46 Chapter 45

"Sin..." Nojiko worriedly took his name when she saw how weak and pale he looked, and her little sister already had tears in her eyes.

"Hey!" He smiled and greeted them, but his voice came out raspy and dry, resulting in the little girls becoming more worried about him.

"Drink." Hancock threw her water bottle to him, which he caught and took a few sips, sighing at the feel of water flowing down his throat.

It was so comforting that he felt like he had never felt any better in his life, but it also kicked in the thirst and hunger he had been suppressing. And soon it made him feel the worst he had felt in a long while.

Sin greedily gulped on the water, emptied the bottle, and then rushed to the lake and drank more to his fill. After that, he took off his coat and shirt before jumping into the water, diving deep into it as the water against his skin just felt too good.

His actions made Nami giggle, who found it quite funny. Seeing him so active, relieved them of their worries, however, both Robin and Hancock still looked displeased at the state he had pushed himself in.

He was as reckless as ever.

"Did you manage to achieve it?" Robin curiously asked after Sin jumped out of the lake and started putting his clothes back on.

"Not even close." He shook his head. "But I have improved my Observation Haki a lot."

"How much?" Hancock raised her brow.

"A lot." He smiled. "Enough that I have not missed a moment of what you all did in the last week."

His words surprised both Robin and Hancock, and before they could ask any question, he was already looking at Nami and Nojiko.

"So, did you find it?" He playfully asked and heard Hancock snort.

"You have been keeping eyes on us. So don't start on it."

"Okay, okay." He chuckled and then laughed some more when he saw Nojiko and Nami sulking. "It is fine. There's never a 100% chance for a Devil Fruit to spawn in the imemdiate vicinity. Maybe it is on a closeby Island, or maybe still somewhere on this Island. It is also possible that some animal consumed it." He shrugged.

"Hmph!" Nami suddenly pouted at his words, not feeling any better. But she soon smiled when she found Sin looking at the thing she was holding in her arms. "We did not find Hard-Hard Fruit, but we found another."

"But Robin does not know which Fruit it is since it has not been listed in the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia," Nojiko added. "We don't know if it is a good one or not."

"Show me."

"I will show it to you after you promise that you won't cut our share in half." Nami tried secure her Berries.

"You failed to find the Hard-Hard Fruit."

"How can we find it if it was never here?" She argued.

"Alright, Goblin. I won't cut your share in half." He shook his head and nudged her nose.

He had not eaten in weeks, and he was really not in the mood to tease her too much.

"Promise?"

"Promise." He nodded, which evoked a heartwarming smile on her face. "And you can promise that it was you who found it?"

"Yes!" She pulled her tongue at him, and everyone nodded their heads, informing him that she was telling the truth.

"Show me."

Nami nodded her head and slowly unwrapped the Devil Fruit she was holding in her arms. And it was a thing of beauty.

A plum-shaped dark red Devil Fruit with scales and black tints and swirls on it. It looked quite special, but Robin had also told the girls that usually the most pretty-looking Devil Fruits were the worst of them all.

"It's so beautiful!" Nami laughed as she looked at it again. She raised her head and found Sin's eyes transfixed on it, which brought a calculative smile to her lips. "Name your price or I won't give it to you for free!"

However, to her confusion, Sin did not respond to her and just kept staring at the Devil Fruit.

The others caught on to the abnormality too, and Nojiko suddenly became hopeful.

"Do you know which Devil Fruit this is?" She asked, but her heart constricted when her question brought tears to Sin's eyes.

"Sin..." Hancock worriedly stepped forward but stopped when Sin immediately wiped the tear that slipped out of his right eye.

"Thank you, Nami." He sincerely smiled at her and then reached forward to take it from her hand.

At any other time, the little Goblin would have hugged it and refused to hand it over without securing her Berries, but seeing those tears welling up in Sin's eyes, she could not be mean to him.

But she had her apprehensions. She vowed in her heart that if Sin was faking it all, she would make him pay ten times its price in the future.

To her relief, he did not laugh at her or call her a fool for falling for it. He just smiled as he held the Fruit in his hands, fondly looking at it.

It piqued her curiosity and she could not contain it.

"Is it special to you?"

"Yes." He nodded. "It belonged to someone I have lost."

"Your parent?" She innocently guessed but watched Sin shake his head.

"It was my Protector's Devil Fruit."

Robin gasped when she heard his words and then looked at the fruit again. Soon her eyes were misty too as she understood which Fruit it was and whom it belonged to.

"Protector?" Nami and Nojiko frowned.

"Yes." He nodded. "His name was Issac, and he was one of my two Protectors."

There was a distinct pain in his voice as he seemed to have recalled some dreadful event, and then he turned to walk towards and boulder and sat atop it, placing the Devil Fruit right next to him, looking into the lake.

His little sister joined him, sitting next to him as she hugged his arm and rested her head on his shoulder, trying to calm him down.

They did not speak and just sat there, recalling their memories of the amiable old man named Issac. And with Robin by his side, Sin soon got out of the depressing mood.

"Hancock." Nami curiously looked at the tall girl.

"Yes?"

"What's a Protector?"

"A Protector is someone who vows their life to protect the Royal Blood they are assigned to." Hancock smiled at them. "They are common in Royal Families."

Her words surprised the two sisters who looked at Sin in amazement.

"He's a prince?!" Nojiko blurted the question.

"I am. Well, technically, I am the Lord of my family now." Sin, who heard her question, brightly smiled at her. "I will tell you about it some other day." He stopped them from raising any more questions.

They were too young right now. It was not right for them to know the details. However, kids were kids.

"But you are a Prince?!" Nami ran up to him and curiously asked.

"I was. Now I am the Lord of my Family." He nudged her nose.

"A King?"

"My Kingdom is empty. It would not be right to call me a King." He smiled.

"Where's your Kingdom?" She asked.

"I will take you there once you are older." He grabbed her nose and shook it. "No more questions about it now." He sternly said.

"Okay!" She wiped her nose when he freed her and then looked at the Devil Fruit.

"Which Fruit is it?" Nami and Nojiko asked, and even Hancock was curious too since Sin had never gone into details about it.

It always pained him when he recalled the deaths of his Protectors, so she had never asked him anything that would make him sad.

"It's a very special and powerful Devil Fruit." Sin smiled. "An Ancient Zoan..." He teased and laughed when Nami became impatient.

"Come on! Tell us!"

"Ryu Ryu no Mi, Model: Wyvern." It was Robin who told them. "It can transform a person into a giant red and black Wyvern." She fondly spoke.

"What?!"

Even Hancock was amazed when she heard those words.

"Yes."

"A Dragon?!"

"Sort of, yes." Robin nodded again. "But Since Wyverns can not breathe fire, they are not true Dragons."

"Oh..." Nojiko was surprised at the information.

"But they are super strong and can fly?!" Nami excitedly asked.

"Yes. They can fly really fast." The younger Black smiled at her.

"Wow!" She happily called and jumped on her feet.

"Did Wyverns really exist?" Nojiko curiously asked.

"They did. And there could be a few still alive somewhere." Sin smiled at them.

"Have you ever seen one?" She expectantly asked.

"Yes. And I have ridden it too. So has Robin."

"Where?!" Nojiko excitedly asked, but frowned when Sin, Hancock, and Robin started laughing.

"Silly girl. Did I not tell you that this Fruit belonged to my Protector?" He patted her head and asked.

"But you said that there could still be some real Wyverns alive..." The bluenette embarrassedly said.

"There could be." He nodded. "Remember Little Garden? Maybe there's some prehistoric Island somewhere in the world where Wyverns still exist."

"But we could not be sure about it." She sighed.

Sin and Robin smiled at them.

They knew a land where Wyverns still existed. But it was better to keep it secret and let it be a surprise for them.

Since caught the two girls sneaking glances at the fruit, and so he wisely hid it inside his jacket. He did not want any accidents as kids were prone to making silly mistakes.

Robin then told them things she had read about Wyverns when she was young, and Nami and Nojiko excitedly listened to everything.

The five of them then walked towards the beach, having decided that they would not look for Hard-Hard Fruit anymore since it was time they set sail for Holiday Island.

But they all planned on coming back here someday.

Hancock locked hands with Sin, walking side by side with him, and the older Black reminisced about his time with his two Protectors.

He had avenged them, and now he had retrieved both their Devil Fruits.

One of them now belonged to someone whom he trusted with his life and who had pledged his life to him. And he planned on giving Issac's Fruit to someone who would prove himself worthy of wielding it and someone who would stay loyal to him.

Sin could not help but think that it was his Destiny that brought him to this place. And he was just grateful that it happened.

"Let's go!" He said after he cleared his mind and then disappeared with Hancock before returning and taking them all to the beach.

"Sin!" Bonney excitedly called out to him.

"Hey, everyone!" He glanced at them and smiled, pleased at the progress they had all made. "Good job!" He said and then hugged Bonney who had thrown herself in his arms.

"Are we leaving now?" Bepo seemed excited.

"Not right now." Sin shook his head. "I am starving, so let's hold a feast."

"Aye, Captain!" Everyone replied in unison and then got to work.