It was the fourth day since they left the Drum Kingdom, and right now, it was the middle of the day. As usual, all the members of the Blackstar Crew were taking part in the training session before lunch.
Well, everyone except for Sin and Kuina.
The two of them were sitting in a corner, leaning against the wall with their eyes closed. And both of them were hugging their Swords.
It was something that Sin first did, and out of curiosity, Kuina joined him. She had already had a tiresome training session in the morning, where Sin destroyed her and Hachi in a sword duel. Now, she only needed to reflect on her performance in the morning, which was probably what she was doing right now.
But it was hard to guess what Sin was up to.
Only Robin knew that he was having a chat with his Swords and was also trying to get the feel of the power those two blades possessed.
However, it was not something the crew needed to know. Not even Hancock. Otherwise, Sin would have informed everyone else too that he could talk with his Swords now.
And Robin was not the one to give away her brother's secrets, not even to the people closest to them.
Currently, the younger Black was engaged in a three-way blindfolded battle with Bonney and Hancock. It was how the three of them usually trained, but watching them still amazed the two little sisters.
Nami and Nojiko were seated next to each other, smiling as they watched everyone busy with their training, and the bluenette wore visible signs of fatigue after she had just retired from a friendly spar with Bepo.
She could not fight yet, and it was something they were working on now with her. Her stamina and endurance had increased a lot since the time she boarded this ship with her sister, and it was now barely at the optimum level where she could learn some basic hand-to-hand combat.
Bepo was polite enough to help her get started, and she enjoyed her session a lot today.
Right now, the Mink was engaged in a heated duel with Hachi. They were both working on their Armament Haki.
Hachi had grasped the feel of it back in Gyasta Town when he battled Dalton, and Sin and helped him get acquainted with it in the three excruciating training sessions since they embarked on their journey to Karakuri Island.
It was hell for the Fishman, and both the girls felt pity for what Sin has put him through. But everything had paid off.
Hachi could now use Armament Haki. He was far from using it properly, but he could use it now, and he was keen on improving.
"I will go check on the prisoners." Nojiko jumped on her feet and then walked inside the ship.
Cancer and Yukimaru were being kept under heavy sedatives, so there was no real danger in her going to check on them. However, her little sister still decided to tag along with her and held her hand.
The two sisters were very mindful of their steps as they neared the Cells, and then sneaked a look inside the cages where the two Marine Officers were being kept.
To their relief, both of them were still unconscious, which was what they had come here to check on. And then the two of them left the place without making any noise.
On their way back, they passed the Male Cabins and smartly greeted the two old men, who were in their room, talking to each other as they read a Medical Book.
Though they were accomplished doctors, and in their fifties, their thirst for knowledge was still ablaze.
Tom and Bron were happy to see the two sisters. Unlike the rest of the crew, they got along very well with these two as they reminded them of their grandchildren back home.
"What are you reading?" Nami asked as she glanced at the book, and then the two men passionately started telling her what they were trying to figure out.
Their words soon made the two sisters feel dizzy in their heads, and Nami simply ran off after she made an excuse that she had to help Hachi with the lunch.
Nojiko too embarrassedly used the same excuse, and she heard the two old men laugh before she closed the door behind her.
Tom and Bron, of course, knew that the sisters were making excuses, and they only found it funny.
Soon, the two returned their attention to the medical topic they were discussing, and did not pay attention to anything else.
"Hey!!!" Nami excitedly called out to the News Coo whom she spotted as soon as she emerged on the deck.
The smart bird flew over to the two girls, and it was very pleased when Nami asked for today's newspaper.
However, it soon became anxious when it saw that the orangehead had no intention of paying him the Berries.
"Coo! Coo!!!" It called out to her again and again, and Nojiko felt a little bad for it.
"Wait." She told it and then ran to her room to bring a few coins she had on herself. "Here you go." She panted as she handed it the money, and the bird, finally relieved at getting paid, saluted to her before flying away.
"Nojiko!" Nami excitedly called out to her sister.
"Yes?"
"Look!" The little girl held a bunch of Bounty Posters in her hand, some of which belonged to their Crew, and then she turned to look at the Mink and shouted. "Bepo! You have a bounty on your head now!"
"Really?!"
The Bear-Mink disengaged from the battle when he heard the shout and immediately rushed to the two girls.
By now, Nami's words had caught everyone's attention, and they all approached her.
"Yes!!!" The Bear-Mink was grinned as he held his bounty poster.
"How much is it?" Bonney curiously asked.
"5,000,000!"
"That's decent." The Pinkette nodded before glancing at the posters of Hancock and Robin.
Both their bounties had been raised from 30,000,000 to 50,000,000, which made her frown, but then her eyes dangerously narrowed after she looked at her bounty.
"22,000,000 Berries." Her whisper was cold.
It was not even half of what was put on Robin and Hancock's heads, and she was not pleased about it in the least.
"Kuina has a bounty of 5,000,000 as well!" Nami excitedly informed them as she handed the bluenette her poster.
"What's mine?" Hachi asked, visibly quite excitedly about it.
"17,500,000!" Nojiko handed him his poster, and everyone smiled as Hachi started laughing in happiness.
He was particularly happy with the epithet the Marines gave him.
"Hachi The Butcher."
It was a good one. And other than Sin, no one else had earned an epithet yet.
Everyone then glanced at Augur's Poster as the tall man accepted it, and he did not show any expressions as he looked at his bounty.
"Yours is the same as mine!" Bepo excitedly said when he saw that Augur's bounty was the same as his and Kuina's, but then everyone laughed when they heard Augur's words.
"It should have been more than yours. Shame..." He spoke so seriously that Bepo felt insulted, but the Bear-Mink did not linger on it and smiled again after looking at his picture.
He thought he looked very cool, which he probably did.
"What's Sin's new bounty?" Bonney pouted and asked after she got over her disappointment at her low bounty.
She wanted her first bounty to be, at least, the same as her Robin and Hancock's first bounties, but there was nothing that could be done now.
Nami cutely grinned when she heard her words. She was hugging Sin's Poster, hiding it from their eyes, and then dramatically turned it around for them all to see it.
"120,000,000!" Bepo gasped, but others were not too surprised.
"Yes!" Nami laughed and then excitedly ran up to Sin, who was still sitting in the corner.
"So our Crew's combined bounty now stands at 274,500,000." Robin smiled as she looked through the newspaper.
"Any news about us?" Hancock asked.
"No."
The words made some frown as they were expecting to be painted as the culprits of Wapol's death, but it seemed like they were not going to be given more limelight.
"They probably decided against it because we hold Cancer and Yukimaru," Bepo guessed, but Hancock shook her head without saying anything.
"I don't think that is the reason, but whatever," Bonney shrugged. "It is actually good that we have not been blamed for Wapol's death yet." She said, and Robin nodded to her words.
Marines already considered them very dangerous. And a combined bounty of nearly 274,500,000 meant that they were one of the hottest rookie Pirates in the world right now.
They had already managed to build a reputation, and now they only needed to execute their heist on Holiday Island to leave a resounding mark on the seas before Sin is announced at the Eighth Warlord.
Everything was on track.