Hell

The chapter opens with the title text, "Chapter 523: \"HELL\"." The cover story continues as "CP9 Independent Action Report Vol. 29: \"A Call in Spandam's Intensive Care Unit.\"" Spandam lies almost completely bandaged in a hospital bed, strapped down with medical gear and an IV nearby. His face and body are wrapped so heavily that only a battered, comic outline of him remains. A suited hospital attendant or official stands near the bed with a Den Den Mushi or medical paperwork, implying that even while Spandam is in intensive care, official business and calls still reach him. The image is a cover-story extra attached to the chapter's first page; the manga-hosting footer under the artwork is unrelated boilerplate.

Inside Amazon Lily, Hancock lies overwhelmed and thinks, "What's happening to me!?" She cannot even imagine refusing Luffy's request and worries, "Going to the Central Sea all of a sudden... But I have a bad feeling about this...!!" Elder Nyon identifies the illness bluntly: "That's love!!!" She says the unbearable suffering will weaken Hancock's body and eventually lead to her demise, just as previous empresses destroyed themselves by suppressing their feelings. Elder Nyon insists that Hancock's decision to go with Luffy will save her life, and if going to the Central Sea protects Hancock's Shichibukai status, it will also protect the country and help Monkey D. Luffy. She wonders under what star Luffy was born, because no ordinary pirate would think of entering the Great Prison unless captured.

At "Amazon Lily, Port," the crowd gathers to see Luffy off. Women shout, "Luffy!!" and wonder, "Weren't you setting sail tomorrow?" Another explains that the destination changed: he is going to board a Government ship with Lady Hebihime. Others are still obsessed with him, crying, "I haven't touched you yet!!" Luffy waves to Marguerite, Sweet Pea, and Aphelandra and says, "Later guys! Thanks for all your help!!" When someone suggests he should bring his friends to visit next time, Luffy laughs that if they are friends of the Kuja, they are special, so it is fine. Small animals near the port fuss over what was left behind, with little dog-like barks and remarks about the strange mark, while the crowd remains focused on the departing man.

Hancock arrives at the port in a blaze of adoration, and the crowd explodes: "KYAAA! It's Lady Hebihime!" and "I don't know why, but her beauty is overflowing!!!" They claim there is nothing about her that is not sexy. In her distracted state, Hancock knocks aside Puppy and a baby seal who are in her way, with impact sounds like "GYAN!!" and "KYOON!!" She immediately apologizes, saying, "My humblest apologies, I'll take responsibility..." while someone warns her to be more careful. Luffy calls out cheerfully, "Ohh!! Sorry about the rush, Snake Lady!! I want to go as soon as possible!!" Hancock is so flustered by him that she thinks she cannot even look him in the eyes.

A Kuja woman scolds Luffy for speaking too casually, telling him it is rude and that he should address Lady Hebihime properly. Hancock, blushing hard, interrupts with a request of her own: "Please call me... Hancock." Luffy accepts without ceremony: "Okay, got it, Hancock." The crowd erupts into a wild "KYAAAA-AAAA!!!" because Lady Hebihime actually smiled. One admirer asks how many carats that brilliant smile was. Elder Nyon watches with amusement and says, "A woman in love... fufufufu. There was a time when I looked like that as well..." Marguerite and the others notice she does not look well and comment on it, only for Elder Nyon to snap back, "Be quiet!!!"

The Kuja ship leaves Amazon Lily as the port crowds wave goodbye. The women shout, "Have a safe journey, Lady Hebihime!!" and "Come back soon, Luffy~!" Luffy beams and waves back with his usual "Shishishi!" laugh while Marguerite, Sweet Pea, Aphelandra, and many Kuja warriors watch from the shore. Some of the onlookers call, "See you again!!!" while another yells for them to stop being so unruly. The island gates open and the snake-drawn ship moves out, carrying Hancock toward the Marine vessel and carrying Luffy toward the dangerous path that might lead to Ace. The farewell is cheerful on the surface, but the destination is the World Government's prison route.

At sea, the Kuja ship reaches Vice Admiral Momonga's Marine warship. Momonga states the conditions he already explained over the Den Den Mushi: only Hancock and her pet snake will be allowed aboard. He confirms that he managed to get permission from his superiors for Hancock to visit the Great Prison Impel Down, adding that normally even the Shichibukai stay away from that place. Because this is a special case, she will not be able to stay for very long. Momonga orders, "Now, come aboard!!" Hancock stands poised with Salome while Luffy hides inside or alongside Salome's coiled carrying space, using Hancock's snake as cover so the Marines do not notice that the prisoner-bound ship is secretly transporting Ace's brother.

Momonga admits the wait was worth it and says he has fulfilled his duty, but first he asks Hancock to do something about the crew she petrified: "Or are they dead?" The Kuja farewell continues from their ship. Hancock's sisters call, "Farewell, sister!! Be safe!!" and "You have to come back to us alive, sister!!" The Kuja Pirates pray for Lady Hebihime's good fortune, and a quieter voice also wishes Luffy safety. Hancock answers solemnly, "I will return... In the meantime, watch over the country." Her sisters respond, "YES!!!" The page ties together Hancock's public duty to Amazon Lily, her secret cooperation with Luffy, and the tense need to undo the damage she caused to the Marine crew.

The page completes the interrupted ending of "Lady Hancock" by showing Hancock restoring the petrified Marines. She sends out hearts with a breathy "FUU" and commands, "Awaken..." The sailors revive and instantly lose themselves in adoration again, covered in hearts and too dazed to be useful. Momonga snaps, "Ready the ship, you fools...!!" and the Marines stammer, "Y... yes, right away!" Narration explains that somehow Luffy has gained the cooperation of the Shichibukai Boa Hancock, successfully boarded the Marine warship, and that the ship is now headed for the world's greatest prison, the great sea floor prison Impel Down. Luffy remains hidden while the official voyage begins.

The scene shifts to "Grand Line, Marine Headquarters." A Marine reports to Fleet Admiral Sengoku that Vice Admiral Momonga has made contact: the empress Boa Hancock has relented and is now making her way there. Sengoku says, "Finally... I hope that they make it in time... That woman is strong...!!" With Hancock counted, six Shichibukai are now cooperating, but Sengoku asks about the last one and whether the man sent to prison has finally cooled his head. The officer says no: he still refuses to take part in the fight and is prepared to lose his Shichibukai title over it. Sengoku had expected that pirate to be more willing to help, but instead he came to Marine Headquarters and made a huge mess.

Sengoku names the problem with a furious close-up: "Damn Jimbei...!!!" Under the Marine Headquarters banner of "Absolute Justice," reports keep piling up. A Marine says Admiral Kizaru captured 500 pirates in connection with the Sabaody Archipelago incident, but the paperwork to send them to Impel Down cannot be completed yet. Another report mentions the World Noble Saint Roswald, but Sengoku cuts it off: if it has nothing to do with Whitebeard, he does not want to hear it, and the admirals can handle it. He asks what happened to Garp, and learns that Vice Admiral Garp was heading to Impel Down. Sengoku grumbles that Garp is too free-spirited, just before another Marine bursts in with urgent news: Whitebeard is on the move.

The urgent report says that all the ships monitoring Whitebeard's flagship, the Moby Dick, have gone silent: twenty-three ships in all, and contact with every one of them was suddenly lost. Sengoku reacts in shock as the shadow of Whitebeard and his forces looms over the report. The Marines also say that other pirate crews in the New World have been taking suspicious actions, but the Navy has no idea of the scope of their plans and has lost sight of them completely. New patrol ships are preparing to depart, but Sengoku realizes they were outmaneuvered: Whitebeard has already made his move. Since they do not know where he will attack while Ace is being held, Sengoku orders Impel Down alerted as a possible target.

The setting moves to the "Great Prison Impel Down." Guards escort Vice Admiral Garp inside and tell him, "This is it, Vice Admiral Garp..." Garp answers, "Be careful," and another voice responds, "Yeah." Deep within the prison, Portgas D. Ace is chained to the wall, beaten and exhausted. His wrists and arms are restrained high, his body slumps, and the darkness around him makes the cell feel like the true hell named by the chapter. Garp looks at him and says, "Man, you look terrible..." then asks with rough affection, "You still breathing?" Ace, barely able to respond, recognizes him and says, "Gramps..." The page brings Garp face-to-face with the grandson the Government intends to execute.

The chapter turns back the clock to the aftermath of Kuma scattering the Straw Hats. Narration says that on a certain island there is a giant paw print in the ground, then the scene reveals a small sky island and an old weather scientist hovering near Nami. Voices call, "Hey hey... hey hey hey..." and address her as the girl who came flying from the sky. Nami sits crossly while the scientist asks whether she has calmed down and will not go crazy anymore. He tries to cheer her up with a demonstration: "Now presenting... These tightly tied wind knots! If you undo one..." The strange island's people study weather, and the page begins Nami's separate mini-story after the crew's forced separation.

The Weatheria scientist demonstrates the wind knots. When one knot is undone, it brings a gentle breeze; when a second is undone, it brings a strong wind; and when a third is undone, it creates a squall. Nami and the old man are blasted by the gusts, crying "Wah!" and "Kyaa!!" The scientist protests that he thought it would cheer her up, while Nami yells, "What are you doing!!?" He thanks her anyway and immediately changes the subject, asking where he is and saying he wants to go home. The old man explains that this is a small sky island called Weatheria, a country where they study the weather. Nami is stunned by the answer and repeats, "A... sky island!?"

The next scattered Straw Hat appears on a "Grand Line, Winter Island." Franky is attacked in the snow by a strange cyborg dog, with the sound "Dog-gooooon!!!" as he shouts, "Owaa-aah!!!" The dog snarls "Garu!! Garuru!!!" until someone yells, "Wait, stop!! Taroimo!!" Local men apologize, explaining that Taroimo thought Franky was prey, then marvel that he is fine after the attack. Franky says he is all right but complains about the mess and wonders how far he flew. In only underwear, he shivers, tries to raise his spirits with "Franky!!!" and is told he cannot wear so little in the snow. The locals offer him a loincloth, but Franky refuses because wearing that would make him look like a pervert.

Franky ends up in the loincloth anyway and immediately complains that people will call him a pervert. The local men try to warm him up with an odd dance routine, calling instructions such as, "Your butt!" "To the right!!" "Your right hand on your waist--thrust out your left hand!!" "Slide in left!!" and "Bring both hands up from down below! And screw!!" Together they strike Franky's pose and shout "SUPER~!!!" Franky joins in with a long "Mmmmm~!!" but then explodes, "I'm still cold!!! Where am I!!?" The locals answer that he is in the "future country" Barujimo, on "Karakuri" Island, the birthplace of geniuses. The note explains that karakuri can mean device or mechanism.

The chapter cuts to another location on the Grand Line: the island of dreams, Momoiro Island, a name glossed as pink. It is introduced as the other famous island of women, a place where everything is a single color pink and where all the people have a maiden's heart. The landscape is full of heart-shaped, frilly, or candy-colored shapes, with pink plants and animals emphasizing the island's overwhelming theme. Sanji has landed there after Kuma's attack and is immediately out of place, surrounded by residents whose pursuit is suggested by excited movement and sounds like "Pasha pasha." The page builds an absurd contrast with Amazon Lily: this is another island of women, but not the paradise Sanji would have imagined.

Sanji's narration appears as a letter: "Dear Nami and Robin... Are the two of you well, wherever you are?" While he writes in his head, residents of the island chase him with shrieks of "Kyaa, kyaa, wait for me!" and "Oh no, wait." Sanji runs in terror and snaps, "Like hell I will!!!" Someone asks, "You're like us, right!? You must be, right!?" but Sanji screams, "Shut up!! Stop following me!!! I told you, I'm not like that!!!" The final reveal welcomes him to Kamabakka Kingdom, and Sanji howls, "UWOOO-OOHH!!!" His letter-like narration concludes that right now, he is experiencing hell. The title's hell becomes comic and personal for Sanji on the pink island.

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