"By consuming the three strongest Devil Fruits across all types, even without the qualities of a king, one can stand at the pinnacle of the seas—even surpassing Rocks!"
Dottore's face flushed with excitement as he tightly grasped his son's hands, his eyes filled with deep reluctance and affection.
"Teach, Jorna, Bella, my children... you must live strong, live better than anyone else! Remember—endurance, patience, and diligence are always the prerequisites to becoming strong. Until your strength reaches an extraordinary level, until you encounter what you truly desire, never reveal yourself. One must learn to conceal their brilliance, to play the fool."
"Dad... I don't want to lose you. I've already lost Mom... I don't want to be alone."
Teach knelt before Dottore, choking back sobs as tears streamed down his face.
"Fool, how could you ever be alone? Jorna and Bella will always be with you. For your sisters, you must protect yourself too..."
The light in Dottore's eyes gradually dimmed, and his grip on Teach's hand loosened.
"NO! NO! DAD!" Teach roared in agony, feeling a heart-wrenching pain surge through his entire body.
"Sally, Sally... you must have been so lonely, haven't you? After ten years... I'm coming to join you..."
Dottore gave Teach one last smile.
"A shame... I won't be able to bake you another cherry pie..."
A low, mournful wail echoed through the basement.
...
A day later.
A raft made of bundled logs drifted away from the island with the ocean currents.
Teach stood upon it, his gaze hollow and lost.
"Dad, don't worry. I'll fulfill your expectations—I'll become the strongest pirate! Until then, I'll bring you back to Drum Island, back home. I'll find Mom's remains and lay you both to rest."
He touched his pocket, where a small pouch of ashes rested.
The raft drifted aimlessly across the sea.
That day, a massive pirate ship passed by it.
Teach looked up at the enormous vessel.
On the billowing sail of the ship, a smiling face with a diagonal slash across it was emblazoned, fluttering in the wind.
"Fufufufu, look down there! There's a stupid fool floating around. Diamante, hand me the gun—I want to practice my marksmanship!"
At the ship's bow, a child wearing sunglasses, with an arrogant grin on his face, glared down at Teach on the raft.
"Haha, let him go, young master. He's just a drifter, a guy without even a ship. He'll probably die at sea anyway—the weather in these waters isn't friendly. Let's hurry up and find a prosperous island to establish our Donquixote Family's first foothold in the North Blue!"
"Fufufufu, then today is his lucky day!"
Listening to the conversation from the ship, Teach stood silently, as if it had nothing to do with him.
Yet his right hand clutched the bag of ashes in his pocket tightly, his trembling fingers betraying his inner turmoil.
Teach remained motionless on the raft, letting the ocean currents carry him away.
"Jorna, Bella... don't worry. I will endure!"
A look of determination flashed across Teach's face.
Several months later, Teach returned to Drum Island to bury his parents' remains together.
Then, relying on his extraordinary skills, he joined a pirate crew.
After half a year of hardship, he finally reached Sabaody Archipelago, where he coated his ship and set sail for the New World—the place he had long dreamed of.
Upon entering the New World, Teach immediately experienced its brutality.
Terrifying hurricanes and tsunamis taught his pirate crew a harsh lesson right away.
The nameless crew that had barely survived Fish-Man Island was swallowed by the storm in an instant.
Teach, unfortunately, was thrown into the sea.
Fortunately, his physique was exceptional.
Though only ten years old, he already had remarkable endurance.
After drifting at sea for over ten days, he finally spotted an island.
The island had a sizable town, though it looked rundown.
While there were many people in the town, most were elderly or children.
To his surprise, Teach discovered that the island flew the flag of the Whitebeard Pirates!
Upon inquiring, he learned that this island was under Whitebeard's protection.
Overjoyed by the news, Teach decided to stay and wait for Whitebeard's arrival.
This wait lasted over a year.
By the time Teach turned twelve, he finally heard the news of the Whitebeard Pirates' arrival—and he was ecstatic.
Teach didn't need to pretend.
His rough skin and tattered clothes already portrayed his situation perfectly.
When the Whitebeard Pirates rested on the island for a few days before preparing to leave, Teach seized the opportunity.
He rushed to the shore, threw himself at Newgate's feet and clung to his pants, tearfully recounting his hardships as an orphan.
He begged Newgate to take him away.
Of course, Newgate had no idea that this boy would one day become the mastermind behind the destruction of his entire crew.
With his generous heart, Newgate often took in orphans at every island he visited.
Boys like Teach were a common sight on the Moby Dick.
Aside from the courage to rush over and cling to him, there was nothing particularly remarkable about the boy before him.
"Gurararara, since you're an orphan with a longing for the sea, come aboard the Moby Dick and be my son! What's your name?"
"Teach, I'm Marshall D. Teach!"
"D? Gurararara, doesn't matter. Set sail!"
After Teach successfully boarded the Moby Dick and spent some time with the Whitebeard Pirates, everyone was surprised to find that this unremarkable-looking boy actually possessed considerable strength.
As time passed, Teach's abilities grew, even rivaling some of the ship's division commanders.
What was even more peculiar was that Teach never seemed to need sleep.
He spent over twenty hours a day training himself, day after day, tirelessly, with a diligence that was astonishing.
He always maintained that simple, foolish demeanor, cheerful all day, kind to everyone, always eager to help, and charging at the forefront in battles.
He had an outgoing personality, an enormous appetite, and a particular fondness for cherry pie.
His hobbies were eccentric—he loved wearing patterned clothes and pants and adored shiny jewelry.
"Hello, I'm Ace!"
One day, a freckled young man joined the Whitebeard Pirates and quickly became one of the crew.
"I'm Teach, nice to meet you." Teach scratched his head shyly.
"So you're Teach! Marco told me you're really strong, strong enough to be the commander of the Second Division. Why don't you compete for the position?"
"Hehe, I don't have such ambitions. I just want to stay on Pops' ship and be with everyone." Teach grinned foolishly.
...
"Pops! Pops! Hahaha, look what I found! A Devil Fruit! I don't know what power it has—I've never eaten one before!"
One day, Thatch, commander of the Fourth Division, found a Devil Fruit on a small island and proudly showed it off to the crew.
"Gurararara, what luck, Thatch! But don't rush to eat it. Tomorrow, when we return to base, check the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia to see what power it holds before deciding whether to eat it. If it's too weak, we can sell it for berries."
Laughter filled the Moby Dick.
No one noticed Teach in the corner, his foolish grin slowly freezing, his eyes suddenly changing, a glint of something else flickering within.
That was... ambition.
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