Marshall D. Teach

Marineford Era 1494, New World, on an island called Asuka.

Deep in the mountains, a gigantic tiger, eight meters long, stared at its prey. Drawn by the scent of blood in the area, it had come across a scrawny human and the corpse of a Violent Bear beside him.

Its natural instincts told it that the human boy posed a faint threat—but no more than that. It paced around him, closing the distance little by little. The boy didn't move at all, as if he had no strength left to fight back. He had probably exhausted himself battling the Violent Bear.

That thought made the tiger drop its caution. Step by step, it approached. The moment it reached the perfect hunting distance, it seized its chance. "Awrooo!" With an excited roar, it lowered its body and sprang at the boy.

"Zehahaha! You finally made your move!" The boy had been watching its every move, waiting for the right moment. As the giant tiger lunged, a glint flashed in his eyes. He pushed off hard with both legs and sprang from the ground even faster. The force of his launch made the earth beneath his feet sink slightly, sending up sand and stones. In that instant, the boy appeared right in front of the tiger. Its pupils contracted. "Zehahaha! Yaochi-onna." An excited, wicked grin spread across the boy's face.

His hands curled into claws, the muscles in his arms bulging. All around him, the world fell silent—and ten bloody claw marks flashed through the air.

The boy dropped from the air. Behind him, the tiger's massive body crashed to the ground with a thunderous thud, then fell silent.

His hands were stained red, and drops of blood ran from his fingers onto the ground. Ten vicious claw marks had appeared across the tiger's belly, just like the wounds on the Violent Bear beside it.

Night had fallen. A fire burned in a clearing in the woods, where the boy roasted a huge bear paw.

Gazing into the flames, the boy's thoughts wandered. I'm twelve now. It should be soon. He seemed to be waiting for something.

He never imagined he'd end up in the world of One Piece, let alone become the future big boss and ambitious schemer, Marshall D. Teach. There had been no electrocution, no system cheat—he'd simply gone to sleep, then woken up as Teach at the age of six, the future Blackbeard.

Of course, he knew One Piece very well. In the anime, Teach had boarded Whitebeard's ship when he was twelve. Back then, he had been no more than an ordinary fisherman, too weak to even kill a chicken.

That had been a waste of his talent. When he woke up, he had seamlessly absorbed the original Teach's memories, and gained a far better understanding of his unusual body. He'd been born with terrifying vitality and monstrous strength. The side effect was that he couldn't sleep, but it didn't bother Teach. He was always full of energy and could spend more time training.

For the past six years, Teach had focused on training his body. He'd learned how terrifying this world could be and truly understood the importance of strength. Since he didn't know how to train Haki, he'd concentrated on physical conditioning and also taken up swordsmanship. He'd stolen his swordsmanship manuals from an old, declining dojo on the island. Decades ago, it had been renowned because its founder was a powerful Swordmaster. But after the Swordmaster died, no more great swordsmen appeared, and the dojo gradually fell into decline.

Its successor had even considered selling the place. It had taken Teach very little time to quietly get his hands on the treasured swordsmanship manuals and the Swordmaster's notes.

After carefully looking through the manuals, Teach found they covered Lightning Current Sword Technique. They were complete and undamaged. Lightning Current Sword Technique was a famous style, just like Flame Flow Swordsmanship. Its practitioners could unleash powerful slashes imbued with lightning or fire, greatly increasing their cutting power.

At its core was a breathing technique that could be used alongside the swordsmanship. He called it Thunder Breathing Technique. Breathing techniques were fairly common in the world of One Piece. Some powerful martial arts came with their own breathing techniques, such as the secret Hasshoken of the Flower Country's Happo Navy, and Di Weng Fist, practiced by Lao G.

Thunder Breathing Technique was the core of Lightning Current Sword Technique. By breathing in a certain way, it made the body produce electrical currents. This put a great strain on the body, which was why the swordsmen who came out of that dojo all died young.

The breathing technique suited Teach perfectly. With his monstrous physique and extraordinary vitality, its side effects barely affected him. He could even use the bioelectricity it produced to strengthen his body, especially his internal organs.

Teach had a rare talent for swordsmanship, the result of two souls merging. Perhaps the original Teach had possessed the same talent, but he'd never developed it in the original story.

His young age meant that his strength was limited by his physical development, so he'd turned his attention to swordsmanship. He'd now been training for four years, studying at another swordsmanship dojo on Asuka. Its master was a Flame Flow Swordmaster, and Teach had learned the basics there.

After a hearty meal, he left behind a pile of clean bones, each one larger than his body.

Teach closed his eyes and sat cross-legged on the ground, breathing in and out. He seemed to resonate with nature itself. Arcs of electricity appeared across his skin, and the air around him grew hot as the temperature rose. This was Flame Style Swordsmanship, taught to him by Hael, the Flame Flow Swordmaster. Hael could also be considered Teach's first mentor in the sword. After Teach had shown his talent, it had taken him only two years to master the basics of swordsmanship and become a swordsman. From then on, Master Hael taught him everything without holding anything back.

"Whoosh!" Heat shimmered all around Teach. The ground beneath him seemed to scorch, growing so hot it looked ready to burst into flames. Lightning and heat intertwined, tempering his body. If he wanted to unleash stronger lightning or hotter flames, his body had to be able to withstand them.

Of course, there were other methods. For example, one could move so fast that friction with the air created flames, without touching the fire directly. Instead, the flames clung to the blade, allowing the user to unleash fiery slashes. This was the most common method on the seas, and one of its most prominent examples was Kanjuro, the samurai of Wano Country who had appeared in the anime.

Teach's method was more extreme. Without a powerful physique, it was impossible to endure. His goal was to combine swordsmanship with martial arts, so he could unleash a swordsman's slashes without a blade, using his own hands as swords.

After all, physical strength was the foundation. That was precisely why Teach's claw techniques were so powerful. If there were a machine that could measure energy, it would show that the temperature and electrical charge in his hands were greater than anywhere else on his body. Teach plunged his hands into the burning fire. Waves of pain shot through him, but he used the flames to aid his training. At first, this kind of training had been excruciating. Gradually, he got used to it.

As the sun shone down on the earth, in the town of Asuka, a girl at the town's well-known clinic looked cross. "Teach, didn't I tell you to be careful last time? How did you get hurt again?" Her hands never stopped moving as she wrapped white bandages around Teach's burned arm.

"Zehahaha! Monica, I accidentally set a tree on fire while barbecuing in the wilderness. It took a lot of effort to put it out. Otherwise, the whole mountain would've gone up in flames." Teach threw his head back and laughed. "I almost burned to death! Zehahahaha!"

Seeing how little he seemed to care about his own life, Monica tightened her grip. "Ngh!"

"Ow, ow, easy, Monica." Teach straightened his back as if he were about to spring out of his chair. "Argh!" His eyes widened; it really hurt.

Seeing his reaction, Monica closed her eyes and covered her mouth with her hands, smiling. Then she gently applied some herbal medicine to his hand and wrapped it in bandages.

"Zehahaha, thank you so much. If it weren't for you, I'd have lost the use of my hand. If I couldn't use my hand, I couldn't go out to sea or become a Great Pirate." Teach stood up from his chair and looked out the window at the deep blue sea. He spread his arms and shouted, "A person's dreams never end!"

Monica stared at the boy's back, momentarily dazed. Her gaze lingered on his somewhat muscular frame and outstretched arms, as if he were about to embrace the entire sea. She didn't know when her heart had begun to beat faster.

Teach turned around. "Ah, that hurts!" He frowned and returned to his seat. He'd moved too much and accidentally torn open the wound. "You idiot! I just finished bandaging you!" Monica clenched her teeth and twisted his ear.

"Easy, that hurts, Monica. Be a lady. You can't be so violent, or no one will marry you." Monica immediately let go and folded her arms across her chest. "Hmph! Maybe now you'll remember." As she spoke, she turned her head away.

"Okay, okay. It's my fault. I won't do it again." Teach knew Monica was angry, so he smiled and soothed her.

He placed both hands on Monica's shoulders and turned her to face him. Though he was only twelve, Teach already stood five foot seven. His long, slightly curly black hair was neatly combed, and years of training had given him a sturdy build. Two firm pectoral muscles stretched his shirt. His face still looked a little boyish, but it held a masculine quality. A faint, wicked smile tugged at his lips, and there was something mysterious and charismatic about him.

Under Teach's gaze, Monica's cheeks flushed. She couldn't hold out for long; after all, she was only fifteen. She blushed slightly and pushed hard against his chest with both hands.

"Fine, I forgive you." She had always looked after Teach, treating him like a younger brother. But lately, she'd begun to feel something different toward him, especially since he'd changed.

Teach knew Monica well. She was a gentle girl, but also a little lively.

Seeing her like that, Teach smiled. "Zehahaha, Monica, medicine's pretty expensive these days, isn't it? I can't afford to pay for it. I don't have a penny for the medical bills. If Uncle Mody finds out, he'll probably beat me to a pulp."

"Don't talk about Father like that. He's very gentle," Monica said, shaking her head.

"I owe you more and more. How am I ever going to repay you?" Teach smiled and looked at Monica's delicate face and beautiful golden hair. Monica froze. "Looks like I'll have to sell myself to you. I can't repay you any other way, so I'll have to give you myself."

Monica's ears turned red. Teach's words had caught her completely off guard, and her heart began to pound.

Suddenly, Teach's expression changed. That's bad—killing intent! "You little rascal, Teach! How dare you flirt with my daughter again? Die!" The voice came from upstairs, long before its owner appeared. He was moving too fast for Teach to react. Teach narrowed his eyes, trying to see more clearly, but only caught a faint shadow flashing past the stairs. A terrifying aura swept toward him, palpable even from a distance. Instinctively, he raised his arms and crossed them in front of his face.

In the next instant, a figure appeared before Teach. A powerful punch came at him from another bizarre angle, dodged past his crossed arms, and slammed into his chest. "Ugh!" Teach's eyes bulged as the blow forced the air from his lungs. He flew straight backward, helpless, bursting through the door and crashing into the courtyard wall. "Boom!" The solid wall caved in, cracks spreading across it like a spiderweb as chunks of stone tumbled to the ground.

"Teach!" Monica cried, turning toward the man who had appeared where Teach had been standing. He had short golden hair, a white lab coat, and square glasses. He stood two and a half meters tall, his lab coat fluttering from his earlier movement. "Dad, you hit him too hard! Teach is still injured!"

"Hmph! You underestimate that kid, Monica," Mody, Monica's father, said irritably. He glared in Teach's direction, and seeing how worried Monica looked made him feel as though someone had stolen the little girl he'd raised all these years.