Snap!
Teach's right hand stretched out almost uncontrollably, grabbing the purple devil fruit and about to shove it into his mouth.
What a pity.
"Hey, what are you doing?"
A hand reached out and grabbed his wrist even faster. No matter how hard Teach tried, he couldn't move forward.
Who dares to stop me!
Teach raised his head suddenly, his face fierce and bloodshot!
But when he saw Shano's blank and confused expression, he shuddered—as if a bucket of ice water had been dumped on him. In an instant, he snapped out of it and let go of his right hand.
No.
Can't snatch it by force.
What am I thinking?
The guy in front of him was the terrifying monster who had defeated Pluto Rayleigh and repeatedly humiliated the admirals...
"Teach?!"
Marco's shocked voice came, "What's wrong with you? What are you doing?"
"Hahaha! Sorry, sorry!"
Teach was sweating from his forehead but quickly forced a smile, scratching his head and saying:
"Excuse me, Mr. Shano, Captain. I... I don't know why, but when I see this fruit, I feel some kind of resonance in my blood. I really want to eat it. My heart's pounding! Hahaha!"
He smiled just as honestly as usual, mixed with a bit of confusion and shame...
Perfectly concealing the nearly uncontrollable resentment in his eyes.
Damn it!
Why—why is this fruit in this kid's hands?!
And why did I have to run into him ten thousand meters under the sea on Fishman Island?! It's hard to escape after falling out!
There's Marco, Namur, and a bunch of troublesome guys around...
"Resonance?"
Marco was stunned and rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
Neptune said with interest,
"I've heard that sometimes devil fruits choose their destined person. Could it be that Mr. Teach is experiencing something like that and is a natural match with this devil fruit?"
When did you get so insightful, old man? Teach glanced at Neptune.
"There really are such rumors. No wonder Teach suddenly lost control."
Marco suddenly realized something and turned to Shano,
"Bro, what's the name of this devil fruit?"
"That, I don't know."
Shano shook his head and pointed to the cactus-like fruit on the table:
"I only intended to bring out this one—Crocodile's Sand-Sand Fruit. As for the other two, I took them from the World Government recently. I haven't figured out their types yet. You Whitebeard guys are knowledgeable, so I wanted to ask you."
He smiled and looked at Teach:
"Teach, do you know it?"
"Thief hahaha..." Teach laughed dryly and shook his head like a rattle, "Your Excellency flatters me. I can't even read all the words—how could I possibly know this?"
Marco and Namur racked their brains for a while but still shook their heads. This wasn't their area of expertise.
But that didn't matter.
The important thing was—Teach had taken a liking to this fruit. Wasn't this fate?
"This is a bit embarrassing to say, but... Brother Shano, I have a request that might be too forward..."
Marco adjusted his glasses gently, "I don't know if you'd be willing to sell this devil fruit to Teach. You name the price—though I didn't bring much money this time. I'll have to wait until we return..."
"What! Talking about money is too vulgar."
Shano laughed and casually tossed the fruit to Marco, "I don't need this kind of thing anyway. Just take it—catch!"
Swish!
Teach resisted the urge to intercept it, eyes following the arc of the fruit as it flew toward Marco.
Marco subconsciously reached out to catch it, a little startled.
"Dad was right, you really are bold and generous!"
Marco grinned, "I can't speak for Dad, but I can speak for myself. From now on, I owe you a favor. If you ever need help—just come to me!"
As he spoke, Marco handed the fruit directly to Teach.
"Here, Teach. It's yours. If you can't wait, go ahead and eat it."
"But my suggestion is—wait until we're back on the ship and ask Dad what it is. There's no rush. He'll definitely recognize it!"
"Captain Marco..."
Teach's hands trembled as he took the fruit, eyes moist with emotion:
"I'd rather eat it now. No need to trouble Dad with something like this... Captain, you're so good to me! I—I don't know how to repay you!"
"What are you talking about, Teach!"
Marco slapped his shoulder and laughed, "We're comrades. Your business is my business!"
Shano stood to the side, watching all this play out with a satisfied smile.
He meant what he said. The fruit was originally meant to be given away just for fun. Gaining Marco's favor was a pleasant surprise.
Speaking of which...
There was one thing that had always puzzled him.
Blackbeard wanted the fruit—so why didn't he just ask for it?
Why did he have to kill Thatch?
They were comrades for years. Even if Blackbeard had just said he wanted the fruit, Thatch wouldn't have refused.
Now it made sense.
Tsk. In the end, it's just because he wasn't strong enough...
Shano sighed inwardly, his eyes glancing at Teach's seemingly honest face.
If in another timeline, it had been someone strong—like Marco—who picked up the Dark-Dark Fruit, would Blackbeard dare to kill and steal it?
Of course not.
He'd just keep playing dumb, like now—using tears and acting to trick the fruit from someone. He wouldn't dare to make a move.
Because Marco was strong enough—strong enough that Blackbeard wouldn't dare risk fighting before eating the fruit or alerting the crew.
But Thatch... was too weak.
So weak he was like an ant in Blackbeard's eyes.
So, he didn't even bother acting. He took the easiest path:
--Kill him. Steal the fruit. Then run.
...
At this moment—
Teach had completed his performance. He wiped his tears and held the purple fruit to his mouth with trembling hands.
Finally... finally got it!
The Dark-Dark Fruit!
The fruit that could devour everything like a black hole... strip others of their powers... the fruit that could fulfill all his ambitions!
Over twenty years of waiting! Over twenty years!
And finally... this moment!
Snap!
He took a bite.
His face froze immediately. A hint of green appeared.
As expected...
Marco rested his chin on his hand, watching with a smile.
But unexpectedly, Teach only paused for a moment before continuing to chew, even looking like he was enjoying it.
"Eh?"
Namur blinked in surprise, "Why does Teach look like he's enjoying it? Aren't devil fruits supposed to taste terrible?"
"Yeah, that's strange."
Marco scratched his head in confusion, "When I ate mine, it tasted like rotten meat that'd been sitting out for days. Disgusting, like eating actual crap."
"Really?"
Teach showed a wide grin, gums exposed, and laughed,
"Haha, is that so? I didn't notice at all!"
He rubbed his hands together and ate even faster.
In just a few seconds, he had devoured the entire fruit—stem, leaves, and all—licking his lips for any residue.
Delicious!
So damn delicious!!!
In this world, what could taste better than this?
Teach rubbed his feet against the ground, the feeling was coming.
That amazing feeling—like the world was becoming clearer and slower...
"Hey, Teach."
Marco called, "Try your power. Show us what kind of fruit it is!"
"Okay, Captain!"
Teach grinned, spreading his arms. A flicker of sinister joy passed through his eyes.
"Then let's see it! Thief hahaha!"
Although he had obtained his dream power...
It was still too risky to fight everyone here head-on. He didn't plan to.
But if he showed off his ability now, maybe he could...
Suddenly activate ability!
Buzz!
Behind Teach, a pair of huge transparent wings suddenly spread, vibrating at a speed the naked eye couldn't follow, making an irritating buzzing sound.
Everyone was stunned.
"Bees?"
Marco muttered in confusion, "No... it looks more like—"
Before he could finish...
Teach's body began to shrink rapidly. His skin sprouted fine hairs, and a greasy blue-green shine spread across his back.
His head ballooned. Red compound eyes split and multiplied, covering most of his face, and his mouth twisted into a split mandible...
In just a few seconds—
Teach had fully transformed into a beast form—a giant silk green fly, roughly the size of Chopper.
"What the hell?!"
Teach's laughter stopped.
He stiffly touched his mandibles, then raised his hairy forelimbs and waved them in front of his eyes. Then he looked down...
He finally realized what he'd become.
...
For a moment, the banquet hall fell silent.
Shano, the Whitebeard Pirates, Neptune, and the Ryugu guards all stared at the absurdly hideous fly.
Then—
Someone couldn't hold it in and chuckled.
Then everyone burst out laughing.
"Hahahaha!!!"
Namur slammed the table, laughing so hard he squinted, "A fly! It's a fly! Teach, the fruit that resonated with you was Fly-Fly Fruit?! That's even a thing?!"
"Teach, you idiot!"
Marco was rolling on the floor, laughing uncontrollably.
"I told you to wait until we asked Dad! Why are you so impatient?!"
Even the Ryugu guards laughed and whispered:
"So gross. A huge fly..."
"You think flies like to eat poop?"
"Shhh! Don't insult Whitebeard's crew... Hahahaha!!"
...
At the head of the table—
Shano was laughing so hard he fell over.
You couldn't help it. If someone didn't laugh at this, they probably had clinical depression.
A fat fly-beard, the size of a ball, was funny no matter how you looked at it.
The only thing more absurd might be a Mirror-Mirror Fruit version of Big Mom...
...
Teach froze in place, listening to the laughter around him, not moving.
He stared at his reflection on the ground, breathing heavily, his wings vibrating mechanically.
It's not the Dark-Dark Fruit.
It's not...
How could this happen?!
Twenty years of waiting...
Twenty years of patience...
Only to become a disgusting, ugly fly—buzzing and flapping stupid wings?
Looking around at the laughing bastards...
Killing intent!
A chilling rage surged from deep within. He wanted to snap the necks of every person laughing.
But...
It faded quickly.
"AAAAHHHHHH!!!"
Teach suddenly howled, scratching at his back like mad, trying to rip off his wings, "This isn't real! Go away! Disappear!!!"
But the more frantic he got, the faster his wings flapped—lifting him into the air in random circles.
He really looked like a fly that'd been sprayed with insecticide—flying around the pillars erratically.
"Teach! Calm down and come down!"
Marco stopped laughing and called out in concern.
He tried to grab Teach, but was blown back by the wind from his flapping wings.
"Don't come near me!"
Teach yelled, eyes wild—though technically, they were compound eyes.
"Laugh! Go ahead! Is it that funny?! You pretending to comfort me now? I'm a fly! If it were you, could you calm down?!"
"Oh right—mighty phoenix flaunting in front of a lowly fly?!"
"Hahahaha!! You, Neptune, and Shano—all working together to humiliate me, right?!"
"Teach!"
Marco frowned. He understood Teach's breakdown but still said, "You're going too far. That's enough."
"What does it matter?! I'm a fly! What else is there to care about?! I'm a fly!!!"
The fly-beard kept crashing around, cracking pillars and the ceiling.
Marco sighed.
He flashed behind Teach and gave him a hard kick.
"Sorry, Teach."
Teach stiffened, fell to the ground, and fainted.
His body reverted to human form—but parts still looked... insect-like. Slimy skin, curled-up limbs...
Shano took one glance and looked away—afraid he'd burst into laughter again.
But honestly...
This guy's acting is top-notch.
He fainted from one kick?
Impossible.
Even without a fruit, Teach's physique was already near the world's top level.
That "breakdown" earlier? Mostly fake.
The crushing disappointment from almost achieving his dream, only to miss it—nearly made him snap.
But his deep cunning told him: now's not the time to strike out on his own. He needed to stay on Whitebeard's ship a little longer.
So, he acted crazy, waiting for Marco to knock him out.
That way, he could release his emotions, avoid losing control, and save face.