Vander Decken IX

“Vander Decken IX” · alive · captain of the Flying Pirates (Flying Dutchman) · first named @0606 · first shown @0613

Etymology

Confidence: high · バンダー・デッケン九世 Bandā Dekken Kyūsei = “Vander Decken the Ninth.” “Van der Decken” is the name attached to the doomed captain of the Flying Dutchman in the earliest printed version of the legend (Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, 1821) and in Frederick Marryat’s Gothic novel The Phantom Ship (1839) — the captain was unnamed in the original folklore; the Dutch reads roughly “of the deck.” 九世 Kyūsei = “ninth generation,” marking this Decken the ninth descendant of the original cursed captain (the ancestor is recorded inside Vander Decken). Oda inverts the legend twice over: the myth’s captain is cursed never to touch land, while Decken is a Mark-Mark fish-man who can never touch the sea; and the Wagner-opera motif (Der fliegende Holländer — the captain freed only by a faithful woman’s love) is literalized in his obsessive ten-year pursuit of Shirahoshi. Species: Japanese bullhead-shark fish-man (caption Ch. 613). Sources: One Piece Wiki — Vander Decken; Wikipedia — Flying Dutchman.

Arc-by-arc updates

Fish-Man Island — imprisoned (Ch. 649)

• Shown imprisoned in the Prison Tower with the New Fish-Man Pirates officers (p. 8). status remains alive (captive).

Fish-Man Island — brought in chained (Ch. 648)

• Brought in chained alongside Hody at Conchcorde Plaza; the princes declare “these men will not go free again!!!” (pp. 11-12).

Fish-Man Island — confirmed as Noah’s mover (mentioned) (Ch. 642) — referenced, not shown

• (Mentioned, off-page) Confirmed as the one who moved Noah toward the island — his Mato Mato homing curse on Shirahoshi dragged the ark after her (“So it was Decken who moved Noah!”), forcing her decoy run (pp. 4-5).

Fish-Man Island — knocked out; Noah loses its guide (Ch. 641) — referenced, not shown

• Reported knocked out (“he’s finally kicked the bucket!!”); with him unconscious his Mark-Mark hold on Noah lapses and the ark falls straight toward the island (p. 2). Shirahoshi pleads for him to “set your target on me again” if still alive (p. 5). See Vander Decken Mark-Mark Curse Homing-Weapon Threat To Shirahoshi, Mato Mato no Mi.

Fish-Man Island — steering Noah onto the island (Ch. 640) — shown

Fish-Man Island — brands Hody; crashes through the palace (Ch. 639) — shown

• Turns his Mark-Mark curse on his own ally: brands Hody Jones with his left hand in retaliation for perceived betrayal (p. 3), the coup pact collapsing into mutual blows. See Hody Jones Vander Decken Alliance To Overthrow Neptune, Mato Mato no Mi.
• Knocked into his own coffin-ship, which crashes through the palace (pp. 3–6); survives and reaffirms his obsession — ”…I’ll just make sure to kill Shirahoshi.”
• Abandons his underling Wadatsumi at Conchcorde Plaza.

Fish-Man Island — Noah weaponized (Ch. 638) — shown

• Rides the colossal ark Noah he has marked with his Mark-Mark power, using the whole vessel as a homing weapon to torment the fleeing Shirahoshi — “I’m just tormenting Shirahoshi now with this big ol’ ship!” (p. 19).
• Renews his lethal marriage ultimatum from the deck — “Will you die of blood loss first?! Or get crushed by the giant ship?! …Just marry me!!!” — and is rejected (“You’re just not my type!!”) (p. 12).
• Attacked by his own ally Hody Jones at chapter’s end (“If you die… what happens to the ship, Decken?”, p. 19) — the alliance fractures over control of the ark.

Fish-Man Island — hurls the Ancient Ark at Shirahoshi (Ch. 637) — shown

• The Mark-Mark curse reaches its arc-climax form: Decken has marked and thrown the colossal ark Noah at Shirahoshi exactly as he throws his letters and axes — “once I’ve thrown something with these powers, it won’t stop until it’s hit something or obliterated its target!!!” (p. 12). He intends her to “join this entire Fish-Man Island as a sacrificial victim” (p. 13).
• Betrays the alliance: aims the ark at the whole island, the New Fish-Man Pirates included — Hody Jones: “He has betrayed our pact!!” (p. 16).
• Gloats over her self-sacrifice — “Oho!! It’s the love of my life!!” / “You will die with beauty so that you may live forever in my heart, Shirahoshi!!” (pp. 15-16). His giant Wadatsumi tumbled out of the ark during the throw (p. 11).
• See Vander Decken Mark-Mark Curse Homing-Weapon Threat To Shirahoshi, Mato Mato no Mi.

Fish-Man Island — written off by Hody (Ch. 634)

• Referenced (not shown): Hody Jones rages that “Vander Decken is completely useless!” after he failed to kill Shirahoshi (p. 11), confirming Decken’s assigned role in the coup was Shirahoshi’s assassination.

Fish-Man Island — hurls Noah at Shirahoshi (Ch. 632) — shown

• Beneath Noah in the Fish-Man District, he marks the colossal ancient ark with his Mark-Mark power (“I just tapped it with my right hand!”) and throws the entire ship through the sea at Shirahoshi — “Die along with the entire island, my dear Shirahoshi! Goodbye, Fish-Man Island!!” (pp. 18-19). Noah is “half the size of Fish-Man Island… nowhere to run and no way to stop it.”
• See Vander Decken Mark-Mark Curse Homing-Weapon Threat To Shirahoshi.

Fish-Man Island — raging aboard Noah (Ch. 631) — shown

• Shown aboard Noah in the Fish-Man District, raging that Shirahoshi rejected him — he has shaved his head over it (pp. 2-3).
• States he wanted “to fulfill my ancestor’s wishes by marrying her” (the Mermaid Princess), but “that blasted straw hat keeps knocking [his thrown weapons] down” (p. 2) — the inherited-duty framing of the Decken obsession. See The Poseidon Legend Lured The First Vander Decken To The Seafloor.
• Frustrated, resolves to “just smash everything” — claims a “brilliant idea” (p. 3), escalating his Mark-Mark threat. See Vander Decken Mark-Mark Curse Homing-Weapon Threat To Shirahoshi.

Fish-Man Island — the alliance’s true purpose (Ch. 628) — named (not shown)

• Jinbei reveals Hody allied with Decken specifically because Decken’s Mark-Mark homing can strike Shirahoshi at any time — Hody’s insurance against her Neptunian-summoning power (p. 18). See Ancient Weapons.

Fish-Man Island flashback — the love letters (Ch. 627) — mentioned (flashback)

• Sent at least five love letters to the six-year-old Princess Shirahoshi — “I’ve fallen in love with you… now marry me” — that kept reaching her wherever she hid (the homing/targeting tell that becomes the decade-long Mark-Mark pursuit); ordered captured by King Neptune (p. 8). See Vander Deckens Love Letters Always Reach Shirahoshi.
• Established as “the latest in a long line of pirates by that name” (i.e. the IX), reaffirming the Decken lineage (p. 8).

Fish-Man Island — the Tamate Box wedding scheme (Ch. 626) — shown

• Schemes with his Flying Pirates over the marriage plot (pp. 2-3): his obsession with marrying Princess Shirahoshi is partly a means to reach the Tamate Box hidden inside the otherwise-impenetrable Ryugu Castle — a treasure that “has the power to make anybody age” (“turn a tiny little kid… into a sexy young woman”). Invokes “the dream of all the Vander Deckens who came before me” (p. 3), reaffirming the Decken lineage. Comic beat: he has no friends to invite to the wedding.
• See Tamatebox, Tamatebox Treasure That Makes People Age Decken Wedding Plot.

Fish-Man Island — Otohime flashback: the obsession begins (Ch. 625) — shown (flashback)

• Witnessing the six-year-old Shirahoshi summon the Neptunians, identifies her as the legendary mermaid princess — “Great ancestor! I’ve finally… found her!” — and resolves to marry her, declaring “the truth of the legend is a secret that belongs to my family alone” (p. 15). His decade-long pursuit of Shirahoshi originates here (the Mark-Mark palm-touch that locked onto her “ten years ago” per @0615). See Vander Decken, The Poseidon Legend Lured The First Vander Decken To The Seafloor.

Fish-Man Island — referenced (Ch. 619) — the curse keeps raining

• His Mark-Mark homing weapons keep tracking Shirahoshi now that she is out of Shell Tower, raining down on her in the open at the Forest of the Sea (p. 14: “How long is he gonna keep heaving those things?”). Named as the reason she was hidden for ten years (p. 15). See Vander Decken Mark-Mark Curse Homing-Weapon Threat To Shirahoshi.

Fish-Man Island (Ch. 618) — confronts Shirahoshi in person; downed by Luffy

Fish-Man Island — referenced (Ch. 617) — not shown

• Named as the threat driving Neptune’s desperation: “Vander Decken went after Shirahoshi!!” (p. 2).

Fish-Man Island (Ch. 616) — marches on Ryugu; the curse tracks the escaped princess

Fish-Man Island (Ch. 615) — the Mark-Mark Fruit explained

Fish-Man Island — the trench eruption (Ch. 607) — named, not shown

Fish-Man Island — Coral Hill tour (Ch. 610) — named, not shown (wanted poster only)

Fish-Man Island — first appearance (Ch. 613) — first SHOWN in person

Fish-Man Island — bombarding the Shell Tower (Ch. 614)

Notes

• Name-pin (reconcile #5): the canonical note is Vander Decken IX (named “Vander Decken” @0606 before the “IX” is shown). aliases:["Vander Decken"]. Committed chapter notes that link [[Characters/Vander Decken]] normalize here on the weaver’s broken-link sweep.
• Etymology flag — Vander Decken / Flying Dutchman legend — routed to the etymology specialist.