A Coward and a Crybaby! The Mermaid Princess in Hard-Shell Tower

Down on the ocean floor, Vander Decken IX announces his intention to wed the princess, hurling a colossal axe at her through the power of his Mark-Mark curse. Inside Ryugu Palace, the Minister of the Left pins the island's troubles and the missing mermaids on the visiting pirates. Luffy halts the incoming axe and rescues the princess, then ducks out of sight when the guards storm the room. Word arrives that the Straw Hats face the dungeons, with Zoro already in custody.

The princess, regretful for her earlier rudeness, lets Luffy share her meal and gives her name as Shirahoshi, explaining that a decade of confinement has kept her shut inside the tower. A clumsy insult from Luffy stings her, yet she admits she longs to travel and see distant places, and he wastes no time inviting her to come along. Elsewhere, Nami, Usopp, and Brook square off against the palace guards right as a freed Zoro turns up. Aboard the Noah, Decken sits down with Hody, and the pair of fish-men agree to join forces against Fish-Man Island.

Several touches separate the broadcast from the manga. Decken's thrown axe spares the mast of his ship here, unlike on the page. A new scene has the Minister of the Left brief Nami, Usopp, and Brook before the guards attack, and the Minister of the Right grows wary of Shirahoshi and Megalo. The episode also depicts Zoro drinking, collapsing, and being hauled into a cell. The longer opening sequence returns, the next-episode preview runs short, and the Funimation dub spells out that Decken's ability came from a fruit. This installment marks the anime debut of the Mato Mato no Mi.