As Zeke continued his endless elaboration, Blackbeard wore a broad grin at first. He loved hearing Zeke talk about how, from the very first moment he saw him, he believed he would conquer the world and become its king.
That kind of conviction—it was intoxicating.
Flattery never failed.
But gradually—
The smile on Blackbeard's face faded. What replaced it was shock, disbelief, and burning excitement. Beside him, Burgess, Van Augur, and Doc Q exchanged glances with widened pupils.
"That's about the gist of it. I've got more detailed plans in my head. As long as Captain Teach follows the steps I lay out, conquering the world will be a piece of cake."
Zeke spoke as though it were the most natural thing in the world.
He didn't miss the expressions on the four men's faces.
He had them right where he wanted them.
Right on target.
After all, in the original timeline, this was exactly what Blackbeard did.
"C-Captain… should our plan be to become a Warlord first?"
Burgess's voice had changed.
They had only just made that exact decision—to pursue the Warlord title—and Zeke's words mirrored it precisely. And he had even laid out the follow-up steps… ones Blackbeard hadn't even mentioned yet.
"Zehahaha!!!"
Suddenly—
Blackbeard jumped to his feet and let out a wild laugh, looking at Zeke with exhilaration. This guy's plan was identical to his own—except it was more detailed, more precise.
It all made sense now.
Everything fell into place.
He had originally planned to become a Warlord, but had been unsure of the next steps. And now, Zeke had shown him the path forward.
"Captain, with Zeke's plan, our odds of success are huge."
Van Augur, for the first time, truly took Zeke seriously.
He had done the mental math. The plan was feasible. Though it came with many obstacles, if they succeeded, taking the world wouldn't be difficult.
"Exactly! This was the part I hadn't yet figured out."
Blackbeard's tone grew impassioned. He felt like he'd struck gold. He hadn't expected Zeke's mind to be this sharp.
In that moment—
Zeke's importance in Blackbeard's eyes grew even further.
"Where did you learn all this information? No beggar could access it."
At this critical moment, Doc Q threw a bucket of cold water with his lifeless tone.
Not out of suspicion—just curiosity.
"Everyone has their own past and secrets."
"The real question is—do you have the guts to bet everything?"
Zeke didn't answer directly. He wasn't flustered. He simply lifted his chin slightly, radiating confidence.
"Well said!"
"Doc Q, that was rude."
Blackbeard was more and more impressed with Zeke.
He was exactly his kind of man.
"To thank Captain Teach for letting me join the Blackbeard Pirates, I've prepared a gift worth more than a hundred billion berries."
"And it also contains clues about Pluton."
Zeke dropped another bombshell.
The air fell silent.
Blackbeard, who had just sat down, shot to his feet again. Burgess, Van Augur, and Doc Q all locked their eyes on Zeke, their minds echoing with one thing: "a hundred billion… Pluton…"
"A hundred… billion?"
Blackbeard's breathing quickened. He could hear his own heartbeat pounding like a drum.
"Maybe more. Might be enough to buy half the world."
Zeke added a flourish. When it came to shock value, he had no intention of holding back.
He had to keep raising the stakes to prove his worth.
"Where? Where is it?!"
Burgess was almost shouting in impatience.
Zeke didn't answer. He simply pointed a finger up toward the ceiling, drawing puzzled looks from the others as they raised their heads.
"Ever heard of the city of Shandora?"
"A golden city destroyed 800 years ago—everything in it was made of gold. Buildings, roads, bricks—gold, all of it."
"It's no legend. It's real."
"And the golden city floats ten thousand meters above the sea."
"Inside it lies a Poneglyph that holds clues to an Ancient Weapon."
When he finished speaking—
Zeke poured himself a glass of rum.
For a long moment, Blackbeard sat back down, staring at the relaxed Zeke sipping his drink, an unreadable expression on his face. Beside him, the other three also looked uneasy and conflicted.
This time, it was Burgess who raised doubt.
"You're not just making this up, are you?"
"Lies always get exposed," Zeke replied calmly, glancing at Burgess with his usual composure. "Didn't you notice? Blackbeard, Van Augur, and Doc Q haven't said a word."
The three had indeed started out suspicious. But the more they thought about it, the more they believed Zeke might be telling the truth.
Just because they couldn't reach the sky island now didn't mean they never could.
And once they did, the truth would be laid bare.
If it turned out to be a lie, Zeke would be dead. So really, it was just a matter of time—meaning it was unlikely he'd be spouting nonsense.
"I always thought the golden city was just a myth. Never imagined it was real."
"Captain, looks like we're going to need to find a way up."
Doc Q and Van Augur spoke one after another.
Whether it was the treasure worth half the world or the clue to an Ancient Weapon, both were worth risking everything for.
As for the Rumble-Rumble Fruit—Zeke had his eye on it.
But it wasn't his top choice.
If he wanted to complete the Usurp Plan, he needed a very specific Devil Fruit.
His first pick had to be something easy to control, that didn't require talent, offered strong survivability, and had deadly offensive capabilities.
Ideally, something decisive—instant kill.
Given his current state, even if he ate the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, and even if he had countless development ideas, his final power level might not even match half of what Enel had achieved.
Reality was harsh.
Zeke's physical aptitude was far too poor.
Even regular people in this world were probably stronger.
He remembered well—both Devil Fruit and Haki in the pirate world were built atop strong bodies.
So his options were limited. With his physical condition, almost any fruit would be wasted on him.
There was only one solution—get a new, native body with monster-tier potential.
Which was why the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, to him, would be a waste. It couldn't compare to the value brought by another particular fruit in the early stages.
Besides, once the Usurp Plan succeeded, Zeke would be able to claim any Devil Fruit he wanted from across the sea.
His first fruit was meant to serve that plan—a stepping stone.
That's right.
Zeke's Usurp Plan was to take Blackbeard's body. He wanted to replace Blackbeard.
Since his own body and potential were garbage, he needed one that was monstrous in both.
The thought of the Darkness and Tremor fruits—being the only dual-fruit user, and able to strip powers from others at will—made Zeke realize the Rumble-Rumble Fruit just wasn't that important.
So if he were to eat a Devil Fruit, it had to be one that directly helped the Usurp Plan.
And as for how to get Blackbeard's body—Zeke already had a plan.
He cleared his thoughts.
For now, the most important thing was proving his worth to Blackbeard and continuing to be useful.
If memory served—
The Straw Hat Pirates would be arriving at Mock Town within a couple of days. Their first meeting with Blackbeard would lead to their sky island adventure.
Which meant Enel was right above them.
Once they reached the sky island, they'd find the golden city and the Poneglyph containing clues to Poseidon.
With that irrefutable evidence, Blackbeard would fully believe in him.
He could even deliver a hard blow—tell Blackbeard that the Poneglyph not only contained clues about Pluton, but also Poseidon and Uranus.
Maybe even weave a tale about Roger's final message.
In the end, he held the right to interpret it all.
If that didn't work—
He could always fall back on his advantage as someone who knew the story. His predictive insights would continue raising his value.
He just needed to control himself—never let Blackbeard suspect his true ambition.