## One Piece Chapter 423, pages 16-17: The Mermaid Legend - Chapter: 423 - Pages: 16-17 - Characters: Sanji, Kokoro, Nami, Tony Tony Chopper, Chimney, Gonbe ### Summary Page 16: As the drowning group begins to fade, a voice cuts through the water: "IT'S OKAY!! PULL YOURSELVES TOGETHER!!! I WON'T LET YOU DIE!!" Sanji, half-conscious, realizes something is pulling him. "WHAT!? WHAT'S GOING ON!? I'M BEING PULLED BY SOMETHING!!" Beneath him, a long-haired figure moves with the current. Through his fading vision he thinks, "AAH, AM I DREAMING OR SOMETHING...!? ... I BET I AM..." He sees drowned sailors, then a tail and fins before passing out. "THE MERMAID LEGEND..." appears in his thoughts: "LOOKING UP, I SEE LONG HAIR FLOWING WITH THE CURRENT... SUCH A BEAUTIFUL APPEARANCE AS IF... I AM SEEING A DREAM OR A VISION. IF THIS IS A DREAM, PLEASE..." The legend he imagines is real enough to save them. Page 17: The savior is revealed: Kokoro is a mermaid. In the flooded tunnel she gathers the drowning group around her and surges forward, laughing "NGAGAGA-GAGA!!!" as bubbles stream past. Someone's fading thoughts break into disbelief: "DU... DU...!! DUGONG!!?" Kokoro answers with practical cheer, "LET ME SAY... THIS WILL BE AN EXPRESS RIDE!!! HOLD YOUR BREATHS!!!" With Nami, Chopper, Chimney, Gonbe, and the others clinging to her, she carries them through the water like a living rescue train. The chapter's title becomes literal: the mermaid legend is Kokoro herself, dragging the crew through the flood before the underground passage can become their grave.