Chapter 4 - First Mission: Subdue the Venoms - Part 1

Zac's P.O.V.

It's been three months since I've started training with Piccolo and trust me when I say it was brutal. Everyday training started at sunrise, and it ended well after the sunset. Apparently, each station is actually connected to each of the captain's worlds and here I thought nothing could surprise anymore. Back to what I was saying, training with Piccolo only consisted of hard sparring with only a few minutes of rest in between them. That was the routine for the whole three months and my progress was slow and painful, but in the end, I did get stronger only it wasn't as strong as I wanted. However, Piccolo seemed to be contend with the rate of my growth. I hope. It's really hard to see when the only expression on his face is a stern one.

But to my surprise, just when I got use to my training routine, I discovered something completely new. Turns out the Umbras Cube inside me didn't just give me a stronger body, it also gave me abilities. Yeah, you heard me right. It came as a complete shock to me one day when I was training. Piccolo didn't seem to be bothered by it whatsoever, instead after I did my first move, he increased the intensity of training. So, it got even more brutal.

The part that made it even more brutal was learning to use my abilities in a real combat scenario. I had to learn how to incorporate my abilities in my sparring with Piccolo and that was a painful hurdle to try and overcome. But I'm pushing through. I'm not giving up. Even though it hurts like hell.

Were there times where looked like an idiot? Yes

Did those times make me feel like an idiot? Oh hell yes, it did.

But with some time and patience, I finally got used to them. First, I had to learn how to activate them, which I pulled off immediately, and then second, came the actual use of those abilities in combat, which was the hard part. Despite the setbacks, and the pain from getting my butt kicked every day, I actually started enjoying training. When the day was done and I went back to my room, I would tell Jason everything I did that day for what felt like hours before going to bed.

However, things started getting awkward between the two of us. I don't know why but I think Jason is hiding something from me. I hope it's only my imagination, because I can't think of any reason why Jason would, if he was. We always told each other everything, even the cold hard truth at times… which resulted in a lot of fights, but afterwards we forgive each other and got along again. But for some reason, this is way different.

If there is a problem, I hope and pray it won't be a big one.

(The Thousand Sunny. Team Beta.) 3rd Person P.O.V.

It's currently storming on the island of Team Beta's station. The winds are so strong it's impossible to walk across the sand without getting knocked to the ground. Add in the fact that the rain is so dense you can't even see a few meters in front of you. The noise from the rain, the thunder and the waves created this space where you couldn't hear yourself think. In the end, all operations were immediately halted until the weather conditions improved. The marines were inside their ships, while the Straw hats and the other teammates hunkered down on the Thousand Sunny.

Inside the Sunny, Sanji was cooking, while not even bothered by the mother-of-all storms outside. This helped him to relax and keep himself busy. After all it was either that or deal with a certain problem in the dining room. As he was making an incredible display of culinary techniques, Luffy was sitting at the table with his head flat on the table.

"Ahh this is so boring." Luffy whined. "Why did it have to rain today?"

"Would you pipe down, Luffy? You've been at it for hours now." Sanji grumbled, obviously the cooking didn't work.

"But I'm boooored." Luffy whined again. This time lifting his head off the table to make his whining louder. This interrupted Sanji's cooking abruptly, but he regained his composure and continued. "Luffy isn't there another place where you can do something?" Sanji asked. 'Like say outside.' He thought.

"No. We're the only ones left on the Sunny. Boruto said he went back to his world to go on missions and Hancock's been acting weirder." At the mention of the Pirate Empress's name, Sanji nearly passed out from joy as an image of Boa Hancock pops in his head looking beautifully stoic as usual. Then he started doing his love-sick dance in front of the stove. 'Oh Hancock please accept this lovely dish I make in honour of your beauty.' Sanji thought, which almost looked like praying to a goddess. But while this is going on, Luffy still continues to whine.

"For some reason she's always all over me." This immediately froze Sanji in the middle of the love-sick dance and knocked him straight out of whatever fantasy he was having. "She always has her arms all over me and she even tried to sneak into my hammock one night. She's just so weird." Luffy said, but this only seemed to bring Sanji to the boiling point.

"What?!" He said through his teeth grinding and his fists clenching so tightly there were veins bulging on both his hands and face. 'The lovely Hancock is getting too clingy and he's COMPLAINING?!' Sanji raged. If there ever wasn't a time where he wanted to kill his captain and go through with it, today would be the first. So without missing a beat, Sanji grabbed Luffy's cheek and stretched it across the room.

"Take that back! Take it back right now damnit! You hear me Luffy?!" Sanji yelled trying to intimidate Luffy with a dipper spoon. "I mean it, if you chase her away with your stupidity, I'll make sure you die of starvation you got it?!" But Luffy didn't let the threat bother him or maybe he didn't even listen in the first place.

Suddenly Luffy's eyes shot open with excitement. "Oh I know. Hey Sanji, do you know where Zac is?" Luffy asked, although it sounded muffled. This got Sanji's attention away from the original issue, albeit only a little.

"I haven't seen him Luffy." Sanji said, still feeling a little miffed, but he inhaled a bit from his cigarette and blew it out. "As a matter of fact, it's been two weeks since he ate here on the Sunny. I heard his training with that Alpha member got more intense." Sanji said, as he took another bit from his cigarette, but this time it was Luffy who froze solid at the news. Sanji sees this and doesn't understand.

"What? You didn't know? He's been training for the past three months with that green guy from Goku's universe." Sanji said as he walked back to the stove. "To be honest, it's weird. From what I know the guy's a lone wolf on almost all his missions and last I heard he doesn't mingle with the Jump Force guys, not even from his own team. Kinda hard to imagine him of all people training Zac." Sanji said, but Luffy didn't listen, instead he remained frozen in shock. Sanji started to get concerned because Luffy doesn't usually stay quiet this long. Only in rare circumstances.

He didn't stay that way for long, because Luffy as quickly as he froze in shock, sprung back to life. "SAYYY WHAAAAAAAT?!" Luffy yelled, right when lightning struck outside.

(In the middle of nowhere. Team Alpha.) 3rd Person P.O.V.

While a storm was going on in team Beta's station, the sun was shining bright in the canyon desert of team Alpha. The storm in Team Beta made the temperature of the beach near freezing level cold, but the canyon is boiling hot with the only thing to cool it down, if only a little, was the wind. While the area is usually quiet except for the whenever the wind blows through the paths in between the canyons, today just like for the last three months, has not been quiet at all.

*BOOM*

*BOOM*

*BOOM*

Three explosions suddenly went off on top the largest canyon. It kicked up a lot of dust from the surface that covered the entire area. Zac then jumped out of the dust cloud and tried to look for his opponent, but he couldn't see anything. Suddenly he heard something charge up from above him. He looked up just in time to see a yellow energy shot coming right at him. He dodged and the energy ball blasted a crater where he stood. Zac stared at the small crater and followed it back up to the assailant who shot it.

"Flying again? Are you serious Piccolo? You know I can't reach you when you're up there." Zac said, looking up at Piccolo, who's casually floating in the air with his arms crossed. His makes it look like he's bored.

"This isn't a tournament match, Nelson. Your enemy won't be playing by the rules. Now hurry up and make a plan. How are you going to hit me now?" Piccolo said, just as he unhooked his right arm and charged up another shot. "You better think fast or else this next shot is going to hurt." When Zac heard that, he felt the need to make a plan within, but he was stuck.

'Ok, what can I do? Throw him with a rock? Yeah right, what am I, King Kong? That's never going to work.' Zac thought, but Piccolo fired again. Zac rolled out of the way of the next volley of shots and duck behind a rock. Zac would have thought he was safe, but he knew that Piccolo could still blow up that rock and him without any problems whatsoever. He needed a plan and quick.

"You shouldn't hide where I know where you are for too long, Nelson." Piccolo said from the air. He fired two more energy blast into the rock's surface with just enough power to shoot holes through it, as if he knew where Zac was standing. "Obviously." Piccolo stated before firing another shot into the rock. Zac knew he didn't have long before Piccolo would blow his hiding place up, just to prove his point further.

'I guess there's still one thing I could try.' Zac thought as he ran out from cover. Piccolo followed him, waiting for his next move. Zac then cupped his hands and brought it to his side. A blue ball of energy started growing in between his hands.

Piccolo raised his brow alarm. 'Don't tell me he's going to- ' Piccolo thought, but it was cut off. "Kamehameha!" Zac shouted, but the second he thrusted his hands forward the energy didn't shoot out like a laser, instead it exploded in Zac's face. The explosion kicked up a lot of dust that covered the area and when the dust cleared there was another crater in the place where Zac stood. The look of alarm on Piccolo's face then changed to disbelieve, and he just re-folded his arms and sighed as he descended back to ground.

As Piccolo was descending, Zac was hanging for his life on the side of the cliff just a few meters down from the edge. Zac was shocked his attack backfired on him and he was still in shock as his left arm kept him from falling down. His ears were ringing and there was dust stuck on his face like war paint. Zac then felt his fingers slipping and quickly grabbed with his other arm onto the side and then positioned his feet in order to start climbing up. Luckily for him, his new body made it capable for him to climb the rocky surface without any problems and he didn't have to climb for long before he reached the edge of the cliff. When his head poked over the edge, he saw Piccolo was standing with his back turned to him. While, feeling a little annoyed he pushed the rest of his body up without anymore delay and walked over to his trainer.

The ringing died to down enough for him to hear Piccolo talking, but Zac didn't know whether he was talking with himself or someone else. He picked up a few words from the conversation, like: "... not ready"; "sending him…" and "suicide". This only made him curious. When Zac nearly reached Piccolo side, he saw he was talking with Kakashi. 'Wait, that's Kakashi Hatake. Huh? What is he doing here?' Zac stopped for a second, because he was feeling his inner geek rising. But before he could push his inner geek back down again, Kakashi noticed him.

"Oh good to see you survived that fall Zachery." Zac grew a bit nervous when Kakashi said his name, after all when did they meet?

"Wait you know my name?" Zac asked.

"Well yeah, of course I do. I am your second instructor after all. It would be natural for a teacher to know the name of their student." Kakashi said. Hearing this made Zac's eyes go wide for a second, but he quickly regained his composure before his inner geek blew up out of him. "So you're my second instructor? Definitely didn't see that coming." Zac said trying to not look like an idiot. But definitely felt like one. Only until Piccolo slapped the back of his head.

"What on earth were you trying to pull with that stunt? Did you forget what I said? You have to concentrate when you're performing the Kamehameha or else your ki will become unstable. How many times do I have to say it before it sticks? Do you honestly want to kill yourself instead of the enemy?!" Piccolo scolded, while Zac was trying to rub away the pain.

"Owww! You know there still a little ringing in my ears and that slap didn't help whatsoever." Zac said, not even trying to hide his annoyance. "Good, then perhaps this will help you remember to focus next time." Piccolo responded.

"What the hell am I even supposed to focus on?! Besides at least it didn't blow up immediately like last week." Zac said, which only confused Piccolo.

"So you're saying it took you a week to make sure it doesn't blow up immediately? You're supposed to pull it off immediately, you idiot!" Piccolo said. Zac felt his embarrassment climb because the reality was Piccolo was right. Just because didn't blow up on his side this time, doesn't mean it's an improvement. Deep down Zac knew this.

"Alright fine, sheesh. I get it. But you have to admit it's hard to concentrate when I'm being shot at." Zac said. Piccolo just rolled his eyes. He wanted to respond, but Kakashi was the one beat him to it. "That shouldn't matter. When you're in a real battle, your enemy is not gonna show you any mercy. Because he's not going to expect the same courtesy from you. Let's say you're about to win the fight. All you need to do is use one more attack to defeat your opponent, but you mess it up. That's going to turn the tide of the fight in their favour. That means…" Kakashi explained, which took the form of doodles in Zac's imagination. But before Kakashi could finish, Piccolo chipped it. "You die." Piccolo said.

That caused a lump to form in Zac's throat and a pit in his stomach. His imagination looked goofy with the doodles, but it felt cold and dark. "Then I guess, I'm grateful we're still training." Zac said, trying to lighten the mood, but it had the opposite effect. Piccolo just held his frown and Kakashi just got quiet. Zac noticed this and felt awkward. "Am I missing something?" Zac asked.

Piccolo then broke his silence: "Tell him where you were." Zac then looked at Kakashi in confusion. Kakashi then sighed before answering. "Early this morning, the director called me into his office to talk about some things. He wants to send you on your first mission." Zac swallowed another lump. He could actually feel his heart, beat against his chest.

"It's still suicide. You saw it for yourself, didn't you? He's still has a long way to go before he's mission ready." Piccolo said. Zac admits that it hurts to hear that, but he has to face facts.

"I agree with you, Piccolo. Normally we wait until the recruits showed a certain level mastery over their attacks and powers before we send them out to battle, but for some reason that I'm not aware of it seems that has changed. Director Glover did assure me that all Zac would be doing is go out on a 'Sweeper' mission." Kakashi said. Zac couldn't honestly know how he felt about being talked about while he was still in the same vicinity, but he got curious when he heard the kind of mission. Piccolo on the other hand didn't budge on the issue, but he knew that when the director ordered something to happen, it's going to take some extraordinary circumstances to make him change his mind.

"Sweeper mission?" Zac piped up.

"There are actually three types of missions that heroes go on in Jump Force. The first and most difficult are the 'Key' missions, where any member from either Alpha, Beta or Gamma are sent onto the front lines to fight against dangerous Venoms, usually ranging from Low to High Tiers. It's these missions that are given to more experienced heroes or those of a higher power level. The second and less difficult are reserved only for members of team Gamma and they are called 'Infiltration' missions. That is when members of team Gamma infiltrate enemy territory in order to gather intel and information on the Venoms. The information ranges from ranks, tactics and plans. The information is then used to help us out in future operations. Now the third kind of missions are called 'Sweeper' missions, and they are regarded as the easiest kind, and that is where we send out new recruits specifically, to locations after a battle took place. The purpose of the missions are to gradually expose newbies to battle conditions." Kakashi explained. Once again causing Zac's imagination to activate.

Zac followed as best he could, and, in the end, he understood what Kakashi explained. Piccolo then felt that this was the time to interject again. "It can still be dangerous even if he were ready." Kakashi caught himself before he rolled his eyes because he understands where Piccolo is coming from, even though he sounds like a mother hen at times.

"Zac the choice is yours. The director is a hard man and won't budge for anything other than a good reason, but if don't feel up to it, we will try." Kakashi said. In his mind, Kakashi did share Piccolo's concerns about the director's choice, but there was in fact little that he could do about it. But even if there was a small chance for the director to change his mind, he will gladly take it.

Zac on the other hand felt extremely nervous about this. He knew he wasn't ready but what if there is no one else for this mission? What if this mission is specifically something only he could handle? "Ok uhm, let's say I did chose to do the mission. What would I be doing?" Zac asked. Piccolo didn't like where this was going. Kakashi sighed.

"You would arrive in the location where a previous battle was fought, and you would be tasked to sweep the area for anything important. It usually spans from locating Umbras cubes that were missed to even finding injured heroes that were left behind." Kakashi explained. Zac felt some relieve when he heard that, because to him it didn't sound so bad.

'Really? That's all I have to do? If that's the case, then what the hell are they so concerned about?' Zac thought.

"You would also have to fight Venoms." Piccolo said as if he read Zac's thoughts. Suddenly he lost his relieve as quick as it came. Kakashi sighed again, before saying: "Yes that too. However, I should also mention that the chances of you fighting Venoms are really low, because the heroes we send out on 'Key' missions are professionals."

That didn't help much. "Ok, will I be going alone?" Zac asked. Kakashi looked worried. "No, like on every other mission, you would go as a part of a three-man squad." But still Kakashi answered the question truthfully. Piccolo frowned but this time not at Zac but at Kakashi, because what the hell is he doing?

Zac just stood there and weighed his options. He could say no and continue his training to make sure he was ready, and on the other hand he could say yes. However his feelings on this matter did make it look like he didn't have a choice. After all, what if director Glover trusts him to handle this mission and if he says no then how would that make him look? 'Wow this is harder than I thought. I didn't think I would be send out before I was ready.' Zac thought.

As Zac was thinking, Piccolo and Kakashi were observing him closely, waiting for him to make his choice. Even though Kakashi gave him a choice, Piccolo was still convinced that he didn't do enough to deter him from it. Kakashi on the other hand, shared Piccolo's attitude towards this, but he realised that Zac wasn't really his student in the same way Naruto was, where he could determine which missions he could and could not do. That luxury was reserved for the director and no-one else.

After thinking long and hard about this Zac finally had his answer. "Ok, I'll do it. If he director trusts me for this, then I'll -" Zac was then interrupted when something small tackled him into the ground. Piccolo and Kakashi looked confused. As if they were trying to figure out if this was really happening or not.

What really happened was Luffy. After he heard that Zac was in team Alpha's base, he dashed out of the Sunny, and not caring about the weather, he ran all the way from his station to Alpha's. He ran passed many people who looked at him like he was a lunatic. When reached the Alpha station, he also ran through some of their team members when they were unfortunate enough to accidentally get in his way. It took him a while to run through the desert to find Zac, but when he heard that explosion from Zac's Kamehameha backfiring, he knew where to go. It didn't take him long to climb up the canyon wall, because his determination was his strength. Which leads us to what is happening right now.

Zac was on his back with Luffy standing on top. Luffy grabbed his shirt and lifted him up. "Zac! What are doing here?! Did you forget that you're a part of my crew, HUH?! DID YOU?!" As Luffy was saying this, Zac looked dazed from the tackle and the fact that Luffy was shaking him, but he was still conscious enough to know what was going on. "Lu-u-uffy, sto-op sha-a-a-king me-e-e-e." Was all he could get out, but Luffy didn't listen. "AND YOU, GREEN MAN!" Luffy said as he turned his attention to Piccolo.

Piccolo was perplexed when Luffy turned to him and even more confused when he called him out. "DID GOKU PUT YOU UP TO THIS?! NO ONE STEALS MY CREWMEMBER! YOU HEAR ME?! I'LL KICK BOTH YOUR ASSES!" Luffy said, before he let go of Zac's shirt and he fell back on the ground, still looking dazed. "Now, Gum Gum Pistol." Luffy then fired off his signature attack at Piccolo's face.

All the while Kakashi just stood off to the side, trying to figure out what was going on, because from what it looked like: the captain of team Beta just attacked a member from team Alpha, out of nowhere.

When Luffy fired off one of his stretchy punches straight Piccolo's face, Zac thought it was going to hit Piccolo, but to his amazement, Piccolo cleanly dodged it. Luffy then shot a flurry of stretchy punch one after the other but Piccolo dodged and blocked them all. After his arm retracted from the last punch, he jumped into the air. "Gum Gum Stamp" Luffy yelled right before his right leg stretched and shot down at Piccolo.

Piccolo had a harder time to dodge this stomp from Luffy, but he did by moving to the right. Luffy's foot slammed into the ground deep enough to hold his ankle and now his foot was stuck. Since his foot was stuck, Luffy's body then retracted in the direction of the ground and he slammed into the ground. He shook it off and pulled his foot out of the ground. Both Kakashi and Zac looked at Luffy with comical confusion, but Piccolo was just getting more annoyed at the whole situation. Piccolo lunged straight for Luffy and aimed to knock some sense into his head, but when his right fist made contact with Luffy face he didn't count on his entire head stretching backwards.

While Luffy's head was stretching, it came to a slow stop a meters away from his body and with a determined grin on his face, his head slammed back with the speed of a bullet into Piccolo's chest. "Gum Gum Bell" Luffy yelled just when his forehead made contact with Piccolo's chest. Piccolo definitely felt that and the force from the blow made his body skid backwards a couple of meters. Zac was surprised. 'Woah! Every time I fought him I could barely make him budge, but Luffy just made him skid back with a headbutt. Damn, did he use his haki for that?'

Kakashi, on the other hand, didn't look at this fight with the same look of awe like Zac was doing, instead he was waiting for an opening. 'This is not good. If it gets out that Captain Luffy was fighting with Piccolo, then it would cause a rift between team Alpha and team Beta. I can't let this get any worse.' Kakashi thought.

Back in the fight, Piccolo was still feeling the effects of the strike. 'It would take more that to take me down, but if a blow like that would land on someone else, it would have been lights out. But it's obvious that there's still a lot more to him than meets the eye, otherwise he wouldn't have been a captain of team Beta at all. I guess those rumours about him being able to be a match for Goku aren't so far-fetched. I have to be careful.' Piccolo's train of thought was suddenly cut off when Luffy reached behind his head and placed his hat back on his head. Luffy then bent down and placed his right fist on the ground, which caught both Piccolo's and Kakashi's attention but it startled Zac.

"Woah, Luffy wait a minute! Let's not get crazy now!" Zac yelled, which Luffy look back to him.

"Huh?" Luffy said. Zac then got up off the ground.

"Yeah, this all just one big misunderstanding. Look I don't know why you thought I was here, but if it's about not being in team Beta's station the last two weeks it was because Piccolo's training was ramped up." Luffy's expression then changed to a confused one and a coloured question mark appeared right above his head. 'Ok seriously, what the hell is that?'

"What? You were training here?" Luffy asked.

"Yeah dude, didn't you know about it?" Zac asked back.

"No I didn't! I thought you left the crew." Luffy said, which caught Zac off guard.

"What?! Who told you that?" Zac asked.

"Why didn't you say anything?!" Luffy then asked.

"I thought you knew about it." Zac answered. This started an argument between the two Beta members. Piccolo and Kakashi were once again caught off guard with this development, but that didn't last long, because Piccolo was finally fed up with all the ridiculousness.

"ENOUGH! KNOCK IT OFF, BOTH YOU!" Piccolo yelled out, causing both Zac and Luffy to stop mid-argument. "What?" Said the both of them. This made Piccolo almost a gasket. "You two are making me crazy! What on earth makes this the perfect time for arguing?"

"Hey! Shut up, green man! I'm not the one going around, stealing people's crewmembers!" Luffy said getting right in Piccolo's face, but Piccolo didn't back down.

"What are you even talking about?! I'm training Nelson on orders from the director, you idiot!" Piccolo said, pushing his face right back into Luffy's. Zac decided to stay out of the drama, instead of trying to calm things down, because honestly what can he even do? Luckily, for him Kakashi decided to step in.

He clapped his hands together and said: "Ok, that's enough. Let's not get riled up again, after all we can't leave the director waiting." This seemed to get the two out of each other's faces at least, but the tension still resided between them. Ignoring them, Kakashi then turned to Zac.

"Zac, if you really want to do the mission, then I suggest we go to the directors office now. He wants you to leave as soon as possible." Zac felt his nerves return, but he kept his cool and nodded to Kakashi. Both of them then walked away from the other two, but it wasn't before Luffy piped up again. "Hey hold on, what mission?!" This only made Piccolo smack his forehead.

(Scene Change): the Director's office.

It took them nearly an hour to reach the the exit of the station and during the whole walk, it's been tense, especially between Piccolo and Luffy. It was completely obvious that Luffy was still glaring at Piccolo and while Piccolo did his best to ignore them, he still did the same thing. Zac was actually praying that they didn't fight again. The cringy 'insults' from Luffy also didn't help at all, because seriously spamming either 'green man' or 'pickle-man' made it embarrassing to walk in the same group as him. The members of Team Alpha also decided to stop what they were doing and watch the commotion. Zac overheard reactions like:

"Ohh look it's him again."

"What is Kakashi doing here?"

"Why is the weird captain glaring at Piccolo?"

"Are they fighting? I hope so, because I've been itching to put those Beta losers in their place."

That last comment was weird. Zac still couldn't believe what was going on, but he didn't have time to dwell on it. When they walked up the stairs to exit Team Alpha, they were met with a full lobby. The little banter happening behind Zac had attracted the attention of almost everyone there, even the kids walking with the parents started laughing at the 'little guy picking a fight with the green giant'. He had to control himself before he laughed out loud. But speaking of, there were tons of people from normal people to heroes, but the atmosphere was completely different. Zac couldn't tell which hero belonged to what team, but the attitude they had was like a complete one-eighty compared to earlier. However, Zac still felt uneasy about it, but before he could think more on it, he made it took the director's office. After a few moments, they finally stood in front of Glover's desk, but the director wasn't there.

Zac looked around the room and noticed the monitors. They looked exactly the same like the last time he was here. He remembered back then, there was a giant flower growing out of a street somewhere. "Alright, where is he?" Piccolo suddenly asked, nearly scaring Zac.

"I think he went out to get coffee, but I'm not sure." Kakashi answered, but this answer didn't satisfy Piccolo at all. It looked like he was going to blow a gasket. "He interrupted our training for this and he doesn't have the decency to wait for us." Piccolo was seething.

"Calm down Piccolo. This morning I saw him with tons of paperwork and from the looks of it, he finished it. He didn't set a fixed time for us, so he probably thought he would be right back." Kakashi said.

"So you're defending him now?" Piccolo accused.

"No, just looking at a different perspective." Kakashi answered. Zac didn't feel comfortable around Piccolo now, because first he was fighting with Luffy and now it looked like he was picking another fight with Kakashi. 'Why does there have to be drama today?' Zac asked himself. Luffy on the other hand started snickering.

"Shishishi, dummy." Luffy said, which caused Piccolo to growl and a vein to pop on his head. Zac was really hoping this wouldn't cause another fight again, but lucky for him, it didn't happen. Right before Piccolo looked like he was going to retort, all of them heard the sounds of someone walking down the stairs. The taps started off soft and gradually got louder the further it descended, until director Glover came into view. The black spots under his eyes made Zac realise why he needed coffee and the other stack of paperwork under his right arm also made it clear why the coffee was in a giant stainless steel thermal cup and also he was slightly frowning.

He yawned as he made his way behind his desk and then dropped the pile of paper with a heavy thud on the table. But he didn't sit down. "So sorry, gentlemen, but it appears the idea of sleep seems to be nonexistent." Glover said.

'Wow he even sounds tired.' Zac thought while he looked at the director with pity. Everyone else in the room also understood what the director meant. "Huh?" Everyone except Luffy of course.

"But anyway who needs sleep?" Glover then plopped down on his chair still with his coffee in hand. "After all, today is a sign of the next step in your fighting career, Mr. Nelson. Active duty." Glover then took a sip of his coffee.

Zac didn't know what to feel about this. On the one hand it felt good to finally see if his training paid off, but on the other hand something about this just didn't feel right. "Oh wow, Zac's going on his first mission. That's awesome!" Luffy was the only one who seemed to be genuinely happy for him, which made him blush a little, but Kakashi and Piccolo only remained stoic.

"Oh yes it is." Glover said. Piccolo clicked his tongue when he heard it and Kakashi is still expressionless. Without any further delay the director then pressed a button on his desk and the giant screen behind him zoomed in on Asia and at the same time the two screens on the left also changed to show images of one building from different angles. Once the giant monitor stopped it showed a city from the sky. Even from this aerial view, everyone could see the level of destruction that was done to it. Some buildings were toppled over and there were giant craters of different sizes that were clustered together.

Zac could feel the knot in his stomach grow bigger and heavier. His mouth also went dry and when he swallowed his throat felt like sandpaper. He could feel the memories of pain coming back, but he quickly blocked them otherwise he would break. "What you see, is what remains of the city of New York after the Venoms invaded. Last week, we send out members from Gamma to find a Venom den." The director explained, before the giant screen changed again to the same picture on the other two screens. But the director noticed the look of confusion on Zac's face. "A den is where a whole group of Venoms reside when they finish an invasion of a city. It's a testament to their victory over us." The screen changed to show a multi-story building with a giant flower growing out it.

'Ok I'm sensing a theme here.' Zac thought. "They made their den in the remains of the luxurious Four Seasons Hotel. Approximately two days ago we composed a team of our strongest members to attack the den and kill their leader." The screen changed again to show ruins of the building and the giant flower wilted, or maybe it was burned. The other buildings didn't look much better, some were completely destroyed. "Yikes." Zac whispered.

The director then looked to Zac. "Now, Mr. Nelson, your task will be to join a team and go out to the battlefield to sweep the area for anything the original search party missed."

"Ok, I get it. But I also heard that there might be a chance that I would have fight Venoms. Is that true... sir?" Zac asked. But before the director could answer the question, Luffy piped up. "Ahh come on, Zac! You got this." Zac once again felt a little embarrassed at the praise Luffy gave. It felt a little strange.

"Yes it is true. However, the chances of even encountering a Venom is small, much less if you have to fight it. We did send out the best suited for this operation after all." Glover understood why Zac was so wary. He is a new recruit after all.

Zac felt a little relief, but he couldn't shake what Kakashi and Piccolo told him earlier. Even if the chances for fighting was small, it was still possible. But the fear of fighting Venoms didn't overtake him, instead he felt excited, because for the first time in months he will finally see his world again. Not that staying on the base was horrible, but over the last few days he started getting homesick, but every time he tried to remember a good time on Earth, it immediately brought back what happened in New York. It frustrated him.

In fact, he and Jason tried to talk about Earth the other night. They brought up old memories from their homes, but the memories always held a tinge of melancholy. Whenever they brought up a happy time from their shared childhood, it did make them happy but it would also bring them heartache. 'I have to do this. If I'm going to be useful I have to start somewhere. Even if it is New York City.' Zac clenched his fist and took a deep breath through his nose. All the while the director studied him, and he could see Zac was still showing signs of trauma but the fact that he steeled himself brought hope. The director wasn't the only one who noticed this. Piccolo also glanced at him from the side.

'I don't like this. I don't know if the director is trying something, but it's obvious something else going on here. While he does make sense from time to time, there are always days like this where I don't trust him completely. I've seen that look in his eye before. Zac did change. I guess that means there's no stopping him. He's not gonna change his mind, no matter what.' Piccolo thought begrudgingly. Kakashi also looked like he was thinking the same thing.

'I don't understand why the director seems to show so much faith in Zac. He did read the reports we gave him about his training, so he should know this is still far from what he's capable of handling. But for some reason he's dead set on sending Zac on this mission. Why?' Kakashi thought.

But Luffy on the other hand didn't share the other's worry about this. Instead his attention was focused solely on the screen or more specifically on the remains of the hotel. "Hmmm. Oh I get it. It's a mystery building!" Luffy said boldly, after he laid his fist on his open palm. This statement instantly changed everyone's mood in the room. Kakashi, Piccolo and Zac all looked at Luffy, confused as hell. Then Zac looked at the director and saw he hid his face behind his hand and it looked like he was shaking and was that a chuckle.

"Now who's the idiot?" Piccolo asked rhetorically. Luffy shot an angry face at Piccolo, while Kakashi who was standing between them, acting like he wasn't there. Before another fight could start, Glover got everyone's attention.

*Ahem* "If we can get back on track there is something else I would like to mention to Mr. Nelson. Now, even though your task is to find anything our search party, you also are tasked with finding survivors." This got his attention.

"Survivors?" Zac asked.

"Yes, from the city. You see, back when they invaded your world, there were a lot of refugees who we got out of there in time and I'm happy to say that we did. However, when team Gamma returned with their report of the city, they noticed signs that were not of the Venoms." Zac didn't know what to think of feel now. He's happy that there is a chance where he could see people from his world, but at the same time he felt sad at the fact there are people out there.

"So I'm also supposed to check if there are people who weren't picked up?"

"Basically, yes."

"Do you know where they are?" Zac asked.

Behind the director, another picture popped up on the screen. It looked like a large apartment building and next to it was a church. The church itself was modest, not as tall as the apartment building, but definitely not small. It's what many people would think of whenever a church is brought up, with Ionic style-pillars and the building itself looked like a revival of Greek architecture. However, Zac's attention was brought in front where three large wooden doors were. The smaller door on the left-hand side looked like it was opened slightly, but Zac couldn't tell what he saw. "This was taken right across the street from the hotel. Our Gamma members saw something or someone enter St. Peter's Church, and took a picture before they left to conclude their surveillance. But right before we gave the green light for the attack, I ordered a full, thorough sweep of the church, but they found no-one." Glover said.

"What is that in the door?" Zac asked. The director zoomed in on the door. The picture showed a clear image of a back pack sticking halfway out of the door. The back pack itself didn't look significant. What is significant is the little teddy bear in someone's hand as the body is being yanked into the church, from the looks of it.

"I think it's a child entering the church." Zac's eyes showed alarm, like it was saying: 'A kid? There's a kid out there? Alone?'

The director then continued: "The child could be alone or the family could be with them, but from this one picture alone we were unable to prove the former or the latter."

"Are there anymore pictures?" Zac then asked. But the director nodded 'no'. "This is only one we have." This troubled Zac, but still he held out hope.

"So... I have to find them somehow?" Zac asked.

"If possible, after all they could have left the area before we attacked. But if they didn't, I want to ask you to see if you can get them back here to the base and if it's true that there is a child alone then it's imperative that they are found." The director answered. Zac felt the need to rush in and the director could see it, but Piccolo could see it too.

He stood and observed the exchange for some time before he interjected. "You shouldn't get your hopes up." Zac felt a little of his hope fade when Piccolo said that, but he didn't want it too. "Why not? If there's a kid out there we have to try." Zac said, refusing to look at him.

"He didn't say you shouldn't try, Zac. Piccolo meant that you shouldn't go out there, thinking they will be found. Remember even if it is normal Sweeper mission anything can still happen... and sometimes there are things outside of our control." Kakashi also observed the exchange between Zac and the director, but while he had the same concern as Piccolo, he chose to stay quiet before now. Zac looked at Kakashi, digesting what he said.

"I know, but still if there is a chance. No matter how small, I still want to try. I don't want to give up." Zac said. Both the trainers hoped their student heard and understood what both them said. However both of them could understand the reason Zac gave.

"Yeah! That's the spirit, Zac!" Luffy said, while pumping his arms in the air. Piccolo looked like he wanted to smack his forehead and Kakashi only gave a look to the pirate that no-one could read, but Zac felt a little embarrassed at the praise he was getting his way. Before anything else happened, the director once again got their attention.

"I think it's about time we get the ball rolling, don't you think. Kakashi are they ready?" Kakashi nodded. "They said, they'll meet us here."

Zac felt excitement, after all he might get the chance to meet new people from the "Jump worlds" as director Glover called them. The months he spent training with Piccolo didn't give him any moments to meet new people. He heard a few names being thrown around from people passing by, but there weren't any chances to go and find out.

"Oh, one last thing Mr. Nelson." That got Zac to return his attention to him. "When you arrive there, you will meet with a few members of team Alpha and Gamma I had stationed there. They will lead you to the battle zone." Zac's mood suddenly dropped when he heard that he would meet members of team Alpha there. He developed a bad opinion of them during the time he trained with Piccolo, but on the plus side he is looking forward to meeting members from team Gamma. He has heard a few rumours about them, but never actually met one person from that team.

"There here." Kakashi suddenly interjected and Zac focused his attention on the staircase. Footsteps started softly from the top and grew louder with each descending step, until the two showed themselves. Zac recognised both of them. The first one was Trunks and the second was someone he never expected. The man accompanying Trunks was wearing a pair of dark blue pants, covered by a blue cloths that covered him from his stomach to his knees and was secured by a purple rope belt as well as the same kind of sandals Zac was wearing. On his upper body he wore a grey, short-sleeved T-shirt which was zippered up and blue wrist warmers.

"Oh shit! Sasuke Uchiha!" Was Zac's first thought. But when he noticed Sasuke's critical gaze land on him, he briefly saw the Rinnegan flash through his hair. "Double shit!" Was Zac's second thought.

"Hey, Zac, it's good to see you." Trunks greeted.

"Yeah, Trunks, it's been a while. How've you been?"

"I've been well. I've heard from Piccolo your training has been going well, but now I see your ready for your first mission." Trunks said. Once again Zac felt a little uncomfortable at the praise he was getting, but it was nice to see someone else having faith in him.

"You too, Sasuke. Come on, greet our new recruit." Kakashi said to Sasuke, who silently scoffed.

"My name is Sasuke Uchiha." Zac felt an overwhelming need to say something in response. "Nice to meet you, Sasuke. It's nice to someone else from Naruto's world." But Sasuke didn't respond, instead he kept that critical gaze on him without saying a word, analyzing him from head to toe. Zac felt like he was put in a genjutsu or something. "Ok, now it's officially awkward." Zac thought as he felt it getting harder to breathe.

But Sasuke didn't stay silent for long. "So, this is the guy I have to babysit for you Kakashi. Gotta say he's not what I would deem to be mission ready." Sasuke said and it felt like someone stabbed him through the chest. Trunks looked apologetic. "You never change, do you Sasuke?"

"Hmph." Was Sasuke said in response. "Sorry about him, Zac. He's always like this, so don't take it personal." Trunks said hoping to lift his spirits a little bit, but it didn't work. "Yeah, Trunks I understand. He's been like this ever since he was a kid." That earned a small glare in his direction, which caused him to flinch a little. However, before anything else could happen, the director clapped his hands once. "Now then, since you three are now well acquainted, it's time for you three to go." The director said like he was talking to children.

The director then pushed another button on his desk and a split second later, Navigator appeared in a flash of blue. "You called, director. Is it time?"

"Yes." Navigator then floated over the three men and surrounded them with that same blue light.

"Wait a minute." Piccolo called out. Zac sees him walking towards him, but for a split second it looked like he gave a quick glare to Sasuke. "Take this." Piccolo held out his hand and Zac positioned his underneath. When he felt something fall on his palm, he looked and saw a sensu bean. "You might need it." Was all he said, before Piccolo walked back to his original spot. Zac then quickly put the bean in his pocket.

"I wish you Godspeed and good luck on your mission, gentlemen. And Zac, remember this may be your assigned mission, but those two hold seniority over you, which means you are follow everything they tell you. Am I understood?" The director said.

"Yes, sir!" Zac affirmed.

"Then I pray for your safe return." The director then walked to his desk and as he sat down, Navigator as well as the three men disappeared. Leaving only Piccolo, Kakashi and Luffy in the director's office.

(Scene Change): New York Branch, Zac's P.O.V.:

It's been a while since I've experienced this kind of transportation. The last time was when I first arrived on the base, but now that I've experienced it a second time, I'm blown away at how fast you go from point A to point B, without being affected negatively. Either the movies I watched about teleportation was wrong or the technology used now are so advanced they eliminated any and all side-effects.

When the blue light disappeared, all of us found ourselves on top of a building that definitely seen better days. I always imagined what our world would look like now, but this is way worse. I couldn't hear a thing, everything was dead silent. All I could smell was ash and smoke. I could even see some other buildings toppled over in the distance. All of this made my chest hurt. But I can't let it overwhelm me. Not now. The sun was setting. How long has it been since I've seen a simple sun set?

I heard footsteps on my right and then I saw Sasuke walk past me. I thought he was walking towards the edge, but he then turned my way and looked right at me. I hope he doesn't put in a genjutsu or something. "Before we go any further, how much do you know about me?" Wow he really came out and said it.

"What do you mean?" Was the first thing I uttered. The question didn't seem to affect him, he just stayed silent. But when I saw his right eye change into the Sharingan, I backed away instinctively. Is he actually going to put me in a genjutsu?!

"Where are you going with this, Sasuke?" Trunks stepped in, and he looked like he was on alert, but Sasuke didn't even glance at him. Instead he held his gaze directly on me. It felt even more unnerving. I could hear in what Trunks said next that he wasn't in the mood for whatever Sasuke had planned: "We shouldn't be wasting time here! The director gave us orders to meet up with Gamma so we should be on our way."

Sasuke then turned his Sharingan towards Trunks, but Trunks look scared at all, actually he looked like he was ready for a fight. "I don't remember asking you, anything?" Sasuke said while still keeping his eyes on me. I don't know why, but I don't think he's going to like any answer I'll give him.

"Don't tell me you're somehow okay with the amount knowledge this guy has over people like us?" Sasuke asked. Wait a minute, where is he going with this?

"Zac can't help it, alright. It's not his fault." Trunks said.

"So, are you okay with this?" Sasuke asked again, but when Trunks didn't answer I felt more and more out of place or unwelcome. Damn I don't even know what kind of feeling this is! However, Sasuke didn't let up.

"Besides, is that supposed to make him an exception then?" Sasuke asked coolly. I really wanted Trunks to say something back, but honestly, I didn't know what to say either. Did I do something wrong or is it something to do with what I know? The way he phrased it, sounds like he has a problem not just with me but with other people like me. But before I could see this train of thought reach its end, Trunks spoke up.

"Look, Sasuke, I don't know where your going with this, but this has to wait." Ok, now I'm really confused, if I wasn't earlier. Are some people from the Jump worlds not okay with people like me? When that question entered my mind I remembered back in team Beta's station, when I first met Sanji. That shocked look was actually what I expected, but later on he kind of looked uncomfortable. Could this be the reason for that?

"What I asked takes priority over this mission. At least for me it does, because in the end it won't be long." Wow I knew he was arrogant, but hearing it in real life really adds a new layer to it.

"So you really think you can complete this entire mission on your own? Did you forget this is supposed to be Zac's first mission?" Trunks asked and from his tone it sounded like he was looking for an excuse. I looked back to Sasuke and saw, once again, he didn't let the question phase him at all.

"I'm not going to babysit some loser who can't handle himself." Wow, can I feel the love?

"You can't possibly be that arrogant! Like it or not Sasuke, we're a team." Trunks really looked pissed. Don't tell me their going to fight?!

"Then you babysit, I'm not going to waste my time. Oh and one more thing, it's not arrogance, when it's the truth loser." Uh oh. Trunks then grabbed the handle of his sword and pulled it out a little bit. And Sasuke still kept the cool look on his face, not even flinching a little bit. They are going to fight are they? That thought actually froze me in my place. I wanted to say something to stop this, but nothing came to mind.

Trunks then pulled his sword out completely and aimed it at Sasuke. "Care to test that assumption then?"

"Alright, alright. That's enough boys!" Someone said right behind me. Wait, who said that? It kind of sounded like the director. I looked behind me and only saw Navigator. "This is hardly the time nor the place for this kind of lollygagging." It was the director talking through Navigator. "Do I have to remind you all that you are currently on a mission? More specifically, Mr. Nelson are you going to let this play out?" The director asked, and I didn't know what to say. When I looked back at the other two, I saw Trunks begrudgingly sheath his sword, but Sasuke still kept his cool, expressionless look on his face, like he didn't care about what the director asked. "When you're on a mission, whether it be a Key mission or even a simple Sweeper mission, you can't afford to let your guard down or fight among yourselves. The minute it happens your team will dissolve and you might end up dead!"

Damn. Even if he spoke through Navigator, I still couldn't meet his face. He sounded like dad. I didn't even realise my fist was clenched up so hard it felt like I might draw blood.

*Hmph* "Whatever. I'll get back to this later, after I finish this mission." Sasuke said. "Don't think because we're on the same team, it means I see you as equals." Did he have to say that while looking at me? A split second later, he vanished. Like one moment he's here and the second he's gone. I couldn't even see him move.

3rd Person P.O.V.

Sasuke reappeared on another building, running like he had purpose. But behind that cool posture was a guy in heavy thought. 'I have to take a different approach next time. Catch him when he's alone. But still, that guy, Trunks, is he really okay with whatever that newbie knows?' Sasuke then jumped over walls, air-conditioners ad other obstacles, while performing amazing acrobatic feats. 'From the moment we came to this world there's been tons of people who claimed to know about me and my world. At first, I scoffed at everything they said, but after a while they started making more and more sense. They claim that our entire story was drawn in manga and they read them for entertainment. It's annoying, but maybe there's a bright side to this. Maybe I could make this an advantage.' Sasuke thought as he jumped from building to building, performing movements that many parkour athletes would kill for. While, both the Sharingan en Rinnegan eyes looked onward.

Back to Zac and Trunks, both were still pretty much in a mix of emotions after what happened. But above all that, Zac was still reeling from the Trunks and Sasuke's exchange. He didn't know what to say after all that, but lucky for him, he didn't have to say anything. "You two should move along now, otherwise you'll be late for your meeting." The director said, before he cut the transmission and Navigator looked like he was back to normal.

"Master, the meeting place with team Gamma is precisely seven blocks to the east. If you would follow me." Navigator stated as he floated eastward. Zac started following him, but felt a hand touch his shoulder. He turned and saw Trunks. "Wait, can we talk?" He asked.

"Uhm, are you sure you wanna talk now?" Zac didn't know why he wanted to talk, but he didn't want to disappoint the director.

"I promise it won't take long." Trunks said. Zac then nodded 'yes' for him to continue. "Ok, first off, I want to apologise about what happened earlier. Sasuke, as arrogant as he is, is a good member of our team, but he, like some other members, don't really get along with people from your world." From that moment Zac felt bad about the knowledge he held. It felt like a combination of driving through someone's house and walking around with your fly wide open.

"Can I ask you something, Trunks?" Trunks didn't expect the question, but he waited for Zac to answer. "Am I... Do I make you uncomfortable?" From Zac's perspective, Trunks looked like was shocked and he also looked like he didn't know what to say.

"Don't worry I understand. It's fine. We should probably not keep those other guys waiting." Zac said abruptly, before following Navigator. Trunks, in truth was confused about his question and he didn't know how to answer it. The reason is, because he did feel uncomfortable around him and the others like him. After all, when suddenly arrive in a world where almost everyone runs up to you and call themselves fans of your world, would make anyone uncomfortable. Honestly, when he first met Zac, he felt good that he met someone from this world that didn't know him. The reason why he got mad at Sasuke was because he thought he was acting unprofessionally, but, on the other hand, if he was being honest with himself, he did understood where Sasuke was coming from.

Unfortunately, he couldn't answer Zac's question. So, he was thankful he ended the conversation, but otherwise he was feeling a little disappointed in himself that he couldn't answer it. However, this has to wait. Without wasting anymore time he followed behind Zac and Navigator.

(Scene Change):

It was barely a few minutes and Zac already covered four blocks. He wasn't a parkour specialist, but he did do the basics: running, jumping and rolling. When he landed on the next building, he barely felt any fatigue at all, instead he felt thrilled. While continuously running, jumping and rolling over and under obstacles like it was second nature to him, he still couldn't help but feel envious about the two team members currently flying overhead. The first time he saw Trunks fly, he felt extremely envious. For Zac, it was a dream to fly like that, but he realised that it wasn't the right time for him to feel like that, after all the building he was running on was ending soon and this one wasn't a small gap, instead this was a two-way street. This marked the end of the fourth block.

"Hey Trunks!" Trunks heard this and took it as his que. He dove down until he was in range.

Preparing himself, Zac jumped and grabbed Trunks' arm. Trunks carried him for a few seconds and then dropped him. Zac rolled and he stuck the landing, but as he was running so too was his mind racing. He couldn't stop thinking about what happened earlier. The way Sasuke and Trunks argued didn't sit well with him. On the one hand he understood where Sasuke was coming from, but on the other hand he still felt hurt and angry about the whole thing. 'This is really annoying! How on earth is it our fault for knowing what we know? Before all this happened, me and Jason were convinced this was all fiction! How am I supposed to be accountable for something like that?! Can I even say sorry for something like this?!' He then leaped on top of a wall and jumped a good distance before landing on another building. Before he knew it his thoughts got out of hand.

His mind suddenly painted every person he met in a bad light. Chopper, Sanji, Piccolo, Kakashi, Goku, Luffy, Naruto, Boruto, and Trunks now felt like pranksters who only acted like your friend before you're dunked in paint or something along those lines. "So all of them think that way about me? Did Luffy even mean it? Did he even want me on his crew? Well screw them! I'm not going to be responsible for every creepy dumbass they met!' The second he thought that, his heart ached at the idea of cutting ties with them. He really enjoyed being friends with them and he did enjoy his training with Piccolo and he even thought about the possible training he could have done with Kakashi. Trunks was even nice to him, despite it all. 'Aww man who am I kidding? How can me, throwing a hissy-fit change their idea of me? If they even have them. It can't. I'll focus on this later when this mission is over. Right now, my focus should be on that kid or family.'

He calmed down just before he reached the end of the building. A normal person would have slowed down or tried to stop before they fall off the building, but Zac wasn't a normal person, not anymore. He picked up the pace, getting ready to jump on to the next building. When he reached the small wall on the edge of building, he stepped up and jumped over the gap, but something happened while Zac was still in the middle of the jump.

"Lookout!" Suddenly someone bumped into Zac, right before a small explosion went off where Zac would have been. Zac was confused. 'What the hell?'

It was Trunks who bumped out of the way. Both landed on another building, but thanks to Zac's training, he stuck the landing and so did Trunks. "Trunks, what's going on?" Zac asked. Trunks looked around the building, trying to find something.

"It's a trap. Some kind of landmine, I think. I recognised it when you were mid-jump." Zac was confused. 'A trap? Why is there a trap?' But he didn't have more time to think anymore before the hair on his neck stood up.

"Good. You're here!" Both heard someone yell out. Zac whipped his head towards the sound and recognised the woman perched on top of, one of those entrances you would find on the roof of a building. She wore black clothing underneath a grey flak jacket, metal arm guards and gloves as well as black pants and ninja sandals, but they looked different the ones Zac was wearing. Her hair was tied up in a small pony-tail behind her head and her face was covered by a mask that looked like a panda. The sword strapped to her back was seen over her right shoulder.

"You spotted the explosive tag we set. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not in this situation, Trunks." Zac couldn't tell if she was angry or not, her voice sounded like it only one tone. "And you must be the new recruit." She said when she looked at Zac.

"Y-Yeah, Zachery Nelson... uhm reporting duty." Zac said. "Are you with the Anbu Black Ops, by any chance?" The question didn't seem to phase the ninja, but her head did tilt a little bit. "Yes. I'm Kuroka. We were informed that a recruit would be coming for their first mission in this new world, but I didn't realise it was going to be someone like you." Zac didn't know how to take it. Was it a compliment or was it an insult? All he knows is that it made him uncomfortable. 'I guess everyone has that kind of idea about me... and many others like me.'

"Why are you out here? I thought we were supposed to meet each other at your camp." Trunks asked. That was also a question on Zac's mind.

"I thought it would be helpful to come and guide you to our camp. We placed a lot of explosive tags in the area around it." Zac didn't feel right when he heard that. Neither did Trunks. Both instinctively gazed at each other from the corner of their eyes.

"Why?" Trunks asked.

"I think we should continue this conversation at the camp, don't you? Who knows if there are people listening?" Kuroka said before he stood up and leaped gracefully into the air. Seeing that the conversation is over, both teens did the same. Trunks took off flying again and Zac jumped right after her.

While the two guys followed behind her, Kuroka had her own thoughts on the matter. Especially on the new recruit. While Zac thought she thought of him as another creep from the real world, in reality she didn't have any thoughts close to it. In fact, she couldn't help but feel curious. 'It's my first time meeting someone like him. Guess that's what I get for choosing field work. However, as much as I'm curious about what he knows, I can't help but be drawn to those eyes of his. He may be a new recruit but those eyes don't make him look like it.' She couldn't stop the grin from forming underneath her mask.

(Scene Change): Jump Force basecamp.

Back in the director's office, there hasn't been anything new happening ever since Zac left with Trunks, Sasuke and Navigator. Right after they left, the director walked over towards his desk and pressed another button. All the images that were on the screens previously changed again. All of the smaller screens were pitch black, except the large one, which showed a camera, busy recording. This is how the director knew about the argument. He watched it through the recording, and when he noticed things were getting out of hand, he quickly pressed the microphone button on his desk and calmed the situation down.

Frankly, he was quite annoyed with how they conducted themselves. Trunks and Sasuke looked like they were on the edge of an all-out fight and Zac looked like he was going to let that happen. After he chewed them out, he turned off the microphone and went back to watching the recording. However when he saw Sasuke go off on his own, it seems bring back some of his annoyance from earlier. He wasn't the only one.

Kakashi felt a little disappointed at the behaviour of his student. Even though he kind of expected something like this to happen, he didn't foresee what just happened. The fact that he wanted information from Zachery was also troubling to hear. Kakashi doesn't understand why he's dead set on prying information about their world, but he knows what he's capable of and he knows how much dedication he puts in when he sets his mind on something. 'What are you after Sasuke? Why does this matter to you? I just hope you won't do anything that puts our alliance in jeopardy, Sasuke.'

Piccolo on the other hand felt full blown annoyance at Sasuke. 'Truthfully, I never liked Sasuke. It's about the arrogance he displays, because I can understand that, but I can remember the first time we met. The way he looked. Like he was dead and the malice was just rolling off of him in waves. I could also tell that everything was annoying to him, like he wished he was somewhere else. From what I've heard, he's a great ninja, and a dangerous person to have as an enemy. On that part, I'm glad to see him on our side, but other than that, I don't think I'll ever completely trust him.' He thought as he kept his steel gaze on the monitor with his arms crossed.

Luffy was the complete opposite from the others. He was the only who wore his feelings right on his sleeve. When he saw Sasuke try and interrogate Zac, he looked like he was going to break the screen. For him, he didn't like it someone started something with him and his crew, but he especially hated it when someone would go after one member of his crew. He didn't know why Sasuke is doing this, but he doesn't like him. That's one thing he shares with Piccolo, but there's no way they're going to admit that.

Fast forward to now, their anger and annoyance is changed to confusion, well except Luffy of course. "Director, I don't remember anything about setting exploding tags the last time I was there. Did something happen there recently?" Kakashi was the first to ask. Piccolo was thinking the same thing.

"Oh no, nothing of the sort. It's a precaution the leader of the camp, added recently. I've been notified of it this morning, and I gave them the go-ahead." The director answered, but it didn't settle the growing sense of uneasiness within both Kakashi and Piccolo. Instead it only fueled it. However, they both know that they can't act rashly now without any evidence. So, instead they chose to stay calm.

"Who's their leader?" Piccolo asked.

"Oh it's none other than Fred Cormack from team Alpha. I assigned him to that post straight after the operation was carried out on the hotel." Piccolo didn't like that answer. Despite what the director may think of Fred, Piccolo doesn't understand his choice. Everyone on team Alpha knows Fred Cormack, or more commonly known as 'Deadly Freddy' by everyone for his raw physical power, which pretty much describes many people in Alpha. However, the one thing that distinguishes him from many in team Alpha is his leadership skills, which Glover thought would make him an perfect choice to be leader of that outpost.

Piccolo remembers him being from the real world like Zac, but unlike Zac he shows a lot of admiration (if he can even call it that) for Piccolo and everyone from his world. In fact, he likes to hang around Goku more than anyone else. Piccolo always thought of him as someone he needed to avoid, because of the way he acted around them. It was annoying. But despite that, he also admits that he is a strong fighter, who deserves that moniker.

Kakashi, more or less, had the same impression of Fred Cormack. The same in regards to his fighting prowess, but when it comes to his attitude it was not as nice. The few times he saw him around the base, Kakashi always saw him loudly mocking members from either Beta or Gamma. He even would go as far as to insult some of his own team members, if they didn't live up to his expectations. If everyone would write on a piece of paper, a list of reasons why they don't like team Alpha, then Fred Cormack would on everyone's list. There were also rumours of assault aimed directly at Cormack, but they were never confirmed.

It was only Luffy, who didn't know about this guy. But everyone kept quiet and director Glover turned back to the giant screen.

(Scene Change): New York.

'Damn, she's fast.' Was the first thought Zac got the minute he started following Kuroka and he's been repeating it for a few blocks now. The more he tries to keep up with her, the more he realises how much faster she is. He barely starts a new block, before realising she's finished the block completely. He's not tired yet, but to be honest, he's feeling the burn starting in his chest.

All while Trunks is still flying overhead like it's nothing. Almost like he was on his cruising altitude. However, Zac then noticed Trunks sped up towards the ninja, until he caught up with her. 'Must be nice.' Zac thought. Even though he was behind them, he could still hear a conversation start between them. "You know, we've been told the outpost's location was located east to where we arrived, but now you're taking us in a completely different direction. Is there a reason?" Trunks asked.

"Yes, it's because we we've moved it." Kuroka said. Trunks grew concerned.

"Why did you move it?" Trunks asked.

"I'll tell you when we get there. I know this might be easy for you, but talking and running isn't easy for me. Also we can't afford to stay out in the open longer than we already have." Kuroka explained. There was a touch of annoyance in her tone, but she tried to keep it professional. But that didn't do anything to stop the conversation then and there, instead Trunks' concern grew worse and before he could think he already asked another question: "Can you at least tell me if something happened?"

"Yes." That was all Kuroka said.

Behind them, Zac struggled to make out what they were saying but from Trunk's body language, Zac could tell something was off. He wanted to ask Navigator what might be going on, but he's not here at the moment. When they took off running, he immediately disappeared in flash of blue light. He started to feel uneasy as he continued to watch Trunks back up from the Anbu member, and it got worse when he saw Trunks move back towards him. When Zac jumped up and over another large metal pipe, Trunks stopped right above his head.

"Zac I think something's wrong," There was no mincing his words.

"What's up?" Was the only thing Zac could get out. He appreciated it, but Trunks doesn't have to talk to him now.

Zac jumped on and over another roof access building. "I don't know what happened, but there's been a change in plans. The outpost isn't in it's original place. It's been moved." Trunks was keeping it short and simple.

"Why?" Zac asked as he jumped over another gap between buildings. 'Oh my soul, how much longer lady?' Zac was really starting to get exhausted.

"Kuroka said something happened to cause them to move the outpost's location. She didn't tell me anything else. Other than she promised to tell us the second we get there." Trunks finished explaining. Zac could only nod as he couldn't think of a response at this point. Trunks then returned to the altitude he was before and they continued on their way. But Zac only felt worse.

'Shit. This doesn't sound good.' At the moment, Zac felt something more than exhausted. Another pit formed in his stomach. 'Please God, look over us and keep us safe. Amen.'

With Sasuke.

While the others made their way towards the outpost, Sasuke continued on his way until he finally reached his target destination. The Four Seasons Hotel. Or what remained of it. Only one part of the building stood tall, but the rest broke off the remaining part and crumbled down to side. The giant flower that was so tall, if you could stand on top of it, you could look out over the city, was now a shriveled up, burned husk on the ground, with the leaves turned to ash. The hotel wasn't the only building that was toppled. Almost all of the surrounding buildings were either destroyed or on the verge of falling over. A few of the fallen buildings even resembled dominoes.

Sasuke stood on one of the very few buildings left standing and surveyed the scene. Even with the sun almost gone over the horizon, he used his keen senses to scan the entire area, all while keeping his guard up. The reason was because something didn't sit well with him. There's a process that has to be followed before someone could even consider thinking about a Sweeper mission. When there's someone who looks through the reports and finds an error or an anomaly, they report it, which goes to the director and he would request a Sweeper mission to be conducted in order to settle any suspicions. Usually, the people who report these anomalies are the secretaries behind the mission counters and they usually know what they're doing, since reporting an anomaly isn't something to be taken lightly.

But Sasuke knows there isn't supposed to be an anomaly to report, because he, himself was on the team for this mission in the first place and he knows for a fact that there were no mistakes. So, why did the director authorise a Sweeper mission? No, something isn't right here and he's going to find out why. Not with a team, by himself.

On the way here, his couldn't sense anything odd on his surroundings. Even when he stopped right before the hotel's ruins, he couldn't see, hear or sense anything, which is consistent with an once-fought-on battlefield. But he knows better. He knows that there are some Venoms out there who can hide their presence completely from everyone, well everyone but him. However, he still wants a closer look at the ruins, so he jumped down and landed on a crushed car, before he jumped off it. Even with the sound of sandals landing on metal, the silence was still there and deafening.

So far, except for the desolation, there didn't seem to be anything out of the ordinary. 'This is just a waste of my time.' Sasuke thought among other things as he kept his eyes on the terrain. But deep down, even if he disagreed with the director, he knew he is a smart man and he is always the final authority on the base. So, if he thinks there's an anomaly in the report, then it could be justified. In the end, he made three hand signs, Ram, Snake and Tiger and with that, created two clones.

The clones along with Sasuke immediately disappeared into three different directions, each one going further than the hotel. The quicker he can finish this mission, the better. But he was right on one thing. He might not be sensing it, but he was being followed and now he is being watched. Instead of following the original, this one decided to follow the one going to the left.

With Zac, Trunks and Kuroka. Jump Force field outpost.

It was when the sun set, when the trio finally arrived at the outpost, and Zac nearly fell over in exhaustion. He felt a little embarrassed that he struggled this much to keep up, but he was just glad they stopped. 'I really hate running.' Zac thought as he fought to get his breath back. The cool, night air definitely helped for Zac to cool down, but he felt he needed to sit down somewhere because his feet is killing him. He found a wall and sat down in front of it. Trunks on the other hand looked at the new outpost with a heavy feeling.

The place itself was well hidden from what Trunks could see. At the moment they were standing in front of what looked like an office building. The building has a few cracks and breaks but it is still one of the only ones left standing. "So, the outpost's in there?" Trunks asked. Kuroka, who was standing near Zac, couldn't tell why Trunks asked the question, but still felt like she has to answer. "Yes. Commander Cormack thought it's necessary to have more cover." Trunk's eyes widened when he heard that name.

"Cormack? You mean, Freddy Cormack?" Trunks asked again.

"Yes, that's right." Kuroka answered. She could understand the way Trunks asked that question. She also couldn't stand him, but she's been assigned to this outpost and she won't disregard orders just because her boss is a nightmare. "Do I sense antipathy or is it aversion?"

Trunks instead kept quite. There aren't many people on the base who get on his nerves, but Fred Cormack is another thing. 'If Fred Cormack is the leader of the outpost, then I could understand why. Unlike most Alpha members, he's a good leader. A little arrogant, but when the moment calls for it, he can step up to the plate. However, he and I don't get along at all. While he can be a good leader, he can also be thickheaded and willful, sometimes even outright ignoring people under his command. I hope we caught him in one of his more agreeable moods.' Trunks thought.

"Alright, Zac are you ready?" Trunks asked the exhausted new recruit. Zac looked up at Trunks and saw him looking at him over his shoulder. He also noticed Kuroka's attention on him as well and so deciding that his break time was over, he stood back up. "Yeah. Ready." Zac said.

Trunks smiled and even if no one else could see it, Kuroka gave a little smile of her own under her mask. The two of them looked like friends to her. It was moments like these that always lifted her spirits. Even if they were about to meet the nightmare that is her boss. Zac on the other hand didn't feel nervous anymore. Instead he felt excited, because of a whole number of reasons.

They were about to head inside the building when they stopped. They saw someone walking out of the building like a man on a mission. This man wasn't hard to miss. He stood taller than Zac and Trunks and was jacked like a machine. Wearing the full-body battle suit from the Dragon Ball universe, who's predominate feature was the huge shoulder guards and the blue/white colours, he tried his best to look like a threat. His scowl barely hid his brown eyes and his skin was lightly tanned. His hair was jet black and to Zac it had to be a wig because it was big and crazy. This was Fred Cormack.

"It's about time you got here, Trunks. I was wondering when the director was going to answer me." Fred said. However, when he saw only Trunks and Zac he stopped in his tracks and Trunks noticed his scowl got deeper, if it was possible. Zac tried to understand why Fred had that look on his face, but he couldn't. Fred looked at Kuroka and she only stared back at him, as if she didn't want to answer him.

"What's this?" Fred asked, as his fist balled up. Trunks was confused at this. "What wrong?" Trunks asked.

"Is this a joke? Where's the rest? I called for back-up, so why did the director only send you two?!" Fred asked and Zac felt the voice go through his body. Trunks and Kuroka were the only two who weren't affected by it. However, Zac felt his gut sunk deeper when he heard the word 'back-up'.

"I don't understand. The director told us to join a Sweeper mission." Trunks tried to explain, but that only worsened the mood of Freddy. "A Sweeper mission?! Are you kidding me?!" Fred slapped his forehead. Zac flinched a little and Kuroka didn't react. Trunks on the other hand wasn't fazed by this and tried to talk to him. "Why do you think you needed back up? What's going on?"

"She didn't tell you?" Fred asked while nodding over at Kuroka. "No. I thought it was best if they heard it from you sir." Fred instead pinched the bridge of his nose so hard, it looked like he was going to rip it off. "We've been under attack for I don't know how many days now." Fred said and Zac's gut feeling was verified. Trunks' eyes also showed alarm at what he heard.

"From the looks of it, 3 Venoms are responsible." Fred looked down like he was defeated. "Every attempt we had at them only blew up in our faces. We lost a lot of people now." Zac felt sad. Trunks looked dejected, and you couldn't tell anything from Kuroka. "That's why I called for backup. But why in the hell would the director send someone on a Sweeper mission? Who is it for?" Fred asked and his voice sounded calmer. His scanned over the trio, but when he noticed Zac, it looked like he finally recognised him.

Zac felt his attention on him and felt a little shy because of that, but he pushed it away. "It's for me. I'm-"

"I know who you are." Fred said with a sharp tone. "You're that Beta member who always trains with Piccolo in our station." If his tone was any sharper, he could have sliced him in half.

"Yeah, uh Zachery Nelson. Nice to mee-" Zac was cut off again. "What the hell was the director thinking? I asked for backup, but instead all I got is a baywatch knockoff." At this point Zac felt like he was talking to him and ignoring him at the same time. 'Standing right here, dude.' Zac thought. Trunks looked like was apologising to Zac with his eyes, while Kuroka only looked on in stoic silence. Fred then walked to him until he was standing chest distance away and looking down on him.

"You think you're hot shit don't you? Well news flash, you couldn't be any further from it. I don't need your help so why don't you go back and play in the sand like a good little boy, alright." Fred then rubbed Zac's head like he was some lost kid. Zac kept his composure but in his mind he already thought of a way to knock him out.

"That's enough Fred." Trunks said. "Look I'm sorry about the mix up, but the director only send us and I don't think he will send anyone else. How about we do this? Zac and I will go out and do the Sweeper mission and while we're doing that, we'll keep an eye out for any Venoms. If we find them, we'll deal with them. Besides we have to find Sasuke." Fred looked at Trunks like he was nuisance. He always respected Trunks for his strength, but liking him was another story and now his respect for him was waning. Especially when he heard who else accompanied them.

"Oh great, just what we need. Like this baywatch reject wasn't enough, now we have to deal with that emo too. Director Glover might just send us the whole bloody circus while he's at it." Fred spat out. "You know what, screw this, I got a better idea. How about we deal with the Venoms ourselves, and you three go bury your heads in the sand somewhere else." Zac was getting close to sock him in the jaw, especially when he wasn't looking. But he knows that won't help the situation at all.

"Commander Cormack." Fred turned to Kuroka. "What now?"

"Maybe the director had a good reason for sending them as back-up. Trunks has the respect of Goku and nearly everyone else in Alpha and Sasuke Uchiha is equal to Naruto and is one Gamma's best, along with Trunks. With Zachery Nelson, I know you've heard the rumours. The director might think these three are enough to provide back-up. I think it would be best-" She was cut off.

"Let me stop you right there. Because the last time I checked, I'm in charge, so you don't think what's best. I do! And for the record, I made it crystal clear in my transmission to the director, that we need a lot of fighters. 'A dozen of his best' to be more specific. Not a softie, an emo or a GREEN HORN!" Freddy was fuming.

"Commander I still think you need to-" Kuroka tried again. "And I think you need to zip it and get back to your post. Now!" Freddy ordered. This time Kuroka stopped completely. Only uttering: "Yes, sir." Before she disappeared into the night. Trunks grew a small scowl, but it was the one on Zac's face that could easily be noticed. But Freddy wasn't even looking at them anymore. With barely even a side-glance, he turned around and walked back to the office building.

"We're still on orders from the director, Freddy. We can't just leave this mission." Trunks tried to keep eye contact with Freddy as he walked by. However, Freddy didn't return the favour. He didn't even acknowledge what Trunks said. The only thing he did was push past Zac, almost making him fall over, but he caught himself just in time. But Freddy then stopped walking. "Take your orders and go f**k yourselves. If you're not here to help me or the outpost, then you can just f**k right off." The venom was just running out of his mouth like an open faucet.

Trunks felt disappointment. Even if he tried to look at this from his perspective, it still didn't make this right. Zac at this point kept his emotions under control but the temptation to sock the guy was really hard to ignore. Instead, both of them kept quiet, since this argument wasn't worth it. Freddy noticed their silence and with a scoff, continued to walk away. "Let's go, Zac." Zac kept his eyes on Freddy's back, but with a sigh he joined Trunks. "What an asshole." Zac muttered under his breath, which Trunks heard, but didn't disagree with.

While Trunks and Zac was walking away, Freddy tried to think of another way to deal with his problem. Not only did he not get the back-up he asked for, but one of his subordinates had the gall to challenge his command and authority. 'This is outrageous! How the hell can we deal with this problem now?! The director better have a good reason for this, or else, I swear I will shove those glasses right up his...' He couldn't finish that thought, before yelled for him. "COMMANDER! COMMANDER!" Freddy looked up to see another one of his subordinates running out of the office building like a madman. He was smaller than Freddy, with his head only reaching his shoulder and he was dressed in the same kind of battle armour as Freddy. The difference is, his armour didn't have the sharp shoulder pads and the undershirt is a darker shade of blue.

"What do you want? This better be-" For the first time it was Commander Freddy who was cut off. "This is really bad sir! Our scanners just detected three bogies on their way here and their coming in fast!" Freddy's eyes grew wide in alarm.

"What?! They've never attempted a full on assault before. What happened?!" The man, Cody, only shrugged, which made Freddy growl in frustration, but he calmed himself. "How long until their here, Cody?"

Cody was about to answer before the scouter on his face started to go off like an alarm. This sound made both of them freeze up with apprehension. The alarm was loud enough to stop both Zac and Trunks in the tracks. Both looked back, but Zac was the only one who was confused at what that sound was, but Trunks looked alarmed. Without wasting any time, Trunks yanked his sword out of his sheath, causing Zac to almost jump at the sound.

TO BE CONTINUED...