Sin merely glanced at the man behind him when he placed his sea-stone-tipped Jitte on his back, and kept drinking the Rum, surprising the Marine by not feeling weak or sick.
"That's rude, Smoke Man." Hancock finished her glass of Rum and looked at the smoke-gray-haired man, who was the new Marine Captain of Lougetown.
"And who are you?" He narrowed his eyes at her.
"Boa Hancock. And the one you are pointing your weapon at is my Captain." She grabbed the Jitte that was touching Sin's back, and twisted it, effortlessly breaking it in half.
The Marine Captain blankly looked at her, not showing any fearful expression on his face, but unbeknownst to him, the three of them could clearly hear his erratic heartbeart.
He knew how sturdy his Jitte was, and to break it so effortlessly, the Physical Strength of Hancock had to be at a monstrous level. It was not something he could contend with, but he could not let these Pirates just go.
"Do you want me to burn down this town, Smoke Man?" Hancock threateningly flared her Hellfire on her body when the Marine Captain started utilising his Devil Fruit, creating even more smoke inside the bar.
"Take your fight outside my bar, Smoker. I don't want my precious place destroyed." Raoul kept drinking and said to the Marine Captain.
"Thanks for the Rum, Old Man." Sin smiled at him and grabbed a few Gold Coins from coat, placing them on the table as payment.
Seeing the coins, the old man's eyes sparkled. He was experienced and knew that they were made of pure gold, and their worth was hundreds of times more than the Rum the three of them had drunk.
"Thanks for your patronage!" He giddily laughed and accepted the coins.
Sin smiled at Smoker, and then leisurely started walking out of the bar, with Robin and Hancock following right behind him.
The Marines in their way nervously parted away, not stopping them, and when they arrived outside, the soldiers stationed there were shaking in fear as they pointed their guns at them.
Smoker was now nervous too as he faced them. His instincts were yelling at him that he was no match for either of these three, and now he was worried about what they were going to do to this town.
"Why are you here, Blackstar?" The Marine Captain asked as he looked Sin in the eyes.
"I want you to convey a message on my behalf to the Marine Headquarters."
His words surprised all the Marines, and even Smoker seemed taken aback. However, he did not let his guard down.
"What is the message?"
"I am not satisfied with the image they put on my Wanted Poster. Don't you think I look more handsome when I am smiling?" He flashed a grin at him and said.
Several Marines had their jaws drop open at his words. And even Smoker looked like his cigar would drop out of his mouth any moment now.
"That's it?" He managed to gather himself and asked, restraining the urge to punch Sin right in the face that he seemed so proud of.
"Yeah, that's pretty much it. But now that we are here, how can we leave without taking all the money you have in your base?" Sin evilly smiled. "And you are going to lead us to it."
The Marines tensed at his words. To allow him to take away all the money without even a fight would be their greatest shame, and Smoker knew that a fight was now inevitable. He narrowed his eyes and braved his heart, ready for the battle.
"White Cloud!" He yelled as his body dematerilised into a blast of smoke that surrounded Sin, Hancock, and Robin.
The dense smoke made them unable to see and breathe, and then the density of the smoke started increasing, trying to bind them.
"Robin." Sin whispered, and a smile crept on the face of his little sister.
Robin utilised her Devil Fruit Powers, dematerilising into a blue-white Frostflame.
Had it been normal fire, the smoke might have been able to contend with it, since Smoke and Fire had no effect on each other, but unfortunately for Smoker, the Frostflame worked on different principles.
The sea of Frostflame washed over the surroundings, overpowering the smoke, and freezing it, trapping Smoker in his own smoke, which forced him to materialise again. And as soon as he materialised, a powerful punch landed in his gut that blanked out his mind in the sudden jolt of pain.
When Smoker tasted his blood in his mouth, his mind cleared a little, but before he could try to run away from Robin, she grabbed him by his neck, spun him around, and then pummelled him hard into the street, forming a crater at impact. He did not even get time to breathe when he felt an excruciating cold permeating his body, which overpowered him, making him completely helpless, and soon everything was numb.
When the smoke cleared away, and the Marines saw what had happened, they felt their hearts climb up their throats.
Smoker was lying on the ground, frozen, like a statue, with his eyes wide open in fear. And Robin was unemotionally looking at him with blue-white flames burning on her body.
Sin calmly walked up to the statued Smoker and drew his Pistol at him before turning to look at the Marines.
"You have 10 minutes to bring all the cash you have in your base here. A second late, and I will put a bullet in your Captain's brains." He lightly said, but everyone heard him clearly.
The Marines stood there frozen in shock for nearly half a minute before their minds started working again, and then they immediately got to work. None of them tried to take a stand against him, which was smart on their part.
Seven minutes later, three briefcases were placed in front of them. And all the Marines stood nervously looking their way.
"How much is in there?"
"47 Million Berries..." A Marine apprehensively said, hoping that Sin would be satisfied with the money.
"And that is all there was in your base?" Sin narrowed his eyes at them, which made their bodies tremble in fear.
"Yes!" Those that brought him the money answered him.
"And if I go there and find more money?" He smirked at them.
"T-this is all the money we have in the base." A Marine assured him.
There was a tense silence, and the Marine looked ready to pee himself any moment now with Sin's cold grey-eyes boring right into him.
"Alright. I trust you." Sin brightly smiled, making them all heave a sigh of relief, and then he thoughtfully looked at Smoker.
The Marines started worrying that he would change his mind and kill Smoker, but to their relief, he put the Pistol back in the holster and picked up the briefcases with money.
Robin took the cue and used her Powers to unfreeze Smoker, who immediately started panting for breath as his mind, once again, started registering the pain from Robin's earlier blows.
Smoker apprehensively looked at Robin, finding it hard to believe that a 16-year-old girl could have so much power inside her. It was not just her Devil Fruit that terrified him, her Physical Strength was nothing to scoff at.
"She's my little sister, Smokey." Sin informed him, and Smoker subconsciously diverted his eyes away from her. "And both these ladies are the Vice-Captains of my Crew." He then crouched near the fallen Marine Captain and looked him right in the eyes.
Smoker did not know what Sin was thinking, and he just stared right back into his eyes. His haunting grey-eyes seemed to peer right through him, and with every passing moment, the fear in Smoker's heart was rising.
"Want to join my Crew?"
The sudden question took everyone by surprise, and Smoker looked at Sin unbelievably.
"Your Devil Fruit is quite special. If utilised right, given its potential, you can become quite powerful. I can help you realise it." Sin smiled at him.
"I am a Marine, Pirate." Smoker unhesitatingly said, and it only made Sin's smile brighter.
"Your choice." He nodded appreciatively before getting up and leaving with his two Vice-Captains.
"A Logia User of a decent Element, but just a Captain in East Blue, the weakest of the four Seas," Hancock commented as they walked a good distance away. "Doesn't add up."
"He must have some personality issues." Robin nodded to her words. "But given the potential of his Devil Fruit, there's no way that the Marines don't treasure him." She then turned to look at her brother and giggled. "Sadly, he rejected your invitation."
Sin shook his head and chuckled a little. He was not really expecting Smoker to say yes, but he had to try.
The three of them did not go back to the ship, but instead toured around the Town, not caring about the residents, who were visibly nervous at the presence of Sin. They visited the Execution Platform where Gold Roger was executed, and then checked out some clothing shops, where Robin and Hancock bought themselves some new dresses. The shopkeepers were surprised that the Pirates were paying them for the clothes, and they thanked them over and over again in gratitude.
By noon, everyone had returned onboard the Black Pearl, and Sin gave the green light to set sail towards the Reverse Mountian.