## One Piece Chapter 623: Pirate Fisher Tiger - Chapter: 623 - Pages: 0-18 - Characters: Kaya, Ninjin, Piiman, Tamanegi, Koala, Fisher Tiger, Arlong, Aladdin, Hatchan, Jinbe, Otohime, Strawberry, Neptune, Borsalino ### Summary Page 0: The chapter opens with the cover story, "From Shipdecks Around The World Vol 9: Syrup Village - Kaya, Student of Medicine." In Syrup Village, Kaya studies at a desk covered in medical books while Usopp's old friends crowd around her with loud, cheerful energy. The page is outside the main flashback, but it shows Kaya moving toward her own dream while the world follows the Straw Hats' news. No main-story dialogue appears on this cover page. Page 1: The Sun Pirates finally find the eternal pose that will take Koala home. Someone says, "We finally found it... An eternal pose to Koala's home." The crew cheers, "Nyuuuuu uuu!! Koala!! You're gonna be able to go home!!" Koala, introduced as a former slave, stands in a new dress after the crew has cleaned her up. A crewmate laughs, "Ahaha hah! You look so different." Another reassures her, "And we got you a nice haircut as well! Trust me, your mother will be delighted." Koala is still uncertain: "I - I don't think this is really..." but the crew tells her not to complain after they went to the trouble of buying it for her. Page 2: Koala immediately falls back into slave habits and says, "I - I think I'll clean up!" The crew tells her, "Nyuuuu!! You need to fix that habit of working whenever you're uncomfortable! This isn't Mariejoa, you know!!" Aladdin, introduced as the Sun Pirates' ship doctor and a former Neptune Army soldier, understands that she cannot simply stop. "Let her work if she wants to," he says. "There's no use in rushing her. This kind of trauma doesn't vanish overnight, you know!" Arlong sneers, "You tell him, Aladdin...!! I guess you former slaves understand each other pretty good, yeah?" The page keeps Koala's smile visible while showing that her fear has not truly left her. Page 3: Arlong pushes his hatred onto Koala. "Go on, admit it!! Really, you want to kill the brat here and now, don't ya?!" he says. "She's a human!! No different from those monsters that kept you imprisoned!!!" Aladdin tells him, "Give it a rest, would you, Arlong ...?!" but Arlong keeps mocking Koala: "You should be more honest an' all, brat! What did your mother teach you, eh? Your parents look down on us just like the rest of the humans, right?!" He insists that human society teaches children to believe their race is the greatest and most splendid in the world, and that nothing will change unless someone puts them in their place. The crew has all seen human scorn in the three years at sea, but Arlong turns that experience into a reason to hate Koala before she has done anything. Page 4: Jinbe gives a different answer to Arlong's hatred. "Certainly, some humans look at us with scorn. But others... I see something different in their eyes." He says, "It always seems to me... ...as though they are afraid of us." Koala asks, "Is it because we are pirates...? What is there to be so afraid of...?" and then reaches the idea Otohime has been preaching: "That's because... ...they don't know anything about you..." The thought echoes Otohime's words that Fishman Island still knows next to nothing about humanity as a whole, and reframes fear as ignorance. Koala then plays a simple guessing game on deck, pointing and saying, "There!!" while the others correct her, "Wrong! It's over here!" The page shows understanding being built through small, ordinary contact. Page 5: Koala spends more time aboard the Sun Pirates' ship, and the story lets the change happen quietly. She walks with the crew through towns, watches fishmen and merfolk in ordinary life, sees them eat, shop, laugh, and argue, and shares space with people she was once taught to fear. No major speech drives the page; the panels show lived experience doing what speeches cannot. Koala's smile is still present, but it now belongs to days filled with food, movement, games, and shared travel rather than panic and forced labor. The crew becomes less like monsters in her eyes and more like people. Page 6: A few weeks later, the Sun Pirates reach Koala's homeland, Foolshout Island. Tiger tells her, "Koala! Step out onto the shore. This is your homeland ...!!" He asks, "Which way is your village? I'll take you as far as the entrance." The crew breaks down emotionally behind them: "Ohhh, stop crying," someone says, but another sobs, "Guehhhh!! Don't go, Koala! Let's all keep sailing together!!" Others call after her, "You're a great kid!!! Even though you're a human!!" and "Take care of yourself!!" Koala smiles and promises, "I'll tell everyone in the village!! That lots of fishmen are really nice people!!" Page 7: Koala runs toward the village, then keeps turning back to wave. Jinbe watches and challenges Arlong's certainty: "Try thinking about it for a second. What good is it going to do if one girl...