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Chapter 615: Mark-Mark Curse

Arc: Fish-Man Island · Saga: Fish-Man Island · Released: 2011-02-14 (est.)

Summary

Luffy bursts out of Ryugu Castle riding Megalo the shark, with the mermaid princess Shirahoshi secretly stowed inside the shark’s mouth — she has snuck out of her tower for the first time in ten years (pp. 1-2). The palace erupts: the guards find the princess “gone,” assume a kidnapping, and declare a national emergency, while Brook is harried by panicked soldiers who are themselves being forced to betray the castle’s secret passage (pp. 3-4). At Coral Hill, Sanji and Chopper find Hatchan washed up and covered in blood; the octopus fish-man warns that the New Fish-Man Pirates are about to invade and lay Ryugu to waste (pp. 5-6). A few hours earlier in the Fish-Man District, Hody Jones rallies his human prisoners and presents Vander Decken IX — a fish-man who cannot swim but wields the Mark-Mark Fruit and claims descent from the original Vander Decken, captain of the Flying Dutchman (p. 7). Hachi tries to stop the rally and is reminded that the mercenary swordsman Hyouzou now serves Hody; Hody proclaims himself Arlong’s successor (pp. 8-9). When Hachi calls a human his friend, Decken marks him — his thrown knife homes in and stabs the octopus fish-man, demonstrating the curse that lets weapons chase a target anywhere, even through water (pp. 10-13). Decken reveals his palm has been locked onto Shirahoshi since he touched her ten years ago — explaining his years of weapon-fire at the impregnable castle — and the pirates plan to fling humans at the northeast Shell Tower so they rocket toward the princess and open the gates from inside (pp. 13-14). News of the “abduction” and the tower assault reaches King Neptune (p. 15). Outside, Luffy and Shirahoshi share her first taste of the open sea; she confesses the one place she has longed to go for ten years — a grave (pp. 16). In the Forest of the Sea, an old mourner kneels at the tomb of Queen Otohime, assassinated in broad daylight ten years ago, vowing that none have forgotten her ideals (pp. 17). A Vol. 63 SBS column closes the chapter (p. 18).

New reveals

• The Mark-Mark Fruit (Mato Mato no Mi, Paramecia) — Vander Decken IX’s power. When his palm touches a target, anything he throws will home onto it and pursue it anywhere, “even to the depths of hell,” changing direction mid-flight and following through water (pp. 11-13). He can mark two targets at once, one per palm (p. 13). Hence the chapter title, the “Mark-Mark Curse.”
• Decken has stalked Shirahoshi for ten years via the curse — he touched the princess once a decade ago and “hasn’t washed his right hand since,” leaving his right palm permanently locked onto her. This is the in-universe explanation for the years of weapons raining on the “impregnable” Ryugu Castle (p. 13).
• Vander Decken IX cannot swim — “Even though I’m a fish-man, I can’t swim! But in exchange, I have the power of the Mark-Mark Fruit!” He is a Devil Fruit user and a descendant of the original Vander Decken, captain of the ghost ship the Flying Dutchman (p. 7).
• Hyouzou is a hired blade — a mercenary swordsman the stingy Arlong “couldn’t afford,” now paid by Hody. He says he respected Arlong’s strength but found him “rough and lacked finesse” (pp. 8-9).
• Hody Jones names himself Arlong’s successor — “I am Arlong’s successor! I will carry on his legacy!” — and frames the invasion of Ryugu as proving fish-men the superior race, “your teachings” inherited from the Arlong era (pp. 8-9).
• The invasion plan — pirates throw bound humans at the northeast Shell Tower; because the humans become Decken’s marked projectiles, they fly straight at the marked princess and crash through to open the castle gates from inside. Humans who refuse are dumped in the water to drown — “your lives are cheap here… you’re worth less than slaves” (pp. 14).
• Hachi’s wound explained — he was marked and stabbed by Decken for defending Neptune and for calling the human Luffy his friend; he flees through the water (the knives still chasing) and washes up bleeding at Coral Hill (pp. 10-12, 5-6).
• Queen Otohime’s assassination — “An assassination in broad daylight. …that incident shook Fish-Man Island. Ten years ago…” The late queen Otohime is mourned at a grave in the Forest of the Sea; the event hardened the Neptune princes and underlies Shirahoshi’s ten-year confinement (pp. 17). (The ten-years-ago timing ties Otohime’s death, Shirahoshi’s confinement, and Decken’s first touch into one knot — flashback hook.)

Foreshadowing seeds planted

Payoffs (seeds from earlier chapters that resolve here)

Mentions / appearances

• Straw Hats: Luffy (rides Megalo out of the castle with Shirahoshi), Sanji (at Coral Hill), Tony Tony Chopper (treats Hachi), Nami, Brook (harried at the palace) — Straw Hat Pirates.
• Ryugu royalty: Shirahoshi (the mermaid princess, out of her tower for the first time in ten years), King Neptune (King Neptune; learns of the “abduction” and tower assault), Otohime (the late queen, mourned at her grave — not depicted in person), Megalo (the shark carrying Luffy and Shirahoshi) — Neptune.
• New Fish-Man Pirates: Hody Jones (captain, declares himself Arlong’s successor), Vander Decken IX (Mark-Mark Fruit user — debut of his power), Hyouzou (mercenary swordsman, octopus fish-man) — New Fish-Man Pirates.
• Others: Hatchan (Hachi, ex-Arlong Pirates officer, gravely wounded), Makino (SBS only).
• Referenced (not present): Arlong (“I am Arlong’s successor”; “one of Arlong’s officers”); the original Vander Decken, captain of the Flying Dutchman.
• Locations: Fish-Man Island, Ryugu Kingdom (Ryugu Castle; the northeast Shell Tower), Coral Hill, Fish-Man District, Forest of the Sea (Deep Sea — Otohime’s grave).
• Lore / fruit: Mato Mato no Mi (Paramecia), Energy Steroids (“those energy steroids will kill you!”), Fish-Men.

Notable panels

• Page 1 — Title page / cover serial “From the Decks of the World,” Vol. 3: “Mt. Corvo” — the Dadan Family mountain bandits (Dadan center, one wielding a chainsaw) eat from a crate marked “COLUBO APPLE” under shouts of “LUFFY!!” (Luffy’s childhood home on Mt. Corvo / Mt. Colubo).
• Page 2 — Luffy rides Megalo out of the castle; Shirahoshi, hidden inside the shark, cries forgiveness to her father and brothers — “I’m going out without permission! But I’ll be back in time for dinner!”
• Page 3 — “DO—OM!! Princess Shirahoshi is gone!! She’s gone!!” — the palace mistakes her escape for a kidnapping; “It’s a national emergency!”
• Pages 5-6 — Hachi found bleeding on the Coral Hill beach; “The new Fish-Man Pirates are about to invade! The Kingdom of Ryugu will be laid to waste!!”
• Page 7 — “A few hours earlier, at noon, the Fish-Man District.” Hody presents Vander Decken IX, who declares he can’t swim but holds the Mark-Mark Fruit and is “a descendant of the original Vander Decken… the captain of the Flying Dutchman.”
• Pages 8-9 — Hachi confronts the rally; Hyouzou’s mercenary history with Arlong; Hody: “I am Arlong’s successor! I will carry on his legacy!”
• Pages 10-12 — Decken marks Hachi (“Locked on Hachi”); the thrown knife changes direction mid-air and stabs him (“SHUNK!!”); the knives pursue Hachi even through the water.
• Page 13 — Decken explains two-palm marking and reveals “…since I touched Princess Shirahoshi that one time ten years ago… I haven’t washed my right hand.”
• Page 14 — The plan: hurl humans at Shell Tower as Decken-marked projectiles to open the gates from inside; “You’re worth less than slaves!!”
• Page 16 — Shirahoshi’s first taste of the open sea; she names her wish — a grave she has never been able to visit in ten years.
• Page 17 — Forest of the Sea: an old mourner at a tomb — ”…Queen Otohime! …None of us has forgotten your ideals…” — an assassination “in broad daylight” ten years ago.
• Page 18 — Vol. 63 SBS Question Corner: Oda notes Vol. 63 holds 12 chapters, defers the Voice-Actor SBS, and teases that Makino has become a mother (re: the Ch. 614 cover) while denying the asker is the father.

Open questions raised

• Who assassinated Queen Otohime in broad daylight ten years ago, and what were the “ideals” she died for?
• Is the grave Shirahoshi longs to visit her mother Otohime’s? Why has she been confined to her tower for exactly ten years?
• How will Decken’s homing Mark-Mark Curse — already locked onto Shirahoshi — escalate now that she has left the castle for the first time?
• What is the original Vander Decken and the Flying Dutchman, and how did the line pass down to this ninth Decken?
• Will Luffy’s “walk” with the kidnapped princess collide with Hody’s tower assault now converging on the same target?
• Who is the father of Makino’s child (SBS tease)?