"It's been a while, Sin." A man in his early thirties, with short blue hair, and dark lips, wearing a red striped jacket and black pants walked into the office.
"Iceburg." The Warlord smiled at the President the company that now owned all the seven Docks in the city, and he waited for the man to take his seat before he spoke again. "Are the ships ready?"
"We dispatched them three days ago. They will soon reach Winterheim." The man smiled.
"That was fast." He surprisedly looked at him, and Iceburg smiled some more.
"Den came, and with his help, we managed to finish them ahead of time." He informed him before taking out a file and handing it over.
Sin silently went through it, checking all the expenditures, and nodded as he looked at the images of the Ships.
They looked perfect, and he was sure that they were perfect since both Iceburg and Den had worked on them.
"Here's the rest of the payment," Sin said, and Desire put the three briefcases on the table, pushing them towards the Owner of the Company, who also happened to be the current Mayor of Water 7.
"300 Million Berries." She informed the man, who simply nodded and accepted the briefcases, not even bothering to check the money inside them.
"When are you going to order the Fleet for the Black Pearl?" He playfully asked, and Sin chuckled at his words.
"Not anytime soon," He replied. "Den's still on the Island?"
"Yes. He finally agreed to help me."
"That's great news. So, what's coming first?"
"The Sea Train that would connect the Bourgeois Kingdom to Water 7. The Kingdom has already paid for the railway." Iceburg informed him. "We will start working on making Water Seven a Floating Boat afterwards."
"What?" Desire blurted out the question in surprise. "Are you going to turn the entire Island into a Floating Boat? How? Why?"
Sin laughed and Iceburg too could not help his chuckles.
Her reaction was the same as that of Bonney when she had first heard Iceburg tell them about his plans for Water 7. And yes, they sounded outrageous.
"It's because of Aqua Laguna that hits Water 7 every year, and every year, the foundation of Water 7 sinks a little. We need to do something to prevent the city from sinking and to prevent the property damage that we have to incur because of it..." Iceburg patiently explained things to them, and by the time he finished, all of them were quite impressed, especially Wolf.
The Old Scientist began asking questions to satiate his curiosity, and Iceburg, after learning that the man was a scientist, happily answered them and even showed him the plans that they had formed so far.
Seeing that Wolf was even more thrilled after seeing the plans, Sin let the old man chat with Iceburg as he excused himself to go see an old friend.
Shachi and Penguin stayed behind with their mentor, having fallen in love with science in the years they had spent with him, and everyone else simply followed Sin and asked him to show them around the place.
"Sin," Hiyori called out to him as they walked down the street towards the Hotel they were going to stay at for the day and night.
"Yes?"
"Can we take a ride on the Sea Train?" She hopefully asked, and he smiled when he saw that everyone else wanted the same thing.
"Sure. We will visit all three Island Cities that are connected to Water 7. And I am sure you will love them." He smiled.
"Have you been to them before too?" Desire curiously asked, and he nodded to her.
"San Faldo is the city of Festivals, and there's a festival every day on the Island. St. Poplar is the city of Trade and Black Market. It is controlled by the Underworld forces, and you can find things there that are hard to come across at other places," He informed them and then playfully looked at Lily. "As for Pucci, it's a gourmet Island, famous for its foods."
"Let's go there first!" The Giantess suggested with sparkles in her eyes, and they all laughed at her antics.
"Okay. We will head there first tomorrow." He agreed, and she laughed in excitement.
After booking them in the finest Hotel in the city, Sin left Lily, Hiyori, Grount, and Desire in their rooms to get some rest, and he left with Yamato to go meet Den, whom he found in Dock 7, sitting in a pool, working on a ship's design.
"That's a nice-looking ship." He said as he glanced over the Merman's shoulder, and then the man turned to look at him with a smile.
"It's been a while."
"It has." He smield. "Meet Yamato."
"Hi!" The Oni Girl happily waved her hand, and Den curiously looked at her.
"How many crewmembers for you have now?" He asked and smiled at him.
"Counting you, 19."
Den laughed at his words and then helplessly shook his head.
"You already know that I have no desire to become a Pirate. I just want to design and build ships and do my research on Sea Forest."
"But you are the best, and if I want a Shipwright on my Crew, he has to be the best."
"Why don't you ask Iceburg and see what he has to say?" Den asked, and Sin grinned at him.
"Is he better than you?" He asked back, and the Merman just grinned at him. "I guess I will never have a Shipwright on my crew then." He sighed, and the old Merman chuckled at his words.
"Every ship needs a Shipwright, and even the Black Pearl, which is the finest ship I have seen in my life, needs them. I don't want to see such a perfect ship that I helped create get harmed." He eventually sighed and watched Sin and Yamato sit down and take off their shoes before sinking their feet in the water.
"And yet you refuse to become my Shipwright." The Black smiled at him before he lay back on the soft grass and looked at the beautiful blue sky.
"I am an old man. You need someone young on your crew. Someone who can keep up with the rest of you." He said and then swam over to his side to sit on the ground, keeping his tail submerged in the water. "And a Ship as big as Black Pearl should have, at least, two Shipwrights to take care of it."
"Where will I find two people who are as good as you?" He still teasingly asked, and Den helplessly chucked at his words.
"If you want, I can train two." The Merman said, and Sin curiously looked at him.
"You have someone in mind?"
"Remember Paulie?" He asked, and Sin nodded to him.
"The blonde kid right?"
"Yes." Den nodded to him. "He's a remarkable talent to become a Shipwright, just as good as me, Tom, and Iceburg." He meaningfully said. "And he's sensible enough and loyal too."
"Sensible enough?" Sin chuckled.
"Let's just say that he's cut to become a Pirate."
Both Sin and Yamato laughed at his words, understanding them very well.
"Iceburg has been training him, and if you want, and he agrees to become part of your crew in the future, I can help with his training too."
"I will meet him." He nodded, and Den smiled.
"There's another kid. He joined the company a few months ago, and he's no less talented than Paulie."
"What's his name?"
"Kaku," The Merman replied. "And he's a strong and fearless young man and quite a joyful personality."
"Is that so?" He smiled and then closed his eyes. "It seems that both of them are coming here to see you."
Den was a little surprised by his words and looked around, and even though he could not see them, he did not doubt Sin's words.
"The two are helping me with our plans for the new Railway." He informed him, and then the two of them started chatting about other things, mostly revolving around his crew and the recent news that he had read. "...Missed the Four Blues?"
"Not really." Sin said. "I went to North Blue to pick up my new crewmates."
"You are from North Blue?" The Merman curiously looked at Yamato, who laughed and shook her head.
"I am from Grandline. And I went with him to the North Blue."
Yamato did not tell him where exactly she was from and how she had met Sin, and Den never pried into the matter either.
"What's the situation on Fishmen Island?"
"Still grim." He sighed. "It's been two years now, but the Kingdom has still not gotten over the loss of Queen Otohime. King Neptune is not going to attend the Reverie this year. He wants to fulfil Queen Otohime's wish, and he hopes to gather enough signatures by the 1520 Reverie so that the plan to relocate Fishmen Island can be put into action..."
Sin and Yamato silently listened to what current situation on the Island, and the Oni Girl, having learned about all the discrimination that existed against the Fishmen, was visibly quite upset.
"Oye, Den!"
They heard someone call out, and both Yamato and Den turned to look in the person's direction.
"Don't give this dumbass any money. He lost all his savings today and still wants to gamble more."
"Shut up, Kaku!" The tanned and blonde young man angrily looked at the young man with a long rectangular nose and golden hair.
He looked ready to pick up a fight, and Yamato giggled when she heard Den helplessly sigh at their behaviour.
When the two boys arrived by their side, they both froze in shock when they found Sin lying on the Grass.
"Den was right, you have grown quite strong, Paulie." Sin smiled when he met the blonde man's eyes, and the latter subconsciously gulped under his gaze.
"Warlord Sin."
The Black smiled at the address and then looked into the eyes of the young man who was wearing a cap over his head.
"Interesting." The lightest of smiles appeared on his face, but it was enough to tense up Kaku.
"Are you here to get your ship repaired?" The boy asked, almost as if trying to shift an impending conversation, and the Black smiled some more after hearing his question.
"No. I am here for you."
Sin did not miss the coldness that briefly flashed in Kaku's eyes, and now his guess was ascertained.
"I have an offer for the two of you." He said, and both the boys frowned at his words. "Want to join my crew?"