You Need to Use Truth, Kindness, and Beauty to Win Them Over

First Half of the Grand Line—Paradise

Drum Island

Due to its magnetic field and terrain, this island remained locked in a snowy winter all year round, making survival exceptionally harsh.

The snow that had fallen continuously for over a month finally stopped today. Men went into the mountains to hunt, women went out to work, and the children could finally leave their homes to play with their companions.

In a corner of the village, three boys scooped up snow, packed it into balls in their palms, and hurled them at the curly-haired little boy wrapped in a down jacket.

Teach was knocked onto the ground by the first snowball. Ignoring the cold seeping up from the thick snow beneath him, he forced a smile onto his face.

"Can't we play something else?"

"Snowball fights are how we play here. If you want to be our friend, you have to accept it."

The three boys smiled strangely as they continued grabbing snow and throwing it at Teach.

Caught off guard, Teach was struck by another snowball. His helpless isolation drove the already displaced boy to the depths of despair.

Overwhelmed by grievance, warm tears welled from Teach's eyes. The instant they rolled down his cheeks, the icy wind chilled them, freezing them against his skin.

"Hm? Are you crying?"

"We were only joking with you. If you can't even take a joke, how are you supposed to become our friend?"

"Teach, give us a smile!"

"Ha... Zehahahaha..."

Teach swallowed his grievance and forced himself to laugh along.

He failed to notice that his laughter sounded remarkably like that man John had seen at God Valley.

"That's more like it. Now you might become our friend."

Seeing Teach smile, the expressions on the three boys' faces grew even stranger. They bent down again, scooping up snow to make more snowballs.

Just as the three boys were about to throw their newly packed snowballs, they realized that a figure in a long black coat had appeared behind Teach at some point.

The newcomer was tall and handsome, but his eyes held endless frost, colder even than the wind and snow that swept across the island year-round.

Under that gaze, the three boys felt fear for no reason at all and hurriedly turned to run away.

Noticing something was wrong, Teach turned and looked up behind him, only to see a face that was both unfamiliar and vaguely familiar.

"Why didn't you fight back?"

John raised a hand and took a swig of rum before offering the bottle to Teach.

The man's familiar voice brought faint light back into Teach's dull eyes. He took the bottle and rose excitedly to his feet.

"Godfather!"

"Huh? What did you call me?"

John's eyebrows shot up in shock. For some reason, he felt as though a sharp blade were stabbing toward his lower back.

A chill ran down his spine!

"Kid, when did I become your godfather? Don't call me that!"

After all, in Teach's fate, there was a biological father and a godfather. Teach personally betrayed and killed his godfather, while his biological father had not met a good end either.

Becoming this kid's father would probably end badly!

"But Mom said..." Teach clutched the bottle and pouted in grievance.

His mother had clearly said that the man who sent the two of them to Ohara was his godfather.

Then why would his godfather refuse to acknowledge him?

Was it like those "friends"? Did he dislike Teach because he was ugly?

"No buts. Use the liquor to wipe your face clean."

John impatiently cut him off, pulled out a handkerchief from his coat, and tossed it onto Teach's head.

Teach pulled the handkerchief down from where it had landed on his head. Obediently, he poured liquor onto it to soak it through, then clumsily wiped his cheeks.

As the alcohol melted into the frozen tears, warmth gradually returned to his numbed skin. The deathly pallor of Teach's dark face slowly gained a hint of color.

"You still haven't answered my question. Why didn't you fight back?"

John took the bottle from Teach and stared down into his eyes with an intense gaze.

Under that piercing stare, Teach swallowed and spoke in a voice as faint as a mosquito's buzz.

"I... I wanted to be friends with them. I can't hurt my friends."

"Tch!"

John could not help but sneer at that.

"Teach, remember this: friends consider each other. They don't make each other suffer."

"They were just bullying you. They aren't your friends."

"If this happens again, you need to hit back hard!"

"Godfather!"

Little stars shone in Teach's eyes as he nodded solemnly and earnestly.

"I'll remember that!"

"Wait!"

A gleam flashed through John's eyes as he suddenly realized something important.

If he guided Teach in a better direction while he was still young, could he change his personality in the future?

"I was wrong. Fighting back is wrong. You should understand them and be considerate of them."

"Hm? Why?" Teach tilted his head, looking completely confused.

"Hmm..."

John frowned and pondered briefly. Then he crouched down, placed a hand on Teach's shoulder, and spoke gently.

"Hatred creates a chain reaction. When will revenge ever end? You should use your truth, kindness, and beauty to win them over."

"You have to believe that human nature is fundamentally good!"

"Sunlight will eventually shine upon the earth. All hatred will melt away like ice and snow, ushering in a beautiful age of peaceful coexistence, where people love me and I love others."

"But, Godfather, didn't you just say I should fight back..."

"No buts!"

Teach opened his mouth to say something, but John forcibly cut him off.

"Hatred can't solve problems. You need love. Love is infinite!"

"Oh, I understand." Though Teach still did not quite understand, he nodded earnestly anyway.

"What a good boy!"

John smiled in satisfaction and reached out to rub Teach's natural curls.

His hand came away with a bit of hair oil. Without changing expression, he withdrew it, grabbed a handful of snow, and rubbed his palms together before putting an arm around Teach's back.

He wiped his hand clean on Teach's down jacket.

"Come on. Take me to your mother."

"Okay!"

Completely unaware of John's little maneuver, Teach waddled ahead on his short legs, leading the way toward the house where they were temporarily staying.

Following behind Teach, John took a Vivre Card from his pocket, only to discover that the direction it pointed toward did not match the direction they were heading.

"Is your mother not home?"

"No. She went to see a friend."

John nodded, spread out his Mantra, and followed the direction indicated by the Vivre Card.

Before long, he found Alice and a familiar figure inside a tree-shaped wooden house.

She wore a dark purple training suit, had long pale-gold hair, and though her face was wrinkled, she radiated vitality.

Dr. Kureha!

"So she came to seek refuge with a friend."

John instantly understood Alice's purpose in coming to Drum Island.

He also understood why, in the future, Kureha had not reacted much when Teach came to destroy Drum Island.

Such a warmhearted person had been strangely tolerant of "Blackbeard's" atrocities, yet blamed the king who abandoned his citizens and fled even more.

There was a reason for everything.

"Who's that? Why is he walking with that ugly little brat?"

"Could he be some wild man that vixen Alice found somewhere?"

"That's great. Since that vixen has a man now, our men won't be so obsessed with her anymore."

"It's just a pity. After more than a month of snow, it finally stopped today, and the men all went hunting in the mountains. They won't get to see the sight that would make them give up on her."

As his Mantra spread out, voices John did not like entered his mind.

John looked over and saw groups of women gathered beside the scattered houses along both sides of the village road, whispering as they watched him.