…
…
*Schwww*
*Thud Thud*
"Ahhhhh!!"
The captain screamed in agony as he drops to his knees. Sweat poured down his anguished face as he clutches a stump, which profusely bleeds. His scaled severed arm now laid on the deck of his ship.
Teech, who was standing behind the injured captain, slowly turned to see the kneeling figure. His eyes gleamed in a cold light when the captain stumbled back up to his feet.
Turning around, the Captain and his gaze met, allowing Teech to see several emotions hidden in his opponent's eyes.
Hatred, agony, embarrassment and something else. Something even the captain himself didn't notice. It was fear!
Removing his hand from the stump, the man's snake-like pupils turned vicious once more. He roared, allowing Teech to see two fangs sticking out.
'Shouldn't he have hissed instead? You know, like a snake…'
Teech pushed his thoughts back as he raised his cutlass again to attempt another attack.
Seeing this the captain subconsciously took a step back in order to get away.
*Thud*
Shocking everyone, Teech's leg gave out as his knee slammed into the deck!
"What?!"
He attempted to get up, but his body refused to move. Every inch of his body steamed in protest!
Looking at his leg, Teech quickly found out why he had fallen. The back of his leg, specifically the hamstring, had turned an unsightly color. The pain emanating from it told Teech that he had ruptured it!
He pushed his body to the absolute limit and more, causing it to fall apart. His stamina was monstrous, but his overall strength? Not so much.
"Ha!"
A small laugh escaped from the captain's mouth. His dwindling courage made a resounding comeback. He lunged toward the downed Teech, who could only watch in frustration.
*Bang*
A giant fist covered in diamonds slammed into the side of the captain's head, sending him flying into the railing!
*Crack*
The railing couldn't hold the weight of the impact as it shattered upon impact! The body of the captain, plunged into the sea!
The Ambush Pirates, watching their captain get knocked off became angry and began charging toward Jozu, Vista and Teech.
As Teech was about to stand up to help fight, the ship he stood on shook. He became somewhat dizzy but enough to realize what was happening. He smirked as he used his cutlass to slowly make his way up.
*Thud Thud Thud*
The dozens of charging Ambush Pirates suddenly started collapsing, one by one. Every single one had been knocked out!
A massive figure swiftly appeared as his feet slammed into the deck.
"Gurararara! You've done well, Teech. Though you should avoid getting shot next time. Go with Marco, to get treatment. We will finish looting."
Nodding he looks up to see Marco flying slowly towards him. Reaching up his arm, Marco's claw latched onto his arm as he was flown back to the Moby Dick.
…
Year 1499 of the Sea Circle Calendar.
Teech had just turned 15 a week ago, and how did he spend his "birthday"? By resting from his injuries! Though it did lead to some unexpected scenarios such as the one Teech was experiencing now.
Teech could be seen resting on his bed with Marco right next to him. His entire body was still covered by bandages, giving him a very mummified image.
Marco was using the flames of his Devil Fruit to try and heal his internal organs. Everyday, Marco had dedicated some of his time to heal Teech. Though it wasn't easy, considering the amount of damage Teech took.
Several torn muscles all over his body, 6 broken ribs, a broken shoulder blade, and a dislocated jaw. The clawed attack that struck his shoulder had left 4 massive scars. His stomach had been ruptured, due to the bullet, which was what Marco had been spending most of his time on.
As Teech was submerged with healing flames, Marco began sweating due to the concentration needed. As the flames reached his organs, Marco's body froze.
"Huh? What the hell!?"
Teech raised an eyebrow.
"What?"
"You have 3 hearts?"
Teech was dumbfounded!
"Are you kidding me?" Asked Teech.
"How many times have I been healed by you? And you still didn't realize that? Shit! Here I thought you were a capable doctor, guess I was wrong!"
Teech couldn't help but tease Marco.
"Most of your wounds were surface level! I don't usually study my patients' anatomy!" Marco seemed insulted at the remark!
"Come on, Marco! If you want to be the best doctor, you've got to put your heart into it… in my case, hearts!"
A cheesy grin appeared on Teech's face, making Marco face twitch in frustration.
Stopping his flames Marco pushes Teech's stomach, causing him to wince. Seemingly satisfied, Marco left the room.
"Damn Parrot!" Teech grunted.
Sitting in his bed, with the lingering pain from his stomach, Teech thought about his fight along with his future plans.
"I lost…"
Although the match between him and the Captain was close, he still lost. His body couldn't keep up with what he was trying to do. Maybe if he was at peak condition, he would have won. But, that was just an excuse.
He needed to be better, he needed to get stronger. If Teech wasn't protected by the Whitebeard Pirates, he would have died in the battle.
Though, it did bring some benefits! Teech was now able to cut steel, at least he thinks. He hasn't been able to train since then, so it's unknown if it was a fluke or not.
A step forward, no matter how small, was an achievement in Teech's book.
"My current strength should be the same, if not, a little lower than pre-timeskip Luffy. I don't know if I'd be able to handle gear 2 or 3."
Teech couldn't help but compare himself with the protagonist of the One Piece world. After all, from what he remembered, his potential was leagues above everyone else's. Though his outrageous growth did come with risks.
For example, the constant life or death battles and the techniques of his Devil Fruit put a strain on his lifespan.
"Devil Fruits. They're a pain to deal with, if you don't have Haki or…"
His mind wandered to the life of the original Teech, and how he got the Dark Dark fruit.
The nullification powers of the fruit were comparable and even better than Haki. They could completely depower someone if he touched them, just like seastone.
"Should I look for it?"
With his current strength, Teech estimated that it would take him 3-5 years to be able to even attain Haki. That would put him between 18 and 20 years of age! To master it? Teech didn't know how long.
If he found the Dark Dark Fruit, then he wouldn't have to worry about Devil Fruits.
"If I plan on getting it, I can't become too reliant on it. I don't want to be as lousy as the original."
Reaching over, he opened the nearby desk and took out the old Devil Fruit Encyclopedia.
The tattered book had seen better days, but Teech had done well not to ruin it more than it already was.
Looking through it, he began studying a variety of fruits and their properties to see if he could exploit any weaknesses. Zoans and Logias in particular were Teech's bane. Zones for their increased durability and Logias for their elementalization.
The more he studied it, the more interested he became in certain Devil Fruits.
Logias were cool and all but he was more interested in Zoans. Teech didn't bother looking into paramecias, as the only one he liked in the category was the Press Press Fruit, wielded by future Admiral, Fujitora. He liked the concept of gravity manipulation, but it was already an application of the Dark Dark Fruit, thus why he didn't bother looking for paramecias.
As he thought more of the Dark Dark Fruit, he couldn't help realize the capabilities of it. Nullification, gravity, storage and the ability to hold a second or even third Devil Fruit!
(A/N: The main character only read or watched up to the Dressrosa saga.)
"It's like having a second dimension inside of you! Kamui? No… that would be too much. I think I'm overestimating its abilities."
Although he tried to downplay it, he couldn't help but have a nagging feeling in his gut. Not from the injury, but from something else. Something he couldn't explain.
"If I were to get it, would I get a second one as well? Do I want to risk it? And if I did, which Devil Fruit would best suit it."
(A/N: Should he or not? Let me know.)
He needed to thoroughly understand the Dark Dark Fruit and its weaknesses.
"Ugh! All this thinking is giving me a headache!"
Shoving the book back into the desk, Teech laid down and closed his eyes to rest. Even though he didn't need to, it still felt good to rest his mind every once in a while. Not sleeping still made him feel sluggish, but that's about it.
…
Leaning on the railing of the Moby Dick, Teech felt the winds run through his hair. He was still wrapped in bandages, but was looking relatively better. It had been a month since the battle with the Ambush Pirates. Usually it would have taken a normal person months to recover from what he went through.
But for Teech, he only needed a month to heal. He still felt some pain, but should be back to peak condition in a couple days.
looking into the horizon, he spotted the island which the Whitebeard Pirates regularly visited, due to its close ties to the Captain.
The island of Sphinx, the birthplace of Whitebeard himself.
They were stopping at the island for a resupply and because one of the crew stationed there had contacted them.
As Teech was about to head back to room, a crewmate ran by him in a hurry.
"Captain! He did it!"
The crew member was holding a newspaper, waving it around in the air.
Teech's eyebrow raised slightly, as he walked towards Pops. He wanted to see what caused such a commotion.
Reaching the front of the ship, Teech was met with a peculiar scene. Whitebeard was holding the newspaper and as he read, a smile gradually made its way into his face.
"Roger…"
Teech was stunned! Pops rarely smiled, usually only giving an amused expression.
Walking over he stood next to Whitebeard and began reading. The more he read the more his eyes widened.
"So, he finally did it, huh? Good for him." Said Teech.
Hearing this, Pops looked at Teech to see if there was any regret in his eyes. When Teech refused to go with Oden on his journey with the Roger Pirates, Pops had been surprised. Whitebeard believed that when he was Teech's age, he would've undoubtedly taken the opportunity.
Seeing no regret in the young apprentice's eyes, he put the newspaper down and put his hand on Teech's head.
Teech immediately gained a complicated expression as if saying, 'I'm a grown ass man! Stop patting my head!'
"Gurarara! The Roger Pirates have sailed the entire Grand Line and reached the last island. Let's celebrate!"
The entire crew started cheering as they bought even more supplies from the island.
Teech grabbed the newspaper and made his way back to his room. He wanted to rest for a couple more hours, which the party would most likely still be on by then.
Reaching his room, he sat down on his bed and began looking over the newspaper one more time.
"Oden will probably be coming back soon. I believe Roger and Pops wanted to meet one more time."
Reading the title of the newspaper, Teech couldn't help but roll his eyes.
'Gold Roger, King of the Pirates!'
"They got his name wrong, and it's a childish title. He isn't the king of anything. This is just propaganda."
…
…