Chapters · Fish-Man Island › Fish-Man Island

Chapter 642: Lost All Face

Arc: Fish-Man Island · Saga: Fish-Man Island · Released: 2011-08-22

Summary

A few minutes earlier in the Forest of the Sea, whales and fish flee in panic; onlookers (Camie among them) realize that old Captain Tiger himself would have feared “this very thing” — that Hody will not let a fair fight stand. At Fish-Man Island, the Minister of the Left orders a full evacuation as Vander Decken’s curse drags the colossal ark Noah toward the island to crush it — until word spreads that Princess Shirahoshi lured Noah away herself, sacrificing her own safety to buy the citizens time. Across the districts the people refuse to flee, unwilling to let her sacrifice be wasted. A freed King Neptune, learning the particulars, commands the entire Neptune Army to the plaza to support Jinbe and the Straw Hats: if the kingdom must be defended by the pirates it falsely arrested, it has “lost all face.” At Conchcorde Plaza the battle rages — Sanji trades barbs with the inflating giant pufferfish Wadatsumi (“Mega Monk”), who crushes his own allies; Robin (on Jinbe’s plea) frees the human “Slave Tanks” the New Fish-Man Pirates use as living battering rams; Franky debuts “Franky Fireball”; Chopper in Heavy Point fends off Dosun’s hammer and accepts being a monster for Luffy’s sake; and Zoro fells the eight-armed swordsman Hyouzou in one swing as “not even worth killing time.” The volume’s SBS closes the chapter.

New reveals

• Noah was Decken’s island-killer, and Shirahoshi was the decoy. Decken’s homing curse moved the colossal ark Noah straight at Fish-Man Island (“that was definitely Noah about to crush the island!!”), and Princess Shirahoshi lured it away from the island herself, risking her life so the people could escape (pp. 4-5).
• King Neptune commits the whole kingdom to the Straw Hats. Freed and briefed, he orders “all soldiers to the square” to support Jinbe and the Straw Hat crew, declaring that being saved by pirates the country falsely arrested means it has “lost all face” (pp. 9-10). The citizens refuse to evacuate and choose to share the fighters’ fate.
• The New Fish-Man Pirates keep human slaves as weapons. They mount fighters on enslaved humans used as disposable “Slave Tank” rams (“Cut him loose and pop in a fresh slave!”), and Robin frees them — Jinbe: he can no longer watch Hody’s men “act like Celestial Dragons,” for they “are not even ‘human’ at this point” (pp. 11, 14-15).
• Battle results: Zoro one-shots the octopus swordsman Hyouzou (pp. 19); Chopper in Heavy Point stops Dosun’s hammer barehanded and declares “I’m fine being a monster for Luffy’s sake” (pp. 17-18); Sanji fights the inflating Wadatsumi (“Mega Monk”), who flattens his own side; Franky Fireball debuts (a fireball from General Franky’s chest, pp. 16-17); Ikaros Much fires spitball “Wings of Ikaros” and dodges with an ink double (pp. 15-16).
• SBS (p. 20): Shanks and Rayleigh, in Luffy’s exact situation, could knock out ~100,000 with Conqueror’s Haki; KO-by-Haki only happens when the user is overwhelmingly stronger, and a trained user can selectively spare chosen people from its effect. Also: Shirahoshi’s birthday is April 4; Brook’s “rival” gag (Nami; centerfold proportions).

Foreshadowing seeds planted

Payoffs (seeds from earlier chapters that resolve here)

Mentions / appearances

• Appear (story panels): King Neptune, Minister of the Left, Nico Robin, Sanji, Franky, Tony Tony Chopper, Zoro, Jinbei, Camie (Forest of the Sea), Wadatsumi, Ikaros Much, Dosun, Hyouzou.
• Title-splash cameo (pp. 1-2): Luffy, Nami, Brook (and Robin) in a beach-vacation “Everything’s packed” splash.
• Mentioned only: Shirahoshi (lured Noah away), Vander Decken IX (moved Noah), Hody Jones, Fisher Tiger (“old Captain Tiger”), Fukaboshi & the princes (Neptune “will wait for the princes”), Surume (Sanji’s kraken comparison).
• Groups/locations: New Fish-Man Pirates, Straw Hat Pirates, Neptune Army, Flying Pirates (Wadatsumi), Sun Pirates (Tiger reference), Noah, Conchcorde Plaza, Forest of the Sea, Coral Hill, Ryugu Castle, Fish-Man District. Minor named districts (panel captions): Water-Wheel District, Coral Apartments.

Notable panels

• Pp. 1-2 — Two-page title splash “LOST ALL FACE” / “Everything’s packed”: the Straw Hats packed for a beach trip (Robin in a sun hat, Brook with shades, Nami hugging an island whale, Luffy reading a Mermaid-Beach bus sign). Decorative vacation gag — flagged for mirror review but reads as non-foreshadowing.
• P. 9-10 — Neptune’s “lost all face” declaration; the citizens’ refusal to evacuate.
• P. 12-14 — Wadatsumi inflates (“Mega Monk”), crushing his own allies; Sanji: “still smaller than the kraken.”
• P. 17-18 — Chopper’s Heavy Point catches Dosun’s hammer; “I’m fine being a monster for Luffy’s sake.”
• P. 19 — Zoro one-shots Hyouzou: “You ain’t even worth… killing time!!”
• P. 20 — SBS Question Corner: Conqueror’s Haki magnitude/selective-sparing canon; Shirahoshi’s April 4 birthday.

Open questions raised

• What is Noah actually for, and how is it stopped now that it is loose and homing on Shirahoshi?
• Will Shirahoshi survive leading the ark away — and does her ability to do so hint at a deeper power?
• How far will the citizens’ choice to stand with the Straw Hats reshape Fish-Man Island’s relationship to humans?