"I don't care if she's really herself or not, as long as she can be revived, I'm satisfied." Hogback panted heavily.
Did it really matter whether she was truly herself or not?
As long as this person stayed by his side, he was perfectly content.
iser nodded at this but said nothing more.
He realized this man called Hogback might have already lost his mind.
Perhaps at the very beginning, he had indeed joined Moria's ranks for the reasons he claid, but... after so much ti had passed, who could guarantee his mindset hadn't changed?
Just like now—even if his fiancée had beco a zombie, he wouldn't hesitate.
Though he didn't understand it, he respected it.
"My apologies." Hogback leaned on the table and sat back down. "You must think ridiculous."
"It's fine, we understand," Nami nodded.
She knew all too well what it felt like to lose soone dear.
rry blinked, then said after a mont of thought, "Would those who have passed away truly want to be revived as zombies?"
The mont those words were spoken, everyone froze.
Yes... would they really want that?
To exist in this world as neither human nor ghost...
iser glanced at rry in surprise—he hadn't expected her to say sothing like that.
"If you think about it carefully, the zombies' lives are entirely at Moria's rcy," iser remarked.
Hogback took a deep breath before replying, "Yes. That's also why I can't leave this place."
"So... I'm sorry, Doctor Chopper..."
Chopper pressed his lips together, unsure of what to say.
Assisting Moria in modifying corpses was a direct challenge to his dical ethics.
But after hearing Hogback's explanation, Chopper understood he had his reasons. For a mont, he didn't know how to respond.
Finally, Chopper sighed. "iser, let's go."
Though the man had his reasons, the fact that his idol was involved in such things was still hard to accept. It was better to leave and spare himself the distress.
"Everyone, if you're willing to trust , I'd advise against leaving now," Hogback said.
"Why?"
"Because night has fallen, and this island will be sward by terrifying zombies—extrely powerful ones."
"Then... could you escort us to the shore, Dr. Hogback?" Nami asked. "You should be able to command those zombies, right?"
They had already t the man—there was no reason to stay any longer. It was better to regroup with Luffy and the others.
After all, this was the enemy's stronghold.
"I'm afraid I can't."
"You can't?"
"No," Hogback explained. "Their control lies solely with Moria. I have no authority over them."
He was telling the truth. The number of zombies he could command on the island wasn't as many as one might think.
Most zombies obeyed Absalom's orders—he was Moria's appointed Zombie General.
Just then, Cindry approached again and announced, "Everyone, the bathwater is ready."
"Right, right, you all should go take a hot bath first," Hogback said with a laugh. "After washing up, get so sleep. You can leave first thing tomorrow morning."
"By then, the zombies will have all returned."
Cindry, well done!
No matter what, these people must stay here!
"About the bath... maybe we should skip it..." Usopp said.
"No!"
"Why?"
"You're all filthy right now," Cindry said coldly. "You'll dirty the beds!"
Usopp: ...
Glancing down at himself, Usopp's lips twitched—he really was quite dirty.
Earlier, because of the three-headed dog, they had been chased all over, only escaping by climbing a tree, but their clothes had gotten filthy in the process.
Add to that the zombies they encountered later, and the group was covered in... well...
Let's just say they were disgustingly dirty!
"But the problem is, right now—"
Before Chopper could finish, Nami cut in, "We'll wash!"
"Huh?!"
Chopper stared at Nami in shock. Was now really the ti to worry about cleanliness?
"Think about us girls for once~" Nami stuck out her tongue. "Right, iser?"
She really did want to take rry for a proper bath now.
"Yeah, sure."
"HUH?!!"
Usopp and Chopper gaped at iser in disbelief. He actually agreed?
"Heh, didn't Dr. Hogback say it's dangerous at night?" iser said with a chuckle. "Might as well rest here for a bit."
"Right, right, go wash up quickly," Hogback said, standing up. "It's just down the hall. Do you need Cindry to show you the way?"
"No, we can go ourselves."
"Alright, make yourselves at ho~" Hogback stretched exaggeratedly. "I'll go rest for a bit."
"After you're done, Cindry will take you to your rooms."
"Got it."
"W-wait a second!" Usopp suddenly interjected. "Aren't you going to tell Moria about us?"
"Don't worry, I won't do that," Hogback said. "I took a liking to you all. Naturally, I wouldn't put you in danger."
Though these people weren't afraid of Lord Moria... there was no need for Moria to deal with them personally.
The zombies would be more than enough!
After all, Ryuma was right here!
"Is that so? Thanks, then."
"No need to thank ~" Hogback chuckled before waddling away, his plump body swaying.
After watching Hogback leave, the group turned their attention to iser.
"iser..."
"Let's go. Didn't you want to bathe?"
rry blinked. They were really going to wash up?
"Heh, you're the best, iser~" Nami grinned, leading rry down the hallway toward a massive bathhouse.
Peeking inside, Nami smiled. "Looks nice~"
She was about to take rry in when iser stopped her.
"iser?"
"Let check first."
Activating his Sharingan, iser scanned the bathhouse and, finding nothing unusual, stepped back out.
"What's wrong?" Nami asked, puzzled by his actions.
Suddenly, an idea flashed through her mind.
"Nami!" Nami placed her hands on her hips and looked at iser. "You didn't use the Transformation Technique, did you?"
She rembered iser's Transformation Technique all too well—it could turn him into anything!
iser froze for a mont before retorting, "Don't lump in with that perverted cook, alright?"
"Then what were you doing?"
"There's an invisible man on this island who can completely hide himself," iser explained. "He ambushed us on the ship earlier."
At those words, Nami's expression instantly changed.
An invisible man?
That ans... a total pervert?!
"So, you didn't catch him?" Nami asked nervously.
"No," iser shook his head. "Sanji kicked him down, but there's no guarantee he won't show up again."
In any case, iser hadn't been able to find the guy earlier, so his current whereabouts were unknown.
Who knew if that invisible creep might try to peep? That's why he had to check thoroughly.
"I don't want to bathe anymore..."
"Don't worry, he's not inside," iser reassured her. "Just make sure no one can co in through the windows."
As he spoke, iser walked inside and firmly shut all the windows.
Seeing iser co back out, Nami asked, "Are you absolutely sure no one's there?"
"Positive."
"Alright then..."
Nami let out a sigh of relief and turned to rry. "Co on, let's go in."
After closing the door, Nami said, "iser, Usopp, Chopper—I'm counting on you three to keep watch for us."
With the windows now sealed, as long as the door was secure, there shouldn't be any problems. "Got it."
"Hey... iser," Usopp glanced at him. "How did Sanji react when he found that invisible guy?"
"Wasn't his dream to eat the Invisibility Fruit?"
When Sanji had said that before, he'd been so excited—even after getting beaten up by Nami, he hadn't changed his mind.
"Him..."
Recalling Sanji's expression, iser's lips twitched. "Well, he looked like a salted fish that had lost all its dreams."
That utterly devastated expression had been about the sa as Luffy and the others after being touched by the Negative Spirit.
Usopp thought it over seriously before nodding. "That sounds pretty bad."
But iser had ntioned Sanji later kicking the guy's ass—probably an attack fueled by pure rage.
Wonder if he'd used Diable Jambe...
"iser..." Chopper suddenly looked up. "If we defeat Moria, will Hogback's fiancée die too?"
"Yes."
"Then isn't that... kind of cruel?"
Chopper didn't reply, just pressed his lips together and nodded.
Hadn't Hogback willingly beco Moria's underling just to revive his fiancée?
And now, because of them, his fiancée would die again...
iser sighed. This little guy's kindness truly exceeded his expectations.
Even though he clearly disapproved of Hogback's actions...
Seems the "world's greatest doctor" filter still hadn't fallen from Chopper's eyes when it ca to Hogback.
At this thought, iser spoke up, "Before we consider this matter, let ask you a question—do you think Hogback is trustworthy?"
"Eh?!"
"Isn't he trustworthy?"
The two of them stared at iser in shock, having already placed their complete trust in Hogback.
Even though they were from opposing factions, the man seed decent enough.
iser::
iser covered his face with his hand, montarily at a loss for words.
"What's wrong?"
"The intel I just received includes information about him working with Zombies," iser said.
"That doesn't necessarily an he's willing, right?" Chopper pondered before adding, "What if Moria ordered the Zombies to follow Dr. Hogback around?"
To Chopper, it seed perfectly reasonable for an ordinary person to have bodyguards in such a dangerous place.
"Hmm, I can't rule out that possibility."
Seeing iser's expression, Usopp forced a dry laugh. "What he said earlier didn't sound like a lie, though."
"His words may have sounded true, but we can't judge the authenticity of sothing based solely on appearances."
"Eh?!"
"Why not?"
"Because so lies sound incredibly convincing," iser explained. "Mixing a few falsehoods into a sea of truths not only makes them more believable but can also alter the aning of the entire story."
After a pause, he continued, "So people even... rearrange the order of their words to deceive others."
Hogback's story might have been true, but his initial expression had been unnatural—clearly a red flag.
Unless, of course, he was extrely socially anxious, which would explain the awkward reaction.
But... would soone with social anxiety invite strangers into his room so casually?
"I see..."
Chopper was dumbfounded, while Usopp wore a thoughtful expression, as if absorbing new knowledge.
"Also... you're overlooking one crucial detail," iser said.
"What detail?"
"He belongs to Moria's faction!"
"We know that."
"No, you don't," iser said seriously. "Or rather, you're not treating this factor as significant."
The two exchanged glances, not imdiately grasping his point.
"Differences in allegiance are a critical factor." iser raised a finger. "Do you really think he'd defy Moria for our sake?"
"He wouldn't?" Chopper blinked. "He just said he wouldn't report us to Moria."
By hiding them, wasn't he effectively opposing Moria? That way, their Shadows wouldn't be stolen.
"How naive..." iser sighed. "Don't forget, to Hogback, we're just strangers. Even if Chopper helped bridge the gap, it doesn't change the fact that we've only just t!"
Would he really defy Moria for a group of strangers?
iser wasn't that gullible—especially since Hogback was Moria's subordinate to begin with.
"Also, don't forget—from the mont we opened the Drift Cask, Moria has had his eyes on us," iser said seriously. "The shadows of strong individuals hold imnse appeal for Moria. I don't believe he'll let us go."
"Do you really think, under these circumstances, Hogback would defy Moria for our sake?"
"Even just hiding us would an betrayal in Moria's eyes!"
"And Moria holds the life of Hogback's fiancée in his hands. You know what that ans."
Chopper fell silent, understanding iser's point all too well.
But precisely because he understood, it made him feel a little sad.
"So... he was lying to us just now?" Usopp widened his eyes.
"At the very least, I don't think he'd willingly help us deceive Moria," iser said, glancing toward the end of the hallway. "Judging by his behavior, the likelihood of sothing being off is very high."
"Besides... his words earlier sounded like he was trying to keep us here."
Hogback's intentions were obvious—he wanted them to stay.
After all... the idea that Zombies only appeared at night sounded ridiculous.
This was the Devil's Triangle, where sunlight never reached. Was there even a difference between day and night here?
"Then why didn't you...?"
"Why didn't I just attack him outright?"
Usopp didn't speak, but his expression said it all.
iser chuckled and looked down at Chopper. "Chopper, if I had imdiately attacked Hogback after hearing his explanation, what would you have done?"
Chopper thought for a mont. "I... probably would have stopped you."
Even though modifying corpses was despicable, Hogback had his reasons, so Chopper still saw him through a forgiving lens. If iser had struck, Chopper would indeed have intervened.
iser shrugged at Usopp, as if to say, See what I an?
"So... you wanted us to see the truth for ourselves?"
Usopp imdiately grasped iser's reasoning. If he had acted rashly, it would have been cruel to Chopper.
After all... in Chopper's eyes, Hogback was still an idol!
This guy iser... was unexpectedly kind.
"More or less," iser nodded. "Most importantly... if my crewmates are this quick to trust others... it'd be a real headache for ."
"We won't always be around to watch over you."
At this, iser sighed quietly.
These four idiots...
Luffy might be dumb too, but at least his strength was undeniable. Even if he got tricked, he wouldn't end up too badly off.
But these four were different—weak and gullible. What a pain.
In the bathroom, Nami and rry listened to iser's words, both looking embarrassed as they instinctively sank deeper into the water, leaving only their noses and eyes exposed.
They exchanged glances and smiled sheepishly.
"Aren't you afraid of misjudging the situation?" Usopp suddenly asked.
"I didn't do anything, did I?" iser spread his hands and said, "Out of respect for Chopper, I didn't even use my hypnotic abilities."
"After all, I rely presented all possible scenarios to you."
"Don't forget, we're currently in the territory of the Royal Seven Warlords of the Sea. So precautions are necessary."
After speaking, iser glanced at the bathroom door and said, "Why have you two suddenly gone quiet?"
"Hmm?"
"There was the sound of water earlier, but now there's complete silence?"
"Don't worry, we're fine."
"Good, that's a relief." iser then looked down at the silent Chopper and said, "Chopper, if my judgnt is wrong, I'll apologize."
But the probability of that... isn't as high as one might think.
iser preferred to trust his own judgnt and instincts—Hogback was most likely problematic.
"Mmm..."
Chopper nodded. He now understood iser's well-intentioned efforts, which moved him deeply.
"iser..."
"Yes?"
"If he dares to deceive us..." Chopper suddenly looked up at iser and said, "then I'll be the one to take him down myself!"
If Hogback deceived them, it would an he was a despicable villain, not a doctor worthy of respect at all!
In that case, Chopper would withdraw his admiration and hold nothing back!
Seeing Chopper's determined expression, iser smiled and said, "Agreed."
"Doctor Chopper!"
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