Chapter Summaries

Gawain resolved to recruit Tyrant Kuma so he could build his own strength, while planning to stabilize Ryugu Kingdom by exposing the truth about Queen Otohime’s death and eliminating Hody Jones and Vander Decken IX. As Vander Decken set out toward the North Sea Kraken, Gawain remained unaware of the danger approaching his ship.

• Gawain decided that he needed Tyrant Kuma’s help to train relentlessly and strengthen himself, and Gion agreed to remind him to recruit Kuma after they left Fish-Man Island.
• Gion went to change clothes while Mjosgard praised her, and Gawain considered the political importance of keeping Ryugu Kingdom stable.
• Vander Decken IX learned that a Marine ship carrying a Celestial Dragon was nearby and planned to attack it to provoke an Admiral and seize Princess Shirahoshi.
• Vander Decken reconsidered his plan, ordered Anglerfish and Wadatsumi to turn around, and headed toward the North Sea Kraken instead.
• Gawain concluded that Hody Jones and Vander Decken IX had to die so he could stabilize Ryugu Kingdom and obtain Poseidon.

Neptune and Jinbe prepared for the Celestial Dragons’ arrival while Hody Jones plotted to seize the Ryugu Kingdom once his forces were stronger. Gawain’s ship reached Fish-Man Island, and the returned Merfolk saw their home again.

• Fukaboshi warned Neptune that the Fish-Man District was restless and Hody Jones had made no promise about the Celestial Dragons’ visit.
• Neptune sent Jinbe to keep watch over the Fish-Man District rather than accompany him, concerned that Tiger’s former crewmate would provoke the Celestial Dragons.
• Jinbe rebuked Hody Jones for insulting the returning Merfolk and warned that he would teach him a lesson if he continued.
• After Jinbe left, Hody Jones told his officers to keep quiet, train the Kraken, and increase Energy Steroid production before challenging Neptune and Jinbe.
• Gawain’s ship passed the undersea volcanoes and reached Fish-Man Island, where the returning Merfolk laughed and cried at the sight of home.

King Neptune welcomed Gawain and Mjosgard to Fish-Man Island as the forty-six returned Merfolk prepared to reunite with their people. The Merfolk boarded Gawain’s ship and rushed to meet their kin.

• Neptune rallied Ryugu Kingdom’s people to welcome the returning Merfolk and opened a bubble passage from the palace.
• Gion stopped a subordinate from making an insulting announcement, and Fish-Man Island’s guards guided Gawain’s ship through the outer coating.
• Gawain told Gion that the soldiers served the Five Elders and that he expected to have his own subordinates later.
• Gawain’s ship crossed Fish-Man Island’s sky, where Neptune met the vessel and invited the Celestial Dragons and their party aboard.
• Gawain ordered the coating opened, and Neptune’s welcoming party boarded as the forty-six Merfolk rushed to reunite with their people.

Mjosgard publicly knelt and apologized to Neptune and the merfolk for failing to protect them and Queen Otohime, winning their sympathy and support for humanity. Gawain then left the reunited merfolk aboard his ship and set off with Mjosgard and Gion on Neptune’s whale, having secured the ruling faction’s friendship.

• Neptune brought the merfolk welcome party aboard Gawain’s ship, where the returning merfolk reunited with friends and family.
• Mjosgard knelt before Neptune and apologized for not escorting Queen Otohime home and for failing to save more merfolk.
• Neptune, his sons, and the others prostrated themselves before Mjosgard, then rose when Gawain asked them to.
• Mjosgard’s apology moved the merfolk and won Gawain a group of supporters for humanity.
• Gawain left the merfolk to talk with their loved ones and asked Neptune to take him, Mjosgard, and Gion on his whale.
• Neptune eagerly rode off with Gawain, Mjosgard, and Gion, while Gawain concluded that he had gained the ruling faction’s friendship.

Gawain and Mjosgard arrived at Fish-Man Island with King Neptune and learned that Queen Otohime’s murderer had already been caught and executed. Gawain proposed investigating the conspiracy behind her death before helping Neptune seek the Five Elders’ approval for Fish-Men to move to the surface.

• Neptune steadied Mjosgard on the giant whale and told him that Fish-Man Island’s people were curious to see Celestial Dragons.
• Gawain encouraged Neptune and Mjosgard to set aside their grief and said they wanted to do something for Otohime and the Ryugu Kingdom.
• Neptune revealed that Hody Jones had caught Otohime’s human killer, whom Neptune had executed, and reaffirmed his commitment to her dream of peace and sunlight for Fish-Men.
• Neptune asked Gawain and Mjosgard to help him approach the Five Elders about renewing the proposal for Fish-Men to relocate to the surface.
• Gawain agreed to help but argued that the executed killer had been only a tool and that a mastermind might have arranged Otohime’s murder.
• Gawain asked Neptune to help investigate the full truth behind Otohime’s death before they pursued the relocation proposal together.

Gawain persuaded Neptune to investigate Otohime’s murder by drawing out the mastermind, using a public friendship with Fish-Man Island as bait. Neptune agreed and insisted that Jinbe become Gawain’s personal guard.

• Neptune explained why he feared uncovering the truth about Otohime’s death and the possible suspects behind it.
• Gawain argued that leaving the mastermind at large put Neptune and Fish-Man Island at risk, and Neptune resolved to seek the truth.
• Gawain proposed hosting a banquet and publicly befriending Neptune to lure the mastermind into acting when Gawain offered to help Fish-Man Island relocate to the surface.
• Neptune accepted Gawain’s plan but warned that the sea’s depths made the danger especially serious.
• Neptune asked Gawain to forgive Jinbe and Fisher Tiger’s past offense against Mary Geoise and accept Jinbe as his personal guard.

King Neptune persuaded Gawain to meet Jinbe and invited Gawain’s group to Ryugu Palace for a banquet. Jinbe reflected on Fish-Man Island’s worsening divisions and Queen Otohime’s empathy before Neptune’s guards summoned him to the palace.

• Neptune urged Gawain to accept Jinbe’s help, and Gawain agreed to meet him while pretending to do so reluctantly.
• Neptune led Gawain, Gion, and Mjosgard into Ryugu Palace and ordered a grand banquet, then sent guards to summon Jinbe.
• Jinbe watched the guards arrive and worried that the Celestial Dragon’s presence might bring more harm to Fish-Man Island.
• Jinbe recalled how piracy, slavery, and the death of Fisher Tiger had deepened the island’s divisions, while Queen Otohime’s Observation Haki had once helped ease them.
• Neptune’s guards told Jinbe that the king had urgent matters to discuss, and Jinbe agreed to go to Ryugu Palace.

Gawain met Jinbe at Ryugu Palace and discussed investigating Queen Otohime’s assassination and testing support for Fish-Men relocating to land. As the banquet was prepared, Gawain asked Neptune about Otohime and Neptune’s daughter, whom he had not introduced.

• Neptune brought Jinbe to meet Gawain and Mjosgard, and Gawain’s warm manners surprised Jinbe.
• Neptune explained the plan to uncover the mastermind behind Queen Otohime’s assassination, and Jinbe pledged his support and protection.
• Gawain asked Jinbe whether most Fish-Men would support relocating to land, then proposed testing public sentiment around the island after the banquet.
• Neptune agreed to Gawain’s plan and ordered preparations for a banquet as Fukaboshi, Ryuboshi, Manboshi, and the ministers returned.
• Gawain asked Neptune why he had introduced only his sons and where his daughter was, noting that he and Mjosgard had prepared gifts for her.

Neptune revealed that Shirahoshi could communicate with Sea Kings and that legends linked her to the Ancient Weapon Poseidon, but Gawain dismissed the claims as rumors. At Gawain’s request, Neptune sent his sons to bring Shirahoshi out of Hard-Shell Tower, where they found her hiding beneath a blanket.

• Mjosgard recalled how young Shirahoshi’s cries had summoned Sea Kings, alarming Neptune’s family and ministers.
• Neptune explained Shirahoshi’s gift and the prophecy connecting her to Poseidon, while Gawain treated the story as another unsubstantiated rumor.
• Neptune agreed to bring Shirahoshi to the banquet, and Fukaboshi, Ryuboshi, and Manboshi left for Hard-Shell Tower.
• Manboshi worried that bringing their sister out would endanger her, but Fukaboshi reassured him that Gawain, Gion, and Jinbe would protect her.
• The princes and guards opened Hard-Shell Tower and switched on the lights, revealing Shirahoshi peeking fearfully from beneath her bedcovers.

Fukaboshi brought Shirahoshi out of the Hard-Shell Tower so she could attend the banquet, while Neptune explained to Gawain and Gion why Vander Decken IX had forced Shirahoshi to live in isolation. Shirahoshi arrived at the palace hidden inside Megalo's mouth, where Gawain saw her for the first time.

• Fukaboshi told Shirahoshi she could leave the Hard-Shell Tower temporarily and attend the banquet, delighting her with the chance to see outside.
• Shirahoshi asked to visit several places around Fish-Man Island, then followed her brothers out of the tower while hiding inside Megalo's mouth.
• Neptune told Gawain that Vander Decken IX had targeted Shirahoshi with weapons after locking onto her with the Mato Mato no Mi, forcing Neptune to confine her in the Hard-Shell Tower.
• Fukaboshi announced Shirahoshi's arrival at the palace, and Gawain saw her head peeking out of Megalo's mouth.

Neptune introduced Shirahoshi to Gawain, Mjosgard, and Gion, and the guests exchanged stories and gifts during a cheerful visit. Their gathering ended when Vander Decken IX’s giant axe crashed through the palace skylight, and Jinbe threw it back outside.

• Neptune pulled Shirahoshi out of Megalo’s mouth and introduced her to Gawain and Mjosgard as friends of her mother.
• Shirahoshi greeted Gawain and Mjosgard, then befriended Gion, who invited her to sit beside her.
• Neptune and Mjosgard told the guests about Fish-Man Island, while Gawain and Mjosgard gave Shirahoshi paintings and the princes music records.
• Jinbe and Gion noticed an incoming disturbance, and a giant axe shattered the royal hall’s skylight.
• Jinbe caught the axe, hurled it back through the skylight, and identified it as Vander Decken IX’s gift.

Gawain proposed announcing a fake engagement to Shirahoshi to lure Vander Decken IX out and help Fish-Man Island move onto land. Neptune agreed, and Gawain promised to take Shirahoshi sightseeing, leaving the plan set to unfold during the banquet.

• Gion asked Gawain for time to hunt down Vander Decken IX, but Gawain warned that the Fish-Men had failed to find him for five years.
• Gawain suggested pretending to propose to Shirahoshi so Vander Decken IX and the hidden mastermind would be provoked into acting.
• Gawain persuaded Neptune to announce the proposal across the sea, presenting it as a reason to support the Fish-Men's relocation to land.
• Shirahoshi panicked at the thought of marriage, and Gawain clarified that the engagement was fake and promised to take her sightseeing on land.
• Shirahoshi accepted the promise, and Gawain returned to the tea and snacks while describing Vander Decken IX and the mastermind as their prey.

Gawain and Neptune left for Fish-Man Island’s grand banquet after a tense, awkward gathering at Ryugu Palace. As hundreds of thousands of people knelt to Mjosgard, Gawain explained to Jinbe why forced kneeling could corrupt both those who bow and those who are revered.

• Neptune agreed to Gawain’s plans to investigate the former queen’s death, address Vander Decken IX’s threat, and help Fish-Man Island reach the surface.
• Gawain endured Shirahoshi’s, Neptune’s, Fukaboshi’s, Gion’s, and Jinbe’s conspicuous attention until the ministers announced the banquet was ready.
• Neptune and Gawain departed Ryugu Palace with their party, riding Giant Flounders toward the grand banquet hall.
• Hundreds of thousands of Fish-Men and Merfolk gathered to see the Celestial Dragons, then fell silent and knelt when Mjosgard arrived.
• Gion commented on the custom of kneeling, and Gawain told Jinbe that forced reverence could breed resentment and make those in power lose their sense of reverence.

Gawain encouraged the kneeling Merfolk to stand and declared that he wanted to rise above the Five Elders, then attended Neptune’s banquet as Shirahoshi faced the crowd. The celebration turned tense when a Celestial Dragon announced on the broadcast that he wanted to marry Shirahoshi, while Hody Jones and his followers watched angrily.

• Gawain explained that people who had been forced to kneel could not fully use their abilities, and urged the Merfolk to stand.
• Gion praised Gawain’s prospects of becoming one of the Five Elders, but Gawain said he wanted to stand above them.
• Gawain arrived at Neptune’s banquet, where Shirahoshi became frightened by the crowd’s cheers before her brothers helped her take her seat.
• The rescued Merfolk girls danced at the banquet as Hody Jones watched the broadcast and grew increasingly furious.
• Hody Jones stopped his followers from rushing out when a Celestial Dragon appeared on the broadcast and declared that he wanted Shirahoshi as his wife.

Gawain staged a fake courtship of Shirahoshi to lure Vander Decken IX and unsettle the enemy opposing Fish-Man Island’s move to the surface. After the banquet, Gion refused to let him rest and prepared to train him.

• Jinbe, Mjosgard, and Neptune discussed whether Gawain’s exaggerated villain act would lure Vander Decken IX, while Shirahoshi blushed over Gawain’s praise.
• Gawain offered Shirahoshi Seaweed Wine and claimed she would become his fiancée in exchange for an ordinance allowing Fish-Man Island to move to the surface.
• Neptune flipped a table and pretended to oppose the engagement, while Jinbe and Neptune’s sons restrained him according to the plan.
• Shirahoshi drank the wine, and Gawain promised to deliver the ordinance within three days before leaving the banquet with Gion and Mjosgard.
• On the way to his palace, Gawain said the staged announcement would provoke Vander Decken IX and the hidden enemy, but Gion told him to begin training instead of resting.

Neptune weighed the danger of resisting Gawain against the future of Fish-Man Island and chose to cooperate with the Celestial Dragon’s faction. He sent Shirahoshi to stay aboard Gawain’s ship and announced that Fish-Man Island must prepare to relocate to the surface.

• Neptune considered the risks of Fish-Man Island opposing the World Government and concluded that cooperation with Gawain offered his people the best chance of security.
• Neptune decided that Mjosgard’s kneel showed Gawain’s faction valued Fish-Man Island enough to merit his support.
• Neptune asked Shirahoshi whether she truly longed for land and sunlight, and she eagerly confirmed that she did.
• Neptune told Shirahoshi to go aboard Gawain’s ship, trusting that Gawain would protect her.
• Neptune resumed the performance by announcing that Fish-Man Island could not refuse the Celestial Dragon’s decision and must prepare to relocate to the surface.

Hody Jones plotted to seize Fish-Man Island by exploiting the outrage over Gawain’s apparent abduction of Shirahoshi. Gawain woke injured the next morning and was joined by a bashful Shirahoshi, leaving their awkward reunion underway.

• Hody Jones smashed the New Sun Pirates’ headquarters and planned to arm ten thousand fighters with Energy Steroids while recruiting outlaws and using two giant Sea Kings.
• Hody Jones decided to exploit the Fish-Men’s anger toward Gawain and ordered Ikaros Mushi to contact a rival who wanted to marry Shirahoshi.
• Gawain woke at Ryugu Palace, accepted help from Tris, and joined Gion for tea after learning that the island’s people were already awake.
• Shirahoshi peered through the adjoining room’s window, spotted Gawain, and then entered with Jinbe while trying unsuccessfully to hide behind him.

Gawain took Shirahoshi out of Hard-Shell Tower to visit the Mermaid Cafe and the Sea Forest, hoping to draw Vander Decken into the open. At the cafe, Shirahoshi reunited with Madame Shyarly, whose influence Gawain recognized as vital to winning Fish-Man Island's support.

• Jinbe explained that he had brought Shirahoshi to Gawain so she could leave Hard-Shell Tower and help lure Vander Decken out.
• Gawain agreed to take Shirahoshi to the Mermaid Cafe and the Sea Forest, and told his companions to spread word of their itinerary.
• Gawain, Shirahoshi, Gion, and Jinbe traveled to the Mermaid Cafe, where Gion and Jinbe noticed suspicious watchers hiding nearby.
• Madame Shyarly welcomed Gawain and invited him inside, expecting him to ask for a divination.
• Shirahoshi embraced Madame Shyarly and confided her fear and loneliness, while Gawain recognized Shyarly's importance to Fish-Man Island's popular support.

Gawain comforted Shirahoshi at the Mermaid Cafe, then asked Madame Shyarly what she had seen in her divinations about his actions and Fish-Man Island’s future. He waited tensely to learn whether her visions could see him, a newcomer who had changed the island’s fate.

• Madame Shyarly comforted Shirahoshi and brought her into the Mermaid Cafe, where merfolk gathered around the princess.
• Shirahoshi cried harder after Shyarly urged her to follow Queen Otohime’s example, but Gawain distracted her by pointing out Shyarly’s crystal ball.
• Shirahoshi shyly touched Gawain’s face, and Madame Shyarly teased the pair while Gion reacted awkwardly to her offer of coffee with milk foam.
• Gawain asked Shyarly what she thought of his decision to steer Fish-Man Island toward closer ties with humans and the surface.
• Gawain asked whether Shyarly’s divination had shown what he would bring to Fish-Man Island and whether it had shown him at all.

Madame Shyarly told Gawain that her visions showed him killing her brother Arlong and later clashing with Whitebeard aboard the Moby Dick. Gawain refused to promise Arlong’s safety, and his excitement at the second prophecy caused his Conqueror’s Haki to flare as Gion warned him to stay calm.

• Madame Shyarly revealed that three divinations had shown her Gawain and begged him to spare her brother, Arlong, whom she had seen him kill.
• Gawain refused to promise Arlong’s safety, and Jinbe explained Arlong’s history with the Sun Pirates and his departure for the East Blue.
• Madame Shyarly described a vision of Gawain and Whitebeard clashing on the Moby Dick, with their battle destroying its decks.
• Shirahoshi asked whether Gawain would become powerful, and Gawain reacted to Shyarly’s prophecy with excitement.
• Gawain’s Conqueror’s Haki activated unconsciously, and Gion warned him that it could alert the enemy.