Thor sailed across the waters of the North Blue with Kaido and Newgate, since the three of them decided to leave Hachinosu for a short while. They had grown bored of staying on the island, and Newgate insisted on searching for rare drink delicacies that were said to only be found in the North Blue. Kaido did not have any plans of his own, so the moment he learned that Thor and Newgate were leaving together, he simply joined them without asking questions.
"Do you not get sick from drinking the amount of alcohol you consume every single day? It will affect your strength sooner or later," Thor commented. Both Newgate and Kaido were fans of binge drinking, capable of emptying an entire barrel in moments without even appearing tipsy.
"Nothing can make me sick. I am Edward Newgate. No one is capable of defeating me," Newgate declared with pride. To emphasize his point, he punched the air and unintentionally created a massive tsunami that rose behind them. The wave could easily capsize their small boat, but before Newgate tried to fix his mistake, Thor raised his hand.
"No. Leave it. Let us see where this takes us. We might be fated to find something interesting," Thor said. Newgate raised his eyebrows while Kaido burst into laughter. All three of them sat casually on their small boat, showing no concern even though the approaching wave was large enough to destroy the vessel several times over.
The wave crashed down and swallowed the boat, sending it shooting across the sea in a completely random direction. The three of them began yelling in excitement, enjoying the ride like reckless teenagers rather than pirates with immense bounties. Thor glanced at Kaido and thought about how different he was from the Kaido that would exist far in the future. The cheerful attitude he had now would eventually disappear after the fall of Rocks, shaping him into a completely different creature.
After some time, the ship started breaking apart because the impact from the wave pushed the wood beyond its limits. Even if the boat had been built with Adam Wood, Newgate would still need to hold back greatly because of how overwhelming his Devil Fruit was.
"Your Devil Fruit is both admirable and annoying. If you were not so soft, you could destroy the entire world without any effort," Thor commented. He froze the surface of the ocean beneath them to prevent them from falling into it. The ship continued cracking until it eventually tore itself apart completely. The three pirates leapt onto the ice platform Thor created, landing without worry.
"If you follow my philosophy, you will grow stronger than everyone else on the sea," Kaido added while looking at Newgate. Newgate rolled his eyes and showed mild disdain, although he did not bother arguing.
"I do not want to rule the world. I only want to build a family of my own. That is everything I want," Newgate said. Thor continued generating ice beneath them, forming a long path similar to what Aokiji would one day do when riding a bicycle across the ocean.
The three walked while speaking about their own goals and what they planned to do after the disbandment of the Rocks Pirates. Newgate had already made his intentions clear, and Kaido had his own ideas, while Thor only shared the beginning pieces of his plans.
"I want to make Elbaf great again," Thor stated, sounding similar to a certain president who once used a similar idea. Both Kaido and Newgate looked confused because Elbaf's reputation had not diminished over the years. It was still regarded as the strongest country outside of the World Government.
"What does that even mean?" Kaido asked. He always believed Elbaf was already great due to the strength of its warriors.
"I want to expand our territory and ensure that we have many islands under our protection so we do not experience disasters like the ones from our past. I also want the name of the giants to be recognized not only for strength, but also for honor and generosity," Thor explained. Still, he had not mentioned everything. Deep inside, he wanted to create a method for giants to mature more quickly without losing lifespan or strength. He knew he would need to study alongside Vegapunk to achieve that.
"That sounds boring. Becoming stronger than everyone else is the clearest path. Ruling over a country and many others is the most amusing thing, and throwing the world into chaos is even more fun. Strength should be the only thing recognized," Kaido argued, mocking Thor's vision of Elbaf. Thor did not mind the mockery and kept walking.
Hours passed as they crossed the ice. They took breaks occasionally, stopping to fight off Sea Kings that tried to attack them. Each encounter gave them enough meat to eat, which allowed them to keep moving until they finally saw land ahead of them. The island was large and lively, with visible signs of civilization.
"Finally, we can eat food that is not just roasted," Thor said. He sensed many presences scattered throughout the island. Newgate and Kaido nodded with the same enthusiasm because they had been craving properly cooked meals for a long time.
Before they could step forward, all three of them sensed another presence nearby. They turned and saw a tall and lanky figure sleeping on a chair at the edge of the shore. A fishing rod rested beside him. A moment later the fishing rod twitched, and the sleeping man woke up slowly before pulling the line with surprising ease.
He caught a fish and placed it beside him. Then he turned and noticed the three large figures staring at him. He greeted them in an awkward and extremely lazy manner.
"Helloooooo," the figure said.
Thor stared at him and felt a familiarity in the man's presence. When the man spoke, Thor's suspicion grew stronger. The tone, the posture, and even the sleepy attitude all matched someone Thor had heard about in rumors.
His initial guess was now confirmed. He knew exactly who the figure in front of them was.