"Hey, you are not allowed in here!" Someone called out as soon as they walked inside the lumberyard, and a few men immediately surrounded them.
"We are customers." Sin said to them, and a man with a scar across his face shook his head.
"The place is closed right now. You can come here in the morning." He sternly told them off.
"Is it? I don't think so." He lightly said and intimidated all of them with his Haki. "Lead us to your manager."
"The manager..."
"Is inside." He coldly said, and the man gulped at his words.
"What's your name?" He nervously asked, and his eyes widened in horror when Sin took off his mask.
"Warlord..."
"Please, come." A man, who managed to regain his bearings first, respectfully said and then led him inside the office.
The place really seemed to be closed right now as there was no one inside and even the lights were turned off, and when they reached the manager's room, they found a short and stout man talking to someone on a call before he angrily looked their way for barging into his office like that.
"Get.." He was about to finish his words when he saw Sin's face, and nervously put down the Den Den Mushi. "Sir Warlord!" He smiled and stood up. "My name is Wataru. Please, what can I do for you?"
"Interesting activities you have going on here. A lumberyard that sells weapons at night." He smiled as he walked over to take his seat at the table.
"We all have to make a living in some way."
"Living or wealth?" He asked, and the smile on the man's face strained a little. "Surpise me. Show me something that I won't find anywhere else in St. Poplar tonight."
Wataru happily nodded to him and then instructed the men to bring certain samples to his office, and minutes later, the stout man was showing them several different types of new weapons, mostly rifles, but what caught their interest were the Blueprints for the Marine Battleships.
"How did you even get your hands on these?" Desire surprisedly asked, and the man proudly smiled at her words.
"We have our channels, Miss."
"I heard that you are going to receive a shipment of Adam Wood next month." Sin suddenly said, putting the Blueprints back on the table, and his words froze Wataru.
"I..."
"How much wood is there?" He asked, and the man became even more nervous. "Be honest if you cherish your life."
The harmless smile that Sin was wearing chilled Wataru's heart.
"Enough to build a Keel of a standard Galleon." He answred, trembling a little.
"How much?" He asked, and the man knew exactly what he meant.
"Sir, the Wood is meant to be auctioned..."
"Let me ask it again. How much?" His eyes were deathly cold, and the man slumped into his seat, sweating all over.
"250 Million Berries, Sir." He fearfully gulped, and Sin smiled at him.
"Really?"
"I swear!" He nodded his head like a chicken.
"Fine. Ship it to Winterheim. And you will receive your payment in full when you deliver it." Sin told him and then picked up the Blueprints from the table. "If it is not delivered by the end of the coming month, I will kill you. And thank you for these Blueprints."
Wataru was on the verge of crying when he promisingly nodded his head and managed to muster up enough strength to see them off.
As soon as Sin, Yamato, and Desire walked out of the lumberyard, he dropped to his knees and nervously took out a Den Den Mushi, making a call to his boss and the owner.
Sin smiled when he heard his conversation, where Wataru was told to do as he was asked by him.
The Adam Wood was extremely hard to come by, and the amount that the manager had told him was enough to build a small warship completely out of it.
It could be used in the future if need be.
They also went to check the street where Devil Fruits were sold, and the place was pretty much empty with only three Devil Fruits on sale which Sin could never take a liking to.
The weapons did not interest them either, and after going through the entire western district, they walked towards the Downtown street, where Yamato and Desire bought some clothes for themselves.
Sin was constantly utilising his Observation Haki, keeping a check on everything that was happing in the city, and just when they started walking towards the Hotel, he heard a commotion on the southern beach which was not far from his position.
Desire was a little curious when Sin turned to walk into the opposite direction than one they were supposed to take, but Yamato simply followed after him.
"Anything interesting?" The redhead asked, and he lightly smiled.
"A broken man." He said, and both of them raised their brows at him.
Minutes later, when they arrived at the beach, they saw a group of Pirates harassing a young boy, who was no older than 18, with plaited long blue hair, wearing a sleeveless fur jacket.
He had some blood running down his mouth, and his eyes remained vacant as he kept taking hits without fighting back.
"He does not even fight back!" The men laughed as they kept beating him up, and eventually got bored and walked away, leaving him sprawled on the ground, covered in blood and bruises.
Yamato curiously tilted her head as she found the boy blankly staring at the bright crescent in the sky, showing no signs of pain on his face, but his body was sligtly trembling after all the beating it had suffered.
"He could have easily beaten all of them." The Oni Girl curiously said, and found Sin already walking towards the boy.
And Yamato and Desire followed him.
"Hey." He brightly smiled at the boy, standing over his head and leaning forward to cover his line of sight with his face, "Do you want to join my crew?" And asked his question, which caught Desire by surprise.
At first, the young boy blankly stared at him, but after making sure that he had heard it right, he frowned a little.
"Why?"
"You seem like you need a purpose in your life. Perhaps, an adventure would can make you feel alive again?" He chuckled. "I am Black D. Sin. What's your name?"
"Vigaro." The boy absently said as he looked at the masked young man, and then his eyes widened when he remembered where he has heard that name before.
"Follow me, Vigaro. I will show you what the life has to offer to you." Sin said as he drew his hand forward, offering it to the boy, who kept starting at him for a good few seconds.
Yamato grinned when she saw Vigaro reach forward and take Sin's hand, and Desire just dumbly stared at everything that she had just witnessed.
Seeing the bright smile on Sin's face, and the moonlight that poured down on him, she could not help but feel an inexplicable pull towards him.
And she was ever more sure in her heart that this man was born for greatness.
People just couldn't help but be drawn to him.
On their way back to the hotel, with the boy now following them, the redhead sneaked a few glaces at him before she could not hold back her curiosity.
"Why did you not fight back?"
"It was pointless." He replied. "Their puches did not hurt me."
"They didn't?" She rolled her eyes as she looked at his state. "What about the kicks?" She grinned.
"No."
Sin chuckled when he heard his reply and then shook his head.
"Don't let anyone ever hit you and get away with it again. You are part of our crew now, and you must not bring shame to our name." Yamato told him, quite seriously, and Desire could not help but roll her eyes again when the boy simply nodded his head in acceptance.
"Where are you from?" She asked.
"Jaya."
"What brought you to St. Poplar?"
"Nothing." He replied, and when she raised her brow at him, he explained. "I just took a ship, not knowing where it was headed. They dropped me here yesterday."
Desire dumbly stared at him, questioning if the boy was even in his right mind. But then she recalled Sin's earlier words about him being a 'broken man', and she did not pry again.
Her mind was soon focused on the things that she had experienced today, and she smiled at how much fun they all had.
"Are we leaving for Arabasta tomorrow?"
"Yes. We will pick up supplies for the journey in the morning, and we will leave before noon."
After arriving at the Hotel, Sin booked another room for Vigaro, and then he headed to his room where his dear wife was peacefully spelling.
He could not help but smile when he found the miniature Lily in the bed too, sleeping with there arms and legs spread open, and he did not disturb her.
For the rest of the night, Sin kept training his Observation Haki, keeping an eye and ear on everything that was happening on the Island, and managed to gather some useful Intel on the Underworld's current affairs.