After spending some time sightseeing in Amazon Lily, Michael headed toward the outskirts of the island.
Compared to the bustling inner regions, this area was far less lively.
The people living here were mostly those who preferred solitude, who had no interest in material desires.
"There's not much to see out here," Marigold said with a smile. "Most of the people living on the outskirts are elderly or citizens who don't like crowds. But the scenery here is the most beautiful… I guess you could say it's a trade-off."
"It seems Hancock, with the help of you two, has been managing this country extremely well," Michael nodded. "Do you ever feel nostalgic for the old days, when this was a pirate nation?"
"We haven't forgotten the good times… but honestly, if it weren't for survival, people from Amazon Lily wouldn't want to go to sea as pirates," Sandersonia said, tucking back her long green hair. "And now we're no longer a pirate nation—we're a Marine nation… no matter how you look at it, life is so much better than before."
"I see," Michael nodded again and continued walking forward.
...
As they passed by a small courtyard, he suddenly noticed a tombstone standing within it.
"This family… interesting. They bury people right in their own yard?"
"This is… oh, right, this is the home of a surgeon from the Amazon Lily Marine Branch's hospital," Sandersonia recalled after a moment. "I heard that when he first came here, he brought a coffin with him."
"A coffin?"
"That's right. Supposedly, inside it was the person he loved," Sandersonia shrugged. "They say he's a genius-level surgeon who once performed miracle surgeries that saved many lives, but he was also a bastard who valued money over saving lives… What was his name again?"
"Hogback," Marigold added. "The last time one of your Marine soldiers was shot in the heart, it was him who saved him."
"Oh, right! Hogback! I remember now!" Sandersonia said, suddenly enlightened. "He looks a bit strange, but those bad rumors about him—surely they were false, right? He works at the branch hospital now on a fixed salary. If he were really greedy, he wouldn't have come here, would he?"
"No, no, no, those rumors were all true," a voice suddenly came from behind Michael. "Heh-heh! Heh-heh! Heh-heh! I really didn't have any respect for life back then… It was nothing but a tool to exchange for money."
Michael turned around and saw a man over two meters tall, a fat figure in a white lab coat, walking toward the courtyard.
"Doctor Hogback, what you did in the past doesn't matter," Sandersonia said to him seriously. "What matters is what you're doing now. We used to be a pirate nation… so let's not dwell on each other's pasts."
"Heh-heh! Heh-heh! Heh-heh! No need to stand outside the gate," Hogback said, letting out another strange laugh behind his tiny sunglasses.
"If you're curious, come in and have a look… Cindry won't mind. She was a famous stage actress when she was alive."
He opened the door and walked inside.
Michael hadn't been interested in this minor character who had only slightly more presence than a background extra in the original story, but hearing his words—and the faint bitterness hidden within them—made him step into the small courtyard almost unconsciously.
...
Once back in the courtyard, the first thing Hogback did was tidy up in front of the grave.
"Marine officer, I know you are the legendary Chief Inspector of the Marines, Vice Admiral Michael," Hogback said without turning his head. "Would you care to hear my story?"
"I have some time to spare."
"Do you… Thank you." Hogback paused for a moment, then continued. "I was once one of the most famous surgeons in the entire Grand Line, serving countless nobles and dignitaries… but I stayed in a small clinic, determined to earn both money and a good reputation."
"And just as I expected, before everything came crashing down, my good reputation spread across the entire world."
"I indulged in the luxury brought by money while pretending to be a benevolent doctor with a heart of gold."
"But then Cindry appeared. She came to my clinic because of a leg injury… She was truly a beautiful and kind woman. Her smile… is a light I can never forget."
"I once planned to give her a bouquet of roses after one of her performances, to express my feelings… but I found out she already had a fiancé, so I gave up helplessly. I was ruthless for money, but when it came to love, I couldn't force it."
"But… things didn't go as planned. Cindry didn't grow old with her prince charming—she fell to her death from the stage in an accident. And her fiancé, after burying her, quickly found another woman."
"So I took Cindry with me, searching for a way to bring her back." Hogback finished tidying the grave, then turned around with a guilty smile. "Resurrection… it really is nothing but a fantasy, isn't it?"
"I spent my entire fortune and still found no way to bring her back… All that money I earned by trading other lives, and yet I couldn't buy back the one life that mattered most… What on earth was I doing back then…"
His massive body collapsed before the grave, sobbing uncontrollably.
...
"Indeed, nothing but a fantasy."
Michael nodded coldly.
Even with his Devil Fruit powers, they only worked on the living.
As long as there was a single breath left, the Holy Light could save them.
But once that final breath was gone, even Michael was powerless.
Let alone resurrecting someone who had been dead for some time.
"So in the end, I stayed here in Amazon Lily, becoming a doctor at the branch hospital," Hogback said, wiping away his tears. "At least the scenery here is beautiful. Cindry would have liked it."
"Then spend the rest of your life as a proper doctor. Use the second half of your life to atone for the sins of the first."
Michael left those words behind, then reached out to touch the roses before the grave.
Holy Light surged, forever dyeing the crimson petals in its divine glow.
He then left the small courtyard with Sandersonia and Marigold.
Only the breeze stirred the Holy Light roses, making them tremble slightly.
Michael glanced back at Hogback, who was kneeling before the grave, murmuring softly, and said to Sandersonia:
"From now on, don't include him in any future awards or honors."
---
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