Time passed quickly aboard the ship of the Wicked Wench.
They traveled together along the various islands of the North Blue Sea for about a year, and in that time, their notoriety continued to build.
Their reputation grew as they would often clash against marines, other pirate crews, as well as determined bounty hunters, seldom leaving anyone unharmed in their wake.
This was especially true when Laffitte moved, as he was as ruthless as he could possibly be against those enemies that would try to attack Jack.
The captain, for his part, rarely had to intervene personally, as his crew could often fight and win entirely by themselves, a fact that only bolstered their fearsome image.
Cricket, the one who had joined the crew the latest, was taught by Club and Issho how to fight effectively.
Issho, in particular, took on the task of teaching Cricket how to awaken his Observation Haki, a skill for which Cricket surprisingly possessed an immense and natural talent.
His senses seemed to sharpen almost daily under the blind swordsman's tutelage. Cricket also grew much stronger the more he was exposed to the brutal reality of fighting against others.
He was truly beginning to enjoy his time on the Wicked Wench, and the rest of the crew, appreciating his rapid growth and earnestness, had come to get along well with Cricket.
While the crew was getting along great, Jack, who was also perpetually busy, was beginning to take a significant step further with his own Devil Fruit ability. Jack then started to exist in a constant state of rage.
In this, Jack was able to replicate what Bruce Banner did to control the Hulk: he was always angry, but it was also always under his conscious control.
This breakthrough happened due to him achieving a deeper connection with his Essence, the one aspect of his power that had not made any significant progress in the years that had passed.
As he became stronger, Jack's bloodlust also started to grow, intensifying to such a degree that Jack had no doubt that if he were to release the full capacity of his bloodlust, especially when combined with his Conqueror's Haki, he could likely kill a weak willed person just from its sheer, overwhelming intensity.
Jack was also starting to feel his devil fruit more and more clearly. It was much like a zanpakuto that has its spirit residing underneath, one which needed its user to become strong enough to be able to hear its true voice.
In the same way, Jack was slowly becoming more able to connect with the will of his own Devil Fruit.
Jack did not have any doubts that this was not something normally required to awaken a Devil Fruit, but he also had no doubt that the fruit's will was merging and assimilating with Jack's entire personality.
It was slowly beginning to change him, molding him so that he might become the perfect vessel and receiver of his own Devil Fruit's abilities.
The more Jack practiced this, the more abilities he could access without being in his beast or even his hybrid form.
At first, the shockwaves that he could generate from his body started to get stronger. These concussive blasts slowly began to form into small, localized tremors, similar in nature to the destructive ability of the Gura Gura no mi.
Then, Jack was also beginning to feel that his lightning generation and its properties became more and more intense, and he noticed it began to change its color from a bright yellow to a deep, ominous crimson.
Finally, Jack could at last access his extra limbs without transforming into a hybrid or beast form; he was simply able to sprout two extra, fully functional arms and hands from the sides of his body at will.
The more Jack became stronger, the more his crew also started to notice the profound changes.
Jack's body had started to balloon in size, becoming densely packed with solid muscle, despite the fact that Jack would just often meditate in his own quiet peace
.
"Are you alright, Jack?" Aramaki then asked with a deeply concerned tone. Being the right-hand man of Jack, as well as his longest friend, Aramaki was the one that the others felt could talk with Jack with a directness that others could not muster.
"Of course, why wouldn't I be?" Jack then asked, his voice a low rumble. In response, Aramaki began to explain what he and the other crewmates were so concerned about.
He voiced their shared worry about Jack being devoured by the will of his own Devil Fruit, as they all knew such a thing was possible, even for someone as powerful as Jack.
"We are worried that you are slowly getting devoured by that strange Devil Fruit you ate back then. It's not even been a decade, and you're already showing this kind of immense physical change. We are worried about you," Aramaki then added to his explanation.
This genuine moment of concern, coming from Aramaki, whom Jack knew was not lying, made Jack feel a sudden pang of guilt. He realized his personal quest for power was frightening his comrades.
"Alright, call everyone on board. We'll have a meeting. I'll tell you all something," Jack then said to Aramaki. Jack could see Aramaki's heart start to beat faster from anxiety, which made Jack offer him a small smile.
"Don't worry," Jack then assured Aramaki. "It's nothing bad." Aramaki nodded, then went and started to do what Jack had ordered him to do.
After only a few moments, his entire crew was gathered, their faces full of concern.
Jack observed them all, and he was rest assured that there was no hint of deception in their expressions, only pure, unadulterated concern for his well being.
This sight made Jack determined to ease their fears.
"For anyone of you who is concerned that my will might be devoured by the Devil Fruit, do not worry. That's not going to happen," Jack then said, his statement making the others confused, as they all looked at Jack, waiting for his further explanation.
"My mind, body, and soul are all aligned," Jack began to explain. "It is not easy to destroy such a state with just some Devil Fruit. The only reason you can see the rapid changes that are happening in my body is as a result of this alignment. It just entered a state of misalignment when I ate the Devil Fruit, as it was a Mythical Zoan, which we all know have their own wills. Now that I am slowly returning my whole self to that state of alignment, when it is fully completed, it will give me an even greater strength. Plus, I will be able to awaken my fruit far easier than normal people who have eaten a Mythical Zoan." Jack then decided to finally share some of his secrets with his own crew members, as he then mentioned the core concept behind the Hercules Method, but he did not delve into the specifics that would allow them to practice it themselves.
"Why are you able to do that?" Laffitte then asked, his voice betraying his intense curiosity regarding Jack's entire power and the unique philosophy he had just introduced.
"Can you all keep a secret?" Jack then suddenly said. The question seemed to have nothing to do with what Laffitte had asked, but it made all their attention focus completely on Jack. They all answered, yes, without any hint of hesitation or deception.
"The truth is, my name comes from my mother's name, which I am sure most of you already know. But my father's name is something that is relevant to these abilities," Jack then said, adding a layer of suspense to his storytelling.
"My father's name is Rocks D. Xebec. He was a pirate as well, but he's dead now. I don't know the real reason why, since this is just something that I've read from my mother's journal. Through this journal, I also learned his true, original name, which at the time, didn't have any significance to me. But when we went to the Island of Ohara, it made my father's original surname start to make sense, and I understood why he would hide it. That name is, Davy D. Xebec," Jack then said, as he finally told the story of his own father's name.
The moment he said the words "Davy D. Xebec," as if on clockwork, a brilliant flash of lightning and a deafening crack of thunder suddenly came crushing down from the sky.
The words that Jack had said suddenly felt heavy, carrying an immense weight for two specific people on his crew: Laffitte and Club, two men who had learned their history from the unfiltered and forbidden history books of the past.