I do not own any ideas taken from One Piece, Naruto, Bleach, Dragon Ball, HunterXHunter, Yu Yu Hakusho or Rustage's One Piece D&D. Eiichiro Oda, Masashi Kishimoto, Tite Kubo, Akira Toriyama, Yoshihiro Togashi and Rustage are the brilliant minds behind those stories and I'm simply using them to set the stage for my story! It's all for fun so please enjoy!
Chapter 70: Conclusions
Two days before the Battle of New Year's Eve, the Misfits sailed steadily northwest away from Clockwork Island. The group of them had partied with the citizens of Jingle Village after their victory over the soldiers of Muscle Tower and left the island at dawn.
Shuhei manned the helm as the ship sailed onward, bobbing gently on the waves as the sun shone down onto them from a clear blue sky. He smiled as he took in a breath of fresh air and looked around the deck of the Whore's Pocket Watch.
Bulma laid on a cushioned deck chair in a white bikini with large red sunglasses on her face. She was stretched out with her feet hanging off of the chair as she sipped on her glass of grape juice. She yawned quietly and looked to her left where Mugen and Renji were sparring across the deck.
Mugen and Renji skipped around quickly as they clashed their weapons against each other. Mugen twirled Fantoma around in his hand and lunged forward at Renji who deflected the attack with his Power Pole. They collided fiercely as they continued training as the ship sailed along smoothly.
Yasui and Zika worked hard in the ship's kitchen as they prepared dinner for the crew. Yasui moved quickly as he prepared the curry as Zika prepared the rice and dumplings. Asuka and Hama sat in the corner of the kitchen watching the food intently.
"I'm going in, watch my back." Asuka whispered at Hama who wagged his tail quickly.
Asuka crept closer to the two acting chefs and reached his hand toward the dumplings when Yasui spun around and kicked Asuka's hand away, "Ow, hey!"
"Stay away from the food you two, how many times do we have to tell you?!" Yasui pointed at Asuka and Hama.
"I'm hungry!" Asuka protested and Hama barked.
"Stay out of this, Hama." Zika chuckled at his faithful ninja hound.
"It'll be ready soon!" Yasui raised his fist at Asuka who stuck out his tongue and pulled his left eyelid down with his left index finger.
Outside on the deck, Mugen and Renji stopped training and listened to the loud argument that raged on in the kitchen. The two boys chuckled and ended their training session as Bulma finished her juice and sighed loudly.
"What's on your mind, Bulma?" Renji asked as he slipped his staff into the cloth sheath on his back.
"I miss Alice." She pouted.
"Well now she's got a Yeti friend and an android to play with." Mugen chuckled, "She'll be okay."
"Jingle Village was nice." Renji nodded his head, "It is nice to be away from the cold though."
"I know.. The sun is nice but I wish we could have stayed a few days longer." Bulma sighed again and set her glass on a small table beside her chair.
Back on Clockwork Island, the residents of Jingle Village worked hard on constructing defensive walls and barriers around their small town. Villagers wheeled supplies around as others served food and drinks to those hard at work.
Elyse and Dr. Flappe sat on their porch drinking hot cocoa and holding each other's hands tightly. After finally reuniting they were nearly inseparable and planned to keep it that way. A handful of soldiers had defected from the Red Ribbon Army and taken up residence in Jingle Village, welcomed by everybody.
They looked away from the townsfolk and saw Alice playing in the distance. She wore a bright red winter coat with a thick yellow cap on her head. Beside her were her faithful Yeti, Sully, and the newest member of their family, Eighter. The three of them ran around in the snow and Alice laughed as she played with her friends.
"She's finally happy again. Really happy." Elyse spoke and took a sip of her cocoa.
"I'm really happy. I'm not locked up in that tower anymore." He chuckled, "Thanks to those kids."
Elyse smiled widely, "They sure were something else. Stronger than anyone their age has any right to be."
"He reminds me of somebody…" Dr. Flappe muttered.
"Hm?"
"That boy, Asuka, the leader of their crew." Dr. Flappe explained.
"Captain." Elyse corrected him.
"Right, Captain. He reminded me of someone I used to work with." The Doctor smiled and took a drink from his cocoa. He thought of his past and then of the crew of kids that had saved him from his captors.
The Misfits were loading up their backpacks and gathering their belongings in the early hours of the morning. Alice was asleep on the couch and Eighter stood proudly beside her, a watchful guardian.
"Are you sure you have to leave so soon?" Elyse asked them.
"Yeah, Asuka, we should wait for Alice to wake up." Bulma protested.
Asuka smiled, "We already said goodbye to her. Plus, these guys need to ransom off Beige and we shouldn't be here for that. Also, I want to get back to the Whore."
"What now?" Dr. Flappe asked as red crept over his face.
"That's our ship." Shuhei explained.
"Oh, I see." Dr. Flappe coughed.
"Well, you kids be safe out there." Elyse smiled and nodded her head. "And thanks again!"
Asuka laughed, "It's no problem."
Dr. Flappe smiled and glanced toward the jailhouse, "The marines should be here in a few days for Colonel Beige." He nodded his head slowly.
"Hopefully they'll be better people than the soldiers." Elyse chuckled nervously and took a sip of her cocoa.
"Yeah, here's hoping." Dr. Flappe nodded again.
A few hours later, four very large vertibirds landed on Clockwork Island about two miles south of where Muscle Tower once stood. Soldiers leapt out of the vertibirds and scattered to search the area. They were all wrapped in winter jackets with the Red Ribbon emblem emblazoned on the chest.
Leading the soldiers was a tall woman wearing a tight blue coat with her long blonde hair tucked into a winter hat. She looked at the shattered stump of Muscle Tower and its many pieces that littered the slanted hill.
"Looks like it blew up and rolled down the hill." She smirked and grabbed a cigarette with gloved hands. She lit her smoke and walked slowly up to the broken stump of the tower.
As the soldiers ran around and searched the surrounding areas, the woman walked into the broken ground floor of Muscle Tower as she took a long drag from her cigarette. Frozen corpses were laid out on the floor. Men and women who had survived the explosions only to freeze in the ruins.
"Sergeant Hasky!" A soldier shouted.
The woman, Hasky, turned around and spotted three soldiers waving at her. She jogged over to them and raised an eyebrow, "What is it?"
"We found some of the Murasaki brothers, sir, still alive but nearly frozen solid." One of the soldiers explained.
"Great. Load them up and keep looking for others." Hasky barked and rolled her eyes as she turned around and walked away from the trio.
Some of the soldiers were escorting survivors back to the vertibirds and Hasky tossed her cigarette into the snow. She opened a device that Dr. Gero had given her and saw nothing but eight red lights.
Pocketing the device, Hasky then pulled out a Transponder Snail from another pocket. She called the only number used for this particular snail and waited as it rang.
"Yes?" A gruff voice answered.
"The tower is gone. There are more survivors than we expected but this facility is a ruin now." Hasky reported.
"And what of the Androids?"
"That device you gave me says that all eight of them were detonated. It would explain the devastation that happened here." Hasky surveyed the destruction and cracked her neck. "There were reports of hostile units invading the tower before its destruction. The Doctor may have returned home."
"I see." There was a horribly long silence after he spoke.
"What are your orders, sir? Shall we march down and burn the village?" Hasky grinned, "We could recapture the Doctor and return him to you."
"Clockwork Island is no longer of any use to us. We've collected enough ore and raw materials from its mines. Colonel Beige does concern me, however. I'd like his body found and taken back with you. He had an heirloom of mine, a flintlock pistol."
"I'll find him and the pistol, sir. And what about the village and the Doctor?" Hasky asked.
"Let them be. They've won for once in their tiny existence. They deserve to hold on to that until we take over the world and own the land they live on."
"Yes, sir."The call ended and Hasky sighed. She pocketed the Transponder Snail and looked around at the soldiers who were hauling survivors onto the vertibirds.
One day before the Battle of New Year's Eve, six marine ships sailed toward Banibo Island. The leading Captain, Elric D. Marsh, sat on the prow of one of the ships and stared at the island as they approached.
"We're nearing, sir!" A lieutenant shouted.
"Steer clear of the docks and drop anchor as close as possible." Marsh ordered as he jumped off the prow and back onto the deck.
The ships dropped anchor on the southeast coast of Banibo Island and the units of marines marched forward onto the shore. With three-hundred-and-twenty-four marines in total, Marsh led his men across the shore and toward the nearby town.
They had received reports that a pirate crew had attacked and taken over the town and island several days ago. Vice-Admiral Kadaro appointed Marsh to take care of the problem and reclaim the island for the World Government.
The small army marched into the outskirts of the town and noticed the hauntingly empty and quiet streets. Marsh looked around carefully and raised his right hand up to halt his troops.
"We split into three groups. We'll search the area and meet back up in the town square if we don't find anything."
"Yes, sir!"
"Right!"
"Move out!"
Marsh continued straight into the town as the other two groups moved left and right. Boisterous sound began to fill the air as the units progressed through the town and Marsh led his men onward. A gunshot cracked through the air and a bullet slammed into Marsh's left temple! The bullet bounced off of his rubbery head and shattered a nearby window.
Pump, a large man with orange skin and silver hair, opened fire on the marines from atop a building and laughed as they scrambled to get behind cover. The marines opened fire at the sniper and all hell broke loose.
The Misfits sailed onward toward the next island on their journey. The cloudless and warm weather stayed with them as they continued across the sea. Shuhei again stood at the helm of the ship, humming to himself as they went.
Bulma, now in a red bikini, laid on her cushioned deck chair as she bathed in the warm sunlight. She had a newspaper on the small table beside her and read through it as she laid there, turning the pages when she had to.
Mugen was on the port side of the deck doing pushups, Shuhei reckoned that he was only halfway through his usual four hour workout. The swordsman trained night and day to maintain his physique, a hunger for strength fueling the beast within him.
Asuka was on the starboard side of the deck, likewise training. He leapt around quickly as he conjured and manipulated flames while throwing punches and kicks. He extinguished his flames and held his right hand out in front of him.
"C'mon!" Asuka gritted his teeth and gripped his right wrist. "C'mon, c'mon!"
"What are you doing?" Bulma asked him as she raised an eyebrow.
Asuka chuckled and rubbed the back of his head, "I'm trying to do that electricity thing that that tiger girl did."
"What? What are you talking about?"
"You know, on the Wave Chain. There was that tiger girl who could electrocute people." Asuka explained.
"Oh, yeah, so what?" Bulma cocked her head to the side.
"I'm trying to do that. There was that dog guy with the short dude who wanted the Dragon Balls as well. He could zap people too so I figured it's a Mink thing." Asuka said and grinned.
"Uh, are you a Mink?"
"A little bit, I guess. There was a big robot who scanned me and told me percentages of my DNA or something." He nodded.
"What?"
"Buster Cannon!" Richter slammed his swollen arm into a crowd of marines and blasted them back.
The marines led by Captain Marsh clashed wickedly with the Richter Pirates in the small town on Banibo Island. Chaos filled the streets as gunshots and explosions and screams filled the air as the battle raged on.
"Hop! Heat! Reck! Head to the ship and prepare for departure!" Richter bellowed as he dashed toward the horde of marines.
"Aye, Captain!" Heat, a short woman with long black hair, shouted and dashed the other way down the street, Hop and Reck ran with her. The two of them were brothers, sharing the dark orange hair of their mother though Hop had light skin and Reck had dark skin. "You can count on us!"
Richter clashed with more marines as Pump continued picking them off from his vantage point. The sniper grinned as he dropped a handful of marines that charged at Richter from behind and he quickly reloaded his weapon.
Basho erupted through the window of a building and spun around rapidly as he hurled flying slashes all around the street. Several marines were cleaved in two or otherwise maimed as the attacks rained down on them. He landed on his feet and lunged forward with his sickles gripped tightly in his hands as he laughed wickedly.
"What's the plan, Captain?" Chad shouted as he unloaded his machine gun into a charging crowd of marines.
Richter blasted a handful of marines back and he looked to his two most trusted friends. They had the complete opposite appearance, he always cracked a smile when he saw them side by side. Basho was tall, just under six feet, with pale white skin and raven black hair. Chad had ebony skin with stark white hair and stood just one inch shorter than Basho.
Before Richter could respond to his two officers, the words about to come from his mouth, an ear piercing shout echoed over the sounds of combat. "Gum-Gum Rocket!" Captain Marsh had his arms stretched up to the top of a flagpole and slingshotted himself through the air and straight into Pump!
Pump was sent careening over the side of the roof and Marsh landed on his feet with a wide smile on his face.
"We're grossly outnumbered and if reinforcements arrive then we're all done for." Richter spat and dashed toward the building that Marsh now stood atop.
Chad lifted his machine gun and opened fire on Marsh but the bullets bounced off of his body and scattered across the town. "What the hell?!"
Marsh leapt off of the roof and kicked his feet down at Richter. His legs stretched quickly and Richter jumped back a moment before Marsh's legs pierced the ground, "Gum-Gum Spear!"
Richter lunged forward as Marsh snapped down to his feet and ripped them out of the ground. The two exchanged a rapid series of blows and Marsh was sent flying back by a Buster Cannon.
Basho rushed to join his Captain but Richter raised his hand to stop him, "Get the crew to the ship as fast as you can. I'll make short work of this guy and meet you there." Richter grinned and watched Basho and Chad dash off down the street.
Richter turned back to face Marsh and the two grinned at each other.
"You'll make short work of me, eh?" Marsh cracked his knuckles.
"In no time." Richter slammed his hand down on the ground and the dirt street began to swell and bubble up.
"What th-" The street exploded suddenly and Marsh was shot up into the air as his pants and shirt were singed.
Richter leapt up after Marsh as his right arm swelled up and he swung a quick jab at the Marine Captain. Marsh Moon Walked and flipped over Richter as his arm erupted, the blast sending Richter backward and he slammed into Marsh.
They flipped through the air and Marsh slammed a series of Gum-Gum Pistols before they landed on the ground. Richter gritted his teeth and Shaved at Marsh, they exchanged rapid blows and Marsh was blasted back and sent skipping across the ground.
Marsh leapt up to his feet and wiped his mouth as Richter laughed wickedly. Crowds of marines were chasing the Richter Pirates out of town as two dozen others came and surrounded the fight between the Captains.
"Get out of here!" Marsh barked at the marines, "Stay out of this fight."
"Yes, sir!" The marines ran away from the two of them and Richter grinned at Marsh.
"What's that? I expected you to try and subdue me with all of your fodder." Richter cackled.
"They aren't fodder. They're people." Marsh glared at Richter, "I just don't want to hurt them by accident." Marsh crouched down slightly, resting his left hand on his left knee while placing his right fist on the ground.
Richter's left arm began swelling up and he charged forward with a battle cry escaping his lungs.
"Gear Second!" Marsh's skin took on a red tint as steam quickly rose from his flesh. He Shaved around Richter and stretched his arms far behind him. Richter turned his head but before he could move his legs Marsh slammed his hands into Richter's chest, "Jet Bazooka!"
Richter was sent flying back and skipping across the ground and his arm exploded as he slammed into a wall. He shook his head and jumped up to his feet as Marsh appeared in front of him. "Buster Cann-" Richter moved to swing his arm and swell up his arm but Marsh slammed a quick and heavy punch into his forehead.
Richter Shaved off of the wall behind him as he reeled back and Moon Walked up into the air. He swelled up his arms and spotted Marsh as he propelled himself up through the air. They lunged for each other and clashed in the sky with powerful blows.
"Double Buster!"
"Jet Bazooka!"
Marsh was sent flying through the air and he landed on the roof of a building as Richter dashed through the air using Moon Walk to move closer toward the docks. From up in the air he spotted his crew clashing with marines as they too rushed for the ship.
"Gum-Gum Rocket!" Marsh propelled through the air and slammed into Richter, sending them hurtling through the air and crashing through the roof of a small market.
Richter jumped up and slammed his hands down on the floor and it began to swell and bubble as Marsh rolled up onto his feet. The market exploded violently, Marsh was sent flying directly upward as chunks of the market were sent in every other direction.
As Marsh flew higher and higher up into the air, he bit his thumb hard and filled his rubbery bones with air! His right arm stretched and swelled until it was humongous and Marsh stared down at Richter with a huge grin on his face.
Richter laughed and his right arm began to swell as he dashed upward with Moon Walk. His arm swelled bigger and bigger until it matched the size of Marsh's enlarged arm.
Marsh began falling down headfirst as Richter continued dashing upward through the air. Both of the Captains smiled widely as they closed in on each other and swung their enormous attacks at each other.
"Giant Pistol!"
"Giant Buster!"
Two days after the Battle of New Year's Eve, the Misfits continued sailing northwest toward the next island on their journey. Thick white clouds now covered the sky but the warm weather persisted as they sailed onward.
At the helm of the ship stood Shuhei. He looked up at the sky and thought briefly about his family before dismissing the thoughts and looking around the deck of the Whore. He saw Renji and Mugen sparring on the port side of the deck as Bulma was laid on her chair on the starboard side with Asuka meditating beside her.
Mugen and Renji skipped around quickly as they clashed their weapons. Renji extended his Power Pole and swung low at Mugen's ankle. Mugen leapt up into the air and swung his sword down but chains shot out of Renji's shoulder and entangled Mugen's arm and sword together.
Mugen laughed, "I forgot about the chains."
Renji caught his breath and chuckled, "Lucky for me."
Bulma laid on her deck chair, now wearing a purple bikini with the big red sunglasses on her face. She glanced over at Asuka who sat very still as he meditated. His left hand loosely gripped his right wrist as he tried to conjure electricity from his body.
"How much Mink do you have in you again?" Bulma asked, breaking his concentration.
He opened his right eye and looked at Bulma, "Just a tiny bit more than ten percent." Asuka answered.
"Is that enough to work?" Bulma wondered.
Asuka groaned and fell backward. He laid on the deck and looked up at the sky, "Maybe. Maybe not." He sighed, "I really hope so. If I could do it… That'd be so awesome!" He laughed and looked over at Bulma.
"Why do you even trust that the Android was accurate in his scan? A blood test would be a billion times more accurate than any scanner." Bulma said with a slight smile.
"I believe the Android. He was cool. Speaking of, what're you gonna do with those three you have tucked away?" Asuka raised an eyebrow.
"I'm slowly working on them every day." Bulma smiled, "I'll have them finished in no time."
"Coo! Coo!"
A News Coo swooped down toward the ship and landed on the small table beside Bulma. She grabbed some coins out of the table drawer and dropped them into the bird's pouch as it dropped a rolled up newspaper from its beak. Bulma gently patted the bird, "Thank you."
"Coo!" The bird flapped its wings and flew off away from the ship as Bulma unrolled the newspaper.
An absurd amount of bounty posters slipped out from between the pages of the newspaper and scattered onto the deck of the ship.
"Whoa, what the hell?" Asuka began picking up the posters.
Bulma sat up quickly and helped Asuka collect the posters from the deck, "Something big must have happened..!"
"Are those all bounty posters?" Shuhei asked as he watched the two collect the pages.
"I think so!" Asuka replied loudly.
Mugen and Renji walked over and looked at the posters after Asuka and Bulma had collected them all. "Shit, that's a lot of bounties."
"There are twenty six of them!" Bulma gaped as she finished counting. "Here, go through them while I read the newspaper." She handed the posters to Asuka and quickly grabbed the paper.
Asuka, Mugen and Renji flipped through the posters slowly as they looked at the new bounties.
The top poster showed Lucy grinning with her short black hair looking unkempt. It read; Eiffel D. Lucy, Dead or Alive. 150,000,000 Beli Bounty.
The next read; Lee, Dead or Alive. 30,000,000 Beli Bounty.
The next; Chihiro, Dead or Alive. 10,000,000 Beli Bounty.
The next; Emanon Willem, 10,000,000 Beli Bounty.
The next; Duros, Dead or Alive. 20,000,000 Beli Bounty.
The next; Ragnar, Dead or Alive. 25,000,000 Beli Bounty.
The next; Pearl, Dead or Alive. 10,000,000 Beli Bounty.
The next poster showed Sakura with her arms crossed in front of her, a cute smirk on her face. It read; Yamanaka Sakura, Dead or Alive. 80,000,000 Beli Bounty.
The next; Kosai, Dead or Alive. 25,000,000 Beli Bounty.
The next; Tiger Lily, Dead or Alive. 20,000,000 Beli Bounty.
The next; Iris, Dead or Alive. 10,000,000 Beli Bounty.
The next; Tulip, Dead or Alive. 12,000,000 Beli Bounty.
The next; Rose, Dead or Alive. 10,000,000 Beli Bounty.
The next; Daisy, Dead or Alive. 15,000,000 Beli Bounty.
The next; Posy, Dead or Alive. 13,500,000 Beli Bounty.
The next; Blossom, Dead or Alive. 16,000,500 Beli Bounty.
The next poster showed a picture of a man with blue hair and a large head. He was grinning widely with his tongue hanging out the right side of his mouth. It read; Fushiguro Mayuri, Dead or Alive. 90,000,000 Beli Bounty.
The next; Itadori Shikamaru, Dead or Alive. 30,000,000 Beli Bounty.
The next; Vector, Dead or Alive. 15,000,000 Beli Bounty.
The next; Inuzuka Mimi, Dead or Alive. 15,000,000 Beli Bounty.
The next; Chi-Chi, Dead or Alive. 13,000,000 Beli Bounty.
The next; Izuru, Dead or Alive. 18,000,000 Beli Bounty.
The next; Sonja, Dead or Alive. 12,500,000 Beli Bounty.
The next poster showed Richter with an evil grin on his face, his red hair spiked back into jagged points. It read; Flint Richter, Dead or Alive. 100,000,000 Beli Bounty.
The next; Basho, Dead or Alive. 40,000,000 Beli Bounty.
The next; Chad, Dead or Alive. 30,000,000 Beli Bounty.
"Holy shit… What the hell happened?" Renji wondered and covered up his third eye with his headband.
"Her bounty is higher than mine!" Asuka grumbled at Lucy's bounty poster.
Zika walked out from the kitchen and hollered at the others, "Food is ready!"
"Yo, Zika." Mugen waved him closer, "Check this out."
Zika walked over to them as Mugen shuffled through the posters before handing one of them over. Zika raised an eyebrow as he took the poster, "What's this?"
"Just look."
Zika's eyes widened as he stared at the poster, "Inuzuka..? Mimi..? Mimi?!"
"Your sister? Cousin?" Mugen questioned and Renji rolled his eye.
"She's my cousin. Older than me but… Her dad, by dad's brother, was up to no good when I was dropped off as a kid."
"Oh?"
"So, what happened exactly?" Renji asked.
Bulma dropped the newspaper on her small table and looked at the others, "Other crews are making big plays out here."
"What do you mean?"
"The Richter Pirates clashed with hundreds of marines on Banibo Island three days ago. They destroyed a lot of the town before Captain Marsh of the Marines drove them off of the island. Unfortunately for the navy, they didn't capture Richter or his crew."
"And the others?" Mugen asked.
"A Pirate Alliance worked together to siege a marine base two days ago. The Enigma Pirates, Flower Pirates and Berry Pirates wreaked havoc on Swordfish Island. The pirates stormed the base, raided some offices and swiftly fled the island." Bulma sighed, "There's a lot missing from these articles."
"Such as?"
"What really went down. These details are vague and are likely trying to save face for the marines."
Asuka laughed and looked out to the sea, "I'm glad to see that we aren't leaving everyone else in the dust. Everyone's getting stronger..!" He grinned.
To Be Continued