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. I'm simply using them to set the stage for my account! It's all for fun, so please enjoy!
Chapter 4: Bark at the Moon
The hovercraft returned to a base on Ember Island. The duo, Shu and Mai, passed the dozens of soldiers guarding the base and proceeded up the tower to the primary office. They knelt, and Shu extended the Dragon Ball in his left hand.
A short man with an ugly orange and red outfit trotted to them and snatched the Dragon Ball from him. "Ah! Good work. That's three. That's three!"
"Pilaf, sir, we are so close to your world domination. I can taste it!" Mai said with delight.
"Linh says all the Dragon Balls are gathered here in the North Blue. That another group is collecting them as well." Pilaf sneered.
"Pilaf, sir, there were a group of kids at the village we raided. They were at the ball when we attacked and defended it." Shu said quietly.
"What?! You mean to tell me you let the other Dragon Balls slip through your fingers?!" Pilaf fumed, his ugly face turning red.
"We didn't know then, sir," Mai stated quickly.
"Rest yourselves, you fools! When Linh tells you where the other Dragon Balls are, go get them!"
"Yes sir, Pilaf, sir!" The duo shouted in unison.
Our four heroes sped quietly over the water in the speedboat, Bulma steering them south and west toward the next Dragon Ball. They have three, and their antagonists have three; getting their hands on the last one will give them an edge against the unknown foes.
They approached an island, and Bulma maneuvered around it as no Dragon Ball was there. As they sped around the island, cannonballs splashed into the water around them as a Navy ship approached them! Captain Sterik stood on board the vessel and barked orders at his subordinates.
"Oh shit!" Bulma exclaimed and jerked the speedboat as a cannonball erupted in the water and rocked the boat violently toward the shore.
Another volley of cannonballs erupted in the water, and a wave rocked the boat and hurled them harshly just off the island's shore. Mugen grabbed both Yasui and Asuka as they became paralyzed by the water and pulled them safely to shore. Bulma vomited water and coughed; she popped the boat back into a DynoCap and got the others to their feet.
They turned and saw the Navy ship nearing the shore. "Please, guys, let's run. I don't wanna be here right now!" Bulma nervously exclaimed and rushed inland quickly; the three boys chased after her as the marines reached the shore.
The four ran through the woods quickly, and Bulma kept going no matter how far they got. When they finally did stop, Bulma dropped to the ground breathing heavily.
"Who is that guy?" Mugen asked.
"That's Captain Sterik. He's trying to catch me and take me back." Bulma cried.
"Take you back where?" Yasui asked.
"I won't let anyone take you!" Asuka told her fiercely.
Bulma smiled softly and nodded, "I'm wanted... My father is a scientist that works directly under the Navy and World Government."
"You have a bounty?!" The three boys exclaimed in unison.
"To them, I'm just a hostage to use against my father, and I refuse to let that happen. I will live my own life and take down the World Government." Bulma said confidently.
Five men came running at the four of them and began barking and screaming at them. One lunged for Bulma, and Mugen swiftly cleaved his arm off just above the elbow. In a heartbeat, the three boys pounced on the men. Asuka and Yasui beat them with crushing blows as Mugen slashed the others up!
After the attack, the four of them moved on from their resting place and continued journeying through the woods until coming across a clearing with a small pond. A boy sat on a rock beside a large white dog. The boy looked at them and jumped up to his feet. He had short brown hair that twisted and curled wildly and red fang-like makings on his cheeks. His clothes were ratty and dirty, and he wore pouches on his belt and the legs of his pants.
"How many times do I have to pummel you Rockhound Pirates down before you leave my forest?" The boy called to them, and the dog snarled.
"The Rockhound Pirates? Those guys that barked at us?" Asuka asked.
"Nice try!" The boy shouted as he pulled out a giant shuriken from behind his back and hurled it at them.
Mugen skipped forward and deflected the shuriken away as the boy and his dog twisted themselves rapidly and leaped at them, "Fang Over Fang!" The sudden attack knocked down Yasui and Mugen; Asuka skipped quickly after the boy and kicked him square in the chest.
The dog pounced on Asuka, who jumped away from it as the boy hurled shuriken at him. The shuriken slipped through his body, and Asuka leaped over the dog and delivered a savage blow to the boy's stomach, and rocked him down to the ground.
A gunshot erupted, and they all looked to see a group of strange barking men entering the clearing. "Great, we can kill 'em all at the same place!" One of them called out.
"These guys aren't with you?" The boy asked the pirates. "My bad." He said to Asuka and the others as he got back up. The group stood in the clearing as the pirates approached them.
The boy and his dog launched a series of Fang Over Fangs and bulleted into the pirates as the others skipped forward to take them down. The commotion of their fight drew in the marines, and they burst into the clearing as well. The wild-haired boy dropped a smoke pellet and urged the others to follow him; they obliged.
He led them quickly to a nearby cave, and they all huddled inside. They could hear the pirates and marines battling in the distance as they sat and breathed. "My name is Zika; this is Hama." The boy said, petting the dog.
"Zika?"
"Mhmm, Inuzuka Zika. I'm training to become a great shinobi and currently defending this forest from the Rockhound Pirates. They want to cut down the trees to build a fleet for themselves, and I'm gonna stop them."
"I'm Senju D. Asuka, nice to meet ya!"
"Mugen." The swordsman stared coldly at Zika and his dog.
"I'm Yasui."
"Hi, I'm Bulma." She said as she patted Hama on the head.
"Those marines and the Rockhound Pirates are standing in our way. Why don't y'all help me take them down?" Zika asked with a grin.
"Sounds like a plan." Asuka chuckled.
On the island's southern shore, the Rockhound Pirates had set up a camp in preparation for deforesting the island. Captain Rockhound gathered his men at the camp as the sun set to go over some plans.
Rockhound stood before his men; he broad shoulders and was somewhat taller than the average person. His face was grizzled, and a large scar ran down his right cheek. "Alright, boys, we got marines and that damn tree protector standing in our way." The Captain spoke roughly, "Let's take care of 'em!" They all laughed and cheered.
Leaving twenty men to defend the camp and the ship, Rockhound led the rest of his men off through the woods to spill some blood. The tree protector with the dog was last spotted around the island's center, so that's where they headed. Captain Rockhound took a drink from his flask and chuckled as they marched.
On the island's western shore, the marines had set up their camp. Captain Sterik briefed his men on their mission as they reviewed their inventory in preparation for their raid.
"Nefeltari Bulma is here on the island. Kill the scum she's with, but we need her alive. If we kill her, we're all dead men, right?" Sterik bellowed to them. The Captain stood about eight feet tall and appeared to be made entirely of muscle. He had an intimidating presence about him as he spoke.
Lieutenant Marx walked past the other marines and saluted the Captain before speaking, "The Rockhound Pirates are here on the island as well as the target. Scouts went out and spotted them on the south shore."
"Mm. Send a unit over there to watch them, and if they can wipe them out, do it. I will wait here for a bit and see what happens." Captain Sterik said calmly.
"Sir, this Rockhound fellow is a Zoan user like yourself. He could prove problematic." Lieutenant Marx stated flatly.
"Is that right? What's his bounty?" Sterik asked with a raised eyebrow.
Marx pulled the poster from his pocket and read aloud, "Twenty-two-million Beli. Mediocre."
"Send that unit over to their camp and stand by."
Marx saluted Sterik and walked off quickly.
Asuka, Bulma, Mugen, and Yasui stood with Zika and Hama in the woods and spotted the procession of pirates parading through the forest. Mugen, Bulma, and Yasui moved left through the trees to follow after the pirates as Asuka, Zika, and Hama moved right to sneak around them. The two groups crept their separate ways as the night moved on.
Mugen, Bulma, and Yasui followed after the pirates as they moved deeper into the forest. Mugen tried counting how many of them there were, and the procession suddenly stopped. The trio crouched down and watched as the pirates stood and milled about. The pirate at the head of the procession turned abruptly and stared directly at the group, and pointed at them. A battle cry roared as some pirates started dashing at them.
The pirates dashed at the three, and Asuka moved quickly toward the group and crashed into pirates with heavy fists. Zika and Hama launched after him and struck down a few pirates with their Fang Over Fang.
Mugen clashed against the pirates and slashed through them as Yasui sped forward and delivered a series of mad kicks and crushed through them. Bulma rushed after them, pulled her baton from her belt, and blasted a gale force of wind that rocked the pirates hard. She skipped up and shocked a pirate with the end of her baton, Yasui then kicked the pirate down, and the skirmish raged on.
Captain Rockhound sniffed out Asuka, Zika, and Hama and dashed straight at them. Rockhound clutched his sword in his left hand and slashed swiftly at them, slicing Zika's cheek. Asuka stepped forward, punched Rockhound hard in the chest, and kicked him in the leg. Rockhound cut through Asuka and kicked him hard in the chest, his upper body flying back as his legs stayed put. Hama leaped up and bit Rockhound in the shoulder, they struggled, and he threw Hama hard against the ground, and Asuka's legs sent a savage kick into his back. Zika skipped at Rockhound, and they exchanged rapid blows, Rockhound slicing him in the side.
A swarm of pirates crashed against them, and a pirate bashed into Zika and knocked him down. Asuka reassembled himself and clashed with Rockhound, exchanging rapid blows. A gust of wind knocked through some of the pirates, and Mugen skipped up to them and carved through them with nasty cuts. Zika skipped off the ground and kicked through a couple of pirates, and Hama ran to his side and bit at them. Yasui skipped up beside the two of them and kicked down pirates swiftly.
Rockhound realized Asuka couldn't be cut and dropped his sword as he struck him hard in the chest with a wicked punch, and the two of them exchanged several more blows as they leaped around the scene. Rockhound slammed into Asuka and bashed him against the ground, and Mugen launched himself at Rockhound, swung his sword upward, and slashed him up the chest. Rockhound swore loudly, kicked Mugen in the side, and elbowed him in the head. They jumped away from each other as Zika and Hama dashed at Rockhound.
Zika and Hama launched a Fang Over Fang at Rockhound as Asuka hurled a Chop-Chop Rocket. Rockhound moved quickly and evaded the attacks as he morphed into his hybrid Pit Bull form! He dashed very fast and sent a savage kick into Asuka's head and barraged a flurry of punches into his stomach.
Yasui and Bulma worked together to beat down the other pirates as the battle raged on. Bulma blasted a group of pirates with a heavy gale of wind as Yasui spun rapidly and struck down pirates with savage kicks. They looked over to see Rockhound in his hybrid form beating on Asuka. Yasui became distracted and was shot in the side by one of the pirates, and Bulma struck him with her stun baton.
Zika and Hama launched at Rockhound again, but this time he snatched Zika out of the air and choke-slammed him down hard into the ground! Hama jerked around and sank his teeth into Rockhound's leg, and the pirate kicked the dog in the ribs. Mugen cut down a few more pirates that got close to him, skipped back at Rockhound, and slashed the dogman up the back. Rockhound kicked Hama off his leg and punched Mugen's chest heavily. Asuka leaped back up and launched at Rockhound, exchanging heavy and rapid punches again. They laid into each other with everything they had as they collided with crushing blows.
Rockhound howled loudly and leaped at Asuka, throwing a powerful left hook that Asuka dodged by separating his body down the middle and barraging his fists into the dogman's chest and face in a flurry of powerful punches. He threw one punch after another, and Rockhound staggered back and reverted to his human form. Still, Asuka continued striking him until the man collapsed with a satisfying thud. Captain Rockhound had been defeated, and what was left standing of his crew fled through the woods and ran from the battlefield.
To Be Continued