In a dark alley, Sanji and Chopper walked forward cautiously.
"My Observation Haki senses living people here. It should be enemies. Be careful, Chopper," Sanji warned while Chopper looked around curiously.
They soon arrived at a large door. Beside it stood a well.
Suddenly, the rope on the well began to move, as if sothing were about to crawl out.
Monts later, a woman slowly rose from the well.
Her skin was pale blue, her face stitched together with visible seams. Her eyes were lifeless. She wore a black evening dress with an orange fur scarf and held a stack of plates.
"Welco!"
She began tossing plates at Sanji.
"One… two…!"
Sanji shifted his feet slightly, easily dodging every plate.
"What the hell is going on in this creepy place?"
Sanji felt no attraction toward the female zombie—but his rule of not hitting won still applied.
"That's enough, Cindry!"
A man opened the door.
He had a bloated body, long purple hair, and stitches across his face. He wore a netted shirt and purple pants.
"My apologies for the fright. Allow to introduce myself."
"I am the world-renowned Dr. Hogback, known everywhere as a genius!"
The mont Chopper heard this, his eyes turned into stars.
"Dr. Hogback! The real one?!"
"Please, co in and sit for a while," Hogback invited.
"Really?!"
Although he said that, Chopper had already walked inside.
Sanji nearly stumbled, the tip of his cigarette burning his eyebrow.
Is this idiot really that naïve?
In the end, Sanji stepped inside as well.
The large door slowly closed, blocking the light.
Outside—only darkness remained.
…
Inside, the room was brightly lit.
"Welco to my courtyard!" Hogback spread his arms wide. "I hope you enjoy yourselves."
Click.
A small fla lit up as Sanji ignited his cigarette.
Taking a deep drag, he asked calmly:
"Dr. Hogback… I'd like to ask you sothing."
"What do you know about the zombies in the graveyard?"
Sanji stared directly at him.
"Haha… W-well… precisely because I d-don't understand them… I chose to l-live here."
Hogback's back felt cold as he stamred.
He had seen the bounty posters.
Even though the drawings were crude, he could still recognize Sanji.
After all, there was only one blond guy in the Straw Hat Pirates.
300 million Berries.
Regardless of exaggeration, killing him would be as easy as killing a chicken.
"So Doctor, you're studying zombies here?" Chopper asked innocently.
The power of admiration was truly terrifying—Chopper didn't notice Hogback's obvious nervousness.
"Exactly!"
Hogback slamd the table and stood up, secretly giving Chopper a thumbs-up in his mind.
"When people hear about zombies, they feel fear."
"But what if we call it reviving the dead?"
"Isn't that humanity's eternal dream?"
"Everyone has loved ones they wish they could bring back to life."
"But controlling life and death is forbidden dical science that violates the natural order," Sanji said with folded arms, frowning.
"I see! But if this research succeeds, many people will support you!"
"I support you, Dr. Hogback!" Chopper said sincerely while looking up at him.
"Thank you for your support, Dr. Chopper," Hogback replied, visibly relieved.
Good… I've stabilized them. Now all I have to do is wait for Moria to defeat Straw Hat Luffy.
"Oh no! Even if such a great doctor praises , I won't be happy!"
Chopper twisted his body shyly before pulling out an autograph board.
"Dr. Hogback, could you give your autograph?"
"Of course!"
Just as Hogback reached for the board—
"Wait."
Sanji spoke calmly, his eyes fixed on them.
"Chopper… if you let him sign that now, you'll regret it for the rest of your life."
"This guy…"
"…is just a bastard who plays with the corpses of others."
"What?!"
Chopper looked at Sanji in shock and confusion.
anwhile, Hogback's expression twisted as if he had swallowed sothing foul.
Sanji took a drag from his cigarette and leaned back with his feet on the table.
"Those zombies outside. The stitched monsters."
"And even that woman."
"All of them have surgical seams."
"I assu that's your handiwork."
Sanji glanced at Cindry, pity visible in his eyes.
Chopper stared at Hogback in disbelief.
"T-That's not true… right, Dr. Hogback?"
"Chopper!"
Cold sweat poured down Hogback's face.
"Let explain."
"Once… I fell in love with a woman nad Victoria Cindry."
"Not just —n across the entire country worshipped her beauty!"
"I was once her attending physician. She was popular yet humble, caring toward her parents and kind to everyone."
"But…"
Hogback's expression suddenly twisted.
"When I confessed to her… she rejected ."
"Her reason?"
"She already had a fiancé!"
"Sounds normal," Sanji said coldly. "Any normal girl wouldn't like you."
Hogback's face turned sorrowful.
"Soon after… I heard unbelievable news."
"…Cindry died in an accident."
"The grief was so great that I abandoned my work."
Tears filled Hogback's eyes as if trying to prove his devotion.
"And then… my master, Gecko Moria, appeared."
"With his mysterious power, Cindry was revived."
"So I joined Thriller Bark!"
"Look!"
"They can speak. They can move."
"Isn't this humanity's ultimate dream—reviving the dead?!"
Hogback raised his arms excitedly, staring at Chopper.
He desperately wanted Chopper's approval.
But—
"What kind of joke is that?!"
Chopper glared at him furiously.
"As a doctor, I once admired you for saving countless lives—even your zombie research!"
"Death cos suddenly!"
"Both the dead and the living always have words left unsaid!"
"I wouldn't even ask for years—just a few minutes would be enough."
"If there truly were a way to awaken the dead…"
"Even if it were condemned as forbidden dicine…"
"…it would bring imnse comfort to patients."
"But…"
"I never imagined you were this kind of person, Dr. Hogback."
The admiration in Chopper's eyes disappeared.
Only anger and disappointnt remained.
"Sanji… could you step aside?"
"This is my fight."
Chopper looked at him pleadingly.
Sanji nodded.
In the next instant, he disappeared from the room and leaned against a dark wall outside, the faint glow of his cigarette the only light in the darkness.
"Sigh…"
After Sanji left, Hogback visibly relaxed.
"Dr. Chopper… why is it so hard to earn your approval?"
"Zombies are just dead bodies being controlled!"
"They aren't alive at all!"
"You're playing with life!"
Chopper shouted angrily.
"You've lost the right to call yourself a doctor!"
"Playing with life?"
Hogback suddenly burst into laughter and pointed at Cindry.
"Look at her!"
He kicked her to the ground.
"What are you doing?!"
Chopper's anger surged.
"Cindry—lick the floor."
"Yes, Master Hogback."
Cindry's expression didn't change.
Her voice remained flat.
Like a trained dog, she began licking the floor.
"You…!"
Chopper transford into Heavy Point and charged forward with clenched fists.
"Cindry! Cover !" Hogback shouted nervously.
Cindry suddenly produced a stack of plates as if by magic and hurled them at Chopper one after another.
Chopper didn't dodge.
Plate after plate shattered against his body.
He grabbed both of Cindry's wrists.
"It's too cruel…"
"You're already dead, yet your body is treated like this."
"…If your family knew, how would they feel?"
Chopper's grip tightened like iron.
"I'll… kill you!"
Cindry's expression remained unchanged.
Her powerful leg kicked Chopper in the waist.
"Your body is patched together and turned into a soldier that obeys orders."
"Your family would never accept this!"
"Let go of !"
She kept kicking Chopper repeatedly.
But strangely…
Her kicks were growing weaker.
"You were already dead the mont you were born as a human puppet!"
Chopper endured the pain.
"What kind of existence is this?!"
"Hahahaha!"
Hogback roared with laughter.
"Are you doubting your own eyes?"
"Admit it!"
"This is humanity's ultimate dream—reviving the dead!"
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Cindry continued striking Chopper.
"So moving is enough?" Chopper gasped while shouting.
"If they're human…"
"…they should be free!"
"Aren't you the one treating them least like humans?!"
Hogback froze.
Cindry stopped moving.
Thump—Thump.
A heartbeat echoed.
Tears suddenly flowed from Cindry's hollow eyes.
The clear droplets fell onto the filthy floor.
She stood motionless.
"Hogback!"
Chopper's furious punch smashed into Hogback's face, instantly leaving it bruised and swollen.
Punch after punch rained down.
"What do you think life is?!"
"What do you think life is?!"
In the end, Hogback collapsed—gravely injured and unconscious.
Chopper looked conflicted.
Finally, he sighed and walked toward Cindry.
She was crying, yet her expression remained blank.
"…I can't move."
Chopper sighed again.
His fist hardened with Armant Haki.
BOOM!
Cindry collapsed.
But a faint smile appeared on her face.
Chopper walked out of the room.
"Huh? Where's Sanji?"
…
Inside the room—
The unconscious Hogback slowly opened his eyes.
I… I'm still alive?
Joy surged through him.
But when he moved his eyes—
He saw a nightmare.
"Tch."
"Chopper really couldn't bring himself to kill."
Sanji leaned against the wall, staring coldly at the doctor.
"So…"
"…let send you to hell instead."
…
Outside—
"Sanji?! Where are you?!" Chopper shouted anxiously.
"I'm over here."
From around a corner, Sanji appeared with his hands in his pockets.
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