The Man Called a Genius! Hogback Appears!

Accepting Hildon's invitation, Usopp, Nami, and Chopper ride a carriage through the fog-choked forest toward a mansion said to be the safest spot to wait for their friends. Chopper gushes about Dr. Hogback, a celebrated surgical prodigy who vanished from public life, while Nami spots a lion wearing a human face through the window and sends everyone into a panic. When the carriage halts and Hildon disappears, the trio realize they are stranded in a graveyard just as zombies claw their way up from the soil.

Chopper shifts into Heavy Point and Usopp lights a fire with Hisatsu Kayenboshi to scatter the undead, letting the three sprint clear once the slow-moving corpses run out of breath. They reach the mansion gate and step inside, where Cindry hurls plates and bars Usopp from entry until a man intervenes, introduces himself as Hogback, and explains her bitter nature.

Inside the dining room, Hogback claims he settled on the island purely to study the zombies and denies any connection to them. Delighted, Chopper begs for an autograph, which the doctor grants, but Hogback snaps when asked to show his laboratory. He grows visibly rattled the moment Usopp mentions a passing skeleton, hinting at a buried link to Brook. Out on the sea, the rest of the crew fight a jammed helm as the Thousand Sunny drifts straight into an enormous spiderweb that snares the ship.

This installment marks the debut of Hogback and Cindry. A Pandaman zombie can be spotted at the rear of the undead crowd rising from the graveyard. Cindry's introduction nods to the Japanese ghost legend of the dish-counting manor servant, though here she flings the plates rather than counting them. The closing exchange plants the suggestion that Hogback recognizes Brook from years past.