Down in the lower hallway, the orange, spongy ground began to melt away.
"Ha! Hyah!"
Dozens of garden guards collapsed in on themselves, breaking apart into harmless piles of mulch.
Don Leporino bent over, sucking in air, his rabbit ears sagging with exhaustion.
"Hah... hah... I gotta admit, the little stronzo has more heart than I gave him credit for. I figured he'd be... wheeze... under the pavement five minutes ago."
He panted, dragging a sleeve across his snout.
More garden guards rose up and charged Goku.
"Man, I'm starving! Smashing these guys is making me totally empty... Wait a second." His eyes light up, looking from his fist to the carrot-man.
"Why am I punching them when I could be... doing something else?"
One of the guards lunged at him. Goku slipped aside, and instead of hitting back, he bit down on its arm.
"CRUNCH!"
"What—he's—"
"CRUNCH! CRUNCH!"
"Hey! Don't chew him! Put him down!"
Goku kept chomping until the guard was gone entirely.
The next one took a step back, but Goku was already there, doing the same thing, chewing away without a second thought.
"What is wrong with you?! I send them to break your legs, not to be your lunch! Che schifo! That is absolutely unsanitary! Do you have any idea where those roots have been?!"
Crunch, crunch... gulp.
"Huh. Weird. It tastes just like a regular carrot. Maybe a little dirtier."
He wipes a few crumbs off his face and looks up at Leporino with hopeful eyes.
"Hey, Mister! Can you make a few more of those guys pop up?"
"M-more? You want... more?"
Leporino took a shaky step back.
His smile twitched, threatening to fall off his face entirely.
Merda... I've got nothing left! The well is dry! If I don't recharge right now, I'm dead meat..
He scanned the floor and spotted a single carrot lying near the wall, the civilian he had transformed earlier to intimidate Bulma.
Ah, perfect. You'll serve as a nice little energy boost, my friend.
But as he reached down to grab it, the carrot suddenly sprouted two eyes and stuck out a tongue at him.
"What?!" Leporino recoiled, stumbling back.
In a puff of smoke, the carrot transformed into a small pig, it was Oolong.
He stood there, with a smug look on his face.
"Were you looking for this?" Oolong asked, pulling a real carrot out of his pocket.
"Y-You! Give that to me this instant!" Leporino demanded.
Oolong extended his hand as if to hand it over, but at the last second, he pulled it back and took a loud bite.
CRUNCH!
"Mmm, delicious."
Leporino's face turned a deep, furious purple.
"You little piece of schifo! I'm gonna slice you up and turn you into salsiccia right here, you hear me?!"
"Whoa, easy there, Big Ears, you might want to worry about the guy behind you first." Oolong smirked, pointing a thumb over his shoulder.
...
Leporino went still.
A chill ran through his fur as he turned, slow and stiff.
...
Goku was right there behind him.
"My turn now, Mr. Bunny!"
WHAM
//////////////////////////////////////
A few minutes later, the hallway had fallen quiet, broken only by Don Leporino's weak, miserable whimpering.
The rabbit-man was bound from ears to toes with a heavy duty cable, his face swollen with thick bumps and bruises, clear evidence of how "gently" Goku had been persuaded to make peace.
"...Kurella dosed the whole room. The monkey kid... fine, he's a freak, I get it. But you? Since when does a walking side of bacon shake off military grade sedatives? How are you standing, you filthy little porchetta?"
"Actually, it went more like this..." Oolong explained, crossing his arms.
////////////////////////////////////
FLASHBACK
Goku and Oolong were slumped against the wall, knocked out by the sedative gas.
Suddenly, Goku's eyes snapped open.
He sniffed the air, his nose wrinkling in disgust.
Sheesh... Bulma's gotta stop eating weird stuff. She let one rip so bad it knocked us all out! That's gotta be a new record or something.
Goku thought, waving a hand in front of his face.
He looked over and saw Oolong still snoring loudly.
"Hey! Oolong! Wake up! This is no time for a nap!"
Goku reached over and gave Oolong a gentle tap, which, coming from Goku, was more like a heavy slap to the back of the head.
Oolong bolted upright, his eyes spinning in opposite directions.
"YIKES! I'm awake! I'm friendly! I taste terrible!"
He freezes, looking blankly at Goku.
"Wait... Goku? how hard did you hit me?!"
Goku whispered, still holding his nose.
"I just saw that maid lady turn into a giant fox monster and go after Bulma. And she did not look friendly."
"Wait—are you saying..." Oolong's words slurred as the gas started pulling him back under.
Goku slapped his cheek again.
"A-AH! HEY! CAN YOU STOP HITTING ME?!"
"Cover your nose."
Oolong did, then finally looked around. His eyes widened as he noticed the hazy gas still hanging in the hallway.
"…Oh."
PRESENT DAY
"And that's how we woke up…"
"A slap? Ma che diavolo... You snapped out of a chemical coma because he slapped you?"
Leporino looked genuinely disturbed.
"Madre di Dio... just how heavy are that kid's hands?"
"I keep asking myself the same thing… my face still hurts."
Goku laughed awkwardly at Oolong.
"Ehehe... my bad, Oolong! I guess I put a little too much oomph into it. But hey, you were sleeping like a rock, and we gotta move!"
Oolong leaned in close, poking one of the bumps on the villain's head.
"Hey. Eyes on me, Bugs.The fun part's done. Now we get down to business. I want a name, I want a boss, and I want to know exactly who put a price on our heads."
"Wait."
A man's voice sounded from behind them.
Yamcha and Bulma stepped into view.
Goku turned around and waved casually, showing zero surprise at seeing his former rival.
"Oh, hey Bulma! You made it!"
Oolong, however, nearly jumped out of his skin.
He scrambled behind Goku, pointing at Yamcha.
"Y-Y-Yamcha?! You gotta be kidding me! You actually came back?"
"Don't even think about the dragon balls! The kid's belly is full and his fists are ready. You try anything, and you're toast!"
Yamcha sighed, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Chill out. If I wanted to fight, you'd know it. We're on the same side today."
"Same side?"
Bulma ignored the bickering and walked straight up to Don Leporino.
"I've been doing the math. You guys were already set up in this hotel before we even arrived. That Dragon Ball wasn't just lying around... you used it as bait to lure us straight to you, didn't you?"
Leporino's long ears twitched. He let out a defiant, wheezing cackle.
"Suppose I do. You really think I'm gonna chirp like a canary for you? Please. In my family, silence is the only currency that matters. I have a contract with the Emperor, amico... and that's a deal that only ends when they put me in a pine box. Capisce?"
Bulma studied him, her eyes tracing the steady rhythm of his breathing and the relaxed set of his shoulders. He wasn't posturing anymore.
He's not bluffing, no nervous tic, no sweat on the brow. He's not afraid of dying here; he's afraid of dishonoring that ridiculous code of his. Great. We're not dealing with a mercenary, we're dealing with a fanatic. He's taking this to the grave.
Yamcha's expression darkened, his shadow looming over the tied-up rabbit.
"Loyalty until death, huh?"
He raised a fist high into the air.
"Let's see how loyal you are when your bones start snapping. Everybody's a tough guy until they can't stand up. Heads up."
He brought his fist down with a ferocious roar, but, at the very last millisecond, he stopped.
His knuckles were barely an inch away from the top of Leporino's head, the sheer air pressure from the punch ruffling the rabbit's fur.
Don Leporino squeezed his eyes shut, bracing for an impact that never came.
He stayed frozen like that for a while, his long ears trembling.
Finally, he peeked one eye open, looking up at the massive fist hovering over him.
"Well? We doing this or not? I got a schedule to keep, amico. If you're gonna punch my ticket for the Emperor, stop stalling and get it over with. I hate late departures."
Yamcha pulled his fist back slightly.
He stared at the pathetic, bruised Animalia who seemed more annoyed than terrified.
"You're not right in the head, are you? Do you realize how close you just came to dying? One twitch and I would've turned your face into paste. Why aren't you sweating?"
Don Leporino slumped against the cable restraints, a twisted, serene smile crossing his bruised face.
He looked up at Yamcha with eyes that were no longer filled with panic, but with a hollow resolve.
"Kid, I accepted the check the minute I hit the floor. So go ahead. Break my legs. Tear me apart like you must have done to poor Kurella—God rest her soul, I assume she's toast if you're still walking. But you're barking up the wrong tree. I don't rat on the Boss."
Bulma stepped forward, crossing her arms. Her analytical mind was trying to find the logic behind such blind devotion.
"I don't get it. Why all this loyalty?"
Leporino let out a soft, dry chuckle that turned into a wet cough.
"You wouldn't understand. You look at us and see dirt. You see... bestie. Beasts. But the Emperor gave us something you people never did: Respect. He gave us a reason to stand tall. He built a world where the so-called monsters aren't hiding in the shadows, we're the ones running the show. That is worth dying for."
Goku tilted his head, looking at the rabbit with a mix of pity and confusion.
"So you're just gonna give up?"
"It's not giving up, it's completing the mission."
Yamcha stepped into the light, his eyes burning with a murderous intensity that made even Oolong tremble.
"Loyalty? Don't make me laugh. I know exactly how your Boss pays his debts. My old man, Dimcha... he bought the lie. He served faithfully. Grizzlo and Diesella, too, they were just doing their jobs. But the second they slipped up? The moment they weren't perfect? You guys didn't just hand them a pink slip. You put them in the ground."
Leporino's bruised face twisted into a grotesque, mocking grin.
He let out a wheezing laugh, showing no fear of the wolf standing before him.
"Oh, right. That loose end. I heard about that. It's a pity I missed it, really. I always wanted to be the one to punch his ticket. But the report... it was entertaining. Is it true he cried? I heard he was on his knees, pleading for his life right before my partner bit his head off like a grape."
Something inside Yamcha didn't just break; it detonated. The stoic posture, it all vanished in a split second.
The image of his father and fallen comrades flashed through his mind.
"You son of a bitch!"
"Yamcha, wait! Don't!We still need him alive to find the base!"
But it was too late.
The mention of his father's final moments snapped the last thread of Yamcha's restraint
Yamcha unleashed a full power punch directly into the center of Leporino's head.
The force of the blow was cataclysmic, the floor beneath the rabbit-man shattered, and the shockwave blew out the remaining lights in the hallway.
There was a sickening crunch, followed by total silence.
Don Leporino's body went limp instantly, his head lolling to the side as his lifeforce vanished.
Yamcha stood over the corpse, his fist still clenched and trembling, his breathing heavy and ragged.
"Yamcha..." Bulma whispered, looking at the carnage with a serious expression.