Elsewhere.
Somewhere deep in the sea, there was a decrepit pirate ship, looking like a ghost lurking in the ocean depths.
Vander Decken received a sudden message.
He was obviously a fish-man, but having eaten a Devil Fruit, he had to use bubbles to cover the upper part of his body.
"How rare, you contacting me. What happened?"
"Due to some accidents, I managed to capture the palace! Neptune is already a prisoner of the New Fish-Man Pirates!"
Hody's voice came through the Den Den Mushi.
Vander Decken was stunned. "You captured the palace? What nonsense are you talking about?"
"Heh, you don't believe me? I'm preparing for Neptune's public execution, and I invite you to attend the ceremony!"
Hearing this, Vander Decken immediately went to the captain's room and activated a video Den Den Mushi on the table.
Two beams of light projected from the snail's eyes, hitting the wall to form an image.
In the image was the main hall of the palace.
Neptune was tightly bound by iron chains, and beside the king were many soldiers, including the Left Minister and Right Minister.
Suddenly, Hody Jones appeared on the screen.
Vander Decken was shocked. He had actually captured the palace? Even Neptune was taken!
He immediately shouted:
"Wait! What about Shirahoshi? Where's my Shirahoshi? You can't touch her, she's mine!"
In the footage, Hody Jones held a Den Den Mushi, narrowed his eyes slightly, and said:
"Speaking of which, you are still Princess Shirahoshi's suitor. Too bad this mermaid princess is also the target of the execution. Sorry, Vander Decken, unless you join me, your mermaid princess will follow her father to the ocean depths!"
"Stop! You bastard! If you touch Shirahoshi, I won't spare you!"
"If you care so much, come to me and ask me yourself."
"Wait! I'm coming! Until then, don't do anything to Shirahoshi!"
The anxious Vander Decken immediately removed his gloves, ran to the deck, grabbed the already broken mast, and pulled hard.
With a click, the mast snapped under his strength. Then, suddenly, he flung it aside.
It was like a living being. After being thrown, it changed direction and soared toward Fish-Man Island.
At the same time, Vander Decken leapt onto the mast, mounted it, and hurried after it.
"Wait for me, Shirahoshi! I will definitely protect you! After I rescue you, marry me! Hehehe!!"
Decken had eaten the Mato Mato no Mi, a Paramecia-type Devil Fruit that allows him to mark someone by touching them with his bare hand, making any object thrown with that same hand "lock on" and pursue the target until it hits or is stopped by an obstacle.
The object doesn't have to be a weapon; it can be any kind of projectile, including living people. He doesn't even have to throw it—the object will fly to the target as long as he touches it with the hand used to mark them.
Eight years ago, after witnessing Shirahoshi summon the Sea Kings, Vander Decken realized she was a force capable of destroying the world.
For this reason, he hadn't washed his hands for eight years!
Now, after a long persistence, the dawn of victory had finally arrived.
"Shirahoshi, here I come!!"
He was excited, even secretly admiring Hody Jones' bravery in his heart.
Galloping along the path, when he entered the palace, he saw no soldiers.
The mast's target was Shirahoshi, so he expected to fly toward the tower where she was, but instead, he crashed into the king's hall.
Boom!
Vander Decken leapt off the mast and saw Hody and the others as he looked up.
Everything matched what he had seen on the live feed.
However, the strange thing was that there were still two people beside Hody.
One wore a straw hat, and the other had green hair and a nose piercing.
Vander Decken's heart raced. Something was wrong.
Shirahoshi… where is Shirahoshi?
He quickly scanned the crowd and finally saw Shirahoshi behind King Neptune.
At that moment, Shirahoshi was looking at him in fear.
Neptune's face was pale. "It's you, the bastard who's been harassing Shirahoshi all this time!"
Neptune's hands, chained behind his back, suddenly freed themselves. He rose abruptly, grabbed his trident from the side, and swung it violently at Vander Decken.
Before becoming king, Neptune held the title of "Knight of the Sea" and possessed considerable combat power.
Vander Decken, confused by the sudden situation, was completely bewildered.
In a moment of crisis, he finally reacted and instinctively dodged to the side.
But he was still stabbed in the abdomen by the sharp trident.
He turned, covered the wound, and looked at Hody Jones in disbelief.
"What the hell is this?"
There's no way Hody Jones joined forces with Neptune to trick him!
Yet, when he looked, Hody Jones' appearance suddenly changed.
He had become an Okama!!
"Hello I'm Hody" Bentham announced triumphantly.
Vander Decken clenched his fists, furious.
Only then did he realize the person beside Hody Jones was Straw Hat Luffy.
"Damn it!"
He cursed angrily, turned, and tried to run.
However, a figure appeared at the gate—Luffy had already stopped him.
He reached out, grabbed Vander Decken by the neck, and lifted him.
"I went through a lot of effort to catch you, feel honored—there are many actors playing along with you."
Click.
His spine was crushed directly.
Vander Decken's eyes widened, and blood ran from the corners of his mouth. His consciousness had already faded.
"Mato Mato no Mi."
Luffy pondered.
In theory, he could use this power to launch Fish-Man Island to the sea surface.
But thinking carefully, this Devil Fruit might not be capable of such a feat.
Every fruit has limits, no matter how developed, there is always an upper boundary.
Just like Shiki's Devil Fruit—when developed to an advanced stage, it can lift more than a dozen islands, but obviously, it can't lift the entire Red Line.
With that in mind, Luffy gave up and tossed the body aside.
"The Fish-Man Island matter is over for now. Neptune, we'll depart today."
Neptune stepped forward, looked at Vander Decken's body, and let out a long sigh.
"Thank you so much, Luffy. Without you, it would have been very difficult to catch him."
"Luffy, you're leaving?"
Shirahoshi ran toward him, tears streaming down her face.
The villain who had harassed her was dead, and she no longer had to hide in the tower; she could walk freely.
And now, the Luffy who helped her was leaving?
"I'll come back, Shirahoshi."
Luffy smiled. "I have a ship called the Merry with automatic navigation. Once it reaches a destination, it can sail back on its own."
"Really?"
"Yes."
After responding with a smile, Luffy looked at Jinbei again. "Do you want to come along? Jinbei."
Hearing this, Jinbei slightly lowered his head and said:
"Luffy, I saw what you did for Fish-Man Island. From now on, this island will be protected in your name. Since you invited me, of course I won't refuse!"
He paused and looked at Luffy again:
"I want to join the Straw Hat Pirates!"
Luffy laughed:
"Haha, agreed, Jinbei. You'll be the captain of my Fifth Division!"
---
(End of Chapter)
"Hmph. If you really want to be useful, then entertain me, try to throw those pathetic power stones at me. Let's see if even your insolence can amuse a king."