Chapters · Fish-Man Island › Fish-Man Island

Chapter 630: Getting Violent

Arc: Fish-Man Island · Saga: Fish-Man Island · Released: 2011

Summary

With King King Neptune captured, the New Fish-Man Pirates fan out across all four quarters of Fish-Man Island and run riot — Waterwheel Town in the north, the Fish-Man Cultural Hall in the south, the Marine Shopping Mall in the east, Fishverly Hills in the northeast — terrorizing citizens as they converge on Conchcorde Plaza for the King’s execution, set two hours away. The chapter parades the crew’s officers: Dosun, the Hammerhead Shark Fish-Man, is drained “down to tink” by Prince Fukaboshi but downs an Energy Steroid and snaps his chains “beyond Dosun”; Hyouzou, a Blue-Ringed Octopus Merman, is a slurring killer-drunk swordsman; Zeo, the Wobbegong Fish-Man, can change his skin color like a chameleon and is “the self-proclaimed aristocrat of the Fish-Man District”; and Ikaros Much, the Giant Squid Fish-Man, fights with reviving squid-spear arms but panics at fire. The crew preaches that “human blood is tainted” and that any fish-man who shares blood with humans is “silently dispatched in the dead of night.” The three princes Fukaboshi, Ryuboshi and Manboshi and the Neptune Army race to the plaza — less than an hour out — knowingly walking into a trap to save their father, debating but discounting Madam Sharley’s prophecy that the Straw Hat Pirates will destroy the kingdom. The captured King is hauled toward the plaza on a giant Sea Bear. Finally the chapter cuts to Hody Jones, who refuses to appear: he is in agony from wounds left by “that pirate swordsman” (Zoro) and has been bingeing Energy Steroids to dull the pain. The drug’s price now shows — Hody’s body begins “being torn to pieces” — and around him the sea beasts that “should be under Captain Hody’s control” turn terrified and uncontrollable for the first time.

New reveals

• The crew’s four-quarter rampage (pp. 2–16). Captioned squad leaders strike each district: Dosun (Hammerhead Shark Fish-Man, p. 4), Hyouzou (Blue-Ringed Octopus Merman, p. 7), Zeo (Wobbegong Fish-Man, p. 9), Ikaros Much (Giant Squid Fish-Man, p. 13).
• Energy Steroids as combat top-up (pp. 2, 4). Dosun is “sent… all the way down to tink” by Prince Fukaboshi; a comrade gets him “an energy steroid quick” and he immediately breaks his chains “beyond Dosun” — but the crew names the cost on p. 17: “that drug gives strength at the cost of a shortened life.”
• The supremacist creed (p. 3). “Fish-men who dare to side with the inferior humans are… silently dispatched in the dead of night”; sharing blood “cheapens the sanctity of fish-man blood… human blood is tainted.”
• Zeo’s chameleon power (p. 8): “He can change his skin color like a chameleon and blend in with his surroundings.”
• Ikaros Much’s tells (pp. 13–14): squid-spear arms that “suck all the liquid out of [a] victim” and “are always trying to come back to life,” and a crippling fear of fire — his “giant squid best friend… went too close to the sun and turned into a giant slab of dried squid” (the dried friend named Daedalus, shown in a portrait p. 14).
• The execution clock (pp. 16–17): King Neptune is to be executed at Conchcorde Plaza “in two hours”; the princes are “less than one hour” out (p. 10).
• The princes’ read on the Straw Hats (p. 11): they recall Madam Sharley’s prophecy that the Straw Hats “will destroy this kingdom,” but conclude they “sensed no malice” — “they know good people when they see them.”
• Hody hides because Zoro hurt him (p. 18): “Captain Hody is suffering from wounds received from that pirate swordsman… He’s been popping energy steroids to dull the pain.”
• The drug’s price manifests (pp. 18–19): Hody’s body THROBs and is “being torn to pieces” — the first visible toll of the Energy Steroids.
• The sea beasts break loose (p. 19): the Sea Bear and the other beasts “should be under Captain Hody’s control,” but for “the first time” they are “this terrified” and acting strange — the chapter’s cliffhanger.

Foreshadowing seeds planted

Payoffs (seeds from earlier chapters that resolve here)

Mentions / appearances

• Characters (appearing): Dosun (Hammerhead Shark Fish-Man), Hyouzou (Blue-Ringed Octopus Merman), Zeo (Wobbegong Fish-Man), Ikaros Much (Giant Squid Fish-Man), Hody Jones (in agony, hidden), Fukaboshi, Ryuboshi, Manboshi, King Neptune (captured, paraded), Minister of the Right
• Characters (mentioned): Shirahoshi (“still in Shell Tower”), Jinbei (“never took his eyes off Hody”), Madam Sharley (prophecy), Zoro (“that pirate swordsman” who wounded Hody), Daedalus (Ikaros’s dried-squid friend — portrait, p. 14)
• Crews: New Fish-Man Pirates, Neptune Army, Straw Hat Pirates (discussed)
• Locations: Fish-Man Island (Waterwheel Town/N, Fish-Man Cultural Hall/S, Marine Shopping Mall/E, Fishverly Hills/NE — district labels), Conchcorde Plaza (execution site), Fishverly Hills, Coral Hill, Mermaid Inlet, Fish-Man District, Ryugu Castle (Shell Tower)
• Peoples: Fish-Men
• World-building: Energy Steroids

Notable panels

• Page 1 — Title page + cover story “Decks of the World, Vol. 15: Roguetown” — a bathhouse scene (a heavyset woman with a newspaper, a man scrubbing a tub).
• Page 4 — Dosun (Hammerhead Shark Fish-Man) snaps his chains “beyond Dosun” on a steroid — “CHA-NK!! DOSUN!!” caption splash.
• Page 7 — Hyouzou (Blue-Ringed Octopus Merman) drunkenly slurring among his six swords.
• Page 9 — Zeo (Wobbegong Fish-Man) caption splash; “the self-proclaimed aristocrat of the Fish-Man District.”
• Page 10 — District map of Fish-Man Island (Conchcorde Plaza, Coral Hill, Waterwheel Town, Mermaid Inlet, Candy Factory, Fish Bus Stop, Coral Mansions, Main Entrance) and the Neptune Army ship.
• Pages 13–14 — Ikaros Much caption splash; the Daedalus / “flew too close to the sun” dried-squid backstory (Icarus & Daedalus fairy-tale overlay).
• Pages 18–19 — Hody’s body “being torn to pieces” (THROB!!) from steroid overdose; the sea beasts turning terrified.
• Page 20 — SBS Question Corner (Vol. 64): the “underwear curse” gag, Vice Admiral Strawberry’s long head hidden under his hat, and Ikaros Much’s eight armpits (four times as ticklish). Flag for SBS cross-link.

Open questions raised

• What makes the sea beasts — supposedly under Hody’s control — suddenly terrified and uncontrollable? Is it Hody’s deterioration, an outside force, or something approaching the island?
• How long can Hody keep abusing Energy Steroids before the lifespan cost cripples him outright?
• Can the princes and Neptune Army reach Conchcorde Plaza before the King’s execution, knowing it is a trap?
• Will Madam Sharley’s prophecy of the Straw Hats destroying Fish-Man Island prove true despite the princes’ trust?