Chapters · Summit War › Sabaody Archipelago

Chapter 491: Flying Fish Riders

Arc: Sabaody Archipelago · Saga: Summit War · Released:

Summary

Just off Thriller Bark, the Straw Hats fawn over Camie — a real, live mermaid — and meet her talking starfish companion Pappag, an up-and-coming fashion designer for Fish-Man Island’s “Criminal” label who insists he is human (pp. 2-6). When Camie tries to reach her boss “Hatchin” by transponder snail, the Macuro Gang — a trio of fish-men who constantly target her — answers instead: they have beaten and kidnapped Hatchin by teaming with the Flying Fish Riders, and they taunt Camie that an octopus fish-man fetches a high price (pp. 6-8). Luffy’s crew agrees to rescue him in exchange for Camie guiding them toward Fish-Man Island, and she charts a course past Grove 44 east of the Sabaody Archipelago (pp. 9-13). En route, Pappag and Camie explain that human trafficking is big business in these waters and that mermaids fetch an especially high price; the crew begins to suspect “Hatchin” is the Arlong-Pirate octopus fish-man Hachi they once fought (pp. 14-15). They learn the Flying Fish Riders’ iron-masked boss Duval has been stopping every passing ship to hunt a specific target — and the chapter ends with the Riders ambushing the Sunny from the air and reporting Camie’s mermaid sighting to Duval, who recognizes the Straw Hats’ ship as belonging to “the man who destroyed my life” (pp. 15-19).

New reveals

• Camie the mermaid and Pappag the talking starfish make their first main-story appearance, crossing over from the long-running Hachi’s Walk on the Sea Floor cover serial; they temporarily ally with the crew (pp. 2-6).
• Pappag is a fashion designer for the popular “Criminal” clothing brand on Fish-Man Island, and his running gag is that he can walk and talk because he believes he is human (pp. 4-6).
• The crew’s rescue target “Hatchin” — owner of the octopus-fritters shop where Camie works — is strongly implied to be Hachi, the octopus fish-man of the Arlong Pirates the Straw Hats fought at Arlong Park (pp. 14-15).
• The Sabaody Archipelago is named and charted on Camie’s map: Grove 44 lies just east of it, and the archipelago is the gateway leg of the route toward Fish-Man Island (pp. 10-13).
• Human trafficking is established as big business in these waters — “they buy and sell humans” — with dozens of kidnapping crews operating, and mermaids fetch an especially high price (p. 14).
• The Macuro Gang — a trio of fish-men who constantly target Camie — captured Hachi by allying with the Flying Fish Riders (pp. 7-8, 14).
• The Flying Fish Riders are a notorious kidnapping gang who ride flying fish that stay airborne for ~5 minutes after leaping from the sea; their boss Duval wears an iron mask no one has seen him without (pp. 15-18).
• Duval is shown (still masked) vowing to “kill the man who destroyed my life,” having learned that person is aboard the Straw Hats’ ship — the very ship he has been searching every passing vessel to find (pp. 18-19).

Foreshadowing seeds planted

Payoffs (seeds from earlier chapters that resolve here)

Mentions / appearances

• Characters: Luffy, Zoro, Nami, Sanji, Usopp, Tony Tony Chopper, Nico Robin, Franky, Brook, Camie (first main-story appearance), Pappag (first main-story appearance/dialogue), Hatchan (heard via transponder snail; not shown), Kokoro (referenced as a mermaid), Duval (first appearance — masked, p. 19)
• Groups / crews: Straw Hat Pirates, Flying Fish Riders, Macuro Gang, Arlong Pirates (callback)
• Locations: Sabaody Archipelago (named + charted; Grove 44), Fish-Man Island (destination, mentioned), Florian Triangle (departure waters)
• Ship: Thousand Sunny
• Race / world: Fish-Men (mermaid + fish-men), Den Den Mushi

Notable panels

• Page 1 — Chapter title page, part of Limited Cover Series, No. 10: “Island of No Survivors” — a line-art coastal ruin/island rising from a rough sea. (Cover-series art, not a narrative cover story.)
• Pages 4-6 — Pappag introduced: talking starfish, “Criminal” brand designer, believes he is human (“In this world, you can do anything you put your mind to!!!”).
• Page 10 — Camie’s hand-drawn map: Grove 44 east of the Sabaody Archipelago; the crew’s present location south of it.
• Page 12 — Camie commands schools of fish into an arrow in the sea to guide the Sunny.
• Pages 17-18 — The Flying Fish Riders ambush the Sunny from the air on leaping, flame-painted flying fish.
• Page 19 — Close on Duval’s iron mask as he vows to kill “the man who destroyed my life” — chapter cliffhanger. To be continued in Vol. 51.

Open questions raised

• Who is “the man who destroyed my life” that Duval hunts, and what is hidden under his iron mask?
• Is the kidnapped “Hatchin” really Hachi of the Arlong Pirates — and will the crew help a former enemy?
• Why do the Macuro Gang and the Flying Fish Riders specifically prize Camie and other mermaids/fish-men as merchandise?