Easy! If fate weren't on my side, how would I have gotten away from Pops so easily after killin' Thatch? How would my first target have wound up bein' related ta the only commander that's been chasin' me? Why would there've been a break-out at Impel Down at the exact time that I was headin' there myself, givin' me exactly the distraction I needed? There's too much stuff goin' my way fer it ta be a coincidence!

[If Blackbeard's shocked, his face and voice don't display any hint of it. He's spent over twenty years on Whitebeard's ship, always intending to backstab him at one point, and lying constantly in regards to his ambitions and his strength. Having to lie for a few moments is child's play. If anything, the revelation helps to maintain the smile on his face - going by that comment, he was (will be? Stupid time-travel tense issues) still alive when Shanks showed up, meaning it was quite likely that he survived his experiment (basically the only part of his plan that he had the slightest doubts about), seeing as he was going to carry it out seconds before he was brought here. Sure, there's the matter of him surviving Shanks, but he assumes that he got out okay - after all, it's his fate.]

So? I'll deal with him, Kaidou, an' Bigmom eventually! Hell, he was easy enough ta beat back in the day! He'll have gotten stronger since then, o' course, but once I've healed up, my crew an' my powers'll be enough ta beat 'im!