At The Peak of One Piece

Victor dodged the dragon's claw, flashing away from the battlefield. He glanced back at the tree – a single leaf drifted down. Simultaneously, a faint splash echoed in his ears, confirming an object hitting the water. Observation Haki. Awakened. Now was the time to solidify it, using the dragon as his whetstone.

He focused entirely on the beast. Enraged by Victor's evasion, the dragon became absolutely livid. Swipes with its claws, snaps of its fangs, bursts of fireballs, wing sweeps, and tail lashes – its attacks came in relentless combinations. Victor became a blur of motion, dodging and weaving, abandoning offense entirely for evasion.

His raw movement speed surpassed the dragon's; escaping the area entirely was always an option. However, the dragon's limb speed within its immediate vicinity was terrifyingly fast. With Observation Haki predicting the attacks just moments before they landed, allowing him to dodge preemptively, the dragon couldn't land a solid hit. His robust physique and slowly healing injuries helped him endure the strain.

After an hour, Victor finally grasped the fundamentals of basic Observation Haki. During the evasion, however, his Haki had flickered out a few times. He failed to dodge, resulting in a large section of his shirt incinerated and a stinging blow from the tail across his back.

Mastering the basics, Victor disengaged. He flashed into the cabin, grabbing all the remaining Zebra Donkey meat and hurling it towards the dragon. Worried the beast might enter the cabin after finishing, he even dumped the used frying oil outside. Only when the meaty scent vanished from the cabin did he stop. He then left immediately to find food. The dragon had eaten everything; he was starving, injured, and needed sustenance to replenish energy and accelerate healing.

He hunted down a powerful but less palatable beast in the outer forest and roasted it there, confident the dragon wouldn't bother with its inferior meat. Sated, he sat on the ground, contemplating his newfound Observation Haki.

Hours of reflection revealed its essence: Waves. Everything in the world emitted waves. Observation Haki's core was using powerful will to control one's own internal waves, allowing them to interact with the waves emanating from everything else.

The scope of "everything" depended on the strength of one's Observation Haki. Take sensing presence: Rayleigh, teaching Monkey D. Luffy, instantly knew how many beasts on the island were beyond Luffy's ability to handle. This was Rayleigh projecting his own waves to envelop the entire island, touching the waves emitted by every object, creating a detailed, three-dimensional map within his mind.

Someone with weaker Observation control, unfamiliar with a creature's specific form, might only perceive it as a vague "aura" or light on that mental map. Their waves interacting with the creature's wouldn't convey precise size or shape – that was the principle behind presence sensing.

Predicting attacks was a different application. Here, one's will-directed waves perceived the opponent's brain waves. Most physical actions stemmed from brain commands; a command produced a brain wave. When one's Observation waves detected these opponent brain waves, the mind instantly processed the information, translating it into dynamic imagery – the imminent attack. (Canon evidence exists: Luffy fighting Enel on Skypiea avoided Enel's Mantra/Observation prediction by relying only on instinct, emptying his conscious mind. Enel couldn't hit him because there were no conscious brain commands to predict. Conversely, Luffy couldn't hit Enel initially because Enel predicted the punches. Luffy only succeeded when he stopped consciously aiming, instead wildly punching the golden wall behind Enel, letting the chaotic rebounds strike randomly – no conscious brain command meant nothing for Enel's Haki to predict.)

Understanding this essence left Victor momentarily stunned. Another abstract concept – Will. He nearly wanted to curse. First, mastering the deeper realms of swordsmanship demanded unwavering belief. Now, mastering the deeper realms of physical combat required powerful will. Was eating a Devil Fruit next, demanding some other mystical nonsense? Victor felt mentally drained. He suspected Armament Haki and Conqueror's Haki also fundamentally relied on will, albeit applied differently. That, too, would require future learning to grasp.

With that thought, Victor decided to let it go for now. He could deal with it if they crossed paths again. Right now, he needed to head back, tend to his injuries, and make sure his cabin hadn't been flattened by that oversized lizard. 

Returning to his territory, he was relieved to find the cabin intact—the dragon hadn't bothered destroying it. After repairing the bone wall he'd crashed through and filling in the crater, he collapsed inside and slept like a log, letting his body heal. 

For the next two days, he only ventured out to hunt for food, spending the rest of his time honing his newly awakened Observation Haki. Now that he understood its essence, improving it was just a matter of practice. He was confident he'd progress quickly. 

Once healed, Victor wasn't in a hurry to leave. Though he'd achieved his initial goals, a new one had taken their place—the mysterious fruit. He wanted to see if he could snatch one for himself. 

While waiting for the next full moon, he replaced sleep with meditation at night and spent his days battling the western dragon, refining his swordsmanship and sharpening his Observation Haki. He didn't limit himself to just the dragon, either—he sought out other beasts: 

- Tank-types to test his blade's edge. 

- Speedsters to push his Haki further. 

- Flying predators to drill his Moon Walk (Geppo). 

His strength grew steadily. The door had been kicked open—now, it was just a matter of walking the path. There were no bottlenecks left before the next breakthrough. 

The western dragon, however, was fed up. 

"Was eating two damn donkeys really worth this?!" it probably thought, if dragons could reason. Every. Single. Day. This human showed up, swinging his sword like some kind of obsessive ex. At this point, even a monthly menstrual cycle would've been less relentless. If the island had a court, it would've filed for a restraining order. 

Ignoring the dragon's increasingly murderous glare, Victor began to suspect his luck had run dry after mastering Steel-Cutting and Haki. On the night of the next full moon, a violent storm raged—no moon in sight, no giant tree. This only confirmed his theory: The tree's appearance was tied to the full moon. 

Waiting another month wasn't an option. The fruit wasn't going anywhere—he'd even made a Log Pose marking the island. Besides, his natural physique was already on par with whatever boost the fruit might give. It wasn't a must-have. He could always return stronger, better equipped to fight for it. Right now, his priority was getting back to drain Koshiro's knowledge dry—and maybe pick up some swordmithing skills too. 

So, for the next few days, he kept training and fighting—but now, he hunted selectively. The most spirit-rich and delicious meats were carefully prepared and packed. Rebecca and Kuina would love these. 

A week later, Victor was finally ready to leave. Using a massive, tanned beast hide, he crafted an oversized backpack, stuffed it with his preserved meats, and erased all traces of his stay. 

- Bones? Tossed into the sea as fish food. 

- Cabin? Doused in beast oil and set adrift, burning atop the waves. 

- Cliffside marks? Nature would reclaim them soon enough. 

Satisfied, Victor activated Geppo and soared away from the island—its mysteries left behind, for now.