Runawayhoshi

Noah has not crashed into Fishman Island, because Princess Shirahoshi has drawn the danger away for everyone's sake. The people below understand what she has done and shout, "Oh, Princess Shirahoshi!! Run for your life!!" Vander Decken screams after her, "Where are you going, Shirahoshi?! Bahoholi!! There's nowhere to hide!!!" Shirahoshi pants as she swims, knowing she cannot simply escape into the open water or the island's bubble will burst. Her flight is not panic; she is trying to guide Noah away without destroying the island.

Shirahoshi thinks through the route. The main entrance is too far away, and the bubble would be horribly damaged before she could reach it. She remembers that the last people to leave Ryugu Palace were Luffy's friends and realizes where they must have gone. Below, the citizens cry, "Is there nothing we can do?!" and recognize that the princess is risking her life for them. Others insist that it is not her fault and point out that Decken is on the ship, and Hody has gone up there too. Hody, still panting but driven by hatred, climbs toward Noah while Shirahoshi remains in terrible danger.

At the plaza, Jinbe warns Luffy that Hody's fishman strength will be on a completely different level up in the ocean. Sanji prepares to send Luffy after him anyway. He knows he cannot simply kick Luffy into open water; he has to get the force just right, strong enough to launch him but not so strong that Luffy becomes helpless. Sanji names the setup `Armee de l'Air...` and drives Luffy upward with `Gomu Shoot!!!` Luffy rockets toward Noah, trusting Sanji's aim and leaving the fight below to the others.

The launch works, but not cleanly. Luffy slams into the giant chain between the bubbles and gasps, "Whoaaaaa!! This is one big chain!!" He realizes he is between the two bubbles, with Shirahoshi and Noah above while Hody remains below the bubble. The position map makes the danger clear: Luffy is closer to the boundary than to the real fight, and if he misjudges the route he will be trapped in open water. Still, he catches himself and looks back toward the battlefield, realizing Hody has not yet left the island's bubble.

Below, everyone grabs onto Noah's chain and pulls with everything they have. They know they cannot stop the ship, but they try to slow it as much as possible. The voices rise together: "Everybody pull!! Even if we can't stop it... We have to slow this ship down as much as we can...!!!" The people admit it may achieve next to nothing, but they must do what they can. They also beg Shirahoshi to find somewhere safe and shout, "Don't let the Noah go after her!!!" Their effort is desperate and nearly hopeless, yet no one stands idle while the princess risks herself.

The crowd keeps pulling, shouting, "Protect the princess!!!" Shirahoshi looks back, breathless and moved, calling to everyone. Hody watches them with contempt, dripping from the water, and says they must be completely insane to think they could move the ship even a millimetre. Luffy sees what Hody is doing and yells, "Hey!!! Stop that!!!" Hody answers with another `Yabusame!!!`, firing water bullets into the chain and the people struggling below.

Hody's water shots rip through the pullers and scatter them from the chain. People cry out while Shirahoshi covers her mouth in horror. Hody calls them "worthless pieces of filth" and says it is thanks to idiots like them that humans look down on fishmen. Luffy snarls, "Why, that dirty...!!" Shirahoshi then sees the answer she had hoped for: the gate into the palace is wide open. According to her father, Noah must not be harmed, so she must ensure it returns to the ocean floor without colliding with anything.

Shirahoshi slips through the stretched-out connection and out into open water. The onlookers cry, "Hey - hang in there!!" and realize what she has done: "Princess Shirahoshi just..." She passes through the watery corridor, and Noah follows her out. The ship's massive hull swings after its living target, still bound by Vander Decken's ability. People shout for the princess to run as far away as she can, but her face shows fear and exhaustion. Even outside the bubble, she remains the focus of the entire island's danger.

Luffy tumbles along the huge chain as the movement throws him upward. He cries, "Whoaaaah!! We're going up!!" and narrowly avoids being crushed, yelling, "That was close!!" while the bubble around him bounces through the current. He calls after the chain, "Get back here, chain!!" but the motion of Noah and Shirahoshi is pulling everything beyond his control. Luffy is still trying to reach the ship, but in the ocean his movement depends on bubbles, chains, and timing rather than his own swimming strength.

Hody reaches Luffy in the open water and turns the ocean itself into intimidation. He tells Luffy, "Out in the open water, with nothing but ocean all around you... A pathetic human, who cannot even breathe beneath the waves. And you hope to become king of these waters?! Hah!!" Hody demands, "Beg for mercy, inferior being!!!" Below them, Noah continues to move toward Shirahoshi, while Luffy's air bubble is the only thing keeping him alive in an environment made for Hody.

Vander Decken revels in Shirahoshi's helpless position. He asks how she likes her freedom now that the walls of Shell Tower that protected her for ten long years cannot help her. Then he turns the threat into a marriage proposal again: "So which will it be?!! Will you die from blood loss as the life spurts forth from your wounds?! Or will this mighty ship crush you first?!" He offers one last chance to escape death if she says yes and marries him. Shirahoshi apologizes but begins her answer: "You're just not my -!!!" before the others interrupt.

Shirahoshi's brothers arrive between Decken and their sister. They shout, "Shirahoshi is our beloved sister!! You are not laying a single finger on her, Decken!!!" and warn him that if he thinks they will let him marry her, he has another thing coming. Shirahoshi calls for Manboshi, Ryuboshi, and Hoe. Decken is furious that they interrupt just as Shirahoshi was about to give him her answer. Shirahoshi insists she is not angry, but explains that everyone below was trying to save her, and according to their father Noah absolutely must not be harmed. Therefore they must ensure it returns to the ocean floor without hitting anything.

Hody climbs onto Noah and calls out to Luffy, "You can't run from me, Straw Hat!!!" Luffy, still inside his bubble, thanks the princes: "Thanks for this! You really saved me!! Are you all right, though?!" The princes tell the others to avoid dangerous undersea mountains and trenches because they cannot lead the ship into such places. They decide it is time to deal with Decken. Luffy is still more worried about his wounds than their maneuvering, but the princes are focused on returning Noah safely while protecting Shirahoshi.

Hody attacks underwater with `Kirisame`, a technique glossed as "Slicing Shark." He slices through the water toward Luffy with the full advantage of a fishman in the ocean. Luffy sees the attack coming, but the water limits his movement and his air bubble makes every dodge dangerous. Hody crashes through the space around him, forcing Luffy to react inside an environment where he cannot breathe and cannot fight freely.

The princes intercept and scatter Hody's attack, keeping Luffy alive long enough to move. Luffy shouts, "Hey, take me to the deck of the ship, where I can fight!! I want to beat up that Hody and the other guy who throws stuff!!" He remembers leaving the tower with Shirahoshi and promising to protect her. The princes answer from their own shame: they promised the same thing, to become great warriors like their father and protect Shirahoshi with their lives, yet a mere drug allowed a common thug to stop them from standing up. They apologize to Luffy for ever doubting him and tell him to let them carry him to the deck.

Hody emerges on Noah's deck and sees Vander Decken collapsed or gravely wounded, asking, "How did things go with Neptune?! Is he dead?" Hody answers only with silence and contempt. Decken realizes the danger and asks what will happen to the ship with him dead and gone. Hody does not care; he says he is now taking care of Shirahoshi with the ship and calls Decken a brother in arms. At the same time, Shirahoshi keeps swimming upward and tells herself, "Upwards... I must swim upwards..." Hody's focus has narrowed to using Noah and Decken's power while discarding Decken himself.

No description for this page.