After spending some time touring Amazon Lily, Michael arrived at its outskirts.
The prosperity here was relatively lower.
Most residents here preferred solitude and had little desire for material possessions.
"There's not much to see here. Most living in the outskirts are elderly or citizens who dislike crowds," Marigold said with a smile.
"But the scenery here is the most beautiful... I suppose you gain some, you lose some."
"It seems Hancock has managed this country exceptionally well with your assistance," Michael nodded.
"Do you still feel nostalgic for the pirate nation it once was?"
"We won't forget the good parts of the past... but truth be told, if not for survival, the people of Amazon Lily never wanted to become pirates in the first place," Sandersonia gathered her green hair.
"Now we're no longer a pirate nation but a legitimate country... By any measure, life is vastly better than before."
"I see," Michael nodded and continued walking.
Passing by a small courtyard, he suddenly noticed a tombstone standing in its yard.
"This household... how interesting, burying someone in their own yard?"
"That's... oh, this is the residence of a surgeon from the Marine's 'Pirate Empress' branch hospital," Sandersonia recalled after a moment's thought.
"I heard when he came to Amazon Lily, he brought a coffin with him."
"A coffin?"
"Indeed. It's said to contain someone he loved," Sandersonia shrugged.
"Rumor has it he's actually a genius-level surgeon who once performed miraculous operations saving many patients, yet he's also a scoundrel who values money over saving lives... What was his name again?"
"Dr. Hogback," Marigold added. "Last time one of your Marine soldiers was shot in the heart, he was the one who saved him."
"Oh right! Hogback! I remember now!" Sandersonia's face lit up with realization. "Though he looks a bit strange, all those bad rumors about him must have been false, right? He works at the branch's affiliated hospital on a fixed salary. If he were really greedy for money, he wouldn't be here, would he?"
"No no no, those rumors were all true."
Just then, a voice came from behind Michael.
"Fosu! Fosu! Fosu! I truly had no respect for life back then... it was just a means to earn money."
Michael turned to see an obese man over two meters tall, dressed in a white lab coat, walking toward the courtyard.
"Dr. Hogback, what you did in the past doesn't matter. What matters is what you're doing now." Sandersonia nodded solemnly at him.
"We used to be a pirate nation too... so let's not dwell on past mistakes."
"Fosu! Fosu! Fosu! No need to stand outside, you three." Hogback adjusted his small sunglasses and let out another strange laugh.
"If you're curious, come take a look... Cindy won't mind. She was a famous stage star when she was alive."
With that, he opened the door and entered.
Michael hadn't been particularly interested in this character who had slightly more presence than an extra in the original story.
But the words spoken, with their underlying sense of world-weariness... drew him inexplicably into stepping across the threshold of this small courtyard.
Upon returning to the courtyard, Hogback's first act was to clean the area in front of the grave.
"Mr. Marine, I know you're the legendary Marine Grand Inspector, Vice Admiral Michael." Hogback continued speaking without turning around.
"Would you care to hear my story?"
"My schedule... is relatively free."
"Is that so... thank you." Hogback paused briefly before continuing. "I was once an extremely renowned surgeon throughout the entire Grand Line, having treated numerous dignitaries... yet I remained at a small clinic, all to maintain a good reputation while earning money."
"And just as I expected, before my misdeeds came to light, my good name had spread across the entire world."
"I reveled in the luxury money brought me while pretending to be a benevolent angel in white."
"But then, Cindry appeared. She came to my clinic with a foot injury... what a beautiful, kind woman she was. Her smile... remains an unforgettable light to this day."
"I had planned to give her a bouquet of roses after one of her performances to confess my feelings... only to discover she already had a fiancé, forcing me to give up. Though I would stop at nothing for money, matters of the heart couldn't be forced."
"But... things didn't go as planned. Sunday never grew old with her prince charming—she died from an accidental fall off the stage. Her fiancé found another woman shortly after burying her."
"So I took Cindry away, searching for a way to bring her back."
By this point, Hogback had finished cleaning and turned around with an apologetic smile.
"Resurrection... truly a pipe dream, isn't it?"
"I exhausted all my wealth, yet never found a way to revive the dead... The money I once obtained by trading other lives now can't buy back what's priceless... What was I even doing back then..."
His massive frame collapsed before the tombstone, weeping bitterly.
"Indeed it was a pipe dream."
Michael nodded without mercy.
Even with his Devil Fruit abilities, they only applied to the living.
As long as there was a single breath left, the Holy Light could save them.
But once that breath was gone, even Michael could do nothing.
Let alone reviving a corpse that had been dead for some time.
"So in the end, I stayed at Amazon Lily, becoming a doctor at the branch-affiliated hospital." Hogback wiped his tears.
"At least the scenery here is beautiful. Sindollie would have liked it."
"From now on, be a proper doctor. Spend the rest of your life atoning for the sins of your past."
Michael left these words, then reached out to touch the rose before the grave.
Holy Light surged, permanently dyeing the crimson flower in its radiant hue.
Then he departed the courtyard with Sandersonia and Marigold.
Only the breeze rustled through the Holy Light rose, making it tremble slightly.
Glancing back at Hogback kneeling before the grave, Michael instructed Sandersonia.
"Oh, and from now on, exclude him from any merit-based evaluations or awards."