As the Rocks Pirates settled into their new territory, the crew gradually adjusted to life on Hachinosu. Newgate, Kaido, and Thor grew close during this period, forming a strange but solid bond.
Kaido viewed Newgate as an older brother figure, something that Thor also felt, although in his own more restrained way. Kaido and Thor respected each other as well, since Kaido valued raw strength while Thor placed importance on the spirit of a warrior.
Kaido's biggest flaw was his tendency to be overly aggressive, along with his unchanging belief that strength was the only thing that mattered, but those issues were problems for the future and not something anyone bothered dealing with yet.
At the moment, the three of them were drinking together while talking about a few things that concerned Thor. Over the past days, Thor had noticed something unusual about his body.
He was aging faster than the other giants he knew, and his face was slowly starting to resemble his adolescent appearance despite the fact that he was technically around eighteen years old, or roughly six in human terms.
The amount of time he had spent on Hachinosu was not long, barely more than two weeks, yet he had grown at an alarming rate. Thor estimated he had grown almost a full meter every day without showing any signs of stopping.
Newgate leaned back while pouring himself another drink and stared at Thor with a mixture of concern and amazement. "Are you sure nothing is wrong with you? You are growing at a ridiculous pace. You are already catching up to Harald, and that man is a mountain," Newgate said, trying to understand how Thor had gone from thirty meters to forty-four meters in such a short time, especially when the average giant hovered on 12 meters only.
Thor shrugged. "I do not get it either. Maybe giants have something similar to humans, where they suddenly hit a growth phase during certain ages. Or maybe my body is adapting because I keep fighting nonstop. It might be forcing itself to mature faster. Look at Kaido. He is younger than I am, but he looks like he is already fifty years old," Thor said, taking a playful jab at Kaido, who was quietly drinking beside them.
Kaido scowled."I do not look like that. You are the strange one here," Kaido replied, although his irritation only made Newgate and Thor laugh harder.
Linlin happened to overhear them and made her way into their conversation. She wore a smile that looked innocent if someone did not know her well, though all three of them knew her intentions far too clearly.
"Thor, Kaido, one day both of you will give in and give me what I want. Maybe not now, but eventually. You too, Newgate. We should have a child one day. Your blood with mine would create a powerful baby," Linlin said, interrupting the peaceful drinking session.
Thor rolled his eyes."You can keep dreaming. Newgate does not want a child with a woman like you," Thor said, and Newgate burst into laughter while Kaido raised an eyebrow, seemingly intrigued by her words.
Thor noticed the look immediately. "Do not let her trick you, Kaido. She will suck you dry. Torararararara," Thor said, catching Kaido eyeing Linlin with mild interest. Linlin smiled back at Kaido in a way that made Thor sigh in disappointment.
"As if she can handle me," Kaido replied with a grin, and the tension dissolved again as they continued drinking.
Soon, more of the crew joined them, eager to share Newgate's alcohol collection. Newgate began shouting at the others for drinking too much of his supply, but no one listened.
---------------------------
One day, the crew was enjoying a relatively calm afternoon. Thor had shifted into his smaller form, which was around two meters tall, and stayed inside the fish-shaped structure in the center of Hachinosu since he disliked being outside whenever the sun was too bright. It was one of the rare peaceful moments within the crew.
Rocks eventually arrived along with Captain John, Shiki, Ochoku, and Ganzui. They were in the middle of discussing something, but Rocks suddenly stopped speaking and looked around the interior of the structure. The lighting was dim and the shadows made the room look closed off compared to normal windows.
Without hesitation, Rocks walked toward one of the walls, drew his sword, and destroyed a section of it. He did so with careful control, carving out a neat circular opening. Light poured into the room, revealing the ocean scenery outside.
"Vohahahaha. Look at that view. Blasting a few holes was clearly the right choice," Rocks said, laughing loudly as the others gathered behind him.
Linlin, Streusen, and Stussy arrived shortly after, followed by Newgate, Kaido, and Thor who were curious about the noise.
Rocks resumed his earlier conversation. "As I was saying, there are two devil fruits I am after. One of them is most likely on Elbaf. Have you ever seen it, Thor?" Rocks asked, since Thor was the only one from Elbaf.
Thor shook his head. "No. I did not live in the castle, but I heard it is kept in the treasure vault. The previous kings protected it to make sure fate would eventually guide it to the right person," Thor answered.
Kaido perked up, annoyed but curious. "So you are saying a powerful devil fruit is just sitting under your castle and anyone can take it?" Kaido asked, obviously feeling envious that both Newgate and Thor possessed strong devil fruits.
Rocks laughed. "Devil fruits have their own wills. Especially the strong ones. Not everyone can eat them. If the wrong person does, the fruit may never awaken," Rocks said.
Thor raised a question that he had been wondering about. "Is that why you never tried taking it from father?" Thor asked, curious about why Rocks had never attempted to steal the fruit even though he knew it existed.
Rocks nodded. "Yes. Its true power only appears if the king of Elbaf eats it. That clearly excludes you now. Perhaps Harald will decide to eat it one day," Rocks replied.
Captain John stepped forward."We also need those Galera folks, right? I have heard the legends, but nothing solid," he said.
Linlin answered first."I am using every contact I have to find any trace of them, but there is nothing about a frozen army of giants," Linlin said with frustration.
Rocks turned toward Thor again. "Do you know where they might be?" Rocks asked.
Thor thought for a moment. "The only thing I know is that there was an army of giants, including ancient giants, who sailed the seas long ago. They encountered an enemy they could not defeat. Maybe someone with the Ice Ice Fruit or something similar. Ice is a major weakness for giants. Even the legendary Oars died from extreme cold," Thor explained, not caring that he was revealing such weaknesses since his own devil fruits allowed him to ignore temperature issues, which could also make him defrost them.
Newgate added his piece. "There is no telling if they are still alive. What use is a bunch of frozen corpses?" Newgate said.
Thor shrugged. "If they are perfectly preserved, they could be revived. They might still be in stasis. The only problem is finding them," Thor said, which made Rocks grin widely.
"See. There is always a possibility. That is what makes it a dream worth chasing," Rocks said as they continued talking.
Suddenly, Shiki looked toward the entrance with a large smirk. "There is a familiar presence heading this way," Shiki said, floating slightly above the ground as the others turned to look.
A moment later, a figure appeared at the door. He carried a large axe on his back and wore a serious expression. The moment he stepped inside, many of the crew recognized him instantly.
"I heard this is the Rocks Pirates' base. I am here to join," the man said plainly.
Shiki yelled immediately. "Kyo kun, I missed you," Shiki said, dropping the rubble he had kept floating earlier. Kyo swung his axe casually, destroying the debris without effort.
"I knew you were here, Shiki," Kyo said as he lowered his silver axe.
Rocks stepped forward with a wide grin. "Welcome to the Rocks Pirates. We value strength here, and you clearly have it," Rocks said, opening his arms in welcome.
Rocks then raised his voice so the entire crew could hear. "Everyone, drinks are on me. Welcome, our newest member," Rocks shouted. The entire building erupted with cheers as the crew grew rowdy again, and even Thor joined in.