Marshall D. Teach, also known as Blackbeard, started his journey as a pirate apprentice. He joined the Whitebeard Pirates, where he spent two decades learning the ropes. However, his ambitions led him to kill a crewmate to acquire the Yami Yami no Mi. He then formed his own crew, the Blackbeard Pirates, and became a captain. His cunning and strategic mind led him to deceive the Marines by joining the Seven Warlords of the Sea, which was a ploy to gain access to Impel Down and recruit powerful crewmates. After usurping the position of Emperor from Edward Newgate, his crew grew into a fleet of ten ships, each led by one of the Ten Titanic Captains, and Teach himself became an admiral.