everywhere as he whipped out the arm and launched Luffy away. Naruto then turned to face the incoming rapid footsteps of Ichigo, as the Soul Reaper swung his sword. Naruto extended a hand out as fast as he could to grab the blade, stopping it between another one as Ichigo pressured on. But Naruto didn't expect this.
"Getsuga Tensho!"
A blast of Reiatsu burst out Ichigo's sword as Naruto was struck, point-blank, by the attack. The wave erupted out, and, as Luffy got up, he, too was engulfed in the sudden burst of excess spiritual pressure. Knocked back, Luffy slammed into a tree, whereas Ichigo swung Zangetsu back over his shoulder and chuckled.
The smoke and debris cleared off, and a yellowish orange aura emanated out of Naruto. To Ichigo's surprise as he gasped, Naruto was just crouched down a bit, face hidden. The shinobi then set off his aura as the crisp flames of his jacket slowly burnt at the tips. Naruto got back up, now wearing a jacket with dark markings on it, mainly on the inner part that had a seal on it. Naruto then looked up to face Ichigo, surrounded in Kurama's chakra. A purplish ball of energy formed in his hand as he smirked.
"How about some o' THIS!"
Naruto blasted forward at such speed that Ichigo had absolutely no time to react. He slammed the concentrated energy sphere in his hand right into Ichigo and smirked, letting it loose as he jumped back. The sphere ERUPTED with dark energy as Ichigo flew into the air, falling facedown as he did so. He rolled over a bit and coughed up some dust, before forcing himself back up. Luffy backed off in shock of this sudden shift in power as Naruto smirked.
"Let's finish this!"
Naruto drew his teleportation kunai and flipped it in the air, catching it. Ichigo got up and ran ahead sword-swinging, but missed as Naruto launched the kunai into the air, promptly shifting there and catching it. With all speed, Naruto formed a Shadow Clone and created a Rasengan, meteor-slamming into the ground with it, crushing a huge crater into it as the pinwheel spiraled, Ichigo having barely dodged. Ichigo swung at Naruto, but Naruto crouched and jumped in time to avoid it and kicked Ichigo in the face, knocking him away. Luffy ran ahead, body steaming and red, and took Naruto by surprise, punching him a few meters away, but Naruto slid back relatively unharmed.
"Getsuga Tensho!"
"Gum Gum Grizzly Magnum!"
In haste, Naruto blocked the incoming wave of Reiatsu using a chakra shield that looked like the face of Kurama. But by then, Luffy had charged up ahead with his armored fist charged and slammed it into the ground like a hammer mere seconds after he'd jumped out of the smoke and debris, knocking away Naruto. Naruto snorted as he formed a hand sign.
"Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
At once, twenty clones of Naruto appeared from a puff of smoke. One instantly began making a Rasengan in the hand of the other next to it, whereas the others charged at Luffy and Ichigo, locking into strife with them. One Naruto jumped onto Ichigo and began wrestling him, but Ichigo quickly took the advantage and threw him off, only for three more to wrestle him to the ground. The others ran at Luffy in formation, whereas Luffy, with a heavy frown, prepared his fists.
"Gum Gum Elephant Gatling Gun!"
The swift heavy punches forced the clones to swerve and dodge with clever maneuvers as the others were wiped out by the fists of iron. The few that got away jumped at Luffy, but were bashed away by a swat of his puffed up arms. Luffy then bloated himself up fully by pumping air, as Ichigo jumped up behind him.
"Not so fast!"
A swing of Zangetsu struck Luffy in the back, launching him miles off as he began bouncing around the clearing like a loose wrecking ball. Naruto finished preparing his Rasengan, but spotting the bouncing Luffy, decided for a buff as he added a wind change in chakra nature to the technique, launching the throwing star of wind blades at Luffy.
"Wind Style:- Rasenshuriken!"
The blast collided with the turbulent bouncing ball, and exploded, but Luffy burst out and pin-balled into Naruto, being blocked by a Nine-Tails defense. Using it as a ramp, Luffy launched himself at Ichigo, who ducked to avoid it in time and slid at Naruto, slashing him with the sword as fast as he could. Taking a step back, Naruto began quickly dodging as Ichigo stabbed forward and slashed at him, leaving afterimages as he was forced to step back and forth while ducking and dodging. He eventually grabbed Zangetsu by both his hands and tried to lift Ichigo, but Ichigo used Flash Step to phase right through the attack and kick him in the back, sending him flying off. Before he was able to recover, the smoking ball that was Luffy slammed into him, knocking him into the distance. Naruto flew off into the forest as Luffy zoomed at Ichigo, but the Soul Reaper quickly dodged by sidestepping. Luffy turned and bounced at him again, overshadowing him this time, but Ichigo quickly interfered with Blut Vene and pumped Reiatsu into his bloodstream, forcing his hands to grab Luffy. The heat burnt his hands a bit as he strained himself, sweat pouring from his head as he did so, but Ichigo forced himself to lift Luffy into the air and hurl him into the forest, before he followed suit, using Flash Step to keep up.
(Begin To Victory)
Blinding speed, Luffy and Ichigo dashed through the forest, with Luffy rolling through the trees and knocking them over by bouncing into them, whereas Ichigo used Flash Step to continually dash between trees. Luffy eventually sprung up and slammed a tree Ichigo was on, but the Shinigami quickly jumped sideways to dodge it. Ichigo quickly flashed between tree trunks now as he thought to himself.
"This is getting worse and worse every second. I need to take out this guy before I take on the Hollow kid. Looks like I gotta..."
As he did before, Ichigo swung his Zanpakuto forward with all speed, letting loose Reiatsu as he screamed.
"GETSUGA TENSHO!"
The Reiatsu burst out his sword and burst into Luffy, causing him to be launched into the air by the wave that struck him before he landed back on the ground, smoke steaming from his body. Ichigo relaxed and kneeled down next to Luffy to rest for a while, sighing with exhaustion.
THWACK!
"You thought it was over that quick, did you! Never underestimate me!"
Luffy then stretched out and grabbed Ichigo with one arm. He then quickly slammed him down to his left, then again to his right, then left, right, and did it several more times at blinding speed before spinning him into the air, before he stretched out his limb and grabbed Ichigo, twirling over in midair with an intense expression. He then used his leg to kick Ichigo into the ground, and his fists lit on fire as he hardened them and raised them into the air.
"Gum Gum Elephant Gun!"
Much larger than his Elephant Gatling fist, and MUCH stronger, Luffy slammed the fist into Ichigo, causing him to completely crash into the ground, causing a sound wave that erupted across the entire forest, shaking trees and sending off leaves. Steam still erupting from his body, Luffy walked up to Ichigo and raised his fist, when suddenly, orange light lit up all around him.
Music Stops.
"Alright! Let's get this going!"
1000 Narutos sat on the trees around Luffy and Ichigo, in their Kurama Link Modes. It was as if any second, the fox himself would be manifested, but Kurama wasn't there quite yet. But 1000 giant blue lights lit up either way as the clones each bore a Rasengan. And at the snap of one finger, all the clones jumped down.
"Sage Art:-...
Luffy and Ichigo looked up, their faces both in awe and shock.
"Massive Rasengan Mega Barrage!"
The clones crashed down into the ground full-force, as every Rasengan erupted out. The blue blast absolutely annihilated the clearing, sending another wave of blue energy across the forest as it knocked down several surrounding trees while destroying nearby ones, every tree in the forest shaking in case they stood. Stones erupted, the ground shook, craters were formed so deep that they broke and let loose some lava, and everything went up in a puff of smoke as the clones disappeared, leaving smoke everywhere as three shadowy figures now stood out of the debris and smoke left by the attack.
The dust cleared off slowly as the smoke washed off. Billows of soot dried away as three shadows gained more color from the smoke's disappearance. The fighters now stood as strong as ever, and the dust cleared off to reveal their shapes.
Emitting steam like hell was within him, Luffy stepped out first. Hair flowing in the wind, chest scar colossal, expression deadpan and enraged, Luffy slammed his Armament Haki-imbued foot into the ground and raised his fists before him, his arms redder and more muscular than ever before.
A foot with a yellow sandal stepped out next. His chakra jacket now looking more like a jacket with yellow beads on the chest of his dark shirt, which had one circle right in the center, Naruto stepped out, two sharp hairs poking out while his eyes had returned to that of Sage Mode's, while he emitted flaming yellow chakra. Six orbs circulated him, with one staff in his hand. The orbs and staff were black with purple energy glowing on them.
And then stepped out Ichigo. The Quincy had a single curved horn on the right side of his head, which also bore a distinct black tattoo. His hair was now constantly flying up, his robe's location on his body having altered. He had activated his Shikai in the commotion, and now had one longsword and another shorter one. One of his eyes had also changed, and a toothy grin crossed his face.
It. Was. On.
The three charged at each other and each did regular physical attacks. Luffy punched forward, Ichigo slashed ahead, and Naruto swung his Truthseeker Staff ahead. The clash lasted half a second, as a flash of light went by, and Naruto, Ichigo and Luffy each stood a few meters away from the clash site, yet in their attacking poses. Naruto was the first to lower his weapon, as Ichigo swung one sword over his shoulder and held the other pointed towards the ground. Luffy closed his eyes and lowered his steaming red fist of iron-heavy muscle and the three waited.
In just a few seconds...
BOOM!
The clash was so quick and deadly that the very after effect sent a wave echoing across the clearing, further breaking the lava-emitting ground. The fighters turned their heads and shut their eyes, opening them back at the same time with equally intense expressions.
And to think they weren't even at full power yet.
(Begin Luffy's Fierce Attack)
Luffy quickly launched himself into the air like a huge cannonball, spinning around and preparing to begin crashing down, but Ichigo used Flash Step to back off as Naruto levitated a bit back, which caused Luffy to crash into nothing but the ground, which entirely shattered under his weight and let lava leak out, forcing Naruto to levitate even further back as Ichigo pulled a few swift acrobatic jumps to avoid the sudden outburst of lava as Luffy bounced up.
"I'm just getting warmed up!"
Steam erupting from his body, Luffy let his massive balloon body drop to the ground, shaking the very earth and causing the lava to leak out even more so as he did, and began spinning full-speed, ramping himself with the occasionally incoming stones, which either served their purpose, or were crushed.
Ichigo kept leaping back and sideways with Flash Step as Luffy rolled ahead, whereas Naruto dodged right or left whenever the pirate ramped up at him. Ichigo finally found the right opportunity when Luffy bounced between two heavy stones and got stuck, and with all haste, sped forward and grabbed him using the two swords in his hand, locking them around Luffy's throat. With immense strength, the Shinigami raised Luffy above his head while locked and spun him aside, but Luffy quickly uncurled himself and slid onto the ground. Naruto quickly flew at him, but Luffy held out his reddened hard arm to stop him. Ichigo ran ahead taking this as a chance, using Flash Step to slice right past Luffy, but to his surprise, no blood shot out!
"You can't break this! But I can break YOU!"
"Gah!"
The earth trembled as Luffy forced Ichigo of the ground with one hand and shoved away Naruto with the other, launching them off full-force, and stomped on the ground to let off some steam, before he shoulder charged forward at the two recovering combatants. Naruto and Ichigo got up and looked at the incoming juggernaut, and both decided it was an all-or-nothing time to attack.
Naruto set loose five Truthseeker Orbs, whereas Ichigo raised his sword and blasted Luffy with a Cero. The black orbs struck Luffy in multiple areas, causing him to suddenly slow from the pain as his chest, shoulders and stomach were struck. As he slowed, the Cero struck him too, completely knocking him over. Naruto and Ichigo both ran forward to attack.
Ichigo began slashing and hacking away at the front of the collapsed ball that was Luffy whereas Naruto began beating him around the sides using the Truthseeker Staff, dashing and spinning it as he did so. Finally, he jumped up and shoved the staff forward, hoping to pierce Luffy's flesh, but much to his surprise, Naruto's staff harmlessly bounced off the pirate's steel-hard chest as Luffy go to his feet. He quickly slammed one red foot into Ichigo, who dodged narrowly, and grabbed Naruto by the leg, hurling him into the air. Ichigo then slashed at Luffy with his two blades held sideways, which Luffy grabbed with his arms and restrained. Naruto prevented himself from being sent too far off, on the other hand, by slightly levitating. He then shut his eyes for a second, deciding it was time for the big guns. He shut his eyes and entered his mind, landing on a spot full of the Tailed Beasts.
"Son! Gyūki! Lend me some chakra, will ya?!"
"You got it!"
"If it'll help, then here you go."
Back outside, Naruto generated two chakra arms out his back. Luffy and Ichigo were still busy clashing, and, when it was too late, they spotted the huge shurikens in Naruto's hands.
"Sage Art:- Lava Style:- Rasenshuriken!"
Naruto boomeranged the first one, a red Rasenshuriken with a steaming hot core, right at Luffy's back as he and Ichigo looked up. The attack struck them before they could react and caused a massive explosion of fire, bursting through the ground and letting lava flow. Luffy and Ichigo were both backed down by the initial blast, but they both fell off-footing and staggered from their wounds as the ground beneath them broke.
"Heh, been a while since I've done this."
Naruto hurled the second disk, made of ink, right at Ichigo, but the Soul Reaper quickly raised his sword and launched a Cero, which shot with all speed right through the Rasenshuriken, which erupted into ink, but to Ichigo's surprise, Naruto smirked at this and effortlessly dodged the Cero, charging forward. Luffy, still stumbling back, recovered and shot forward an arm at Naruto, but the ninja dodged and reached Ichigo, kicking him right in the face! The Soul Reaper rolled back a bit and smirked, wiping his mouth and facing Naruto as Luffy turned as well. The true battle had only just begun.
Luffy pulled back his hardened arm and began spinning it, winding up a punch as Ichigo charged forward. Naruto shut his eyes and opened them up, now with a Rasengan in his hand. It was stable, but had odd markings around it. Naruto charged at Luffy at the same time as Ichigo began hacking away at Luffy with Zangetsu. But, with the attack doing no harm, Luffy finished his wind-up punch and slammed it into Ichigo's jaw, knocking him far off as he coughed up blood. Naruto, however, reached Luffy, and as time appeared to stop, held out his hand ready to attack.
Luffy's head turned in slow motion as he spotted it and reached out as time returned to normal.
"Sage Art:- Magnet Style-!"
Luffy had punched Naruto away, too! Naruto flew off and fell to the ground, coughing a bit of blood as he did. Luffy punched his fists together in excitement.
"Never mess with me, got it?"
"How bout no?!"
Ichigo fired off another Cero that flew at Luffy, but Luffy slapped it away with his hands. He pumped his fists more and casually walked at Ichigo, who dusted his robe as they ran forward. Naruto had gotten up and quickly used a hand sign, forming multiple Shadow Clones that ran forward as a diversion. As Luffy turned around to spot the Shadow Clones, Ichigo took the opportunity to leap up and kick him in the face, before hacking at his open back twice his Zangetsu. A bit of blood leaked out Luffy's mainly hardened body, as Naruto's clones successfully leaped onto him. Luffy backed off as the clones grabbed on to his head and wrestled him down, while Ichigo charged up his sword. Naruto himself quickly levitated and launched the Truthseeker Orbs forward, as Reiatsu burst forth from Zangetsu in all directions. The blast obliterated the clones, whereas Luffy was injured but freed, as omnidirectional blasts of spiritual energy kept erupting out. Naruto himself was too far up to be struck and quickly zoomed down, sticking out his foot and kicking Ichigo in the face as he did so, knocking down the Soul Reaper. He then landed a few feet ahead, slightly sliding ahead as he turned to face Luffy.
(Begin Final Getsuga Tensho Theme)
Luffy slammed his fists together and charged at Naruto, punching ahead, but Ichigo quickly got back up and stuck out his leg, trying to trip Luffy. Luffy stumbled a bit, which gave Ichigo the chance to sweep-kick him and do a jumping kick upwards as he got back up. A few Truthseeker Orbs came at Ichigo, but he quickly slashed the bullet-like projectiles in half before kicking off Luffy's face, leaping at Naruto as he swung down the two blades of Zangetsu. Naruto quickly met it with his Truthseeker Staff and a duel began.
Ichigo kept slashing forward non-stop while switching blades. Naruto remained on his toes constantly as he kept spinning his staff in semi-circles and blocking the slashes. However, he was overwhelmed by the sheer speed and sharpness of Ichigo's critical blows, which caused the staff to break. Naruto was slashed twice, before Ichigo kicked him away, and jumped ahead with both blades raised for his chest, ready to stab. But as Ichigo leapt down, the Truthseeker Orbs reformed behind him and shot towards Naruto, directly barraging Ichigo's back as they formed a shield around their owner. Naruto quickly merged his broken staff back to normal and let the shield disperse, stabbing the staff ahead into Ichigo's stomach and impaling him. He quickly pulled out the staff and swung it onto Ichigo's chest and shoulders twice more, before kicking him into the distance. Ichigo slid back and got up, ready to charge again, but suddenly felt two hard things pressuring against his head like a million bells had just rung in his ears.
Ichigo slumped to the ground as Luffy pulled his fists back from the clap. Naruto now ran forward to face Luffy, as Luffy charged up his fist. Naruto quickly held forward his staff to block the steaming fist as it slammed into it, pushing him back. Naruto flinched. This was bad. Anymore of this pressure, and-
"Take THIS!"
Luffy winded up his fist again and punched Naruto, easily breaking his defensive block and slamming the fist hard into his head, as he coughed up a wave of blood and flew off into the distance. But Luffy wasn't done yet.
"This isn't over yet! GUM GUM KONG GUN!"
Luffy fired his fist like a bullet and slammed it into Naruto, heavily damaging him as he flew miles off into the distance, disappearing from view as he landed who knows where. Luffy then looked down to face Ichigo. Ichigo had gotten up, and was now looking directly up at the juggernaut of a pirate.
"Guess I should settle this, then..."
"You're dead meat!"
Luffy smacked his knuckles into each other and wound up a punch, but Ichigo backflipped that instant, dodging the punch entirely. Luffy stretched out his arm to try and grab Ichigo, but the Soul Reaper leapt sideways repeatedly to dodge the earth-shattering fists that literally shattered the ground. Debris flew out and lava poured from the ground, but Ichigo wasn't fazed. He crouched and leapt to avoid another punch, and ran up Luffy's outstretched arm. Luffy roared in rage and tried to grab him with a hand, but Ichigo jumped onto that arm and leapt off sideways, swinging his swords in a rapid spin and striking Luffy right in the eye, cutting him there and blinding his vision as blood covered the damaged eye.
"Dammit!"
Luffy stumbled back as Ichigo landed and began hacking away at him, dual-bladed. Ichigo unleashed two more gashes along the pirate's chest, and then stabbed the shorter blade into it. Finally, Ichigo pulled it out and slid back, looking at Luffy, who was now bleeding from everywhere. He looked like a very red balloon that was losing it paint job. In a last-ditch effort, Luffy grew larger than ever and shot out his arm for the last time, but to his great misfortune, Ichigo leapt back and avoided the attack. The Soul Reaper used Luffy's arm as a jumping platform and leapt above his head. Ichigo's eyes lit up as he swooped down and swung the blade right along Luffy's face, violently spraying more blood. He then turned at the stumbling pirate and sighed.
"It's over for you."
Ichigo boosted himself into the air, causing the ground to spark up with Reiatsu as he did so. Luffy forced his legs to help him jump up, as the ground steamed, in a last resort. Both combatants were boosted far above the trees and into the air at the jump, Luffy curling into a ball and breaking out, face bloodied, to punch Ichigo, but the Soul Reaper knew what was coming and lowered his body. He crossed the two blades over his chest now as the two fell, Luffy falling quicker due to his massive weight.
Ichigo's swords glowed a dangerous cyan as he let Reiatsu flow through them. He then swung one forward, launching one Getsuga Tensho, but quickly swung the other sideways, unleashing another one! The two waves of spiritual energy flew full-speed at the Straw Hat Pirate captain and met with his body. As it lit up a bit, the waves exploded point-blank, causing Luffy to crash into the ground with them as he bled out everywhere. The blue flash shook the very ground as Luffy was forcefully rammed in, his body being practically eviscerated by the blast. Waves of energy and debris blew out as the explosion cleared off. In front of the smoke, Ichigo landed on his knee and got up, turning to the wreckage.
"Sorry to do that to you."
The smoke blew away, and the wreckage revealed that Luffy had been decimated by the blast. Only a straw hat remained on the ground, blackened and damaged with a tear along the top. Ichigo then looked forward as his Zanpakuto reverted.
"It's finally over..."
BOOM!
(Begin Reverse Situation)
As soon as Ichigo said this, he covered his face. Billows of yellow energy flew through the forest. Orange waves sent trees crashing as the Soul Reaper took a step back in both awe and confusion. In the distance, he heard loud crashing as something slowly rose, enshrouded in yellow and orange, rose from the wreckage. Nine tails shot into the air, knocking down several trees as they lashed along the dense forest, before a huge head attached to a colossal body rose. The head and body were yellowish, with dark markings and whiskers. The ears were long and pointed, and the creature had huge teeth. It was a fox. And in the head, floating right between the eyes, was Naruto.
"Told you you needed my help, Naruto. A year and a half between now and the war and you grow rusty that quick."
"Shaddup."
Kurama roared out loud, shaking the very earth with his tremor-creating growl. His tails lashed out and destroyed several more trees, as Naruto nodded within him.
"Okay, time to launch our attack!"
"Gotcha!"
Kurama opened his mouth and slowly began draining energy from the surroundings. A sort of black, red and purple energy slowly rose through the ground and went towards Kurama's open mouth. The absorption even shook the ground as Ichigo closed his eyes and tightened his resolve. As he opened them, he'd just figured out about how he'd charged ahead on instinct.
Kurama was pretty far away. His huge size was the only reason he was even visible to Ichigo. The Soul Reaper kept running ahead, across the trees, leaping over the wreckage of the logs and jumping whenever a nearby tree fell. He kept running forward with unbreakable spirit, a determined soul on the fight.
"Naruto, he's trying to get nearer. If I launch this where it's aimed, it won't do much. It'll destroy a huge range, but by then, he'll have gotten nearer to the point where we'd barely even touch him."
"Don't worry. I've got a plan."
Ichigo kept running ahead as the ground quaked under his feet, red energy glowing in the air now too. The earth continued shaking violently as Ichigo kept running without breaking resolve. Kurama was absorbing more and more energy faster, and about to attack any second. Ichigo drew nearer, Kurama drew more energy. It started flashing between them until...
"Let's go, Kurama!"
Ichigo had just reached the spot where Kurama was, and he was huge. But before Ichigo could even observe his towering opponent, three different tails lashed out at once from the side and hurled him into the air. Naruto smirked.
"Tailed Beast Ball!"
Kurama finished absorbing energy, calming the quake as he temporarily shut his mouth and faced up. And then, he opened it up. And out burst a colossal black and purple ball of energy that flew right at Ichigo. The Quincy's eyes widened as light glowed in them with the nearing attack, and before he knew it, Ichigo felt the blast full-force, erupting right on him as it shook the very sky, energy glowing as Naruto watched in Kurama's head. The ball erupted round, then sideways as the sky shook. When the blast cleared off, the air was covered in smoke, and whether or not Ichigo remained alive was questionable.
"BANKAI!"
Kurama's mouth slightly opened as Naruto's eyes grew intense. Out of the eruption of energy, despite himself, Ichigo had jumped out the destruction alive, his clothes torn, but very much alive. Reiatsu exploded from his sword, forcing Kurama to take a giant step back and send debris flying as Ichigo landed right on top of his head after the flash, stabbing his new khyber knife-like sword into the fox's head. Naruto backed off as Ichigo forced the sword in deeper, but a few Truthseeker Orbs quickly rushed to the defense, knocking Ichigo off. He landed on the ground and slid back a little, but remained very much alive.
"Kurama! Rapid fire!"
"One step ahead of ya!"
Kurama began to rapidly condense chakra and blasted at Ichigo, who was now running back to the clearing. The Soul Reaper dodged and swerved as massive blasts of energy landed behind or next to him while he kept running. The blasts' mere impact on the ground created mass destruction and formed pillars of energy as they did. Ichigo arrived at the clearing where Luffy's remains were, and slid over there. Kurama now had four Tailed Beast Balls charged in succession as Naruto created a massive Rasenshuriken, which dwarfed even Kurama. The duo launched the blast at Ichigo, and the wave of energy came spinning forward. Ichigo would run, but realized he had no reason to and held his ground. The blast was launched, with four Tailed Beast Balls at the side, and quickly spun into Ichigo, blowing up the entire vicinity of its trees and destroying what remained of Luffy's straw hat. The smoke dissipated from the blast, and Ichigo now had his sword buried into the ground, huffing. Naruto nodded to Kurama as the fox leapt into the air, traveling several kilometers with a single jump, and the shadow formed over Ichigo, forcing the Shinigami to take a huge leap backwards as the fox slammed into the ground, sending debris flying everywhere.
Kurama's head turned to face Ichigo as Naruto floated there looking at him. Ichigo raised his sword in preparedness for combat.
"Whatever you are, I'm gonna finish you here and now. Demon or Hollow, you're going down!"
"Never in an eternity, punk!"
Kurama roared as he raised his arm to swat forward, but Ichigo dodged the initial claw swipe. The fox stepped ahead and roared so loud that the very sound sent Ichigo flying back. The ghost-hunting samurai sped ahead using Flash Step, turning himself into a blur and began circling the Nine-Tailed fox, slashing away at him with Tensa Zangetsu, which caused Kurama to roar as he was forced to his feet, stomping the ground to knock over Ichigo. He roared and leapt back, observing the Quincy as he blitzed ahead to attack.
"Naruto... I'm sensing lots of power from this kid... It's almost as bad as Sasuke... Watch your back."
"I've got this!"
Naruto raised an arm, commanding Kurama to jump. The fox ducked and launched himself into the air as he flipped back, opening his mouth and blasting the ground where Ichigo stood. Exhausted, the Shinigami was now huffing for breath as the fox landed a bit far off. But Ichigo overpowered his pain and raised Tensa Zangetsu back up, wiping his face as his eyes remained as determined as ever.
"No matter what... I don't give a damn what you do next, I, Ichigo Kurosaki, swear to win this!"
Ichigo practically blasted himself off-ground as he ran, circulating Kurama until he jumped onto his tail. The Tailed Beast attempted to shake off Ichigo by waving his tail, but the determined reaper kept himself hung on as he climbed upon the tail and ran so fast that not even gravity stopped him as he blitzed up Kurama's back and up towards the head area.
"Naruto! This isn't good! If he gets in, he can disrupt our chakra link!"
"Dang it!"
"You're finished!"
Ichigo had jumped up and leapt forward to try and stab, right into Kurama's head and at Naruto, but a Truthseeker shield prevented him as he was grabbed by a chakra arm and launched off. However, Ichigo wasn't done as he landed, running forward as before.
"Do it, Naruto!"
"Roger!"
Kurama's fingers formed the same position as Naruto when he used the Shadow Clones, as the fox appeared to levitate into air. Ichigo was stopped as several shadows towered over him. There were about four Kuramas now!
"What the hell- It doesn't matter! I've gotta keep going! I chose this mission and I will finish it!"
Ichigo stabbed his sword into the ground and released more omnidirectional blasts of Reiatsu off, as the clones slowly got nearer to each other. Soon, the avatars of Kurama had met and merged, glowing with a strange flare as the fox rose upwards into the sky. Ichigo stared up as the shadow now towered over him and kept a steady expression. The merging avatars slowly revealed their purpose as the flying form of Kurama was revealed, with one head in each main direction and several humanoid looking arms. His eyes shut, Naruto was in the center, and in Kurama's hands were two massive Rasenshurikens, which possessed so much power that the sound they emitted was similar to that of a storm that shook the very sky. One was like a regular Rasenshuriken, whereas the other was dark and purple, but both equally ravaged the sky as Ichigo looked up at his greatest threat yet.
Ichigo shut his eyes too. Both the remaining fighters' minds practically connected as they thought to themselves.
"Nothing against this guy... But I have to win... At all costs!"
The fighters stared each other down as Ichigo also launched himself up into the shaking skies. He swung his blade over his shoulder as he ascended. Reiatsu gathered on the blade as it began gleaming with the same attack that had killed Yhwach over a year ago. Ichigo slowly raised the blade from his shoulder as it kept glowing and opened his eyes. The two colossal Rasenshurikens and his fully charged and most powerful Getsuga Tensho... It all came down to this.
Swish.
The attacks were both launched at the same time. Kurama set loose his arms as Ichigo fired off a massive blast of Reiatsu from his blades, launching the Rasenshurikens and the Getsuga Tensho at once. And within a second that felt like an intense eternity, the attacks collided.
BOOM!
Music Stops.
The skies roared as the massive collision instantly blew up, creating a huge explosion! The blast ranged several miles into the forest as it caused several bolts of lightning to crash down and destroy trees, while creating huge fires. Thunder echoed from the blast as it expanded, practically blowing across the skies and ripping them apart. It was like the sky itself had gone off-balance and toppled over. A huge ripple was formed in the air as the very ground broke and nearby rocks, cliffs and mountains were destroyed. Anything nearby was basically decimated as the earth shook, the tremor forcing the ground into shifting as the blast leveled the entire vicinity. Dust flew everywhere, destroying everything nearby, and when it all settled, thunder crashed down the blackened skies and set more of the destroyed pile of earth and trees on fire as the two fighters landed on the ground. Their clothes were torn, their bodies bruised and bleeding, and they unconscious.
Ichigo shrunk back to his normal form whereas Naruto's yellowish chakra dissipated back inside him. Ichigo had had most of his upper robe torn apart, and his face was blackened from the bruise. Naruto's jacket had been torn in many spots, revealing some armor underneath. He was bruised, too, and his headband had been badly damaged.
For a few seconds, the duo lay on the ground. Then they stirred. Ichigo got up and rubbed his head, stabbing Tensa Zangetsu into the ground. Naruto, too, got up and clenched his fist. The dark had fallen, so their faces were lit by the fire. And as Tensa Zangetsu broke, Ichigo raised his regular Zanpakuto to his chest and held it forward. Naruto set his artificial arm ablaze, to reveal that his wounds were healing quickly. Soon, the bruises in his body had dissipated, and the only visible wounds were a few slashes and tears in his jacket. Naruto then lowered his kindled fist to his side. The final battle between the ninja and the samurai was about to commence. Without a sound, these two acknowledged opponents rushed to meet each other and get into one last clash among each other.
BAM!
Lit by flames, there was Naruto, punching Ichigo directly in the face.
SLISH!
A single swing of Zangetsu was able to make a decent gash on Naruto's right shoulder.
WHAM!
Regenerated, Naruto slammed his burning fist into Ichigo's stomach twice, before kneeing him in the chest.
BAZASH!
A bolt of lightning came down and lit the entire forest behind them on fire as the two fought on. Ichigo slashed at Naruto twice, but the ninja ducked and dodged the first one, and grabbed Zangetsu using his artificial hand next. After a considerable knee to the stomach, Ichigo stumbled back as Naruto used the Shadow Clone Jutsu, causing two clones to run at Ichigo with a kunai and shuriken. The first tried to slash at him with the kunai, but was easily slashed and kicked away. The second leapt back and threw a few shuriken, which Ichigo easily deflected. But the clone slid back and drew a Demon Wind Shuriken as Naruto began to channel chakra. Ichigo raised his Zanpakuto as the clone Naruto threw the Demon Wind Shuriken, which Ichigo tried to block with his sword. But to his surprise, the shuriken turned into Naruto and kicked him right in the face! Ichigo stumbled back as he grabbed his shoulder and continued huffing.
"Naruto... You gotta make this last shot count... I have very little chakra left... I can give you some for one more Rasengan, and then I can't supply anymore or I'll end up asleep. This is the last shot."
"Got it!"
Behind Naruto, in an illusion, as his eyes shut, all his friends and the Tailed Beasts appeared, putting their hands on his. And when he opened his eyes, Naruto Uzumaki held it in his hand. A blue sphere, basic, but powerful. This Rasengan would basically determine this battle. He held his own fate in his hands. And the shot had to count.
Naruto dashed ahead as fast as possible. Ichigo was exhausted, but the two clones weren't gonna hold him for long. One dashed at him without a second thought, but was quickly slashed and dissipated. The other one grabbed him and engaged in hand-to-hand combat, punching forward at Ichigo. The Soul Reaper blocked it with his elbow, and as Naruto tried to sweeping kick him, Ichigo jumped up and threw the clone onto the ground, dissipating him. Ichigo then raised Zangetsu to look at the incoming Naruto, prepared to decide the fight.
Ichigo had his sword both concentrated and raised. The decisive blow would come to only one, and as Naruto drew nearer, Ichigo prepared to slash at him, but before he could, to his surprise, two clones of Naruto shot out the ground and grabbed him by the arms! Unable to move, Ichigo was pinned and his fate was decided. He spat out the last thing he could in fury as Naruto dashed ahead.
"You- JUST WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU?!"
Naruto ran ahead and raised the Rasengan just as he'd reached Ichigo.
"My name is Naruto Uzumaki..."
Naruto's Rasengan grew larger in his hands as he answered.
"And I WILL be the next Hokage!"
WHAM!
In under a second, the Naruto rammed the Rasengan right into Ichigo's chest. The force behind it was so much that Ichigo screamed in agony. Naruto screamed to add force as he did so, and the ball of energy grew in his hand. He drove it in further, and, with one pinwheel spin, and a sudden shift in nature, the Rasengan's shape grew larger as the four-bladed Rasenshuriken erupted, a storm of blades that tore through Ichigo. Blood and flesh flew everywhere as Ichigo was torn apart, and as Naruto released the Rasenshuriken, he jumped back and stopped as Ichigo was stormed by needle after needle, a nigh-infinite number of swords spinning in the Rasenshuriken as it ripped through him, shredding his skin, flesh and clothes, until the infinite stabs burst into their remains, leaving Ichigo to stand there, his sword broken, his body resembling what looked like a statue that had been soaked in tomato sauce, tips and tears everywhere in his skin. Zangetsu fell over, breaking in two as it did, as Ichigo stood there motionless. His eyes were bloodshot and he was bleeding from almost everywhere. Naruto walked up to him and closed his eyes.
Naruto opened his eyes and, fist lit with fire, slammed it dead into Ichigo's chest, ripping right through his skin and flesh, sending it right out his back as the flames charred the nearby regions. Naruto then pulled out his fist.
Ichigo collapsed to the ground, very much dead, and as Naruto stared down at his body, he found a tinge of something similar to himself in his eye. He smiled gently and kneeled down, shutting the Shinigami's eyes for good and turned around.
"Sorry about that... You were an enemy... But I kinda liked ya!"
It was done. The battle had ended, and everything was peaceful and quiet. Naruto stood for a while as the flames slowly relaxed. He then sighed and slowly recovered from his injuries as a shadow loomed over him from the nearby branch.
"Hmph... 18 months I leave you be and you get messed up this bad? You're losing your touch, Naruto."
Naruto smirked.
"Not like you just took on a battle that shook the sky, pal. Let's go."
Sasuke jumped down and smirked, before dashing back towards the village with his best friend in tag.
K.O.![]
(Begin Naruto Main Theme 2016)
Naruto and Sasuke arrive at Konoha, walking into the gates.
Ichigo's spirit is shown watching over the same cliff Rukia had informed him, a smile of satisfaction on his face as a tear dripped down.
Luffy's crew is shown searching for him in a far-off island.
Lion:- ...I think I'm gonna cry.
Blade:- Be my guest. Luffy, Ichigo and Naruto are all excellent Shonen heroes, and great characters. But when we're comparing these three anime giants, Naruto ends up being on top.
Lion:- Want us to elaborate? Okay, we'll elaborate.
Blade:- Luffy, Ichigo and Naruto are all extremely powerful. They've been through many an adventure and fought many foes. And all three are extremely tough, able to survive any situation, and able to stand up to any enemy. Luffy is on a quest to reach the top, Ichigo is there to commit even when he doesn't want to, and Naruto is there to keep getting stronger and stronger overtime by working himself.
Lion:- So in the end, it wasn't a matter of their character. It was, as usual, a matter of speed, strength, intelligence, and durability.
Blade:- When it comes to speed, all three characters have many excellent speed-based feats to look at. Assuming we can compare Luffy to Zoro, he can move at at least the speed of a trained human eye. Zoro has previously fooled a room full of trained assassin eyes by moving about 57 feet in 4.5 milliseconds. That's approximately at 9000 miles per hour. To compare, the world's fastest bullet moves at 1,800 miles per hour. That's a dangerously quick shot for sure, but only 1/5th of Luffy's full potential.
Lion:- He can also react to lightning, and that shit usually moves at, uh... Blade, calc that shit.
Blade:- Sure. Lightning usually moves at around 220000 miles per hour. Again, impressive, but this only covers Luffy's side of the story. Let's look at Naruto.
Lion:- Naruto has also reacted to and fought people moving at the speed of lightning. But remember how he dodged the lightspeed Light Fang attack in Six Paths Sage Mode? Well, let Blade crunch some numbers here.
Blade:- As we'd established earlier, light moves at 299792458 meters per second. In miles per hour, that's about 670616629 miles per hour. That's faster than pretty much any bolt of lightning or bullet around. And just to top things off, he had teleportation options as well due to his teleportation kunai, which basically gave him the ability to blitz around without much effort backing it up.
Lion:- Ichigo is pretty fast himself, being able to point-blank dodge headshots and blitz lightning-fast people, but it's regardless, the same speed as Luffy and HIS lightning speed. And in order to deflect the ten thousand flower petal blades...
Blade:- Assuming each blade was moving at the speed of a bullet, Ichigo had to have spent the entire barrage deflecting them at 18000000 miles per hour within a few seconds. An impressive swinging speed for sure, but way less than even one-tenth the speed of light. That leaves a clear-cut comparison in speed. Now let's look at their power and techniques.
Lion:- Again, keeping in consideration that Luffy's about as strong as Zoro, who sliced the mountain-man called Pica in half. Luffy himself in Gear Fourth can level huge towns with a single impact from his punch.
Blade:- He has also wrecked small mountains and can tear through buildings, hell, even his jaws can cut through metal. Even with massive gold balls in his hands, he can fight hard. But it also pales in comparison to both Naruto and Ichigo.
Lion:- Ichigo can crack the ground just by swinging his sword and easily blow away mountains by clashing. That's... already pretty impressive. And in addition, since Luffy is made of rubber and thus vulnerable to cutting attacks, Ichigo pretty much annihilates him without trying. Buuuut we need to address one thing here.
Blade:- Ichigo, while extremely fast and strong, despite having sliced Yhwach in half, twice, definitely isn't on his level. Now this is for two reasons.
Lion:- Yhwach is able to merge worlds, yes, and that's all pretty impressive. However, the first time Ichigo bisected him, he'd pretty much used future manipulation to cancel it out, meaning Ichigo technically didn't slice him in half. The second time, Yhwach's powers were actually temporarily nullified, meaning what Ichigo did THERE was slice a regular man in half.
Blade:- Yes, Ichigo can take hits from Yhwach, but this is part of his durability and not strength. Naruto on the other hand outclasses both Ichigo and Luffy by a massive amount. Not only are the mere secondary effects of his clash with Sasuke able to shake the ground, create a storm, and destroy a colossal mountain-like area while creating a massive flash that shifted colors, but he's even able to harm Kaguya. And considering she can destroy a world that also contains a star using her chakra, yeah... Hell, even his and Kurama's Tailed Beast Balls are enough to counter five other Tailed Beast Balls, which can individually destroy mountains.
Lion:- Even physically, things were locked down in Naruto's favor. Luffy actually had Ichigo beat over here, since his deal is basically blowing things up by punching 'em. City? Blow it up by punching it. Mountain? Blow it up by punching it. A pirate that's way bigger and probably stronger than him? Fucking use a gear, and then blow it up by punching it! Noah, the ship the size of an island? Use the Elephant Gun to blow part of it up, by fucking punching it!
Blade:- Without his Soul Reaper powers, Ichigo can easily push a man's head through a wall, and he has extensive hand-to-hand training, but it pales in comparison to Naruto's prowess in this category.
Lion:- Naruto has been trained in Taijutsu pretty much all his life, and he even has a fist that can be lit on fire. Combined with his Shadow Clone Jutsu, Naruto's Taijutsu could pretty much put down both the others. He's not only way faster, but way stronger! Want proof? Well, one day, Naruto's teacher, Jiraiya, went after Pain, the crazy guy with the god complex. When Naruto found out Jiraiya died, he went off to master Sage Mode so he'd be able to beat Pain. After training like hell and surviving a fall from a huge cliff and barely getting hurt, Naruto returned to the Hidden Leaf and began shitting all over Pain. When Pain's Animal Path unleashed a giant rhino on him, Naruto said "fuck that", and stopped the damn thing with his bare hands. And then he PICKED IT UP BY ITS HORN, AND HURLED IT SEVERAL HUNDRED METERS INTO THE AIR LIKE IT WAS SOME KIND OF JOKE!
Blade:- This rhino was never given a real weight, but comparing the size of Pain standing on it to the size comparison of a 5'10" man and a blue whale, the rhino is two times larger than said blue whale. This means it roughly weighs 3000 tons given its the same size as well, and therefore required 6000 tons of force to lift. Throwing it a mile high, however, requires about 17 times the force, so Naruto effortlessly threw this rhino using about... 102000 tons of force in one of his earliest forms. Hell, this was before he lifted Kurama, or even befriended him.
Lion:- But not even that is his greatest lifting feat. Strap in, folks, for the time he threw a mountain golem across a town.
Blade:- The average weight of a mountain is 20 megatons. Using his half power Tailed Beast Mode, he lifted the mountain golem, which was about one fifth the size of the town. This golem, assumed at 20 megatons, would require 40 megatons to lift. To throw it across a town five times its size would require over 200 megatons of force. That's almost 200 times more powerful than a small-scale nuclear weapon. To compare, slicing off the top half of a mountain with a sword takes about 12 megatons.
Lion:- And that's also not in their strongest forms. Surviving the clash between Indra's Arrow with Tailed Beast Rasenshuriken, to elaborate, is a key physical feat for him, considering he got up and kept fighting pretty well even after it.
Blade:- Being able to withstand so much already translates to Naruto's durability, and we're not even done here. Ichigo and Luffy are both able to tank absurd things, and with the Tankman form provided by Gear Fourth, Luffy can pretty much turn into a walking wrecking ball.
Lion:- Both Blut Vene and Armament Haki were great at giving Luffy and Ichigo the durability they needed, whereas Naruto relied mainly on regeneration with Kurama and his artificial hand, which is made of Hashirama Senju's cells. But the thing is, no matter what crazy things Luffy and Ichigo tank, Naruto pretty much didn't need to worry. Sure, Luffy can't technically feel pain since he's, y'know, rubber, but at the same time, that doesn't mean he can't be killed by being sliced in half by a sword or some wind chakra.
Blade:- Flash Step was Ichigo's best way of avoiding attacks alongside Blut Vene, whereas Tankman and Armament Haki was Luffy's. But neither of these have quite been up against something like the Truthseeker Orbs. Remember, these things are used to cut through things on a molecular level, which means they can pretty much cut through whatever defense Luffy and Ichigo have. They essentially ignore durability. Doesn't matter how tough you are. And Luffy, while extremely flexible and made of rubber, was pretty much done for with this and Ichigo's sword against him. In fact, even here, he was outclassed pretty bad.
Lion:- Ichigo has tanked blows from Yhwach and Naruto survived the impact that had the crazy aftereffects with Sasuke. Both of these are pretty much eons above Luffy being able to tank punches from people that knock over giant buildings and survive explosions.
Blade:- And to top it all off, Naruto's regeneration and substitution was a way more reliable way of ensuring survivability than Luffy's Armament Haki and Ichigo's Blut Vene. Both of these techniques need to be used whereas Naruto's healing comes naturally, meaning he has no need to react to do so, he can do it while fighting. And it's efficient enough to help him survive being stabbed in the lungs, whereas both Armament Haki and Blut Vene are just abilities that don't grant any permanent defense that can't be cut through. The other two could try to overtake Naruto's healing, but they'd have a hard time even landing an attack on him in the first place.
Lion:- Sure, so Luffy's a decent in-battle strategist. Except he doesn't really do strategy until he's cornered. Ichigo is also fairly hot-headed, but also knows what he's doing. But that, TOO, gets wiped off the board by Naruto.
Blade:- Not only does Naruto have experience with both flexible and malleable beings like Luffy, but sword-wielders like Ichigo. Heck, his main rival, Sasuke, is a sword wielder with soul-based powers. Sure, it's a bit different from Ichigo, but keep in mind Ichigo's world isn't big on ninjas quite similar to Naruto, whereas most of Luffy's world is pirates with swords, ungodly strength, and special abilities like Haki and Devil Fruit powers, and didn't cover any soul manipulators or ninjas with demons inside them.
Lion:- Compared to Luffy's gears and Haki, Ichigo had more options in his Shikai and Bankai abilities, as well as his Merged Hollow form. Compared to them both, not only was Naruto the better strategist with his tactical prowess, but also his sheer arsenal and variety. Like, do we really need to say how many things the number 1 unpredictable shinobi has on him compared to Luffy's gear-and-Haki techniques and Ichigo's sword shifts and Hollow powers? Oh, and before you say Ichigo would be invisible to Naruto and Luffy, since he can be sensed by spiritual beings, Kurama, being confirmed to be a "spirit" of sorts, would be able to sense him. And, since Naruto has the ability to merge his chakra with Kurama's, which would let him sense Ichigo at the very least. I mean, if he can sense Madara's ghost clones, he can sense Ichigo. Luffy, on the other hand, had his Observation Haki, and though this doesn't change much, it would let him sense Ichigo's movements and incoming attacks at the very least.
Blade:- But in the end, it doesn't matter which character beats which in a fight. All three of these characters are the very epitome of a well-done hero. They mean a lot to us fans, and show us that by committing, fighting hard, and never giving up, we can be more than what we are.
Lion:- Ichigo and Luffy are Rasen-goners.
Blade:- The winner is Naruto Uzumaki.