One day, Thor and Borsalino were exploring the sea alone, something that the two of them decided to do because the atmosphere in Hachinosu had become a little too noisy for their liking.
Ever since Shakky opened her Ripoff Bar, the island had been flooded with visitors who kept coming in waves. The constant flow of people made the island feel more chaotic than usual, and even the crew began to find it hard to enjoy any quiet moment.
The situation was made worse by the Roger Pirates, who kept dropping by almost every other day. Roger himself seemed completely smitten with Shakky and insisted on visiting her bar again and again, which never failed to annoy Rocks.
Rocks could not understand why Roger kept entering his territory without permission, while Roger himself behaved like it was perfectly natural for him to show up whenever he wanted.
This created regular arguments and noise, which pushed Thor and Borsalino to take their small break out at sea.
As they floated quietly on a small boat, enjoying the rare moment of peace, Borsalino asked Thor a question while gently rocking back and forth with the waves.
"Where would we go?" Borsalino asked. His tone sounded relaxed, mostly because he was enjoying the silence, which was something he barely got back on the island.
Thor thought for a moment before answering.
"Do you want to go to my homeland? I have been meaning to visit, but Rocks does not want me leaving for too long. He thought he would have found the Galera Giants by now, but it seems he has finally lightened his search," Thor said. Borsalino considered it seriously.
Despite Thor appearing in his smaller form, both of them knew Thor's true form was now a hundred meter giant.
Thor had continued growing over time, and each time he checked his height, it was higher than the last.
He had started worrying that if enough time passed, he might one day reach a size close to Zunesha, which was a horrifying idea for him. The thought alone made him hope that his growth would eventually stabilize.
Before Borsalino could answer Thor's invitation, Thor suddenly felt something appear inside the range of his observation haki.
Borsalino sensed it shortly after, although not as sharply as Thor. Both of them could feel a presence that was faint, and it seemed like it was sinking deeper into the sea.
Thor immediately froze the entire portion of the ocean around them along with the area where the mysterious presence was sinking.
Borsalino transformed into light and moved toward the frozen section to investigate, leaving Thor waiting on the boat for his return.
Thor had no idea who or what fate decided to throw into their path this time, but he was prepared.
When Borsalino came back, he carried someone in his arms. As soon as Thor saw the figure, he froze for a different reason.
Even though the person looked younger, had darker and shorter hair, and a slightly less exaggerated head size compared to the adult version Thor remembered, there was no mistaking his identity.
"Vegapunk?" Thor thought in disbelief as he recognized the unconscious person now lying on the deck.
Thor immediately performed CPR, something he learned from Stussy during their study sessions.
Unfortunately, Thor failed to control his strength and ended up pushing too hard, which made Vegapunk spit out all the seawater he had swallowed in one violent burst.
Vegapunk gasped loudly for air and sat up immediately, coughing as he heaved his lungs clean. Both Thor and Borsalino felt relieved.
Thor wondered for a moment if his existence in the world had created some disastrous butterfly effect that might have caused Vegapunk to die this early.
But seeing Vegapunk sitting upright and recovering made Thor feel a sense of relief. At least this part of the world's future had not been destroyed by his presence.
After a few moments of breathing normally, Vegapunk stood up and immediately began scribbling in a notebook.
He seemed more interested in writing down observations rather than questioning where he was. He muttered to himself while moving the pen rapidly across the page.
"Hmmm, it seems that the jet propulsion still lacks the capacity to support the weight of a normal person. I will need to adjust the output force to counteract the weight while keeping the balance stable," Vegapunk murmured.
Thor listened clearly and then looked down at the younger scientist's boots. They resembled the jet boots Vegapunk would create in the future on Egghead, although these early versions were bulkier, clankier, and looked more experimental.
"Hmm, interesting," Thor said while studying the boots. His voice caught Vegapunk's attention, making the scientist finally look up at both Thor and Borsalino.
"Ah. Forgive my rudeness. My name is Vegapunk, and thank you for saving this scientist's life. You have done the world a great favor by allowing me to continue existing," Vegapunk said with complete confidence.
His tone made Borsalino slightly irritated, as he immediately felt that Vegapunk was arrogant.
Thor, however, looked at him with curiosity. Young Vegapunk's personality had never been fully explained in the story, but Thor could tell that what he was seeing aligned perfectly with how a genius might act.
"Hmmm. Based on what you said, and from the looks of it, your boots are releasing some propulsion that could allow someone to fly. Why not generate controlled thrust instead of simple propulsion? You could limit the force so it provides exactly the amount needed for stable movement," Thor said.
He remembered some of this from Stussy's books, and some from his memories of how the Ironman suit worked.
Vegapunk looked stunned for a moment before quickly replying.
"Even if that technology is possible, it would require a tremendous amount of power to generate that level of thrust. That would add unnecessary weight to the boots," he explained, snapping out of his surprise.
"Hmm. Why not use a property from a Devil Fruit? Electromagnetic pulses could counteract gravity," Thor suggested. This immediately brightened Vegapunk's eyes, although the brightness faded when he remembered something.
"I do not know anyone who possesses a Devil Fruit that could generate electromagnetic pulses. But the idea is extremely promising, and I will expand on it," Vegapunk said with a hint of disappointment.
Thor suddenly laughed.
"Why not come with me? One of the crewmates in the group I belong to has the Jiki Jiki no Mi. He can control metal. I am sure you could learn a lot from him just by watching him from a distance," Thor said.
The moment Vegapunk heard this, his eyes lit up again. He stood up with excitement and immediately agreed to Thor's invitation.
This became the second major thing Thor had changed in the world. If he could bring Vegapunk into the crew, the World Government would lose one of its strongest assets.
Even if Vegapunk refused to join, Thor would at least get the chance to learn from him and use the Eternal Essence to enhance his own knowledge and future inventions.
The three of them began sailing back toward Hachinosu. Thor unfroze the ocean, and they set off with Borsalino and the newly rescued Vegapunk.
On the way back, Thor and Borsalino decided that their trip to Elbaph could wait for another time, especially now that they had someone like Vegapunk onboard.
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A/N: THIS IS THE ORIGINAL WRITING FOR THE CHAPTER 31, I DID NOT NOTICE THAT WHEN I MADE CHATGPT CORRECT MY GRAMMAR, IT REMOVED EVERY DIALOGUES.