Curse of Mato Mato

Chapter 615 begins with the title "Curse of Mato Mato" and the cover serial "From Shipdecks Around The World Vol. 3: Mount Colbo." Curly Dadan sits at a table with a crate labeled "Colubo Apple," smiling grimly while reading the newspaper. Around her, mountain bandits react loudly to news about Luffy, with a visible cheer of "LUFFY!!" from the room. The cover story connects Luffy's return to another home from his past before the chapter resumes the Fish-Man Island crisis.

Shell Tower erupts into panic as Megalo bolts away with Shirahoshi hidden inside his mouth. Brook, clinging to the chaos, yells, "Wait a moment, Luffy-saan!!!" and "Hold it, Megalooo!!!" while the shark barrels through the palace with a roar of "ROOH HH!!!" Guards shout, "Where are you going?!!" Shirahoshi apologizes from inside Megalo: "Father... brothers...!! Everyone... please forgive me...!! I am going out without your permission...!! I will be back in time for dinner!!" Luffy, excited rather than worried, throws his arm up and declares, "Let's go for a waaalk!!" The page makes the escape concrete: Luffy has taken the princess out of her ten-year isolation, but he is doing it by hiding her inside Megalo and charging through the palace.

Back at the tower, the guards and Brook reach the princess's room only to find the bed empty. Someone asks, "What are you doing, Megalo?!" and warns, "Simply opening the door of Shell Tower and leaving...!! What if something were to happen to the princess...?!" Brook urges, "Hurry inside, skeleton!! We must check on the princess' safety!!" but the room answers with absence. The curtains part around an empty bed, and the palace screams, "She's gooooo oooooo oone!!!" and "Princess Shirahoshi... is goooooo oone!!!!" One guard cries, "Ehhhh?! The mermaid princess isn't heee eere!!" Another panics, "Ahhhhh, this is terrible!!! This is a national emergency!!!" and demands, "When did this happen!! Who is responsible?!! ...This is a kidnapping without a doubt!!!" Brook reacts in stunned horror as the palace realizes the protected princess has vanished.

Brook briefly gets dragged into the palace response when a guard demands, "What exactly was that for, hmm mm?!" after he has knocked someone aside in the rush. The urgent priority becomes the connecting way: guards shout, "Tell us the location... of the switch to lower the connecting way... that links the palace with the outside world...!!" and "Skeleton!! We must hurry back to King Neptune!! He has to hear of this situation at once!!" Others, frightened by threats, say, "We've gotta do... as we've been ordered... there's no other way...!!" and "If we don't do as they told us... we'll never survive...!" while one panicked voice insists, "If we don't find out, they'll kill us...!!!" The page keeps the hostage pressure active: Zoro's earlier demand has forced palace soldiers to reveal the route out even while Shirahoshi's disappearance creates a second emergency.

At Fish-Man Island's Coral Hill, Sanji and Chopper are surrounded by the aftermath of their fight with the palace soldiers. Bystanders yell, "Hey, Sanji!!!!!!" and "Why did you beat up all the soldiers?!!" Someone explains that the soldiers had been trying to handcuff them after being sent to the royal palace, and warns, "Look around!! Everyone's staring at us with cold eyes!! Colder than a deep-sea fish!" Sanji snaps back, "Oh, shut up!! There's nothing I can do about it now, is there?!!!" Chopper scolds him: "You took out half of 'em yourself, didn't you?! With that Kung Fu stuff!!!" and Sanji says, "Try thinking about that before you do it!!" Chopper protests that it was impressive but "That doesn't make me happy at all, you idiot!" Then a voice from the shore interrupts: "Someone's coming from the shore... covered in blood...!!" Sanji recognizes the wounded figure: "You... you're from the Fishman District, aren't you?! What happened?!" Chopper immediately says, "Someone call a doctor!" then remembers, "I'm a doctor!"

The wounded man is Hatchan, pierced with arrows and barely conscious. Sanji cries, "Wha-?! Hachi?!" and asks, "What happened to you?!!" Chopper rushes over: "Hey, Hacchi!! It's us!! What happened?!! Why are you covered in wounds?!!" Hatchan gasps, "...Ahhh... It's you... I'm glad I found you..." Sanji asks, "Is Straw Hat here...?" but Hachi says Luffy is not with them and urges, "He's not with us right now!! Hang on a minute - we'll fix you right up!" Hatchan refuses to let them focus only on him: "Gather all your crewmates... you have to hurry..." and warns, "You shouldn't... get involved... with this island any more...!! You have to leave...!!!" The reason is catastrophic: "The new Fishman Pirates... are about to invade the island!!! The Ryuuguu Kingdom... is going to fall!!!"

A few hours earlier in the Fishman District, "Noah," Hody Jones gathers his allies and announces, "Listen up, allies of Hordy Jones!!! Listen and rejoice!! Because you all get to be a part of this historic operation!!" Vander Decken appears before them, prompting someone to ask, "...Vander Decken...? As in, the captain of the Flying Dutchman...?" Decken laughs, "Bahohoho huoh!! Don't you worry... I'm his descendant!! Not some kind of ghost...!!" and adds, "But I am cursed, just like my ancestor!! I'm a fishman who can't swim...! But this 'Mato Mato' curse has also granted me a demonic power!! Allow me to demonstrate!!" Hody orders, "Let's see... how about you? Human! Step forward!" The selected captive hesitates with "Eh..." while Hatchan, seeing what is about to happen, shouts, "Hordy!!!"

Hatchan tries to stop the plan at Noah. He calls, "Hachi-san..." to the old names around him, while others say, "It's Hacchan-san!!" and "It's Hachi-san!" Hody asks, "Nyuuu!! Are you serious about this?!" and Hatchan pleads, "Stop this crazy talk!!" Hody dismisses the warning and says, "Energy steroids are good for nothing but self-destruction!" while Hatchan argues, "And why would a fishman want to destroy Fishman Island?!" Hody answers with contempt: "Don't underestimate the great warrior Neptune!!" and then says he is tired of Hatchan's opinion. "It's hard to believe you were once a member of the Arlong Pirates I so admired... You've grown soft...!! It's time for a new generation to take over...!!" Hatchan begs Decken and Hyouzou to stop: "But Arlong-san was defeated!! Nyuuu...!! Decken!! Hyouzou!! Are even you going to listen to this madness?!" but Decken says, "You never responded when Arlong called for your help!! Why are you helping these young fools?!!" Hody states the invasion plan openly: they will put humans in their place, and "for that, we need Fishman Island, and Neptune is in our way!!"

Vander Decken rejects the idea that he serves Hody. He laughs, "Bahohohu!! Hachi of the Arlong Pirates?! Now that's a name I haven't heard in a while!!" and adds, "That captain of yours tried to make me one of his own minions!! The nerve of it all!! I don't serve under anyone but myself!! Hordy's the kind of man who understands that!!" Hyouzou admits the arrangement is paid: "Helping? We've been hired, that's all. They pay us well... Arlong was always too tight with his cash. He never made us the right offer..." and tells Hatchan, "You've never had a hope of matching me, ever since you were a kid... I felt sorry for Arlong, having to make do with a swordsman of your level..." Hody explains that Arlong had ambition and drive but was too barbaric and lacked cunning. Their generation is now ready: "So I'd watch my words if I were you... Don't get in the way of progress." He then reveals why Luffy matters: "Straw Hat Luffy called me his friend, despite the crew to which I once belonged... In fact, I owe him my life!! I would go to meet him right away..." Hody says it breaks his heart to see a former member objecting to his grand scheme, especially when "the man who crushed the dreams of your old crew, Straw Hat Luffy... is on Fishman Island as we speak...!"

Hatchan can barely bear the contradiction: "...But how could I face him in the knowledge... that Arlong's will still lives on?!!" Hody answers with contempt, "You call a human your friend...? You're as bad as that filth Neptune... I've lost all the respect I ever had for you!!!" Vander Decken moves to demonstrate his curse. He tells Hatchan, "Lock on. You're in my sights now, Hachi..." and touches him, making Hachi a target. Decken then holds up a knife, asking, "Huh? A knife?" while the crowd watches. He explains, "Bahohohoho ho!! Have you forgotten what it means to be a pirate? If you've got a problem with us, we settle it through violence!! I know it!!" The knife leaves his hand in a strange direction and suddenly buries itself in Hatchan's back. Hachi screams, "Argh hhh!!" The demonstration proves the chapter's title: once Decken marks someone, even a thrown weapon that seems aimed elsewhere will seek the target.

The crowd is shocked that the knife reversed direction. Someone yells, "What!! He threw the knife in a completely different direction... but it landed straight in the octopus' back!!" Vander Decken explains the Mato Mato curse: "From the moment I touched you just now, you became my 'target'. Any projectile I let fly, no matter what direction I throw it... will soar like a bird straight towards my target - you!!!" Hachi panics, "Hordy!! Decken's going to kill me!! You have to stop him!!!" but Hody refuses: "I told you already, Hachi-san. Vander Decken isn't my subordinate. The two of us are equals in this pirate alliance." Hachi calls Decken a coward: "I'm sick of having to look at your face!! You filthy coward!!!" Hody only suggests, "Naturally, there are ways to block it. Why don't you give it a try?" while Hachi begs, "Stop!! All those arrows...!! I've heard rumours of that ability of yours!!"

Vander Decken unleashes a storm of arrows. He cries, "Flyyyyy yyyy!!!" and "Off you goooo!!" while Hachi groans, "Ughh...!! Nyuuuhh!!!" Decken laughs, "Baho ohoho hoho hoh!! That's beautifuuu!! Run!! Run all you like!!" The arrows curve through the air and chase Hatchan no matter where he flees. Decken boasts, "But no matter how far you go...!! No matter where you run... they'll never stop chasing after you!!!" Hachi dives, twists, and tries to escape through the water, but the arrows keep following with repeated "Kyun!!" sounds. He screams, "Aaaar rrghh hhhhh hhhh!!!" and, even underwater, gasps in terror: "Ughhhh... even water doesn't slow them down?!" The page makes Decken's power feel inescapable: it is not accuracy but supernatural pursuit.

After the demonstration, Decken explains the limits and horror of his curse. He says, "I can store one target for each of my hands...!! So, a maximum of two!!!" and then reveals why Shirahoshi has remained trapped: "I haven't even washed this right hand of mine for ten years... It's still fresh with the memory of the time I touched Shirahoshi, princess of the Ryuuguu Kingdom!!" He shouts to the crowd, "You get it now?! Whether it be love or deadly weapons, whatever I choose to throw will chase my targets to the ends of the earth!!! This is my power!!!" The fish-men react with disgust, calling him "What an outrageously creepy guy!!" and "Cree-py!!" while others understand the implication: "So that's how he's managed to stalk her for all these years, without ever showing his face or being caught by the Neptune Army!!!" Decken laughs, "Baho hoho hohoh!!" and the crowd groans, "Wooo oow!!!"

Hody turns Decken's ability into the first stage of the invasion. He tells the human captives, "Well then, my human pirate guests!! You all understand Decken's ability now, do you not...?" and explains, "The Ryuuguu Palace is said to be impenetrable... But one man has succeeded in throwing many things inside its walls for ten long years... and that man is Vander Decken!!" Hody says they will become Decken's new weapons: he will throw them straight to where the mermaid princess is hiding, crashing them into a formidable tower. The terrified prisoners understand: "That's crazy... If you throw us in there... we'll just crash into that wall and die!!!" Hody confirms, "Well, yes." His real objective is that any survivors will open the palace gates from within so the invasion can begin. He promises freedom if they succeed, but threatens, "If you refuse, I'll hurl you outside this bubble myself right now, you filthy inferior beings!!!" and declares, "That's why I'm using the lives of you worthless humans!!! In these waters, you're worth less than slaves!!!"

The flashback returns to the present at the northeastern edge outside Shell Tower. Guards run through the wreckage shouting, "Hurry, skeleton!! We must report to the king!!" and "Hoooold it!!" while the fleeing captives realize, "Hordy is going to kill us all...!!" and "If we don't open the path into the palace..." Their impact has already become a public disaster: "The princess has been kidnapped!!! Some unknown individual has removed her from the tower!!!" and "Also, pirates have been raining down on the tower...!!! It's an enemy attack!!! We're under attack!!!" Someone cries, "Y - your majeeeeesty!!!" and the rumor becomes even worse: "Shirahoshi is goneeeeee?! Who is responsible for this?!!" and "Kidnapped, you saa aaay?!!" Zoro, standing amid the uproar with Nami nearby, tries to sort the timing: "An enemy attack at a time like this...? What's up with that...?" while another voice says, "Why did it have to be now?!! They just had to attack while we're occupying the palace...!! Wh... wh... what do we do now?! No!! Wait!! Don't answer that!!" Zoro answers plainly: "We take 'em out."

Outside, Megalo swims away with Luffy riding on him and Shirahoshi hidden inside. Luffy hears the shark groan, "Ruoh hh!!" and asks, "Don't you want to get out of the shark now?" Shirahoshi replies from within, "N... no... I still feel a little safer in here..." Luffy asks, "...So how is it? Being outside for the first time in ten years?!" She answers honestly, "...My heart is beating so fast... I really... shouldn't be doing this..." Luffy shrugs it off: "There's nothing wrong with it! You're just going outside! Man, you're so weird sometimes..." Shirahoshi wonders, "Would this be what they call... an adventure...?" and Luffy says, "If it makes your heart race, that's an adventure all right!" He asks about the Ocean Forest: "So, this 'Ocean Forest' you were talking about... what is it? Is there fun stuff there?" Shirahoshi answers softly, "There is a grave!" and explains, "I have never been able to visit that grave even once, since it was first erected... For all these ten long years... I have wanted to visit it, more than anything else..."

The chapter closes in the depths, where sea life moves around the route toward the Ocean Forest. The narration of the past surfaces around the grave: "...Ten years already... It's hard to believe so much time has passed..." and "...Since that assassination took place in broad daylight, and shook Fishman Island to its core...!!" Shirahoshi had been locked in her tower long enough for the princes to grow into fine warriors, yet the dream tied to the grave remains unforgotten. The page reveals whose grave matters: someone says, "But none of us have forgotten your precious dream..." and calls out, "Queen Otohime...!!!" The destination is no longer just an outing. Shirahoshi is trying to visit the grave of her mother, Queen Otohime, whose death still shapes the kingdom.

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