Marshall D. Teach/History

Traveling with Whitebeard
Teach was born 40 years ago on the Grand Line. In his youth he grew up as an orphan. 28 years ago, at age 12, Teach encountered Whitebeard and his crew and asked to join them, a request that Whitebeard granted. In truth, Teach was seeking out a specific Devil Fruit known as the Yami Yami no Mi, and only joined Whitebeard's crew because he thought he would have the best chance of obtaining the fruit that way.

Around 26 years ago, the Whitebeard Pirates clashed with the Roger Pirates on an island for three days and three nights before the skirmish ultimately became a gift exchange. This was when Teach met Shanks for the first time and as the two stared at each other from a distance Teach told Marco he was unimpressed at seeing his fellow pirate apprentice. On the same occasion, Buggy, another apprentice of the Roger Pirates, told Shanks about the rumor that Teach has never slept a single day in his life.

22 years ago, after Shiki had escaped Impel Down, Teach at age 18 was present amongst Marco, Jozu, Vista, Blenheim, and Haruta while the Flying Pirate spoke to Whitebeard about his plan. 20 years ago, Teach, Jozu, and Marco were present in Whitebeards takeover and protection of the Fish-Man Island territories.

More than twelve years before the current storyline, Teach and Shanks fought in a battle. During the battle, Teach gave Shanks the three scars by his eyes. Teach eventually became a member of the second division and encouraged Portgas D. Ace to seek the commander position, refusing it himself on the basis that he did not "have that kind of ambition".

Blood and Betrayal
Shortly after Luffy had received his first bounty, the commander of the Whitebeard Pirates' fourth division Thatch found a Devil Fruit, which Teach recognized as the Yami Yami no Mi and the very reason he had joined the crew. Desperate to get the fruit at any cost, Teach murdered Thatch, stole the fruit and subsequently fled the crew. Upon the Whitebeard Pirates learning of the murder, Ace set out to find Teach for betraying their "father", despite Whitebeard's reluctance to send the commander to his possible doom.

After eating the Yami Yami no Mi at long last, Teach adopted the name "Blackbeard" and soon formed the Blackbeard Pirates, which composed of Laffitte, a former policeman from the West Blue and the crew's navigator, Van Augur the sniper, Jesus Burgess the helmsman, Doc Q the doctor and Stronger, Doc Q's horse. Shortly afterwards, the crew attacked the Drum Kingdom, causing its king, Wapol, to flee and ironically liberating Drum Kingdom from his tyranny.

Jaya Arc
The Blackbeard Pirates made a stop on Jaya. While his crew members were hanging around, with the exception of Laffitte who went to Mary Geoise to nominate his captain to become one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea to take Crocodile's place which was declined by the World Government because of Teach's lack of a reputation, Teach sat in a bar. Luffy, together with his crew members Zoro and Nami did enter and took a sit next to Teach. Suddenly, both made a remark about the cherry pie being served to them. Noticing that both their remarks oppose one another, Luffy and Teach decided not to mind each other and just drink some soda. After drinking the soda, they both once again made opposing remarks. Really noticing each other this time around, both of them were starting to get mad at the other's preference. The two then decided to have some food for takeout, with Luffy ordering pieces of meat and Teach ordering cherry pies. However, upon learning the number of food that the other was ordering, the two began a competition of who can order more than the other. At this moment, Luffy and Teach were about to fight each other over the meaningless argument. Not wanting any trouble in his tavern, Terry gave Teach his pies and requested his departure. As Teach was leaving the tavern, Bellamy entered much to the other customers' surprise.



After Luffy and Zoro had taken a beating by Bellamy, Teach told Nami that Skypiea exists. He then asked why Nami was sad when there was nothing to be sad about since Luffy and Zoro won that fight. Teach said that the "new age" they talk of was nonsense and laughed that the age in which pirates dream will never end. While he went on with his speech, everyone wondered what he was yelling so loudly for. Teach said that some battles are pointless and laughs. He later left and wished the Straw Hats good luck on their trip to Sky Island. Teach then laughed, saying that his rum tasted good.

After learning his identity, Teach planned to capture Luffy, who had a 100,000,000 bounty on his head, before he made it to a Sky Island, as well as Zoro, who had a 60,000,000 bounty. While the Straw Hats were preparing to ride the Knock Up Stream, he approached the crew on his raft-esque ship and showed the new bounties. Before he could capture Luffy and Zoro, his ship was destroyed when the Knock Up Stream shot the Straw Hats into the sky. But Teach remained confident that they would meet again.

Post-Enies Lobby Arc


After Teach and his crew had pillaged a town on Banaro Island, Teach read a newspaper about the Enies Lobby incident and remarked that Luffy's bounty will surely rise. Before they could leave to pursue him, Ace appeared and challenged them. Teach called him his commander, but Ace told him to save it. Teach continued to act friendly, saying it had been a long time since they have seen each other, but Ace reminded him that he killed one of his comrades and doing so is unforgivable. Teach then offered Ace to join his crew, saying they would be invincible if he joined. He then went on to say that the reign of Whitebeard will soon end, and their first step was Monkey D. Luffy. He suggested Ace to come with him to kill Luffy (as he was still in Water 7 at the time), but Ace said that Luffy is his brother and outright refused to join his crew.

Augur attempted to shoot Ace who retaliated with Higan and shot fire bullets rapidly at Van Augur. Burgess tossed an entire house at Ace, but it was burned with ease by Ace's Fire Pillar. Teach yelled at Augur and Burgess, telling them that Ace was way out of their league and that they should fall back. Suddenly, Ace used Hiken to burn Teach. Teach managed to survive the attack and got back up. He admitted that he killed Thatch as he had the Devil Fruit that he had been searching for. He recognized the fruit Thatch was holding since he had researched the size and shape of the fruit. He revealed that he spent decades on Whitebeard's ship, because he knew he had a better chance of finding the fruit. He waited there for so long until it finally came to him in his crewmate's hands. He said that getting the Devil Fruit was his fate, and with it, he will be the greatest. His hand began to dissolve into darkness as he said that even for a Logia, this fruit is very special. His whole body began to radiate in a black glow as he said that he is "darkness".

Ace questioned Teach's Devil Fruit abilities, so Teach stated that his fruit, the Yami Yami no Mi, is said to be the most dangerous of the Devil Fruits and that Ace cannot kill him. Meanwhile, the townspeople saw black smoke in the town and noted that the pirates were still present so they should run. The rest of the Blackbeard Pirates were fleeing, saying that Teach was about to go wild. Teach sent tendrils of darkness in every direction, enveloping the buildings and scaring the escaping townspeople. Some citizens said that the smoke reminded them of a hole in the ground, but they continued through the forest and out to the coast. Teach explained that his darkness is infinite gravitation that sucks everything in including light. Ace commented that the darkness was not approaching him, but Teach stated that he was not attacking yet, but he was merely demonstrating. Suddenly, Teach activated his Black Hole and sucked all of the town's contents, including its buildings, into his darkness, making them disappear. Teach stated that the darkness will draw in any object and crush it and proceeded to tell Ace that he would show him the town in its ruined form. Teach then used Liberation to send the ruined pieces of the town flying out into a ring around Ace and Teach. The civilians were stunned by the destruction of their town while Blackbeard simply bragged about his ability.



However, he realized too late the small points of flame from Ace's Hotarubi which exploded, coating him in flames. While Teach rolled around in pain, Ace stated that he understood the power of the Yami Yami no Mi, but said that if Teach was a Logia, he should have been able to avoid his attack. The darkness quickly absorbed the flames, and Teach stood back up, saying that his fruit can suck in everything, including punches, thunder, flame, and especially pain, meaning that he cannot fend off attacks like other Logia. However, Teach stated the flaw in his ability was well worth the tradeoff because there was one more thing he could do and proceeded to drag Ace towards him with gravitation. Seizing Ace's shoulder, Teach stated that Ace must have noticed the ability and punched Ace hard in the stomach.

Ace was sent flying as Teach commented on how long it must have been since Ace was last punched. Teach explained that he can suck in the "devil's power" so that while he is touching a Devil Fruit user, they cannot use their powers. Teach stated that he has gained a power that cannot be defended against for Devil Fruit users who overrate their abilities. Ace replied that he could only neutralize Devil Fruit powers as long as he touched the user and all he had to do was avoid Teach. Teach knew better though and reminded Ace of the gravitational pull that comes with his Devil Fruit ability and dragged Ace towards him again. Ace launched two flaming spears that pierced and burned Teach's chest but Teach landed a powerful punch that nearly broke Ace's neck. Crossing his fingers, Ace fired a flaming cross, but Teach merely grinned. Van Augur commented that he had thought that a Devil Fruit user would be weak and powerless without his ability, but that Ace's basic fighting power was amazing and had earned him a spot as Whitebeard's division commander, which was another one of fate's crossroads. The civilians watched as their island was destroyed and Banana Rock fell, stating that no human could do this much damage and put their entire island at risk.



Ace fell as Teach stated that nothing stands a chance in front of darkness and offered Ace another opportunity to join his crew as it would be a waste of his strength if he were to die. Ace refused, saying that if he gave in, he could not call himself a man anymore and there would be no point in living. Teach laughed, saying that once you die your morals are useless and survival is what matters in the world. Ace then gathered fire around him before forming it into a large flaming orb. Teach stated that only one of them could win while Ace declared his desire to make Whitebeard the king, and their attacks collided. In the end, Teach defeated Ace in what came to be called the "Duel on Banaro Island" and handed him over to the Marines. Afterward, Teach was declared Crocodile's successor as a Warlord of the Sea, and Ace was imprisoned in Impel Down.

Amazon Lily Arc


When the World Government issued a call for the Seven Warlords of the Sea to join the coming battle with Whitebeard, Teach answered it. He later dined with the other Warlords, except for Jinbe and Boa Hancock.

Impel Down Arc
A few hours before Ace's execution was going to take place, Teach began to put his real plan in motion as he and his crew stole a marine ship, killing all the navy soldiers onboard for good measure. The Blackbeard Pirates then arrived at Impel Down and viciously attacked anyone who tried to stop them from entering the prison. The guards already had their hands full because of a group of prisoners were already wreaking havoc on the lower levels so Teach and his men easily made their way through Impel Down decimating all the jailers in their path until the crew encountered Shiryu with Teach assuming he was the infamous warden Magellan. Instead of fighting like he was ordered to Shiryu let Teach pass and the pirates made their way all the way to level four just in time to hear Hannyabal's epic speech, after which Teach beat the vice-warden down to the floor while mocking him for his black and white worldviews. Teach then looked around and smirked at seeing that the "gang was all here". After Jinbe called him Blackbeard, Teach was confronted by a furious Luffy. Teach laughed and greeted Luffy in a friendly matter saying how surprised he was when he learned that he was his former commander's younger brother then told the Straw Hat captain the details of his confrontation with Ace.



When Teach told Luffy to praise his good luck, as Teach would surely have killed Luffy instead of just defeating Ace, had Ace let Teach off the hook, Luffy angrily attacked the Warlord in Gear Second with Gomu Gomu no Jet Pistol. The two had a small skirmish, but it was stopped by Jinbe, who told Luffy not to waste time fighting Teach now as he had to save Ace. Teach noted Luffy's Haki has improved and admitted he had underestimated Luffy's strength. When Magellan showed up, Teach allowed Luffy, and the rest proceed to Level Three. Crocodile was curious at Teach's presence at the prison as he was risking the warlord status he worked so hard to gain with Teach simply saying it was all part of his plan.

Teach even received a comment from Jinbe that his assault on the Great Prison proved instrumental for the breakout. Teach then replied that he was also grateful for them, since a panic within Impel Down prior to him and his crew's arrival was exactly what they needed, right before stating that his crew and him would "shake the whole world to its core". The Blackbeard Pirates later came face-to-face with Magellan. During the confrontation, the warden quickly poisoned the entire crew with his Hydra. Teach stated that the pain was unbearable and screamed, as Magellan walked past them to pursue Luffy.

Teach and his crew survived from Magellan's poison by receiving an antidote from Shiryu. Teach then commented that Shiryu would make a fine addition to his crew and invited him to join his crew again. Shiryu accepted, stating that he was waiting for a man of his stature.



After recruiting Shiryu, Teach made his way down to Level Six where he invited anyone with the will to be free again to join his crew. However, there was one catch: the prisoners in their cells would have to kill each other in order to prove their strength to him and only the sole survivors of each cage would gain their freedom. It is unknown just how many prisoners died as the result but Teach got four more recruits: Sanjuan Wolf, Avalo Pizarro, Vasco Shot, and Catarina Devon. With that, the newly reinforced Blackbeard Pirates left the prison and headed for Marineford, either not knowing or not caring that some other Level 6 prisoners survived and slipped out of prison.

One Piece: Stampede
There was one more person who survived the battle royale. However, when Teach saw it was none other than Douglas Bullet, he immediately decided to leave him alone, taking the others to the surface with him, while marveling at the fact that the man known as the "Demon Heir" was still alive.

Marineford Arc


Teach later appeared at Marineford, having snuck in to see his former captain's death. He was seen with the new recruits from Impel Down. Blackbeard then told Sengoku that the sole reason he obtained the title of Warlord of the Sea was to gain the means to break into Impel Down and bolster the ranks of his crew with legendary criminals, then Blackbeard gloated that he no longer needed that title anymore, effectively resigning from the position then and there.

Acting as the vanguard of their attack, Teach initiated his crew's assault by using his Devil Fruit powers to increase the gravity upon the ground from which Whitebeard stood, binding him in place, and then used Kurouzu to pull Whitebeard into his grasp to nullify the latter's Gura Gura no Mi powers. Unfortunately for Teach, this did not completely deter the Emperor, who struck Teach down using his Murakumogiri, sending him to the ground. Whitebeard then proceeded to reprimand him that overconfidence and rashness were his weaknesses and continued by placing a strong grip around Teach's neck and sent a powerful shock wave bubble at point-blank range upon his head, once again sending a massive tremor throughout Marineford.



Having lost his composure, Teach ordered his crewmates to fire everything they got on his former captain. Despite this, Whitebeard held his ground and firmly told Teach he is not the one whom Roger is awaiting, much to Teach's shock. After listening to Whitebeard's speech and then yelling to the heavens that the One Piece was real, Teach commented on how strong his ex-captain's dying words were. Shortly afterwards, Teach was shocked to see Whitebeard died standing.

Teach and his crew then quickly covered Whitebeard's body with a black cloth, which Teach entered as well for a short time. He later emerged from the cloth and showed off not only the power of the Yami Yami no Mi, but also the Gura Gura no Mi as he inexplicably managed to extract that power from Whitebeard's body. With a mighty laugh, Teach proclaimed to everyone present and everyone watching these events that from that moment on, this was his era.

Overconfident with his newfound powers, he began to wonder if sinking Marineford would be a good start. He and the rest of his crew were promptly sent flying by an enormous shock wave delivered by Sengoku in his Buddha form. The fleet admiral warned him about his cockiness and Teach replied that he was looking forward to seeing Sengoku protecting Marineford, prepared to continue the fight. After he destroys more of Marineford, Teach was warned by his crewmates to not destroy the ground they were standing on. Teach admitted he was having some difficulty controlling the newfound power. He then taunted Sengoku and Garp, stating that he will end their age just like he ended Whitebeard's. He seemed to have been somewhat shocked by Koby's speech, and—upon Shanks' arrival—ultimately decided to leave Marineford, having already gotten what he came for and stated that he will fight the Red Hair Pirates another day.

Post-War Arc


Teach made his move in the New World, defeating Jewelry Bonney and her crew in the process. At a burning island, the crew was bickering amongst each other. The Blackbeard Pirates' raft was brought close to the point of destruction due to Sanjuan Wolf's size, and they seemingly got in contact with the Marines to trade Bonney for a battleship. Teach said Bonney was too weak to survive in the New World. He offered her the chance to be his woman and let her stay, but she turned him down, kicking him in the head (due to only her hands being tied up). Van Augur alerted Teach that the battleship arrived, but not for trade because Akainu was on board. Knowing that the deal would not happen, the Blackbeard Pirates fled, leaving Bonney and her crew behind to be arrested.

During the Timeskip


One year after the war at Marineford, the Blackbeard Pirates fought against the remnants of the Whitebeard Pirates and ultimately won. It was after this event that Teach was officially recognized as one of the Four Emperors.

Teach used his knowledge of Whitebeard's former territory to conquer most of it. During this time, Teach also expanded the crew into a fleet, and with it the hierarchy of the crew was also changed: promoting all of his crewmates to captains of their own respective ships, while Teach himself ascended to the newly formed position of Admiral, giving him command over all the captains and their ships. The Blackbeard Pirates then began the process of hunting down powerful Devil Fruit users in order to absorb their abilities.



At some point Teach met Kuzan after he froze most of the crew. After a brief clash, the two sat down and started drinking and laughing. Teach told Kuzan about the man with the burn scar and how he possesses the fourth and final Road Poneglyph that would help lead them to Laugh Tale. After assuring Kuzan that the crew would not kill him and steal his Devil Fruit power despite what Laffitte suggested, Teach asked Kuzan to join his crew. Kuzan was skeptical but Teach explained to the former admiral that he had completely misunderstood pirates, and that their interests could actually align with each other. Kuzan, who felt he had nothing left to lose, accepted Teach's offer and became one of his Titanic Captains.

Teach also began recruiting other pirate crews under his reign, such as Peachbeard.

Teach took part in the Rocky Port Incident, in which he clashed with the former Rocks Pirates member Ochoku over control of the island Hachinosu. According to Teach, the Marines' interference, namely the interference of Marine Captain Koby, helped him win the battle and become the new ruler of Hachinosu, officially making the island part of his territory and his crew's base of operations.

Dressrosa Arc


During the tournament for the Mera Mera no Mi at Dressrosa, Teach discussed Kuzan being in their crew with Jesus Burgess via Den Den Mushi, to which Burgess asserted that the former admiral could not be trusted. When Burgess announced that Luffy had arrived, Teach greeted the young pirate and voiced surprise that he was a combatant as well. Knowing why Luffy entered the tournament, Teach assured him that Burgess would be the combatant to obtain the devil fruit, as it would be the next best thing to having Ace join his crew since the latter rejected his previous offer. Luffy then angrily stated that he would never allow him to steal Ace's power.

Zou Arc
The Blackbeard Pirates later attacked Baltigo, the Revolutionary Army's headquarters. Baltigo was destroyed by the time the Marines and Cipher Pol arrived, but the Revolutionary Army was able to escape. However, Teach and his crew fled after briefly clashing with Cipher Pol.

Levely Arc
As the news of Luffy's exploits at Totto Land spread across the world, Teach read the newspaper and laughed while commenting that it was too soon for Luffy to be called an Emperor.

Wano Country Arc
Gecko Moria was searching for Teach and Absalom at Hachinosu when he was confronted by Shiryu and Catarina Devon. Teach called out to Moria through a loudspeaker, extending an offer for Moria to join his crew and remarking on current events in Wano and at the Levely. Moria refused however, so Teach had him locked up with several other prisoners on the island.



After the Levely, with the release of the news that the World Government was abolishing the Seven Warlords of the Sea, Teach ordered his crew to set sail, planning to acquire the Mero Mero no Mi before the Marines could take it. Upon reaching Amazon Lily, Teach knocked aside the Marine ships and invaded the island with some of his subordinates, so the Marines sent S-Hawk to fight Teach and his crew. Teach managed to hold off the Seraphim and capture Hancock after she had petrified most of the Marines and pirates, including Devon and Shot. Koby tried to negotiate Hancock's release so she could restore those who had been petrified but Teach refused to trust Hancock. Before Teach could kill her though, Silvers Rayleigh arrived and intimidated Teach into sparing Hancock and leaving Amazon Lily, allowing everyone to be unpetrified. However, before Teach's crew left, he resorted to stealing a battleship with 800 captive Marines. Because the Marines did not get permission from headquarters, they could not object to his actions as an Emperor. Koby then suggested that Teach take him as a prisoner in exchange for the captives and ship, which Teach accepted. This trade was unknown to the public, so it was instead reported that after the Marines and Blackbeard Pirates left the island, the Blackbeard Pirates had captured Koby.

Sometime later, Teach came up with a plan to use Koby's life to force the World Government to recognize Hachinosu as a member nation. Even though Koby and Kuzan explained that the Marines would not give in since Koby was a member of SWORD, Teach was confident that the World Government would not want to lose such a popular Marine as Koby, so he kept to his plan and had Koby imprisoned on the island.

Egghead Arc


After Big Mom and Kaidou's downfalls, Teach and his crewmembers Doc Q, Jesus Burgess, Van Augur and Stronger later laid an ambushed for whichever crew sailed to Winner Island from Wano in an attempt to steal their Road Poneglyph copies. It turned out to be the Heart Pirates, so Teach and Law braced for a winner-take-all battle over the copies. Starting the battle, Teach unleashed a Gurash on the Heart Pirates, but then fell off of Stronger when Law cut the horse from afar, with Teach admitting his surprise over Law's awakened abilities. After Law stabbed and shocked Teach, Augur warped to Teach in midair and scolded him for recklessly rushing into the battle without a plan. When Augur suggested a retreat, Teach refused and had him warped to where Law was. Teach confirmed Law's suspicion that all his officers had gained Devil Fruit powers and brushed off Law's comments about the one weakness every Devil Fruit has, saying it would be well worth the trade-off. They both engaged once again in battle, with Teach's Kurouzu and Law's R-ROOM clashing in the middle. Eventually, Teach defeated Law and destroyed his ship before telling him that the pirates whose hearts he stole were still on Hachinosu, suggesting he should bring his heart there too, but then was unsure what to do with the Ope Ope no Mi; either sell it for lots of money or use its power to gain eternal youth. However, he was caught off guard by Bepo, who transformed into his Sulong form without a full moon thanks to a special drug given to him by Chopper, smacking Teach away before grabbing Law and fleeing.