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The merman isle saga continues! Once again we have the bluebeard to thank for translating the moonspeak:
-Chapter title is "Mermaid Princess in the Hardshell Tower". The splash page is the beginning of a new ministory (
JOY 
)! It looks like this one will involve Oda showing us the activities taking place around the post-skip world, as we first see one of those newspaper delivery birds with a paper that headlines the return of the Straw-Hats (it also mentions the Wapometal from Wapol's ministory, interestingly).......
-We're introduced to the top dog of the Flying Pirates crew: Captain Van der Decken IX (Japanese bullhead shark merman) and his crewman, the giant Wadatsumi (giant puffer tiger merman). Decken says that he threatened the princess with the phrase "MARRIAGE OR DIE", the meaning of which should be pretty obvious. He then throws an axe with a picture of roses drawn on it, which seems to be the captain's twisted idea of a present......
-Back at Ryuuguu palace, Luffy attempts to calm down Shirahoshi. It's at that moment when Decken's axe bursts into the room, which Luffy catches. Some guards arrive, and the princess hides Luffy behind her. The guards decide to imprison the rest of the Straw-Hats, though only Zoro was caught so far. When the guards leave, Shirahoshi talks to Luffy about Van der Decken. He had a "curse" placed on him called "mato mato" (target), which makes any object he attacks his targets with never miss their mark. Naturally, the princess is one such target, which is why she's unable to leave the tower. She invites Luffy to dinner, and says she's been locked in the tower for a decade. The rookie suggests the princess should take a walk with him, and assures her that he'll take care of any weapons flying her way.
-At another part of the palace, the other Straw-Hats are resisting the guards. Neptune himself reluctantly joins the fray, but his attack is blocked by...... Zoro! Meanwhile, at the town of Noah, it's revealed that Decken and Hody Jones have formed an alliance in order to assassinate Neptune and destroy the kingdom. Decken puts on some gloves, then shakes hands with the other captain to seal the deal......
Heh, looks like my prediction of both enemy crews joining forces came true after all! And Luffy that pimp, asking out the princess on a date!
However, I kinda wouldn't be surprised if Shira ends up getting swiped by Caribou next.....
And we're finally introduced to Decken! I still sorta think that he's a half-merman, and it's pretty clear that he has a DF power (the first of his kind to possess one!). Man, I can't wait to see what sort of havoc him and Hody will wreak upon the island.....
But the highlight of the chapter for me is the ministory, I must admit. I was
really hoping this is the long-awaited Foxy story, but a post-skip world tour sounds pretty sweet as well (and maybe Foxy will still make an appearance in it, who knows.....?). Oh, how I can't wait for this chapter already!
