Level 3, Starvation Hell

Outside Impel Down, Marine ships and sentry posts blare alarms at the highest alert level. A Marine wonders when Strawhat Luffy slipped past them, while another reminds everyone that Luffy is just one man, but if anything happens to Ace, not just Impel Down but the entire World Government will become the laughingstock of the world. A commanding Marine orders, "We will enter the prison and, in the name of the Marines, capture Strawhat Luffy!!!" The troops shout, "Yes, sir!!!" The page frames Luffy's infiltration as a political emergency rather than a simple prison break. The fortress looks sealed and massive, but the panic outside shows how much the approaching execution depends on absolute control.

The Marines at the entrance are stopped by a tall woman carrying a trident and wearing a severe black outfit. She hums, "Hmmm~ wait right there!!!" and introduces herself as "Sadi-chan, a girl who loves torture." A caption identifies her as "Impel Down Chief Guard Sadi-chan." She says that accepting help from the Marines on top of the infiltration will only add to Impel Down's humiliation. Her theatrical heart marks and sadistic self-introduction make her personality clear immediately: she is not embarrassed by the crisis, but excited by the chance to assert the prison's own authority. The Marines react in shock, asking who she is, while she stands between them and the gate as if outside help is an insult.

A Marine asks if Sadi-chan is really referring to herself as "-chan," and she lashes out with a whip-like strike, shouting "Silence!!! You have to call me Sadi-chan!!" The blow sends him flying with a "Guwah!!" while she sighs that she cannot get enough of those screams. When another Marine asks whether she is saying they do not need Marine help, Sadi-chan says their prison is a labyrinth straight out of hell and that people with no knowledge of the interior will be no help if they stay there. She orders them to surround the perimeter instead, which will be plenty, and declares that they will raise the drawbridge, the only exit. Impel Down will be completely isolated.

A wide view shows the great sea floor prison surrounded by Marine warships as the drawbridge is raised. Sadi-chan says, "Mmmm~ this great sea floor prison...!!!" and assures the Marines that there is no way to escape. The Marines agree to stand guard outside, though they are confused by her presence, muttering, "A koala...?" and "Is that a koala...?" The massive entrance gate closes with a heavy sound, and a final announcement states, "Impel Down has been completely cut off!!!" The page makes the strategic situation worse for everyone inside: Luffy has no easy way out, the Marines cannot simply rush in, and the prison staff have chosen total isolation over outside intervention.

On the floor where Ace is being held, prisoners notice Hannibal and Magellan arriving. Someone asks what is going on because Magellan is there too. Magellan announces that they have a special visitor for Ace and asks who Ace thinks it is. He tells Jimbei that Jimbei has never met her face to face and will not recognize her. Magellan describes the visitor as someone whose name is widely known even though she does not show herself much: "The Empress of the warrior race, the Kuja," and "one of the Royal Shichibukai." Boa Hancock stands near Magellan, Hannibal, and the guards as Ace and Jimbei look on from their cells. The visit immediately links the lower prison cells to the outside forces gathering for the war.

Hancock steps forward, and Magellan introduces her as "strong and sublime, the world's most beautiful woman," the Pirate Empress Boa Hancock herself. Her appearance draws an excited reaction from nearby prisoners. Hannibal, however, blurts out his ambition again, saying he wants to be the chief warden really badly, then tries to correct himself. Magellan strikes him with a sharp "pan!" and Hannibal crashes down with "gan!!" while complaining that it hurt. Ace and Jimbei silently register Hancock's presence. The page mixes Hancock's intimidating elegance with Impel Down's internal comedy: even during a maximum-security visit, Hannibal cannot stop exposing his desire to replace Magellan.

The prisoners erupt when they recognize Hancock. One shouts, "That's Hebihime of the Kuja!!! Ohh, look over here!!!" Another yells that he thought he smelled a good woman nearby. The men scream "Hancock!" and plead for her to come into their cells, saying they will treat her right, while others shout crude comments about the Isle of Women. Magellan stands sternly in front of the cellblock as Hancock faces Ace. Ace asks what she wants from him, and Hancock says she wanted to lay eyes on the man who is going to trigger the war she will be joining. Her calm tone contrasts with the prisoners' frenzy and shows that her real objective is a private message, not the public visit Magellan thinks he is supervising.

Jimbei realizes that even the supposedly immovable Pirate Empress is helping the Government now and asks whether her Shichibukai title is that important to her. The surrounding prisoners keep shouting for Hancock to look at them, while Magellan snaps, "They're having a conversation! Can't you be quiet?" Hancock tells Jimbei, "I see... don't bare your fangs at me... you there!! When you yell like barbarians... it's scary..." She curls her hand to her cheek and adds, "So scary..." The prisoners melt at the attention, delighted that she looked their way. Her performance lets her control the room emotionally while staying close enough to Ace to deliver what she came to say.

The prisoners become even louder, begging for Hancock to be left with them and mocking the chief warden. Magellan grows disgusted by their behavior and says it looks like their authority is completely gone, maybe because he is not fit to continue. But he refuses to accept the discourtesy. Poison pours from his body as he says, "It looks like I need to teach you who the boss of this prison is..." A massive poison dragon rises behind him with the warning, "The Hydra is out!!!" Prisoners panic, shouting that they are in danger and telling Magellan not to get carried away. The page shows why Magellan's authority is terrifying: his wounded pride can instantly become a lethal execution threat.

Magellan's Hydra lashes toward the prisoners, who scream that it is no good and that they will die. One poisoned inmate panics because he needs the antidote, while another says Magellan really did it. Magellan tells them never to forget that he has the authority to sentence them all to death and the power to do it himself. After establishing dominance, he turns back to Hancock and says she may have her conversation in peace. Hancock answers that there is no need because she is done. As she leaves, Ace calls out from his cell, asking whether what she said is true. The page reveals that during the chaos, Hancock has quietly slipped Ace the information she came to deliver.

Hancock tells Ace, "I have no reason to lie..." and adds softly that Luffy was worried Ace would be mad at him. She walks away with Magellan and the prison staff while Ace processes the message in shock. Magellan asks what she said, and Hancock claims, "I don't know... I was super running away from you, chief warden..." Jimbei asks Ace what the woman said. Ace answers that his brother is here. Jimbei immediately understands and asks whether he means the one Ace is always talking about, "the Strawhat kid," calling him reckless. The page is the emotional pivot of the chapter: Ace learns that Luffy has infiltrated Impel Down for him, and Jimbei sees how far Luffy will go for family.

Back on Level 3, Starvation Hell, Luffy runs alone through the hot stone corridors, panting heavily. He asks himself when he started going up because he wants to go down, not away from Ace. The heat is so intense that he groans, "It's so hot..." and adds that he is hungry. Guards spot him through a scope and report, "He's entered Block C." Luffy says "Hi" before realizing he has been seen. A squad rushes him from the stairs, and a net trap snaps toward him, but he throws himself aside with a startled "Uwah!!" The page shows how disoriented he has become in the labyrinth: even while evading traps, he is accidentally moving in the wrong direction.

Luffy barely avoids more Kairoseki nets, saying the last one was close. Another net crashes down, and then the Sphinx suddenly reappears, roaring and scattering the guards. Luffy reacts, "Uwah!!! Damn... the lion!!!" But an even more surprising figure appears: a striped prisoner with a familiar face shouts, "I came to help!!!" Luffy stares and blurts, "Ehh!!? Zoro!!?" only to immediately realize something is wrong. The man tells the lion to wait, and Luffy answers, "No!!!" The page turns a dangerous chase into a reunion fake-out. Luffy's exhaustion and the man's pose make him mistake the newcomer for Zoro, but the reader can see this is really Bentham, Mr. 2 Bon Clay.

Luffy corrects himself and says, "That's not Zoro..." The newcomer explodes with joy, shouting, "Straw-chan!!! Long time no see!!! Bon-chaaan!!!" Luffy recognizes him and is shocked that he is still alive, though he admits he is a little disappointed that it is not Zoro. Bon Clay answers by kicking the Sphinx with "Swan Arabesque!!!" while shouting in his flamboyant style. The blow hits the beast hard, and the Sphinx roars "Vuogu-earu-rua!!!" In the background, guards command the Sphinx to counterattack, but Bon Clay has already made his entrance. The page restores Luffy's emotional momentum: he may be lost and alone, but an old friend has appeared in the middle of Starvation Hell.

Bon Clay and Luffy reunite while the Sphinx lies pinned under a heavy stack of wax-like restraints and mutters "Yakisoba bread..." The guards conclude that should keep the beast down for now, but Saldeath immediately realizes there is another escapee and wonders whether these men are going down so they can gather more allies. Luffy hugs Bon Clay and says he thought he died, because Bon Clay took their place back then. Bon Clay laughs, "Ngahahaha! Don't joke around!!! Okama don't die, you know!!!" The page ties the reunion back to Alabasta and the escape from the Marines, where Bon Clay sacrificed himself for the Straw Hats. Now he returns that friendship in Impel Down.

A brief explanation of Mr. 2 Bon Clay's power appears: he ate the Mane Mane Fruit and is a copy man. If he touches somebody's face with his right hand, he can copy their appearance at any time, and his left hand changes him back. Below the explanation, guards order the Blugori to hurry because they cannot let the men get away. Luffy asks Bon Clay whether he really plans to go to Level 5, and Bon Clay says there is actually someone he wants to see there too. Luffy is delighted and asks if Bon Clay will tell him how to get there. Bon Clay answers, "Well then, let's go together!!!" The chapter closes with the two friends charging forward as allies toward the deeper levels of Impel Down.

No description for this page.