As we all know, Hiriluk was miraculously cured of a deadly disease by a mountain covered with beautiful Cherry Blossoms. I believe this event took place 38 years ago on God Valley while Hiriluk was part of Rock's crew, this guy in particular:
So what's the story with Hiriluk and getting cured by Cherry Blossoms?
This miracle happened in "a faraway land in the West". Chapter 1095 confirmed that God Valley was in the West Blue. This event was also not physical in nature. The emotions triggered by witnessing that miracle caused a change in Hiriluk's body, curing him of his illness.
Oda has picked up on that theme several times in the story:
According to a physicist by the name of Willy Karen, anything one can imagine is possible.
You can evolve your body through sheer imagination. According to Vegapunk who is based on the most famous physicist in real life, Devil Fruit abilities are one application of this concept. Ever wonder about the dozens of weird abilities that certain people in this world seem to have, even without eating a Devil Fruit, like Django and Miss Goldenweek?
This is likely also how they get these abilities, which someone else can then inherit through eating a Devil Fruit after their deaths. This is how Papagu became a talking Starfish by the way, something which Chopper had to eat a Devil Fruit for, minus the additional transformations:
Ok, we know the where and how but when was Hiriluk cured of his illness or more accurately, when did he start researching this cure?
Five years before the timeskip, he had been researching this miracle cure for 30 years already. His research started 35 years ago, God Valley disappeared 36 years ago (38 years - 2 years for the timeskip).
Alright, we know that he was cured somewhere in "a faraway land in the West" by a powerful emotion triggered by these Cherry Blossoms and that he started his research on said cure one year after God Valley (which was an island in the West Blue) had been erased from existence.
Why did he want to replicate this miracle cure in the first place?
Judging from his reaction and the look on his face, Hiriluk likely couldn't or didn't want to return to the place were the original event took place, Kureha also confirms that he was the notorious robber from the story he told Chopper earlier.
To summarize:
Hiriluk was cured on an island in the West Blue, the same sea where God Valley used to be and he started his research on replicating this miracle 1 year after God Valley was wiped off the map, when Rocks attacked the island. We also know that he used to be a notorious thief/robber and that Rocks originally came together to pull off a big score of some sort:
So far so good. But what was Hiriluk even trying to cure through his research?
He was trying to cure the hearts of the people, his very country, which was oppressed by Wapol's reign of terror. How are blooming Cherry Blossoms supposed to help with that?
They aren't. It's a metaphor for whatever miracle he actually witnessed. So what could Cherry Blossoms possibly be a metaphor for? Well, the Story actually directly tells us at the end of this very same arc:
They represent the former Drum Kingdom's liberation from Wapol's reign of terror at the hand of the Strawhats, in other words, Revolution:
Dragon and the Revolutionaries are introduced in a Chapter called "Skull and Cherry Blossoms" during a flashback that takes place at the same time as the one with Hiriluk (5-6 years ago) with Wapol arrogantly claiming that none of this has to do with his Kingdom which would never succumb to some "two-bit Revolutionary".
It doesn't really get more on the nose than this, Cherry Blossoms represent liberation/revolution. Hiriluk witnessed an act of liberation that he believes cleansed his very soul:
Let's wrap this up:
Hiriluk used to be a notorious robber and was cured in the same sea (West Blue) where God Valley used to be, around the same time it disappeared after an attack by Rocks, a gang that initially came together for a big score. He was cured by miraculous "Cherry Blossoms" which are actually a metaphor for an act of liberation/revolution and he believes that this event cleansed his very soul, he also changed his way of life afterwards and somehow ended up on Drum Island.
Is there any single event that took place on God Valley that could possibly check all or most of these marks?
Indeed, there is. Kumachi liberated over 500 slaves with his newfound Hands of Liberation, and saved everyone by getting them off the island, an act of self-sacrifice that caused every witness to break out in tears of gratitude and yet he is still praying for the souls which he could not save that day.
I think this act of liberation is what Hiriluk's miracle Cherry Blossoms are meant to represent, something he believes cleansed even his soul.
One last thing, i provided some further "proof" for Hiriluk's theory about the emotions that were triggered in him that day, curing him off his illness but there is actually a second, maybe more plausible explanation.
Healthy Roger + Dying Hiriluk + Kuma who just got his powers all on the same island.
So what's the story with Hiriluk and getting cured by Cherry Blossoms?
This miracle happened in "a faraway land in the West". Chapter 1095 confirmed that God Valley was in the West Blue. This event was also not physical in nature. The emotions triggered by witnessing that miracle caused a change in Hiriluk's body, curing him of his illness.
Oda has picked up on that theme several times in the story:
According to a physicist by the name of Willy Karen, anything one can imagine is possible.
You can evolve your body through sheer imagination. According to Vegapunk who is based on the most famous physicist in real life, Devil Fruit abilities are one application of this concept. Ever wonder about the dozens of weird abilities that certain people in this world seem to have, even without eating a Devil Fruit, like Django and Miss Goldenweek?
This is likely also how they get these abilities, which someone else can then inherit through eating a Devil Fruit after their deaths. This is how Papagu became a talking Starfish by the way, something which Chopper had to eat a Devil Fruit for, minus the additional transformations:
Ok, we know the where and how but when was Hiriluk cured of his illness or more accurately, when did he start researching this cure?
Five years before the timeskip, he had been researching this miracle cure for 30 years already. His research started 35 years ago, God Valley disappeared 36 years ago (38 years - 2 years for the timeskip).
Alright, we know that he was cured somewhere in "a faraway land in the West" by a powerful emotion triggered by these Cherry Blossoms and that he started his research on said cure one year after God Valley (which was an island in the West Blue) had been erased from existence.
Why did he want to replicate this miracle cure in the first place?
Judging from his reaction and the look on his face, Hiriluk likely couldn't or didn't want to return to the place were the original event took place, Kureha also confirms that he was the notorious robber from the story he told Chopper earlier.
To summarize:
Hiriluk was cured on an island in the West Blue, the same sea where God Valley used to be and he started his research on replicating this miracle 1 year after God Valley was wiped off the map, when Rocks attacked the island. We also know that he used to be a notorious thief/robber and that Rocks originally came together to pull off a big score of some sort:
So far so good. But what was Hiriluk even trying to cure through his research?
He was trying to cure the hearts of the people, his very country, which was oppressed by Wapol's reign of terror. How are blooming Cherry Blossoms supposed to help with that?
They aren't. It's a metaphor for whatever miracle he actually witnessed. So what could Cherry Blossoms possibly be a metaphor for? Well, the Story actually directly tells us at the end of this very same arc:
They represent the former Drum Kingdom's liberation from Wapol's reign of terror at the hand of the Strawhats, in other words, Revolution:
Dragon and the Revolutionaries are introduced in a Chapter called "Skull and Cherry Blossoms" during a flashback that takes place at the same time as the one with Hiriluk (5-6 years ago) with Wapol arrogantly claiming that none of this has to do with his Kingdom which would never succumb to some "two-bit Revolutionary".
It doesn't really get more on the nose than this, Cherry Blossoms represent liberation/revolution. Hiriluk witnessed an act of liberation that he believes cleansed his very soul:
Let's wrap this up:
Hiriluk used to be a notorious robber and was cured in the same sea (West Blue) where God Valley used to be, around the same time it disappeared after an attack by Rocks, a gang that initially came together for a big score. He was cured by miraculous "Cherry Blossoms" which are actually a metaphor for an act of liberation/revolution and he believes that this event cleansed his very soul, he also changed his way of life afterwards and somehow ended up on Drum Island.
Is there any single event that took place on God Valley that could possibly check all or most of these marks?
Indeed, there is. Kumachi liberated over 500 slaves with his newfound Hands of Liberation, and saved everyone by getting them off the island, an act of self-sacrifice that caused every witness to break out in tears of gratitude and yet he is still praying for the souls which he could not save that day.
I think this act of liberation is what Hiriluk's miracle Cherry Blossoms are meant to represent, something he believes cleansed even his soul.
One last thing, i provided some further "proof" for Hiriluk's theory about the emotions that were triggered in him that day, curing him off his illness but there is actually a second, maybe more plausible explanation.
Healthy Roger + Dying Hiriluk + Kuma who just got his powers all on the same island.
