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 11: Paradise
"The Grand Line is a dangerous sea; navigating is impossible without one of these," Bulma said and popped open a DynoCap. She revealed a strange compass in her hand, "A Log Pose."
"How does it work?" Asuka asked.
"Magnetism attracts the needle," she said as she slipped the Log Pose on her left wrist. "It points to an island, and when we reach it, the magnetism will reset after a while and point us to the next island," Bulma explained.
The needle pointed northeast, and the Misfits set their course, finally sailing the Grand Line. The sky was clear, and the sun shone brightly as they drifted toward their first island in 'Paradise.' Excitement filled the air, and the weather began to turn after thirty or so minutes. Dark clouds appeared above them, and the water became angry.
As the Misfits sailed through the nasty weather, another ship sailed beside them and kept pace as they moved forward. The ship flew a Jolly Roger that depicted a brown cat's face with gold coins for eyes.
"Ahoy! You've just entered the Grand Line, yeah?" A voice called at them. A tall man with a leather coat and a brown beard stepped up on the ship and looked at them.
"Yeah!" Asuka called back at him.
"Well, you gotta pay the fee! Fifty thousand Beli per person on your ship." The man told them with a smile.
"A fee? No way!" Bulma shouted.
More men stood beside the man brandishing rifles and swords. "Gato runs these parts and demands a fee from anyone who sails through here."
"I'm not paying a fee to anyone," Asuka said with a grin.
The men raised their weapons and snarled at the Misfits as tension rose. The man with the brown beard looked away from them suddenly and shouted to his men, "There they are!"
A small ship was sailing away from the area, and the pirates scrambled to turn their ship and follow after it. Bulma swung the ship around to chase after them.
"What are you doing?" Mugen asked her.
"We can't let them attack those people!"
The pirate ship blasted a volley of cannonballs at the small ship and quickly caught up to them. Bulma steered the ship and pulled up beside the pirates; Zika and Hama leaped over to the other ship and attacked them. Mugen skipped to the other ship and removed the mast with a clean sword swing. Asuka and Yasui fired their cannons and blasted into the other ship's hull. Mugen, Zika, and Hama bounced around and struck down pirates on the deck.
Five pirates leaped onto the Whore's Pocket Watch, and both Asuka and Yasui crashed into them with crushing blows and sent them overboard. A cannonball struck the small ship and sank; the two passengers scrambled to grab their things. Mugen, Zika, and Hama ripped into the remaining pirates and leaped back to the Whore. Bulma dropped a skiff and called for the duo on the sinking ship to hop on it. The Misfits raised the skiff, and an older man and a boy who looked to be Asuka's age stepped out.
"Thank you very much." The man said, sounding drunk.
"These damn pirates are annoying." The boy said.
"Who are those guys?" Bulma asked.
"Gato's thugs." The man said and spat on the deck.
"Gato?" Asuka asked.
"He's a ruthless pirate. He's holding a chain of islands captive and wants us dead." The boy said.
"Oh, sorry. My name is Tazuna. I'm trying to build bridges connecting the Wave Chain islands." The man nodded, "Gato charges a tariff on the islands for sailing his waters, and the bridges will mess with his business."
"We should loot their ship; they probably have money." The boy said.
"And who are you?" Asuka asked with a smile.
"I'm Shuhei. Tazuna hired me to be his bodyguard." He said.
Mugen, Zika, and Yasui boarded the pirate ship and began looting it. They returned with two-hundred-thousand Beli and dropped it on the ship's deck.
"Where are your islands?" Asuka asked.
"Northeast of here, I have an Eternal Pose that leads there," Tazuna said with a nod.
"If we kick Gato's ass, can we push him out of the area?" Mugen asked.
"That was my plan." Shuhei said, "Cut the head off the snake."
"It won't work." Tazuna shook his head as he spoke, "Gato is almost always on his ship sailing around. His thugs are on the islands, but he stays away."
"Set the course for the Wave Chain," Asuka told Bulma, and she jumped into action. "We're gonna help you."
"Wha- What? Why?" Tazuna said, stunned.
"Because I wanna beat up bad people," Asuka said.
"Who are you?" Tazuna asked.
"Senju D. Asuka, I'm a Peacemain Pirate!"
"A what?"
"Huh?"
"We're pirates?" Mugen asked.
Asuka nodded, "I decided when he reached Reverse Mountain. Peacemain Pirates are good pirates who help people."
"D?" Shuhei raised an eyebrow, "Hm."
The Misfits set their course and sailed off toward the Wave Chain.
On the sea near the Wave Chain, a ship bobbed in the water flying the Jolly Roger of Gato, the brown cat with gold coins over its eyes. Gato sat in his quarters, smoking a cigar and counting coins.
His Transponder Snail went off. "What?" He answered.
"No response from the boys that went after the old man." A voice speaks through the snail.
"God dammit! The geezer went and got help, most likely. Alright." Gato hung up and grumbled as he thought for a moment. He dialed a number and made a call on his snail.
"Hello?" Came an answer after a moment.
"Yes, I'm looking to hire your services," Gato spoke coolly.
"What's the job?"
"I need you to get rid of an old geezer named Tazuna. Kill him and shut down the bridge-building project in the Chain Wave." Gato said.
"I'll be there in five days. I'll take three-hundred-thousand Beli for my troubles." The voice said and hung up.
Gato lit another cigar and continued counting his coins at his desk. One way or another, the bridge builder will die.
At the G-1 marine base on the Grand Line, officers meet to discuss current events and wanted pirates.
Rear Admiral Inosuke stood in a room before marines and showed them bounty posters. "These four individuals have entered the Grand Line." He spoke in a creepily calm way. Fawkes the Phoenix, Eiffel D. Lucy, Senju D. Asuka, and Nefeltari Bulma."
"Nefeltari? Dr. Brief's daughter." Lieutenant Commander Lisa asked.
Inosuke nodded, "She and her sister, Tights, ran away from the protection of the World Government, and both have bounties on them. Bulma has joined up with Senju D. Asuka, likely the offspring of Senju D. Siegfried. We must capture her and kill him at all costs."
"Who is he? Senju D. Siegfried?" Ensign Leorio asked.
Inosuke stared at the Ensign, "That man is a terrorist, possibly the Navy and World Government's biggest threat."
The marines murmured about themselves and became quiet. "What about the other two bounties?" Captain Marsh asked finally.
Inosuke sighed, "Fawkes ate the Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit. The Tweet-Tweet Model: Phoenix. It's a rare and powerful ability that I wished the marines had gotten their hands on." Inosuke looked at the last poster, "This woman, Lucy, ate the ultimate Devil Fruit. The Op-Op Fruit. She joined the marines at fourteen, trained hard, and earned the rank of Lieutenant by eighteen. She discovered the Op-Op Fruit was being delivered to Marie Jois and stole it... She's a big threat to the world as well."
"A lot of interesting rookies." Lieutenant Commander Lisa said nervously.
"And those are just the ones from the North Blue." Ensign Leorio muttered.
"Yeah, I've been hearing about rookies in all four blues causing a ruckus." Captain Marsh stated.
"Are they all heading for the Grand Line? A lot of upstarts get taken out in the pirate graveyard." A marine sitting in the back of the room spoke.
"Yeah, we can worry about the rookies if they survive long enough."
"All pirates must be taken down, but these four are particularly dangerous." Inosuke stated, "Bulma is our top priority, however."
The meeting was dismissed, and Captain Marsh walked down the tall tower and made his way to the docks. He boarded his ship and was met by Vice-Admiral Kadaro.
"Yo." Kadaro said with a smile, "How was the meeting?"
"Boring; why did I have to go?" Marsh asked.
"You're a Captain, sure, but still a kid. How old are you?" Kadaro asked.
"Sixteen," Marsh answered.
"Oh yeah, that's right." Kadaro smiled, "I had to make a few calls and needed privacy." Marsh handed Kadaro the wanted posters and walked down below deck. He flipped through the signs and stopped at Asuka's. He stared briefly as his heart raced, "So that's how it is, Asuka."
After two days of travel, the Misfits came to the Wave Chain. Three small islands are in a triangle formation near each other. Vague was a long island and closest to Reverse Mountain. Onda is the largest of the three, east of Vague but north of Volna. Tazuna directed them around Vague and helped them get to Onda. They docked their ship and prepared for a walk.
Asuka and Shuhei walked side by side at the front of their party; just behind them were Mugen and Yasui. Bulma and Tazuna walked as the third pair, with Zika and Hama taking up the rear.
"How long will it take to get to your village?" Bulma asked Tazuna.
"It's a two-hour walk from the secret port here." Tazuna grumbled, "But who knows if Gato's thugs or hired assassins may be waiting for us."
They walked down a winding pathway through the forest, trotting along in their marching order. The air was wet as they walked; a thick fog soon rolled in and swallowed them and the surrounding forest.
"This happens occasionally," Tazuna said, waving it off.
"Can you see anything?" Shuhei asked Asuka.
"Not really. But I can feel something."
The sound of rattling chains and metal clinking filled the air around them. The group completely stopped moving and tried to listen or see anything.
"There's four of 'em." Zika said, "I can smell 'em."
A figure dashed up and slashed through Asuka with a serrated chain. Asuka's upper body floated up, and he struck the figure in the head with a swift punch. The figure jumped back, and Asuka reattached his parts. Two other figures appeared on either side of Bulma and Tazuna; they lunged forward and were stopped by Yasui and Mugen. Yasui spun fast and slammed a wicked kick into the figure's chest, and it jumped back quickly. Mugen and the figure on his side clashed blades rapidly, and they jumped away from him.
Zika and Hama dashed off suddenly, bounced around the trees, and struck down two figures with their Fang Over Fang! Asuka Shaved beside another figure, the one that attacked him, barraged a flurry of stiff punches that dropped them. The final figure tried to dash away, but Shuhei Shaved after them and quickly struck them down with a swift chop. Up close, they saw the men were assassins of some kind.
"These guys are shinobi," Zika said slowly.
"What?! Ninjas?" Asuka asked, excitedly.
"They wear the mark of the Mist Village." Zika pointed at an emblem that depicted four diagonal raindrops.
"Interesting," Mugen muttered.
The group returned to their marching order and continued down the winding path as the fog slowly passed. The rest of the walk was uneventful, and they eventually arrived at Fusha Village, home of Tazuna, the bridge builder.
To Be Continued