Chapter 613

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

Cover
Short Term Cover Page: From the Decks of the World - Vol. 1: News Coo's travelling the world, bringing around newspaper telling everyone that the Straw Hat Pirates have returned.

Quick Summary
Shirahoshi screams and yells in need of help, being afraid Luffy will hurt her. Though, Luffy is her savior, as she has become target of a big axe, thrown to her from far away. Vander Decken IX, has once again thrown a big weapon in her directions to try and kill her, for not marrying him. Meanwhile, Zoro is arrested and the remaining three (Brook, Nami and Usopp) take out guards, trying to arrest them too. As guards falter one by one, Neptune takes a swing at them, but is stopped by two swords of Zoro. Having broken out of the palace prison, he aids his friends. Back in Fishman District, Hordy Jones and Vander Decken IX make a deal to take the head of Neptune.

Long Summary
The chapter starts with Vander Decken IX and Wadatsumi are on the sea floor, waiting for a response from Princess Shirahoshi. Decken IX blames King Neptune, believing he is trying to get the princess married for political reasons and as proof he locked her in a steel tower for ten years. Vander Decken is revealed to be Japanese bull shark fishman. He then takes out a giant axe with a rose painted on it and, using his Mato Mato no Mi powers, throws it toward her, claiming 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

At Ryugu Palace, guards rush to the Princess Shirahoshi's room. The princess cries for help as Luffy says he was only looking for food. Then, the axe that Decken IX threw flies into the room, but Luffy detected it and blocked it from hitting 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. She says she just had a nightmare and apologizes. The guards then say they are looking for Luffy who snuck away from his crew. Due to the suspicions, kidnappings, and Madame Shirley's predictions, it has been decided that the Straw Hats will be held in the castle's prison and that Zoro had already been put into the prison. The Minister of the Right then checks his watch and notices that five minutes have passed.

The princess first thanks Luffy and apologizes for her rudeness, asking for forgiveness. Shirahoshi says 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 because he is a pirate. Luffy replies that it is for her to decide. When she asks about his crew, Luffy said it was 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 no Mi and that she was put in the tower for her protection and that she had been there for ten years and her only companion was Megalo but that soldiers could only stay in the room for five minutes. She cannot leave the tower for fear of her life. Luffy then understood why the feast was being held.

While Luffy is eating, Shirahoshi comments on his size being a bad indication of how much he could eat. 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 her name is really hard to say. She comments on how he 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 chastised before. Luffy 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 he says he doesn't like her, she cries all the more, saying she had never heard such words,calling him a horrible man, and telling him to leave. She then says 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 there are several, but Luffy doesn't let her finish. 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, Keimi tells them that if they resist they really will be considered criminals instead of just threats. Nami, Usopp, and Brook are surrounded by guards. Brook tells Keimi 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 they are going to let themselves get captured because of something they 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 them. King Neptune says he wants more 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 said he thought he was in prison. Zoro says he heard a party getting started, so he came up.

The scene changes to Noah, where someone is alerting Jones to the arrival of Vander Decken and Vander Decken telling 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 they are both infamous. Both say 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

 * 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 bad luck in pictures as one of the Straw Hat Pirates.
 * Wadatsumi is revealed to be a fishman and not only a giant.
 * Vander Decken IX is fully seen for the first time and his crew is called the Flying Pirates.
 * Vander Decken IX is revealed to be the first fishman with a Devil Fruit ability.
 * Vander Decken IX was cast with a curse known as Mato Mato which lets him get guaranteed hits.
 * Vander Decken IX is revealed to be a Fishman.
 * Luffy saves Princess Shirahoshi.
 * 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.
 * Thanks to Luffy, Shirahoshi will apparently exit the tower for the first time in a decade.
 * Usopp introduces his new weapon, Black Kabuto.
 * Nami appears to have an upgrade to her 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 Ussop, Nami, and Brook in battle.
 * Hordy Jones and Vander Decken IX make a pact that includes crushing the Neptune Army, taking the head of Neptune, and overthrowing the Ryugu Kingdom.
 * This chapter marks the beginning of the first cover story after the timeskip.

Characters
1: first introduction