"You mean... the Dark Fruit!?"
Teach had always considered himself a master strategist, but hearing Iggy's words felt like a thunderclap on a clear day.
As a child, he had once come across the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia and calculated that the Dark-Dark Fruit was most likely to appear within the Whitebeard Pirates. That's why he resolutely joined Whitebeard's crew, lurking in the shadows for a full twenty-five years—from a naive boy to a calculating man in his prime.
Every step, every hardship, was for the dream of obtaining that Devil Fruit.
And now, that dream was at risk—exposed by an uninvited newcomer: Iggy, the stray kid who'd only recently joined their crew.
"Zehehehe... Iggy, you've got it all wrong. For years, I've followed in Whitebeard's footsteps. My admiration for him is what's kept me going on this sea."
Teach, gravely injured and with both arms crippled, struggled to look up from the deck. But from where he lay, all he could see was Iggy's blurry silhouette against the moonlit sea.
Even though he'd unintentionally let something slip, Teach still believed this might be a test—that Iggy was probing, not certain. So he kept denying it.
Teach had always been confident in his ability to hide his ambition and manipulate appearances. No one could possibly see through him.
"In our duel just now, your strength was more than enough to be a division commander. Yet you've been content to remain under Ace, playing the role of an unremarkable combatant. That's not normal."
After their fight, Iggy had fully assessed Teach's physical prowess and latent strength. He had even forced out the man's hidden trump card.
This was all to expose Teach—so Iggy could confirm the truth he had long suspected.
In this era of pirates and exploration, everyone wants fame. But Teach went to great lengths to hide himself.
"I was an orphan from a young age. I joined this crew at twelve... and Whitebeard, and everyone here, became my family. I'm willing to stay on this ship—this home—for the rest of my life!"
If he still had working arms, Teach would have likely gestured passionately while saying those sentimental words. But now he could only lie broken on the deck, tears welling at the corners of his eyes, looking toward Iggy at the bow.
His voice rang with sincerity and emotion. To anyone else, it might have been moving—but not to Iggy.
"The more a man is denied something, the stronger and more desperate his desire to obtain it. Isn't that exactly what you've shown over these twenty-five years, Teach?"
Iggy didn't wait for an answer. His rhetorical question cut deep, stopping Teach mid-sentence.
Truthfully, Iggy had always admired Teach—especially the way Blackbeard rose in the original story: cunning, bold, ruthless, and methodical. To Iggy, Blackbeard was the most real pirate of all.
"Teach... do you still remember your original dream?"
Teach remained silent. Iggy walked softly to his side, crouched, and stared into his eyes.
"Man's dream... will never die."
At those words, Teach visibly trembled. Though his body didn't move, his pupils shook uncontrollably.
That phrase... it was his motto.
It had always resonated with Iggy too. He hoped it could serve as a bridge between them.
Teach's jaw quivered slightly—barely noticeable, but it was there.
"My dream... has already been fulfilled..."
His tone had changed. Gone was the passionate talk of family and loyalty. Teach's expression darkened.
Iggy's calm but relentless words had pierced his defenses. Yet after years of hiding his true nature, of burying his ambitions, Teach still clung tightly to denial.
"Teach, I know more about you than you think. I could easily convince Ace and the others to cast you out. Whether your goal is family, fame, or power—I can make it all vanish. You'd become just another lonely ghost drifting through the sea."
With each word, Iggy dismantled the walls around Teach's heart. He knew that destroying a man's desire was more fatal than killing him outright.
Teach looked into Iggy's eyes and saw no mercy—only calculation and confidence. For the first time, he felt cold creeping into his soul.
"What do you want me to do?" he finally asked.
Gone was the false expression, the sentimental mask. What remained was a serious man—one pirate facing another.
He had finally admitted his ambition.
Teach stared at the teen who now stood stronger and more cunning than him. What could someone like him possibly want?
"I want to know everything," Iggy said. "Everything you know about the Dark Fruit."
As he spoke, he gently laid a hand on Teach's shoulder. With a strange, rumbling sound, Teach's arms began to regenerate.
Bone formed first, then muscle grew around it, finally rewrapping in flesh and skin.
Teach watched in disbelief. The boy hadn't just healed himself earlier—he could restore life to others too.
For a long time, he said nothing. Then he exhaled deeply.
"The Dark Fruit..." he said slowly. "It's on the ship of the Fourth Division."
---
Whew, Anyone wanna guess how he'd get the dark dark fruit?.
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