"Do your best, Pascia!"
"You too, Nojiko!"
Two young girls happily sat atop a wall, swinging their legs as they watched their two friends sparring with their favourite Bear Mink.
It was their routine now, and both Nojiko and Pascia had become sort of crazy about training in the past few months.
Every morning, they would approach someone from the crew to spar with them, and mostly, it was Bepo or Bonney. And this sparring session was not part of the daily training regime that Robin and Bonney had put them under to help them achieve their goal by the end of the year.
The two girls turned to look around when they heard a loud thud, and down at the beach, they watched Bart getting frustrated as he failed to land a hit on Augur, who was just too fast for him.
Nami and Vivi laughed as they watched Augur bullying Bart once again, and no matter how many times they had witnessed it happen, they still found it just as funny.
"He has gotten faster than he used to be." The Princess commented, watching Bart's movements, and the orange head nodded to her.
"He has, but might never be able to catch up to Augur's speed."
"It's because of his Devil Fruit, isn't it?"
"Bonney said that Augur is inherently very fast, and yes, the Drain Drain Fruit allows him to steal energy from people, which he stores in his body, and it does boost his speed and strength."
"He's awesome!"
"Yup!" She nodded her head and then curiously tilted her head when Augur suddenly pulled back and looked towards the sea.
Bart stopped as well, and Kuina, who was practising her Sword, a little away from the two men, turned to look in the same direction.
"Sin!" They heard an excited shout from inside their base, and the next second, they saw a pink blur as Bonney shot past them, jumping off the wall, landing dozens of metres down on the beach, and then she kept running towards the waters.
The two girls, on instinct, got off the wall and started running towards the stairs that led down to the beach, and they made it there just in time to watch a ship emerge from the waters and approach the beach.
As soon as the Ship was close enough and Sin appeared on the deck, Bonney jumped over a ridiculously long distance, right into his arms.
"Hey." Sin smiled as he planted a kiss on her head and squeezed her in his arms.
"You said you would be gone for just a few weeks! It's been two and a half months!" She complained as soon as her purple orbs met his grey eyes, and then without waiting for an answer, she jumped up to wrap her arms around his neck and kiss him.
The two boys, who watched it happen, could not help but chuckle, and it was something they were going to regret later.
When Bonney separated from his arms, she narrowed her eyes at him, and both Shachi and Penguin tensed up.
"You are old enough now, Sin won't stop me from beating you up." She grinned, and they both felt chills run up their spines.
On the beach, Bepo, who had clearly heard her words, evilly grinned, but then he turned to look at the two young girls who had run all the way to them and were now catching their breath.
"Sin!" Nami excitedly called out to him, waving her hand, and giggled when she saw him look at her and laughe, understanding what she wanted to ask.
However, soon, the unfamiliar faces around their Captain caught everyone's attention, and they all heard Sin introduce Bonney to them.
"Meet Bonney, My Precious, the Star of the crew, our Treasurer and the Staff Officer." Sin informed them, and the Oni Girl brightly grinned at the pink head.
"Hi! I am Yamato!" She said and then stepped forward to hug Bonney, which made the latter smile too.
"Nice to meet you. And welcome to the crew!"
"Thank you!" Yamato nodded to her and then curiously looked at the people who were gathered on the beach.
They all interested her especially Bepo, and she just jumped and went ahead to meet them all.
"I am Lily Enstomach!" The green-haired Giantess, who was sitting on Desire's shoulder, suddenly called out, and under Bonney's surprised eyes, she jumped and transformed into a girl who was as tall as her. "I am on the crew too!"
"Welcome." The pink-haired girl smiled as Lily hugged her and then she curiously looked at Hiyori, who was seemingly very nervous as she looked at her. "You must be Hiyori."
"Yes!" The girl answered and then stepped forward to greet her with a bow. "I am Kozuki Hiyori."
"Robin told me about you." She nodded with a smile and then turned to look at the redhead. "Sin did not tell us about you though."
"Desire Redfield!" The girl stepped forward and drew her hand to her. "I am the daughter of the City Lord of Eretzia."
Bonney shook hands with her and curiously looked at Sin.
"She's not a Pirate." He smiled, and she understood what he meant.
"Not yet, I suppose." She giggled and then looked at old Wolf with a bright smile. "You are even older than the last time I saw you."
"You don't seem to have aged a day since then, and you are also insolent as ever, Brat!" Wolf grinned at her but panicked when she suddenly approached him and tapped his shoulder.
Those who were unfamiliar with her Powers gasped when she turned Wolf into a two-year-old child before evilly picking him up.
"I am not a brat, Kid." She dangerously said, and Wolf visibly started sweating as his eyes welled up with tears.
"Bonney, behave." Sin admonished her, and she pouted before returning Wolf to his true age.
Even though the old man seemed angry at her, he was wise enough to keep his mouth shut this time.
"I am Vigaro, and I am on the Crew." The blue-haired man informed her as soon as she looked at him, and she nodded her head.
"Welcome to the crew. If you want, you can join the big Bart in the training." She said, and Vigaro looked at the usually big man before nodding his head and jumping off to do as she had suggested. "Good." She was happy with his choice and then grinned at the two boys. "Go, Bepo has been waiting for you, and you will be training with him today."
"We haven't even had breakfast yet..."
"You will get your breakfast after your morning training." She told them, and the two boys begrudgingly got off the ship to go and meet their old friend.
"Hey, Bepo!" Both the boys waved at him, but as soon as they saw the Bear Mink grin, they understood that they were going to receive a beating later.
When everyone got off the Submarine, Nami and Vivi both surrounded Lily, asking their questions after witnessing how she had transformed into a small person.
"You ate the Size-Size Fruit?!" The orange head surprisedly looked at her when she told them about her powers, and Lily grinned before she turned herself into her miniature form, just a few centimetres tall, and then jumped on her head to nestle on it.
"Awesome!" Vivi had sparkles in her eyes when she watched the small beautiful girl sitting on Nami's head, and seeing their expressions, everyone could not help their smiles.
After a round of greetings, where everyone got acquainted with each other, Bonney grabbed Hiyori's hand and led them to their base, and everyone else stayed behind on the beautiful beach of Erumalu.
"So that's Black Pearl!" Yamato excitedly looked at the massive and majestic back ship that was anchored near the Port of the City, and then she curiously looked at the Marine Battleship, which was anchored right next to it.
"Wanna take a tour?" Sin asked, and Desire, Lily, and Yamato all nodded their heads.
"We will show you around!" Nami and Vivi excitedly said, and after Sin nodded to them, they happily grabbed the girls' hands and led them to the Black Pearl.
He laughed when they asked Yamato to pick them up and jump on the ship, since there was no other way for them to get on it, and the Oni-Girl easily took them onboard.
Lily did the same Desire, and after they disappeared into the ship, Sin turned to look at Kuina, Nojiko, and Pascia.
"I see that you have improved a lot. Good job." Those simple words of acknowledgement were more than enough to make them feel happy, and after Nojiko gave him a hug, she dragged Pascia with her to return to their training.
Since Bepo was going to teach Shachi and Penguin a lesson, Augur agreed to spar with them, and now, only Kuina and Wolf stayed by his side.
The Swordsgirl curiously looked at the two Katanas that he was wearing on his waist, and Sin happily pulled them out of their scabbard to show her the blades.
"Nidai Kitetsu, and this is Enma. Both are Great Grade Blades."
She surprisedly looked at them and then Sin allowed her to check them out.
He laughed when she grabbed Emna and felt it absorbing her Haki at an alarming rate, and before things could take a bad turn, he grabbed it from her hand.
"You are not yet ready to wield a blade like this." He told her and saw a flash of determination in her eyes.
"Let's spar!"
"Later." He chuckled and returned the swords to their scabbards. "When did Granny Tsuru come here?"
"Two days ago." She informed him.
"I see. Go, I will see you at breakfast."
"Aye, Captain!" Kuina listened to his command and returned to her morning exercise, wielding her Wado Ichimonji and practising her Sword Form.
"Quite a crew you have gathered." Wolf could not help but say when they were alone, and Sin smiled at him.
"Thank you." He said and then led the old man to their base in Erumalu, where the Great Staff Officer of Marines was chatting with his younger sister.