True Feelings Revealed

Inside the castle, after entering, the five members of Xi Yan met the so-called Doctor Hogback.

The other party seemed very hospitable, and upon seeing Xi Yan and his group of five, immediately invited them into their room.

"Roar roar roar roar roar~"

"It's rare to have guests at our doorstep!" Hogback laughed and said, "Welcome to my castle!"

"You're Doctor Hogback?" Xi Yan squinted at Hogback.

He had already obtained information about this guy immediately after his clone disappeared.

According to Lola and the others, this person is most likely a member of Gecko Moria's team, probably a role similar to the Ship's Doctor.

It's unclear whether this World's Number One Doctor came with Moria voluntarily or was forcibly brought along.

Under Xi Yan's intense gaze, Hogback instinctively broke out in a cold sweat on the back of his head and replied, "Ah, that's right, I am Hogback ~"

"Does the guest recognize me?"

Hogback felt uneasy; the other person's gaze was putting immense pressure on him.

This gave Hogback the illusion that what was staring at him was not a human, but a terrifying beast.

"No, it's not me who knows you," Xi Yan said, pointing at Chopper. "It's this little guy."

After speaking, Xi Yan looked away and did not look at Hogback again.

Hogback secretly breathed a sigh of relief; being watched by this kind of person was a terrible feeling.

'Who exactly are these people who came this time...? They don't seem like weaklings at all,' Hogback thought warily.

Could it be that the other party discovered something?

That shouldn't be the case. I shouldn't have given myself away at all; there's no way anyone could have noticed anything wrong.

Unless... they encountered those zombies on their way here, and those zombies said something that leaked information!

Thinking about it this way, Hogback realized it made sense.

However, the other party did not directly attack him, which means that his information had not been leaked.

'Looks like I'll have to be more careful with what I say from now on.'

After clearing his throat, Hogback said, "Cindry-chan, please get some food for the guests."

Cindry:...

Cindry didn't speak, just stared coldly at Hogback.

"Cindry-chan..." Hogback said awkwardly, "There are guests present, please give me some face..."

Cindry didn't finish speaking, still staring intently at Hogback, before finally saying, "Yes."

Watching Cindry turn and leave, Hogback breathed a sigh of relief; he had almost embarrassed himself.

'This woman...'

Xi Yan stared at Cindry as she left, a hint of doubt in his eyes.

He noticed the stitches on the other person's body when he came in; at the time, he thought it was also a zombie.

But now that I look at it... it doesn't seem to be the case.

If they really were zombies, they shouldn't have treated Moria's subordinates this way.

Could it be... a living person?

Or perhaps... Lola and the others' assessment of Hogback was actually somewhat flawed?

Thinking about this, Xi Yan fell into deep thought.

"Doctor Hogback, I have so much to say to you!" Chopper exclaimed. "I'm a doctor too, Doctor Chopper!"

"Profound!"

"Doctor Chopper." Hogback, as if finding common ground, immediately smiled and looked at Chopper, saying, "I wonder what Doctor Chopper wants to say to me?"

What is Doctor Hogback doing here?

"Of course, it's for conducting serious research!!" Hogback perked up immediately at this, slamming his hand on the table and standing up. "I think you must have seen those terrifying zombies on your way here, right?"

"Huh?"

The group exchanged glances, completely unprepared for the other's bluntness.

"We did encounter some terrifying zombies," Nami nodded. "We were almost eaten."

Hogback nodded; it seemed his earlier guess was correct, and the other party had indeed discovered something.

"That's right, we know now, this is Gecko Moria's territory."

"Eh!!"

Hogback was somewhat shocked; how could such important intelligence have been leaked?

What are those zombies doing? Why did they leak Lord Moria's information?

Although these people will eventually find out, knowing now might scare them away!

If they run away, how can you replenish their shadows?

"Why do you look so surprised..." Usopp asked, puzzled. "You're not trying to say you don't know Moria, are you?"

After saying that, Usopp stared intently into Hogback's eyes.

"That's right, Doctor Hogback, please answer our questions seriously!" Chopper's expression immediately turned serious. He looked at Hogback earnestly and said, "I want to know if these modified zombies were created by you."

"And you... were you brought here willingly, or were you forcibly brought here by Moria?"

At this moment, Chopper stood on the stool, his eyes fixed on Hogback, and his aura grew stronger and stronger.

Hogback, who was being stared at by several people, subconsciously gave a dry laugh.

He now understood why the other party had been looking at him with that kind of gaze from the very beginning—they had known all along whose territory this was!

"You're not thinking of lying to people, are you?" Nami said.

"Roar roar roar roar roar~"

"How could that be?" Hogback laughed awkwardly. "I wasn't thinking of how to lie to you, it was just a bit of a surprise."

"What's the surprise?"

"It's surprising that you're not afraid of the Shichibukai," Hogback said. "You know, most people would run away as soon as they hear that name."

The fact that these people didn't run away even though they knew Shichibukai meant they weren't weak... He had to find a plausible reason, otherwise he might really be killed!

At that moment, Hogback's brain was working frantically, trying to find a suitable reason to excuse himself.

Just then, Cindry came over with a wooden tray carrying a few puddings and casually tossed them onto the table.

"Huh?!!"

Everyone stared at Cindry in shock. Why wasn't she using a plate?

"Hey, I said, Cindry-chan!" Hogback stared at Cindry in disbelief and said, "At least use a plate, a plate!"

"Isn't this enough for us?"

"Oh."

Cindry sneered, her tone chilling, "If only plates and such could disappear from this world."

Hogback:...

Others:...

"What's wrong with this guy?" Nami exclaimed.

Why does it seem like there's such a strong resentment towards the plate?

Ah~

"She once smashed all of her wealthy fiancé's beloved plates to test his feelings, and was kicked out by the enraged tycoon," Hogback said. "That's why she hates plates so much."

Listening to Hogback's explanation, Xi Yan fell into deep thought. Was this really not a fabricated story?

Are there really people this outrageous in the world?

Intentionally destroying someone's favorite thing to test their feelings is just too outrageous.

"Just break the plates and everything else."

"Cindry-chan..."

Hogback looked helpless. That was the only downside of this guy; he wouldn't perfectly execute all of his orders.

Perhaps this is the drawback of an incomplete contract.

Watching Cindry place the pudding on the table, Hogback sighed silently, then said, "Please enjoy, everyone."

"Although there are no plates, I've wiped the table spotless to prevent this from happening."

As he spoke, Hogback began to eat it himself, as if to say that the food was not poisoned.

But Xi Yan and the others didn't move; they just watched Hogback.

Having already learned a great deal beforehand, they wouldn't just accept Hogback's food without careful consideration.

Even the simple-minded Chopper is no exception to this.

"Hey, aren't you guys eating?"

"Doctor Hogback, you haven't answered our questions yet," Merry reminded him.

"Ah, there's a problem..."

Hogback gave an awkward laugh. It seemed this matter couldn't be brushed aside so easily, but it didn't matter; he had already thought of a solution.

Raising his head, Hogback said seriously, "That's right, I do know this is Gecko Moria's territory."

"Huh?!!"

"Are you one of his men?" Chopper's eyes immediately changed, and he asked incredulously, "So, you personally modified all these zombies?"

"That's right."

"You bastard, why did you do such a thing?!"

Chopper grew larger in anger, staring at Hogback with furious eyes, looking as if he was about to smash him.

"Hey hey hey!"

"Doctor Chopper, please don't attack. Let me finish speaking first."

"Okay, go ahead."

Chopper stopped in his tracks, wanting to see what this bastard had to say.

"What I want to say is that I have my reasons for doing this..." Hogback said helplessly.

"Difficulties?"

Nami and Xi Yan exchanged a glance, then asked curiously, "What's the reason?"

"This is indeed Gecko Moria's territory, and I am indeed doing things for him, but things are not as you imagine," Hogback said seriously.

After finishing speaking, Hogback seemed to recall the past, and slowly said, "I still remember the first time I met Gecko Moria, it was on Banax Island."

"At the time, I was performing a difficult surgical operation, which took several hours to successfully save several patients."

As Chopper listened to Hogback's narration, his expression gradually changed. Clearly, Hogback's glorious deeds had made Chopper feel more favorably toward him.

"Then why did you come here?"

Hogback knew immediately that something was going to happen, because Chopper's tone had changed!

"Let me finish."

"Right after the surgery, I encountered this legendary Shichibukai," Hogback sighed. "Upon meeting me, he forcibly abducted me without saying a word, giving me no chance to resist."

"After arriving here, I realized why they had brought me here..."

Hogback's expression suddenly turned angry, as if he were resisting something, and he said, "That guy made me modify corpses to create one powerful zombie after another!"

"At the time, I refused, I refused righteously and firmly!"

"So you refused...?"

Upon hearing Hogback's words, Chopper immediately calmed down and shrunk back to his original size.

"Yes, I refused," Hogback nodded. "But Moria threatened to kill me if I didn't comply."

"But this kind of thing can't threaten me at all, because as a doctor, I'm not afraid of death!"

"Only..."

"Only?"

"But he offered me a condition I couldn't refuse."

"What are the conditions?" Merry asked curiously.

"If I agree to his conditions, he will help me resurrect my fiancée!"

"I love my fiancée deeply..." At this point, Hogback suddenly became agitated and exclaimed, "But she's dead!"

"Now someone suddenly tells me they can resurrect her, and they even resurrected a corpse right in front of me! Tell me, how can I refuse?!"

Hogback was trembling with excitement, a completely genuine expression of emotion.

Because the resurrection he speaks of is real.

He did love someone deeply, and that person was indeed dead... and that's why he Moria Moria's group!

If a lie is to deceive people, it cannot consist entirely of lies.

Hogback, who had studied psychology, was very clear about this, so he directly and frankly recounted some of the things that had happened in the past.

Even if the other party had actually been to Banax Island, they weren't afraid of being exposed.

Because he actually went there to practice medicine!

As for what happened next...

The fiancée is fake.

The other party is a famous stage actress, very famous in many places, and has absolutely no connection with him.

He's just one of many fans.

But his love for her was genuine. Even after she died, he still loved her deeply, and he would do anything to turn her into a zombie!

The rest is all true, it's just that he knelt down faster than he said it.

"Really... such a thing exists...?" Nami covered her mouth and said, "For his beloved fiancée, he would risk even being trapped in a demon's lair..."

"Doctor Hogback..."

Chopper's eyes welled up with tears as he looked at Hogback and said, "I wronged you."

He had assumed the other party had willingly become Moria's henchman; it turned out these things had actually happened.

"So you were forced into this situation too?" Usopp said.

"Pretty much, sigh..." Hogback sighed, "But for my fiancée, I have no other choice."

After saying that, Hogback glanced at Chopper and said, "Doctor Chopper, modifying those corpses wasn't my intention, but if I didn't do it, Moria wouldn't have helped me revive my fiancée."

So... please understand.

Chopper opened his mouth, but for a moment he didn't know what to say.

Hogback glanced at the expressions on the faces of the group and said, "I know you might not understand me, but I want to say... who doesn't have one or two relatives they wish to resurrect?!"

Upon hearing this, everyone immediately fell silent.

Nami thought of her adoptive mother, Usopp thought of his Big Mom, and Chopper thought of his adoptive father.

If they could, they would also like their loved ones to come back to life.

"But the problem is... is the person who was resurrected really your relative?" Xi Yan asked. "Are you sure it's still that person?"

After a person dies, their soul leaves their body.

This is equivalent to a machine losing its controller and becoming unable to continue operating.

Moria's so-called addition of shadows to resurrect corpses is equivalent to adding a new controller, but the question is, whose personality does this controller possess?

Is it the personality of the new shadow, or the personality of the dead?

Xi Yan remained skeptical about this.

Hogback opened his mouth, but for a moment he couldn't answer the question.

Yes, the person who was resurrected was not the original person at all.

Even if someone possesses some of the memories, even if they have a similar body, that person's soul has vanished; they are utterly dead.

Hogback, who had followed Gecko Moria for a long time, was very clear about this.

But... but!!

"So what?!" Hogback slammed his fist on the table and stood up, angrily declaring, "All I need is for her to be by my side!"

"I don't care about anything else!"