Vander Decken IX

Vander Decken IX is the current captain of the Flying Pirates on their ship, the Flying Dutchman, and the eighth descendant of the Vander Decken of legend. He is a Japanese bullhead shark fishman.

Appearance
Vander Decken IX is a Japanese bullhead shark fishman. He is a tall individual with a slim build and lanky limbs. His most distinguishing feature is his four legs. He has a short, scraggly beard, a long, wavy mustache with spiky edges, and similarly, long, wavy and spiky hair. He also has sharp teeth, bigger webs between his fingers then most fishman, a very thin, pointy nose and a prominent hunch that puts his head on equal level with his shoulders.

He wears three golden bands on each of his ankles, and two pairs of sandals. He sports dark overalls reaching just below his knees, with ruffled edges and decorative buttons on both the straps, over a light-colored shirt with ruffled edges. He sports a light cape, also complete with ruffled edges, draped over his shoulders, and two massive beaded necklaces hanging on his chest. He wears a light fedora on his head. In his first appearance, he wore a dark colored cloak that covered up his body. He usually has his hands in a victory sign.

Personality
Vander Decken has been described as a bandit of the sea floor, and the residents of Fishman Island feared him for years. He has a desire for treasure as he does not approve of his angler fish of eating ships before he can collect the ships' treasure. He is very formal, as shown when he introduced himself to Hordy Jones. He often adds "I think" (のハズだ) to the end of his sentences. He also doesn't want to become an underling to anyone which is the reason why he did not join the Arlong Pirates, but is willing to get into a partnership with anyone who shares a similar goal with him, as long as he is treated as no less than an equal. Typical for a pirate, he believes violence is the answer for everything.

He is attracted to the Mermaid Princess, sending her letters, packages, and even threatening marriage proposals. He is rather obsessive about getting the princess to marry him, showing clear signs of erotomania as he believes the princess is in love with him, going so far as to say she can either marry him or die. His obsession led to him reserving his right hand for Shirahoshi alone. He has been threatening her for ten years by sending her "love notes" in the form of weapons with his ability. After ten years, he enters the palace and refers to Neptune as his "father" despite not taking Shirahoshi as his wife, believing both him and Shirahoshi have spent the last decade dreaming of each other when in reality Shirahoshi has spent it wondering what the outside world is like and was revolted at Decken. He is the reason why the three princes raised an army.

Abilities and Powers
Vander Decken IX is the eighth descendant of the legendary wicked pirate Vander Decken and the captain of the Flying Pirates: as such, he has authority over his crew and controls the legendary, enormous ship Flying Dutchman. He also has at least two gigantic sea creatures at his command, these being the fishman Wadatsumi and Ankoro.

As a fishman, he is at least ten times stronger than the average human, as demonstrated when he was able to carry and throw a large battle axe, and probably more so, seeing that he captains a crew of fishmen pirates.

When he joined forces with Hordy Jones, it was stated that these two pirate captains working as one would be unstoppable.

Devil Fruit
Vander Decken IX ate the Mato Mato no Mi, a Paramecia type Devil Fruit which allows him to throw any projectile, including even people, at targets he has designated. By touching people with his bare hands, he can "lock on" to them and make them his targets. From there on, any projectile he throws with that respective hand will automatically seek out a targeted person of his choice like a homing missile. Even if Vander Decken throws the projectile in the opposite direction of the target, the projectile will automatically correct itself and change course to its true destination. The projectile thrown will seek the target out until it reaches it or is hindered by an obstacle. Moving away won't save the targets from the power of this fruit, as the thrown objects will correct their trajectory accordingly and chase them around until they manage to reach them.

The major weakness of this ability is that should the thrown object hit something resistant enough to prevent its further advance (and subsequently lodges itself into), or hit something other than its target, it will stop. This was how Shirahoshi was able to ignore Decken's "gifts" by secluding herself in a private chamber accessible only through a heavily enforced door. He can also only remember as many people as he has palms (i.e. two), which is why he wears a glove on one of them. Currently, his right hand is locked onto Shirahoshi, and his left hand is locked onto Hatchan. And, wanting to have Shirahoshi as the permanent target, Vander only uses his left hand to switch his secondary targets. In addition, the loss of the ability to swim affects Decken more than a human Devil Fruit user since, as a fishman, he would have a huge advantage underwater, an advantage he can no longer use due to the side-effects. It is yet unknown if other fishman abilities such as breathing underwater are effected by his powers, however he is wearing a flutter kick coating when he arrives to shake hands with Hodi when they agreed to team up.

Decken uses his power to threaten Shirahoshi by sending weapons to both woo and kill her. This is why the princess is locked up in her room, as evidenced by the many weapons that are stuck in the tower's door. He also used this power to throw people so they could arrive at Shirahoshi's door, thus infiltrating the palace. He can also use his powers as a means of locating one of his targets and can even ride on some of the objects he throws, as shown when he threw and jumped on a large piece of coral to find Shirahoshi.

Weapons
Despite not being visible anywhere on his body, Decken has a great array of weapons at his disposal, which have mostly been seen used in conjunction with his Devil Fruit powers. He seems to have a penchant for large battleaxes with roses carved on them, throwing a double-edged one at Shirahoshi from afar and later trying to kill her with another one, single-edged and smaller, which he also employed proficiently in melee when fending off some inhabitants of Ryugu Kingdom who were trying to stop him.

In the New Fishman Pirates's hideout, after making Hatchan his target, he showed his Devil Fruit powers off by hitting the fishman with a thrown knife, and had a subordinate carry him many arrows, that he similarly threw at Hatchan, forcing him to escape the place.

Past
Eventually, Vander Decken IX became captain of the Flying Dutchman and formed a crew which included Wadatsumi and Ankoro, hunting down coated ships that tried to descend to Fishman Island for their treasure.

Sometime in the past, he managed to enter Ryuugu Palace where Decken encountered Princess Shirahoshi, whose beauty captivated him at first sight and he decided to "mark" her with his acquired Devil Fruit power using his right hand, which Vander reserved for Shirahoshi as the designated target of, ever since. He also started to send letters, which became packages, which became threatening marriage proposals to Princess Shirahoshi. His actions angered Neptune, the Princess' father, which led the Ryugu Kingdom to raise an army against Decken and his crew. Decken is also noted in posters on Fishman Island to be dangerous.

He was also offered a place in the Arlong Pirates, but Vander Decken refused, citing he doesn't work under anyone.

Fishman Island Arc
After many years passed, he encounters the Straw Hat Pirates when Wadatsumi stops an angler fish from eating the Thousand Sunny. Vander Decken then orders Wadatsumi to attack the Thousand Sunny so he can take their treasure. Unfortunately for him, the kraken, Surume, having been tamed by Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji, intervenes and defeats Wadatsumi. Decken then yells at Wadatsumi to get up and retaliate, but is informed by one of his crew that the undersea volcano is about to erupt.

With the volcano starting to erupt, he orders Ankoro and Wadatsumi to pull the Flying Dutchman away from the approaching magma, saying that his business with the Straw Hat Pirates isn't finished.

He is later seen with Wadatsumi and Ankoro, asking Wadatsumi how long it has been since he has started proposing to the Princess Shirahoshi. Wadatsumi replies that it has been ten years. He blames Neptune, saying he thinks the king has a politically motivated wedding planned for her. He comments on how painful it is, as he thinks they are both in love (though really it is just him). He then brandishes a large axe with a rose painted on it, saying he will present her with it. He then throws it, but the axe doubles back and takes out the mast of his ship, causing one of his crew members to tell him he missed. Vander Decken then crosses his arms, saying he never misses, he thinks. He then declares his love for Shirahoshi by saying that he would never find another woman like her. He says it is good if her love unites them, but that she cannot live her life with another man, as he will kill her if she does. He declares that she must pledge her love to him or die, saying her fate is either marriage or death.



Later, he and his crew arrived in Noah, where the New Fishman Pirates were waiting for him. He is told where to go, and he apologized for being late; citing his earlier trouble with the volcanic eruption. He then greeted Hordy Jones, who offered his hand to shake, and puzzles the other captain when he donned a glove. But Decken mildly tells Jones not to take it personally. As their crews cheer them on, the two then cement their intent: the complete collapse of the Ryugu Kingdom.

As Vander Decken IX sets the plan into motion, Hatchan appears and tries to talk Jones and Decken out of going through with the operation. When Hatchan asks Decken about why he is helping the New Fishman Pirates when he didn't help Arlong, Decken states that he is not the kind of person who follows under anyone and his relationship with Jones is nothing more than a partnership. Decken then touches Hatchan making him a target. Decken throws a knife in the air behind Hatchan, and it flies back towards Hatchan, stabbing him in the back. Decken explains that after a person becomes his target, he can hit that target from anywhere. He then sends Hatchan running when he throws a volley of arrows. With that settled, Vander Decken IX then uses his ability to throw a group of captive pirates and send them flying into Shirahoshi's tower, thus infiltrating the palace.



He is later seen heading for the Ryugu Palace with Hordy Jones and his crew while riding on top of sea monsters. Once they enter the palace, they find King Neptune and the palace guards already subdued, courtesy of the Straw Hats. Decken was immediately met with accusations by Neptune, who assumed that Decken was behind his daughter's inexplicable disappearance. Decken denies these convictions, saying that he has yet to be properly engaged to Shirahoshi, and demanding her be returned at once would be too egotistical even for Neptune. Ignoring his statement, Neptune pressed on and tearfully asked where was his daughter taken, much to Decken's shock as it began to dawn on him that Shirahoshi was no longer in the palace and that someone may have reached her before he did. He then goes in to a frothing rage, but was promptly assured by Jones that she may still be somewhere nearby, since the human pirates that Decken sent flying have landed directly within the Ryugu Palace; and even if she wasn't, Decken would still be able to track where Shirahoshi is. This calms Decken and he proceeds to once again enter a bubble as he embarks outside, where he uses a giant coral as a medium for his power to discern Shirahoshi's location. The coral flew away from the palace, confirming Decken's suspicions that the princess wasn't in Hard-Shell Tower anymore. He is then seen riding on top of the coral, stating that only "death" can keep him and Shirahoshi apart.

He soon arrives at Coral Hill and demands Shirahoshi to marry him. She bluntly rejects him, claiming he's not her type. Enraged, Decken prepares to kill her, but Luffy gets in the way. Luffy smashes the flying coral and pummels Decken into the ground. He recovers just moments later and calls out to Wadatsumi to attack them, but he get hit in his front tooth by Luffy's Jet Pistol.

Major Battles

 * Vander Decken IX vs. Hatchan
 * Vander Decken IX vs. Monkey D. Luffy

Trivia

 * Like many characters in the series, Decken has a distinct laughter of his own, starting his laughs with "Ba" (i.e Bahohohoho!).
 * Decken is so far the only known fishman to have eaten a Devil Fruit.
 * Because of this, he is also the only known fishman unable to swim.
 * The irony of his Devil Fruit is that he can only target as many people as he has hands. Unfortunately, while he has four legs, he has only two hands.