Summary:
The chapter opens with everyone being amazed at how Vander Decken IX left the palace. Neptune tearfully begs the pirates to go after Decken. He tells them that he will give them anything they want, even offering his ministers and the lives of his soldiers in exchange, causing the ministers to question whether he really meant it. He cries about Decken taking Shirahoshi and calling her his treasure, and someone yells at him to pull himself together. Hody then asks if anyone would have expected the Straw Hat Pirates of the “prophecy” to lend their power in taking over the palace. Nami wonders what he means by “prophecy”. He then notices that Hody’s left arm has Arlong’s jolly roger tattooed on it. The Minister of the Right then mentions that he heard from Jinbe about the growing unrest in Fish-Man Town and that it was all Hody’s doing. He reminds Hody that he was once part of the Neptune Army and asks him if he was ashamed. This makes Hody laugh. He replies saying that the only shame was that someone as proud as him joined the army. The only thing he gained by joining Neptune’s army was knowledge and experience with combat techniques and battlefield training. The minister of the right is furious. Hody credits his time in the military with making him strong.
Hody goes on to say that as a child he saw disproportionate discrimination against his fish-men brothers by humans. Later, he found the same ambition as the Arlong Pirates, crushing all the people. He declares that the New Fish-Man Pirates will restore this will, much to Nami’s dismay. Hody adds that Arlong had everything planned. While preparing to advance from East Blue, Arlong trained to become Arlong’s right-hand man until a certain group of pirates came and destroyed everything. Usopp is shocked to discover that the New Fish-Man Pirates are also united under Arlong’s will. Brook is surprised to hear the name, but then says he’s joking, though he’s never eaten an arlong before. This joke prompts Usopp to kick him while Nami has a look of pure horror on her face. Hody then walks over to the wall and places his hand on it. His hand begins to crack in the wall, causing Usopp to comment on his incredible grip and wonder what he’s going to do. The wall breaks and one of the New Fish-Man Pirates comments that Hody hasn’t taken his steroids yet as water starts pouring in. Zoro and the rest of the Straw Hats realize that the water entering the castle is bad for them. Hody laughs as he slides his left arm under the water. Several fishmen shout to hide, saying that Hody will use “it”. Hody then swings his drenched arm using an attack called Yabusame. The drops of water on his arm are thrown so fast that they gain the same speed and power as arrows. Several bound guards fall victim to this attack. Neptune is furious and says that Hody is blindly injuring his elite guards. Neptune then falls before the attack and tells Hody to stop.
The guards beg the king not to protect them. Hody then calls Neptune a fool and asks what kind of king will become a shield for the underlings. He tells Neptune that he is not cut out to be king if he is acting like one. The Left minister is in tears after seeing Neptune launch an attack. Usopp comments on how cruel Hody is and says that Arlong was nothing compared to him. Zoro then attacks Hody with a Yakkodori. Instead of dodging, Hody grabs one of his subordinates and uses him as a shield. Usopp is disgusted by Hoda’s behavior. Zoro orders the ropes on the hostages to be cut. Brook tells Usopp that Nami has run off somewhere and the incoming water is draining his strength. Zoro then states that negotiations with the country fell through and he could not keep his promise to return the hostages safely. The Minister of the Left comments on Zoro’s amazing integrity. As Brook frees the two guards, he tells them to take care of the person next to them as his powers are waning due to the rising water. Hody says they won’t get away with it. He then orders his crew to kill both the Neptune Army and the Straw Hats. Usopp launches the attack, Green Star: Rafflesia. The fish men are surprised to see a giant flower suddenly appear from the ground. The flower then emits a foul smell. All the pirates are subdued by the smell except for Hody, who comments on how childish the attack is. Usopp calls out to Zoro that the water is rising. Brook declares that it’s all over for him. Zoro cuts Neptune’s chains and asks him for a favor to get Usopp and Brook out of the palace. When Neptune asks what Zoro will do, Zoro replies that if Hody follows them, no one will be able to escape. He then takes a deep breath and goes underwater, preparing to fight Hody. Hody tells him not to interfere with his conquest of the kingdom.
The scene changes to Coral Hill where Sanji and Chopper are having trouble with the locals. Two more mermaids were abducted on the south beach. Sanji asks why he thinks he and Chopper are responsible. Sanji said that even though he loves mermaids enough to run away with one, he would never kidnap one of them. Chopper tells Hatchan to hold on as he was about to recover from his injuries. Just then, Luffy and Megalo appear overhead. Sanji wonders what Luffy was doing riding the inflatable fish (referring to the overcrowded Megalo) and Chopper asks him if his nosebleed is any better. Shirahoshi asks if they are his friends and Luffy tells her that they are. The locals see Luffy and call him the boss of the kidnappers. Luffy tells Megalo to shut his mouth some more because no one is allowed to find Shirahoshi there. He then jumps down to talk to his friends, running up to Hatchan and asking how he got his injuries. Chopper replies that he won’t tell them what happened and just keeps telling them to get off the island. One of the locals wonders why Luffy was with them since he was supposed to be taking over the palace. Another calls them a group of mermaid kidnappers who must be trying to kidnap Princess Shirahoshi. Some argue that it would be impossible to kidnap her due to her size and Neptune’s protection. She also adds that no one could be crazy enough to try to kidnap her. At that moment Megalo reaches his limit and can no longer hold Shirahoshi in his mouth and spits her out. The people of Coral Hill are stunned to see the contents of the shark’s mouth, Princess Shirahoshi. Chopper is shocked by the size of the princess and warns Sanji not to do it again because a relapse would kill him now. The chapter ends with the locals shouting that the princess has been kidnapped.