Teach had underestimated these musicians.
He had originally assumed the process would take a long time. After all, some musicians spent years refining a single classic. Yet with Teach's melodies and clearly defined ideas as a foundation, the musicians of Venus moved with astonishing speed, quickly filling in and perfecting the entire piece.
Before long, "He's a Pirate" began to feel exactly like the version etched into Teach's memory.
These were, after all, world-renowned masters. Teach did not understand their methods in detail, but the results spoke for themselves. Once they fully immersed themselves, they became obsessed. They barely rested, stayed up through the night, and refined the composition nonstop. Even when others tried to stop them, it was useless.
During this period, Teach was not idle.
He joined them, discussed music, and absorbed knowledge at an alarming rate. Subtly influenced by their passion, his understanding of music deepened significantly.
Inspired, he followed his memories and wrote two more pieces he loved deeply: "The Dawn," also known as "Overture to the Undead," and the most forceful of all, "Victory."
With "He's a Pirate" already proven, no one doubted him anymore. Writing additional masterpieces without formal musical training no longer seemed strange, especially after he had learned so much in such a short time.
Instead, the musicians began to look at Teach with fervent admiration.
In their eyes, Teach was a true musical genius. His foundation was weak, but when it came to composition, even they felt inferior.
Teach accepted this praise without the slightest guilt.
As his understanding of music and instrumentation grew, the refinement of the two new pieces progressed even faster. He already had the complete soundscape in his mind. He knew exactly which instruments should appear at each stage and what emotions they needed to convey.
At the same time, Teach himself changed.
With his strength steadily increasing, his sense of urgency faded. Few people could threaten him now, and that confidence allowed him to slow down.
Beyond daily training, he spent time studying music and playing the piano, enjoying a rare sense of peace.
That calm, combined with the nourishment of music, quietly transformed him.
His Observation Haki grew stronger, both in range and precision. His perception sharpened, becoming more refined than ever before.
The refinement of the three pieces, along with Teach's musical studies, lasted a full month.
On board the Lucky Goddess sat a newly installed piano. Its main body was black, accented with deep blue, and emblazoned with the Nightfall Pirates' emblem. It was custom-made for Teach, crafted from the finest materials by the most skilled artisans.
Money, of course, was not an issue.
During this time, Teach was granted the title of Honorary Composer by the Venus Music Association. Though his performance skills were still limited, his compositions earned unanimous approval. Pirate or not, they did not care.
Some of them even eagerly awaited Teach's future works, promising to refine them for free.
This month changed more than just Teach.
The musicians themselves underwent a transformation. While refining Teach's music, they discovered entirely new combinations and techniques. Their inspiration surged, and many felt as though a new world had opened before them.
Even the siren-like opening of "Victory" alone was enough to leave them spellbound.
Because of this connection, even the most prestigious piano craftsmen were willing to personally build Teach's instrument.
At that moment, Teach was playing "The Dawn," though he still preferred to call it "Overture to the Undead."
Crew members gathered around him, quietly listening to the piano version echo through the ship.
With all three pieces complete, Teach's formal study of music came to an end. A new journey awaited them.
His progress on the piano was especially rapid. His body was already strong, and with his powerful Observation Haki, his control and precision reached an astonishing level.
Liszt could only marvel at it.
The Nightfall Pirates had stayed in Venus for a full month. Now, it was time to leave.
When they departed, only a few musicians came to see them off. Most were still buried in Teach's scores, studying them obsessively. What they were discovering was enough to spark a revolution in the world of music.
These compositions came from two different worlds. Familiar, yet utterly unconventional.
For now, however, they would remain hidden.
An agreement had been made. Though the musicians had refined the pieces, they were Teach's creations. They could be played privately, but not performed publicly.
Teach wanted the first official performance in this world to belong to his own crew, a debut that would shake the seas.
They all agreed.
Teach also promised that when the time came, they would be invited to witness that historic performance in person. And whenever he wrote new music, he would seek their help again.
On this point, Teach was very honest. He knew his limits.
The Nightfall Pirates' month-long stay in Venus soon appeared in the World Economic Journal. Morgans himself wrote the report. With his intelligence network, it was easy to uncover Teach's title as an Honorary Composer and the fact that his music had been acknowledged by world-class masters.
Even with strict secrecy, fragments leaked out. The names of the pieces, including "He's a Pirate," spread quietly. In the Great Pirate Era, curiosity bloomed everywhere.
As the Nightfall Pirates set sail once more, attention naturally followed.
Intelligence reports claimed they had recruited another musician, a fallen genius who had returned. Franz Liszt, born into a prestigious musical family, frail yet immediately promoted to executive status. His Devil Fruit was mysterious, tied to the mind and soul.
Teach could not help but admire Morgans' accuracy, though he paid it little mind.
As the voyage continued, Liszt struggled through training.
His body was too weak. He could only train for half an hour at a time, then rest for a full hour before resuming. Even so, this was a vast improvement.
A month earlier, he could only endure ten minutes before collapsing in pain, needing half a day to recover.
Liszt's fragility surprised Teach, but based on his condition, Teach devised a specialized training plan. It combined physical training, heavy nutrition, and instruction in Life Return.
With Liszt's immense mental strength and Teach's guidance, he had a unique advantage in learning Life Return. Once he mastered it, his physical growth would accelerate dramatically.
Liszt endured it all.
He had suffered enough from his weakness. He had known despair, shattered dreams, and the shadow of death. Now that hope existed, he would never let go.
He was deeply grateful to Teach for identifying his condition and guiding him properly. Training blindly might have only injured him further or even shortened his lifespan.
Though Liszt looked fragile enough to be knocked down with a single punch, no one underestimated him.
In fact, many crew members considered him more dangerous than most executives.
In less than a month, he had grasped Life Return, something many of them still struggled with. When he first boarded the ship, he had demonstrated his power.
That overwhelming mental force dragged people into hell itself. They collapsed without the slightest ability to resist.
Liszt's mental attacks surpassed even Teach's Conqueror's Haki in lethality.
This was not intimidation.
It was true mental destruction.
Liszt was only twenty years old. He had run away from home at sixteen and eaten his Devil Fruit at nine. The side effects began when he was eleven.
For years, he had seen his ability as both hope and curse, never abandoning its development. As a musician, he possessed a unique compatibility with it.
Through despair and rebirth, his Devil Fruit had evolved.
In Teach's judgment, Liszt was already on the brink of awakening. Whether in a few years or sooner, it was inevitable.
At present, his strength ranked among the top three of the Nightfall Pirates, alongside Teach and Redyat.
Such mental power was almost impossible to resist. Few people in the world had any means to defend against it.
Liszt's arrival did more than fill the role of musician. It greatly increased the crew's overall strength.
Next, he would need to develop real combat experience, something he had never had before. But with his power, very few enemies in the West Blue could truly threaten him.
After Venus, the Nightfall Pirates resumed their voyage.
...
Soon, three years had passed since the crew's founding.
They remained low-key, quietly accumulating strength. After appearing briefly, they vanished from the seas for over half a year.
Teach had found a Beast Island and subjected his crew to brutal special training.
Meanwhile, the seas grew turbulent.
Pirates rose and fell. The Navy fought relentlessly. New monsters emerged.
Among them was Ares the "Ferocious God," a half-demon who had fought Kaido of the Beasts for six days and six nights before falling into the sea and vanishing.
His subordinate, Sarika, defeated Queen the Plague and was ultimately held back by King the Wildfire.
Ares became infamous, challenging countless powerful figures, including Marines. He was captured twice and escaped twice.
It was later discovered that the White Bird Pirates had repeatedly rescued him. A strange connection existed between them.
No one could kill Ares.
No one could contain him.
Even Seastone shackles could not hold his strength.
Eventually, their identities were exposed.
Both Ares and Sarika had eaten Zoan-type Human-Human Fruits.
The revelation shocked the world.
Through relentless investigation, the last traces of those Devil Fruits were uncovered. The ultimate buyer was revealed to be none other than the captain of the Nightfall Pirates, the "Dark Emperor" Teach, back when he still sailed under Whitebeard.
The news detonated across the world.
Fear of the Dark Emperor reached new heights.