Flying Pirates

The Flying Pirates were a pirate crew led by Vander Decken IX, floating over the ocean floor and endangering the citizens of Fish-Man Island. The crew is possibly named after the flagship used by Vander Deckens for nine generations, the Flying Dutchman. The captains of the Flying Pirates and the New Fish-Man Pirates had sworn an alliance with each other before the captains betrayed one another. Upon Decken's arrest and imprisonment, the crew's status is currently unknown. They are the secondary antagonist group in the Fish-Man Island Arc.

Jolly Roger
The crew's Jolly Roger is an oval skull with sharp teeth, no jawbone, and two black cutlasses as crossbones.

Crew Strength
As a pirate crew of fish-men that operates underwater, they have the natural advantage against humans when trying to take their treasures from their ships. The two gigantic creatures, Wadatsumi and Ankoro, tend to destroy the ships with their massive sizes. The captain, Decken, is a fish-man who has eaten a Devil Fruit, which grants him supernatural powers, in exchange for his ability to swim. The Flying Pirates are said to be quite infamous under the sea.

They were allied with the New Fish-Man Pirates and were said to be an unstoppable force. However, this alliance broke down when Decken sent Noah after Shirahoshi and Hody Jones attacked him; the exception was Wadatsumi who fell onto the main battlefield. After the New Fish-Man Pirates, Vander Decken, and Wadatsumi were defeated, they were arrested by the Neptune Army, save for the human pirates used as slaves. The New Fish-Man Pirates were disbanded and their leaders later grew old and frail due to the Energy Steroids.

As for the Flying Pirates, this meant the loss of Vander Decken IX, who was arrested, and Wadatsumi, who was banished from Fish-Man Island by Surume. The Flying Pirates have thus lost a lot of strength, in particular Decken's Devil Fruit ability.

Fish-Man Island Arc
The crew scavenged the ocean floor, with Ankoro devouring any incoming pirate ships, an act which Decken reprimanded, as he wanted to collect the treasure on their victims' ships before destroying them. They also terrorized Fish-Man Island and its citizens, and were referred as bandits of the sea.

After failing to take the Straw Hat Pirates, the Flying Pirates eventually decided to enter Fish-Man Island, where they met with the New Fish-Man Pirates and formed an alliance, in the hopes of taking down Ryugu Kingdom and for Decken to take Princess Shirahoshi as his wife.

Vander Decken IX later threw several human pirates, all of whom were captured by the New Fish-Man Pirates to be used as servants and pawns, into Shirahoshi's tower. The Flying Pirates then, along with their allies, entered Ryugu Palace and prepared to attack the Neptune Army. Decken himself separated from the rest in order to hunt down Shirahoshi, who left Hard-Shell Tower with Luffy. Decken tried to kill them both, seeing that Shirahoshi rejected him, but Luffy easily defeated him. Afterwards, Decken threw weapons at Shirahoshi several times, but none of them managed to get past Luffy. Decken then uses his Devil Fruit to send Noah after Shirahoshi, in hopes of destroying her and Fish-Man Island. His crew were shocked by this action.

It is apparent that Vander Decken IX and Wadatsumi were the only ones riding on Noah since they were the only ones seen entering Gyoncorde Plaza. When the ship reaches the plaza, Wadatsumi fell off the ship. Decken decided to abandon Wadatsumi and continued on with his plan to kill Shirahoshi. Shirahoshi then fled Fish-Man Island to keep Noah from crashing into the island. Back at the plaza, Wadatsumi defeated Surume after taking an Energy Steroid and then battled against Sanji and Jinbe. When Hody climbed onto Noah, he stabbed Decken with his trident. Decken tried to retaliate, but end up with more injuries and fell. As he slowly gets back up, he became determined to kill Hody, but he slipped, hit his head, and fell unconscious. Wadatsumi was eventually defeated as well.

After the Sea Kings stop Noah from falling onto the island, the princes bring both Decken and Hody to the plaza and put them in chains. Decken is then imprisoned with the New Fish-Man Pirates officers, and Wadatsumi is banished from the island due to no prison in the palace being big enough for him.

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