Beep. Beep. Beep.
The Dragon Radar in Bulma's hand pulsed.
Standing at the edge of the wooden dock, with the ocean breeze still tangling her hair.
"It's here, and it's not buried. It's moving. Someone in this town has the dragon ball."
She snapped the cover of the radar shut and looked at Goku.
"Listen to me. If someone has the orb, they might know its value. They might be armed. Prepare yourself, Goku. This is our first real combat scenario for the objective. Do not let your guard down."
Goku nodded and cracked his knuckles.
"Got it. I'm ready."
The two of them stepped off the dock and made their way into the heart of Oinktown.
They moved with purpose, scanning every face of the locals.
From the shadow of an alleyway, a pair of beady eyes watched them.
A pig humanoid slightly shorter than the average local, narrowed his eyes as he tracked the two humans.
He was sweating cold fear.
Humans... two of them. And they look like they're searching for something.
His mind raced to the worst possible conclusion.
Yamcha sent them.
He thought, panic rising in his throat. That desert wolf finally tracked me down. He wants his dragon ball back and my head.
He shrank back into the shadows, watching Goku.
But they're unlucky.
The pig thought, a smirk slowly replacing the fear.
I'm a genius. I came to Oinktown for a reason. In a town where everyone is a pig, I'm invisible.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a thick, bushy fake mustache.
He then slapped it onto his snout.
"Perfect." He whispered, admiring his reflection in a puddle.
"They'll never find me now."
He adjusted his suspenders and stepped out of the alley, blending seamlessly into the crowd.
Time to get back to work. Those unsuspecting fools will never know i was even here.
////////////////////////////////////
The signal led them to a slightly rundown establishment with a peeling sign that read "The Trough".
Laughter and the clinking of glasses drifted out from inside.
Bulma stopped at the door, checking the radar one last time.
"It's definitely in there." She whispered to Goku. She peered through the window.
"Looks like a local watering hole. Probably just some civilian who found the ball and kept it as a shiny paperweight."
She patted her purse, where a thick stack of Zeni resided.
"This makes things easier. If it's just a civilian, we don't need to fight. Money solves these kinds of problems faster than fists. Just let me do the talking, okay?"
"Okay."
They pushed the doors open.
The chatter died down for a split second as every snout in the room turned to look at the two humans, then resumed just as quickly.
Bulma plastered on her most charming smile and marched toward a table of pigs playing cards.
"Excuse me, gentlemen!"
She chirped, pulling out a photo of the Four-Star Ball.
"So sorry to interrupt, but I'm looking for a crystal sphere about this size? It glows orange? I'm willing to pay a handsome reward..."
While Bulma worked the tables, Goku wandered toward the bar.
He hopped up onto a stool, looking at the counter.
Standing there, wiping down the wood with a rag, was a pig wearing a bartender's apron and a very conspicuous, bushy fake mustache.
Goku rested his chin on his hands and stared.
The pig froze.
He felt the gaze burning into his forehead.
Don't look at him.
The pig screamed internally.
Just keep wiping. You are a normal pig bartender. You are not Oolong the Shapeshifter. You don't owe anyone money.
He risked a glance.
The spiky-haired boy was still staring.
He knows...
Oolong thought, sweat beading under his fake mustache.
That's the look of a killer. Yamcha hired a hitman who looks like a child to lower my guard. Clever.
Oolong forced a smile that looked more like a grimace.
"Can I... can I help you, kid?"
Goku blinked.
"Do you serve food for people here?"
Oolong flinched.
Food for people? Oolong's mind raced, overanalyzing every syllable.
Why did he specify people? Is that a code? Is he implying that I'm not just a pig? Is he testing to see if I break character?
"We... uh... we serve everyone." Oolong stammered, gripping the rag tighter.
"Why do you ask? Did... did someone send you?"
The question about who sent him completely bouncing off Goku's brain.
"Oh, right!" He reached into the pouch tied to his belt.
He pulled out the Four-Star Ball and slammed it onto the counter.
The orange crystal glowed warmly in the dim bar light.
"We're looking for one of these." Goku said, pointing a finger at the stars inside.
"Have you seen a ball that looks like this?"
Oolong's eyes practically launched out of his skull. He stared at the sphere, his jaw unhinging.
"Is that... is that a Dragon Ball?!" he shrieked, his voice jumping three octaves.
"Yep!" Goku chirped.
"Aha!"
Bulma appeared out of nowhere, slamming her hands onto the bar top, trapping Oolong between herself and Goku.
"So, you know what they're called."
Oolong jumped, his fake mustache flapping with the sudden movement.
He looked from the Goku to Bulma, realizing he had just walked right into a verbal trap.
"Most people would just call them pretty orange marbles or weird rocks, but you... you called it a dragon ball. That means you know what it does. And the signal is coming from right here."
She pointed a finger at his chest.
"Do you have one? Or do you know who does?"
Oolong began to sweat so profusely that the glue on his mustache started to loosen.
"I... I don't know what you're talking about!" Oolong stammered, waving his trotters frantically.
He started backing away, eyeing the kitchen door.
"In fact... I think I hear the stove burning! I have to go check the... soup! Excuse me!"
"Hey! Wait!" Goku shouted, leaning over the bar.
"Can I have a bowl of that soup before you go?"
But the swinging doors to the kitchen were already fluttering shut.
The bartender was gone.
"Forget the soup, Goku!" Bulma yelled, grabbing his arm and yanking him off the stool.
"He's running! That pig has the Dragon Ball!"
"He does?" Goku blinked, surprised.
They sprinted to the kitchen doors and burst through.
The kitchen had several pigs in white chef hats, they were chopping vegetables and stirring massive pots.
They looked up, startled by the intrusion.
"Hey!" One chef, a massive boar with a cleaver, barked.
"No customers in the kitchen! Get out!"
He marched toward them to throw them out, but suddenly, he froze. His eyes darted to the floor, and his face went pale.
"EEEEK!"
The massive boar dropped his cleaver and jumped onto a prep table, shivering.
"A RAT! A RAT ON THE KITCHEN!"
Chaos erupted. The other chefs screamed and scrambled onto counters and stoves, pots clattering to the ground.
Down on the tiled floor, a small, grey rat scurried between the chefs' legs. It made a beeline for the door, darting right between Goku and Bulma.
"Where did the bartender go?" Bulma shouted, ignoring the rodent and scanning the room. She saw an open window at the back of the kitchen, the curtains fluttering in the wind.
"The window! He must have climbed out!"
"He's fast for a guy with short legs," Goku noted.
"Let's go!"
They turned around and ran back out the way they came, bursting through the bar and out into the street.
Bulma whipped out the Dragon Radar.
The screen blinked rapidly.
"He's moving, fast. He's heading into the alleyways."
She pointed toward a narrow, garbage-cluttered passage between two buildings.
"That way! Don't let him lose us!"
"Right!"
Goku took point, and they dashed into the labyrinth of alleys, chasing the blinking dot on the screen.
They rounded a sharp corner in the alleyway and skidded to a halt.
Blocking their path was a towering, menacing figure.
It was a Giant Robot, easily three meters tall, made of dark metal with glowing red eyes and massive hydraulic claws. Steam hissed from its joints.
"HALT!" The robot boomed, its voice metallic and vibrating with bass.
"I am the Steel Titan! Oolong's strongest and most ruthless henchman! Turn back now, or I will crush you into paste!"
Bulma gasped, clutching the radar to her chest.
She took a step back.
"No way! A fully autonomous combat mecha?! How does a pig village have this kind of technology?"
Goku, however, didn't look scared.
He looked delighted.
"Wow!"
He dropped into his fighting stance, knees bent, fists raised, a wide grin spreading across his face.
"Finally! Someone who looks tough!" Goku laughed.
"I was getting bored with all the running!"
The robot took a heavy step forward, the ground shaking.
"You... you want to fight?" The robot asked, the menace slipping slightly from its voice.
"Are you insane, boy? Look at my armor plating! It is impenetrable! It is suicide! run away while you still have legs!"
"I don't care about your plating, i can handle it."
He narrowed his eyes.
"Are you gonna attack? Because if you don't come at me..."
He tensed his legs, ready to spring.
"...I'm coming at you!"
"WAIT!"
POOF.
With a cloud of white smoke and a pathetic squeak, the terrifying Steel Titan vanished instantly.
In its place stood a small, black alley cat.
The cat didn't say a word. It let out a terrified yowl, scrambled for traction on the pavement, and bolted between
Goku's legs, disappearing down the alley at breakneck speed.
"Huh?" Goku dropped his stance, scratching his head.
"Where did the big robot go? And where did that cat come from?"
Bulma looked down at the Dragon Radar in her hand.
The blinking dot was moving away from them rapidly, at the exact speed of a sprinting cat.
That... that violates the law of conservation of mass... Three tons of steel can't just compress into a four pound mammal. It's impossible.
"Unless..." She looked up, her eyes narrowing.
We aren't dealing with technology. We're dealing with a shapeshifter.
"He's the cat, Goku! Catch him!"