When Vic and Rebecca returned home, the meal wasn't ready yet, so Vic took two large chunks of zebra meat from his bag and made three dishes at home. He wanted them all to taste the delicacy. Rebecca was outside butchering the giant elephant, setting aside what they should keep and what they should give away.
By the time Tuya finished preparing the meal, Vic was done too. He called Rebecca over to help carry the dishes, and the four sat around the table, ready to eat.
"Go on, try these dishes I made. This is the best meat I've ever eaten. I brought it back especially for you to try, so hurry up and have a taste." Vic smiled as he urged them to eat.
"All right, all right. Let me see if it's as good as you say." Smiling at the pleased look on Vic's face, the old woman picked up a piece of stewed meat. Her teeth weren't very good anymore, so the stew was just right for her. She put the meat in her mouth and chewed a few times. It was tender and juicy, filling her mouth with flavor. She could hardly bear to swallow it and continued savoring it, her face full of enjoyment.
Seeing the old woman's expression, Rebecca and Tuya knew the meat had to be good. They hurried to put some in their mouths, and both looked full of praise after eating it.
"I've never tasted anything so delicious. I feel so happy!" Tuya cupped her cheeks in both hands, her face blissful.
"Vic, where did you hunt this meat? Take me there to hunt some." Rebecca wanted to eat her fill.
"Forget it. You still can't beat them, so going there would be a waste of time. Hurry up and get stronger, little girl. Ha ha." Vic was trying to provoke Rebecca.
"Grandma should eat more of this meat. It's good for her health. I'll leave some behind, and you two can cook it for her," Vic said to Rebecca and Tuya.
"Vic, are you leaving again?" The old woman, who had been smiling kindly just moments before, looked a little downcast at his words. Rebecca also looked at Vic, her face full of disappointment.
"Yes, Grandma. I haven't finished learning my skills yet. I only stopped by because I was passing through this time. I'll have to leave again after a few days," Vic said solemnly, his smile fading.
"But it'll be all right. Captain Buck travels this route regularly, so if anything happens, just ask him to send me a message. I'll hurry back as soon as I can," Vic added.
"All right, let's not talk about that. It's important for Vic to learn his skills. Everyone, hurry and enjoy this delicious food," the old woman said with a smile, though it was somewhat forced.
After that, no one said much. They chatted occasionally, mostly with the old woman asking Vic how life was treating him away from home and the like.
After lunch, Vic had the old woman go to bed and rest, then took Rebecca into the forest. He explained his understanding of swordsmanship and Observation Haki to her in detail, covering things like Cutting Steel through belief and controlling Haki with one's will. How much she understood would depend on her aptitude. He also told her about the Six Powers, but advised her not to practice them yet; there would be plenty of opportunities later.
Master Ba came that evening. Vic prepared a large spread and bought several bottles of good liquor to share with the old man. During the meal, the old man urged him to join the navy. Vic replied that it was still too early and that he had more to learn, but he would join afterward. The old man was delighted and had a few more drinks. In the end, Vic had to take him home. After returning, Vic wrote down the cultivation methods he had described to Rebecca that day, mainly because he was afraid she would forget them and, with him away, her training would be delayed.
Three days passed quickly. Vic had spent those days training with Rebecca, which was also his main reason for returning: to show her the path ahead.
During their fights, Vic kept feeding Rebecca moves and guiding her forward. It had some effect, at least: she used far fewer flashy moves.
Vic gave Rebecca the booklet containing his training notes and told her to cook the meat he had left for the old woman a little at a time. The meat was good for her health.
Mayor Andre visited once during that time. He was shocked to hear that Vic could run across the sea and fly through the sky. When he learned Vic was leaving again so soon, he left somewhat disappointed.
The three days passed quickly. Vic shouldered his bag, now less than half its former size, and left the island without fanfare. Only the grandmother and granddaughter and Master Ba saw him off.
During his time at sea, Vic focused mainly on training, but he discovered that using Observation Haki frequently could slowly improve it.
Vic could sense this thanks to his powerful physical talent. Because his body's talent was so great, each increase in his Haki was enough for his body to detect. For ordinary people, the increase was too small for their bodies to perceive.
Although Vic could sense his Haki improving, that was only relative, and the extent of the improvement was still limited. It wasn't as though he could become invincible in a few days. His improvement was much greater than an ordinary person's, but it still required a long period of accumulation. His perception was also stronger, and it was the combination of the two that allowed him to sense his Haki growing.
So while at sea, Vic frequently kept his Observation Haki active until it ran out, then waited for it to recover before repeating the cycle.
Vic found that whenever he exhausted his Haki, it would grow a tiny bit after recovering. He didn't know whether this was due to his own unique physical talent or whether it happened to everyone.
After many attempts, Vic discovered that eating meat with a high Primal Spirit content immediately after exhausting his Observation Haki made his Haki recover faster.
So Vic had two conjectures. When Observation Haki was used, the waves released by the user absorbed Primal Spirit drifting freely through space, making the waves stronger. This was also why frequent use improved Observation Haki. When Observation Haki was exhausted, eating food rich in Primal Spirit replenished it, allowing the waves within the body to absorb it and recover and grow stronger more quickly.
Thus, the fundamental nature of this world's energy was still related to Primal Spirit. After reaching that conclusion, Vic worked backward to deduce how to strengthen Armament Haki and Conqueror's Haki. He hadn't awakened either at this stage, so knowing that was of no use yet, but he now understood the importance of Primal Spirit.
Vic guessed that because Issho was blind, he always kept his Observation Haki active. As a result, its range had grown so great that he could even sense meteors in outer space. Once he knew which direction a meteor was in, he could simply use Gravito in that direction, and wouldn't the meteor obediently come down and join the battle?
Another guess: before Katakuri ate his Devil Fruit, he had no way to create such a secret room to lie down and eat doughnuts in. So even while doing that, he had to keep his Observation Haki active, making it stronger than that of people who had awakened their Haki around the same time.
After eating his Devil Fruit, he could hide away to eat doughnuts, but with such a temperamental mother, he still had to keep his Observation Haki active at all times, afraid that his own mother might kill one of his younger siblings the next instant. In such an environment, Katakuri unknowingly awakened another advanced application of Observation Haki-Future Sight. Wasn't that possible?
"So a lot of people in this world don't know this fundamental truth about rapidly improving Observation Haki. Only a few have stumbled into this field by accident. Ha ha, I've struck it rich." Vic was secretly delighted.
And so this training fanatic added another task to his journey: keeping his Observation Haki active at all times until it was exhausted. Whenever he sensed a small Sea King beneath the surface, he would kill it and eat its meat. The small Sea Kings of the East Blue suffered for it. Quite a few died, contributing the Primal Spirit in their bodies to Vic's growing strength.
"Ah, with fewer Sea Kings like these, many ships and fishermen will suffer fewer losses, and many lives can be saved too. I'm so kind, ha ha ha." Vic wasn't wrong. Many ships that would have been capsized and people who would have been eaten in the future would have to thank him.
"Vic, is that polite?" If Sea Kings could speak, they would surely have asked him that.