As Thor, Borsalino, Rocks, and his weary family finally began to settle in the safe harbor of the Kingdom of Elbaph, the King of Giants, Harald, looked a lot more confused than relieved when he laid eyes on his eldest son.
He saw Thor being so much older than he expected.
The physical appearance of Thor looked like he was already twenty-four years old in human years.
This maturity sees to it that he physically looks like seventy-two years old in Elbaph years.
This stood in stark contrast to his twin brother, Loki, who was currently at the body development of an eight-year-old child, which was the development stage that Thor was supposed to have at this point in time.
"How did this happen?" Harald asked Thor.
His expression was incredibly surprised as he looked up at the towering, mature form of his son.
Meanwhile, Loki looked at the returned figure of Thor and had a wide, genuine smile on his face.
He was no longer crying like he was doing earlier when he thought he had lost everything.
Loki had been mourning the death of Rocks, as the newspaper had mentioned that Rocks had died in God Valley, while Thor had been reported as missing in action since then. Seeing his brother alive brought a joy that wiped away his tears.
"I think it's the effect of my hammer, it allowed me to mature faster than ordinary giants, as it is also able to transform me into a human momentarily, and since I was mostly in my human form, I think it hastened my development." Thor made this excuse calmly. He said this despite already knowing the true reason behind his rapid growth.
He had been maturing physically at a faster age, which was due to his having the Essence of Sound Mind and Soul.
This power directly erased the mental and spiritual maladies and limitations of his body.
It made him age normally to reach his prime faster while not affecting his overall life span negatively.
After giving this explanation, Thor then turned back into his human, or smaller form, shrinking down to a more manageable size for conversation.
When Harald heard this explanation, he didn't even question it. He didn't find anything wrong with this explanation because there are still a lot of unknowns in this world regarding magical items.
Even Harald knew that there was another magical hammer in their lore that guides the legendary Devil Fruit of Elbaph, though he did not know that Thor's weapon actually had a Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit imbued into it.
"How about you Xebec? What are your plans for the future? Would you go back to pirating after you recover from your wounds, I bet you're itching to take revenge against the World Government, especially with what they did to your hometown," Harald said.
He addressed the former captain casually, as he had just earlier introduced his surviving family to Harald.
They had been given a private space by Queen Ida to rest and recover from their trauma, especially Eris and his young son, Teach.
"No, I plan on retiring, the world thought that I'm already dead, and now, with the World Government thinking that they already had killed the very last members of the Davy Clan, I think it's appropriate for me to let the future generations dictate the future," Rocks said towards Harald.
His voice was lighter than it had been in years, causing Harald, who was listening intently, to grin.
"I never thought that you would give up your dreams for someone. I never pegged you for someone who would do this kind of thing," Harald then said bluntly to his old friend.
This comment made Rocks laugh out loud, a boisterous sound that echoed in the hall, as what Harald said was completely true regarding his old personality.
"I didn't give up my dreams, It changed halfway, plus, who knows, maybe, in the future, my son would be the one to continue my legacy and do what I aspire to do," Rocks said towards Harald with a look of fondness as he thought of Teach.
Harald smiled at this sentiment as he drank from a massive wooden barrel that was in his hand.
He then turned his attention towards the stranger in the room, looking at Thor who also drank at the side of Rocks while talking quietly with Borsalino.
"Thor, may I ask who's this?" Harald then turned towards Thor, as he finally asked who Borsalino is. Borsalino hadn't introduced himself formally yet, and Thor also did not tell Harald who Borsalino was during the initial chaos of their arrival.
"This is my right-hand man, I'm going to become a captain of a pirate crew, and he is going to be my right-hand," Thor said towards Harald with pride.
This declaration made Harald even more emotional, seeing his son taking charge of his destiny.
Borsalino also joined in with the conversation with a polite nod, acknowledging the King.
"Harald, I'll rest with my family first. I want them to get settled here, as we will be living here for the upcoming years. Is that alright with you?" Rocks then interrupted Harald and Thor's conversation.
Rocks wanted to spend more time with his wife and son now that they were safe, prioritizing them over drinking and stories.
"You are welcome in this country, you can stay here as long as you like," Harald said to Rocks with absolute sincerity.
This warm welcome made Rocks realize that companionship between friends is a much more solid relationship than the one that he forced due to his strength and fear in his previous pirate life.
When Rocks left the counter to join his family, Thor's expression turned serious. The air in the room shifted as he turned towards Harald.
"Let's go to the palace, there's something that I want to show you, come with us, too, Loki, Hajrudin, and Borsalino," Thor turned towards Loki and Hajrudin. Hajrudin was currently talking with Borsalino, as they wanted to learn about the experiences they had in the sea, but they stopped immediately to follow Thor's word.
----------
The group, consisting of Thor, Borsalino, Harald, Loki, and Hajrudin, was now gathered inside one of the most spacious private chambers within the royal castle of Elbaph.
They stood before a large white sheet that had been set up as a makeshift screen, and currently, they were watching the projected perspective of the Visual Den-Den Mushi regarding exactly what had happened during the incident in the God Valley.
Long before the Rocks Pirates had even made a landfall on the shores of the God Valley, Thor had already prepared for this specific eventuality.
He had previously asked the genius scientist Vegapunk to secretly tap into the surveillance Den-Den Mushis that were stationed on the island and to start recording every single thing that was happening in the entire God Valley to serve as evidence.
To ensure the preservation of this damning evidence, Vegapunk created three distinct copies of the visual reel.
He made one copy to give specifically to Thor, kept one copy for himself for research purposes, and prepared the final one to give to Morgan.
Morgan was his trusted contact in the field of news and the underworld economy, as Morgan was the only one able to provide valuable information about certain rare materials that Vegapunk needed for his inventions, and in exchange for these materials, Vegapunk would provide noteworthy news scoops that would sell newspapers.
Now, Harald, Loki, and Hajrudin were watching the footage with wide eyes, witnessing the horrifying nature of the so-called Celestial Dragons.
The projector displayed the cruel reality as the nobles started massacring innocent civilians without a shred of remorse.
Harald's expression is incredibly inscrutable as he watches the carnage, and he realizes a terrifying truth within himself.
He realized that, if Thor had not intervened in his decision-making, there is wasgreat chance that Harald would be a part of this World Government organization.
He would have been allied with the very people who would massacre innocent civilians for their own amusement and sport.
"What kind of human would kill for the sake of pleasure?" Harald said towards Thor, his voice heavy with disgust and disbelief at the scene playing out before him.
While Loki and Harald continued to watch the projection, the scene shifted to show the arrival of a massive figure.
They saw a large, imposing silhouette of Thor on the screen, who had just transformed into his beast form, towering over the buildings and the fires of the God Valley.
Then suddenly, a massive blue wave of energy appeared on the screen and directly cut off the entire signal.
The projection flickered and died as the Den-Den Mushi stopped recording the events due to the intensity of the blast destroying the equipment.
But despite the cut-off events and the static that followed, the entire gist of what had happened was clear for those who had watched the recordings, leaving a heavy silence in the room.