Back in the hallway, Goku swung his Nyoibo staff wide, but Don Leporino just... moved. Weird, jerky grace that shouldn't have worked but did.
Rabbit Animalia, a modified one.
His legs were insane. He kicked off walls, off the ceiling, these huge leaps that let him dodge the Nyoibo like it was nothing.
Every time the staff cut through the air with that whistle, Leporino was already gone.
Somewhere else. He'd strike some ridiculous pose mid-air, almost like he was showing off, then land soft as anything.
"Hahaha! Bellissimo! You've got spirit, I'll give you that. But spirit doesn't put meat on the table, ragazzo. Is that the best you can do, or are you just saving the seasoning for later?"
Leporino taunted.
Goku's eyes widened in excitement.
Instead of being frustrated, he felt his blood pumping with the thrill of the challenge.
"Whoa! You're like a bouncy ball!"
Goku tightened his grip on the pole, his stance shifting into something more focused.
"Let's see if you can keep up when I start moving for real!"
"Hah! You're a funny one, I'll give you that. It's almost a shame. But business is business. One touch from these hands and that stubborn brain of yours becomes a very refined extract. You'll be the best meal I've had in weeks. Why don't you be a good boy and hold still?"
Here's a more natural version:
Don Leporino's smirk got sharper. His long rabbit ears twitched.
Then he lunged fast.
He reached out with one hand, going straight for Goku's shoulder.
The Carrot Touch.
"Right here, kid! Yah!" Leporino barked.
Goku twisted mid-air, and those hands went right past his should.
Then he used that twist, planted his feet, and struck his fist straight into Leporino's gut.
WHAM!
The blow knocked the breath clean out of the Don.
"Oof!"
A strangled wheeze slipped from his throat as he skidded across the carpet, then he coughed, dragged in a breath, and slowly straightened, shoulders squaring as his guard came back up.
"Ugh... Mannaggia..." Leporino straightened his vest, his face a little pale.
"You got a hell of a right hook, kid. You almost made me lose that Gajar Halwa I just finished. Do you have any idea how hard it is to find a decent halwa in this part of the world?"
Goku rested the Nyoibo on his shoulders.
"Is that all you can do? Just try to touch people and turn them into snacks? That's kind of a weird way to fight."
"Hah! Che ingenuo... you think my touch stops at the skin? Per favore. I can turn the very air you breathe into a snack if the mood strikes me. You're playing a game where I own the board, the pieces, and the table they're sitting on."
He dropped into a crouch and slammed both palms against the hotel floor.
This weird orange ripple spread out from his hands.
The solid ground just... changed.
Went soft.
Organic.
FOOMP!
The marble and carpet under Goku's feet turned into carrot.
A giant solid chunk of it.
Orange everywhere.
The floor went uneven, kind of spongy.
"Huh?! You turned the floor into food?!"
Goku exclaimed, wobbling as his shoes sank slightly into the vegetable floor.
"Hah! Caro mio, you're thinking too small. I can make this whole place mine with a snap of my fingers. Stone, wood, steel... it all tastes the same to me. Why don't we see how well you move when the world starts getting a lot more... comestibile."
Goku stared down at the spongy orange ground under his feet.
His balance was off.
Then the carrot floor started bubbling.
Two figures rose up out of it, tall, stiff, humanoid things made of thick carrot stalks all segmented together.
"Wait, what?! Are those... carrot-men? Are they supposed to fight me, or am I supposed to eat 'em? I'm getting hungry just looking at 'em!"
"Beautiful, no? I like to call 'em my garden guards. Freshly grown right from the floorboards. They don't talk much, they just do exactly what I tell 'em to do."
Goku was too busy staring at the weird texture of these things to notice one of them pulling back its fist.
THWACK!
The carrot-man hit him square in the jaw.
Hit hard, too, way heavier than it looked.
Goku skidded back across the uneven vegetable mess and slammed into the wall.
He rubbed his chin, looking back at the thing.
Mindless.
Just a vegetable soldier standing there.
"Ow! That actually hurt! They're pretty tough!"
Leporino adjusted his sunglasses.
"Oh, scusa... where are my manners? I should've warned you. My little garden friends don't really know their own strength, they'll go right through a wall if you're standing in front of it. Try not to get pancaked, eh? It would be a mess to clean up."
Goku hopped back onto his feet, spinning his Nyoibo.
"Alright then! If they're tough, I can go all out!"
Goku didn't waste another second.
He gripped the Nyoibo tight and lunged forward.
CRACK!
SHATTER!
With every swing of the Nyoibo, Goku smashed through the carrot-men.
Orange chunks of root vegetable flew through the air like shrapnel as he decimated the front line.
Don Leporino didn't look worried at all, though.
He struck another one of those weird, over-the-top poses he kept doing.
"You're just clearing the soil for a new harvest, boy!"
The orange spongy floor bubbled again.
Out of what was left of the soldiers he'd just smashed, more rose up.
Twice as many this time.
Their bodies clicked into place.
It didn't matter how many Goku destroyed.
Leporino just kept using the floor, making more.
Goku took a step back.
"Every time I break one, two more pop up!"
"That's right! As long as I have this garden beneath my feet, I have an infinite army! You'll run out of breath long before I run out of carrots!"
/////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Bulma scrambled up onto the next floor, already digging out traps as she ran down the hallway.
She tossed a few small capsules behind her, maybe they'd distract Kurella, slow her down, something.
Then the floor under her feet groaned.
CRACK!
A massive grey claw punched straight through the tiles.
Then a snarling fox snout.
Kurella burst up through the floor, full Animalia now, terrifying.
"Enough! Assez! I am finished with your pathetic, infantile games, Starch! No more distractions! No more of these... these filthy little traps! You have insulted my dignity for the last time. This ends maintenant!
Bulma barely had time to think.
She gasped, fumbling for another capsule from her thigh holster.
POP!
The Goon-Cannon. Its barrel glowed pink as she hoisted it up and aimed at Kurella.
She fired.
The cannon spat out these rapid pink blobs.
They arced through the air, but Kurella just twisted around them.
Her body contorted, dodging every shot like it was easy.
The pink goo splattered everywhere else, walls, ceiling, floor.
The whole hallway reeked of bubblegum now.
Kurella landed perfect.
Claws scraping the clean floor.
Then she lunged with her claws flashing like blades.
Bulma tried to raise the cannon, use it as a shield, but Kurella was too fast.
Way too fast.
Those heavy claws raked across Bulma's torso, shredding her outfit, leaving these shallow burning scratches across her skin.
"Gaah!"
The force of the blow sent Bulma spinning backward, her back slamming against the hallway wall.
Kurella didn't give her a second to recover.
She locked on Bulma's throat for the killing blow.
"I've decided... we don't actually need you breathing, non? I'll just squeeze the truth out of that traitor pig later. I'm certain he'll start singing about those Dragon Balls once I've had him on my table for a few hours. A little encouragement is all it takes!"
Kurella hissed.
Her muscles coiled up, ready to spring.
Then a hand grabbed her shoulder. Grey fur bunched under the grip.
Kurella froze.
Her head snapped back. Behind her, it was a tall, scarred guy with wild hair everywhere. His face was dark, focused.
He didn't say anything.
Just wound up and drove his fist straight into her jaw.
CRACK!
"UGFH!"
Sounded like a cannon.
Kurella went flying sideways, crashing straight through the drywall, splintering the wooden frame. She disappeared into the next room in a cloud of dust and debris.
Bulma just stared, jaw hanging open. She slumped against the wall, holding her torn sleeve.
"Yamcha?! No way... how did you even find this place? Don't tell me you've been trailing us since the desert. Were you seriously following us all the way to Rokki?"
Yamcha didn't look back at her immediately.
He settled into a combat stance, his eyes fixed on the hole in the wall where the beast had fallen.
"Save the questions for later, girl. First, we have to put this fox down for good. Then we can talk about how I found you."