Fish-Man Island Arc

The Fish-Man Island Arc is the second and last story arc of the Fish-Man Island Saga, continuing from the Return to Sabaody Arc, the twenty-fifth story arc of the manga and anime One Piece and the second story arc of the second half of the series.

The Straw Hat Pirates finally arrive at Fish-Man Island. There, the New Fish-Man Pirates are plotting to overtake Ryugu Kingdom and make Fish-Men be recognized as the supreme race.

Last Thoughts from Sabaody: The Straw Hats Descend


After the Straw Hats escape, the scene changes to a section in Sabaody known as "No Man's Land". Coribou and Caribou along with their crew have captured the remaining Fake Straw Hat Crew and are digging their graves. The fakes beg the brothers to let them go but they refuse, revealing that they had planned to kill the real Straw Hats from the inside after joining them and were not amused when they found out they were lied to. When Drip, the Fake Sanji, continues to beg, Caribou reveals he has Devil Fruit powers, turning his arm into a gooey substance and smothering him. The Fake Sogeking tries to shoot him, but the cannonball ends up absorbed into his body, revealing that he is a Logia user. Caribou orders his men to bury the imposters alive while he excitedly announces that he managed to confirm the real Straw Hats' location.

Back in Grove 46, Sentomaru reports back to his base, mentioning he managed to capture Demaro Black and most of Demaro's recruited pirates except for the Caribou Pirates and the other Straw Hat Imposters (sans Cocoa and fake Chopper), who somehow disappeared from the plaza. He also comments on the Straw Hats' newfound strength after easily destroying the two pacifistas he brought along with him and tells his base to call Marine Headquarters in the New World and warn them that the Straw Hats have finally revived.

The scene then moves to a shore where Rayleigh is watching the ocean. Shakky joins him commenting on how quickly the Straw Hats left. She then asks if Rayleigh is recalling something. He jokingly comments "maybe" then remembers when he first met Roger who surprisingly looked very much like Luffy when he was younger, even wearing the same straw hat. Rayleigh then comments to Shakky that destiny is slowly taking shape and that Luffy has proven himself that he is worthy of wearing that certain Straw Hat. He also mentions that it would not be a bad idea to live for a bit longer.

Meanwhile underwater, the Straw Hats marvel at site of the undersea world, one of which is the roots underneath Sabaody as well as the huge fish swimming around them. Robin then notices that ship's bubble shares the same characteristics as those on Sabaody. Nami confirms it, mentioning that anything strong enough to pass through the bubble will just go right through it, allowing them to fire the ships weapons if necessary. When Usopp asks what could break it, Nami answers that poking multiple holes in the bubble will indeed pop it, so they have to be careful not to let a Sea King bite into it or smash into a reef.

Luffy remembers Hancock had fixed him food, so he shares his bentos with the crew while Usopp wonders why Hatchan is not guiding them like he promised two years ago. Franky says he need to tell the crew something. In the two years they were gone, both Hatchan and Duval protected the Thousand Sunny the best way they could but both were heavily wounded and Hatchan had to retire and head back to Fish-Man Island. A year after he left, the marines found out about Sunny and came try and capture it. However, there was one more warrior who protected the ship: Bartholomew Kuma.



Franky explains that after he arrived back on Sabaody he had found Kuma heavily damaged and rusted. Kuma then declared his mission was complete and headed off much to Franky's confusion. Franky then found out from Rayleigh that during their battle against Kizaru, Kuma had whispered to Rayleigh that he was a Revolutionary and wished to help the Straw Hats escape. After blasting the Straw Hats away, he later met with Rayleigh and told him he did not have much time left. Since he was treated like a guinea pig with the Marines, his body was becoming more machine than human. He then made a deal with Dr. Vegapunk that before his personality was completely gone to have a program embedded in him to return to the Straw Hats' ship and guard it until one of the Straw Hats returned.

The Straw Hats are astonished that Kuma would go to such great lengths to protect them, figuring that Kuma did it as a favor to Dragon. Franky then warns them that while they are indebted to Kuma for saving them, the next time they meet he will have likely become a heartless human weapon. They are unaware that the Caribou Pirates are right behind them, and Caribou is still obsessed with destroying them.

The Route to Fish-Man Island: Encountering a Legendary Ghostship
Very soon the ship descends into the Euphotic Zone and are about to be out of another level called the Disphotic Zone, about 1,000 meters below the surface. While they are sailing, the Caribou Pirates ship is quickly approaching Thousand Sunny from behind, being towed by a sea monster. Caribou is heard, rallying the crew, getting them ready for their upcoming attack, and planning to make him famous to the world by taking the Straw Hats' heads.



Back on the Sunny, Usopp sees something gaining on them, thinking it is a sea monster and tells the crew there is a shadow heading directly toward them. Caribou's ship soon catches up and comes alongside the Sunny. The Straw Hats wonder whose ship it is. Caribou leads the assault. At that moment, Nami recognizes the monster pulling the ship as Momoo, the pet sea cow of the Arlong Pirates. Momoo sees Nami, Sanji, and Luffy, remembering all three of them from the past. He remembers the beatings he received from Luffy and Sanji, and swims back the opposite way out of terror, towing the ship with him, but not before Caribou, and only Caribou, was able to make it onto the Thousand Sunny's deck. Caribou, unaware he was left behind, commands his crew to introduce themselves by slaughtering all the Straw Hats. He immediately realizes that he is the only one of his crew on board the ship and immediately changes his tune.

Franky picks him up with one hand, Caribou begging him not to throw him out into the ocean. Franky, instead, simply throws him against one of the side rails of the ship. Caribou immediately denies he was the captain of the crew, saying he is just a human bullet for that crew, and that he is sick of being on that ship. He then asks the Straw Hats if it would be alright if he rode with them for a while. The Straw Hats allow that but tie him up with a rope. The scene momentarily switches back to the Caribou Pirates ship, the crew trying to command Momoo to stop and asking him what happened. Coribou then says that Caribou will save them for sure.

Back on the Sunny, Caribou is reworking his plan. Since he can get out of the ropes any time he pleases and since he cannot fight nine people at once, he thinks it would be best to observe the crew and wait for a chance to kill them one by one. Luffy asks if it would not be faster to travel in a straight line, but Nami explains that if they continue straight, they would just be swallowed up by currents and could hit a volcano or sea mountain before finishing their descent.

She also explains that there is only one safe route, and tells everyone to put on a coat, saying the journey would get a lot colder, since the water in the deep sea is cold. Brook then adds that the colder levels have what are called Deep Currents, large ocean currents normally invisible to the naked eye that move in a completely different pattern than surface currents and also says that he has heard that the Deep Currents move very slowly across the ocean floor, and that once someone is down that deep, it could take nearly 2,000 years to return to a part of the sea that gets sunlight. Nami says that in order to get there, they need to ride a descending current that takes them from a surface current to a deep current. Franky then calls to her from the bow of the ship, saying "it" has come into view.

Everyone goes to the bow. Luffy asks what the current looks like. Franky, in response to seeing it, says "Mother Nature really knows how to get things done", the great Downward Plume. Caribou, who had been quiet the whole time, stands up and tells the Straw Hats to turn back immediately, saying that something was bad.



Luffy says he sees a monster at the bottom. Caribou states he has never heard of that type of sea monster living in a place like a Downward Plume. The monster in question is a Kraken, a giant, mythological octopus. Franky adds that it can crush multiple ships in a single blow, and that it must have been staying there, feeding on the ships that traveled there in the past few days. Luffy, not intimidated by its massive size and appearance, decides to tame it.

Caribou's ship suddenly returns, with Coribou and the rest of the crew, including Momoo, determined to save Caribou. However, before they can get close, they are grabbed by one of the Kraken's tentacles who quickly destroys their coating bubble and their ship, making Caribou's crew submerge in the water much to his dismay. The Kraken then sets its sights on the Sunny. Luffy and Zoro prepare to attack but Usopp stops them, warning that they will break holes in the coating bubble. Franky activates the ship's Chicken Voyage to avoid some of the tentacles. Noticing that Luffy will not change his mind on fighting, Caribou comes up with a suggestion.

Soon Luffy, Zoro and Sanji are in their personal coating bubble which Caribou calls "Barefoot Coating", which is essentially man-made diving suits. Caribou tells them they can now go fight without damaging the ship and can find their way back using a rope lifeline. Usopp at first complains about this, but when Caribou make it clear which would be better: fighting on the ship or away from it. Usopp agrees with the latter. The "Monster Trio" head out though leave their lifelines behind as they feel it will get in their way. The Kraken attacks again to which Franky fires rockets from shoulders, repelling a tentacle. The Kraken attacks with another one but Chopper eats a Rumble Ball and goes into Guard Point, protecting the ship. The Sunny is knocked back as a result toward a mountain however, but Robin manages to conjure two big hands and keep it from crashing.

Luffy goes into Gear 3 and equips a Busoshoku Haki hardening on his arm. However, as he is using it in the ocean, he is weakening as a result. The Kraken tries to grab him but Sanji dashes toward it outside his bubble. He then hits the Kraken with a Diable Jambe. Zoro goes in next and cuts off one of the Kraken's tentacles into six pieces. Luffy complains to the two that they are gonna take off all its legs before hitting the Kraken with Gomu Gomu no Elephant Gun. This beats the Kraken though the group notice a large shark with a shirt on swimming around the Kraken. Before they can wonder what is going on, though, they are all swept up in the current of the Downward Plume and pulled further down. Franky, with Nami's navigation, manages to keep the ship from crashing, but the Monster Trio ended up separated from the ship.



Those aboard the Sunny find themselves in a very dark and cold part of the ocean, unaware of the sea monsters swimming around. As they activate some lights, they find themselves staring face to face with a few of them, much to their horror. A caption comes up, commenting that the area they are in is known as "The Deep Sea", a part of the sea where light cannot reach, and no normal creature exist. It is also known as "The Underworld of the Sea".

The Straw Hats still on board the Sunny are looking for Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji in the dark depths of the Deep Sea. Brook notices that Caribou had escaped from the ropes that were holding him. Caribou hides in a barrel nearby as everyone realizes he could be hiding anywhere on the ship and they need to be on their guard. He seemed pleased that the Monster Trio was gone, saying they all must be dead by now. He was disappointed that he could not take Luffy's head but figured the heads of the rest of the crew would be just as good. He thinks to himself that he should wait until they land at Fish-Man Island to attack.

While Caribou is formulating his plan, Franky notices him in the barrel. Franky promptly forces the lid of the barrel down and seals the barrel with ropes and by bolting large metal holding plates along the sides of both ends of the barrel. Franky realizes that Caribou had let himself get hit by Sanji earlier in order to hide his mud-like Logia powers. Franky concludes that the crew would have been in trouble if Caribou was not such an idiot. Franky then notices that something was bothering Chopper and asks him what is wrong. Chopper says that it has become really hot, and Usopp agrees. The crew then notices that they are heading into a cloud of smoke. Nami realizes that smoke under water, coupled with hydrothermal mineral deposits, could only mean that they are in a Deep Sea volcanic region. The Sunny is right above the mouths of several volcanoes. Franky says that if the volcanoes erupt, they would be killed instantly and proceeds to steer the ship away from the volcanoes.

Chopper then notices a light in the distance, wondering if they had reached Fish-Man Island. Franky uses his Nipple Lights as a morse code, but the light turns out to belong to a giant angler fish. The fish tries to eat the ship, but is stopped by a giant humanoid creature, which is identified as an Umibozu, a sea giant, by Usopp. The giant punches the angler fish, whose name is Ankoro, saying that it was not supposed to eat ships and that captain Vander Decken would be mad at them. Brook then hears someone singing and a ghostly ship approaches from behind the giant.



Brook identifies the ship as the legendary Flying Dutchman. He then proceeded to give the history of the ship and its captain. It is called "The ship that should not be." The story dates back hundreds of years. On a stormy day, a captain became deranged and started throwing his crew overboard, killing all of them. The captain's name was Vander Decken. He incurred the wrath of God, and was doomed to an eternity of wandering the sea, forbidden to ever make port. That ship is the very same ship that they see before them, the cursed ship of Vander Decken. Ηe told the angler fish and the giant, whose name is Wadatsumi, that they would not get treasure if they ate the ship.

He then orders Wadatsumi to knock the Thousand Sunny. The Straw Hats are saved, when the Kraken shows up out of nowhere and punches Wadatsumi. Everyone on the ship is surprised to see it again. The Kraken continues to beat up the giant until Luffy orders him to stop, which it did. Everyone is relieved to see that Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji are alive. Luffy did not like it in the cramped bubble, and he sprawls out on the deck of the ship, happy for so much room. Luffy says that he is going to turn the Kraken, who he named Surume, into a top-notch navigator as Surume places Thousand Sunny on his head. Usopp says that they should be careful to ensure that the ship is not crushed. Everyone then hears a rumbling sound coming from one of the volcanoes. Vander Decken's crew alerts him that there is trouble, as Nami realizes the volcano is about to erupt.

Straw Hats at Fish-Man Island: Revelations and a Terrifying Prediction
As both parties realize what going to happen, Vander Decken decides to pull out, ordering Wadatsumi and Ankoro, to pull the ship away from the area. Surume takes the Sunny away from there. Both parties get a good distance away before the volcano explodes, sending out a shockwave. The Flying Dutchman, along with Wadatsumi and Ankoro are blown away, though Surume is able to keep ahead as the magma begins to run down the volcano. Surume jumps in a darker area, falling into the trench as the volcano erupts again, causing an avalanche that destroys the trench above them and sends rocks falling toward the Sunny. A stray boulder falls on Surume knocking him out and both the Sunny and he plummet into the abyss.



Luckily, after falling through the trench, the Straw Hats find themselves still in one piece with the Sunny laying on its side at the bottom of the ocean floor. They notice light emitting from somewhere and find that it's their long-sought destination, Fish-Man Island, an island wrapped in gigantic bubble.

Before they can go to the island, a voice calls out to Surume, criticizing him for letting humans order him around. Surume becomes scared, let's go of the Sunny, and runs off. And with good reason as the Sunny is surrounded by a gang of much larger sea kings. The voice belongs to a daggertooth piked conger fish-man named Hammond, a crewmember of the New Fish-Man Pirates. He says that he knows about the Straw Hat Pirates, the ones who crushed Arlong's ambition, but also protected Hatchan and assaulted one of the World Nobles.

He then gives the crew two choices: join them or be sunk right then and there. The only choice the Straw Hats have is to run and charge straight toward Fish-Man Island with Coup de Burst. Hammond once again asks if Luffy will join him and Luffy, without a care in the world, rejects Hammond just as the preparations for the Coup de Burst are set. Franky activates it and the ship blasts of to Fish-Man Island. They make it in, but the coating of the Sunny wears off, and they all get separated after the ship falls into a current.

Sometime later, Luffy wakes up and finds himself in Camie's house, with Sanji, Chopper, and Usopp. The strong sea currents took the rest of the Straw Hats somewhere else, and they were lucky to be found by the mermaids. While in Camie's house, she introduces the Straw Hats to her friends, the Medaka Mermaid Quintuplets, and tells them that she works at Mermaid Cafe with her friends. As the group boards a turtle that will take them to the top of the island, Camie explains that Hatchan is in the Fish-Man District still recovering from his wounds that he got while protecting the Thousand Sunny and that Pappag lives in a mansion in Gyoverly Hills where Camie occasionally visits to bring him clams. When they arrive in Mermaid Cove, they meet the rest of Camie's mermaid friends, which makes Sanji cry in happiness, and say that he has found his "All Blue". A few of the mermaids find the barrel where Caribou is stored and suggest opening it. Meanwhile, at Noah, Hammond reports Luffy's arrival to his boss, who orders his crew to bring Luffy to him.



Luffy's group gets acquainted with the mermaids. Sanji happily swims with them while Luffy, Usopp, Chopper and Camie relax. Chopper and Usopp comment that Sanji seems to have gotten better, to which the former mentions that he is out of blood packs and that Sanji's blood type is rather rare. Luffy then asks Camie if he could see Jinbe, mentioning that Jinbe saved him after Ace died. However, Camie tells him that Jinbe left the island with the Fish-Man Pirates since he revoked his title of a Warlord of the Sea and that so much on the island has changed since then. Before she can go into detail, the quintuplets come rushing to them, telling them that a royal gondola is headed their way possibly to arrest the Straw Hats. The mermaids hide Luffy's group as the three princes from the Neptune House of the Ryugu Kingdom arrive. The princes are Fukaboshi, a shark merman, Ryuboshi, an oarfish merman, and Manboshi, a moonfish merman.

They inquire the mermaids about the Straw Hats' illegal entry and if they have seen them. The mermaid denies seeing any intruders while Hammond and his men are in the area searching for Luffy. The mermaid holding Sanji triggers his perverted nature and he squirts out a huge nosebleed, giving the Straw Hats away. The Ammo-King set upon the group, but Chopper pleads with them to halt their arrest till he can cure Sanji. Chopper, Usopp, and Luffy frantically ask if anyone could donate some blood to save Sanji's blood. The mermaids oddly become reluctant to help. Hammond shows himself, explaining that is against the rules to share their blood with humans, and in return for doing so fish-men will be silenced by a 'judgement in the dark'.

This rule stemmed from the death of Fisher Tiger who apparently died bleeding after a battle and could have been easily saved with a transfusion, but no humans were willing to help him. Hammond then commands Luffy to come with him before resorting to try to capture him with a net. Luffy dodges it and hits Hammond and his lackeys with a Jet Pistol knocking them out much to the surprise of the mermaids. The sea monster that Hammond brought with him tries to attack Luffy, but the Straw Hat captain uses Haki to subdue the beast, calming it before it can even reach Luffy much to the shock of Usopp. Camie suddenly arrives on a gondola (which belongs to the Princes) calling for Luffy and the others to hop on and explains that there is a port in town with humans that could possibly help them. Luffy's group does so, and they take off. Camie also mentions that it has been a while that humans have come down to Fish-Man Island. The Straw Hats are the first guests that they had in a while. She also mentions that there are rumors of some big shadow moving around the kingdom and preventing humans from reaching the island.

Back at Mermaid Cove, the mermaids apologize for hiding the Straw Hats, but the princes reveal that it was a misunderstanding. They did not come to arrest the group but rather to give them a message from Jinbe before he left the island.

In the Port Town of Coral Hill, Luffy's group takes shelter in Madam Shyarly's Mermaid Cafe. Shyarly provides them a room where they can treat Sanji. Luffy's group luckily find blood donors for Sanji. The group is relieved that Sanji regains consciousness. Much to Sanji's horror, he finds out that his blood donors are two Okama pirate twins named Splash and Splatter. Chopper then examines Luffy's arm and realizes that he was poisoned when he attacked Hammond's group. However, due to his encounter with Magellan, Luffy's body has developed anti-bodies that fought against the poison, which saved Luffy's life. Luffy comments that the octopus merman swordsman that was with Hammond blocked his attack and nicked him in the process, acknowledging he must possess some skill to do so.



Back at Mermaid Cove, the said blue ringed poisonous octopus merman named Hyouzou is seen carrying his unconscious shipmates back to their hideout. Hyouzou hears a scream and comments that the mermaids are noisy. He also remembers that he accidentally poisoned Luffy when the latter struck him. Hyouzou goes on saying that it would be bad if Luffy dies unaware that the Straw Hat had developed an immunity to poison. At the cove, mermaids realize that the scream came from some of their friends including a mermaid named Ishilly. A barrel was opened, and their missing friends are nowhere to be found.

Back at the Mermaid Cafe, Camie introduces Luffy and Usopp to the owner, a shortfin mako shark mermaid named Madam Shyarly. Camie asks Shyarly to not let Sanji see her and not to let him know that he is in the backroom of the Mermaid Cafe. When Luffy and Usopp notice a large crystal ball, Shyarly mentions that she used to be a fortune teller but quit as she decided to leave the future unknown. Luffy asks Shyarly if mermaids can poop. Shyarly responds by angrily saying how vulgar Luffy is and Luffy quickly apologizes. Shyarly lets Camie take the day off to show Luffy and Usopp around town. Camie then remembers that she needed to go visit Pappag and deliver clams. Shyarly informs Camie that Pappag is in the cafe. The three head to the front of the cafe and run right into Brook and Pappag who were just leaving. Pappag invites them to his house for the day to celebrate their arrival on Fish-Man Island. En route, Brook spots a wanted poster for Vander Decken. Pappag and Camie explain to the group that Vander Decken is a notorious bandit around the area who is smitten with the Mermaid Princess. He started sending love letters, then packages, and then threatening marriage proposals. This prompted the King Neptune and the princes to form an army to search for Vander Decken, but have not had any luck finding him. When Brook prompt about the legend surrounding Decken, Pappag reveals that it was just an exaggeration of the myth and that the Vander Decken from the legend died on Fish-Man Island. The one running around is his descendant, Vander Decken IX.

As they finish the story, Luffy notices the different colors and sizes of the residents of Fish-Man Island. He sees that one of the Fish-Man has a mermaid child. Pappag states that when a Fish-Man and mermaid marry, their offspring can be either one of the two, hence the variety of their species. As the group head for a highway, they spot a candy factory with a pirate flag on it. Pappag explains that it belongs to Charlotte Linlin a.k.a. Big Mom of the Four Emperors who has taken over as the protector of the island after Whitebeard's death. In return, the island must produce candy for her every month.



Luffy wonders if he will meet her someday and comments that she is a nice person to take over Whitebeard's role. Pappag is wary though as Whitebeard never asked for collateral and assume that Big Mom is seeing her protection from a business perspective. Soon, the group reach Gyoverly Hills and see Pappag's mansion upon arrival.

Back in Coral Hill, Shyarly is suddenly causing a commotion screaming in the street after seeing a prediction on her crystal ball. She warns of a person wearing a straw hat and yells that they must get him to leave. She assumes this person to be Luffy and cries out that he will destroy Fish-Man Island.

The Next Generation of Danger: Unrest and Trouble on the Island
Back in the Noah District, a group of pirates are fleeing back to their ship. Their captain, "Crab Hand" Gyro, comments how they were strong-armed into serving the New Fish-Man Pirates. We then go to the leader and officers of the said pirates: Officers Dosun (hammerhead shark), Zeo (Japanese wobbegong), Daruma (cookiecutter shark), Ikaros Much (giant squid) and their captain, Hody Jones (great white shark). A member of the New Fish-Man Pirates informs Hody and the officers about Gyro's escape. Hody tells his crew that he will take care of it, taking a batch of pills which suddenly increase his strength.



Meanwhile, Luffy's group marvels at Pappag's house. They enter the Criminal clothing store on the first floor where they find a customer complaining about the prices of the clothes. The customer turns out to be Nami. Nami scolds Pappag for the high prices and demands a discount. Pappag allows the group to have whatever they want free of charge as thanks for the help on Sabaody. After hearing this joyful news, the pirates quickly empty the store much to Pappag's dismay. Commotion suddenly arises outside the shop and the group rushes out to see why. A figure on a whale comes towards them revealing himself as the "Sea God" Neptune, a Coelacanth merman, riding on his whale, Hoe. Camie and Pappag are shocked by his presence. Neptune approaches the group and invites Luffy and the Straw Hats to his palace, much to everyone's surprise.

Meanwhile Gyro and his crew continue with their escape. Before they can get very far, Hody appears in front of them, handcuffed, and drills inside the ship. He emerges under the deck while chomping down on a pirate. Despite all the efforts of the crew, Hody continues to destroy the ship and crew with his jaws alone. As Hody continues with his rampage, the New Fish-Man Pirates remark about the pills called Energy Steroids, which doubles the user's strength for each dose. However, in exchange for the boost in strength, the drug shaves away the user's lifespan. The fish-men disregard the negative side effect as they do not fear death. The pirates on the ship realize that Hody handcuffed himself to show that he does not need his hands to destroy them.

After wrecking the pirates' ship and leaving them barely alive, Hody tells them to return to the surface to tell the humans about what happened and who is responsible. As Gyro and his crew float to the surface, Hody declares that the New Fish-Man Pirates will show the world that fish-men are the supreme race and that they will take control of Fish-Man Island from King Neptune.

A few hours earlier, Ishilly and two other unwitting mermaids began opening the barrel that Caribou was sealed in thinking that the barrel contained treasure or expensive alcohol. After Ishilly loosens a few bolts, Caribou pops out and terrifies the three mermaids. As the unfortunate mermaids try to flee and scream for help, Caribou captures them within himself using his Numa Numa no Mi powers which allows him to become and create an artificial swamp. He then gleefully comments that since he is on the island, he can capture as many mermaids as he wish and sell them into slavery.

Back in the present, the Ammo Knights question the mermaids about the Straw Hats, suspecting them of the kidnappings. Though they are weary as to why they would do something like that after acting so friendly. Fukaboshi questions Madam Shyarly if she is certain about the prediction she had. When she confirms it, Fukaboshi comments that they will have to 'deal' with the problem as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, Luffy's group rides on Megalo while King Neptune rides on Hoe, leaving Gyoverly Hills. Neptune mentions that Megalo, the shark that was freed from the Kraken earlier, is his daughter's pet. The princess was worrying about her beloved pet heavily and cried continuously until Megalo returned. He wishes thanks to the Straw Hats with a banquet at his palace. Neptune also mentions that he has his soldiers looking for the rest of the crew. Zoro was found earlier and is already at the palace drinking, while Nami reveals that Franky went to look for a relative of Tom's and Robin went to look up something historical. Nami then asks Neptune about the light of the island so far beneath the sea. The king reveals that it's from the roots of a tree called the Sunlight Tree Eve. It was the only spot on the ocean where light shines down. The fish-men built their island underneath so it allows light and air to flow down. The group then reach the Ryugu Palace and head inside, where Neptune is scolded by his Ministers for going out haphazardly. They also mention that they have a message from Fukaboshi. As the ministers speaks with Neptune, Camie, Pappag, and the Straw Hats have realized that Luffy wandered off.



Luffy follows the scent of food, trying to find the banquet hall. The smell leads him to a door where a guard is just coming from. Luffy wanders inside, finding the room pitch black but can see the food on the other side of the room. He heads for it while noticing that the ground is rather odd, especially a rather bouncy section (surmising it to be pudding). However, someone suddenly shouts, and the lights turn on, revealing the ground to be actually the body of a person and the bouncy part was her breasts. The person turns out to be Princess Shirahoshi, a giant smelt-whiting mermaid. She tries to put on a brave front after seeing Luffy, thinking him to be an assassin, before crying out for her father and brothers.

Meanwhile Vander Decken IX (a Japanese bullhead shark fish-man) and his crew, the Flying Pirates, are traveling the ocean floor. Decken angrily asks Wadatsumi if they received any reply from Shirahoshi. When Wadatsumi answers that she has not reply for the past ten years, Decken throws an axe with a rose on it as a message. Decken then states that she must either marry him or die if she chooses someone else.

Back at the palace, Shirahoshi continues to cry with Luffy trying to calm her down. The axe that Decken threw earlier suddenly flies into the room straight for the Princess. Luffy spots it in time and manages to knock it away, saving Shirahoshi, much to the princess' surprise. The guards and the Minister of the Right enter the room a moment later. Shirahoshi grabs Luffy and hides him behind her back and tells the guards that she just had a bad dream. They accept the explanation before telling the princess of the suspicions of the Straw Hats due to the mermaid disappearances and Madame Shyarly's vision of Luffy destroying Fish-Man Island.



The Minister of the Right erroneously states that they captured Zoro and are about to capture Nami, Usopp, and Brook as well. They leave the room to continue searching for Luffy. Once they left, Shirahoshi apologizes to Luffy for her outburst after realizing he was the one to save Megalo. They talk while Luffy eats some of her food. Shirahoshi reveals that Decken has a "curse" known as "Mato-Mato" which allows him to target anything from any location. As such, it unsafe for her to go outside and she has been locked up in the Hard-Shell Tower for ten years.

Shrihoshi becomes fascinated with Luffy, wondering how such a small person like Luffy can eat so much. The princess pokes his stuffed cheek and Luffy yells at her for this, causing her to break down in tears instantly. The princess states that no one had ever yelled at her before. Luffy bluntly says that he does not like her for her crybaby tendencies, causing her to cry even more. Luffy finishes eating and asks if she would want to go for a walk outside, offering to protect her if anything is thrown at her.

Usopp, Nami, and Brook are then seen after they subdued some of the Neptune Guards. Camie pleads with them not to fight anymore, but Usopp claims that the guards were the ones who attacked them out of the blue and that, whatever the reason, they will defend themselves. The Minister of the Left begs Neptune to use his power. Neptune does not wish to go against the pirates just because of a prediction but decides to capture them. Neptune attacks but Zoro intercepts him, having broken out of his prison upon hearing the "party" going on.



Back in the Noah District, Decken arrives and goes to meet Hody. The two shake hands (though not before Decken puts a glove on to prevent his Devil Fruit from marking Hody as a target) symbolizing their joined forces to bring down the Ryugu Kingdom.

Back at the palace, Usopp chastises Zoro for going too far after the group have defeated and chained up Neptune, his ministers, and the Ammo Knights. Usopp states that they planned to intimidate the guards and run off when they get the chance. Usopp is annoyed when Nami asks one of the guards the location of the treasury and is annoyed further when Brook suggests singing. Neptune mentions that since his back gave out, he is not one for fighting and has gotten too old to do so. The group inquire about Luffy wondering where he got off too as well. Zoro suggests that they grab the Sunny and run, but Usopp counters that the coating bubble broke when they rammed into the island, so they cannot leave. Nami also notices the Log Pose is going haywire and cannot lock on anything. One of the ministers mock her for this and when she asks why, he agrees to tell her only if she unties him.

The doorbell to the palace rings, signaling the return of the princes. Zoro picks up the com and answers, claiming that they have hostages much to the chagrin of Usopp. Zoro manages to bargain the hostages' freedom in return for them finding the rest of the Straw Hats and coating their ship so they can leave peacefully. Fukaboshi agrees to the demands and reveals the message that Jinbe had left. The messages are "Do not to fight Hody" and "I'll be waiting in the Sea Forest". Back at Coral Hill, the news of the Straw Hats' actions has reached the residents' ears. The Ammo Knights try to arrest Sanji and Chopper. Chopper attacks the knights with his new Kung Fu Point. Sanji then questions the guards asking if the Mermaid Princess is at the palace. When they confirm it, Sanji tells Chopper that he is going to head to the palace. Chopper scolds Sanji saying that if the Mermaid Princess is beautiful, he will die instantly.

At Hard-Shell Tower, Luffy offers Shirahoshi the chance to head outside, asking where she would like to go. Shirahoshi mentions the Sea Forest, but comments that she is too scared and breaks down again when Luffy calls her a weakling. The tower is suddenly bombarded again and Luffy realizes it is Vander Decken IX. In the palace hall, the king hears the sounds and commands the Straw Hats to go check on the princess to ensure her safety. When Zoro asks why they should take orders from hostages, Neptune responds angrily saying that if his daughter is harmed while he is incapacitated, he will chase the Straw Hats to the ends of the ocean. Brook quickly dashes off to her location while bringing the Minister of the Right since the latter demands it. The two reach the tower and find that human pirates (pawns of Hody Jones) were thrown into the tower. The minister realizes that it could be a surprise attack. Before Brook can do anything, Megalo suddenly breaks out of the tower (with Shirahoshi hiding in his mouth and with Luffy riding on top) and heads for the Sea Forest.

Brook and the minister yell to both Luffy and Megalo as they leave the tower, but neither hear them. The minister tells Brook to hurry into the room to check on the princess. But once they get there, Shirahoshi is nowhere to be found. The minister panics saying that this is a national crisis. One of the pirates goes on to attack Brook, demanding to know the location of the switch that opens connection corridor that links the palace to Fish-Man Island. The pirates say that they have to find it, or they will be killed. Back at Coral Hill, Chopper complains to Sanji about beating up the Ammo Knights. Sanji counters that they were going to handcuff him and that Chopper attacked them first before complimenting the new Kung Fu Point.



Chopper then dances around happily until the two heard a woman screaming about someone bloodied has reached the area and that they need a doctor. Upon reaching the person, they find out that its Hatchan, heavily wounded with arrows pierced into him. Upon seeing the two, Hatchan warns them of the incoming attack by the New Fish-Man Pirates and that they need to leave.

The story flashes back to a few hours earlier when Hody Jones and Vander Decken IX were teaming up. Decken goes on to demonstrate his Mato Mato ability. Before he can pick a volunteer, Hatchan appears and objects to the operation. The octopus fish-man then questions why Hyouzou and Decken are going along with the plan when they did not answer to Arlong's call when he formed his crew. Hyouzou answers that Arlong was too cheap to afford him at the time and that he only cares about money and not for the cause of his employers. Decken answers that Arlong tried to make him his underling which Decken did not take kindly too. Hody then explains that while he respected Arlong, he was too barbaric in his methods and thus the New Fish-Man Pirates have apparently learned from their mistakes and prepared. When the subject of Luffy being on the island is brought up, Hatchan explains that Luffy saved his life and that he owes him since Luffy is his friend.

Hody shows his disappointment and states that he lost all hope in Hatchan. Decken then touches Hatchan, saying that he is locked onto him. Decken then demonstrates his power by throwing a knife over Hatchan. It suddenly flies into the octopus, stabbing him in the back. Decken explains that as long as a person remains his target after touching them, what he throws will always fly towards them. He then takes some arrows from a nearby pirate. Hatchan, realizing what he is about to do, yells at Hody to call him off, but Hody dismisses Hatchan as too weak and allows Decken to throw the arrows. Hatchan runs for his life and dives into the ocean, but it does him little good and he got struck by the arrows.

After this display, Decken continues the explanation, saying that he can only keep two targets in his memory and that his right hand is reserved for Shirahoshi whom he touched long ago. Hody then tell his captive human pirates the plan. Decken will throw them into the Hard-Shell Tower using his Mato Mato power. When the captive pirates object, Hody threatens to throw them into the ocean if they do not comply. We then go on to the present where the pirates are searching for the switch. Brook and the Minster of the Right rush back to the others to inform them of the surprise attack and of Shirahoshi's disappearance. Neptune looks stunned. Usopp begins to panic asking what they should do. Zoro suggests that they should just cut them.

Meanwhile Luffy, Megalo, and Shirahoshi continue to head for the Sea Forest. Shirahoshi is nervous but excited to be outside for the first time in ten years. Luffy then ask if there is anything fun in the Sea Forest. Shirahoshi replies that there is a grave that she wanted to visit since it was built. Meanwhile at the Sea Forest, Jinbe sits in front of the grave while commenting on the growth of the princes and the princess still being trapped in the tower in the ten years since the grave's occupant's assassination, but no one has forgotten her ideals. The grave, as it turns out, belongs to Queen Otohime: the wife and mother of the Neptune family.

The Coup d'État Commences: Hody and Decken Strike


Over the island, a flying com broadcasts the border patrol trying to contact the palace. The com warns the island that some dangerous individuals have left the Fish-Man District though cannot tell what their purpose is. These people turn out to be Hody and Decken's crews riding on a group of sea monsters heading towards the palace. Hody Jones rallies everyone, telling them that they will soon be the new rulers of Fish-Man Island. Meanwhile at a fish bus stop, Robin has subdued several Ammo Knights who were trying to capture her. Robin then rides on a fish bus heading to the Sea Forest, saying that she learned the location of a poneglyph that contains information on the Void Century. Back at the palace, Zoro argues with the Minister of the Left about his methods of dealing with the intruders. Neptune, however, is more worried for Shirahoshi, believing Luffy kidnapped her even correctly guessing that she could have hidden inside Megalo. The palace guards laugh at this saying that this is too bizarre. Nami states that they would not even try to do something like that. Regardless, Neptune refuses to let them leave unless Shirahoshi returns safely. As they are arguing, they fail to notice that one of the defeated pirates' arm is resting on the entrance switch.

Out at the Sea Forest, we find Franky with the Thousand Sunny, talking to an individual who explains that the forest is also a ship graveyard as the debris is brought in from the currents. The person in question is called Den, a Bering Wolf Merman and Tom's younger brother. Den promises to coat the Sunny for him after hearing it was made from Adam Wood. Franky admits that he was surprised to find that he and Tom looked nothing alike. Den explains that Fish-Man and Merman have old genes in them so if for example, a shark mermaid was born from an octopus mermaid, that would mean his ancestor was a shark. Even so, no one on the island bats an eye about the different types of species. To them, family is family, and the fish-man cannot understand why humans would want to categorize them like that (though Den contradicts himself when he asks if Franky has a robot for an ancestor). Den goes on saying that he knows about Franky and Iceburg from the letters Kokoro set him and knows what happened to Tom. Den comments that Tom picked Franky as the right disciple. Franky then notices Jinbe not far from them, sitting near Otohime's grave. Den mentions that he is waiting for someone since he cannot enter Fish-Man Island due to being a wanted criminal.



Back at the palace, Hody, Decken, and their crews enter the palace much to the surprise of Neptune and the Minister of the Right, who mentions that Hody was once a soldier in the Neptune Army. Likewise, Hody and Decken are surprised that the guards and Neptune were already defeated before they got there. The Minister of the Left accuses the Straw Hats of inviting them, but Usopp rebuffs his claim, saying that they (Straw Hats) would not even be in the palace if Neptune had not invited them and ask who the invading fish-men group are. Neptune quickly accuses Vander Decken IX for kidnapping Shirahoshi. Decken states otherwise and is just as surprised when he finds out that Shirahoshi is missing. Hody tells Decken that even if the Mermaid Princess is no longer in the palace, he still has the power to find her. Decken then heads outside, grabs a coral, touches it, and throws it. Seeing it going away from the palace, Decken hops on, promising that if Shirahoshi is with someone else, then she is better off dying in a sea of blood.

Neptune then begs the Straw Hats to save Shirahoshi, claiming her to be his treasure. Hody chuckles at the events he sees before him. The Minster to the Right curses Hody for the chaos he caused in the Fish-Man District, asking if he has no shame as a former soldier in the Neptune Army. Hody rebuttals that he did not care about the position and only sought power and intelligence from it, having been inspired by Arlong's ambition. He had hoped to become "Arlong's Right Arm" when he had taken over the world but the Straw Hats put an end to that. As he talks, Nami notices the Arlong's tattoo on his arm and becomes visibly shaken by his words. Hody then shows his strength by breaking a part of the palace wall without even taken the Energy Steroids. Water floods into the room and Hody uses water drops as an attack called Yabusame, forming the water drops into arrows and sending them at the tied-up palace guards, injuring them in the process.

Hody keeps attacking and Neptune dives in the way, shielding the guards from further harm. Hody mocks Neptune for this selflessness, citing that Neptune is unfit to be king. Zoro sends a sword slash at Hody but the latter uses one of his comrades as a shield to block the attack. Zoro tells the others to untie the ropes of the guards, citing that he could not keep the hostages safe as promised so the negotiations are off, showing integrity which the minister comments on with surprise and respect. Brook notices that Nami had run off while Hody orders his men to attack the guards and the Straw Hats. Usopp holds the invaders back by seeding out a Pop Green that blooms into a flower and sends out a horrible stink. With the water filling up fast and Brook's strength starting to fail, Zoro cuts Neptune's chains asks him to get the others out of the palace while he stays behind to battle Hody. Neptune complies as the palace completely fills with water. Zoro takes a deep breath and prepares to face off against Hody underwater.

Meanwhile, at Coral Hill, the citizens of Fish-Man Island throw accusations at Sanji and Chopper thinking them to be responsible for the mermaid kidnappings. Sanji claims otherwise while Chopper treats Hatchan. Megalo soon floats above the area and Luffy spots Sanji and Chopper. He jumps down to meet them and is surprised at Hatchan's wounded form. One of the Fish-Man Island citizens wonders what Luffy is doing at Coral Hill when he was supposed to be taking over Ryugu Palace. Another citizen thinks that the Straw Hats plan to kidnap the Mermaid Princess, but the others doubt it since Shirahoshi is big and she is under the protection of Neptune. However, Megalo reaches his limit and spits out Shirahoshi right in front of the crowd. The residents instantly interpret this as a Mermaid Princess kidnapping while Chopper warns Sanji not to relapse as he may lose his life this time.

The citizens all begin to go into an uproar over the supposed mermaid kidnapping. Chopper begs Sanji not to turn around or he will surely die. However, seeing the Mermaid Princess is one of his dreams and that he would rather die fulfilling it. Sanji turns around anyway and instantly turns to stone upon seeing Shirahoshi instead of having a nosebleed. Chopper states that it must be some kind of new symptom possibly due to the Okama blood transfer. The citizens suddenly pounce on the group and tie up Luffy, Chopper, Sanji, and Hachi, coming to the defense of Shirahoshi. Hachi was tied up since the one of the fish-men recognizes him as a former member of Arlong's crew. While they're celebrating and preparing to behead the group despite Shirahoshi's pleas that they were not kidnapping her, Luffy spots an object flying towards them.



It turns out to be Vander Decken IX on his flying coral much to the princess's horror. Decken yells out for Shirahoshi to accept his marriage proposal. She bluntly refuses him by citing he "isn't her type" much to his shock. Decken quickly grows angry and prepares to kill her flat out. The citizens plea for Shirahoshi to run away, but Luffy tells her not to as if she gets too far, he cannot protect her. She agrees much to the disapproval of the citizens. Apologizing in advance, Luffy use his Haki to knock the fish-men out as they are in the way. Luffy then jumps to Decken while still tied up and smashes the coral with his feet. Decken threatens to kill both Shirahoshi and him which Luffy challenges him to try before catching Decken with his legs and slamming him into the ground with a Jet Hammer.

With the brief reprieve, Luffy hops to Megalo and wakes him up before asking Chopper about Sanji's condition. Chopper replies that Sanji has reverted to his normal state and is conscious and seems happy. Luffy has Shirahoshi untie him much to the citizens' shock. She apologizes and says that she will be back by dinner. The princess and Luffy's group (along with Hachi) hop on Megalo and fly away. Decken recovers and calls out to Wadatsumi, who quickly appears on Decken's command. Decken then orders the giant to smash Shirahoshi and her companions. The giant fish-man prepares to attack, but Luffy quickly hits him with a Jet Pistol, breaking one of his front teeth. As Wadatsumi cries out in pain, the group head for the Sea Forest.

Back at the Ryugu Palace, Hody is informed that a mermaid (Camie) and a pirate girl (Nami) managed to escape but Hody tells his subordinates to ignore them. Nami, breathing with an air bubble around her head, is seen riding on Camie's back. Nami asks Camie to take her to Jinbe after assuring the mermaid that the others will be alright. Camie complies and the two head for the Sea Forest. Back inside the palace, Neptune and the others have been freed. The guards wish to attack Hody but Neptune stops them, ordering them to let Hody have the palace while they regroup for a counterattack. Usopp worries about Zoro fighting underwater and goes down to check on him. Much to his and Hody crew's surprise, Zoro manages to deal a viciously brutal slash to Hody, striking fear into the shocked fish-man's heart.



With Zoro having just cut Hody Jones. The New Fish-Man Pirates are shocked and one of the pirates shouts not to let Zoro escape and to recharge their strength with Energy Steroids. Neptune then wonders why he is feeling such an odd turmoil around him. Zoro resurfaces gasping for air. Neptune tells the Straw Hats that they must get out of the palace as it will soon be completely flooded. He then orders Zoro to grab onto him. Zoro does so and they go under. Neptune then puts his arms behind his right side, and seemingly grabs the water, saying that what he is about to do will badly hurt his back. He tells the Straw Hats that he is making an escape route for them, so they do not have to fight. The pirates in front of Neptune watch curiously, wondering what Neptune is going to do. Neptune uses his attack, Merman Combat: Ultramarine and launches a pressurized beam of water at the fish-men in front of him. The blast sends the fish-men flying in all directions. Neptune, while holding his hurt back, tells the soldiers to go. The Ryugu palace guards quickly swim through the gap Neptune made for them. A fish-man pirate frantically swims over to the unconscious Hody Jones and tells him to do something and puts an Energy Steroid pill into his captain's mouth. The ministers and the soldiers have made it out of the palace. Someone gives the order to keep moving and to head inland into Fish-Man Island.



Neptune is flat on his back and Usopp and Brook (who are wearing air bubbles) are trying to convince him to get up. Neptune tells them he is too old to be doing this kind of thing and that his body will not move. Several guards notice the king in need of help, and apparently, so does Hody. Hoe arrives just in time and Neptune grabs a rope around the whale, and Hoe begins to carry him out of the palace. Neptune thanks Hoe, telling him he owes him. Zoro, in the meantime, is about to be out of breath. Neptune then feels something stop him and is jerked back. Hody had grabbed him by the tail. The guards are surprised to see Hody up and moving around as they thought he was incapacitated. They try to help but Neptune turns them away, telling the guards to go and find Fukaboshi and his men. The soldiers are reluctant at first, but the Minister of the Right tells them to obey the king. Zoro is out of air, Usopp is raising his hands in surrender, and Brook seems to have gone limp, and they are captured by the New Fish-Man Pirates.

The scene changes to the Sea Forest, where Luffy is remarking how pretty it is. Shirahoshi is in tears as she thanks Luffy for bringing her there. Chopper decides it is safe for him to take his time to treat Hatchan's wounds. Luffy then sees the Thousand Sunny and Franky and calls out to him. Franky notices Luffy and asks him what he has been doing as he seems to have brought a pin-up girl (Shirahoshi) with him. Luffy introduces Franky to "Scaredy-Cat", who then properly introduces herself as Shirahoshi. Franky then tells Luffy that Robin came by too. He said that she was looking for something and went into the coral forest. Luffy seems curious, but then Jinbe calls out to him, happy to see him after two years, and commenting that he hardly recognized him.

Luffy is surprised and happy to see Jinbe, as he thought that he would not get to see his friend since he heard Jinbe was not around. This confuses Jinbe, as he thought Luffy came to the forest because of his message. Shirahoshi is also glad to see Jinbe, who comments that Luffy came with the princess, whom he had not heard from in what felt like forever. It then dawns on Jinbe that Shirahoshi is in the Sea Forest and not in her tower. He is so shocked that his eyes bug out of his head. While he is asking why she is in the Sea Forest, Chopper tells Franky that he is going to lower Hatchan down from Megalo and he should be ready to grab him. Jinbe's eyes bug out again at the sight of the injured Hatchan, and asks him how he got his wounds. He then asks him what he is doing on Fish-Man Island since he heard that Hatchan had been captured along with the rest of the Arlong Pirates. Hatchan, still weak from his injuries, asks if Jinbe is the one he is hearing.

Meanwhile, Sanji is completely enthralled by Shirahoshi. He then launches into a poetic metaphor where he is a painter, unable to capture Shirahoshi's beauty, as he dances around her. Chopper is overjoyed by Sanji's reaction to Shirahoshi, as he is behaving the way he normally does around a woman, saying he is back to his weird self again. Den then asks Shirahoshi why she is in the Sea Forest. Before she can answer, Luffy asks Den who he is and what he is doing on the Sunny. Franky then introduces Luffy to Den, saying he agreed to coat the ship as well as his relation to his old master, Tom. Luffy is surprised and asks Franky if his brother really was a coating master (having only comprehended bits and pieces of Den's introduction). Franky tells him he is close enough. Jinbe is then talking to Shirahoshi, saying he understands her reasons for coming, but she must not leave her tower. Both Luffy and Jinbe then notice something in the air. Luffy jumps up and kicks a giant axe that was meant to kill Shirahoshi, redirecting it into the ground. Luffy then comments on how persistent Vander Decken IX is. Jinbe then annoyingly asks Luffy why he brought the princess with him, putting her in such unnecessary danger (although accompanying Luffy is just as safe as being locked in the massive stone tower). Instead of answering Jinbe, Luffy turns to Shirahoshi and tells her that everything is okay with him close to her. Shirahoshi casually replies okay. Jinbe is amazed by how care-free Luffy is.



While everyone is hanging out around the Sunny, Luffy points to Otohime's grave and asks if that was the grave Shirahoshi was talking about, saying she has been in front of it for a long time. Jinbe explains to Luffy that Shirahoshi's mother is resting in that grave. He goes on to say that Shirahoshi had a poorly timed encounter with Vander Decken IX's poison fang ten years ago. She could not even go to her mother's funeral, and she had to stay in the tower. Shirahoshi is praying in front of the grave, telling her mother that there are so many things she wanted to say to her.

Just then, Nami calls out to Luffy. She and Camie have arrived. Camie is surprised to see him with Shirahoshi. Luffy asks Nami if the banquet had started yet while Sanji is overjoyed to see her. With Sanji acting normally, Chopper pronounces that Sanji fully cured (although whether it is due to the Okama blood transfusion, or his building up a tolerance to beauty, is left unknown). Nami tells them that Hody Jones is now on the loose. Jinbe is astounded that the Ryugu Palace could fall into such a crisis. Luffy asks what happened to the rest of the crew. Nami tells him that she does not know as she was planning to go back after she found Luffy and Jinbe.

Shirahoshi starts crying over her father's capture while Camie asks Hatchan what happened to him. Jinbe apologizes, saying the Straw Hats had gotten entangled in the situation before he even realized it. He asks if he could explain quickly, saying it is hard to tell Luffy this now, and would have been even harder to tell him two years ago. He tells them that the Arlong Pirates were rampaging all over East Blue until a group of people put a stop to them. He adds that he has the utmost gratitude for those people, and thanks the Straw Hats. Jinbe adds that he would also like to take this opportunity to apologize. Jinbe then reveals that he was the one who set Arlong loose in East Blue, much to Nami's stunned surprise.

Fisher Tiger and Queen Otohime: The Cycle of Hatred and Tragedies of Heroes
Back at the palace, the ministers and the palace guards manage to make it outside safely. While worried for their king's welfare, they agree that they need to find the princes. Meanwhile all across the island, The New Fish-Man Pirates led by their officers try to subjugate the people into renouncing Queen Otohime's ideals by stepping on her fumi-e or be thrown out of the island or suffer violence. In the Water Wheel Village on the north side of the island, Fukaboshi strikes Dosun, angrily demanding to know what they hope to accomplish by forcing the citizens to step on the picture of his late mother. In a Southeast village called Coral Gaoka, the locals are in an uproar about Shirahoshi's supposed kidnapping by the Straw Hats while a nearby Caribou listens and plots to kidnap the princess.

Back in the Sea Forest, Shirahoshi is crying, worried for her father. Jinbe assures her that Hody will not do anything to him yet and Jinbe states that he will save the king. Nami questions Jinbe about setting Arlong into East Blue. Sanji quickly demands Jinbe to explain himself and reveals to him the horror Nami went through when Arlong took over Cocoyasi Village. The chef adds that what Jinbe says next will decide if he will forgive him or not. After hearing about Nami's past, Jinbe shows remorse. Nami comments that while she will not forgive Arlong, she did not know what the fish-men went through and that while going to rescue Camie from the slave traders, she noticed that Sabaody Park looked similar to Arlong Park.

Hachi does not deny this, mentioning that he and his fellow fish-men did want to live with the humans since they were kids, but Arlong's hatred went a little too far. He explains that 200 years ago, fish-men and mermen separated themselves from the common fish species and the Ryugu Kingdom became a nation of the World Government, becoming friends with a few humans and even joined in council meetings. However, this did not stop fish-men from being persecuted. The worst period in their history came at the start of the Great Pirate Age when pirates rampaged through the island. That all came to a stop when Whitebeard claimed Fish-Man Island as his territory, but that too did not stop the discrimination.



Jinbe then explains that two people decided to take a stand: Queen Otohime, who rallied for peace with the humans and Fisher Tiger, who wanted to separate the fish-men and humans and went against the taboo of the world by attacking Mary Geoise to set the slaves free. Tiger then formed the Sun Pirates with Jinbe, Hachi, and Arlong as part of the crew. However, their anti-government crusade clashed with Otohime's quest for peace, bringing both resolutions to a standstill. The story then flashes back 15 years ago as Hachi reports to Fisher Tiger that they spotted an enemy ship. Tiger inquires if it is the Marines.

The story then goes a little back in time when a fish-man thief was running through town holding a mermaid hostage. However, he was intercepted by the most unlikely person, Queen Otohime. Despite hurting her hand from slapping the thief, she manages to knock him into the ground. Otohime then demand to know why the thief would do something like this. The thief revealed that he had been down on his luck having lost his job after his business burned down and winding up in debt and having ten kids to feed. Otohime chastised him, commenting that was no excuse for his actions as it will just continue the cycle of suffering. Then, she cried for him citing that even though she is a noble and living wealthy, she would like to do more to help her subjects. This moved the thief to tears and he vowed to change his ways as he was taken away by the guards. The residents commented on Otohime's kind nature though they could not help but look on in bewilderment as she slapped a fish-man child for having snot running out of only one of his nostrils.



Later, Otohime preached to her subjects about trying to go to the surface and interact with humans peacefully. She mentioned that the pirates who kidnapped some of their kind were just a fraction of the humans they have interacted with. She asked for the subjects to sign their name on a petition to migrate with her. The residents declined and Jinbe watched on from a distance and commented to himself that the queen's efforts were useless, and that history speak only for the humans. Otohime soon returned home to her family, tired but still optimistic. Neptune knew well about the dangerous nature of her quest for peace with the humans as their ancestors tried it but the effort only ended in vain. He asked the Minister of the Left to protect her the best he can.

One day, one of the guards went to check on a disturbance caused by Arlong who was bullying one of the residents who had one of Otohime's signed up papers. When the guard tried to stop Arlong only to find himself in his grasp. The guard called out to Jinbe, who at the time was in the Neptune Army, to help. Jinbe calmly and sternly told Arlong to leave the soldier alone and give the papers back even though he did not care about Otohime's cause but knows it's important to her. Arlong gruffly obliged calling Jinbe his "brother" since they grew up as orphans in the Fish-Man District together. Jinbe just called him scum since Arlong was acting like a pirate. They suddenly hear that Fisher Tiger has come back into town and the two went to greet him. It is then revealed that the Fish-Man District started out as a home for orphans, but over time it became corrupted due to its evil mangers. Soon, the Fish-Man District turned into a haven for Fish-Man Island's outcasts. Tiger, Jinbe, Arlong, and Macro were all residents there and eventually, they went on their separate ways as they grew up: Tiger became an adventurer, Jinbe enlisted into the Neptune Army, Arlong became a pirate, and Macro became a kidnapper of his own kind.

Soon the news of Tiger's act of attacking Mary Geoise reached Fish-Man Island. With the fish-men slaves he freed, Tiger formed the Sun Pirates. Jinbe resigned from his post and Arlong gathered his pirate crew to join Tiger as well. The story then moves to the time after Hachi spotted the Marine ship. The aftermath of the battle is then shown with the Sun Pirates completely decimated the Marines.

All across Fish-Man Island, the residents cheered for Tiger after learning what he did at Mary Geoise. A brief flashback shows Tiger himself going to Neptune and telling what he seen in the surface world, shocking both the king and queen. Queen Otohime instantly cried upon hearing the atrocities the humans were doing to fish-men. After the news of Tiger's stunt, Neptune doubted that they can attend a council meeting with the island in such an uproar. Otohime was understanding of Tiger's action, citing that his heart "rose up to a giant cry." Regardless, Otohime continued to try to get her subjects to migrate with her, but the citizens were as doubtful as ever. Meanwhile in the Fish-Man District, young Hody Jones and the future officers of the New Fish-Man Pirates had found out about Tiger's exploits and cheered on the Sun Pirates, thinking that their goal was to destroy humans.

Meanwhile on the Grand Line, the Sun Pirates encountered yet another marine ship and easily took down its crew. Rear Admiral Kadar called out to Tiger, demanding him to give back the ex-slaves. Tiger countered him saying that he had no proof that there were such people on his ship. The Sun Pirates then looted the ship. Tiger then sees Arlong about to murder a marine, under the reasoning for simply being a human. Tiger shouted for him to stop. At Marineford, Strawberry is reporting to Vice Admiral Borsalino (Kizaru), about Kadar's ship being sunk despite orders for it to just recon and come back. Strawberry stated that they were able to identify Arlong and Tiger and label them as very powerful which "worried" Borsalino.

Back with the Sun Pirates, Tiger chastised Arlong and Jinbe for their brutal actions against their opponents. Jinbe stated that the Marines were trying to kill him, but Tiger firmly stated that he will not kill out of hatred and told his crew that his ultimate goal was to break the iron clad rules of the world and freeing the oppressed. Tiger went on saying that killing senselessly would just make them as bad as the humans that oppressed them. He also stated that if they started acting out of revenge, the humans will just respond in kind in an endless cycle. Arlong, however, suggested that they should kill humans to the point where they will fear fish-men and will not want to retaliate. Jinbe smacked Arlong on the head to shut him up.

That night, Tiger confided to Jinbe about what the difference he thought Otohime would see in Arlong and him and that the demons that dwell in his (Tiger's) heart was the truly terrifying one. And so it went, Otohime would try to get her subjects to sign her petition and Tiger and his Sun Pirates continued sailing the seas. Tiger and Jinbe soon received bounties of 230,000,000 and 76,000,000 respectively (much to Arlong's chagrin that he was ignored by the Marines). Three years have passed since the Mayr Geoise incident, and the Sun Pirates landed on an island where the natives request that they take a former slave named Koala with them to return her to her homeland. They explained that she managed to escape from Mary Geoise during Tiger's raid and ended up on their island.

Tiger obliged though Arlong showed his contempt as soon as Koala boarded their ship, even hitting her since she smiled all the time. Koala suddenly pulled out a rag and started cleaning the floor, saying she will do anything to keep them happy and apologized profusely. Jinbe then asked her if she was afraid of them. Koala stated that she is but wants to see her mother again, so she gathered the courage to come aboard their ship, begging them not to kill her. One of the Sun Pirates explained that the lifestyle of a slave has been integrated into her body. If they cried or took a break, they will be killed by their owner. Soon, being on guard all the time became a reflex.



Tiger soon saw this and ordered Koala to be taken to his room. He then branded Koala with the Sun symbol stating it was a necessary measure to free her of her burden. Koala awakened and apologized for passing out and once again said that she will not cry. Tiger yelled at her, saying that she was allowed to cry if she wished and told her that he is not the same as the Celestial Dragons. He then took his gun and threw it overboard, stating once more that he will not kill anyone. Tiger then ordered his crew that they are gonna take Koala home no matter what. Upon hearing this, Koala finally cried.

Some time passed and the Sun Pirates managed to get a hold of an Eternal Pose to Koala's home island. They even get Koala some new clothes and a haircut. Koala was understandably nervous and continued cleaning the ship while Aladine, the merman who explained about her slave upbringing, told the others to leave her be since it takes a while for trauma to be forgotten. Arlong however continued to remain antagonistic towards her, firmly believing that all humans are alike and that she would turn against them as she grew older. Jinbe thinks otherwise, telling Arlong that not all humans think the same and that they seem to be afraid of fish-men. When Jinbe asked Koala if it was because they are pirates, Koala answered it is because humans do not know anything about fish-men. This makes Jinbe realize that this is the exact reason fish-men fear the humans. Days passed on the ship and Koala was treated nicely by the pirates. Soon the ship reached Koala's home island, Foolshout Island. Tiger offered to take Koala to her hometown as the Sun Pirates wished her well as she headed off, with her promising to tell the good things about them. Soon they reached her village and Koala was reunited with her mother.



Tiger then starts to head back to the ship but was suddenly ambushed by the Marines led by Rear Admiral Strawberry. Strawberry told Tiger that the islanders offered him up in exchange for them overlooking Koala being a former slave. The Sun Pirates heard the commotion but before they can rush to his aid, their ship was attacked by surrounding Marine ships. They jumped into the ocean to escape the destruction of their ship. A group of them led by Jinbe went to help Tiger while Arlong and his group captured a Marine ship for their escape. In the village, Koala heard the gunfire and asked her mother about it, but her mother said that it was nothing.

The Sun Pirates succeeded in escaping, but Tiger was critically wounded and in need of a blood transfusion. The ship had human blood in stock that was compatible with their own. As Aladine prepared the transfusion, Tiger refused it, explaining that he did not want the blood of hatred running through his veins. Slowly dying, Tiger gave his last words to his crew, revealing that in his previous adventure he was actually captured and made a slave by the Celestial Dragons, experiencing firsthand "Human Madness". He managed to escape but could not leave the other slaves to suffer so he went back to free them. Tiger lamented on not listening to what Otohime was talking about and that the ones who can change the future for the better are the ones like Koala who know nothing of about the discrimination.



He begged his crew mates not to tell Fish-Man Island of what happened on that day, nor of their rage toward humans or him being a former slave. He knew that there are kind-hearted humans out there but if things keep going as they are, all there will be left is hatred. It was this reasoning that he felt that his body will reject the human blood if given to him and that no matter how hard he tried, he could never love a human. Aladine comforted him with the knowledge that the slaves he freed will all owe him a huge debt of gratitude and that they will forever hail him as a great hero. Happy to hear this, Tiger died from his wounds and his crew grieved his passing.



Sometime later, Arlong returned to Foolshout Island with the intent to take revenge on the villagers for their part in Fisher Tiger's death. However, he was intercepted by Borsalino and easily defeated. When asked why he came back, Arlong mentioned the death of Fisher Tiger. Borsalino showed indifference to the news and took Arlong with him.

Arlong was then taken to G-2 where he ranted that Tiger died as there was no fish-man blood for him and blaming humans for his death. This news makes it into the papers and the Sun Pirates, now under the command of Jinbe, reluctantly agree that the false story will be better for Tiger's honor. The Sun Pirates continue on spending their days fighting without killing anyone. The Marines soon recognize Jinbe's strength. Jinbe himself sends Neptune a letter explaining the truth about Tiger's death. Hearing this, Otohime becomes more determined to achieve her goal. She continues her speeches and trying to get signatures, but the citizens are even more reluctant after Tiger's death. The days continues on with Otohime helping shipwrecked survivors, teaching the children of Fish-Man Island about the surface world and trying to get people to sign her petition. Then one day while doing her usual rounds, a group of fish-men and mermen asked to cancel their names from the list and pretty soon, all of the signatures were canceled. The citizens even asked her to stop with her speeches.

Otohime became distressed by this, trying to put a brave front for her family but crying to herself when she was alone. Shortly after, she got herself drunk and took over the island's intercom, chastising the citizens for their cowardice and ranting how their children would sneak off to see the surface world. She states that they cannot keep themselves on the ocean floor forever and if humans are the barrier, they must try to overcome this fear for their future generations. Meanwhile with the Sun Pirates, Jinbe receives a letter from the government inviting him to become a Warlord of the Sea.

Chew suggests taking an opportunity to make an infamous names for themselves, but Jinbe decides to take the offer. He returns to Fish-Man Island and explains his plan to King Neptune, citing that it will grant pardons for the Sun Pirates and strengthen the bond between species. Jinbe admits the trouble that his crew caused for Otohime and wishes to support her, figuring it is what Tiger would have wanted. In the throne room, Hody, now fully grown and in the Neptune Army, listens intently. Upon his induction, all of Jinbe's crewmates are granted immunity through his Warlord status, which allows the liberated slaves a semblance of freedom - at the cost of unshackling Arlong as well. After his release, Arlong shows his resentment to Jinbe for becoming a "government dog" and states that he is going back to being captain of the Arlong Pirates (with Hachi, Kuroobi and Chew) and intends to take others loyal to him along, some former slaves included, splitting the Sun Pirates into two factions. At an island, Arlong challenges Jinbe to stop him.

When Arlong cites that he will be the rage of the fish-men, Jinbe beats him senseless for the disrespect but nevertheless lets him go. Jinbe is dismayed that Arlong will not respect Tiger's final words. Aladine comforts Jinbe, saying that he understands why Jinbe could not stop Arlong back then. Knowing that trying to do things by force never works out and that either the marines will stop him, or they (the Sun Pirates) might have to if it comes down to it. The Sun Pirates now completely scattered, Jinbe's crew and Arlong's crew remained severed along with a third faction of Macro and his two associates returning to their old slave trading ways.



Meanwhile back at Fish-Man Island, they receive a report that a shipwrecked ship is coming toward the island, but the cause for alarm is that there is a World Noble on board. Otohime tells them to let the ship in and to put an emergency response unit to the coast. She then dashes off to Fish-Man Island main entrance. The ship arrives at the entrance, where a crowd of Fish-Men and Merfolk have gathered. A World Noble named Mjosgard crawls out from the wreckage and starts shooting at them, demanding to have a mask despite being heavily wounded and all his crew now dead. Mjosgard continues on demanding a doctor but insults the Fish-Man Island citizens as well. The soldiers wonder what to do and Hody suggests that they should kill him since he is the worst of humankind. Not far from the area, Vander Decken IX and his two henchmen approach the harbor.

We then get a small flashback revealing why Mjosgard came to the island. His father told him that Jinbe is now a Warlord of the Sea and that the slaves that once belong to him returned to Fish-Man Island. Mjosgard decided to go to the island to reclaim them. Back in the current time, some of the Sun Pirates come out of the crowd and confront him. Mjosgard tries to throw his authority at them revealing that they were once his slaves, but they just point their guns at him. Some of the citizens try to convince them to stop since that will upset the pardon Jinbe made for their release. The pirates counter that on the surface, the World Nobles have Marine admirals backing them. If they killed Mjosgard right on Fish-Man Island and the Fish-Man Island citizens keep quiet about it, it would just be classified as a shipwreck accident. The citizens realize that they are right and start calling for Mjosgard's death.

Just as one of the Sun Pirates about to pull the trigger, Otohime dashes in and manages to shield Mjosgard, taking the bullet for him though it only grazes her arm. She orders the pirates to throw down their guns as there are children watching. Jinbe and Aladine arrive on the scene with Shirahoshi and her brothers in tow. The Sun Pirates ask Otohime why she protected him despite knowing what he done to them. Otohime answers that she understands how they feel from the voices of their hearts (she possessed the Kenbunshoku Haki ability, and had heightened empathy as seen prior with Aisa in the Skypiea Arc and Koby at the Summit War of Marineford) but they should not pass on such hatred to their children. Jinbe realizes it is exactly what Fisher Tiger wished of his crew not to do for the sake of their island.



Mjosgard however recovers, grabs her and threatens to shoot her. Just when it seems he going to shoot her. Shirahoshi cries out for her mother, which echoes over the island and summons massive Sea Kings to the area much to the shock of everyone, Otohime especially. Mjosgard faints at the sight of the creatures saving Otohime while Vander Decken who was watching is overjoyed at seeing such an ability. Revealing that there was a legend of a Mermaid Princess who had such an ability and that its what his ancestor were seeking, having managed to find it himself. His crew start to congratulate him but Decken tells them to keep quiet as he thinks they are the only one who know the meaning behind this newfound power. Decken then starts plotting to make Shirahoshi his. Otohime then request to Aladine to heal Mjosgard which he complies. Weeks pass and Mjosgard was soon healed and set to leave. However, Mjosgard is nothing but ungrateful to the fish-men, and angrier for the fact they pointed a gun at him. Otohime appears however and asks to accompany him. The citizens as well as Neptune are shocked at such an idea. Neptune even wishing to go in her place. However, she calms everyone down by simply asking to trust her, explaining that a weak diplomat can represent peace much easier than a massive musclebound warrior. With great reluctance, they agree to her wishes, and she travels topside with the World Noble. The whole island goes into a state of unease during her away time, worrying about her welfare.

Then finally she returned, after much negotiation with the World Nobles and much appreciation of the island, holding a piece of paper that was said to be the "Light of Hope" for Fish-Man Island, a document granting the Fish-Men a place at the Levely once again. As all this happens, we get a little flashback of more of Vander Decken and his crew talking about the treasure of the Ryugu Kingdom. His crew mention the Tamatebako which supposedly could make anyone grow. Decken gets excited until his crew mention that they cannot get into the palace unless he was married to Shirahoshi. Decken then starts scheming to marry Shirahoshi to get the treasure of the Ryugu family which is what his ancestors have been after for years. Meanwhile, Otohime shows the paper to her subjects, telling them that she managed to convince a world noble to give the fish-men their backing for the relations of fish-men and humans. The only thing she needs now are the signatures to make it happen and ask her subjects for their support. At first the people are hesitant but little by little they start adding their names to the list. Soon hundreds of fish-men are signing their names. So much so that they need a bigger basket to hold them all. Otohime is touched by all of this and soon start crying tears of joy to see her dream coming true after seven years of hardship.

Otohime then speaks with her sons in private, telling them of the feat Shirahoshi managed with the Sea Kings. She further explains to them that mermaids have the ability to speak to fish but could never do so with Sea Kings. However, every few centuries a mermaid is born with such an ability. There is also a legend that someone will appear to guide the mermaid and that the world will soon change. The princes are astonished at such a story, but their mother warns them that such a power in the wrong hands can sink the world. As Shirahoshi is still quite young, she is not aware of this power nor can control it and another outburst could destroy the whole island. Otohime then tells the princes to become strong warriors so they can look after their sister which the three wholeheartedly agree without hesitation, ready to lay down their lives to save her and help contain her outbursts.



Then one day without warning, the signatures were mysteriously burned in its box. The soldiers manage to save as much as they can but, in the confusion, a shot suddenly rings out. A first nobody pays it any mind, until they find out Otohime is bleeding from her chest, and she doubles over. Jinbe, Aladine and the soldiers clear out the plaza while trying to find the shooter. The princes and Shirahoshi rush to their mother's side. As they do, Vander Decken uses the chaos to touch Shirahoshi's shoulder before being ushered away. Despite medical attention being summon, Otohime lays dying in the plaza center. Fukaboshi swears to find the killer, but Otohime stops him. She comforts her children, asking them not to let hate and bitterness consume them. Manboshi and Ryuboshi start dancing despite their grief, telling their mother they will protect Shirahoshi. Fukaboshi adds they will collect the signatures and become warriors to protect their sister. Otohime is glad to hear it and with her remaining strength does the pinky promise with her children before she passes away.

Jinbe and the guards manage to find the shooter, Hody getting to him first and revealing that it was an unnamed human. He climbs a tower and reveals this to the whole island much to the shock of the citizens. When Neptune finds out about this, he locks himself in the tower to suppress his killing rage. As he does, he confines to the Minister of the Left that even though they shot the shooter and caught him, Otohime would not want him to avenge her as he does not wish to spread his hatred to the children of the island. And that even if he wanted to, he could not bring himself to kill the human. He feels that as a soldier, since he avenged and took prisoner many humans, he was not quantified to help Otohime with her cause only to watch over her. It because of this he feels he cannot take up Otohime's cause since he would be contradicting himself. Though he admits that the contradicting of their hearts is the one thing humans and fish-men have in common.

The day of the Otohime's funeral arrives, but before the Ryugu family are about to leave. Shirahoshi shows her father a love letter from Decken, proclaiming it would not stop following her. When Neptune finds out who Decken is, he orders his kids to stay at the castle for fear that the shooter may have accomplices and orders the guards to find Decken. At the sea forest, nearly the whole island is in attendance at Otohime's funeral. Fukaboshi broadcast his eulogy from the castle via a televised Den Den Mushi, telling the citizens he knows their hearts are in turmoil at the loss of their queen but that he and his siblings will continue carrying out Otohime's wishes. Restarting the signature signing so that they may attend Levely even if it took them many years to accomplish and urges the rest of the island to do the same to make their mother's dream a reality.

The flashback ends as Jinbe tells them it's been ten years since then and the siblings managed to gather many signatures with Neptune and Shirahoshi appealing to the masses even through the island been battling discrimination for 16 years. Jinbe closes by taking responsibility for Arlong, claiming he wanted to stop him if he heard he was doing any ill-doing but the Marines Arlong had bought off kept information from reaching Marine Headquarters thus Jinbe did not know of his actions. Sanji angrily demands that Jinbe do seppuku (suicide) to atone for his mistake, but Nami stops him. Even though Jinbe is humbly willing to take any punishment from her, she states that she does not blame him, only Arlong, and that Jinbe is a friend of Luffy's.

Plus, that she has no resentment to fish-men, so Jinbe does not need to apologize to her. These words touch Jinbe and Hachi to tears with the former stating he indebted to them. Franky starts crying as usual after hearing the story while Nami notes that the Arlong situation was really eating Jinbe up inside. Sanji kicks at Luffy who fell asleep during the whole story as usual. Nami also speaks with Shirahoshi. claiming that her mother was an amazing woman which the princess also agrees with stating she feels comfortable around Nami even if they have just met. Nami states its probably due to having a similar background (both having had their mothers murdered at an early age).

The talk then moves to Hody, with Hachi stating that he is even worse when it came to hating humans. The difference between them being that while Arlong would not hurt his own kind, Hody has no such reservations especially if they feel compassion to humans. He also states a Levely that happens every four years is coming up and Neptune was to attend such. Jinbe question if Hody wishes to stop that, but Hachi says there is much more to it. Before he can continue, Chopper spots a Den Den Mushi coming out of the forest. Den states it is a visual one hooked up to a monitor, Hody's image then comes on a nearby TV screen, and he begins to address the entire island.

The Three-Hour Ultimatum: An Unavoidable Showdown
All across the island, the citizens are being forced to step on the fumi-e of Queen Otohime much to their reluctance. Hody's broadcast soon begins and he starts by proclaiming that the Ryugu Kingdom has fallen and that he is the new king of the island. He orders that those who sympathize with humans are to leave the island and that he is allowing citizens from the Fish-Man District onto the island as well, much to the terror of the citizens.

Hody goes on about how humans are not to be trusted, mentioning Otohime's death to the anger of Fukaboshi, Manboshi and Ryuboshi and that the Ryugu Kingdom is leading them down the path of death. He then showcases King Neptune chained up, calling him weak and proclaims that he will kill the king in three hours, much to the horror of his children. Nami muses that it was their fault that it happened, when Jinbe protests Camie vouches for the Straw Hats claiming the Ammo Knights attacked them first. Hody Jones continues his speech and declares that he will behead King Neptune in three hours, at the plaza.



Hody then shows the box full of petitions for Levely, saying he could just tear it up. But he then changes his mind, deciding that the people whose names are on the petitions are traitors to the country and he will find and kill every one of them. Lastly, he calls out to Luffy, showing him Zoro, Usopp, and Brook in a cage in a room slowly filling with water, saying he will drown them after the king is executed. Then he will come for Luffy for stopping Arlong, showing his new bounty poster of 400,000,000 and proclaiming he will take his head before cutting the transmission. The citizens call him insane, but Fukaboshi claims he will stop him. Meanwhile, with the trapped Straw Hats, Usopp yells at Zoro do to something but Zoro sarcastically tells him to undo the locks. Brook jokes on how he scared the fish-men with the fact he was alive, but Usopp and Zoro complain if he continued playing dead, he could have saved them. Zoro muses that Nami got away so she will bring help, though Usopp complains what would happen if they did not come and does a convincing impression of Robin questioning Nami's fate which makes Brook laugh.



Meanwhile, in the Sea Forest's back woods, Robin managed to locate the poneglyph, noticing that it is different from the others as it seems to be written more like an apology letter, involving someone named Joy Boy. Back with Luffy's group, he shows his happiness at his bounty increase, which gets him slapped by Nami yelling that it is not the time. Jinbe figures that the increase was after the Marineford War. Luffy starts to set off to go rescue his crew but is stopped by Jinbe. Shirahoshi starts to take off as well, but Jinbe stops her too. Hatchan is really against the idea of her going as he mentions that Hody knows about Shirahoshi's power to summon sea kings and is using the king as a hostage to shield against such an attack. If she were captured, Hody might try to use the power for himself. It was also the reason why he partnered with Vander Decken IX, to get her out of the way since Decken was already pursuing her. Shirahoshi tells them she does not know if she has such a power, although she has heard about it. Jinbe figures as long as Hody does not find out about her Shirahoshi not knowing about the ability, then they have a chance. Luffy once more decides to head out, ordering Sanji to look after Shirahoshi. Jinbe once more stops him, telling him he should not fight Hody. Franky and Chopper ask if it's because they are human, (Sanji calling them out on that) which Jinbe confirms, telling them some refugee still hold grudges against humans and asks them to leave it to him. Luffy counters that their friends' lives are on the line and that everyone will suffer if he does nothing. Luffy tells Jinbe he is free to try and stop him. Jinbe reluctantly complies to the challenge and the two prepare to fight.



Nami, Sanji, Chopper and Shirahoshi yell at the two to stop. Luffy uses this distraction to try and hop on Megalo to go to the palace, but Jinbe hits him with the Fish-Man Karate move: Samegawara Seiken, knocking him away and managing to hurt him which Nami notices. Jinbe explains that Fish-Man Karate makes use of all surrounding water, including those in living organisms which allows him to attack anything even a rubberman such as Luffy. Luffy attacks back with a Jet Stamp. Jinbe manages to block it asking if that all Luffy's training has produced. Before the fight can go any further, Robin suddenly appears in between the two trying to stop the fight. But Luffy and Jinbe are on the verge of hitting her causing Sanji to step in to save her. However, it's reveals it wasn't actually Robin, but a clone made from her powers and Sanji winds up in a cross-counter of Luffy and Jinbe's attacks, all three getting hit.

The real Robin shows herself and tells the three they are all friends after all. After everyone calms down, Jinbe tries to talk some sense into Luffy, explaining that every time they tried to get along with humans, humans would always reject them leading the fish-men to believe that all humans hate them. Even the Arlong incident made them think he was taken down just because he was a fish-man. So, if Luffy tries to battle Hody it will just be viewed as more human oppression to someone trying to end it. Sanji counters however that if they left now, Fish-Man Island would be under Hody's rule and as they have friends on the island, they cannot just turn a blind eye. Sanji also asks Hachi that when he pleaded for them to leave, it was because Hody attacked him for sympathizing with humans which Hachi is reluctant to answer. Sanji concludes that it's because it's their country that Luffy does have more of a reason to fight other than just saving his crew. Luffy demands at Jinbe to get out of the way once more which the fish-man refuses, forcing Luffy to declare he will have to beat Jinbe to move on.

Back in Ryugu Palace, one of Hody's crew ask who they will guard the palace. Hody declares no one since he figures no one can break into the palace. The gaping slash across his entire chest cavity from Zoro still affects him and he asks for an energy steroid to ease the pain before asking about the residents from the Fish-Man District which one of his crew confirm their moving into main parts of the island. Hody tells them to also use the homes of those who will leave or die as well, stating that will be a great nation that will despise humans. In the Candy District, one of the New Fish-Man Pirates officers, Daruma is using his jaws to chew up the factory. Largely in anger for being given cappuccino and sweets for snacks instead of meat and reminds the citizens he will eat them if they make that mistake again. He then heads Concord Plaza, living the citizens be as they know what will happen if they oppose them. Once he leaves via biting underground, the citizens state that the Ryugu Princes are their only hope.

Back at the palace and the captive Straw Hats, Brook reveals a new power to leave his body as a soul which he admits he stumbled onto while praying one day. Usopp tells him to go get Pappag to get the keys to free them since Pappag seems to have been left behind. But Zoro tells him to just bring him one of his swords and he will cut the locks and the cages. Brook goes to do so and manages to find Pappag but his appearance scares the starfish who runs away from him.

Meanwhile, in the West of the island in Waterwheel Town, Dosun was beaten and tied up along with his unit with the residents of the area looking after them. One of them suggest using Dosun as a hostage to prevent Hody from attacking but Dosun counters that Hody will just view them as weak and have them killed. Continuing that he always been that way, hating fish-men who interacted with human pirates or those who were given blood by humans as he feels the blood of humans are tainted and that anyone who stood in their way was an enemy to them. In the midst of the speech, one of the New Fish-Man Pirates manage to shoot an Energy Steroid into Dosun's mouth and he gradually recovers till he breaks free of his chains. He then attacks the residents, vowing revenge on Fukaboshi before telling his men they're heading for Gyoncorde Plaza.



On the south of the island before the Fish-Man's Meeting Hall Hyouzou has gotten himself drunk which his crew is trying to snap him out of for the upcoming battle against the Neptune Army. However, another fish-man rushes in yelling at the others to get away from him, warning that Hyouzou is known as the alcoholic assassin. But it's too late as Hyouzou slashes at a few of them thinking they're the Neptune army. In the east of the island in the Marine Shopping Hall, Zeo is attacking a few of the citizens while making himself invisible mocking them all the while. A few of the fish-man pirates suddenly attack what they think is a bug, but it turns out to be Zeo himself who reappears after the beating. Despite this, he continues on how the Ryugu rule will fall with the death of King Neptune and that it is time to head to Gyoncorde Plaza. Astonishing his unit as they refer to him as the "Noble of the Fish-Man District".

Northwest from Waterwheel Town and headed to said plaza, we find the Ryugu brothers on one of their ships with still an hour before they reach it. The guards wonder why Hody is doing the execution at the plaza rather than the palace, figuring it to be a trap. Fukaboshi knows as much but does not care as they have to save their father. Manboshi and Ryuboshi brings up some other points such as the pirates that have stopped coming to the island thinking it to be Hody's doing. The welfare of their sister since Hody did not mention her during his announcement. And the Straw Hats which, despite Shyarly's prediction, they question sensing that they are not bad people especially since the mermaids were fond of them, whom are known to be great judges of character, seeing through malicious facades. Ryuboshi agrees but puts the topic on hold to focus on the upcoming battle and calls all of the country's troops to arms. In Gyoverly Hills, a few of the Ammo Guards along with the Ministers are battling a Sea Bear Sea King but are faring poorly. The New Fish-Man Pirates try to stop it from continuing further but cannot control it. One of the fish-men suggest using fire to calm it down, they do so, and it starts to work but the officer with them, Ikaros Much, suddenly becomes affected too, uncontrollably bending over backwards.

He yells for the fire to be put out, stating he dries out like a squid when near one. They do so and Ikaros scolds the group further. A few of the fish-men pirates say that he had a friend named Daidalos once who was a squid. But Daidalos swam too close to the sun's rays and became a dried roasted squid. Ever since Ikaros instinctively starts becoming a dried squid whenever he sees fire due to trauma. Ikaros suddenly fires on a squid spear from his hand which hits one of the fish-men and sucks all the water out of them. Ikaros then start pounding said fish-man with his palms as punishment for the fire till one of his crew shouts, they have to get to the plaza. Before they can, one of the guards point to something in the sky, revealing it to be Hody on a Giraffe Sea King with the tied-up Neptune heading for the plaza. The citizens call out to Neptune, begging him to save them. But Neptune feels he cannot since he cannot protect his own people. The Minister of the Right also worries about this since if they cannot protect their king, they cannot call themselves an army.

Ikaros asks where Hody is which Neptune states that it's because of the Energy Steroid they are using. The fish-men pirates elaborate further that because of what happened when he faced Zoro, Hody been taking Energy Steroids back-to-back to ease the pain. But it now affecting him and tearing his body apart. Hody suddenly yells out in pain much to his crew's shock and worry. The Sea Bear with them suddenly starts acting strangely, a look of horror coming over its face as if sensing something different about Hody. Cut back to Vander Decken whose brooding over her rejection from Princess Shirahoshi, even shaving his hair. After which he ponders what to do about Luffy now protecting her. He hits upon an idea that instantly cheers him up. At Gyoverly Hills, the Ministers and the Ammo Guards have been defeated. The Minister to the Left utters to himself how they were so close to attending the Levely and achieving Queen Otohime's dream before this all happened. He prays to the gods for a miracle to stop Hody.



Meanwhile, in the Gyoncorde Plaza, Neptune has been set up at the site where Otohime was assassinated. His crew had taken over the area with the sea kings surrounding it. Hody meanwhile has undergone a drastic change due to the Energy Steroids, he became much bulkier, taller and his hair has gone white. In front of the group lay the Ammo Guards completely defeated. One of the guards gets to his feet and pulls out some dynamite, citing if he can at least take out one of the leaders he would have done his job before the princes arrive. But just as he prepares to light it, Hody hits him with a water shot. The shot knocks down the guard and continues to sail through the island, shooting through a few buildings before finally landing in the waters at Mermaid Cove. The pirates marvel at Hody new strength who comments he feels incredible.

In that moment, the princes barge into the plaza and charge at the group. Ryuboshi shouts at them that the people of the island were ready to look beyond their oppression and accept relations with the humans. He also comments on the pirate's obsession with hatred and revenge before vowing that he will not let them hurt the people of the kingdom. The sea kings are set after the three princes but they easily defeat all of them much to the astonishment of the citizens and the pirates. The princes declare they have a chance now and if Hody were to win they would never get another one. Hody counters that despite what they say in the end, the kingdom will belong to the victor. Hody's crew and the princes then charge at each other for battle.

We then go to Jinbe and Shirahoshi who are on Megalo headed for the plaza, the princess worries for her father, but Jinbe assures her they will think of something. All across the island, citizens hurry to the plaza. Jinbe and Shirahoshi are also on their way there when the princess spots what she thinks is Neptune when really it's a batch of balloons shaped liked him with the sound of his voice playing from it.



Back at the plaza, it is revealed that the princes were beaten by the pirates and are now tied up alongside Neptune. They apologize to their father who reassures them that it is not their fault since the pirates' dependence on the energy steroids is only granting them false strength. Hody's crew call for their immediate execution, but Hody refuses as he does not know the status of Shirahoshi. Manboshi yells at him to leave her alone since she does not have anything to do with him, but Hody rebuffs that and says he knew her secret all along. One of the pirates call out to Hody who reveals they captured Jinbe and Shirahoshi who had fallen for the fake Neptune trap. With all his captives now in place, Hody laughs to himself that the only thing left is the Straw Hats who he figures have gone to the palace to rescue their friends. And even if they get to the plaza, he made preparations for them. Out come 100,000 outlaws (70,000 fish-men and 30,000 captive humans) who surround the plaza ready to fight.

However, Madame Shyarly suddenly appears and calls out Hody, telling him not to get cocky as she had a vision of someone destroying Fish-Man Island. Hody figures it to be himself, but she stands by her the prediction that she made earlier and states it is Luffy who will do it, which will make Hody's takeover of the kingdom worthless. Hody gets mad at this news and hits Shyarly with a water shot, asking if it was revenge for her brother, Arlong, since he was the big name around the Fish-Man District and now he has taken the mantle. He then goes on to gloat about how he put the plan into action... by first killing Queen Otohime. As everyone reels in shock at the news, he continues stating that he paid a human to burn the names for Levely, then shot her and used the human as a scapegoat for the murder as well as to demoralize the island. Hody continues to bad mouth Otohime claiming that her crying over the island was reason enough to kill her and proudly declaring doing the deed. However, Shirahoshi reveals that she had always known Hody was the killer much to Neptune's and Jinbe's shock.



Meanwhile in the Fish-Man District, Vander Decken IX uses his powers to move the ark, Noah, which he wishes to use to not only kill Shirahoshi but to destroy the entire island as well as a sendoff his "beloved".

Hody questions Shirahoshi on what she means that she always knew. Shirahoshi explains that Megalo told her having seen Hody actually fire the shot that killed Otohime. The princes then ask why she never told them which the princess reveals it was her mother's dying wish for her not to hate Otohime's killer. Shirahoshi never told the princes as she did not want them holding a grudge either. Jinbe understands her plight and sympathizes with her, but Hody just laughs at her. Mocking her and Megalo in that in not telling the princes has allowed Hody to continue with his plans unhindered. Hody then hits Neptune and the princes with water shots gravely wounding them to the horror of the citizens of the island. A few of the fish-man kids go to Madame Shyarly and ask her when Luffy will destroy the island. She answers she can only see into the future not pinpoint the date, so she has no idea when. The kids state that while the destruction of the island will be bad for them, it will be bad for Hody's troops too. A grown-up fish-man agrees with them and begs Luffy to come destroy the island to save the royal family. Others soon join in with the plea as well.



Hody however remains in denial of Shyarly's claims, calling them lies (disregarding their well-known accuracy and his knowledge of the Straw Hats strength) before going to finish off Neptune. Just as he about to do the killing strike, Shirahoshi calls out to Luffy herself. On that cue, something comes out of Megalo's mouth and rushes straight for Hody kicking him in the stomach and sending him flying into a wall. The figure of course is Luffy in Gear 2 mode, much to the shock of the citizens that he answered their call. The citizens all cheer while the New Fish-Man Pirates are dumbfounded that he was there the whole time. Jinbe tells someone they need to hurry which as it turns out to be Nami having used her Mirage Tempo to hide herself as well as grab the keys for the locks of Neptune and the Princes' cuffs. Plus, the paper signed by the Celestial Dragons. Something is soon spotted in the sky revealing it to be Franky on the Sunny Go and Hoe. Franky fires his Gaon Cannon at the pirates sending them flying. With the way clear, Hoe flies in and picks up Neptune and the Prince while the Sunny crashes into the plaza.

Upon seeing Luffy, a few of the citizens all call out if Luffy and his crew are friends or foe which he answers simply they will have to decide for themselves.

Battle for Fish-Man Island: Straw Hat Pirates and Jinbe vs. New Fish-Man Pirates
A flashback to a few hours earlier shows that in the Sea Forest when Luffy and Jinbe were arguing. Jinbe tells Luffy that he does not want Luffy to face Hody as just another savage human but rather as the hero of the island. Luffy initially refuses cause his crew and he are pirates, using an example of sharing meat to make his point. When Jinbe mentions he will feed him if they help however, Luffy instantly agrees. Jinbe goes over the plan of allowing himself to get caught and sneaking Luffy's group in close enough to grab the keys and the Celestial Dragon's letter which he hopes will get the citizens on their side. Though he tells the group to figure something out in rescuing their friends from Ryugu Palace. Luffy reaffirms he just doing this because Jinbe asked him too but it is obviously just a tough front of his and that he would have done it anyway.

Back in the current time, Hody recovers himself from Luffy's attack while the citizens cheer on the Straw Hats. Zeo tries to tell the Straw Hats not to get carried away, but they ignore him, Zoro's group discounting Sanji's claims of rescuing them to the others explaining that they broke themselves out and grabbed Hoe on the way to the plaza. Nami gives Shirahoshi the Celestial Dragon's letter while Luffy acknowledges that she is not such a weakling as he made her out to be. Jinbe concurs, encouraging her to continue on to end the prejudice between the humans and the fish-men and declaring that he will protect her. Hody comes back into the area, complaining that Vander Decken failed in erasing Shirahoshi and falling for Jinbe's trap. Hody continues on, calling Jinbe a fool for siding with the humans while Fisher Tiger and Arlong were defeated by them. He also states his plan of going to the Levely and killing the kings there to make a terrifying name for himself and Fish-Man Island across the globe. Dragging humans into the ocean and making them his slaves, Hody even state that he will become the Pirate King that way which strikes a nerve with Luffy. Hody then mocks the Straw Hats as they are 10 to his 100,000 before setting his pirates on the group.



Luffy goes forward as Zoro and Sanji look on unimpressed. Nami, Usopp, Chopper and Pappag in the Soldier Dock system unaware of what's happening though Franky tell them it's not time yet. Just as the pirates are about to attack Luffy, he unleashes his Haoshoku Haki; dropping 50,000 of the pirates in an instant much to the shock of everyone there, including the Straw Hats. Luffy calls out to Hody, telling him that while he does not care what kind of king Hody wants to be, there is only room for one Pirate King. Luffy then charges forward, goes into Gear 3 and attacks the pirates yelling he will take them all on. Jinbe and the rest of the Straw Hats follow his lead and prepare for battle.



Zeo tries to rally his troops while Zoro and Sanji complain of Luffy taking out much of their opponents and arguing amongst themselves. Hody tries to fire a water shot at the princess but is stopped by another water shot created by Jinbe who comments that Hody's Fish-Man Karate is still no match for his. The pirates comment that Jinbe was the first fish-man to be a Warlord of the Sea and that his bounty rose to over 400,000,000 after he left. Jinbe challenges the pirates to fight him if they want to take Shirahoshi. A few pirates aim cannons at Shirahoshi but Brook steps in and uses his music to hypnotize the pirates and make them fire their shots into the air before striking them down with his swordplay. A few of the pirates charge at Zoro while defending themselves with shields. But he unleashes a new Three Sword Style technique that forms into a whirlwind, cutting up the shields and continue to chase the pirates afterward. While the pirates run away and scream, they ask when it will stop following them to which Zoro replies it will chase them to hell.



A few of the sea urchin pirates uses their bubbles to fly overheard and aim for Shirahoshi and Sanji, intending to skewer them with their spikes. Sanji just stands there reminiscing when he was chased by the Okama on Momoiro Island, citing he ran and ran till he ran out of places to run to. Just as the urchins close in, they find he has disappeared or rather jumped into the air using Blue Walk having learned it on Momoiro citing that he "had to learn to fly" to get away from his pursuers. He tells the attackers he is Shirahoshi's knight before hitting them with a new Diable Jambe attack, rapidly knocking out the urchin squad. Robin meanwhile makes two giant legs from her power and stomps a few of the pirates flat. A group of the pirates called the Hyper Toxin Squadron are called in, looking to poison their opponents. That is until Franky revels the 4th Soldier Dock system: Black Rhino FR-U IV, a motorcycle with spiked wheels and a rhino design on the front. Franky easily plows through them before coming upon a pirate wielding a mace. Before the pirate can strike, he is blown aside by the 5th Soldier Dock weapon: Brachio Tank V, a mini tank driven by Usopp, Chopper, Nami and Pappag. Both of these weapons instantly get Luffy praise though Zoro yells they are still in a fight.

The fish-men citizens are amazed the group is fending off Hody's forces despite having been outnumbered and cheer them on. Irritated by this, Hody calls out Surume to take care of them. Mentioning that he hauled the Kraken from the North Pole and made it his slave. The fish-men citizens believe they could never win against the Kraken, but Luffy however calls out to Surume and ask to ride on top of him since they are friends. Surume agrees with Luffy and offers his aid, smashing happily through the rest of the pirates who call out for their captain to help them. Hody looks on in anger at this new turn of events.



Luffy tells Surume to protect the princess while the pirates look on in disbelief that the kraken sided with Luffy. Chopper notices that most of the pirates have avoided them which Usopp decides to take advantage of to attack their captain. However, they suddenly wind up falling into a pitfall made by Daruma who used his teeth to burrow underground to stop their machines. Daruma sets out to do the same to Franky, but the cyborg ends up accidentally driving his motorcycle into the same one the tank fell into. Angered at this, Franky tosses Usopp, Nami, Chopper and Pappag out of the hole.

When asked why, Franky reveals he gonna "transform" and that it's a one-person vehicle. He merges the Rhino FR-U IV and the Brachio Tank V to combine and create the Iron Pirate: General Franky: A giant mecha bearing his likeness. Franky claims he used the genius Vegapunk's unfinished prototype designs and completed them through the application of Wapometal. The pirates are dumbstruck at this new creation, while Luffy, Usopp and Chopper are awed at the docking mecha. Nami and Robin remain indifferent. Regardless, Franky goes on the attack, first using the mech's sword to swing at the pirates' feet. When they jump, he comments he can hit them with cannons from his shoulder. Luffy thinks this to mean he will shoot them with the mecha's cannons but in reality, it's just Franky popping out of the cockpit and firing his own shoulder cannons before flattening the pirates with the mecha's weight.



As Nami watches this, one of the pirates tries to sneak up on her. She blocks with her new staff and unveils a new Clima-Tact weapon when she fires a blast of gust from it, knocking the pirate out. A few of the fish-men pirates charge Usopp who uses his Pop Greens to make bamboo shoot up from underneath them, Usopp owing it to his training with Heracles. The citizens continue to look on in awe as the Straw Hats fight, commenting that it looks like they wanted to fight so much they could not help themselves. Daruma burrows underground, hoping to make more pitfalls to stop the Straw Hats but is intercepted and knocked out of the ground by Chopper who showcases a new point form; Horn Point, where he keeps his humanoid body but gains two large horns which he used to burrow after Daruma. When Luffy asks if he became a stag beetle, Chopper shouts he is not and that he refined his point forms that he now only needs the rumble ball for one transformation. He can now freely transform into his other six form whenever he wishes.

Hody ask how many of the Straw Hats they have taken down, which turns out to be zero. Hody calls out to Surume, "congratulating" him on capturing Shirahoshi before threatening the Kraken that he could go up North where his brothers are and kill them if he continues to disobey. Upon hearing this, Surume starts to squeeze Shirahoshi but Luffy overhears this as well and asks Surume if that is the reason, he was answering to Hody. Visibly understanding his plight, Luffy tells Surume that he will protect them too which Surume starts to hesitate upon hearing. With that, Luffy starts to head for Hody. Ikaros Much and Dosun go to intercept him but are knocked aside by Zoro and Sanji. Hody orders his pirates to stop Luffy, but Luffy disappears from their sight and reappears in front of Hody, kicking him in the face with a furious expression.

Meanwhile, Neptune and the princes, who are in a clearing, spot the Noah ship moving on its own. Fukaboshi ask Neptune why he is getting upset over seeing it move which Neptune answers that it cannot be moved until "The Day That Must Come".

Noah on Collision Course: The End of the Alliance and the Separate Battles
Back at the plaza, the pirates are showing their worry for their captain. But Hody gets back up from the attack he received from Luffy and tries to take his head off with Fish-Man Karate. It only succeeds in knocking Luffy's head back thanks to his rubber body. Luffy puts a Head Armament Haki on his forehead just as a few fish-man try to shield Hody with Iron Shells. But Luffy hits them with his Gomu Gomu no Kane attack which, thanks to the Armament, knocks them out. Hody tries to rush in and kick Luffy, but Luffy uses the Armament on his arm and blocks the attack, injuring Hody's leg. Luffy then flips and hits Hody with his Axe attack coated with the Armament as well, smashing him into the ground. Hody gets back up and rapidly fires water shots at Luffy. But the Straw Hat dodges them easily much to the astonishment of the pirates. Luffy then hits Hody with an Armament powered Pistol attack sending him flying into a wall.



Shirahoshi and the citizens all marvel at Luffy's strength. Before the fight can go any further however, the sky suddenly grows dark. Everyone looks up to see the Noah ship heading straight for the plaza threatening to break the bubble around the island, killing both its fish-man and human inhabitants. Both sides begin to panic with as the huge ship about to smash into them until something suddenly falls from the ship revealing itself to be Wadatsumi who slipped off the ship and into the plaza. He begs Decken to stop the ship so he will not get crushed. Meanwhile, The New Fish-Man Pirates ask Hody if this was part of his plan though he just tells them to shut up as he gets back to his feet. Luffy remarks how tough the fish-man captain is, having withstood a Color of Armaments attack. Hody yells to Decken that crashing the ship into the island was not part of their agenda. But Decken, via a Den Den Mushi, explains his intent to murder Shirahoshi even if it means sacrificing his underlings and allies. Jinbe realizes that Decken "threw" the ship at Shirahoshi as he had done before with letters and weapons. But before he can go on, he realizes Shirahoshi has disappeared.



The princess turns out to be right in front of Noah, begging Decken to spare her people's lives in exchange for her own. The ship turns away from the plaza toward her while Decken throws a knife at her, hitting Shirahoshi in the arm. As all this goes on Hody realizes that Decken betrayed him. He jumps to one of the chains on the underside of Noah, growling about Decken but citing it's a good situation. Sanji starts to head towards Noah, but Luffy yells out that he is going alone and for the SH to look after the plaza. He asks Jinbe if there is water in the ship which Jinbe states there might be but as Decken is a Devil Fruit user, there might be air as well. Jinbe throws Luffy a bubble making coral before Luffy stretches his arms to Sanji's leg and yells for him to fling him to Noah.

The citizens of the island all cry out for Shirahoshi as she diverts Noah, preventing it from ramming into the island's bubble but the danger of it damaging it still remains. Seeing as she is too far away from the entrance to reach the ocean, Shirahoshi instead heads for the palace entrance since its now deserted. Hody continues to cling on the chain on the underside of the ship. Sanji prepares to fling Luffy to the ship, reminding him to watch out for Hody and the fish-man underwater capabilities. Calculating on balancing out his power so he does not overshoot Luffy into the ocean, Sanji preforms his Rubber Shoot move shooting Luffy towards Noah. Luffy manages to make it out of the island's bubble and onto one of the ship's chains which is currently in the space between the ocean and the island's bubble. Luffy notices that Hody is below him on a chain that still within the island's bubble. The citizens all grab one of the ship's chains and pull hoping to slow the ship down and give Shirahoshi time to escape. However, Hody sees this and mocks their attempts as weakness, citing its why fish-man are looked down upon. He hits the citizens with his Water Shots much to Luffy's anger.

Shirahoshi manages to make it to the corridor connecting to the place which is out in the ocean. Noah follows after her which in turn drags Luffy into the ocean. He quickly uses the bubble coral to make a bubble around him but in doing so, lets go of the chain he was riding which causes him to flow out into the ocean. If that was not bad enough, Hody finds and prepares to attack him. Meanwhile, Decken continues chasing Shirahoshi, yelling that either the ship will get her, or she will die from her wounds. He gives her one last chance to marry him citing he will call off the attack if she agrees to his demands. Shirahoshi refuses however, just as Decken throws more knives at her. Before they can hit, they are blocked by Manboshi and Fukaboshi who are riding Hoe. The brothers tell Decken they will not let him have their sister. They also comment that Neptune told them about the importance of the ship, so they wish to prevent any damage to it. At first, they try to get it onto the ocean's floor. But the ship begins to slam into some underwater rocks. Seeing as its too dangerous to land the ship on the floor they swim upward.



Meanwhile, Fukaboshi has managed to save Luffy from Hody's wraith despite his wounds. Hody however, uncovers a blade fin called Kirisame and puts it on his back. He darts after the two and they barely manage to dodge him, seeing Hody cut up a rock and a fish that was swimming by it. Luffy orders Fukaboshi to get him to the deck of the ship so he can fight easier as he wishes to keep his promise of protecting Shirahoshi. Hearing this, Fukaboshi remembers his promise he made with his mother to do the same. He tells Luffy this as well as apologizes for doubting him. Hody, overhearing this however, swims to the deck of the ship. He lands on Noah as Decken greets him, asking if he has killed Neptune and that he is using the ship to torment Shirahoshi, asking if it was a good plan. Hody responds by stabbing Decken with his trident, then ask Decken what would happen to the ship if he were to die.

Hody pulls his trident out of Decken and then reveals he touched Hody with his left hand at the last minute and throws an axe at him. Hody tells Decken he betrayed him first, but destroying the island was a great idea. After a little argument, Decken gets offensive. He then lashes out with a kick, revealing blades hidden in his shoes. Hody catches the leg with his teeth and bites down on it. He then swings Decken around and uses him as a shield to intercept the axe thrown earlier. Hody laughs and says he has to kill Shirahoshi before the ship crashes. He somersaults past the two younger brothers, cutting them with the blade on his back in the process. Ryuboshi tells his sister to run. Hody grabs her hair and stops her, saying even a mermaid cannot beat his speed. Luffy then attacks him with Gomu Gomu no Snake Shot, hitting him in the chest. Hody tells Luffy he has no chance of winning a fight in the deep sea, saying he cannot protect anything. Luffy says he spent the last two years training to do just that.



Back at Gyoncorde Plaza, Wadatsumi has lost the will to fight, crying that his captain abandoned him. Zeo makes up a lie and tells him that he did not hear Decken's orders to take care of the plaza for him. Zeo throws him an Energy Steroid and Wadatsumi starts his rampage, brutally beating Surume. He then sets his sights on Jinbe. Jinbe blocks his fist with Nanasenmai Gawara: Mawashigeri, stopping the attack with his foot and hurting Wadatsumi's hand in the process. As Wadatsumi falls, everyone around him is blown away as he falls, including Nami. This angers Sanji and he kicks Wadatsumi in the head knocking him back up on his feet, confusing him as to who is attacking him now. Sanji tells him he will pay for hurting Nami. The matchup reads Oonyudo Wadatsumi vs. Sanji and Jinbe. Elsewhere in the plaza, Hyouzou is on a rampage, his appearance having changed after eating too many Energy Steroids, just like Hody's did. He takes down several people with Chidoriashi Hash. Hyouzou then sets his sights on Robin and charges at her. Zoro swoops in and blocks the attack, saying he will be taking on Hyouzou, calling him a good warmup for the New World. The match up reads Zoro vs. Hyouzou.



As all this goes on, Nami battles a few fish-man pirates who notice her attacks coming from her rod and think her as a witch. She corrects that she is more of a magician and her attack are just basic weather chemistry before attacking them with a move called Lion Rod, streaming black clouds and whipping it at her opponents, shocking them. Ikaros Much is nearly caught in the radius triggering his "dried squid" reflex. Zeo and he surmise that Nami is the Straw Hats' weakness from Sanji's reaction and go to attack her. Zeo camouflaging himself and holding down her legs while Ikaros goes to stab her with his squid spears. Brook, seeing this, moves in and takes the attack (while also asking to see Nami's panties again earning him a punch to the face from her). Ikaros cites his spear will dry up all of Brook's moisture but as he is a skeleton and already all dried up, it does not work.

As Ikaros is reeling in shock from this, Franky, looking for an opponent to test his mecha on, blindsides Ikaros with a punch. Ikaros gets back up and the two prepare to fight. Meanwhile, the Fish-Man Pirates yell at Brook to get off Zeo whom unknowingly is stepped on his due to Zeo's camouflage. Zeo makes an excuse that he was "headbutting" Brook's foot to save face. Brook lets him up and they proceed to battle. Over with Chopper whose playing cat and mouse with Daruma underground which is causing the fish-men pirates to fall through the newly made holes. Above ground, Dosun spots Usopp whom yells for Chopper to come to him. Dosun prepares to attack the sniper, but Chopper smells his scent and calls for Usopp to duck before busting from the ground and right into Dosun. Usopp compliments Chopper before firing an exploding Pop Green at Daruma, blowing up him and his fellow fish-man pirates. Usopp mentions they fought someone before that could dig holes (referring to Ms. Merry Christmas) so they have experience in this sort of thing. Daruma and Dosun recover and go on to take on Usopp and Chopper respectively.

The pirates are surprised that, despite their numbers, the Straw Hats are holding their own against their commanders. The fish-man citizens help with the wounded during this while some kids mention their worry for the princess and ask Shyarly if the island will really be destroyed. She does not answer and looks up into the sky, uncertain. Meanwhile, above the the island, Hody mocks Luffy on his wish to protect everything. Fukaboshi and Manboshi realize that if something were to happen with Decken the ship would fall on the island. Fukaboshi yells for Shirahoshi to change her course to the side but Hody attacks once more, telling them to not interfere. Luffy realizes what is happening and tells Ryuboshi to take him to Shirahoshi but Hody gets in their way. However, Shirahoshi heard her brother and started swimming to the side, directing the ship away from the island. Hody starts to go after her, but Luffy stretches to grab him. However, the water saps away his strength allowing Hody to break free. Ryuboshi comments that if Decken is still conscious, his power is still in effect. Inside Noah, Decken is revealed to indeed still be alive and swears vengeance upon Hody. However, the turning of the ship causes him to fall over and bump his head against a rock, knocking him out. Due to this, his power fades and the ship begins to fall toward the island. Hody begins to celebrate while Luffy and the princes look on in horror.



As the ship starts to fall toward the island, Fukaboshi with Luffy on his back, races to it. Yelling of the Noah's purpose and promising Neptune along with his brothers that they would protect it. Hody mocks the two on if they could protect the island, Luffy redeclares his will by smashing the ship but Fukaboshi yells out not to if there is a chance to save it. Luffy then ask how as he cannot think of any other way. Shirahoshi starts to rush to the ship herself yelling for Decken to revive. Hody goes to attack her, but Manboshi gets in the way of the attack and takes the hit. Luffy stretches to Hody and grabs him. Just as he about to hit him, Hody bites in his shoulder. Regardless, Luffy manages to knock Hody aside and pull off the fangs but complains his Armament Haki is not strong enough to withstand blows like that. Hody recover and states he knows of Luffy intention of trying to fight him on the Noah. He uses his fin sword to slash the bubbles around the ship, letting the air seep out as result.

As Hody once more mocks Luffy, Fukaboshi charges in and starts attacking him, asking Hody if he knows the consequences of what he is doing and asking how he could sacrifice the lives of his fellow fish-man for revenge. Ultimately, asking what caused Hody to do all these things. Hody answers which apparently shocks everyone in the area. He then stabs Fukaboshi much to the horror as Shirahoshi. Luffy suddenly gets a call from a portable Den Den Mushi on him from a person he met in the air tank. We flash back a bit to when Hody was heading for the deck of the ship. Rather than go after him, Fukaboshi heads to the main entrance of the island, ordering a few of the Ammo Guards to ready the air tank for an air blast. Luffy and he then headed for Decken, Luffy telling him that there is air on the ship. But Fukaboshi knows Hody would more than likely target the bubble around the ship and handed Luffy the den den mushi.

In the present time, Luffy asks the guards what they plan to do. They respond that they are going to envelop the falling ship with air bubble as it passes. However, it will not stop the ship from falling. Luffy understands and tells them to do it. Hody attacks again, asking what can they do. Luffy responds by catching him, breaking his fin blade, equipping armor haki on his arm and punching him back. Hody recovers, yelling he will do whatever it takes to have his revenge on humans. The Ammo Guards ready to shoot the air bubble over to Noah while Luffy receives a call from Fukaboshi who tells Luffy he knows the true character of Hody.

The story then goes back a few minutes in the sea forest where Camie, Hachi and Den are. Den notices that the fish are leaving the forest, a sign that indicates somethings happening. Hachi hates that he cannot join the fight and figures the Straw Hat and Jinbe will win. But knows that Hody will not give up so easily. When Camie asks what he is talking about, Hachi states that Fisher was afraid something like this would happen. Meanwhile, all around Fish-Man Island, the order for the evacuation is given from the Minister of the Left, revealing what Decken and Hody have planned. The citizens all debate what to do, especially upon hearing that Shirahoshi was risking her life to save them. Meanwhile, the Minister of the Left along with some guards manage to find Neptune and apologize for not being strong enough. He tells them it's alright and asks if they have seen Noah. They confirm it and Neptune comments that if it hits the Princess or the Island it will be over as was written. The Minister of the Left suggests Neptune evacuate with the citizens. But he refuses as he wishes to wait for his children.

Meanwhile, the Minister of the Right has recovered and reaches the plaza where the battle between the Straw Hats plus Jinbe and the New Fish-Man Pirates continue. He has brought up to speed on what's going on (and is thoroughly taken aback upon hearing of the Straw Hats feats of strength) and orders his guards to help restrain Wadatsumi which will leave them with just the pirates to deal with. Stating they will lose face if they did nothing to help the pirates who willingly took the blame for their false accusations. He also orders the citizens to evacuate but they refuse as they do not want to leave behind the people who were helping them, stating they are putting their fate in the Straw Hats. The Minister to the Right understands and tells them to do what they feel is right before rushing off to join the fight. The pirates spot the Ammo-Guards and rush to fight them. Among which is Hammond whose being carried by the human slaves in what he calls the "Slave Tank". One of the slaves drops from exhaustion, Hammond just tells him to drag him along and replace him. Robin takes note of this and comments on the cruelty of it.



Meanwhile, Wadatsumi suddenly puffs himself up making himself seem bigger. Sanji, who's on his cheek, is not impressed. What more Wadatsumi's new size is hitting his own allies. When Sanji tells him Surume is still bigger than him, Wadatsumi puffs himself up even bigger, but Sanji still keeps to his claim. As that goes on, on the ground Jinbe asks Robin to help free the human slaves. Robin asks if that is wise as the humans might have a grudge against the fish-men if she does. Jinbe answers that he will deal with any people with that mindset but at the moment, they are still humans plus he hates seeing the Fish-Man Pirates acting as if they are Celestial Dragons. Robin understands and agrees to his wishes. Over to the Franky and Ikaros Much fight, Ikaros fires spit at his mecha. It does not do anything and Franky punches at him, but it turns out to be a clone made of ink. Ikaros gets behind him but before he can counter, Franky fires a fireball at him, triggering his squid reflex. Chopper is amazed at the new weapon, but it turns out to be Franky doing it by opening the cockpit and firing it from his mouth as usual.

Dosun takes the opportunity to attack with his hammer, but Chopper goes Heavy Point and stops it with a punch (though it hurts his hand a little). Zoro comments on Choppers new Heavy Point stating it looks more like a monster than human. Chopper states that before he wanted to be human to have friends. Now he wishes to be a monster to help Luffy. Hyouzou suddenly rushes to attack Zoro, but Zoro easily counters him stating he gave him a chance to escape his reach. Zoro then cuts two of the blades Hyouzou is holding, telling him to bring the best swordsman in Fish-Man Island as Hyouzou is not even worth killing time with.



As the battles continue to wage all around the plaza. Robin manages to secure the keys to the slaves of the Fish-Man Pirates and frees them from their shackles. No sooner than they are freed, the slaves carrying Hammond throw him to the ground. One of the slaves ask Robin why she freed them to which she answers to thank Jinbe who requested it of her. Hammond however, fires a net at Robin from behind, but it turns out to be another of her clones. She spouts a clone on Hammond's back then grabs his legs with multiple hands and performs a double clutch move, breaking his back. The slaves meanwhile, went to get their revenge on their captors and join the battle.

Meanwhile, Brook has lost sight of Zeo who has gone back into camouflage mode. However, Zeo gives himself away when he shouts the name of his technique and Brook stabs the area where he heard it. Zeo reveals himself and as usual, claims it was part of an attack of his when it clear that Brook really stabbed him. He then attacks Brook with his chain, managing to wrap it around Brook's head and pull it off.

Brook starts to reflect on how over the two years he discovered the true power of the Yomi Yomi no Mi in that it emitted a powerful energy which he can distribute via playing music. When his soul leaves his body that is the form of such ectoplasmic energy. Said energy reconnects his head to his body as Zeo starts to celebrate beating one of the Straw Hats. Brook, however, revives calling the energy Tamashii much to Zeo's shock, who promptly tries to hide it. Brook explains that as long as his bones are intact, Zeo's attacks will not go to the core. He then unveils his sword which was sharpened by the Longarm Tribe which he names Soul Solid, firing an attack at Zeo who exclaims its cold. Brook proclaims he will show him the chill of the underworld.

Over with Usopp who's watching the others fight, citing that he cannot lose as everyone has what they need to head to the New World. Daruma rushes at him while also setting himself on fire. Usopp manages to dodge and retaliate but Daruma jumps out of the way. He mocks Usopp, calling him a burden to the others but Usopp declares he has finished laying out his trap and he will beat Daruma in three moves. Daruma does not believe him, citing he should stop dreaming and give up. Usopp admits that he has deteriorated a bit, he does not lie as much as used to because now he can back up his claims.

As the battles rage on, the border security calls the Minister to the Left and informs him of what's happening outside the island. The Minster to the Left orders them to call for an evacuation of the island which the Border Patrol do via the intercom, telling everyone of the incoming danger including the Straw Hats and the Fish-Man Pirates. As everyone starts to evacuate, the signal gets mixed up with the conversation between Luffy and those in the air tank. While garbled the message is heard throughout the island followed shortly by the one with Fukaboshi. The rest of the conversation is heard as Fukaboshi explains that Hody and his crew are fish-men who thrive on the grudge of their forefathers and will use any justification for their crusade, refusing the quest for peace the island has worked for. The story flashes back to when Fukaboshi asked Hody what have the humans done to make him turn out the way he has. Hody simply answers "nothing", that he and his crew will bring down judgement on the humans and that he believes he and his crew were chosen by heaven to do so. The story goes back to the present as Fukaboshi finishes, stating that Hody and his crew are nothing but enemies with an empty will and ambition.

The story flashes back to Hody's childhood and shows how he and his crew were raised purely on the ideals hatred in the Fish-Man District. Sermons, mostly from Arlong, would fill his head on how humans were the inferior species and how they had "driven" fish-man into the sea for their "superior" strength. Plus, how they were "chosen" by the heavens to "rain down punishment" on the humans. When Hachi was telling some of his friends about Rayleigh, Hody refused to listen citing "it wanted to make him throw up". Years past and the news of Fisher Tiger's death reached their ears making them wonder if Tiger was not supposed to be the "chosen one" as they thought. At one point they had heard a fish-man had saved a human by giving him blood and, donning black masks, burned his house down in response. We see Hody and his crew later disapproving of the Ryugu Kingdom approach for peace with the humans. When Otohime was killed and the island was in shock especially those in the Fish-Man District who wanted revenge for the murder, The New Fish-Man Pirates were celebrating on killing her before Hody showed his crew a bag of Energy Steroids he managed to obtain before telling his crew they were going to war against the humans.

It goes back to the present as Shirahoshi is fleeing from Hody while those in the air tank prepare to fire the bubble around Noah. Fukaboshi continues on telling Luffy that though they pushed forward to obtain peace for the island, they had failed to notice the lingering grudge of hatred in the Fish-Man District due to not keeping contact. As a result, that grudge grew out of control until it became a threat to the island. He cites his mother's death on this grudge and realizes that while it's too late to change the minds of those in Fish-Man District. The rest of the kingdom must fight within themselves to overcome this grudge or otherwise the island will be destroyed by it. Fukaboshi then pleads to Luffy to defeat the evils that have dwelled on the island and "bring everything back to zero" so they can start over again. Luffy responds in kind that he will take care of it as the moment he, his crew and Jinbe invaded the plaza they were not going to let anyone else lay a finger on the island. As after all, they are friends. These words encourage those that were escaping to stay in support of Luffy.



As all this had went on, the Ammo-Guards managed to successfully fire a new air bubble over the Noah and radio Luffy of this. Hody charges at him while Luffy tells Shirahoshi to stay by his side. Luffy stretches back his arm, going Gear 2 and putting a Color Armament over it. Just as Hody closes in, Luffy hits him with a new technique: Gomu Gomu Red Hawk, slamming it into Hody's stomach which not only greatly wounds Hody but somehow causes an explosion from Hody's back.

End of the Reckless Hatred: Save Fish-Man Island
The impact from Luffy's attack sends Hody flying towards the Noah and into the bubble around it. Luffy has Shirahoshi follow after him where they see he has crashed on the deck of the ship, badly wounded. Now in a breathable setting, Luffy charges towards Hody, activating Gear 3 as he does so. Meanwhile, on the island, one of the citizens tries to convince another to flee. However, the citizen recalls when Whitebeard and his crew were on the island. As he was a friend of Neptune, he defended it from enemy pirates and proclaimed the island under his protection. The fish-men citizen, though hating humans, starts to doubt after hearing what Luffy told Fukaboshi.

Back on Noah, Hody gets to his feet and uses the water leaking from the ship to attack Luffy, sending water shots in the shape of sharks at him. Luffy dodges them however, he gets above Hody and smashes him with a Gomu Gomu no Elephant Gun. This appears to finally defeat the New Fish-Man Pirates' captain whose last thoughts are his wish that Noah destroys the island. Luffy then turns his attention to the Noah and begins to Gatling his Elephant Gun move to destroy the ship before it reaches the island. Seeing this, the Ammo-Guards report this to those around the island. The news of Hody's defeat frightens some of the pirates. But only angers Zeo who starts attacking his own subordinates, citing that those who do not fight should die in the name of their grudge. Dosun follows suit when the pirates begin to realize how insane their officers have become in pursuit of their revenge.

Some fish-men children, watching this, asks if humans are really scary. A fish-man starts to respond negatively to this but is stopped by Shyarly who tells them to just watch as the ones fighting for the island's sake are humans (though has to admit she does not know what some of them are when they ask about Brook). Brook saves the pirates from Zeo, chastising the officer for talking about dying for their grudge when he does not know what it's like and that he hates people who would waste the lives of others. Zeo still thinks the Straw Hats will die in the end but Brook counters that the Straw Hats believe Luffy will be the Pirate King and if they continue to do so, nothing will frighten them. He then prepares to finish his battle with Zeo. Over with Zoro, Hyouzou notices his lack of swords and brings up his poison tentacles. Franky decides to unveil his "giant attack" to end his battle with Ikaros Much. Sanji is still on Wadatsumi who has puffed himself to gigantic proportions. Sanji finally stops playing with him and calls to Jinbe who ready their attack.

Meanwhile, the fights against Dosun and Daruma is temporarily halted when Chopper suddenly goes to his Monster Point without warning. Usopp shouts if that was necessary as the battle had not become desperate enough to use it. But much to his surprise, Chopper still retains his intelligence in that form and tells Usopp he is alright.

Chopper reveals that when he eats a rumble ball now, he can transform to his monster point for at least three minutes now. Usopp compliments him which causes Chopper to, of course, dance while saying he is not happy. Both Dosun and Daruma go to continue their attacks. However, some plants which Usopp calls "Humandrake" jump out at Daruma and knock him down. Then another plant called "Trampolia" shoots him into the air allowing Usopp to prepare his final shot. Over with Franky and Ikaros Much, the latter takes off his helmet to unveil a spear-like hair which he prepares to attack Franky with while Franky prepares his own attack. Zoro tires of Hyouzou and tells him to get lost, calling him a frog. Hyouzou however, goes to attack him from behind. With Sanji, Jinbe, and Wadatsumi, Wadatsumi threatens to use his size to flatten all in the plaza which Jinbe takes as a cue. And finally with Brook and Zeo, Zeo warns Brook not to get too close to his space or he will crush him.

Brook, however, does move forward and in an instant is already behind Zeo. Before Zeo realizes anything, he is cut by Brook's ice sword attack and defeated. Usopp fires his final shot at Daruma who thinks he can just bite the attack. However, Usopp reveals that the bulb from the Pop Green releases a shockwave, knocking him out. Dosun spins, swinging his hammer wildly toward Chopper. But with one massive swipe, Chopper sends him flying much to his troops surprise. Ikaros Much charges at Franky intending to impale him but Franky counters with a laser beam, turning him into roasted squid in an instant (Chopper and Usopp marvel at this as usual while Nami and Robin remain indifferent).

Jinbe rears back his fist and hits Wadatsumi with Fish-Man Karate. Despite the Fish-Man Pirates thinking there is no way he can launch something so big, Jinbe's attack goes right through Wadatsumi and sends him flying into the air. Sanji follows after him and, remembering his training, suddenly catches on fire and kicks the giant with an attack that burns him completely. Lastly, Hyouzou charges at Zoro intending to poison him, citing he the best swordsman of Fish-Man Island. Annoyed, Zoro cuts him with a new Onigiri move that completely trashes the rest of Hyouzou's swords and defeats him. With this, all of the officers of the New Fish-Man Pirates were defeated.



Both the citizens and the crew begin to celebrate but its short-lived as the threat of Noah is still incoming. As the now leader-less New Fish-Man Pirates start to run for it, the citizens of the island start cheering for Luffy who continues to try to smash the ship before it hits the island. Even Fukaboshi and King Neptune agree it's the only way, with the latter apologizing to Joy Boy for having to destroy the ship. However, in the hail of his Gatling attack, Shirahoshi swims through it crying out for Luffy to stop. When he demands to know why, Shirahoshi reveals that Sea Kings came to her aid and grabbed the chains around the ship, preventing it from falling further. Seeing this, Luffy stops and faints from blood loss thanks to the bite wound Hody gave him, falling to a lower section of the ship. Meanwhile, the Sea King communicate with the princess, telling her that they had come due to her strong feelings for Luffy, also complimenting the Straw Hat's strength as well.

The Ammo Knights, seeing what has happened, report to the entire island that Noah was stopped and was not completely destroyed either. Thus, Fish-Man Island was saved, and everyone begins to celebrate for real. The report reaches Neptune and the princes who are surprised of Shirahoshi's awakened ability. Meanwhile, the bubble around Noah is absorbed by the island with Luffy falling with the rubble of the ship. Shirahoshi rushes to save him while the Sea Kings tow Noah to the Sea Forest. They have conversation with each other about how Luffy seemed to understand them like that of Gol D. Roger. They also worry if the ship can be fixed in time for the "promised day". Sometime later, Neptune receives a report about the kidnapped mermaid girls that were found at the castle, unharmed though dazed and unclear of their kidnapper. However, all the treasure in the castle was stolen, including the Urashima Casket. Neptune brushes off the lost treasure as he cites that losing the country was of greater importance. He declares the Straw Hats cleared off all crimes and tells the guard to report it over the island.



Over in the plaza, Hody's now freed slaves beg Jinbe to let them through the exit, citing their actions were out of fear of Hody. However, Jinbe refuses till he gets word from Neptune. Back in the plaza, the Straw Hats are resting from the battle along with Surume and Megalo. Chopper barely able to move as the Monster Point had drained most of his energy though said that he can still treat people. Neptune and the princes soon arrive back in the plaza, the latter carrying the defeated Decken and Hody. Once on the ground, the two are bound in chains, Fukaboshi declaring that the two will never be free again. Shirahoshi suddenly come carrying Luffy, crying for someone to save him as he has lost too much blood. Chopper gets to work though needs Robin's help to him stay upright. He manages to stop the bleeding but said that Luffy needs a transfusion to regain the blood lost. He begs the citizens to help him with an F-Blood Type. However, the citizens are hesitant due to the law declaring they cannot give blood to humans. Shirahoshi wishes to help but her blood is not the right type. However, Jinbe suddenly steps up and offers his as his blood type is the same as Luffy's, declaring himself a pirate when the law is brought up. Neptune does not stop him, saying that the law is just another form of the island's curse.



And so, the transfusion is done with everyone looking on. Luffy manages to come to, to the joy of Shirahoshi, his crew, and everyone on the island. He then turns to Jinbe and, with his usual grin, asks him to join his crew.

Aftermath of the Battle: A Promise, a Party, Poseidon and a Prelude to a New Situation
Neptune frees Hody's slaves who are more than happy to leave the island. When asked by his ministers if that is wise, Neptune comments that the island was always a resting spot for pirates, so they have no reason to keep them there. He then turns his attention to the remnants of the New Fish-Man Pirates. They plead they had no idea that Hody was responsible for Otohime's death. Neptune allows them to stay on the island under a sentence of community service for their crimes. He also declares that the Fish-Man District will be blocked off from the island and no one will be allowed to live there. Neptune then asks about the Straw Hats and Fukaboshi tell him they ran away.

The Sunny flies over the island with Shirahoshi following. Zoro comments that they left in a hurry because they did not want to be viewed as heroes (though contradicts himself about wanting to drink booze). Luffy meanwhile, is complaining to Jinbe about not coming with them. Jinbe admits he is flattered that Luffy asked him but says he has things he needs to do. However, when his task is done, he promises the crew he will join them then. Luffy agrees with this as does the rest of the crew. Neptune soon catches up with them and reminds them he still owes the Straw Hats a banquet. This is enough to get Luffy to stay, and he has Hatchan and Camie picked up as well.



The Fish-Man District is soon taped off and the New Fish-Man Pirates officers along with Vander Decken IX are thrown into the dungeon. As they do not have a cell big enough, the Ammo Knights have Surume take Wadatsumi to a far-off location banning him from entering the country. The rest of the island prepares for the banquet. Soon the Straw Hats reach Ryugu Palace, and the party start properly. Everyone enjoys themselves celebrating the victory for the island.

After some time, Robin manages to get Neptune alone and asks about Joy Boy. Neptune reveals that Joy Boy lived during the Void Century and that the apology he wrote was to the Mermaid Princess of the time, apparently for breaking a promise to the island. While he does not know the details, it was passed down through the Ryugu family that someone on behalf of Joy Boy would fulfill the promise which is why he is determined to protect Noah so it may be used on the "promised day".

Robin mentions that the Sea Kings dropped the Noah off at the forest and asks if Joy Boy had the power to communicate with then. Neptune says no, saying that power always rested with the Mermaid Princess and that Shirahoshi has fully awakened her power after the battle though he is not happy about it. Robin brings up the poneglyph she found in Skypeia which told of the location of the ancient weapon being on Fish-Man Island. She deduces that the Mermaid Princess had another name which Shirahoshi inherited, that is also the name of the weapon. That name being Poseidon.

Neptune mentions that she is one of the three legendary weapons along with Pluton and Uranus and that it would be trouble if the World Government were to find out about her. Unbeknownst to Neptune and Robin, Caribou is eavesdropping on their conversation in his mud-like state and starts plotting. Meanwhile, Luffy and Jinbe break away from the party to talk, running into the other members who are taking a break as well. Jinbe then explains what went on during the two years they were training: Firstly, that Akainu has become the new fleet admiral. He explains that after Sengoku recommended that Aokiji take the position. The Five Elders interjected, wishing for Akainu to take the job. Aokiji objected strongly to this, so both admirals went to an island to settle the dispute with a fight. After ten days of fighting, Akainu wound up the victor. However, he spared Aokiji's life who left the Marines sometime afterwards.

Jinbe continues that the marines suffered in power as a result through the Government is giving them "unseen power" as a result. He tells the crew to remember two things; that the Marines have becomes stronger with Akainu at the helm and the threat of the Blackbeard Pirates who have conquered Whitebeard's territory since his death (due Blackbeard knowing the areas from being in his crew). Jinbe continues with saying the World Government now marks him alongside Red-Haired, Kaidou, Big Mom and labels him as one of the Four Emperors. The Blackbeard Pirates are now "power hunting" meaning they are searching and killing anyone with a strong Devil Fruit power and taking it from them. Jinbe warns Luffy to be on the watch as there was some bad blood against the two since the war.



However, Luffy stops listening midway through and when scolded, says he likes to leave everything to chance. He then goes to check on Shirahoshi, sensing something wrong alongside Zoro and Sanji. The three arrive just in time to prevent Caribou from kidnapping the Mermaid Princess and knock him out of the tower. When Neptune and the Ministers arrive, they mention the treasure Caribou took which peaks Nami's interest. Neptune says he would be happy to give it to the Straw Hats as he does not view it as important as the country. Upon hearing this, Nami forces the monster trio to look for Caribou. One of the Ammo Guards suddenly appear and informs Neptune that something happened at Hody's cell. The group head to the prison to find the New Fish-Man Pirates now all rapidly aged into old men. The Minister of the Right and Neptune realizes that Hody acquired the Energy Steroid pills from the Urashima Casket which was said to give the user a boost in strength but also age them as well. Despite the empty threats the aged Hody throws at them. Neptune and Fukaboshi take pity on the group, with the latter even forgiving Hody for killing his mother.

Meanwhile, the Minister of the Left is informed that two of Big Mom's messengers, Sir Pekoms and Baron Tamago, have arrived to check on the status of the Candy Factory. Unfortunately, the factory was destroyed by the New Fish-Man Pirates, and they had given the undamaged sweets to the Straw Hats. Upon hearing this, the Minister of the Right worries if any excuse they give them will please Big Mom, who would destroy an entire country just in the name of sweets.

Meanwhile, the rest of the crew meet up with Shirahoshi and are informed of the treasure offering as well as what Luffy, Zoro and Sanji are doing. While Shirahoshi is worried, Nami assures her that the three will be alright. Sure enough, the Monster Trio quickly find Caribou with Luffy having beaten him with one punch. With him defeated, the treasure he stole spills out from his body. The three collect the treasure and head back to the palace. Meanwhile, the Minister of the Left is speaking with Sir Pekoms, a suited walking lion, in hopes of reasoning with him about the lack of candy, though he reminds the Minister what Big Mom will do if they do not deliver. The Monster Trio arrive on the scene and are initially greeted by the citizens, least until Luffy mentions how great the sweets were during the banquet. This angers Pekoms until he has calmed down by his partner, Baron Tamago, a Longleg Tribesman also wearing a suit (and his lower part wearing half an egg for some reason). He explains to Luffy the deal Fish-Man Island made for protection in exchange for ten tons of candy per month.



As he tells Luffy this, we go to an island in the New World called Whole Cake Island. Big Mom expresses her excitement over the planned Tea Party they are having in four days. However, when a subordinate mentions he is excited too, she spontaneously eats him. Some of her crew arrive, led by a man named Bobbin who have just come from an island they burned down as the island failed to produce the baked goods promised to them. He also mentions he got a call from Pekoms about Fish-Man Island's lack of a candy offering. Needless to say, Big Mom is not pleased to hear this and demands a Den Den Mushi.

Back on Fish-Man Island, Tamago gives the island until tomorrow morning to come up with the candy. But The Minister of the Left states that the equipment was damaged, and it will take at least two weeks to fix. It's then Sanji and Zoro speak up asking what will happen if Big Mom does not get her candy which Tamago answers she will send her "beasts" in to raze the island. Luffy grows angry upon hearing this, especially since they just saved the island. The Den Den Mushi suddenly rings much to Pekoms and Tamago's fear. Before they can answer, Luffy swipes it away from them and speaks with Big Mom. Stating who he is and that he was the one who ate the candy to the shock of Big Mom's subordinates and the Fish-Man Island citizens. Luffy offers his treasure in exchange for overlooking the lack of sweets. Realizing he is serious, Tamago takes over and tries to convince Big Mom to take the offer as two of their ships were destroyed by Captain Kid and they need the money, even stating he will bring back all the sweets in two weeks' time.

Big Mom, however, refuses such an offer but decides to spare Fish-Man Island to instead go after Luffy. She challenges Luffy to come to the New World. Luffy instantly accepts adding that it's too dangerous to leave her in charge of Fish-Man Island. He declares he will defeat her and take Fish-Man Island as his own territory.

Meanwhile, Jinbe speaks with Neptune, explaining that the Sun Pirates were doing fine under Big Mom though his crew was only doing so out of concern for Fish-Man Island after Whitebeard's death. However, Jinbe mentions that he is thinking of cutting ties with Big Mom and joining up with Luffy though worries how Big Mom will react. Neptune understands even mentioning that if they lost Big Mom's flag they can always use "the Skull and Crossbones wearing a Straw Hat" much to Jinbe's amusement and agreement.

The Minister of the Right later meets up with Neptune, frantically explaining they needed to retrieve the Tamatabako from the Straw Hats as he had rigged it with a bomb after Hody had managed to open it 10 years ago. Neptune just tells him to explain the situation and ask them to return the box when they return. At that instant Luffy, Zoro and Sanji make it back but much to the group's shock find that he gave all the treasure to Pekoms and Tamago plus decided to pick a fight with Big Mom. Jinbe realizes he will really have to leave before things get bad while Neptune worries that if Big Mom finds the Tamatabako and opens it, it will seem like a declaration of war from Luffy. Nami however is more furious that they gave the rest of the treasure away, beating the Monster Trio senseless over it.



Meanwhile, Caribou has awakened from his beating and is searching for whomever took his treasure, commenting that if he brought back the secret of the Mermaid Princess and the treasure, he will gain bonus points with a certain someone. He comes upon the factory and sees Pekoms and Tamago leaving with said treasure, yelling for them to give it back. Pekoms checks his bounty lists and sees Caribou is currently worth two hundred million Beri much to the citizen's shock. Caribou unveils a Gatling gun from his torso and fires at them. Pekoms is hit but reveals he has a Devil Fruit too which allows him to shield himself in a turtle shell. As Pekoms reforms and puts his clothes back on, Caribou pulls out a scythe and goes to strike him. But Pekoms hits him with a Haki infused punch and knocks him out instantly. It is then revealed that Pekoms has a 330,000,000 bounty on him. Tamago and him decide to head back to Big Mom.

As that goes on, on the surface near the Red Line, the pirates that were leaving Fish-Man Island come across a Marine blockade. One of the pirate ships fires on a certain Marine ship which the crew call for Tashigi, now a Captain to the G-5 base, to help them. Indeed, she does, deflecting a cannonball away from the ship with her sword then scolds her subordinates for their goofiness. Meanwhile, Smoker, now a vice admiral, interrogates some captured pirates who explain they were held captive by Hody Jones in Fish-Man Island. They try to keep it secret that it was Luffy who defeated him out of debt for saving them, but one of the pirates lets this slip. However, Smoker could already tell who it was just based on their story alone.

Farewell to Fish-Man Island: Let's Sail into the New World
After some time, the Straw Hats prepare to leave. Camie asks Madam Shyarly if she can go see them off, followed by the rest of the mermaids. Shyarly permits this but Camie stays behind for a bit. Shyarly reveals she broke her crystal ball as she has no desire to see the future again though Camie knows Shyarly is still worried about the prediction even if it has not come to pass recently, it may sometime in the near future. Regardless, Shyarly apologizes to Camie for suspecting Luffy.

Meanwhile at the dock, the Ryuguu Family, the ministers, Hatchan and most of the Fish-Man Island residents have come to see the Straw Hats off. Shirahoshi is sad to see them leave though Luffy just chides her for crying. The Minster of the Right is still worried about the Tamatebako that was in the treasure Luffy gave to Big Mom. Though Neptune points it out that the bomb inside of it might be a dud after years of resting inside it. Meanwhile, the Minister of the Left gives Nami a new Log Pose which has three needles on it. He explains that their original Log Pose relied on an island's magnetic force to guide them to an island. But in the New World, the magnetic force is constantly changing thus making a normal one useless. The new Log Pose however, will point to these different magnetic forces meaning that from here on out they will have to choose their own route. He also adds that the more a needle shakes the more dangerous an island will be. Nami begins to freak out upon hearing this, but Luffy becomes excited about the prospect of unknown danger much to the dismay of Nami, Chopper and Usopp.



Franky soon calls to the crew that he has got the ship ready to head up. And the island's residents which include Hatchan, Camie, Pappag, the Mermaid Cafe, and the Princess, say their goodbyes. Luffy calls out to Jinbe who only nods in recognition as a reminder of his promise. As the crew sail off, they are caught up by Shirahoshi who vows that if they meet again, she will not cry anymore and asks if Luffy will take her on another walk, this time outside the ocean. Luffy agrees to this affirming with a pinky promise, the rest of the crew join in too as they take it as their responsibility as well. With that, the crew set sail and leave Fish-Mand Island, who now have a clearer outlook on humans. Meanwhile, the crew head for the surface, Luffy more excited than ever as he will finally be on the seas of his idol, Shanks. As he remembers all the people who believe he will accomplish his dream, his crew become more pumped than ever. Thus, the Straw Hats prepare themselves to enter the final ocean, the New World.

Story Impact

 * Many characters make their first appearance after the timeskip. The characters (in the order they were reintroduced) are: Bartholomew Kuma, Momoo, Camie, Pappag, Jinbe and Hatchan.
 * This arc shows the new techniques that the Straw Hats have gained over their two-year training:
 * Luffy has gained control over all three forms of Haki and mastered his Devil Fruit powers to a greater extent.
 * Zoro has gained more mastery over his Three Sword Style fighting style and speed. He is also aware of Haki, foreshadowing his usage of Busoshoku Haki in the following arcs.
 * Nami has a new Clima-Tact called the Sorcery Clima-Tact and has developed more control over her fighting style.
 * Usopp has upgraded his Kabuto to the Kuro Kabuto and learned how to use Pop Greens for his fighting style. He is now much braver in combat.
 * Sanji has better control over his Diable Jambe and developed a technique similar to the CP9 technique Geppo. He is also aware of Haki, foreshadowing his usage of Kenbunshoku Haki in the following arc.
 * Chopper has more control over his Hito Hito no Mi powers, allowing him to enter and control his Monster Point after just one Rumble Ball and the rest of his forms at will.
 * Robin has more mastery over her Hana Hana no Mi powers and overall fighting style. She is now able to sprout entire copies of herself. She is also aware of Haki.
 * Franky has further developed his cyborg body, allowing him to fire lasers, similar to Kizaru and the Pacifistas. Also, he has also added two vehicles weapons to the ship which he can combine into a transforming robot.
 * Brook has discovered the true power of the Yomi Yomi no Mi which allows him, in the form of his soul, to leave his skeletal body. He has also improved his fencing style and can now use his music skills to hypnotize his victims.
 * Sentomaru reveals that PX-5 and PX-7 were only prototypes from two years ago, meaning that the Pacifista project has been updated and modified. The new models, dubbed Seraphim, will later be revealed in the Egghead Arc.
 * Once feared and hated, humans are now welcomed with open arms by the people of Fish-Man Island after seeing the actions of the Straw Hat Pirates to save Fish-Man Island from Hody Jones has made them open their hearts to humans.
 * Robin revealed that there are three ancient weapons, the third being called Uranus.
 * This arc further showed the racism towards fish-men and the reasons behind their hatred toward humans after it was established by the Arlong Park Arc.
 * The Mermaid Princess Shirahoshi made her first appearance, and Robin discovered that Shirahoshi is actually the ancient weapon called Poseidon. Caribou would discover this information and prepare to tell someone higher up about her abilities.
 * As revealed by Jinbe, Akainu is the new fleet admiral of the Marines, having fought with Aokiji for the position over the course of ten days; eventually, Akainu won, and Aokiji left the Marines. Their fight would cause the climate of the island Punk Hazard to be split between an icy, snowy tundra and a magma-filled landscape. With this loss of military power, the World Government would grant unprecedented power to the Marines to fill in the gap and move Marineford to the New World. Meanwhile, Blackbeard became an Emperor and has conquered the majority of the islands which were once under Whitebeard's control. The Blackbeard Pirates are also hunting strong Devil Fruit users and taking their powers for themselves.
 * Big Mom made her first appearance in the series. Also, some members of her crew would be introduced.
 * Luffy declared war against Big Mom, foreshadowing the Straw Hats fighting the Big Mom Pirates someday.
 * The sudden fall in human tourism to Fish-Man Island will soon return to normal because Hody Jones, the cause of that fall, has been defeated by the Straw Hat Pirates.
 * The mermaid princess Shirahoshi, who was locked in a tower for ten years, is now outside and free from all the burdens she was carrying for all those years.
 * Jinbe and Fisher Tiger's past was shown, and it was revealed that the Sun Pirates are currently under the protection of Big Mom and are a part of her crew. Also, Koala is introduced in his flashback but would later be shown in the current story line in the Dressrosa Arc as a Fish-Man Karate substitute teacher for the Revolutionary Army.
 * Tiger's reason for freeing the slaves at Mary Geoise is revealed that, like Boa Hancock, he too was a slave of the World Nobles for many years. He managed to escape but he was unable to leave the other slaves behind so he returned and freed as many slaves as he could.
 * Due to his hatred for humans, Tiger died unable to accept them and his refusal to accept a blood transfusion stem from his belief that it was tainted from the humans' hatred of the fish-man race.
 * Luffy offered Jinbe a chance to join the Straw Hat Pirates, but he declined due to having unfinished business of still being affiliated with Big Mom. However, Jinbe stated that once that is all done, he will return to Luffy and his crew, and if they still wish for him to join, Jinbe will gladly join the Straw Hat Crew, foreshadowing the events of the Whole Cake Island Arc where Jinbe would join the crew.
 * Smoker and Tashigi were revealed to have gained promotions over the timeskip and improved their skills from their time in the New World. Also, the G-5 Branch is revealed to be close to the Red Line, and Smoker is in charge of the base. They would encounter the Straw Hats in the following arc, the Punk Hazard Arc.
 * Madam Shyarly made a prediction that Luffy will destroy Fish-Man Island someday, foreshadowing the possible return of the crew to Fish-Man Island someday.
 * This is the first arc to mention that the Levely takes place every four years. It also mentions that the current Levely will be occurring shortly, leading to the later Levely Arc, which the Neptune Family would attend.
 * In Robin's talk with Neptune, more of the Void Century was introduced as the "Ship of Promise" Noah made its first introduction. Noah is an ark built during the Void Century by a human named Joy Boy, who made a promise with the Mermaid Princess Poseidon to use the ark to take everyone to the surface. Being unable to hold up his part of the deal, Joy Boy would leave behind a Poneglyph apologizing.
 * This is the first arc to even bring up Joy Boy as he would eventually become relevant and frequently mentioned in later arcs.
 * Luffy is revealed to have the ability to "hear the Voice of All Things" after hearing the Sea Kings talk.
 * The Sea Lings also revealed that Gol D. Roger had the ability to "hear the Voice of All Things".
 * Jinbe would star in his own mini-arc following this arc, where he would discover a poneglyph that he would deliver to Big Mom at some point prior to the Whole Cake Island Arc. Jinbe would also befriend Vander Decken IX's former subordinate Wadatsumi who becomes a member of the Sun Pirates.
 * After Luffy challenged Big Mom, he would unknowingly give her a sacred treasure chest called the Tamatebako. The Tamatebako would serve as a vital instrument in the climax of the Whole Cake Island Arc and save Luffy and his allies from being executed by Big Mom and her crew.
 * Otohime's kindness towards the World Noble Donquixote Mjosgard in this arc was later revealed during the Levely Arc to have turned him into a much kinder person. He would essentially repay the favor he owed to the Neptune Royal Family by preventing Shirahoshi from being kidnapped by Charlos and forced into slavery and provide them with whatever help they need.

Trivia

 * Fish-Man Island remains as the Straw Hats' longest delayed destination. They set sail for it at Episode 323 and arrived at Episode 527, due to the unexpected events of Thriller Bark, Sabaody Archipelago and the The Summit War.
 * This is the first arc in the anime to ever have an equal number of episodes compared to the chapters.
 * Ironically, upon the Straw Hats entrance to the first half of the Grand Line, they were attacked by a giant squid inside Laboon, while on their entrance to the second half they were attacked by a giant kraken.
 * The ability Luffy has to be able to hear the voice of animals was first seen in the non-canon Warship Island Arc. This makes it the first time that something first seen in an anime filler arc is added to the official canon storyline.

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