Major Incident on Coral Hill

At Ryugu Palace, Vander Decken IX launches himself after the coral that tracks Shirahoshi. He screams, "Vander Decken has gone after my beloved Shirahoshi!!" while Neptune, bound and desperate, begs his men, "I beg of you all!! I will give you anything you desire!!! Just let me go after Decken!!!" He promises, "I will give you gold, silver, treasures, even the lives of my soldiers!!!" but a guard can only say, "Y - hold on a moment, your majesty!!!!!" Neptune sees Decken flying away and cries, "He is going to take Shirahoshi from me!!! Shirahoshi is my one greatest treasure!!!" Hody Jones watches with contempt and says, "What a pathetic sight you are, Neptune...!!!" The page holds the king at his lowest point: stripped of authority, tied up in front of enemies, and reduced to begging for any chance to protect his daughter.

Hody recognizes the convenience of the chaos and gives credit to the Straw Hats: "To think that my sworn enemies, the Straw Hat Pirates, would aid in my conquering of the Ryuuguu Palace...!!" Nami studies him and notices the mark on his body: "...?! He bears... Arlong's mark..." Neptune, still chained, remembers Jimbei's warning: "...Nghh... I had heard from Jimbei that there was something afoot in the Fishman District... But I never expected you, former members of Neptune's own army, to be behind it...!! Have you no shame, Hordy?!!" Hody laughs at the idea of shame. He says Neptune assumes he served with pride, but the only reason he joined the army was "to hone the skills I would need on the field of battle." Hody declares, "And it worked. I have become strong!!!" Nami, Usopp, Zoro, and the others realize this is not simply a random uprising but a rebellion rooted in Arlong's ideology and in Neptune's own ranks.

Hody states his hatred in full. He says, "Ever since I was a child, I have seen nothing but fishmen being oppressed by the detestable humans...!! My greatest heroes were the Arlong Pirates, for having the strength and ambition to smash those filthy humans' faces in!!!" He had dreamed that when Arlong conquered the world, he would stand at his side as right-hand man. "But thanks to a certain bunch of filthy humans, that dream never came to pass!!!" he says. The New Fish-Man Pirates exist "to revive their broken will!!!" Nami's expression hardens at the idea that these fish-men are sympathizers of Arlong and his cronies. Hody, unaware of her personal history with Arlong, sneers, "Hmm? Arlong?! I don't think I've ever tasted that particular delicacy! Yohohoho-" and Usopp accidentally kicks Nami in the shock, making her snap, "Ouch!! Usopp-san, why are you kicking me?!" The humor does not soften the threat: Hody has inherited Arlong's hate and expanded it into a kingdom-level coup.

Hody quietly orders, "Move it..." and places his hand against a massive palace wall. With a sharp crack, his grip digs into the structure, and then he tears the wall apart with a monstrous bite-like force. The sound effect note explains the attack as "Soshark," literally "rough shark" and probably a pun on "soshaku," meaning crushing with one's teeth. The palace erupts as huge sections break loose, and the guards shout in disbelief. Someone cries, "That grip strength is ridiculous!! What is he trying to do?!" Hody is not using a Devil Fruit or an elaborate weapon; this is presented as brute strength. The panel makes clear why Neptune's soldiers fear him: even before taking any drug in this moment, he can physically rip open the palace and change the terrain of the fight.

Hody's destruction lets seawater pour into the palace. Someone asks, "That's... just his natural strength, right?" and another answers, "Yeah... he's not even drugged up right now..." Then the wall collapses with a huge blast, and screams fill the hall: "Aaa aargh hhh!! The castle wall collapsed!!!" Water floods across the floor. Zoro realizes the danger immediately: "Crap... He's flooding the place with sea-water!!!" Neptune's people panic, "Aaaa hhhh hhh!!! This isn't good at all!!!" while Hody laughs, "Jahah ahaha hah..." The flooding changes the fight's conditions. For fish-men it is natural territory; for Devil Fruit users and humans it is a trap. Hody has not just entered the palace, he has turned it into a battlefield built for him.

Hody gathers seawater into his palm while the palace soldiers recognize the move. One shouts, "G - get down!! He's gonna do that!!!" Another says, "Crap... those water droplets...!!" Hody fires the technique: "Yabusame!!!" The explanatory note says the kanji means "arrow warrior shark" and is a homophone for "yabusame," horseback archery. The water droplets shoot out like arrows and rip across the palace. Guards scream "Aaa rghh hh!!!" as the attack spreads indiscriminately through friend and enemy. Neptune sees the danger from his bindings, and Zoro watches from the flooded hall, understanding that the water itself has become ammunition.

Zoro sees the attack's nature: "The droplets are... turning into arrows...!!!" Hody's Yabusame slices through the hall. Guards cry, "Aaah hhh!!" and Neptune roars, "Damn you...!! How dare you attack the elite soldiers of my army so carelessly!" Hody ignores the outrage and keeps firing. Neptune shouts, "Stop this at once, you fool!!!" and the palace shakes with the repeated impact of water arrows. The king cries, "Your majesty!!!" from the chaos, helpless to shield his own troops. The attack proves Hody's lack of loyalty: he does not care whether the victims are Neptune's soldiers, human prisoners, or anyone else, so long as the palace falls.

Hody turns Neptune's own criticism against him. He says, "You're the fool, Neptune!!! What kind of king takes a bullet for his servants?!! You really aren't fit for the throne at all!!!" Neptune's soldiers plead, "Your majesty!! Please, don't do this!!" while others cry, "That despicable!! Attacking defenseless prisoners!!" Hody's strength is described as "way beyond Arlong's!!" Zoro steps in before Hody can continue slaughtering. He says, "Ittoryu," then unleashes "Yakkodori," a one-sword flying slash that cuts through the water and crashes toward Hody. The page positions Zoro as the only immediate counterweight in the room: the palace is flooding, Hody is at full advantage, and yet Zoro can still answer with a compressed sword strike.

Zoro's Yakkodori tears into Hody, making him grunt, "Guehh hh!!" A subordinate yells, "H - hold on a minute, boss...!!! That's not-" but the impact has already shown the danger of Zoro's blade. Someone says, "He used his own crewmate as a shield!! He really is a monster!!!" and Zoro immediately orders, "Guys... you go and untie the soldiers!!!" A bound palace official responds with bitter respect: "Our deal with this country is broken!! We were unable to keep our promise to return all the hostages unharmed!! Such honesty...!!" At the same time, Brook calls out, "Could you listen to me?! Nami-san seems to have vanished off somewhere..." Zoro, waist-deep in rising water, notes the practical danger: "And this water flooding in is sapping all of my strength...!!" Usopp reacts, "What?! Nami's vanished?!" The crew is now split, the palace is flooding, and Zoro cannot keep fighting indefinitely underwater.

Hody shouts, "Don't let them try anything!!!" while Zoro orders the others, "Hurry up and flee!!!" A soldier asks, "But first, could you untie the person next to you?" Hody commands, "Crush them all!! Neptune Army and Straw Hat pirates alike!!" Usopp responds with a new Pop Green technique. He calls, "Hissatsu!!!" and fires "Midori Boshi!!! Rafflesia!!!" A huge flower blooms from above the sea, and someone cries, "Ahhh...!!! That's a 'flower,' from above the sea!!!" Another says, "What a rarity!!" while Usopp tells them, "Take this!!" The plant erupts in a foul blast with a "Pew," giving the trapped group a chance to move. The page shows Usopp using surface-world botany as a weapon in an underwater battlefield where many locals have never seen such a flower.

The Rafflesia attack fills the hall with a horrible stench. Fish-men and pirates alike scream, "Guaaaa hhh!!! It stinks!!!" while Hody mutters, "Ugh... What a petty attack!" The confusion gives Brook and Usopp a moment to act, but Zoro's situation worsens. Brook says, "...It's no use," and someone warns, "Zorooo!! The water is getting too deep!!!" Zoro, straining against the flood, says, "I have a request. Could you get those two out of here for me?!" When asked, "What of yourself...?" he answers with the obvious problem: "Well, nobody's going to escape if someone doesn't hold him off, are they...?" Zoro chooses to stay behind and stall Hody, even though the seawater is draining his strength and the fight favors a fish-man.

Zoro and Hody face each other underwater in the flooded palace. Hody, grinning, says, "I hope you're not planning... to get in the way of my coup d'etat..." Zoro's expression remains cold, swords ready despite the water. The confrontation is quiet compared with the chaos around them, but it is the chapter's center of force: Hody has the home-field advantage and a palace full of soldiers as leverage, while Zoro is choosing to become the obstacle anyway. The page leaves the two fighters suspended in water, Hody's shark teeth bared and Zoro's blades drawn, as if the whole palace has narrowed to the question of whether a human swordsman can hold back the rebellion's leader below the sea.

On the coast of Coral Hill, the crowd continues to accuse Sanji, Chopper, and Hatchan. A voice shouts, "Don't play dumb, you filthy pirates!!" and another says, "I hear another two young mermaids... have vanished from the southern shore!! What have you done with them?!!" Sanji, standing over the wounded Hachi, pushes back hard: "For the love of... how would I know what happened to them?!! I mean, sure, I love mermaids so much that I'd love to abduct them, but that doesn't mean I'm the kidnapper!!!" Chopper asks Hachi, "Hang in there, Hachi! You're gonna be all right!" while the crowd remains suspicious. Then a huge black shape approaches overhead, and someone cries, "Huh?! Sanji!! Chopper!!" The crowd points upward: "It's Luffyyyyy!!!" and another asks, "What's that puffer-fish he's riding...?"

Luffy arrives at Coral Hill riding Megalo with Shirahoshi still hidden inside the shark's mouth. Shirahoshi asks nervously, "A... are they friends of yours, Luffy-sama?" and Luffy answers, "They're members of my pirate crew." The crowd recognizes the arrival: "Look!! Their captain has arrived!!!" and "It's the boss of the kidnappers!!!" Megalo, struggling to keep Shirahoshi concealed, makes strained sounds: "Rrhh?!! ...Rr... Rrrooghh...?!" Shirahoshi whispers, "I cannot be seen by all those people...! Megalo, could you close your mouth a little more?" but Megalo cannot hold the strain. Luffy says, "Wait up, I'm gonna head down there for a bit!!" and leaps off while Sanji, Chopper, and Hachi react: "Aaaaah hhhh!! He came down!!!" "Hachiii!! I thought that was you!!! What happened?!! Who did this to you?!" Hachi answers, "Nyuouuu... Straw Hat... It's you..." and Chopper clarifies, "That's the thing - he won't tell us anything! He just keeps saying we need to get off the island..."

The Coral Hill crowd debates the contradiction in front of them. Someone says, "...Hang on, I thought Straw Hat was supposed to be occupying the royal palace right now?!" Another warns, "These guys are a bunch of dirty mermaid kidnappers... What if they're planning on kidnapping Princess Shirahoshi...?" Others reject the thought: "Don't be ridiculous...!! That's beyond impossible! The princess is a giant whiting mermaid, and the beloved daughter of King Neptune, to boot! Nobody in their wildest dreams could hope to kidnap..." Then Megalo can no longer keep his mouth shut. He groans, "Ruog hh..." and someone notices, "Hm? What's that pufferfish...?" Shirahoshi squirms inside his mouth and falls into view. The crowd looks on in total shock as the supposedly impossible princess emerges from the shark right in front of them.

Shirahoshi is revealed fully before Coral Hill. The crowd screams, "Princess Shirahoshi!!!!!!!" while she sits beside Megalo, startled and embarrassed, whispering, "Ahh..." and "Ah..." Someone asks, "Is that the mermaid princess?!" and another says, "She's huge!! And did they just say 'princess'...?" Sanji can barely process the sight: "Aw, man..." Chopper panics and shouts, "No, Sanji!!! Whatever you do, you must not turn around!!" because Sanji's reaction to beautiful mermaids could be lethal. But the crowd has already chosen its interpretation. People yell, "They've kidnapped the mermaid princess!!!" and "If you turn around, you'll die!!" The page turns Luffy's attempt to help Shirahoshi into public evidence against the Straw Hats, escalating the Coral Hill incident into a kingdom-wide misunderstanding.

No description for this page.