"Goku?" A muffled voice called him in his sleep, knocking on the door. Goku yawned hard enough for his jaw to crack and rubbed his eyes, confused about where he was because everything looked different. The house was way bigger, there was stuff in it he didn't recognize, stuff he did sort of recognize but looked different too, the bed way twice as big as it used to be and comfier too,...

"Goku? Are you up?" The voice asked him again and that's when he remembered everything.

"I'm up boss!" He told him with a giggle, feeling so dumb for forgetting stuff from just yesterday. He jumped out of bed and rushed over to the door, grinning at the smiling Hei Xiong waiting for him on the other side.

"Good day, my boy! I trust you slept well!"

"Yup! Way better than doing it on a tree, for sure!"

"Glad to hear that, I was a bit worried when I tried waking you earlier for breakfast and you didn't answer but I see there was no reason to."

"Guess I musta been more tired than I thought!" He laughed, feeling a little embarrassed. "Say, what's that?"

"Oh, this?" Hei looked at the bundle in his hands before walking in and putting it on the table. "These are some clothes my son used to wear when he was your age, yours have been sent for some fixing up and you can't well walk around naked or in pajamas."

"Well, I sometimes go naked when I'm fishing, it beats dryin' my clothes."

"I'm not surprised," He said, not the least bit weirded out. "But for the sake of my less,... understanding employees, I would advise against doing that here."

"Sure thing, boss!" Goku took the sleeping clothes off, putting on the white pants first. The shirt was longer than his blue one, the bottom of it going down to his crotch. It was green with red around the shoulders and neck and he tied it around his waist with a white belt, the shoes were big and black, going all over his feet. There were even red wrists bands too! "These are really nice! Soft too! But,..."

"What is it?"

"Just... gimme... a second..." His tail popped through the pants, getting a relieved sigh out of Goku. "Sorry for breakin' em, it's just my tail's super sensitive and I don't like it bein' smushed like that."

"It's fine, my boy is too old for them anyway. Shall we have some brunch?"

"Wazzat?" Goku asked, following the boss out of the room and through the house.

"A meal between lunch and breakfast-"

"What?! That exists?!"

Hei actually gave him the funny look for once. "You... didn't know? Given your love of food, I thought it likely."

"Nuh-uh, my Grampa only told me we had three meals!" Goku said, giving the man-in-question on the table a dirty look.

"Maybe he did that on purpose so you wouldn't eat all the time?" The boss smiled the same way Grampa did when he was poking fun at him without being mean about it.

Even though he was a little mad him, Goku slapped his hands together and smirked at his Grampa anyway. "I'm gonna get somethin' t'eat! See ya later!"

They brunched back in the same room as last night, except this time there were a bunch of small things to pick from. He tried out something hot and juicy called soup first, it didn't fill him up much but it tasted real good. Then he ate something called a chicken, a few white crunchy things called cookies. The best out of all of it was dumplings, they had meat, fruit, all sorts of stuff in them.

After that, Goku thanked the boss and was about to go outside for some exercise when he got invited to something called a gym.

It might've been the biggest room in the whole house, going on forever with even more things Goku'd never seen before. From what the boss said, the room was made for training and exercise, letting you do all sorts of things like run really fast in-place, lifting lots of heavy stuff, even a place for sparring. The thing that caught Goku's eye first was a weird table with something like Nyoibo hanging over it, attached to other staffs going straight up on each side.

"What's this?"

"A bench press," The boss said, taking folding his sleeves back onto his elbows, giving Goku a look at some weird black stuff drawn all over his arms. He lied down on the table then put both his hands on the staff with two black circles on the edges. "It works like this!"

He pushed the staff away from the hanging spot and started lifting it up, then down, then up again over and over again, huffing and sweating more and more every time. Goku only stopped him to point out fourteen came after eleven but the boss just smiled at him and explained that it didn't before going on. By the time he was over, he hit around 40 lifts before putting the staff back where it was.

"That's about 50 kilos," He explained, getting off the table and taking a napkin to wipe his face with. "Or about the same weight as a grown pig, I used to be able to lift more but old age is getting to me."

"Just a pig? You can't make it heavier?" Goku said, sounding really disappointed after seeing how cool this bench press could be. The boss just smirked.

"Ask, and you will receive," He started kneeling next to the table, pulling out more and more of those round things and sliding them onto the pole. From the way he was sweating and breathing again, it looked like a whole other exercise just getting ready for the real thing. That was kinda cool about it.

"There," He slid the last one in, making five of those round things on every side of the pole. "If you can make a hundred lifts with 150-kilo weights, I'll personally make sure you eat a big, roasted boar tonight."

That got Goku's butt or back in this case on the table super fast, with a grin, he grabbed on the pole and started going at with the boss counting for him. In no time, he'd done all one hundred and felt pretty good about that board waiting for him tonight.

"So, what else you got, boss?"

For a second he looked a little... off but that friendly smile came back as he led him to the rest of the stuff there. He practiced with more bench presses, some of them made to exercise every muscle in the body like the arms, back, legs,... Pretty cool things that got Goku pretty hungry and worked out by the time it was over.

They didn't go back to the dining room, instead, the boss told the people working for him to bring over lunch to them. It was nice, juicy fish this time, not big ones but lots and lots of small ones that added up to a nice meal. It as in the middle of finishing up his second pile that Goku thought of something when another employee came over with another one.

"Say, boss."

"Yes?" He answered with a mouthful.

"How do you have so much stuff? You don't have to go huntin' for food or anything!"

"That's a bit of a long story," He gulped down another fish. "Way too long and complicated, but in summary, my siblings and I-"

"Siblings?"

"Brother and sister, the three of us grew up sort of like you, Son. Having to forage for food, surviving day by day," He smiled and gave Goku a tap with his elbows. "Although, we couldn't fight like you do."

"Woah! Really? That must've been tough for you guys!"

"It was, but we managed, met someone who... broadened our horizons and eventually, through many years of even harder work, got what we have today," His eyes narrowed a little. "Not that there weren't people out there to stop us, mind you."

"Why'd someone try to stop you?" Goku asked, so interested he actually forgot to chow down on more fish.

"Because of power, my young friend. When someone wants to attain more of it, they attract challengers, and where there are challenges there is conflict."

"My Grampa says if you never get challenged, you'll just be stuck-in-place forever. That sounds pretty boring to me."

The boss smiled then, but it looked kind of... crooked? His narrow, mean eyes didn't help it look any prettier. "Believe me, Son, after you've faced a certain amount of challenges, you'll grow very, very sick of them,... no matter who or what they come from...You'll just want everything to get into place for peace of mind."

They didn't say anything for a little while, not until the boss sighed and finally looked back to his old self. "Ah, don't listen to me, my friend. I'm old and sometimes too bitter for my own good."

"S'alright," Goku laughed. "Even Grampa had off days every now and then."

They finished lunch pretty fast after then with Goku going back to exercising, this time on the treadmill, the thing you ran in place for, putting it at max speed. The boss didn't join in, saying he got his training in for the day and then some. Instead, he talked while Goku kept running about all sorts of things. The boss told him a little more about himself, his sister in another place Atlas and his son in Vale, his brother used to live in the other one but died a while ago. Goku asked him what an Atlas and Vale were and the boss told him about the world some more.

Then they had some boar and went off to bed, which ended up being their routine for the next few days. Eating, exercising and talking. The boss told him lots of things about anything he wanted to know. About the place, they lived on, Remnant which was weird cause Grampa called it Earth a couple of times but the boss explained that places usually have lots of names that change over time.

He learned about those placed he mentioned like Vale and Atlas and Vacuo and Mistral, what a kingdom was and got really angry when he talked about Mistral, the place Kuchinashi was. About how the people in-charge were bad and mean, always trying to hurt him and other people trying to make it without the main guys telling them what to do.

Goku couldn't blame him, forcing people to do stuff they didn't want to even if hurt them was the kind of stuff that made him want to punch someone. That got a good laugh out of the boss.

The stuff that got him the most interested was about Huntsmen and Huntresses, and the monster, the Grimm.

"Around the world, you'll find many exceptional individuals who possess powers most men don't, the ability to outrun any animal, lift impossibly heavy things, amongst many others. In many ways, they're some of the most powerful people in the world."

"They live in the Kingdoms, right?" Goku asked while lifting 300 kilos on the bench press.

"And many other places outside them, sometimes fighting people or other's of their profession but usually the Grimm."

"The Grimm," He let the name roll off his tongue. "Why're they so mean, boss?"

"Now that is a question many have asked but none have answered," He wiped his face after doing a few laps on the treadmill close by. "Some think they were created by a higher to destroy us, others that they're animals twisted by some horrible force we can't understand, there are just as many theories about their existence as there are types of Grimm. One thing is for certain, they will kill you if you don't kill them first."

Goku knew that pretty good, from what they almost did to him and what they actually did to Grampa. That reminded him of something he'd forgotten about in all this stuff that's been happening to him for the past few days: their home. It was still out there, waiting for them to come back. Suddenly, Goku didn't feel so good anymore.

Putting the press away, Goku turned to the boss. "Hey, sir?"

"Yes?"

"I think I'm gonna go back home, now."

The boss didn't say anything, his eyes widening a little before he nodded, looking a little sad. "I thought you might say that the shine of this place was bound to wear off sooner or later."

"Don't get me wrong! I really like bein' here but,... my house is out there, and I don't wanna just abandon it."

He bobbed his head a couple of times then actually smiled, that made Goku feel a little better. "Then, perhaps you and I can help each other."

"Huh?"

"You want to return home, yes?" Goku nodded. "Well, I have something I want too, something very important to me that I think only you can help bring to me."

"Really?"

"Really, I want to get this back as much as you'd want to get your grandfather back if he was left at your home with no one there to protect him."

Goku's mouth almost hit the floor, the idea of that happening was just too awful to even think about! And it did! To the boss of all people! "Don't worry! I'll get it back for you! I promise!"

"Slow down," He laughed and walked up to Goku, putting a hand on his back. "Your enthusiasm is appreciated, but first I'll have to explain some things to you and we'll need Mutt for this as well."

"Is he better?"

"Very much so, the doctor has made good strides in healing his injury and he'll to be well enough for him to assist you."

"You sure that's smart? He got hurt real bad last time."

"Last time he didn't have someone as strong as you to protect him.

Goku thought about that for a second then nodded, it made sense after all.

"But before we discuss any of that, you have to promise me one thing," The boss kneeled in front of him, looking more serious than Goku'd ever seen him and just a little scary. "What we discuss, you do not tell a single soul to besides me or Mutt. This stays between the three of us, if I cannot do this, then I cannot ask you to help me."

"I can do that!" Goku smiled and nodded, then he took his pinky finger out. "I'll even pinky swear on it!"

The boss smiled back, all the scariness from a second ago totally gone and put his pinky over Goku's. "Pinky swear it is."

"So, the kid's helping us."

"That he is," Hei confirmed as he sat in his desk via Scroll, observing a map of the surrounding area sprawled across it. Goku and he spent the rest of the afternoon as though the conversation hadn't happened, dining and conversing more about Huntsmen, Huntresses and even Aura, what little Hei knew about that particular subject. The boy was asleep now, his belly full and his mind drifting back to his home.

Out of curiosity, Hei took a glance at where it could potentially be. From what Goku told him, it was likely somewhere to the southwest of Kuchinashi, at the mount range stretching from there all the way to the other side of Anima. A hostile, impenetrable land rife with Grimm infested lands and anyone foolish enough to live there. Such as Son's Gohan and Goku, though, if what Goku told of his grandfather was true, then it may have been a small wonder the older man was able to fend off even the Grimm for as long as he did.

"You sure he'll be able to keep it a secret?" Hongqi asked, voicing not unfounded concern. The boy spoke openly about everything he was and what he'd been through. Still, Hei knew the boy wouldn't disappoint him in this respect, at least.

"Quite sure, I've gotten to know the boy well these past few days and can attest to his character as well as power. He can outlift, outrun and outlast anyone working for us and from what you've told me, outfight them as well. He will make a fine addition to our organization."

"I hope so, boss, we can't afford another mess like last time."

No, no we cannot, Hei silently agreed with his most trusted lieutenant, whatever genuine good mood the boy had injected in him evaporating instantaneously as he recalled the sordid mess that brought them here. Like the worst of problems, it started out so promising. His sister's branch of the Family, through an informant within the Schnee Dust Company, informed him of a collaboration between the Schnee's and the military of Atlas, a cooperation resulting in special, prototype Dust powered bombs capable of bringing down a three-story house on top of the three-story house under it.

The Dust contained within these alone would amass a fortune on the black market, but coupled with these bombs which could easily be sold in parts or perhaps repurposed into other variants proved a chance to tempting to pass up. It was the one time he spoke favorably of his homelands close relations with Atlas, the precise reason why Mistral would be the first of the other Kingdoms to get a piece of this technology.

What proceeded next was a complex operation, involving bribery, extortion, positioning loyal men at the precise positions over the span of several months. The risk of discovery was perpetually great, and potentially catastrophic, for if anything went back to the Family, Atlas, Mistral and the Schnee's would all come bearing down on them in retaliation. Yet when the time came for those weapons to leave their facility and head for Haven, they had a man on the inside ready to fly it off course to Kuroyuri where the rest of the crew were eliminated, the airship destroyed and the Dust bombs ready for transportation to him.

Then, on the very night, his team of expensive to acquire but quality Huntsmen and Huntresses were about to leave, those detestable Grimm laid siege to Kuroyuri, destroying it and killing half of his men along with most of the population. The news of this catastrophe sent him into such a rage he almost beat one of his own men to death and it didn't leave him until a surviving Huntress confirmed her escape from the village and arrival to Kuchinashi.

He never heard from her again, forcing him to spend over two weeks sending Mutt and a select few others drudging through those insufferable swamps in search of the device. Costing him even more men and almost his most loyal one as well, were it not for Son Goku's timely rescue. Now it was time to see if he would save them again, and perhaps do even more in the future.

A/N: So begins the Hunt for the Bombs! Don't know if I'll make that the official name of the arc but that's the gist of it. The exposition was really tough this time around as I didn't just want to skim through everything but I also didn't want to bog everyone down with "Goku asks a question, Hei answers it!". So, I focused on what I thought was best, hopefully, it was the right call.

For those wondering if there's a visual for Goku's suit in this chapter, you can find it on the Twitter of Dragon Garrow Lee.