Dark Meet of the Amazing Doctor
The scene shows the Thousand Sunny being drifting through the waves and away from the shore of Thriller Bark while Shirone is trying to find the invisible man but couldn't track him down for some reason.
"Guys, I don't know how, but that invisible bastard is gone!" Shirone informed.
"Do you think he can fly and flew away from the Sunny?" Luffy asked.
"Forget about that creep for now and focus on doing something about this! We're drifting away!" Zoro pointed out the current situation.
"You got any idea genius? The steering wheel won't move an inch!" Sanji struggled to move the steering wheel which is stuck for some reason. Must have been done by that invisible man while he was here.
"Can't we use those paddle things to move?" Shirone asked.
"Even if we could, those waves are too high." Franky stated that they could end up casting themselves into the water.
"Eh, no big hurry, I'm still having fun. The waves will take us to the island sooner or later." Luffy believed and is having a good time with the big waves.
"How could you be calm at a time like this?!" Shirone asked yelling. Seriously, how the Hell did this guy end up being captain of this crazy crew.
"Yeah? And what about Nami, huh? You forget about her?" Sanji asked angrily.
"Not to mention my King is there, I just hope he's gotten the Devil Fruit I threw otherwise he won't last long with all the training I helped him." Shirone worried about Gasper.
"What is that?" Robin asked, seeing something up ahead.
Everyone looks to see what Robin is looking at, and they are surprised to see something big is right in the middle of the water and attach to some kind of dock.
"Is that a giant spider web?" Zoro asked.
"If it is, then we're gonna need a really big boot to squish the spider who made that." Shirone said.
The water splashed hard onto the back of the Sunny causing it to move forward at the giant spider web which also causes Luffy to fall off from the lion's head.
"At this rate, we're gonna be trapped." Robin pointed out with concer.
"Hurry! Use the paddle! Quick!" Franky said.
"I'm not sure if we can right now." Shirone stated.
"She's right, it's too late. We're already caught." Robin agreed and the Thousand Sunny crash right onto the giant spider web, and Brook's old giant ship also got caught in the web as well.
"Damn it, now what?" Sanji asked.
"The ship didn't take any damage, but it's not like we can sail it anymore. And by the way, I'd hate to see the spider that spun this thing. It's freaking huge!" Franky pointed out.
"(Gasper, please be okay. Use the training of our home and me to get through this to protect yourself and the others with you.)" Shirone thought prayed.
(With Gasper and Others)
"What do you know, they're not following us anymore." Gasper noticed as he turned around, guess those zombies really were tired which is very strange.
"Man, what is with this island? Half the stuff here isn't even supposed to be real!" Usopp stated.
"And by the way, if I start turning into a zombie and go after your brains, then just kill me!" Usopp advised as he doesn't want to bring any harm to his friends.
"Where'd that come from?" Nami asked.
"Usopp said he bitten by a zombie and fear of turning into one, but I haven't seen a single sign of him being a zombie right now." Gasper explained as he looks at Usopp.
"Now that you mention it, I do feel I'm still me and nothing else. But I read it in a book that when a zombie bites you, you become a zombie too." Usopp looked at himself.
"So, either that legend isn't true or there is something really odd going on with those zombies." Gasper said, thinking those zombies may not all be like in those horror books.
"Well, whatever the case, let just focus on getting into shelter." Nami said.
The three arrive at the front gate of the mansion and they all let out a sigh of relief to have made it here still in one piece.
"Well, we're here. I sure could go for a glass of water." Usopp said, feeling thirsty from all that running.
"I can see him after all! Lucky me!" Chopper excitedly to meet his medical hero.
"If he's crazy enough to live here, I have a feeling he's not going to be quite as welcoming as you hope, but fine." Nami decided to go with this.
"Say Gasper, do you think you can tell us about that Vampire fruit power since you seem to know more about it before eating the fruit." Nami asked.
"Sure, I'll be happy to tell you guys. After we feel safe in the mansion." Gasper nodded and opens the gate.
"Hello, is this Dr. Hogback's home, by any chance?" Gasper asked calling out.
"We're traveling pira—Uh, traveling traveler people. We've lost our way, so could we take shelter here until morning?" Nami asked, but there is no response.
"Hello! Anyone here at all?" Gasper asked, starting to feel a little scared.
"Well, there's nothing stopping us from going in, though this tunnel is kinda scary lookin'." Usopp said nervously as they go through the tunnel.
"I can see the courtyard on the other side." Chopper informed.
"Is the doctor home?" Nami called out again.
This is definitely a strange situation where there doesn't appear to be anyone at all with no response of their calling, almost gives off a dead chill in the air.
"What if no one lives here?" Usopp asked, feeling worried.
"There has to be someone here. I can tell that Hildon was telling the truth about Hogback being here." Gasper stated.
"But how can you tell, is it your Devil Fruit?" Usopp asked surprises.
"No, it's something else entirely, but I'll tell you about that later." Gasper said, then suddenly a light went on and it shines at a well in front of a well.
"The lights just turned on! That's a good sign, right?" Chopper asked, hoping it is a good sign.
"But why would they shine a spotlight on this old well? It's weird." Usopp puzzled of the purpose.
"Maybe there's something inside that we have to look." Gasper guessed.
Suddenly the pully rope started to move on its own scaring the four as they back away from the well a foot or two as they wonder what kind of scary thing is about to come out of the well.
"Welcome." A woman greeted flat and lifeless, that scared the four pirate friends.
This woman appears to be tall and slime, with short, straight cut blonde hair. She also has various stitches across her body and pale blue skin. Her eyes appear flat and dull. Her left leg has a web pattern across the inside of her thigh and the number 400 tattooed on her calf. She wears a short black evening gown and black high-heeled boots, with a red-orange fur boa wrapped around her neck. Breasts size: F-cup.
"Is she some haunted woman in the well?" Gasper asked curious and scared at the same time.
"One. Two. Three." The weird lady started throwing plates at Usopp while the others panic.
"And four, five." She threw two more plates.
"This crazy woman is throwing plates!" Usopp exclaimed in pain.
"Yeah, but for some reason she's only plates at you!" Gasper pointed out that Usopp is the only one being beaten up by plates.
"Six, seven." The lady threw two more plates again.
"Hey! Why are you only attacking me?" Usopp asked.
"Why, you ask? Because you alone are not allowed to enter the mansion." The weird woman answered flatly.
"You three are just fine though." She pointed at Gasper, Nami, and Chopper.
"Uh, I'm confused." Nami, Chopper, and Gasper said at the same time.
"Now you, get out! Eight! Nine!" The lady threw more plates at Usopp again.
"Don't hurt my friend!" Gasper stepped in front of Usopp and punched the plates into pieces to protect him.
"Thanks, Gasper!" Usopp thanked.
"Stop it, that's enough!" A man's voice demanded.
"What?" Nami surprised to hear another voice.
"Please! Nothing scary!" Chopper begged.
The large door of the mansion started to open, and footsteps can be heard from the other side.
"Let's hope he doesn't throw plates." Usopp exclaimed while holding the giant bruise bump on his head from all the plates that hit him.
"We can make an exception just this once, can't we, Cindry?" The man asked the pale woman whose name has been revealed to be Cindry.
"Forgive me if we startled you." The man apologized.
"You must excuse her. You see, she was once engaged to a wealthy man, but to test his love, she shattered ten plates from his cherished dining set. Sadly, he then called off the engagement. Cast out of her home in disgrace, she has become my personal servant with a boundless plate grudge." The man explained about Cindry's former life.
"Yeaaah… I don't really care." Usopp said, already holding his own grudge against that woman.
"Easy Usopp, I promise this woman won't hurt you." Gasper tried to ease up his long nose friend.
"And as you may have already surmised, I am the long-missing, world-famous surgeon, Dr. Hogback. A genius, in the eyes of many. Fosfos" Dr. Hogback laughed, but was very short when Cindry threw another plate at Usopp which Gasper quickly punched it away.
"Hey, Cindry! We went over this! I said he could come inside!" Dr. Hogback reminded her of what he just said moments ago.
Dr. Hogback is a middle-aged man, despite his round torso, Hogback has very thin arms and legs. His somewhat long nose resembles a beak or knife, and he has notably sharp and long canine teeth and ears. His face has a scar in the shape of a semi-circle that goes above his eyes and connects both corners of his mouth, which is usually grinning widely, and he keeps his black hair slicked back. On the left side of his neck is a black tattoo consisting of two slashes connected to two swirls lying side-by-side on his shoulder. Hogback wears a fishnet vest, purple leather pants, a thick black tie, and a pair of purple gloves, which cover his long, claw-like fingers. He also wears a white surgical mask under his chin, a pair of very small black gold-rimmed sunglasses, a violet feathery cape that is black on the inside, and a pair of purple high-heeled boots.
"When you don't listen to me, then I look like a fool in front of our guests!" Dr. Hogback said.
However, Cindry just look at Dr. Hogback with her pale and dead in her eyes that send chills down his spine and the moment was silent until she spoke again.
"I wish every last plate in this world would disappear." Cindry said with her eyes shaking in her hatred of plates.
"I got it! You don't have to tell me! I mean, I just got done explaining it, didn't I?" Dr. Hogback complained to his servant while the pirates are looking at this odd scene, Chopper on the other hand is sparkled with delight.
"So Chopper, that's who you were talking about?" Usopp asked, not sure if this weird man is really that famous doctor.
"I thought he would be a little fit in shape and not looking so dark." Gasper tilted his head.
"D-Doctor Hogback! It's really him!" Chopper excitedly.
"Doesn't look like a genius to me." Nami commented.
"Shut up, Nami!" Chopper snapped at her. How dare she say such a thing to his idol. Then Cindry went up the stairs and turns around facing the group.
"I'll make an exception this once. All four of you may enter. We'll continue our conversation inside. Follow me." Cindry said before entering the mansion.
"And there you have it, please make yourselves at home." Dr. Hogback gestured to the open door.
"I still don't get why she hated me so much, but whatever. I guess, at least, we go to go in now." Usopp said, hopefully he doesn't have to go through the night with that woman throwing plates at him.
"Right, anything's better than that creepy forest." Nami agreed.
"Yeah, let's hurry in before anything else pops out and tries to attack us." Gasper nodded as they hurry into the mansion.
"Beware…" A girl's voice said softly which only Gasper was able to hear.
"Beware of the Doctor's darkness and his Shadow Mater." The girl's voice said again.
"Hey, did you guys hear that?" Gasper asked.
"Hear what? All I wanna hear is the peace and relaxation to get away from the zombies and all that, now come on." Usopp complained.
Gasper still wonders about that weird voice he just heard which the others didn't seem to hear, must be the enhanced hearing of his vampire Devil Fruit power giving him this, but quickly went inside to not keep the others waiting. And Cindry closes the door with Dr. Hogback still out.
"Oh, ah! Hey, wait! I'm still here…" Dr. Hogback exclaimed hurt of being left out here by himself.
(Dining Hall)
"Fosfosfosfos! It's quite rare for me to receive guests, but my, you certainly are filthy. Was it a stressful trip?" Hogback asked with his unique laugh.
"Blablabla, yeah, you could say it was really scary. I'm not sure how to tell you." Gasper laughed a bit, and look at Chopper knowing that he wants to speak with Hogback.
"You can tell him, Gasper. I can talk to him about doctor stuff later." Chopper offered to let Gasper explain what happened to them first.
"Okay, you may find this crazy to believe though maybe not since you live on this island. We got attacked by a bunch of zombies in the forest, it was crazy! We ran away as fast as we could until we managed to come here for shelter." Gasper explained.
"Zombies, huh?" Hogback interested to hear more.
"We also saw a bunch of crazy monsters that were straight out of a horror story! What the heck is up with this creepy island?" Usopp mentioned the monsters.
"I mean, you live here, right? You gotta know something!" Usopp asked.
"So, these beasts were chasing, you, were they? And yet, you still made it here in one piece. Quite impressive." Hogback complimented.
"I think the scariest part was being chase by Cerberus." Gasper commented.
"Oh, I see. But to answer your question, I don't know much about those creatures either, which is precisely why I'm here." Hogback said.
"Oh, you mean you're studying zombies? It's a brand-new realm of medical research!" Chopper stated.
"Yes, indeed! Although most people associate zombies with fear, what if you think of them in terms of "someone who has come back from the dead?" Then it's a miracle! The dream of all doctors!" Hogback stated what he believes the zombies are.
"Everyone in this world has a loved one they'd like to see come back to life! Why, that's human nature! And yet the medical community condemns it. Madness, they call it! I'm trying to play God, they say! That's why I disappeared from society, so I could continue my research in seclusion on this island without interruption!" Hogback revealed the purpose of his disappearance all those years ago.
"Oh wow, so I finally found out the truth! But just think—If your research here is a success then you're going to bring happiness to thousands of people all over the world!" Chopper amazed.
"As a doctor myself, sir, I'm behind you all the way!" Chopper smiled.
"How open-minded! Why, thank you, Doctor Chopper." Hogback thanked, calling him doctor making Chopper squeal.
"Even if you acknowledge me as a doctor, you won't get on my good side, you big dummy!" Chopper proclaimed while doing a happy dance.
"Why does Chopper look happy if he said about not being on his good side?" Gasper asked Nami.
"Chopper is really bad at keeping his happy expression down." Nami answered while Chopper got Hogback's autograph.
"So, do you think you could give me a little tour of your lab later?" Chopper asked.
"No one, and I mean no one can look inside my lab!" Hogback suddenly yelled at Chopper, scaring the reindeer boy.
Cindry came back with some flan, dropping one on the table.
"Come on, Cindry! Can't you at least put the flan on a plate? Is that too much to ask?" Hogback asked shock.
"I wish every last plate in this world would disappear." Cindry repeated those words.
"Fosfosfosfos! Well, this sort of thing does intend to happen, so rest assured, I'm always quite adamant about keeping the tablecloth clean." Hogback assured.
"Okay, I'll eat then." The boys said as they start slurping the flan.
"You could still use a spoon, you idiots!" Nami yelled, though finds Gasper doing it to be cute for some reason.
"(I hope it's just my imagination, but it feels like Hogback isn't being truthful as he sounds.)" Gasper thought wondered because of his Haki. Then he notices how Hogback reacted when Usopp asked him about Brook, and Hogback claims he never saw him despite looking so nervous.
KO a new chapter is done and hope you all enjoy it!
Gasper and the others have finally met face-to-face with Dr. Hogback, the famous Doctor who is trying to do some serious research about the zombies. However, there is something about this doctor just doesn't sit right with Gasper and will find out soon.
KO comment, favorite, and follow through of how this story will go!