"That's it?" Sin grinned when he saw that Kuina was on the verge of falling from the sky.
Geppo was fun and all, a very useful technique, but it was far from true flight.
You had to constantly kick the air to keep yourself afloat, and travelling using it over longer distances was exhausting.
Only someone truly physically superhuman could maintain it for long, and Kuina was not yet ready to cover such a long distance.
He had been easy on her when he took her to the Warlord Summit, having dropped Bonney at the Sabaody Island to chat with Rayleigh and Shakky, but on their way back, he made her train in Geppo, forcing her to travel from Island to Island using this technique.
She, however, not once complained, and even now, despite her exhaustion, she was forcing herself to move.
"Wow.... what's that?" Rebecca, who was in Sin's arms, stared with wide eyes as she finally spotted the tall ice tower, and the sight of the island did give the Swordsgirl hope.
Minutes later, as soon as they arrived on top of the Island, she dropped down, and Sin first put Bonney and Rebecca down next to Augur and Vigaro and then caught his Swordsgirl, who was fast unconscious.
"Where does this go?" He asked his Protectors, and soon Augur informed him about how the rest of the crew had gone to the world under the seabed a couple of days ago.
Bonney, as soon as she heard that there was a world under the seabed, grabbed Rebecca and jumped down into the abyss, and Sin sighed at her behaviour.
"Go." He ordered both Augur and Vigaro and instead of jumping down, his Sniper chose to run down into the cylindrical passage.
The Wyvern, on the other hand, sprouted his wings, small enough to fit in, and dived right down.
Sin smiled when he heard Bonney and Rebecca's cries of excitement, and as much as he wanted to go down as well, he slowly closed the gate, hid it with the frozen blocks of land, and then few over to the ship and put Kuina in her bed.
A while later, he returned to the room, carrying a large bowl of clean water, and another with soapy water.
He carefully undressed her, and then patiently cleaned up her body of all the sweat and grime.
Afterwards, he changed her bedding, put her back in her bed, and covered her naked body in soft silk sheets.
For the rest of the day, he seabed around the island, looked at the map that Nami had drawn, verified a few things, and also read his sister's letter that she had left him in his chamber.
In the evening, he prepared the fish he had caught and marinated in the morning, and Kuina dressed up and joined him at the ice bench.
"Where's everyone?" She curiously asked.
"They have gone to the underworld."
"What?" She strangely looked at him.
"Apparently, there's a land under the seabed. Everyone is there to explore it."
Her eyes widened in shock, and as excited as she was to join them, she stayed seated and calmly ate her meal.
An hour later, in the middle of the night, they arrived at the Gate that was hidden under the frozen backs of land.
Kuina became a little nervous when she stared at the dark abyss, unable to see even a few metres into it, and she subconsciously gripped her sword.
"You will be fine. Just jump. And don't use Geppo."
She nodded her head, trusting his words, and jumped into the abyss.
Sin grinned and then jumped in as well, closing the Gate behind him and locking it from the inside.
When he landed inside the Eternal Ice Hall, he found Gad and Bart waiting there for him, and Kuina was lying on the Landing Pad, grinning ear to ear.
"Captain!" The two men bowed to him, and he smiled their way.
"Nice weapons." He commented, staring at the large Battle Hammer, a Maul, that Bart was wearing on his back, and the large Glaive that Gad was holding in his hand.
The two showed him their weapons, and he could tell that they were very precious and perfect.
"The Dwarves are truly gifted in the art of Craftsmanship. They created these weapons in a day."
"Dwarves?" Kuina surprisedly looked at the Fishman.
"The people of this city are of the Dwarven race. They are very proud, moody, and yet very kind," Bart informed them and smiled as Sin handed him back his Maul.
"Robin's orders?"
"Yes, Captain. We have been ordered to guard the ship, and she has asked you to bring lots of Gold Coins."
"The Dwarves are greedy for gold coins," added Gad and grinned.
"I see." He rushed up, opened the Gate again, and then went to the Ship to grab several pouches of Gold Coins.
He returned a few minutes later and then helped Gad and Bart get back to Split Island, a name he had just given it.
"Cover the Gate, and only open it in the morning for a few hours. Focus on your training and keep an eye on the ship."
"Aye, Captain!"
Sin rushed back in, closing the Gate behind him, and smiled when he saw Kuina still waiting there.
"Let's go."
As soon as they walked out of the large crystalline door, the Shimotsuki stopped and stared at the enchanting Emerald Palace.
"Welcome to the Emerald City." Sin smiled as she stared out of the window in the Hallway and looked at one of the most enchanting sights ever.
No one was inside the Palace.
All of his crew was in the city, exploring it.
Nami and Vivi were showing Bonney and Rebecca around, and Nojiko and Pascia were with Robin, who was talking with some Dwarves about a pair of pistols she wanted them to make for her.
"Do you want to come with me?" He asked, and as soon as Kuina nodded her head, he grabbed her and rushed to his sister's side.
His sudden arrival alarmed the old dwarves, and he curiously looked at them, having never come across people from this race before.
"How old are you?" He curiously asked the old man who had the longest white beard, and Dwarf's eyes went wide at his question.
"411 years, My Lord."
He was genuinely surprised at those words and curiously looked at the rest.
Sin raised his brow when all of them knelt to him, and when Robin started giggling, he became a little confused.
"God Sin..."
He heard someone take his name, and when he turned around, he found an old Dwarf Lady, carrying a crystal ball in her hand.
"And who are you?"
"I am Gavona, the Moonsear of the SkyHammer Tribe," she too knelt to him as she answered his question.
"I see." He ignored the woman and glanced at the old men again.
He slowly pulled Wado Ichimonji out of the scabbard on Kuina's waist and beckoned them to come closer.
"Tell me if this sword is perfect or not." He lightly smiled.
All of them quickly gathered around and carefully inspected the blade, and sensing their emotions, he smiled.
"It's a good sword." An Old Man, honestly, but begrudgingly admitted.
"Could you have made a better one?"
The old man embarrassedly lowered his head and shook it.
"Not with this metal, God Sin. It's the finest one that could be created out of this material."
"Could you have made it just as good?"
There was still a little hesitation, but then the man confidently nodded his head.
"Really?"
"Yes!"
"I want you to create two Tanto and two Wakizashi in the image of this sword, and this sword..." he carefully pulled out Enma from the scabbard, and the Dwarfs all nervously stepped away, sending beast-like aura enacting from this blade.
After they calmed down, they closed in and curiously inspected Enma without touching it.
One of them even pulled out a Notepad and started making species of the two swords from every angle, and even noted down their dimensions.
"Do you know what Wakazashi and Tanto are?" He gently asked, and they all nodded their heads like children. "Can you make them just as good?"
"Yes." The old man from earlier nodded his head again.
"What's your name?"
"Ironnord, My Lord."
"How long will it take, Ironnord?"
"Two days. I already have the metal that I can create them with."
"Good," he nodded and returned Enma to its scabbard when they finished inspecting it.
Kuina did not understand the language, but she knew he was asking them to create Wakizashi and Tanto to complete the set for Wado Ichimonji and Enma.
She smiled when he returned her sword to its scabbard.
"Why do you need a Wakizashi and a Tanto?" She curiously asked him, and he smiled.
"Enma does not belong to me, Girl. It's Hiyori's sword that I am keeping for now. I want to gift her a Wakizashi and a Tanto to go with it. And also to you." He tapped her head, making her wince a little, but she did not refuse it.
She felt very warm in her heart, and nodded her head, accepting his goodwill.
The Dwarves all quickly got to work.
"They did not ask you for money." Robin curiously said, and he raised his brow at her.
"They charged me five gold coins to make the pair of pistols I ordered."
"Are the firearms they make good?"
"The finest I have ever seen." She nodded her head. "Augur is already busy with the finest riflesmith. He wants his Senriku recreated, and also ordered a new rifle, whom he has named Ryusei."
"Seriously?" He surprisedly looked at her, knowing well that Augur deeply loved his Sniper.
"They are that good."
"Wow."
"Also, you will have to help speak for Lily. Dwarves and Giants don't seem to be on good terms, and they are not willing to take her order for a Trident she wants them to make..."
She had not even finished speaking when the Giantess in question rushed in and jumped up to sit on Sin's shoulder.
"Help me!" She nearly pleaded, and he sighed at her words.
When he nodded to her, she guided him to the best Tridentsmith in the City, and much to her dismay, the old Dwarf quickly agreed to make the best Trident of his life for Lily, who wanted it to be exactly 333 centimetres long.
Since she could use her Size Size Fruit to change it into any size without compromising the quality, she wanted it to naturally remain in a size which should hold in her hand in both the giant form and the human form of hers, which she preferred just as tall as him and Yamato at 2.36 metres.
"Wow. He acted like he had never refused me."
"Well, I am God, after all. You don't refuse the order of a God."
"Hmph!" She pouted, and he chuckled when she did not refute his words.