The Ancient Ark

At Gyoncord Plaza, Hody's men rush toward their fallen captain, shouting, "Captain Hody!!!" They cannot believe he is still standing after swallowing all those Energy Steroids and becoming a real monster. One insists, "No - look!! His body really is super tough!!" Hody rises battered but alive, and Luffy watches him calmly. Hody pants, then snarls at Luffy, "Ever heard of fishman karate, boy?!" The fight shifts from Hody's raw durability to a technique meant to exploit the water around them.

Hody strikes Luffy's head with fishman karate, and the watching pirates think one blow will smash it open. But Luffy's neck stretches and his head flies backward without breaking. Luffy answers simply, "That's not much use! I'm made of rubber!!" The enemy then calls in the Steel Shell Squadron, and Luffy prepares his own attack: "Armament Head! Gomu Gomu no..." The scene sets up a direct test between Luffy's Haki-hardened body and the enemy's steel defenses.

Luffy crashes through the Steel Shell Squadron with `Kane!!!` His Haki-coated head pierces the steel shell defense and slams into the enemy, leaving the onlookers stunned: "His head out-toughed the steel!!" Luffy steps back with a small "Pff," while the defeated defenders tumble away. The point is unmistakable: the fishmen expected armor to stop him, but Luffy's Armament Haki has surpassed their hardened shell formation.

Hody charges again, but Luffy meets him head-on. Hody's body towers over him, then Luffy drives a blow into him and sends him crashing through the battlefield. Hody screams as he is knocked backward, his massive body carving through the plaza while enemies panic around him. Even after all his artificial strength and rage, he cannot force Luffy to retreat.

Hody answers from range with `Yabusame!!!` Water bullets shoot toward Luffy, but Luffy reads the attack and slips through them. The enemies ask, "It's not hitting!!!" and wonder, "Does he know exactly where the attacks are going or something?!" Hody's shots tear through the plaza, yet Luffy keeps moving, dodging the barrage until he is close enough to land another hard strike.

Luffy's counterattack sends Hody smashing into the ground. The enemy cries, "Captain Hody!!!" while Shirahoshi watches with admiration: "Luffy-sama... Such strength you have...!!" The people begin cheering, "All right!! Go Straw Hat Luffy!!" and even Hody's followers are forced to admit that this is the strength of a world-famous pirate. Then the mood changes. A vast shadow falls over the plaza, and someone asks, "What's this?! The whole plaza's gone dark..."

The source of the shadow appears overhead: the Noah, descending from the Fishman District. The enormous ark looms over Fishman Island while people stare up and scream, "Whaaaaaaaaap?!!" and "The Noah, from the Fishman District?!!" Its size dwarfs the plaza and the buildings beneath it. What had seemed like a battle between Luffy and Hody is suddenly overshadowed by an ancient ship large enough to threaten the entire island.

The people realize the danger immediately. They ask, "What's the Noah doing flying above Fishman Island?!" and shout that it is heading straight for the plaza. Worse, the Noah is trying to force its way through the bubble around the island. If that bubble breaks before the ship even hits the island, the entire residential area will be annihilated by water pressure. Luffy, Shirahoshi, and the others look up in shock as the ancient ark presses down from above.

Panic spreads through the plaza. If the ship hits its mark, the whole island will be doomed. People ask who is flying it and scream that the Noah should not have any propulsion power of its own. One voice says, "Oh, it's over!! It's all over!!" while Robin quietly wonders whether, if they were all crushed at once, the ocean would be stained red. The order goes out: "Everyone evacuate!!! Head for the ocean!! Get off the island!!" Then Shirahoshi notices something falling from the ship and gasps, "That's ...!!"

Wadatsumi crashes down from the Noah into the plaza, screaming, "Huuuuuerghhhhh!!!" Hody's men recognize him as one of Vander Decken's subordinates and ask if he slipped and fell. Wadatsumi begs, "I fell all da way down here!! Stop da ship, okay!!! I don' wanna die!!!" The fall confirms that Noah is not simply passing above them; people and debris are coming down from it, and the danger is now directly over the battlefield.

Hody's men ask whether this is a new part of the plan, but Hody silences them as "worthless pawns." He curses Straw Hat and realizes this is Decken's doing: "This is Decken's doing! That lunatic of a pirate!!!" Luffy asks just how tough Hody is, noting that he even used Armament Haki. Vander Decken, high above, shouts down that there is no way to save Wadatsumi now. Once he sets something flying with his ability, it will not stop until it crashes into or eliminates the target.

Vander Decken reveals the true horror of his plan. He tells Wadatsumi that he will simply have to join the rest of Fishman Island and sacrifice his life "...on the occasion of Shirahoshi's demise!!" He calls out to Princess Shirahoshi, saying, "Don't tell me... just like all those letters and axes... you've actually thrown this ship straight at her?!" The people panic because Shirahoshi has vanished from where she was. Decken assumes she is gone, but Shirahoshi's voice answers from near the Noah: "I have not vanished. I am right here!!!"

Shirahoshi places herself before the Noah and corrects Decken: "Your 'target' is my life alone, is it not?!!" She refuses to let the kingdom die with her. "I cannot allow you to endanger the lives of the people of the Ryuugu Kingdom. Where my... where my life alone will suffice!!! I am over here!!!" she cries. Far below, everyone sees her racing upward and screams for the princess. Decken is thrilled, shouting, "My beloved Shirahoshi!!!" The Noah begins turning toward her, and the people realize that the ship is now heading straight for Princess Shirahoshi.

The plaza understands Shirahoshi's sacrifice. Citizens cry, "Mermaid princess!!!" and ask if there is no way to save her. Vander Decken, still infatuated, points at her and says, "Ahhhh...! For our sake, she...!! Ahhhh, your beauty runs deep, my Shirahoshi!! Right to the heart!!!" Then his jealousy turns vicious. He says if she believes she can bear the full force of the calamity with her single body, then she should die in the height of her beauty so she may live on in his heart alone. Hody calls him a dangerous traitor and filthy scoundrel, realizing Decken planned to crush him and the rest of the island too.

The Noah changes course and charges after Shirahoshi. Luffy yells, "That crazy cry-Hoshi!! I told her to stay close to me!!" and shouts for her to run. Hody's men suddenly notice their own captain has disappeared: "Hody-san is gone!!" A moment later they look up and see him already on the moving chains, heading toward the ship. Hody is not chasing Shirahoshi to save anyone; he is going to exploit the situation and reach Noah.

Luffy prepares to go after Shirahoshi and the ship. He asks Jinbe whether the Noah is full of water inside too, reasoning that Decken is a Devil Fruit user and must need dry space inside to move freely. Jinbe explains that the Noah is made from coral that produces bubbles. Luffy decides at once: "Ready to fly, Luffy?!! I'm ready!!!" Sanji warns him, "All right!! But listen, Luffy!! That ship is outside, in the water!!!" Luffy still gets ready to launch, telling Sanji and the others to stay and take care of things below. Above them, Hody lands right underneath the Noah, panting but satisfied: "You played me for a fool, Vander Decken!! But this is just what I needed!!!"

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