People in One Piece didn't look exactly like the character designs from the manga he read in his previous life, but the essential traits were all there.
At this time, Teach was still young, only about five or six years old, which matched the boy in front of him perfectly. He wore a hat over his black, fluffy hair and had distinct sausage lips—he looked quite gloomy.
Beltz felt certain this was the future Blackbeard. He immediately used Subconscious Intrusion on Blackbeard, entering the ocean of his subconscious. At this age, how could Teach resist Beltz's methods? Forget the subconscious; this one move nearly dragged out his entire deep-seated consciousness.
He had guessed right; this was indeed Teach.
Teach had originally been saved at God Valley by Kuma. When Beltz left Kuma on the island with the Paw-Paw Fruit to rescue people, Teach and his mother were among those saved. Initially, Kuma hadn't sent them to Lulusia, but his mother, Erebus, held onto a one-in-a-million hope that Rocks might return alive, so she brought Teach here.
In truth, they had nowhere else to go, and this was a decent place to settle. However, being displaced from their homeland and fearful of her identity, Erebus didn't dare show her face easily, worried the World Government might hunt her down. She stayed hidden in the Lulusia Kingdom with Teach, and since she couldn't go out, Teach occasionally worked odd jobs as a child laborer to earn a living.
Opposite him, Dragon was still pondering Beltz's previous words. Although Beltz had dismissed them as a joke, they had truly shaken him. Were the righteous men in the Navy actually an obstacle? One couldn't say that definitively. It depended on whether the World Government was truly beyond redemption, and those righteous individuals weren't necessarily blindly loyal to the government. If they were, then as Beltz said, their justice would be equal to or greater than the evil they served.
"Think it over. I have some business to attend to outside; I'll be back in a bit."
Beltz stood up, ignored Teach, and walked straight out of the tavern. After he left, Teach—who had been pleading with the tavern owner for work—finally stopped insisting when the owner refused.
With hollow eyes, Teach followed Beltz down the street and stopped in a small alley.
"You're short on money, aren't you? Interested in coming with me? Don't worry, I won't need you for long." Beltz said, "About a few months. Then I'll let you return and give you a handsome reward."
Actually, words were unnecessary. Beltz had already hypnotized Teach. With his power, hypnotizing a powerhouse took time, but a child was a matter of seconds. The hypnotized Teach's mind was entirely in Beltz's grasp; naturally, he wouldn't resist.
But Beltz wasn't a monster. He let Teach go inform his mother first, telling him to return to the tavern once she agreed. He wasn't worried about Erebus refusing, as he had implanted a "mental plague" on Teach; once he reached Erebus, the effect would synchronize with her.
He had no intention of keeping Teach long-term. His main goal was to use Teach to find the Dark-Dark Fruit. Some Devil Fruits possessed their own will. According to Blackbeard's lore, he had searched for the Dark-Dark Fruit for years only for Thatch to find it first, but in the end, the fruit indeed "chose" him. Beltz felt that letting Teach search for it would be far more efficient.
Once Teach found the fruit, the pre-implanted hypnosis would trigger, making Teach hand it over to him. That level of hypnosis wasn't so simple to set, but back in Wano, there would be plenty of time for it.
After handling Teach's matters, Beltz returned to the tavern. Dragon was still lost in thought. Beltz didn't disturb him, simply sitting across from him and finishing his wine. People who achieve great things are often deep thinkers; especially for someone like Dragon who would one day overthrow the World Government, he couldn't just be a brute. Deep reflection was necessary to formulate a plan and a manifesto.
Dragon didn't speak until Teach returned. Having finished his wine, Beltz stood up. "Let's end our reunion here. I hope the next time we meet, you'll be able to stand on your own."
"Eh? Is Mr. Beltz leaving?"
"Yes, I have business out here, and it's time to head back."
"I... may I know where you are from, Mr. Beltz?" Dragon plucked up the courage to ask.
"...If you want to find me, go to Wano." Beltz revealed his destination.
"Wano..." Dragon thought about the country and said, "The land of Samurai? Is Beltz a Samurai?"
He didn't seem like one. Putting aside the fact that his name didn't sound like someone from Wano, the key was that Beltz didn't even carry a sword!
Beltz led Teach out of the tavern. Teach had already told Erebus he would be away for a while. Under normal circumstances, Erebus would never have agreed, but under Beltz's hypnotic guidance, she consented.
Teach had now exited the hypnotic state. In his mind, it was just a simple boss hiring him for a job; he had barely convinced his mother just to earn some money. Being only five, he couldn't realize what was actually happening. Beltz didn't plan on letting Teach keep his memories of this trip anyway; once Vegapunk finished analyzing him, Beltz would alter his memories to make him forget everything that happened in Wano.
After leaving Lulusia, Beltz transformed into the Azure Dragon and carried Teach toward Wano. Time was tight; he had to return to Wano before heading to the Sorbet Kingdom!
Teach wasn't surprised by the flight because Beltz had already set a psychological cue that "whatever happens next is common sense." Moving at full speed, they returned to Wano in less than two days.
He arrived at Onigashima.
"Back so soon? Didn't you say you had business and would be gone for a while?" Rukia had seemingly just finished a training session, wearing her dōgi and covered in sweat. She was quite surprised to see Beltz.
"Yes, I found a target, so I brought him here first. I'll head back out in a bit and return him later."
"I see..." Rukia noticed the child behind Beltz and looked at him skeptically. "Your target... is a child?"
Beltz said seriously, "Don't underestimate him. He's no ordinary child."
"Is that so..." Seeing Beltz's serious expression, Rukia added, "Then take him to the Doctor first. I'm going to take a shower."
Beltz took Teach into Vegapunk's lab. The doctor was currently frantically researching Aaroniero. This was a specimen unlike any he had ever seen, possessing power beyond imagination.
"Doctor, how is the research going?"
Beltz's sudden voice made Vegapunk jump. He said with some irritation, "You really are startling. Good thing I wasn't doing dangerous research, or an explosion would have cost me my old life."
"I knocked for ages before coming in," Beltz sighed. "And I've brought you a second singular race."
Vegapunk's eyes lit up. "A Lunarian? You found one so fast?"
Beltz had told the doctor about his goals before leaving. He shook his head. "Not a Lunarian. It's the D. clan—and a very special one at that. His constitution allows him to consume multiple Devil Fruits. You can research him alongside Aaroniero."
Beltz then said to Teach, "From now on, you will cooperate with Dr. Vegapunk's research, understood?"
"Um," Teach nodded obediently, "I understand."
"How is the Aaroniero research?" Beltz asked.
Vegapunk, originally excited about the rare race, turned serious. "It's difficult. He is different from any race or human I've seen before. I analyzed his Lineage Factor, but even after various experiments, I found that clones simulated with his blood can only hold a maximum of three Devil Fruits, not an unlimited amount."
I see... Beltz felt a bit disappointed but didn't show it. Still, three abilities were already incredibly broken.
"However, this devouring trait is unstable. It makes the individual extremely afraid of sunlight, almost like..." Vegapunk thought for a moment, "like the legendary vampires."
"Then perhaps we can use Teach to patch that weakness," Beltz suggested.
In the later stages of the original story, Blackbeard ate two fruits; it was unknown if he could eat a third. But now, through the research on Aaroniero, it was clear that three were possible. Vegapunk couldn't push further perhaps because Aaroniero was fundamentally unique—his specialty lay not in the physical body reconstructed in One Piece, but in his soul. High-density spiritual bodies are virtually indistinguishable from flesh, but "virtually" doesn't mean "identical." A Hollow Eater was a rarity even in Hueco Mundo. Even with Vegapunk's technology, it might not be possible to perfectly replicate it. After all, the Hueco Mundo scientist Szayelaporro had always coveted the Hollow Eater's traits but never produced results.
Being able to consume three Devil Fruits was already insane enough; Beltz wasn't greedy. Using Aaroniero's traits to create a "Hollow-Id" clone could hold three fruits. Using Teach's traits to create a "Soul Reaper-Super-Ego" clone could hold two. Combined with his main body, he would effectively have six Devil Fruits!
The thought made him crave the Lunarian descendant even more. Only this last step remained!
Beltz was so excited he couldn't wait another minute. After bidding farewell to Vegapunk, he immediately left Wano again. This time he didn't stop, flying straight toward the Sorbet Kingdom!
He once again marveled at how "overpowered" the Azure Dragon Fruit was in One Piece. As a Quincy, he could fly even without it, but for a person in this world, eating the fruit granted invincible defense, incredible stamina, regeneration, and flight. Especially flight! There are no planes here; travel between nations depends on ships and usually takes months, with threats from pirates and the Navy along the way. But the Azure Dragon just flies—nothing in the sky can touch it! The only threat would be Shiki's Flying Pirate Fleet, but he was already in a partnership with him.
A journey that should have taken months or even a year took him less than half a month. Since he had only been gone for a little over two years, the Sorbet Kingdom hadn't changed much. However, when he saw Ginny and Kuma, he noticed they had grown.
Kuma was now twelve, and Ginny was sixteen. While Kuma was tall but still a child, Ginny had truly become an adult. She was much more mature and beautiful.
"Lord Beltz?!" Ginny, who was outside doing laundry, looked up with an expression of shock, then jumped up with excitement and ran to hug him.
"Ginny, long time no see." Beltz smiled and hugged her back. "You've become even more beautiful!"
Ginny giggled. "Lord Beltz, have you finished your business?"
"Not yet." Beltz sighed. He probably wouldn't be able to stay long before leaving again.
Kuma heard the commotion and came out, showing the same surprised expression as Ginny.
"Kuma, long time no see." Beltz walked over and asked, "How are Shanks and Shamrock? Are they doing well?"
"Long time no see, Lord Beltz," Kuma replied happily. "Shanks and Shamrock are in the southern village. They are very well-loved by the villagers."
"It's thanks to your help that the children were able to grow up."
"I didn't consider things well enough. You two are still children yourselves; making children look after children was my mistake." Beltz said, "Come, let's go see the brothers. We can catch up on the way."