Chapter 613

Chapter 613 is called "The Mermaid Princess in Hard-Shell Tower".

Cover
Short Term Cover Page Serial Volume 19: From the Decks of the World - Vol. 1: News Coo travelling the ocean, bringing around newspapers telling everyone that the Straw Hat Pirates have returned at full strength.

Quick Summary
Shirahoshi screams and yells for help, afraid that Luffy will hurt her. However, Luffy becomes her savior, as she has become a target of a large battle axe thrown at her from far away; Vander Decken IX has once again thrown a large weapon in her direction to try to kill her for not marrying him. Meanwhile, Zoro is arrested and the remaining three Straw Hats (Brook, Nami, and Usopp) take out guards who are trying to arrest them. As the guards falter one by one, Neptune takes a swing at them, but is stopped by Zoro, who had broken out of the palace prison to aid his friends. Back in the Fishman District, Hordy Jones and Vander Decken IX make an alliance to take the head of Neptune.

Long Summary
The chapter starts with Vander Decken IX and Wadatsumi on the sea floor, waiting for a response from Princess Shirahoshi. Decken IX blames King Neptune, believing he is trying to set up an arranged marriage for the princess for political reasons and as a proof, he locked her in a steel tower for ten years. Vander Decken IX is revealed to be Japanese bullhead shark fishman. He then takes out a giant axe with a rose painted on it and, using his curse, throws it towards her, claiming that no one will marry her but him and he will kill her if she marries anyone else. The axe, however, turns around and cuts off the mast of the ship. The crew of the Flying Pirates point out that he missed. Vander Decken IX responds by saying he never miss and goes on to say that Shirahoshi's fate is either marriage to him or death.

At Ryugu Palace, guards rush to Princess Shirahoshi's room. The princess cries for help as Luffy explains he was only looking for food. Then, the axe that Decken IX threw flies into the room, but Luffy detected it and deflected it, saving the princess. When the guards finally get to the room, the princess hides Luffy in her hand and places him behind her back. The Minister of the Right asks if she is alright, and she says that she just had a nightmare and apologizes for making them worry. The guards then say they are looking for Luffy, who had snuck away from his crew. Due to the suspicions of kidnappings, and Madame Shirley's predictions, it has been decided that the Straw Hats will be held in the castle's prison, and Zoro had already been captured. The Minister of the Right then checks his watch and notices that five minutes have passed and must be going.

The princess first thanks Luffy and apologizes for her rudeness, asking for forgiveness. Shirahoshi says that she never imagined Luffy was the one who saved Megalo. She asks if he is Luffy, which the pirate says he is. She asks Luffy if he is a bad person for being a pirate, and Luffy replies that it is for her to decide. When she asks about his crew, Luffy says that it is alright, as there was no way they could actually be captured. Luffy then asks her about the axe and who threw it. She explains that the axe was thrown by Vander Decken IX using his Mato Mato curse, and that she was put in the tower for her protection. She also said that she had been there for ten years with her only companion being Megalo, and that soldiers could only stay in the room for five minutes. She cannot leave the tower for fear of her life. Luffy then understands why the feast was being held.

While Luffy is eating, Shirahoshi comments on his size being able to eat so much for someone so small. Luffy explains that Neptune was going to start the feast but kept getting yelled at, so he followed the scent of food. Luffy remembers that the guards called her princess, so she must be the Mermaid Princess. Shirahoshi says yes and introduces herself. Luffy says that her name is really hard to say. She comments on how Luffy really does not look like a bad person. She asks him if he goes on adventures since he is a pirate. She then asks him if he has seen the sun, or come across different flowers, furry animals, or forests. Luffy tells her not to ask so many questions while he is eating. She comments on the size of Luffy's cheeks and pokes them. Luffy yells at her for poking his cheeks while he was eating. The princess starts crying while telling him not to chastise her so loudly, saying he really is a scary person, and that she had never been yelled at before. Luffy then asks her why she is crying this time and tells her to stop. He also asks how someone so big could be such a crybaby. After that, he says that he doesn't like her causing her to cry even more. Shirahoshi states that she had never heard such words, calling Luffy a horrible man, and telling him to leave. She then says that she can't take it anymore as Megalo growls at Luffy. Luffy then says he ate a lot and compliments the food. He says that being locked away for ten years would make him sick. The princess tells him to hurry and leave. Luffy asks her if there is anywhere she'd like to go. She says that there are several, but Luffy doesn't let her finish her sentence. He offers to go for a walk with the princess and protect her if any weapons flew at her, much to the princess' shock.

At the palace halls, Keimi tells Usopp, Nami, and Brook that if they resist any further, they really will be considered criminals instead of just threats. Brook tells Keimi that they have no reason for obeying them. Usopp tells her that they will be arrested if they don't resist, and that the guards are the one who came at them for some crazy reason. Usopp asks if she really thinks that they are going to let themselves get captured because of something they may do in the future. Brook pulls out his sword, saying he will fight as many of them as they wish. A guard remarks how many incidents the pirates have caused and that they are unbelievably strong even without their captain. Nami says she was really looking forward to the alcohol they would serve in the Ryugu Kingdom. Pappug is amazed at how confident Usopp is. The Minister of the Left tells the soldiers not to faulter, as this is surely a "prologue" for what is to come. He tells them to defeat the pirates at all costs and protect the country. Usopp tells him that if the guards hadn't attacked them in the first place, they would have no reason to go as wild as they are. Usopp then says that the crowd of guards is nothing compared to the collective insect attacks when he was on the Boin Archipelago. He then introduces his new weapon, the Black Kabuto. The Minister of the Left asks Neptune to use his power to help the guards. King Neptune says he wants more time to decide whether or not it is alright to arrest people because of a prediction, but tells the guards to capture them for now. Brook gets ready to block as Neptune is about to strike the pirates with his trident. However, Zoro appears and blocks the attack. Nami and Usopp are shocked to see him. Usopp says that he thought he was in prison. Zoro says that he heard a party getting started, so he came out.

The scene changes to Noah, where someone is alerting Jones of the arrival of Vander Decken IX. Vander Decken IX tells Wadatsumi to stay put. As he is led to Jones, Decken apologizes for being late, as he ran into some volcanic activity, and asks him if he is talking to the infamous Hordy Jones. Jones says that they are both infamous. Both say that they are pleased to do business with the other. Jones goes in for a handshake, but Decken tells him to wait a moment as he puts on a glove. Jones says that their alliance is toward a single goal from which they would both profit. Their goal is to crush the Neptune Army and take Neptune's head. Zeo says that they are now invincible on the ocean floor, to which Daruma responds that two very powerful people just teamed up. The chapter ends with Jones and Decken saying the complete collapse of the Ryugu Kingdom will happen once they take Neptune's head.

Chapter Notes

 * This chapter marks the beginning of the first cover story after the timeskip.
 * On the newspaper announcing the Straw Hats' return on the cover, Sanji's picture shows only the back of his head, yet again continuing his streak of bad luck with pictures as one of the Straw Hat Pirates.
 * Wadatsumi is revealed to be a fishman.
 * Vander Decken IX is fully seen for the first time and his crew is called the Flying Pirates.
 * Shirahoshi was locked in her room for ten years to keep her safe from Vander Decken IX.
 * Decken is revealed to be inflicted with a curse known as Mato Mato, which allows him to throw items accurately at any target.
 * This is the second time Luffy bluntly points out a person's negative qualities and says "I don't like you". The first time was with Coby.
 * The Straw Hat Pirates officially become criminals of Fishman Island.
 * Luffy tries to take Shirahoshi out of the tower.
 * Usopp introduces his new weapon, Black Kabuto.
 * Nami may have an upgraded Clima-Tact, resembling the older version.
 * Pappug is the first being to ever call Usopp courageous in some way without being fooled or making a joke.
 * Zoro is seen for the first time on Fishman Island, helping Usopp, Nami, and Brook in battle.
 * Vander Decken IX and Hordy Jones make an alliance.
 * Apparently Decken needs to be cautious when making contact with people, as shown when he puts on a glove to shake Hordy Jones' hand.

Characters
1: first introduction