Afterwards, he became an ardent fan of Cindry. Because his treatment saved Cindry's career, she always gave him a polite smile whenever they met.
This gradually deepened Hogback's misunderstanding of her, leading him to propose to her, but upon discovering she had a fiancé, he chose to give up.
Now, seeing this kind of scandal, he found it hard to accept at the moment.
If a fiancé can be broken up with, then why couldn't the new partner be himself? Why hadn't Cindry noticed his affection, and why did she smile like that before?
Hogback fell into obsession over this; he was not only a renowned doctor in the West Sea but also held a significant standing globally in terms of medical skill, being called a genius surgeon.
Countless complex surgeries were like games to him, but although he had genius-level surgical skills, he had no medical ethics whatsoever.
His surgeries saved many patients in peril, and these patients had one thing in common — they were either immensely wealthy or could bring him fame. For Hogback, money and fame far outweighed life itself.
Seeing penniless people die before him, he felt no sorrow.
As he was obsessed over Cindry, a tall figure appeared there.
One of the current Seven Warlords of the Sea, Moonlight Moriah.
After much consideration, Moriah had chosen Hogback to be his doctor. The exquisite surgical skills were exactly what Moriah needed, and as for ethics, he appreciated the lack thereof.
After all, what he needed was someone to stitch up corpses. If the person had too high ethical standards and considered it an insult to the deceased, it would be inconvenient, and since Hogback loved money, it made recruiting him easier for Moriah.
As he arrived, Moriah even heard Hogback muttering in vexation, making him all the more suited to his needs.
"Who are you!"
Seeing Moriah suddenly appear in his room, Hogback was startled. The door and windows were closed, and he didn't know how Moriah got in.
"Moonlight... Moriah..."
"Hey hee hee hee, it's me, and it's good to see you already know me, it makes things simpler, Hogback. I'm here to recruit you, come work for me!"
Being one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, the government had publicized them recently, so Hogback recognized him.
As he spoke, Moriah brought in a huge bag of treasures. He had used his shadow to swap places, arriving there, and the treasure was his greeting gift.
Although the glitter of gold intrigued Hogback, he didn't immediately agree.
"What do you want? Why should I agree to this?"
"Because I can help you achieve your goal. We have a common enemy."
Saying this, Moriah pointed at the newspaper on the table. The first two words of the 'Hundred Beasts Fruit' were particularly striking to him.
Originally, it was because Cindry had fallen and died, becoming one of the few in the Pirate World to die from a fall. The reason for Moriah recruiting Hogback was to 'resurrect' Cindry.
However, his ability wasn't true resurrection; it merely enslaved Cindry's body for a long time. At the moment of true death, Cindry finally showed a genuine smile.
But now an unexpected turn occurred as Cindry signed with Tesoro and was taken away, providing Moriah with a new reason, seeing as the mastermind behind the signing was 'Hundred Beasts'.
He harbored only hatred towards the Hundred Beasts.
"A common enemy?"
"I overheard earlier; she broke off her engagement to follow someone more handsome, wealthier, and more talented than you, isn't that right?"
"....."
Listening to Moriah, Hogback was exasperated, as he had clearly said earlier, "Is that bastard more handsome than me? More talented? Or wealthier?"
Yet Moriah twisted it around.
"What nonsense are you spouting!"
"Hey hee hee hee, don't fret over such things. I know who's behind them. If you work with me, we can build a powerful Undead Legion. After defeating them, the woman will naturally be yours."
Then Moriah elaborated on his plan. After painting a grand picture, Hogback believed him and chose to join him.
"So what do we do next?"
"Head to the southern Icefield. It's rumored that Demon Oars died there, and his body could be greatly useful."
...
Moriah lured Hogback away, while Tesoro signed Cindry. Meanwhile, in the distant East Sea, Shanks had just robbed Who's-Who.
CP9 now had two rising stars; one of them was Rob Lucci, who had already demonstrated his strength and ruthlessness at a young age, being hailed as a rare genius in CP9.
The other was Who's-Who, who was often mentioned alongside Rob Lucci, indicating he was consistently overshadowed.
Currently, he's on a mission from the World Government, escorting a seemingly 'ordinary' Rubber-Rubber Fruit.
In the weakest sea routinely cleared by Garp, Who's-Who felt no tension, not expecting any trouble there, but a major problem arrived just then.
"Officer, there's a ship following us... It's... It's Red Hair Shanks!"
Though Shanks was not yet among the Four Emperors, he was a powerful pirate in the Grand Line. His presence behind them made everyone a bit uneasy.
"Don't worry, it's just an ordinary fruit, they're likely just passing by."
Who's-Who didn't think such a fruit would prompt Shanks into action, and then... he was robbed.
Although Shanks didn't kill him, Who's-Who had no means to resist him, and the Rubber-Rubber Fruit ended up in Red Hair's hands, leading to Who's-Who's imprisonment for his failure.
"Shanks, is this for me?"
A red-and-white-haired girl glanced curiously at the purple Devil Fruit in the box, but this time Shanks didn't indulge her as before.
"No, Uta, this is not for you."
He said, and then put the fruit away, continuing on their unknown journey.
Meanwhile, Tesoro was also taking Cindry away from the West Sea, but their destination wasn't the Red Earth Continent; instead, they entered the Grand Line via Inverted Mountain.
"Mr. Tesoro, where are we going?"
"Don't worry, I just need to fetch something first."
Having obtained the Gol-Gol Fruit, he needed large amounts of gold, the more the better, so he planned to visit Sky Island.