Chapter 615

Chapter 615 is titled "Curse of Mato Mato".

Cover
From the Decks of the World Vol. 3 - "Mt. Colubo"

The Dadan Family is having a party after they read in the newspaper that the Straw Hat Pirates are back. Dadan appears to be making a scrapbook of Luffy like she had done with Ace. Everyone is wearing straw hats that are either very similar or identical to Luffy's.

Short Summary
Luffy and Shirahoshi start heading for the Sea Forest. Brook tells everyone about the invasion. Jones and Decken are shown preparing for the invasion.

Long Summary
Brook and the Minister of the Right call out to Luffy and Megalo respectively; the Minister of the Right asking Megalo where he is going. Shirahoshi, in her thoughts, apologizes to everyone for disobeying and leaving the castle without permission, promising to be home by dinner time. Luffy is excited for their walk. The Minister of the Right scolds Megalo for leaving the door to Shirahoshi's room open, as it puts the princess' life in danger. The minister orders Brook to go into the room so they could check on the princess. They are both stunned to find the princess gone. The Minister of the Right calls it a national crisis, saying she must have been kidnapped. From behind them, a pirate tries to attack them with a sword. Brook dodges the attack and asks the pirate what he is doing. The pirate asks where the switch to open the connecting corridor to the palace gate is. He tells them the pirates must follow their orders or they will be killed. Brook asks them what they mean.

The scene changes to Coral Hill. Chopper asks Sanji why he beat up all of the guards. Sanji complains about giving up his chance to go to the palace, but then they tried to handcuff him. He observes all of the people glaring at them and says their eyes remind him of the white eyes of the deep sea fish. He then tells Chopper to stop whining. Chopper tells him to think before he acts next time. Sanji retorts that Chopper took out half of them with his kung fu, which Sanji complemented him on. Chopper told him that compliments wouldn't work on him right now, though [not so very] secretly he appreciated it. A woman then screams that a fishman had just washed up on the beach and is heavily wounded. Someone yells for a doctor and Chopper answers the call.

The injured person turns out to be Hatchan, much to Sanji and Chopper's surprise. Hatchan is covered in arrows. Chopper asks him what happened. With difficulty, Hatchan tells them he is glad to see them, and asks them if Luffy was with them. Chopper tells him Luffy is not here, and that he will fix his wounds. Hatchan takes Sanji by the collar, telling him to gather the crew. He tells them not to become involved with the island anymore and they should leave the Fishman District. He tells them that the New Fishman Pirates are going to attack the island and the Ryugu Kingdom is going to be destroyed.

The scene then changes to Noah, a few hours before Sanji and Chopper found Hatchan. Vander Decken IX is addressing the human pirates who agreed to serve under Hody Jones. The pirates recognize Decken from the Flying Dutchman but Decken tell them not to worry, as he is the descendant of the infamous captain but he is still cursed. He tells them he is a fishman who cannot swim. It is because of the power he received along with the Mato Mato curse. He is about to give a demonstration of his power with a human, but a voice stops him. Hatchan enters on crutches with a cast on his lower left leg. He asks them if they really are serious about going through with the plan and to stop their foolishness. He tells them that all the Energy Steroid does is destroy their bodies. He asks them why they would want to destroy Fishman Island and tells them not to take Neptune lightly. Jones tells him to give it a rest, saying he doesn't want to listen to the opinions of a former officer of the Arlong Pirates that he used to look up to. He tells him he got soft and it is time for the next generation to take command. He says they need Fishman Island to "educate" the humans and Neptune is in the way of their plan. He then reminds Hatchan that he was the one who taught them that fishmen are the ultimate race. Hatchan argues back by saying that Arlong lost. He then asks Decken and Hyouzou why they are involved with Jones, neither of them answered when Arlong called out to them, so why help someone younger like Jones.

Hyouzou replies that he was hired on by Arlong and that he is only with Jones for the money. Arlong was too frugal and could never afford to pay Hyouzou's fees. He tells him that since they were kids, Hatchan was never able to keep up with him and he felt bad Arlong only had a swordsman like Hatchan to take with him. Decken laughs, saying that Hachi makes him nostalgic. Decken mentions that Arlong once tried to recruit him, saying he has a sense of humor because of that. Decken claims to be a man who will never be under anyone's command and that Jones understood him.

Jones adds that Arlong's ambition and that he actually got things done deserves respect but he was barbaric and unsophisticated at the same time. While the Arlong Pirates were going wild in the sea, Jones and his crew were just kids who were too young to become pirates. His generation matured by learning from the failures of those who came before them. Jones then declares himself to be the one to carry on the will of the Arlong Pirates. He asked if Hatchan as an ex-officer really wanted to dishearten him by screaming at his plans. He then mentions that Luffy, the pirate who crushed Arlong's plans, is on the island at that moment and asks if Hatchan is bothered by that at all. Hatchan tells Jones that Luffy called him his friend and that he owes Luffy his life and that he wants to see him as soon as possible. Hatchan adds that he could not bear to show himself to Luffy as long as Arlong's will still survives on Fishman Island. After hearing Hatchan call Luffy his friend, Jones tells Hatchan he has lost all faith in him and he shouldn't talk about being friends with a human.

Decken then walks over to Hatchan and pats him on the back with his bare left hand. He then tells Hatchan that he is locked on to him and asks him if he forgot the ways of a pirate. If a pirate has something to say, he says it with violence. Decken then tosses a knife so that it goes behind Hatchan. The knife comes back around and stabs Hatchan in the back, demonstrating his power. The human pirates are shocked by what they saw. Decken explains that Hatchan became his target the moment he was touched and that any object he throws, no matter where either of them are, will always find its way to Hatchan. A fishman subordinate hands him several arrows and he tells Hatchan there are numerous ways to prevent the objects from hitting him and tells him to try and find one. Hatchan tells him to stop and not to use that many arrows. He tells Decken that he heard rumors of his ability. He then pleads to Jones that Decken is going to kill him and asks Jones to make him stop. Jones replies that Vander Decken isn't one of his subordinates because they are bound by a pirate alliance. He also tells Hatchan that he is getting tired of looking at him. Hatchan begins running as Decken throws the arrows into the air. Jones and Decken enjoy seeing Hatchan running from the arrows. Decken teasingly tells him that he can run, but he can't hide from the arrows. Hatchan makes it into the water, but realizes that it doesn't help. The arrows quickly catch up to him and hit him in the back.

The human pirates are horrified by what they have just seen. Decken reassures them that he can only keep two targets memorized at a time, one for each of his palms. He then tells him that his right hand, which he hasn't washed for ten years, memorized the time he touched Shirahoshi. He then asks them if they understood, explaining that his "love and weapons" will chase their targets down to the bottom of Hell. Pirates, both fishman and human alike, begin cheering, as one exclaims that that is the reason he was able to stalk the princess revealing himself to the Neptune Army. Someone exclaims what a wily man he is, and people begin to chant. Jones then turns to the human pirates, telling them now that they understand Decken's powers they can begin the first part of their plan. The Ryugu Palace is impossible to invade, but Decken has been able to penetrate its defenses for ten years. Decken will throw them toward Shirahoshi they will hit the wall of her tower, thus infiltrating the palace. Once they arrive, their job will be to open the main gate and let the fishmen through. One pirate protests, saying the impact of hitting the wall would kill them. Jones tells the man he agrees, and that is why he is using humans, whose lives are worth less than that of a slave to him. Only the pirates who survive and are able to complete the mission will be set free and anyone who declines will be thrown out of the bubble right then and there.

Back to the present, the pirates tell Brook and the Minister of the Right that they have to open the corridor or else Jones will kill them. Brook runs back into the room where Neptune is being held captive and relays the news about the pirates and the Princess's disappearance. Neptune is mortified by the latter. Zoro asks what they are supposed to do about the former. Usopp yells at him saying that they are already attacking from the inside and doesn't want to hear what they should do about it. Zoro says they should cut them and Usopp states that he said he didn't want to hear it.

The scene changes again to Luffy, Shirahoshi, and Megalo, who are now outside the palace bubble. Luffy asks her if she can come out of Megalo's mouth yet, and she says she is fine being inside it for now. Luffy asks her how she feels after leaving the palace for the first time in ten years. She says her heart is pounding and what she is doing is really bad. Luffy asks how it could be bad, as they are just going outside, calling her a weirdo. Shirahoshi asks him if they are on an adventure right now. Luffy laughs and says they are, as it must be an adventure if her heart is beating fast. He then asks her about the Sea Forest. She tells him it is a graveyard. There is a grave that was built ten years ago that she always wanted to see but never could. At the Sea Forest, a man is seen sitting on some coral in front of a large grave marker, paying his respects. He talks about how it has already been ten years since the person caused an uproar on Fishman Island and since an assassination that took place in broad daylight, mentioning how fast time goes by. He mentions how the princes have become strong warriors and how Shirahoshi is still inside the tower. The chapter ends with the person, who is then revealed to be Jinbe, saying that no one has forgotten the ideals of the person in the grave, Queen Otohime.

Chapter Notes

 * The Dadan Family, Hatchan, and Jinbe are seen again for the first time after the timeskip. The members of Dadan's family are wearing straw hats in honor of Luffy's return.
 * Vander Decken IX confirms that he cannot swim.
 * It is shown that Decken can make people his targets by touching them, but he can only have up to two targets at a time, as he is limited to one per hand. Simply touching another person with his hand sets them as a target, but due to the fact he wishes to preserve his touch of the Mermaid Princess, he wears a glove on one hand.
 * Most of the New Fishman Pirates looked up to the Arlong Pirates when they were children, with the exception of Hyouzou.
 * Hyouzou is revealed to be an acquaintance of Hatchan from their younger years, as well as a mercenary, and is only with the crew to get paid. It was revealed he was asked to join Arlong's crew, but Hyouzou turned him down due to Arlong having a "tight wallet". So instead, Arlong ended up settling for Hatchan as his swordsman.
 * Decken was revealed to also have been asked to join the Arlong Pirates, but refused, not wanting to become an underling; the only reason he aligned with the New Fishman Pirates was under the condition of being considered an equal.
 * It is revealed that the only things that are able to penetrate the bubbles surrounding Ryugu Palace are items thrown by Decken.
 * The human captives of the New Fishman Pirates are being used to open the Ryugu Palace from the inside.
 * The Sea Forest is revealed to be a gravesite.
 * The name of the late Ryugu Kingdom's queen is revealed by Jinbe: Otohime, who died 10 years ago in an incident that caused an uproar on Fishman Island.

Anime Episode

 * Episode 534 (p.2-17)

Trivia

 * Sanji acts like Zoro from the previous chapter.

Arc Navigation
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