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Chapter 639: Protect Everything

Arc: Fish-Man Island · Saga: Fish-Man Island · Released: 2011-07-25

Summary

Inside the Ryugu Palace, Vander Decken grabs Hody Jones and brands him with his Mato Mato no Mi (“I touched you… with my left hand!!”), turning the New Fish-Man Pirates captain into a homing target; the two former allies trade accusations of betrayal and attack each other, and Decken is knocked into his own coffin-ship, which crashes through the palace. Hody resumes his hunt for Shirahoshi, seizing the princess despite her record mermaid speed, until Prince Fukaboshi arrives and strikes him (“Snake Shot”) to free her. Luffy, fighting Hody at the bottom of the sea where his strength is dulled, rejects Hody’s claim that he can’t protect a single thing — “Wrong… I’ll protect EVERYTHING!!!” — invoking the purpose of his two-year training. Meanwhile at Conchcorde Plaza, Wadatsumi (abandoned by Decken) is dosed with Energy Steroids and knocks out the Kraken Surume, but Sanji’s Seven-Thousand Brick Roundhouse Kick and Jinbei stand against the giant monk; nearby, the mercenary Hyouzou swallows Energy Steroids with his liquor and becomes a monster too, and Zoro steps in to claim him as a warm-up before the New World.

New reveals

• Decken brands Hody. Vander Decken touches Hody with his left hand, applying his Mato Mato no Mi mark — Hody is now a target Decken’s thrown weapons home to (p. 3). The alliance dissolves into open mutual betrayal: “It was you who turned to betrayal first, Decken.”
• The looming ship is the kill-switch. Hody/Decken confirm that the giant ship hovering over Fish-Man Island will “plummet straight back down to the island” and break the island’s bubble, destroying it; Hody is indifferent (“but I can always make more slaves!!”) (pp. 3–4).
• Decken’s fixation persists. Even after his ship crashes into the palace, Decken declares ”…I’ll just make sure to kill Shirahoshi” (p. 6).
• Fukaboshi intervenes. The eldest prince reaches the palace and hits Hody with “Snake Shot,” apologizing that “the preparations took some time,” freeing Shirahoshi (pp. 8–9).
• Luffy’s doctrine + the two-year payoff. Hody: “You don’t have the strength to protect a single thing!!” — Luffy: “Wrong… I’ll protect EVERYTHING!!! That’s what the last two years were for!!” (title drop, pp. 9–10).
• Energy Steroids spread to the rank-and-file. Wadatsumi is fed Energy Steroids and one-shots the Kraken Surume; Hyouzou drinks them with his booze and transforms — both become “monsters,” and a crewman gloats “his body is REALLY susceptible to pills!!” (pp. 12, 18).
• New post-timeskip technique. Sanji debuts “Seven-Thousand Brick Roundhouse Kick” against Wadatsumi (pp. 13–14).

Foreshadowing seeds planted

Payoffs (seeds from earlier chapters that resolve here)

Mentions / appearances

• Characters: Luffy, Hody Jones, Vander Decken IX, Shirahoshi, Fukaboshi (his brothers — the other Ryugu princes — are referenced when Shirahoshi cries “Brothers!!”, p. 7), Sanji, Jinbei, Nami, Zoro, Nico Robin, Hyouzou, Wadatsumi, Surume
• Cover (Decks of the World, Vol. 23): Vivi, Igaram, Karoo and the Alabasta royal household
• Crews/Groups: New Fish-Man Pirates, Straw Hat Pirates, Neptune Army, Sun Pirates (SBS, p. 66)
• Locations: Fish-Man Island, Ryugu Castle, Shell Tower, Conchcorde Plaza
• Devil Fruits / Concepts: Mato Mato no Mi, Gomu Gomu no Mi, Energy Steroids

Notable panels

• Page 1 — Title page / cover story “Decks of the World, Vol. 23: Kingdom of Alabasta — New Clothes for this Year’s Reverie”: the Alabasta royal household (Vivi, Igaram, Karoo et al.) trying on new clothes ahead of the Reverie. (No color spread this chapter.)
• Page 3 — Decken brands Hody with his left hand; the two accuse each other of betrayal.
• Page 6 — Decken’s coffin-ship crashes into the palace; ”…I’ll just make sure to kill Shirahoshi.”
• Pages 9–10 — Title drop: Luffy’s “I’ll protect EVERYTHING!!!” / “That’s what the last two years were for!!”
• Pages 13–14 — Sanji’s Seven-Thousand Brick Roundhouse Kick lands on Wadatsumi (KABOOM).
• Page 66 — SBS Question Corner (Vol. 65):
  • The Mermaid Café’s top five dancers are named: Ishly (parrotfish — the freckled mermaid Carisou kidnapped at Mermaid Inlet), Kairen (sole), Hiramela (flounder), Seira (marine angelfish), Mello (garfish).
  • Oda explains the “Sun” in “Sun Pirates” is written in phonetic kana rather than kanji because the fish-men speak of a “sun” that exists far above the miles of water over their heads — something beyond their knowledge, “rarely ever seen, something beyond their world.” (Relevant to Sun God Identity and the Divine Pattern and the Sun Pirates / Fisher Tiger liberation motif. Closing caption: “I’ll show you the real sun!”)

Open questions raised

• Will the giant ship looming over Fish-Man Island be dropped and break the island’s protective bubble before Luffy can stop Hody?
• Can Luffy beat Hody at the bottom of the sea, where his strength is explicitly weaker?
• Now that Hody is marked, what does Decken’s homing curse do to him — and does Hody have to keep Decken alive to avoid it?